The Innkeeper

Lex was extremely pleased with how satisfied his guests were with the hot tub room. They only woke up around 2 pm the next day, and when they came down to the hall, they were extremely refreshed. And hungry.

They were so energetic that they were having no trouble handling their kids, and for once, they sat at a few tables like a civilized family, chatting and laughing together.

Betty was hard at work in the kitchen, making sure they didn't run short of food, and his delinquent helpers were also hard at work, doing whatever they could. Strangely enough, though, the triplets had not shown up to work as of yet.

Considering their disciplined behavior so far, Lex was a little concerned at their absence and sent Big Ben over to investigate. He had been gone a while now, and should be back any time now. In the meantime, Lex leaned back in his chair and listened to the new musician he had temporarily hired. His performance and popularity would determine if Lex kept him, but so far he and his accordion had delivered a splendid performance.

A short while later, Big Ben returned with the three girls, but the expressions on their faces warned of grave news. Lex quickly got up and checked if the girls were alright before asking what happened.

"Their neighbors were killed," said Big Ben gravely. "Almost all of them. It was the serial killer. The bodies were discovered last night by accident. The constables suspected their family, since they were unharmed amidst all that, and arrested them. But the entire family works, so they all had alibis and had to be let go."

The hair on Lex's back stood up as he imagined discovering all your neighbors had been killed in their own homes. That was genuinely horrific, especially when one considered that it could easily have been them instead of their neighbors who had been murdered.

"Where's your family? Do they have a place to stay? If not, bring them to the tavern and we'll figure something out."

"They're at the town shelter, along with Dino and his wife. They lived nearby as well, and they're too scared to go back."

Lex hesitated, but then nodded. He didn't know what the town shelter was like, but at least it would be more secure since it was being overseen by the town. He told the girls again that they could bring their family to the tavern if needed and offered them a holiday. But the girls refused and said that they were fine and wanted to work.

They tried their best to seem normal, but anyone could see the absence of the usual mirth they carried with them.

Lex, too, was perturbed by the situation. He had been taking the serial killer lightly, as he completely expected that he or she would be caught soon. But the situation was becoming drastically worse, and the constables seemed incapable of handling the situation. The security here was worse than he expected.

He sent someone to find and call Roland over. He really wanted to see what the news had to say about the discovered murders. Everything was happening contrary to common sense. He could still accept that this region, which was supposed to be one of the richest in the realm, showed no opulence. He could accredit it to the excellent management of the Noel family. But if their management and control over this region was excellent, why were so many murders going unimpeded? This was especially the case when the Noel brothers themselves passed through the town as well.

Unless it was the Noel family itself behind the murders for whatever reason. Whatever the case, Lex started to get a bad feeling. He needed to prepare in case things got worse.

*****

Babylon Town, 800 meters below the ground

The murderer licked the blood off the blade, his body trembling as he savored his kills. He was currently in the underground chambers that housed the formation encompassing Babylon. Even if someone knew the supposed 'weaknesses' of the formation, it was not so straightforward to reach it. Weakness was only a relative term, as no expenses were spared. After all, the lives of all the townspeople depended on this formation.

Providing light to the town was only one of the many functions of the formation, amongst a low level spiritual gathering function, a barrier function to lock down the town, and others.

With the importance of the formation, it can easily be guessed how difficult it would be to reach it, yet the killer strolled carelessly through the hall.

"System, how many points do I need to get something that can override this formation?" asked a surprisingly charming and energetic voice.

"No points required. Host has already received a reward for a previous quest that can both upgrade and override the formation."

"How lucky," the killer replied, wearing a handsome grin. "How very lucky."

His system did not comment on his remark, so the only remaining sound was that of steady footsteps walking through the chambers, leaving a trail of bloody footprints behind.

*****

"Try this, it's called hot chocolate. It's perfect for cold weather," said Lex as he slid a mug across the counter to Roland. The young businessman went nowhere without his entourage, and this time it was larger than last, consisting of 15 other kids.

It couldn't be helped, as even though the city was well lit even in the dark, they were, after all, children. They would use 100 excuses to hide it, but they were afraid of the horrors of the dark. Even though they had experienced a period of darkness well over 20 times in their short lives without incident, the promise of monsters hiding in the dark never failed to strike fear.

"I can't. I'm on a budget. Dark times are always bad for business."

Lex shrugged and took a sip from the mug himself. He was tempted to offer it for free, but he had noticed during his daily meditations that he was becoming more and more comfortable giving out things for free. It was a habit he needed to curb, lest it seep into other areas of his life.

"When do you expect to get the latest news?" Lex asked, wiping the whipped cream from his upper lip.

"Like I said, business is bad during dark times. They only compile newscrystals once a week rather than daily, because less happens during dark times. You'll have to wait for 3 more days."

"Well, just make sure to have it delivered to the tavern when it's ready. Treat me like a fixed client, I'll even get a few for some of my tenants so bring a few."

"No problem. Consider it done. But, I'm not here today to talk about that. I have a business proposal for you. You ever get tired of running errands through the town? Of sending someone out every time you need to grab a delivery, send a message, or find someone? Of wasting valuable time on petty chores? Well, with our errand boy service, with a subscription of only 2 silver coins a week…"

Lex was listening to Roland's pitch with amusement when goosebumps covered his body, and his instincts acted up. But the feeling of danger vanished just as quickly as it came. Lex was momentarily confused, not understanding what his instincts were trying to warn him of when he noticed the hall looked just a bit dimmer.

That was strange, none of the lights in the hall had gone out. What could… he looked out the window and looked at Bakers street. It was dark.

Some light was still falling onto the street from the windows of the various buildings, but the various street lights that kept the town as bright as Times Square had gone out.

Ignoring Roland who had not noticed and was still delivering a pitch, Lex quickly rushed to the window and took a look outside.

All the lights on the street that had been put up by the town had shut down, leaving only those being used by people privately. Even that would not last for long, as the people would eventually run out of spirit stones to power the lights endlessly.

Roland and some of the folks in the hall noticed Lex's odd behavior and looked outside as well, trying to discover what happened. The first thought everyone had was another murder, so they didn't immediately notice the darkness as they were looking for bodies. Soon, though, people started to notice the oddity.

But by then, Lex was already gone. Swiftly, he climbed the stairs and reached the rooftop terrace to get a good look at the town. Sadly, the situation was just as he expected. A blanket of darkness had covered Babylon, with faint lights twinkling in the dark like fireflies in the distance.

Lex let out a sigh as his mind started racing. He had a decision to make.