The Innkeeper

“Such a list is not a problem at all,” the shopkeeper said, summoning another file. “Since this information is all common knowledge, it is much cheaper than your first request – only 2 gold coins. I can also provide a more detailed list, should you need it, but that will raise the price.”

“No, this will do for now,” Lex said as he paid the man and put both folders in his bag and turned to leave, but the shopkeeper stopped him.

“Excuse me sir, before you leave there are a couple of things which are my responsibility to tell you if you have a few minutes to spare.”

Lex was in general very impressed by the shop, and so decided to hear him out.

“Firstly sir, the Emporium places a great deal of emphasis on maintaining the client’s privacy, and so I would like to assure you that details of a client’s purchase history will never be leaked under any circumstances, this is an Infinity Emporium guarantee. Secondly, upon a total expenditure at the value of 10 common grade spirit stones, you become eligible for a basic membership card. The membership has various levels and at each level, more and more items become available to you to purchase. And thirdly, the Emporium currently has an ongoing sale on skin, wing and horn care products that will end in 7 hours.”

“Got it, thanks,” Lex said, and chuckled as he left. The only skincare he ever indulged in was moving away from body wash, shampoo and shaving foam all in one bottle and getting three separate products instead. That was quite enough for him.

As soon as Lex left the Emporium, the shopkeeper couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow as he muttered, “A Fancy Monocle, eh? Haven’t seen one of those in a while. How retro.”

The first thing Lex did once leaving the fancy shop was head in the direction of the nearest tavern where he could stay, sightseeing along the way. This city he was in was an unusual mix of extremely advanced and extremely basic technology. A good example of that was the hundreds of vehicles flying about in the skies, while an alien equivalent of a donkey cart pulled someone along the street. Or the simple wooden stalls, but with virtual or holographic vendors. He also saw many different races of beings walking around, though humans still maintained the majority.

When Lex finally arrived at the Tavern, he read the name Bent Benches spelled out in a neon sign, hung across a balcony in the wooden building. It was a curious name, but Lex didn’t put much thought into it.

When he walked in, though, the building was completely empty. Lex would have expected such a cheap place to be packed with guests, yet not a soul could be seen – not even a worker.

On his left was a long, wooden bar and on his right a long, rectangular room full of empty tables. There was a corridor leading deeper into the building right in front of him, but Lex felt strange about randomly strolling into the building. Maybe there was something he didn’t know about how taverns worked in this world.

Yet just as he was pondering, he picked up the sound of slow, deliberate breathing. He leaned over the bar and saw a man rocking back and forth in the fetal position, taking deep breaths with his eyes closed.

“Uhh, are you alright?” Lex asked awkwardly.

The man was surprised when he heard Lex’s voice, and turned to look at him. When he noticed a guest, he flashed him a bright smile and said, “Could you wait just a few minutes? I’m right in the middle of dealing with an anxiety attack.”

“Uhh, sure, I guess,” Lex replied, as the man flashed him another smile before once again closing his eyes and returning to what he was doing.

Lex took a step back to give the man his privacy, as he awkwardly waited for the man.

About 15 minutes later, the man stood up as he dusted himself off and approached Lex, with a smile.

“Sorry about that, was just dealing with some stuff. You know how it is.” The bartender looked fairly young, with ruffled hair and a wrinkled uniform, but at the same time, looked quite presentable.

“Uh, yeah, sure, totally, no problem. Are you sure you’re okay? Do you need more time?”

“No, no, I’m good. I’ve gotten pretty good at dealing with those. How can I help you today?”

“I’d like to rent a room for a week.”

“Not a problem at all, that’ll be 4 gold coins.”

Lex handed the man the coins, but the barkeep didn’t immediately accept it. He eyed the coins curiously, and then scanned them with a device.

“Well, it’s real gold, but I don’t recognize where it’s from. Let me guess, you’re fresh on the planet? You came at a good time, my friend. It’s almost time to harvest the Gugu fruit, but you need to be at least in the initial Foundation realm to be a harvester. Tough luck my friend, that’s the kind of stuff those scammers leave out when they just want you to fill in the seats in their transport ships. Each year we get a lot of people who come looking for jobs, only to find out later that their level is too low.”

Lex flashed the man a weak smile, but said nothing.

The bartender jumped over the counter and led Lex down the corridor towards his room.

“There’s no room service, so try to keep the place as clean as you can or you’ll end up living in a mess. The kitchen’s currently out of order as well, so if you want to eat you’ll have to go out. I can give you a list of nice places nearby where I usually eat from, if you’re interested.” The man continued to list everything that was wrong with the place, making Lex wonder if it was even worth the few gold pieces he paid, but when he saw the room that thought went away.

Unlike the old and disheveled state of the building, the room was immaculate. There was a massive window with a balcony, a neat king sized bed, a study table with what Lex assumed was a computer, and a private bathroom. Everything was clean and tidy, and looked relatively new as well.

“Here’s the key, and have a good stay,” the bartender said before leaving. The man had a smile on his face the entire time he was with Lex, and had a cheery attitude, so it was hard for Lex to imagine what caused him so many anxiety attacks.

Lex put the thought behind him and entered the room, scanning everything with his Monocle. After ensuring there weren’t any cameras or mics or such in the room, Lex finally relaxed, and took out the folders he received from the Emporium. He scanned both the documents again with his monocle, then began reading the list of potential jobs. Considering the cheap price of accommodation, Lex was no longer in a rush to find a job, but it wasn’t a bad idea to be in the know.

As could be expected, none of the jobs looked too alluring to Lex, but there were a couple of alternative options listed that Lex wouldn’t mind trying. As one can guess, one of those options was betting. Apparently there was some kind of tournament being held nearby by one of the agricultural academies ahead of harvest season.

Lex made a mental note of it, not because he was interested in gambling but because he wanted to learn more about the culture of this world. Once he was done with that, it was time for the other list – the one with all the races on this planet.

Of course, this did not literally list all species and races, as that would include various wild animals and cattle, but only the species recognized by the Empire as legal citizens. The one that Lex immediately noticed was Dragons!