The Innkeeper

John, who was resting for the first time in years in his new office, opened his eyes and forced himself to stay awake. This mysterious Inn had given him plenty of surprises, and he couldn’t wait to see what else it had instored for him. Hera, who was still overwhelmed by the new world she had just encountered, was freaked out when she heard a voice in her head. That is, until she learnt that everyone heard it. The Morrisons, who had concluded their initial deal with the natives of Vegus Minima and were having a discussion of their own about how to proceed, immediately stopped their discussion and moved towards the Coliseum. The mother daughter pair had already seen it earlier and were making their way towards it when the announcement happened. Harry, who had dozed off, was woken up and tried to pick himself up but collapsed and fell back asleep.

Only the Galactic Sovereign turtle did not care about the announcement and continued to drag a tree through the ground using vines, the previously annoyed gardener now excitedly leading him somewhere. If anyone were to see it, they would see a sight similar to one dragging a stick through the mud. Somehow, the tree did not break as it was being dragged and the ground remained undisturbed once it left.

Lex, who was waiting for everyone, continued to look through the event management panel. Something interesting he learnt was that if something significant enough was happening on one of the planets connected to the Inn, he could incorporate it into his own events._.

For example, he learnt from the panel that apparently there were a few forbidden zones that no cultivators could enter on Earth, and currently a large expedition was underway to explore the one on Mount Everest. To the mortals it seemed like a few daredevils were attempting to climb the highest mountain in the world for personal satisfaction or something, but only cultivators knew that there was a legend of a Holy land somewhere in those mountains that they were trying to discover. Lex could incorporate that expedition into his event and send guests to join in.

He also learnt that he could set certain rules or protocols that would be activated if something happened during the event. This could both be to combat emergency situations or award prizes – that was up to Lex. The only things that limited him were his imagination and his wallet!

Slowly and steadily, his guests started arriving. The first to arrive were naturally Kristine and Vera. They were closely followed by the Morrison family and Helen. When Vera saw Alexander she whispered something to her mother who looked over and then whispered something back. Brandon, seeing that they were the only ones there, went up to introduce himself to the duo to try and learn where they were from. Unbeknownst to him, the mother and daughter had an intricate and imaginative yet false backstory ready on hand, though they refused to mention which planet they were from.

Shortly after, Will, his six followers along with Hera and Hugo entered the coliseum. Since neither the Morrisons nor anyone from Will’s party were wearing the disguise glasses, they came face to face in their original appearance. Helen quickly whispered to Alexander Will’s identity on Earth, along with a few of his followers she recognized. Alexander naturally passed the information along to his father who looked at the party with interest.

Will on the other hand immediately recognized all of them, and froze in horror and fear! The entire purpose of the Rose Society was to steal control of resources from the cultivation giants of the world, and yet he was now in the presence of one of the greatest of those giants. Naturally others would not know the purpose of his society, but even still someone at his level would completely be expected to fear the Morrison family.

“You seem to recognize us, friend,” said Rorick with a sly smile. “Could you be a fellow guest from Earth?”

“Yes my lord,” Will replied immediately, and then gave a bow. Everyone in his party bowed as well – other than Hera, who eventually copied everyone when she realized something was amiss.

“Please, no need for such formalities. Here, we are all comrades from Earth. Treat me as you would anyone else,” Rorick spoke casually, as if he was used to such behavior. Although his family did not claim to be royalty or demand such gestures, everyone else did not dare to treat them any less.

“How dare I, my lord? How dare I? My name is William Bentham, of Bentham Corp. My father had the privilege of working for your family once, he told me to his dying day that it was his greatest honor. This is my adopted daughter, my lord, Hera, and these are my friends.” Will had not really adopted Hera, but he long told her that he treated her as his own daughter, so it was not a stretch to tell others as such.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you all. Come, sit, be comfortable. It’s rare to meet someone from home so far away. Tell me, what brought you here?” Rorick was interested in how others from Earth arrived here, how long they had been coming and how common it was for people from Earth to come to the Inn. Will’s party was much larger than their own, so there may be a chance that some of them were frequent guests of the Inn.

As the various groups mingled, John finally arrived as well. His…unique appearance drew a lot of attention, but before anyone could approach him he chose to sit far away from the crowd. Naturally Vera and Kristine introduced the man as an employee of the Inn who designed techniques for guests, which attracted even more attention.

Blane, Chen and Lily arrived at and also chose to sit on their own, as they whispered amongst themselves. Even the free A.I. staff made their way to the coliseum and sat together in a group. They didn’t understand the concept of chatting, at least they didn’t understand it yet, so they sat in silence and looked at their boss on stage.

As the hour closed and it seemed no one else would arrive, a lean, grinning man strutted in.

“What a nap!” he roared with satisfaction. “Innkeeper, you’ve really got a nice place here.” Lex resisted the urge to yell at the no-longer-giant maniac, but suddenly he saw Marlo’s eyes light up when he sasw Brandon.

“Take my punch old man! You still haven’t paid me the tuition for teaching your grandson!” True to his words, Marlo hurled towards Brandon and punched him. Brandon casually caught the punch, and though he was not pushed back by the force his eyes widened in shock as he muttered, “this strength!”

Yet before the two could continue their exchange, a loud, clear voice interrupted them. “If you break anything, Marlo, you’ll have to pay in Zombie cores!” It was the Innkeeper who was looking at him with an amused smile, as if daring him to continue his antics.

“Excuse me Innkeeper, I just saw an old debtor and could not control myself,” said Marlo before he burst into laughter, as if calling the Morrisons debtors was hilarious.

“Well, since it looks like everyone with the intention to come is already here, why don’t we begin.” Lex looked at his guests as he mentally prepared himself to introduce his event. He hated public speaking, thank the Inn that the Host Attire hid his nervousness.

“I called you all here to let you know of an event that the Midnight Inn is organizing in two weeks time. The Midnight Inn is a place for guests from all over the universe to rest and vacation, to let go of their burdens and look ahead in life. We provide our guests with the best hospitality and services, but we also like to go above and beyond.

“Earth, Vegus Minima and Nibiru are the newest planets to be connected to the Inn, and in celebration of that we are preparing a culture sharing event so that you all may expand your horizons and get to know the customs of the universe!”