The Innkeeper

The first thing that would come to anyone's mind when exploring an old, abandoned, underground temple would be traps. Anyone who had seen any movie ever would know to expect traps.

Why would there be traps, and why would they work hundreds of even thousands of years after being made, Lex could not guess. But he was not looking forward to being impaled by a row of spikes, or run over by a massive boulder - no matter what the excited expression on his face may seem to indicate.

Lex also did not pull out a hat that looked eerily similar to the hat of an iconic movie figure who was both an archeologist and a treasure hunter.

To no surprise, Lex immediately discovered that there really were traps in the tunnels. However, unfortunately- eh, no, fortunately, Lex was both too powerful to be affected by them, and too sharp to fall to them.

Even if he withdrew his spirit and soul sense, which he did not, his instincts would immediately warn him that the tunnels were trying to trick him into entering an illusory maze.

There was no fun- eh, no, there was no point in entering a trap once it was already detected, so Lex spent only a few minutes making his way through the entire tunnel network.

Once, just for research, Lex allowed himself to trigger a trap. The walls began closing around him, though their speed was embarrassingly slow, at least to Lex. What's more, even though he stood in place and allowed the walls to try and squeeze him… they could not. Though Lex suspected anyone else would have been turned into meat paste, the walls could at most give him an unsatisfactory massage.

The torrent of spiritual energy running through the walls would actually be more dangerous to Lex than the traps themselves.

Regardless, with no real obstacles in his way, Lex quickly reached the end of the tunnels. It led to a locked chamber with no indication of how the doors should be opened, but Lex's increased intellect solved the riddle in only a few seconds.

With a defeated sigh, Lex channeled his own spiritual energy through certain hidden pathways, and opened the door. Since the chamber blocked out Lex's spirit sense he did not know what to expect behind it.

That was why, he was finally surprised when he discovered the chamber actually contained a small replica of the city up above.

But half a second later, Lex realized it wasn't necessarily just a replica. Small figures moved through the roads and streets, going about their day, living their daily lives. Thousands of fairies were living there, though they seemed pale and had withered bodies.

When the sound of the opening chamber door reached them, the entire city seemed to freeze, and the fairies looked out at Lex with eyes full of fear and wariness. They were on guard and ready to fight. Were they… also slaves?

One fairy, dressed in battle armor and carrying a remarkable lance, flew up into the air and addressed Lex.

"What do you want, human? We have been keeping our part of the bargain. Do not think you can pressure us into gaining any more than you already have."

Though he had been able to easily discern everything else in this place so far, the sight before him truly had Lex stumped. Were the humans up above keeping the fairies trapped down here?

"I… am not sure what you mean," Lex explained. "I have no relation to anyone you may have dealt with earlier. I am only here searching for something."

"There is nothing here for you, human. Leave!"

Lex felt an urge to scratch his head, but resisted. He could tell that whatever he was looking for was close, and the path led through this chamber. He wanted to avoid picking a fight with the fairies if possible.

"Look, I have to get through, but maybe we can work out some kind of deal. Is there something you guys want that I could help you with?"

"Something we want?" the fairy repeated, his voice trembling with rage. "How about not being enslaved and used as livestock? You have been using us fairies for too long to enjoy benefits you don't deserve! Do not think we will tolerate any more indignity! We will gladly choose death if it comes down to it."

Lex could not help but purse his lips. Pel had told him already that fairies had been cursed to be overlooked and enslaved. Although he had encountered countless fairies before, he never really noticed. Now though, he found it hard to ignore their condition.

A part of him did not blame the humans, since the fairies were suffering from some kind of racial curse. But at the same time, humans could enslave even their own, so he doubted they needed much more of an incentive to enslave others.

Lex spread out his aura, both his Domination and that of his crown, to freeze the fairy on the verge of fighting him.

"I am not from the humans who have enslaved you," he said, his voice reverberating through the chamber. "But maybe I can help you, if you tell me your circumstances. But regardless of what you choose, I need to get through here. Although I feel bad for your condition, that does not mean I will put aside my own quest because of it."

Domination held the fairies in place, and prevented them from acting rashly, but his golden aura did not have the same reaction it did for humans. Instead of stunning and suppressing them, it caused the fairies to become bewildered. They stared at his golden crown with jaws hung open, and eyes that nearly popped out.

"It's the golden crown!" one of the fairies from the city yelled, and started cacophony consisting of similar yells! It seemed the fairies recognized his crown, and were incredibly excited to see it.

"Please forgive my actions, oh great savior!" the armored fairy said, as he put down his lance. "We have been waiting for you for a long time."

"Great savior?" Lex repeated, feeling like the fairies in front of him were slightly bipolar. But it didn't take a genius to figure out that they were reacting to his golden aura.

"Indeed! You wear the golden crown of the great savior! When our ancestors bound us to this domain, embedding the scripts within our bodies that would be used to regulate the energies of this place, they also left room for salvation! The golden crown, which was the only way to unlock the greatest secrets of this domain, would forever be out of reach of those who imprisoned us!

"Only someone who could break through the chains of this domain could receive the highest of accolades that this sealed domain offers! For generations, we have been saving and storing the energy to give birth to the golden crown, so all that remained was someone who could fulfill its requirements! And now, finally, you have arrived!

"Great savior, we besiege you! Head to the heart of the domain, and unlock its final secret! The reward will be yours, and we will finally have a way to break free of our bonds! We have made sure to stay out of sight of the humans for generations! It is unlikely that the new ones even know of us, which will allow us to finally be free of this imprisonment."

Lex understood the gist of what was happening. Generations ago, the fairies were forced to make some changes to the domain by the humans who inhabited, or perhaps wished to inhabit it.

Back then they had no choice but to comply, but they left loopholes for themselves. Not only did they seal the greatest reward this domain had to offer, they left a way out for themselves. Although it was very risky for them to wait for someone else to break into the domain. If Lex hadn't shown up, then who knows how long they would have continued to wait here. Judging by their weakened, withered state, who knew how they'd even be able to survive.

"I don't mind helping you out, but first, can you let me through here? I really need to get through."

"Great savior, it's not that we wish to restrict you. It's just that in the last chamber, our current leader is imprisoned by the torrents of the domain's energy. If you open the door before gaining the secret of the domain, then the leader will die prematurely and one of us will have to replace him. We beseech you, oh great savior! We will help you with anything you need! But please, help free us from this prison that has held us captive for generations."

Lex pursed his lips. It was not ideal to leave the resin once he was so close, but making a small detour wouldn't hurt.

"Tell me where the secret is. I'm in a hurry."