The Innkeeper-Novel

Lex spent a surprising number of hours visiting the shops on Bakers street. He thought he'd just pop in, introduce himself and the tavern, and invite the shopkeepers for a drink afterwards. But most shopkeepers started to chat with him, often exclaiming he was so young to be able to open up a tavern. They were friendly enough, and the offer for free drinks made them even friendlier.

By the time he visited the fourth store, upon noticing the excitement for free drinks, he wondered if he should add a home drop off service for his customers once they were done. It was definitely something he would look into.

Finally, he approached the last store, which happened to also be his immediate neighbor - a bakery. Walking into the store filled with the smell of fresh bread, Lex could not be happier at his tavern's location. Most of the shelves seemed to be empty, with only a few rolls of bread and some pastries left. Either this was a very popular or unpopular shop.

"Hey hey, welcome friend," exclaimed a particularly jolly man from behind the counter. "Welcome to Bakers street bakery." The man chuckled as he said the name. Something told Lex he did that often.

"Clever name," replied Lex with a smirk.

"Ah yeah, the wife dared me just when I opened up the shop. I was going to call it Dino's bakery, after myself but, well, a dare is a dare."

"Should have just gone for Bakers bakery directly."

"Hah! That would have been a blast. But, well, it's done now."

"Well met, Dino," said Lex as he reached over to shake the man's hand. "My name is Lex, I just opened up a tavern right next door. You should come on over after you're done. Drinks are free the first day, in celebration of the opening."

"Free? Well now brother, free is the magic word. I'll be sure to drop by. Better yet, I'll bring the wife too. Ain't no reason she can't enjoy a free drink as well."

"I'll be glad to have you. Spread the word if you can, otherwise people won't even know that there's a tavern here."

"Will do brother."

With the exchange complete, Lex exited the shop, breathing a sigh of relief. Fortunately, while Dino was friendly, he was not chatty. That had been his quickest visit yet.

He returned to the tavern to find Big Ben finally awake and sitting at the bar, looking much weaker. His cheeks had gone in noticeably and his once tight shirt hung loose. That, however, did not seem to be his concern - if he had noticed at all - as he was moaning about how his date tonight would be ruined.

"Has the constable already come and questioned you?" Lex asked, surprised that he was still here.

"No, of course not. When the murder happened, I just ran as fast as I could. When I couldn't run anymore, and stopped for breath, I looked up and saw your tavern. I've been here since. The constable probably has no idea I'm even here."

Lex was dumbstruck for a moment. If all the witnesses in the case were like this, it was no wonder the murderer hadn't been caught yet.

"I have an idea," Lex said. "Why don't you tell the girl you were going to see that you witnessed a murder, and you're distraught? That way, she can come here to console you. At the same time, I'll call the constable. When she hears the story of how you survived, I'm sure she'll be impressed."

"Yeah? Do you think so?" he asked, looking at Lex like a messiah.

"Either way, you need to tell someone what you saw. Otherwise, what if the murderer ruins another date for you?"

Big Ben was convinced, though Lex was seriously beginning to wonder how the big lug had made it through life. Lex told Rick to go find a constable, and bring them to the bar.

In the meanwhile, Lex had Roan pour Big Ben something to revitalize him. He also looked at the relatively empty tavern and couldn't wait for people to start coming in. He checked the time and discovered it was only 3 pm. The perpetual daylight was very disorienting, and Lex still wasn't used to it, as it was almost impossible to tell what time of day it was by the sol-light.

But just because the tavern was empty didn't mean there wasn't anything to do. Lex had Roan start cooking up some finger food for when the rush started. Since there was no kitchen staff, all the food they would serve would need to be prepared in advance, and would require Lex and Rick to serve. A day of serving food at a tavern. Just thinking about it made Lex impatient to hire his staff.

*****

Noman Butt dragged his exhausted body out of the recovery room. Never in his life had he felt so good and terrible at the same time. He felt good, because he had been fully healed. He felt terrible, because unbeknownst to him, during his pursuit, he had been poisoned. It took him weeks in the recovery pod for his body to completely become immune to the poison, and the entire time he was in pain.

If there was one thing to celebrate, it was that his funds never ran out. When he finally woke up after he first passed out, he was informed by Nurse Jubilation about how much treatment was costing him, and how his family was being charged directly for his expenses.

Heh, for other people this might be a large sum, but for his family it was akin to peanuts. Even if they were deducting it from his personal pocket money, he would have enough to survive for years here.

Now what he needed to do was relax, and recover. The Clark Kent glasses ensured that his identity remained hidden while he was here. With his new anonymity, he'd be free of the people finding trouble for him.

"Oh Juliet, I love you with all my heart. I could die for you!" someone exclaimed within Noman's earshot.

He turned to look at the couple, and before the girl could reply, Noman said, "He's lying."

The duo was startled, but before they could ask any questions, he moved on. Yes, he was finally free from all troubles, and a lifetime's worth of experience hiding his unique power ensured that no one would bother him again.