The Innkeeper

"Of course it’s a good offer, little fella," Grimshaw said encouragingly, and then turned to look at Bob with an expression of ’I told you so’. "Yet something entirely unexpected happened when I made that offer to the Crystal alligator. He just up and rejected the offer - almost as if it was offensive somehow."

Grimshaw shook his head, wearing a bewildered expression, as if he could not fathom why such a thing had happened.

"Although the alligator refused to elaborate on why it refused my perfectly reasonable offer to accept it as my slave, I did not take it to heart. If it’s meant to be, it’ll be. Yet I didn’t feel right about just giving up, either. So I requested the Crystal alligator to make a bet with me. Since I made a request, he naturally obliged."

Tiny-Sparkles struggled to hold on to its rationality as he heard Grimshaw talk more and more. He was ashamed to admit, but he had a feeling that if Grimshaw made a request of him, Tiny-Sparkles would find it impossible to reject.

If this was not compulsion, he was not sure what would count as compulsion. Yet, due to how his horn had evolved, Tiny-Sparkles knew that Grimshaw was purposefully trying to sway them at all. It was just as if it was inconceivable not to do what the pretty boy wanted.

"Perchance, would you elaborate on your request?" Bob asked, speaking with Grimshaw as if they were having the most normal conversation ever.

In fact, the only other person who Bob came even slightly close to talking normally with was their captain, so to see the same level of respect granted was a big shocker for everyone. Then again, there was no doubt that Grimshaw, whoever or whatever he was, was far from ordinary as one can be.

"Of course. I asked him to compete in the stadium. If he wins, then I will reward him with the opportunity to become a servant rather than a slave. Naturally, he can still reject that proposal, it is completely up to him - I will not coerce him. If he loses, then he will have his freedom, and I will bury his corpse in a fine graveyard."

As he spoke, Grimshaw did not seem sadistic at all, nor did he seem like he was purposefully torturing the alligator, or putting it in a difficult situation. He seemed to genuinely believe that he was being a stand-up guy, which is what made his actions so much more terrifying. That fact that almost no one seemed to be able to resist him made it all that much worse.

Even the Jagged Stallion, who was supposed to be an agent working for the Artica race, seemed to act subserviently towards him, from what the group saw.

They looked towards the centre of the stadium, and what they saw was not pretty. The Crystal alligator was fighting off countless enemies, and his crystallisation seemed not as effective as it used to be. His own body was covered in numerous cracks, showing how much damage he had already taken. Clearly, the many advantages it had against mortals hadn’t fully translated yet now that he was an immortal. He probably didn’t even know the full capacity of his own abilities yet, and he was fighting for his life, literally.

Bob turned back and looked at Grimshaw, who was smiling politely, and spoke with a level tone.