The Innkeeper

Since time immemorial, there has been a special romance between a man and his mode of transportation. In the old days of earth, all sorts of animals were reared for the sole purpose of making an excellent vehicle. Horses or rare breeds were sought after with more fervor than gold. Elephants were adorned with more jewelry than actual kings and queens. Rhinos were treated as special mounts, worthy of only the most fantastic generals and soldiers.

Then came a revolution of industry, and times changed. Modernization was suddenly the way of the world, and so the world adapted.

From the first cycle, to the first car to the first train, the romance grew more and more wild. Hot air balloons, blimps, and finally airplanes were welcomed into the world.

People were known in their towns and societies, not by who they were or what they did, but the kind of car they drove. A pilot was not celebrated unless he flew a jet, not a commercial plane or crop duster. A person was only considered 'cool' and 'amazing' if they rode a sufficiently excellent motorcycle.

For a long time already, a man would be recognized by his ride before anything else. It was only natural, as a lot could be told about a man based on the car he drove.

To be clear, although Lex's inner monologue kept emphasizing on the romance of a man and his car, he was not being sexist. When he said man, he was more referring to the race rather than the gender. He was quite clear that a woman too could completely elevate or reduce her status based on her ride.

So, when men and women alike were victims to the beauty of a vehicle, how could Lex be any different?

On the magazine before him, on the double page widespread, was the image of a black spaceship! It was perfectly curved, with no sharp corners or edges anywhere except the very tip. It seemed as if the tip was the very starting point of the entire ship, as if the entire ship emerged from that one, single point.

The interior of the ship was not visible, and there seemed to be no transparent glass panels to see through anywhere, yet that only added to the mystique of this sleek and slender ship. Towards the back, there appeared to be one main thruster engine, with a relatively smaller one protruding from the two wings on its side.

Appreciating Lex's stunned appearance, Powell seemed only to nod as if affirming that this was the correct reaction.

"This is the Silent Night, the latest production in the personal corvette class of ships by Havalier Industries. There's only one of them so far, and it's apparently capable of intergalactic travel in the span of mere months! This is completely a collectors ship!"

Even Powell's voice was dripping with envy, yet Lex focused on something else entirely.

"Wait, the emporium is not selling this?"

"No, no, how could we get our hands on this? Like I said, it was produced by Havalier industries, and they are the only ones who can sell it. Not to mention, everyone knows what the Greydars are like."

Lex, in fact, did not know what the Greydars were like, nor did he know who or what they were. But he did not bring attention to his ignorance for the moment, as in the recent documents he bought from the emporium probably had the relevant information. It was only a matter of time before he discovered it. Instead, his focus remained on the ship.

"You don't sell this, fine, but do you sell other ships at least?"

"Yes, of course! A private vessel is absolutely imperative if one is to traverse from one region of space to another. I'll have you know, teleportation formations are neither cheap nor common. Most trade is conducted via spaceships, and unless the distance spans many star systems, most travel is also done via ships. The Silent Night is a little different, sure. It can even traverse the space between galaxies, so traveling within a galaxy is much faster. But it's rare to find ships of such caliber in the open market. Only some very large empires use them for official government use."

"So what you're saying is… you have ships, but nothing as good as the Silent Night?"

Powell smiled awkwardly, as if he had been caught red handed.

Although Lex felt interested, he restrained himself. He already had a massive ship inside the Inn, if he would ever even need it. Moreover, if he ever wanted a smaller one, he still had better hopes in getting it from his system than elsewhere.

"Let's just get on with the trade. I'll look at ships another time."

Even as Lex said that, he gave one final glance to the Silent Night. This was probably the last time he would ever see this ship, and the possibility of running into it and the owner in the future was as close to 0 as possible. He was completely and totally not thinking all of this on purpose to set up a flag for himself to run into this ship in the future. It was just a ship, it wasn't like he had become emotionally attached to it after a single glance.

"If you'll follow me," said Powell, putting away the magazine and getting back to business. "I'll take you to the teleportation room first. Once you've completed the trade, you can return the same way. Please, rest assured, that the emporium has made adequate preparations for your travel and safety at the destination. Zuri Adisa, being an old client of the emporium, has conducted many such trades before with no history of foul play. I would escort you personally, but the emporium has a strict policy against workers leaving the premises."

Lex only nodded and followed Powell to the teleportation room. He wondered if he'd be able to link the new planet he was about to visit to the Inn now that the teleportation function was upgraded. He would soon find out.

Powell led him through unfamiliar corridors, all the while making sure he continued to keep Lex busy with small talk. Although he was not showing it up front, his recent promotion must have made him incredibly happy. Powell could not stop talking about all the new things he had learnt about.

Finally, they reached their destination, and though Powell looked a little reluctant for he was enjoying talking to Lex, he did not slow the process down. Inside the room was a small, circular platform that was hovering above the ground by only a few inches.

"This is the dedicated platform for Zuri's planet," Powell explained. "Although we can activate it from here, the teleportation will not occur unless Zuri allows it. But you are already cleared to travel, so just go stand in the center whenever you're ready and I'll activate the platform."

With a nod, Lex walked right up to the middle and waited for the process to begin. Powell did not press any buttons or activate any switch, yet the platform turned on, nonetheless.

A ring of bright light enveloped Lex, before he once again began to experience the feeling of being transported through space. Nothing could ever come close to the seamless teleportation offered by the Inn, but the process this time was much smoother than his previous times.

He felt a dull pressure on his body, keeping it completely still as it was moved through the folds of space. While previously the process left him feeling uncomfortable and disoriented, at least a little, this time Lex actually felt a little comfortable. In fact, it almost seemed like he could understand where he was going.

The Cosmic Erosion Elixir! It suddenly occurred to Lex that he had been drinking it nonstop, and that it contained laws pertaining to space. Could that have somehow developed some sort of affinity with space within him?

Before he could ponder the question further, he appeared in what surely must have been heaven.

He was standing on a platform similar to the back at the emporium, which was surrounded by white pillars similar to the ones used in Roman architecture. Above his head was a small dome, as if to provide him with shade. But that was it. There were no walls or barriers, and the entire structure seemed to be placed inside a meadow from a children's fairytale.

The air was so pure and fresh it made even the Midnight Inn same stale, and the soft gentle breeze carried with it the scent of wild flowers.

There was wild grass growing all around the structure, with a sea of daisies all around it. In the distance, there were massive trees that reached high up into the clouds, as if creating a border to the meadow.

Tiny creatures could be seen running through the fields, and even tinier birds, flying around, drinking the dew off flower petals.

The awe Lex was feeling didn't last long, however, for he quickly realized that whether it was the birds the size of his pinky finger, the tiny creatures running through the fields, or even the flowers, waving in the wind… all of them had a cultivation realm much higher than his own!