The Innkeeper

The timing of the attack had been perfect, not only ensuring Lex was too far to help but also happened just as everyone was coping with the Kraven\'s spirit attack. Had it not been for Lex\'s warning, this simple surprise attack would have ended the entire group.

Very aware of the fact that an angry Kraven was right behind them, Lex leapt forward to get some distance while a furious Cwenhild searched for the attackers. Unexpectedly, they did not hide this time. Twelve figures covered from head to toe in black clothes, all holding bows stood a short distance from them.

She squinted. The number of attackers could not have been a coincidence. Someone had been aiming for them from the very start. But who was crazy enough to do that? Even if she cut her ties with her father, she still had her mothers support, not to mention that each one of the members of her group came from one powerful background or another.

If even a single one of them died, it was not something that could be suppressed, and there would be a full investigation, with Immortals at the lead.

But, it did not matter. They were in a tough spot now. Had there been no interference, they had a good chance of killing the Kraven. But with these assassins attacking from the back, they were done for.

"Lex, can you delay the Kraven?" she asked, desperately thinking of a plan.

"For a short time, sure."

"Give me five minutes," she said, as she stepped to the ground. From the moment he saved her, Lex had been running while carrying her.

"Five is pushing it, aim for 3. I\'m just a man in the Foundation realm, and that\'s a Kraven in the Golden core. Every second I occupy his time is a miracle, technically."

Cwenhild snorted at Lex\'s remark. The urgency of the situation and her erupting anger did not mean she didn\'t notice the complete lack of anxiety or tension in his voice. It was not the tone of one praying for a miracle, but that of one who had the situation completely under control.

During their time together, she had noticed a mild resistance Lex exhibited when following her orders, though with time, he had managed to learn how to hide it better. But since she already knew what to look for, she always found it.

The look in his eyes, the way he stood, even the way he spoke all hinted at the fact that he was used to authority, backed by real power. It was ironic that he, the one sibling of hers who went without his family name, carried the nobility of his royal bloodline the best.

Even now, while he tried to hide the true extent of his abilities behind modest words, his temperament did not allow his diminishing words to actually diminish his image.

All of that was but a passing thought as Cwenhild turned her attention towards the assassins who were once again nocking their arrows, and bolted off. She yelled orders as she ran, quickly reorganizing the groups formation towards attacking the assassins, and allowing the injured to retreat.

Lex was left alone to deal with the Kraven. Speaking of which, Lex turned towards the Kraven in confusion - he was expecting a swift retaliation that never came. But he immediately realized why. The Kraven had picked up its hand and was reattaching it to its body, holding it in place with a lot of slime.

"You know, it actually never occurred to me that Kraven could talk. Though I guess everyone considered this knowledge too basic to even mention to me. Anyway, hi. I\'m Lex. I think we got off on the wrong foot. Why don\'t we just talk this out. I\'ve always been very curious about you Kraven, I have so many questions."

The Kraven looked at Lex with its head twisted, as if looking at something strange. Lex could see it trying to move the claws on its severed hand. It seemed the reattaching process was not so easy.

"It is because inferior races cannot understand our language, or tolerate the resonance our voice brings. How curious that you can understand."

A single claw flinched, but it had not yet perfected its movement.

"Resonance? Is that what causes the spiritual attack in your voice? What is that?" The Kraven didn\'t answer, and turned its head to look back at its arm. It was regaining movement.

"You\'re right, that\'s a bad question. Let\'s focus on other, more important questions. You see, I have a unique perspective when it comes to looking at the bigger picture. I can see things that others really can\'t. But I still don\'t understand - why are the Kraven at war with the whole realm? What\'s the point of fighting everyone?"

Lex was walking as he talked, positioning himself between the Kraven and the rest. In a rush to save Cwenhild, he had dropped his sword somewhere, but his shield was very much still in his hand.

"According to my teachers, you don\'t have a biological need driving you. You don\'t need to slaughter all the races endlessly for your own survival, and I doubt your resource consumption is so high that you need the whole realm."

The Kraven still did not talk. It had regained almost perfect control of its hand, and its body and slowly started to once again secrete the slime that usually covered it.

"Alright, if you don\'t…" Lex\'s next question was cut short by the Kraven bursting into motion. One moment it was still, the next it had the full speed and ferocity of an avalanche. It was not running towards Lex, though, and instead its eyes glared angrily towards Cwenhild. But, regardless of how abruptly it had moved, Lex had been expecting it.

Holding out both his hands, Lex appeared in its paths, causing the Kraven to smash directly into the barrier. Since it was a crash instead of an attack, Lex\'s barrier withstood the force with comparative ease, but Lex was still almost knocked over.

"Move out of the way, vermin!" the Kraven roared, still not even bothering to look at Lex.

"I can tell that you think you\'re a superior race," Lex said, his voice somehow managing to retain its sense of calm and curiosity, even as he ran to once again block the Kraven.

"But if that\'s the case, why are the Kraven allowing themselves to be used like puppets by all the races?"

The genuine innocence in Lex\'s voice as he asked was somehow more grating than the question itself.

"WE ARE NO ONES PUPPETS!" the Kraven roared, finally turning to look at Lex. "THE ENTIRE REALM TREMBLES BENEATH OUT MIGHT!"

Lex should not have considered attracting the creature\'s fury an accomplishment, as the Kraven smashed towards Lex\'s barrier with both hands, this time firmly breaking it!

Lex tried to jump back, but one of its claws firmly landed on his chest, cutting his armor to ribbons. Three ugly gashes cut open on his chest - though he did not bleed, for slime had covered them up! Well, it was a good thing he had Ripple shell used on himself the entire time, or instead of a few gashes, he would have a hole in his body. Of course, that single attack had destroyed the shell, so unless he used the technique again, it was best not to get hit.

Lex grimaced. The Kraven\'s brute strength was already a hassle to face, but its claws were just too damn deadly. As for the slime… Lex looked down, then ignored it. If he tried to pull it off, it would only glue his hand to his chest. The slime would slowly poison him, but he should have some resistance to poison.

He would be able to get rid of it if he used an array, but the Kraven would not give him the time to form one. He really needed to practice with them more.

"Oh yes, the realm is firmly at war with the Kraven, and everyone is losing, and there\'s so much fear," Lex said blandly, as if he was that water was wet.

"And yeah, you managed to somehow take over the territory of an entire race. But since then, what have you done? There\'s constant progress, but it\'s slow. The threat of the Kraven is ever present, but you know…"

Lex used Talk to the Hand with both hands, but also jumped back as the Kraven attacked once again. He couldn\'t dodge too much or the Kraven would go towards Cwenhild, but he also couldn\'t take head-on attacks. Why was life so hard?

"But you know, like I said, I have a different perspective on things. Between all the fear, the propaganda, the fighting and mobilizing all the races\' strength to fight against the Kraven, all you\'ve really achieved… is strengthening the reign of each of the races respective King. After all, before the Kraven, none of the races had ever banded together to form a unified nation. Now… well yes, you take land each year, but it seems to me that the humans at least put up just enough resistance to slow down your approach to an acceptable level. Speaking just for the humans, all you\'ve really done is strengthen the King\'s control on these lands. I can tell that much just by studying the basic history for the last few hundred years, so others should be able to tell that much as well, right? Which is why I asked… why are the Kraven acting like puppets?"