The Innkeeper

Lex felt like someone was telling on him. Honestly, he hadn't used the polaroid nearly as much as he expected to, and yet it was getting him in trouble.

But, Velma's underlying message was clear enough: he could not complain about her leaving him out if he never made an effort to reach out to her either.

"Alright, alright, fine. Instead of sending you a polaroid, I'll find the time to take a picture with you instead. How are you doing? If the situation at the Humanoid Alliance is too bad, you should just come back to the Inn. It's not the same here without you," Lex said, placating Velma.

"Nah, it's not nearly as bad as it sounds," Velma said dismissively. "I was just testing things out. There's a universal internet run by the AI, and on there exist a number of entities that report news without any compunction whatsoever. I tried to do the same with a relatively safe topic, but before I could even write the first word, the Humanoid Alliance caught me.

"They gave me a warning and told me I'm under observation, but that's about it. The way they detected me kind of reminded me of how the security team in the Inn detects those with malicious intentions. The fact, then, that there are people who can post crazy news without any repercussions must mean they're backed by some really powerful people. But that's neither here nor there, and has little to do with me.

"You don't need to worry about me - I'm learning a lot here. For example, the universal internet. If we can get access to that the way we got access to the Henali portal, that would drastically improve our ability to gather information."

Lex nodded, agreeing with her. It might even be possible as long as they upgrade their connection to the Henali portal, since that too was deployed by AI. Regardless, that was not a priority at the moment.

"It's a good idea, but until we can implement it, we have to rely on ourselves. In fact, the reason I contacted you in the first place is to get some information. I need to know the official and unofficial response of the Seraphim Resort towards the Midnight Inn," Lex stated, finally returning to the matter at hand.

"That's a story I've been following closely," Velma suddenly said, her expression turning serious as she opened up various tabs on her terminal. "Officially, the Seraphim Resort has not mentioned the Inn at all. Instead, they have accused a certain Lex William for kidnapping their own guests."

Velma paused for a moment, turning her attention towards Lex instead.

"Listen, have you become addicted to kidnapping? I mean, if you want, I can teach you ways to get a girlfriend that'll actually work."

She sounded so serious as she spoke, but Lex easily caught the amusement in her voice.

"I'll have you know, I have a date set with someone, so I don't need to kidnap someone just to get a girlfriend," Lex defended himself.

"Oh really? Does she live in Canada?" Velma asked, even more amused, leaving Lex dumbfounded.

"Can we focus on the situation for now?" Lex asked, deciding he could not keep up with her.

"Right, so officially, the resort has said nothing about the Inn, but they have condemned you. Although, it doesn't seem like they're going to do anything to you. Unofficially, the Seraphim and countless other powers have made the Inn's golden keys illegal, and are actively putting mechanisms in place to detect the keys as soon as they appear.

"They have decided to limit the Inn's influence without actively going against the Midnight Inn. This has something to do with the news about the Dao Mist. The latest rumors going around are that the Innkeeper foresaw the upcoming war, even though the upcoming Nexus event has made divination and foresight basically invalid.

"People are saying that both the Dao Mist, as well as the recent universal phenomenon are actions taken by the Innkeeper to create a deterrent. Even though so many realms have gone to war, no one seems to be targeting the Inn at all. The risk does not seem worth the reward."

Lex was speechless. He knew the exact extent of what the Innkeeper had done to deter enemies, and it wasn't much. However, he would certainly never admit such a thing.

"Truly the Innkeeper is wise and with great foresight," Lex praised sincerely.

"Yeah, the Innkeeper is amazing," Velma agreed. Although she had always known as much, greater exposure allowed her to genuinely understand exactly how formidable the Innkeeper was.

"That's not all. There's a petition going on in the Humanoid Alliance by the Angels to request the handover of the twelve Celestials who have entered the Inn. It seems that while there was no external invasion, Eden has fallen into war as the conflict between the Seraphim and the Angels has been renewed.

"And what's the alliance's response?" Lex asked.

"That's not the kind of information I can get access to," Velma said. "Only after the decision has been made and publicly announced will I be privy to their decision. If they do decide to make the request, I suppose they'll try to meet with the Innkeeper or send a representative otherwise. I doubt they'll involve me in it, considering that might have the potential of eliminating the only solid connection the alliance has with the Inn."

Lex nodded as he thought about the current situation. The ongoing universal wars were making the environment very messy, but such an environment was also the best to reap benefits in. He just had to be very careful about his steps.

"Thanks. I'll reach out to you again if I need anything else. Until you have the Castle tavern on hand, you'll be connected to the Inn, so if you need to communicate with us in an emergency, don't hesitate. Mary will be available to chat even if no one else is."