The Innkeeper

Chapter 2534: A talk V

Mary looked at the woman, her expression entirely unimpressed by her speech.

"Are you trying to intimidate me?" Mary asked with a genuine sense of curiosity in her voice. "If you truly know me, as you are clearly claiming to, you’ll know that such things don’t really work. You’re embarrassing yourself, really."

Contrary to expectations, Elizabeth actually smiled upon hearing that. Deep within her soul that had long been ravaged by fury, a flicker of amusement appeared.

"That is not what I meant," she said as she made an effort to smile while speaking. "It has been a while since I’ve needed to adhere to social etiquette. Please excuse me. What I meant to say was... I have heard many great things about you. Although you do not match the rumors, such a price seems palatable when the alternative would have been to die in the Nether."

Mary raised a single eyebrow, not acting relaxed or relieved now that the woman had changed her attitude. In a face to face conversation between Dao Lords, every action and every inaction had tremendous meaning. It was a game of chess on steroids where everything was measured and the true victor was often decided thousands or even tens of thousands of years after the interaction itself.

Although she claimed now that her intentions with her previous words were not to offend but to praise, who knew whether either of those were her true intentions? Considering the confidence with which she was behaving here, all without sending the Innkeeper a Letter of Intent, Mary doubted she was a simple Dao Lord.

"Yes, well, I’ve never been too fond of the idea of dying - it sounds quite boring. Whereas these days I’m having quite a lot of fun. Just a few weeks ago, the Innkeeper offered to help me restore my strength, but I’m not quite interested in how things used to be. So, you can call me Mary - I no longer go by that old name anymore.

"As for the Nether... I’ll keep that to myself. Who knows if excessive curiosity will lead you down my footsteps. That would be quite the shame. Not everyone has quite the same luck as me, so finding a way out is not always successful."

The young lady shook her head. Compared to Lex, who answered her questions straightforwardly and transparently, Mary was a lot more experienced. Then again, compared to Lex, she had a much better idea of who she was talking to.

The young lady continued to find amusement in Mary’s reaction. Elizaebth wouldn’t go as far as saying she was the strongest Dao Lord in the universe, or even close to the top five. But... her combat prowess could not be underestimated. She had mastered the art of murdering Dao Lords back when it was still a rare thing. The arrival of the Dream Arena had made it far too easy for most, but it had no impact on Elizabeth for wherever she stepped was where Dao Lords could die.

That reputation, followed by one of fear and apprehension, had followed her for so long that she nearly forgot what it was like not to be feared. She had heard that some Dao Lords who master their aura like to pretend to be ordinary and mundane folk, interacting with others for amusement purposes. She could see the charm.

"Alright then, Mary. Allow me to introduce myself. I am..."

Before she could speak, Mary cut her off.

"Impersonating a member of the Royal Goblin clan? I noticed. Before you get much further, answer a question for me. How much of my prior reputation are you aware of?"

Elizabeth allowed the interruption, and then entertained the question.

"I suppose there are few who haven’t heard of the Queen of Avalon, the Celestial Sword who personally led the campaign which made the Celestials famous in the Enlightenment Age, spreading the Celestial glory across many Major realms. It’s a shame that the Celestial court didn’t really approve of your movement for independence, and your knack for doing things your own way. If you hadn’t disappeared, or if they had followed your legacy, the Celestial race could be living in a different reality."

Mary shook her head. Her memories of the dynamics of the inner workings of the Celestial race were murky, but she knew that they had their reasons - whatever they were. She also knew exactly where she fell in their internal power rankings.

"Good. So you know that I am not someone who likes following convention or doing things the normal way. So before you introduce yourself to me, think very carefully about what you want, and what you’re willing to risk to get it."

All the things Mary left unsaid were just as important as the things she had said. The Innkeeper had the ability to restore her to her former strength, but she denied it. That meant there was a reason she was like this. That also meant that the Innkeeper was likely stronger than she had been.

The fact that she had given up her old name meant her affiliations were also no longer what they used to be. A new name, new identity and new faction influenced her decisions, and this young lady was sitting right in the middle of her faction!

The rule of following or not following convention also made it abundant that if Mary felt threatened or offended in any way, the consequences were not something that could be easily predicted.

The young lady smiled.

"I am Elizabeth, the Wrathful Queen of the Primals, and I too am not fond of following convention," she said without hesitation. "To answer your previous question, no, we do not know each other. In case you have forgotten this also, I was confined to the Primal realm by my father since the war ended. But just because I was confined does not mean I was starved of news.

"I began to follow news of your conquest after you slayed the twelve Ghost Kings of Meardow, which is why when you disappeared, I especially looked into it. The Celestials did a good job of hiding news of your descent into the Nether, but they could not keep it from me.

"I always wondered... what exactly drove you to drop everything and head into a land from where no one has ever... no wait, a land from which no one ever returned before you?"

The names and phrases Elizabeth mentioned caused more of Mary’s soul to ache. It was like the mention of them triggered memories, but when she sought them out, they were missing.