The Innkeeper

The huntress made her way to the rooftop just in time to watch an incredibly… healthy… yes, that was the word for it. She saw an incredibly healthy man leave, his torso the shape of an olive, his weight rivaling that of a building.

It was, in itself, a display of magic that the tavern didn't shatter under the weight of the man, or that he could fit in the corridor easily. In truth, there was a bit of size manipulation formation at work when the man entered the Inn, but it happened so seamlessly that it was hard to pick up on.

"Was that… was that the Sultan?" the huntress asked in shock once the man had left.

"I am not at liberty to reveal information about my other guests," the tavern keeper said casually, sipping a Pina Colada and wearing a T-shirt that read, 'I just met the Sultan'.

The huntress looked at the T-shirt, then at Lex, and then back towards the tavern hallway through which the Sultan had left.

"Do you think if I go chase after him, I can catch up to him?" she asked with genuine curiosity. The Sultan was famous across their whole world, equivalent to a rock star. Everyone loved him, and the man had no enemies to speak of. Legend has it that a hug from the Sultan could cure depression, and spending time in his company increased people's feeling of self worth.

The huntress had once heard the story that three countries once approached him - separately - with offers to simply hand him rule over their territories. Naturally, the Sultan did not agree. It was a testament to his popularity nevertheless.

"I think, before you do anything else, you should worry a little about yourself," said the tavern keeper, looking out over the city. The sun was about to set, which painted the sky in orange and yellow, making the normally unbearable city look picturesque.

Or maybe that was just what the huntress felt like. Everyone else seemed to like Barin just fine. Her? She would have long left if the tavern weren't here.

"Why is that?" she asked. Despite how casual he appeared to be, and the fact that he never, ever directly said what he was thinking, the tavern keeper was extraordinarily well informed. It would be like running away from wisdom to ignore anything the tavern keeper said.

"Well I would tell you the rumors going around about you, but they haven't started yet," the tavern keeper with an unusual smile. "But if you do a little something for me, I might be able to think of a way to help you avoid the repercussions of said rumors that don't exist yet."

"How about you just tell me how to avoid starting these rumors to begin with?" she asked, flaring her aura. She was not trying to intimidate the tavern keeper - that would be silly. It was just a natural thing that happened to her, for she was all too used to her family going out of their way to make her miserable. Even now, she could imagine that they were hard at work trying to make her miserable.

"Oh I'm afraid it's already too late for that. The moment you walked around carrying your new friend, it was already too late for that."

"The buffoon? Is this his fault somehow?? Is my family targeting him?"

"Buffoon? What a fitting name. Now, it won't be too late to tell you all about it when you do me that favor. More importantly, by then, even the buffoon should be awake, so you both can hear about this together."

"Alright, what do you want?" she asked, getting to the point.

"It's nothing too complicated. I just want you to make your way to the bakers on 33rd street and find the blonde kid in a big fight. You'll know him when you see him. Find some excuse to give this to him, and then you can come back.

Lex leaned forward and placed a Free Meal Coupon in front of the huntress, causing her to look at the tavern keeper with confusion.

"Is that it? Is there some hidden twist? I find it hard to believe that the first favor you asked me was so simple."

The tavern keeper shrugged.

"You know, I'm not in the habit of leaving the tavern myself, or else I would just go ahead and send the coupon on my own. You just need to give the kid the coupon and you're done. There's no hidden trap in this quest." R̃ÁƝ𝐎𝐁ĘS

"Fine," she said, grabbing the coupon and heading out, ignoring the blood that still stained her clothes. Compared to blood stains, it was the unknown problems coming towards her that annoyed her.

The favor wasn't difficult to begin with, and even if there were a few unexpected issues, she'd deal with it. Yet it turned out, the task was simple. Just as the tavern keeper said, she spotted the child in the middle of a fight, fighting alone against a group of others - and getting beaten up pretty badly.

If there was any redeeming factor, it was that he was toughing it out and still fighting hard. But she dispersed the fight as soon as she arrived on the scene, taking the blonde kid away from the groups, and then handing him a coupon.

He felt concerned about it, but it wasn't like there was anything she was doing to harm him, so he cautiously took the coupon.

By the time the huntress returned, barely 20 minutes had passed, but the whole aura around the tavern had changed.

As soon as she entered, the conversation in the group hushed, and everyone looked at her as if she was some kind of freak. Every single person was looking at her, and that was not normal at all. Her senses as a huntress started to tingle, and she started to feel like she was in immense trouble.

Without anyone prompting her, she made her way to the rooftop to find the buffoon sitting there already, looking completely confused and bewildered - just like a buffoon.

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