The Innkeeper

Luthor was standing in the cockpit of the Silent Wanderer, looking at an active lava site. It was actually quite far from the main settlements, and was discovered by one of the groups exploring the Inns lands to better understand and map them. Once the AI running the Midnight portal figures out how to launch satellites and keep them running and working in this environment, taking in consideration safety from any avian beasts, they would have a live map of the region. But until then, they would have to manually map everything out.

This particular lava pit was contained within a mountain range, fed by several different underground lava channels as far as he could tell.

The reasons he, in particular, had come to observe this place were quite simple. First of all, such a place would definitely help with his training of his fire abilities. Secondly, this looked like a particularly nice spot for a prison. Even the Innkeeper had agreed to a prison, so now if he could just design one around this lava pit… or maybe even inside of it…

The sound of his phone ringing woke Luthor from his daydreams. He checked and was surprised at the notification. He was needed to welcome some guests? That had never happened before.

Then he read Jace's explanation - and took a deep breath, calming himself down preemptively. As unfortunate as it was, they'd all had some experience with difficult guests.

"Mark this area down as important and let's head to the gate," Luthor said to Cirk. "I'm needed there."

The journey to the gate was swift, but it gave Luthor just enough time to enter into the right mindset. The Silent Wanderer did not land, instead it just opened up a latch and allowed Luthor to drop from the air, landing calmly atop the boundary wall, facing the caravan.

Being overly friendly was not his thing, though he remained completely respectful asn he blasted his Golden core out at the caravan, bringing the dancing to a grinding halt.

"My name is Luthor Nightshade, here to welcome the emissary from the Tree of Heaven. Welcome to the Midnight Inn. May your stay be extremely pleasant."

Once he finished his greeting, he withdrew his aura, finally allowing them to relax. To be fair, it was not his best effort at being congenial, but he got the feeling that these were people who only respect strength.

Luthor jumped down from the wall to the ground as the whole caravan once again started to move forward, this time entering through the gate.

There were well over a thousand porters, dancers, laborers and general helpers with the caravan, but the actual members of it seemed not to be even a hundred. Four particularly large beasts that looked a lot like gorillas walked up to Luthor, carrying a majestic palanquin on their shoulders.

The palanquin was at least ten feet in height and nearly two dozen feet long, so when the door opened and revealed a very tall figure, Luthor was not surprised. A treant, with a set of countless roots in the form of tentacles that pulled it out, stepped out, and revealed that it had actually been crouched the entire time.

It had no identifiable face, though within its top branches Luthor spotted a patch of oddly colored leaves which he decided to treat as its one eye.

"Salutations, Luthor Nightshade," the treant spoke, its entire body vibrating to create the sound, as it seemed to lack a mouth. "I am Count Pinophyta Salvatia, an emissary from the Tree of Heaven, and hopefully a future ambassador to the Midnight Inn. The words of your Innkeeper reached even us, and the Tree of Heaven deigned it fit to acknowledge your Inn. I look forward to meeting with the Innkeeper, and exploring all that the Inn has to offer."

Luthor nodded, keeping his expression as neutral as he could.

"The Midnight Inn welcomes you, Pinophyta. We have vast lands and many services we can offer, and all are welcome to them. If you follow me, I can lead you and your retinue to the main settlements where you can explore all the Inn has to offer. Of course, if you wish to explore the Inn on your own, you are free to do so, but in that case, I have to warn you that only the settlements and public transportation are truly safe. As for your wish to meet the Innkeeper, it will temporarily have to be delayed. The Innkeeper is occupied with some work, but the rest of the Inns workers are available to you should you need any help."

The treant did not respond immediately, and it was hard to guess what it was thinking, since it literally had no facial expressions. Maybe an expert would be able to read the movements of its leaves to determine its moods or thoughts, but Luthor was not counted among them.

"Very well. Let us first make headway towards these settlements you have mentioned, and get everyone housed. Then we can contemplate upon how to proceed. I take it that you have the authority to represent the Midnight Inn in all legal matters? As an emissary of the Tree of Heaven, I have come to discuss the terms to establish a fruitful and healthy cooperation between us."

"In the absence of the Innkeeper, there is a council that can make decisions. But whether they will need to be disturbed remains to be seen. Let's move on, and then once I hear your… requests, I can better judge how to proceed forward."

The treant had been, this entire time, letting its aura passively leak, and it too was a Golden core cultivator. In fact, it was quite strong among them within that realm, as far as Luthor could tell. But how could he ever be intimidated by someone in the same realm, let alone by someone flammable?

It was a joke. As for the Tree of Heaven, he did not take it seriously at all.