Title:You can learn a lot of things from the flowers, For especially in the month of June Source:here, starting at 1:27 thru 18:10. (Sorry for the player’s commentary) Date taken: I honestly don't know, she took it before one of my drops.
Contents Summary: You and a floating girl (who seems to refer to herself in the third person as “Paimon” are first discussing how an adepti relic ended up belonging to someone by the name of “Childe.” She surmises that maybe the Fatui are hoping to be able to copy the Sigil of Permission (whatever that is, it’s clearly bad). It could be part of some larger scheme, so the two of you decide you’ll just have to keep a close eye on “Childe.”
Next the two of you head off to Dihua Marsh. Apparently you have some kind of outstanding date? You make your way to the designated spot and find yourself face-to-face with a man wearing a brown overcoat. You make some small talk (well, Paimon does mostly) about a place called the “Jade Chamber” and someone by the name of “Ningguang,” and a “Keqing” whom you apparently visited previously. Someone by the name Rex Lapis was recently murdered, but that’s barely touched upon before you spill the beans about your suspicions regarding “Childe” and the Sigil of Permission. He cautions you to be on your guard and be careful dealing with the Fatui.
Eventually you move onto the actual point of your meeting: gathering Glaze Lilies for the Rite of Passage. They’re not just any old lilies, though: only wild Glaze Lilies will do for their superior fragrance. However, you’re needed because… you have to sing to the flowers before picking them. Although you purport to be a masterful singer, when the time comes to show off—your singing so displeases the flowers that sleeping monsters spawn and attack you. Although the remains from the monsters, once disposed of, possess great medicinal value—they’re unfortunately absolutely useless for your purposes.
Just when all hope seems lost, a girl with blue hair and horns shows up. After informing her that she neglected to tell you how to get to the Jade Chamber, you find out that she was so disturbed by the passing of Rex Lapis that she had to come out to the wilderness to take a stroll to get her mind off things. You get a bit of a history lesson and are told that of the original Seven, only Barbatos remains with Rex Lapis now gone (and via context clues, you can gather that Barbatos, Rex Lapis, and the rest of the Seven are all gods—and Ganyu herself is a half-god of sorts).
In the end, she gives you a wild Glaze Lily she sang to and picked herself before departing to continue her work, and Zhongli announces that this task is completed—which conveniently wraps up most of your preparations for the Rite of Parting. Although Paimon comments that Zhongli seems well suited to pursue a career in agriculture, he expresses disinterest: he’s already been worn down by other endeavors in the past. It’s a little puzzling how worldly and jaded he seems, but it’s time to return to Liyue Harbor to finish things up, no time to dwell on those things too long for now.
Title: The Easiest Payout of All Source:here Date Taken: 504
You’re on top of the deck of a large building overlooking a scenic view of tall mountains and a wide lake. (By the hustle and bustle and the variety of the clothing of the people around, as well as the woman behind the desk, you can tell this is the Wangshu Inn.) There’s a man at the end of the deck sighing to himself.
He says he doesn’t want to talk about his problems—but then promptly spills his guts to you. Business is booming, but there’s lots of monsters around. In order to protect his guests he has to spend a lot of time trying to hunt them all down, all alone. He offers to pay you handsomely for your help if you agree to help hunt them down. Although you initially try to softly reject the request, you do end up taking the job on—he’s taking on one set of monsters while you handle yet another.
You take off, using the fastest route—your windglider, which you use to float across the open waters and wilderness until you find yourself at Dihua Marsh. As you drift lower, first the tell-tale archer’s platforms come into view, followed by the stone disk and cooking bowl and crude fencing that accompanies such places. However, as your drift even lower and finally spot your would-be foes….
“Eh? The monsters here have all been beaten up!” The prone bodies of chilihurls lie strewn and unmoving across the ground. You investigate the bodies, but there are no clues to be found. Your floating companion surmises that it might have been another adventurer. Since the deed has already been done, she suggests that you go ahead and go back to Huai’an to collect the promised reward.
You, however, are still curious, and you have… a certain hunch. You continue to look around, climbing over rocks and hills, and finally use a nearby anemo device to release a huge gust of wind to launch you up high. From there, you continue to search the nearby marshland until finally you find another encampment, also full of defeated monsters… but also boy with teal hair standing amongst them.
You drop down to speak to him. Here you can see that one of his arms is covered in light green tattoos, his eyes are bright and golden, and he is—short. About as tall as you, short.
“… Oh, it’s you.” His face almost expressionless, his crossed arms almost giving him an air of… is it disapproval? Or maybe he’s just that serious. You ask him what he’s doing here, and he explains that he happened upon those monsters and decided to defeat them. “This area’s not safe, so…”
“I’ll be careful,” you promise.
“Right. I have other matters to attend to. See you.”
With that, he’s gone, disappearing through some magic that you don’t have, leaving you behind standing amidst that silent village.
Title: A Weirdo in Time Saves Nine Source:Start, End Date Taken: 504
There’s a blond woman in front of you with her hair pulled back into a ponytail wearing a cape and pants. She asks you if you know why you’re special. You shake your head no. In spite of this, she says that the Knights of Favonius have another favor to ask of you.
She presses a hand to her chest. “Please accept the title of Honorary Knight… and the gratitude of the Acting Grand Master.” She wants your help in finding out more information about Stormterror’s rage and strange crystals (her words, not yours). If you find anything, she wants you to report back to her.
You head back outside to the cobbled steets of Mondstadt. It’s a perfectly sunny day outside and the city is bustling. You head over to a decorative hedge, where your floating companion accuses you of not having told the whole truth.
“I’d like to investigate it on my own, first,” you explain. (You cannot remember what it is she’s referring to, but—there was something.)
“So you do remember him, that green guy. He looked like that guy, down there!” She points over the wall and down to the plaza. Just past the splashing fountain in the middle, there’s a guy dressed in green (from his cap to his cape to his little pumpkin shorts) dashing off somewhere.
“The exact shade of green, what a coincidence,” you mutter, voice dripping with sarcasm. It still takes your companion another ten or fifteen seconds to realize that it’s the same guy.
You two take off in the same direction you saw him go, but he was fast. You end up having to cast your elemental sight repeatedly to track him down, following his small green footsteps up a series of stairs toward a large cathedral. You find him playing a lyre in front of a large statue of a robed figure, surrounded by avidly listening townspeople.
His song is one about a dragon, born long ago when archons still walked among the folk, and his quest for knowledge. He befriended a bard who taught him a great deal with his songs, and for a time they lived happily. However all good things come to an end, and a vile dragon came to threaten the land. The bard called to his dragon friend, singing to him of the peril the people were in, and dragon came to protect them. A deadly battle ensued, and the brave dragon was poisoned by “blood of venom,” sending the dragon into a deep slumber. When he awoke again, the people were afraid of and him, and the dragon didn’t understand why. But there was no Holy Lyre to explain to him anymore nor soothe his pain, and bitterness began to fester within the dragon, the curse expanding silently.
His performance finishes and the crowd disperses, but you two remain behind. He recognizes you both. “You’re the ones that scared Dvalin away.”
His name is Venti and he claims to both be but a humble bard and also apparently close to Dvalin—the dragon also known as Stormterror. Or perhaps not so humble—“Three-time winner of the “Most Popular Bard of Mondstadt, to be precise,” he boasts. He tries to play dumb about it all, so you produce something from your pocket—a tear, glowing a bright teal light. You’re all shocked to see the state that it’s in—it was full of impurities before. He produces another tear, almost identical, just red—and explains that Dvalin has been crying these tears in his anguish.
“Can you purify it?”
You reach out and accept the tear. You use your powers to make the tiny, crystal tear float, and in short order the crimson gem purges soft and green. You catch it as it falls into the palm of your hand.
Both your companion and Venti are impressed.
“You… really do have some wonderful abilities… Someone like you is going to end up getting written into a bard’s poem. ‘Oh, a hero so bright, should she stand in the light. Though stand in the shade, and you’ll be met by a blade,’” he recites off the top of his tongue.
His brief moment of glib poetry fades into an expression of deep concern. “Alas… I’ve really not the time to compose a melody for you at this moment. Anyway, even if Dvalin is not taken down, his life will still wither away in the breeze… He’ll burn himself out in the flames of anger.”
You ask if there’s anything you can do to help, to which he replies that you’ve helped him already by purifying the teardrop. However, he’s already devised his own plan… one that he refuses to divulge, other than to say you’ve reminded him “of a friend of so dear.” With a mischevious giggle he sets off, running to “the symbol of Mondstadt’s hero,” whatever that means.
Your companion wants to know what you think.
“This ‘weirdo’ as you put it—we need to keep an eye on him.”
Title: The Life of A Traveling (Toy) Salesman Source: Start: here, End: here Date Taken: 504
You’re inside a stately building—red tiles and pillars and vases with plants decorate the room. You exit the doors and return to the wooden walkways of Liyue.
“Looks like we’ll be looking out for —‘s brother,” your companion says. The boy in question is a slight child, maybe ten years old, with bright blue eyes, more freckles than stars, and unruly hair wearing a fur trimmed hat. It seems that today’s mission involves babysitting. Your first idea for where to take him? Obviously the toy store.
Granny Shan is out at her cart even in the deep evening hours, selling her wares. Teucer has never seen a kite before. They’re quite popular with the children in Liyue, but Teucer—who’s apparently from Snezhnaya. Although a little shy, Teucer shows curiosity and asks how kites are played with. Although he’s impressed that they rely on wind power to ride high in the sky, what he really wants to know is whether any of them look like a “Mr. Cyclops.”
The elderly toy maker is just as confused as you are. Still, Teucer insists he wants a kite of Mr. Cyclops to fly high so all the kids can meet him. She does say she can do custom builds, but that she would need some reference material. Luckily Teucer apparently comes prepared, always—he has a picture of Mr. Cyclops that he drew himself and carries with himself everywhere. She says she can do it, but warns that a custom job can be quite expensive.
Teucer seems taken aback, but your floating companion isn’t worried. “Ah, we should be fine, — was pretty generous with that entertainment fund…” From the corners of his eyes, Teucer looks at you pleadingly. “Um… But then again, throwing money around willy-nilly is, y’know, kinda irresponsible…”
You can see exactly what your companion is trying to get at here, and you don’t hesitate to call her out on it. Hands on your hips, you ask, “You think we should pocket the change?”
“Well, um, so… Yes, technically speaking, these funds are earmarked for Teucer’s entertainment… But if there’s any left over when we’re done….” Unbelievable. “Either way,” the little pixy insists, “it’s time to talk prices!”
You haggle with Granny Shan, thinking the money might be needed later, and reluctantly the old woman agrees, not willing to spend the energy arguing. She advises you that she’ll complete the order, and for now, to just be on your way.
For your next stop, you take Teucer to Wanmin Restaurant. When you arrive at the outdoor stall restaurant, Teucer is immediately uncertain of the choking smell. When he’s informed that it comes from their signature chili, Tuecer becomes even more tentative: he can’t eat spicy food. He insists he needs his meals to have lots and lots of sugar and the oil has to be extra virgin vegetable oil.
You’re prepared to try taking your young charge somewhere else to eat, but Chef Mao insists that he can handle the custom order. “Giving the people what they want is the very reason Wanmin Restaurant exists.” He insists that he’ll stake his pride and life as a chef on making a suitable meal for Teucer. However, it’s going to cost you more than normal—so yet again the money bag you were given for barter with gets dug into in order to cover the costs. In the end the meal is too sweet for your fairy friend’s tastes, but Teucer says it’s just right—exactly like his sister Tonia makes.
Next up you all take Teucer to the wharf at his request. He says he was so caught up looking for his brother when he first arrived that he didn’t get a good look around. You head on down and Teucer is suitably impressed: the wharf is quite large and busy with people shopping for fresh seafood. Even the sea itself is different than what Teucer is used to. Your companion launches into a… rather unique spiel about the harbor, but Teucer gets distracted and runs off in the middle of her explanation to check out a gigantic anchor.
Teucer has never seen an anchor before and doesn’t know what it is; he says it looks like a “Commodor Hook.” This is apparently another one of his toys, and he claims it’s as giant and metal as the anchor in front of you. He says every year his brother sends them home another toy and they’re all big and have to stay in his backyard due to their size. Your companion seems shocked that his brother can use — funds for his personal gain. But now at least it’s clear as to why he would mistake a ruin guard for a toy. “Even though I mostly came here to see my brother, the other big thing I wanted to do was play with Mr. Cyclops,” Teucer proclaims.
He immediately runs off to check out the stalls selling fish and is disappointed to find the fish to be so small. The fishmonger gets pretty heated about it, but Teucer insists that there are fish where he comes from that are two hundred times as big as the fish on sale there. His brother even went out to sea to catch one for him, and good to his word he came back several days later with an enormous fish for his family. It occurs to you that maybe his brother is spoiling him too much.
Teucer then darts off to check out the boats, but even though there are boats to see, once he gets there he becomes upset. He misses his brother—and even though it’s only been hours, he claims that because it was such a short time it doesn’t count. He insists he doesn’t want to play anymore, he just wants to go see his brother.
On one level, you know that’s just how children are. (On another, you can understand; it’s been so long since you’ve seen your brother, you’d give just about anything to see him again at this point.) You agree to take him to see his brother who’s out at a river near Qingxu Pool much to Teucer’s delight.
You take Teucer by waypoint out into the fields and then glide down and keep heading onward to the location in question until you can finally see a group of people ahead of you. It’s—Childe, and a group of treasure hoarders! It’s clear they’re about to throw down, however—
“Brother!” Teucer darts forward, interrupting. “You’re selling them toys, aren’t you, brother? That’s so cool! I’ve always wanted to watch you work!”
To your extreme surprise, Childe does in fact proclaim that he is “The greatest toy salesman in Snezhnaya!”
Teucer thinks that this is just the coolest, and the treasure hoarders…. Clearly have no idea what kind of game he’s up to.
Childe continues to speak in, uh, a sort of code, telling the treasure hoarders that they owe 600,000 mora for the “toys” that Snezhnaya produced for them three months ago. The treasure hunters bust up laughing, and Teucer is just thrilled that his brother is spreading so much joy and laughter to everyone. Childe at least seems to have recovered somewhat and doesn’t flinch, insisting on payment.
He continues to go back and forth with the group and tricks them into letting him “audition” to join their group by getting some treasure they’ve been having trouble getting at. He makes it look like a breeze—literally using air gusts and rings to help him reach the chest in less than a minute. At this point the treasure hunters start to suspect that there’s something up with their new recruit and break off to have a group huddle.
After the group huddle breaks, the group declines to admit the “toy seller,” because he’s “too big a fish for their little pond.” They do, however, promise to make the payment of 600,000 mora for the “toys.” Childe accepts, and it seems like it’s all in a day’s work and everything’s gone over smoothly….
…. When suddenly a new member of the Fatui arrives telling him there’s a “fresh batch of recruits” that they need him to speak to. Although Childe attempts to reject the request, they’re already waiting for him south of Lingju Pass. According to him, “Every new batch of recruits must be baptized by the Tsaritsa’s will through the words of her Harbingers. This has always been our rule.” Childe’s the only one in the area present who can do the work, so it’s up to him to get it done.
Teucer is disappointed to hear that his brother has to keep working (teaching new “toysellers” the ropes…), but that quickly changes to enthusiasm to watch his brother work. He wants to follow in his brother’s footsteps and become a toy seller when he becomes older too. Childe tries to say that it’ll be boring and to encourage Teucer to go play with you instead, and Teucer tries to argue his case, but Childe insists that he has to go.
You’re less than impressed that Childe is dumping his little brother on you, but there’s not much for it, since covering it all up is tricky business. Still, you and your floating friend commiserate on just how strange it is to see him trying to hide “his dark side” from Teucer, and you have to wonder just how much longer he’s going to be able to continue to hide it. The two of you agree to help him keep his secret while Teucer is in Liyue—
And then you realize that in the time you two have been having your brief aside, Teucer has run off again.
Figuring he’s snuck off to go watch his brother, the two of you hurry to catch up. The quickest path is not a very safe one, and it’s disturbing to think that such a young child was out there alone, but when you arrive Teucer is safe and sound and ready for you to be quiet so he can listen to his brother’s speech.
There’s a small company of grunts standing at attention listening to him as he describes how they’ll stop at nothing to achieve the Tsaritsa’s goals and that they must sweep through the land like the icy wind. He gets all the way to describing their enemies when finally he notices… you lot. Teucer’s only jumping up and down and waving his arms for attention.
You can practically see him deflate.
He switches gears instantly, though, starting to prattle on about kites and rattle drums and becoming the foes of Mr. Cyclops in the marketplaces of Liyue. The recruits are… clearly, understandably, confused. Childe tries to save it by claiming that the marketplace is just an analogy for the battlefield, but not only does the messaging just end up getting more muddled but Teucer is shocked that they might be dismissed from the “Institute of Toys.”
He changes it up yet again, telling the recruits that he’s going to initiate them with a sparring match. The “new hires” are thrilled if uncertain of their worthiness to take on a Harbinger—and sure enough, they get soundly trounced in battle with Teucer watching all the while. The ceremony concludes easily enough, and Childe rushes over, acting as though he never saw Teucer in the back.
“There I was thinking that the Traveler had taken you to play at Wangshu Inn, haha!”
Childe is many things, but a good liar… maybe not so much. At least not when his brother’s involved.
Title: A Gentleman and A Scholar Source:Start, End Date Taken: 504
You and Paimon come across a nun (wearing very, uhm, un-nun-like clothing)—who sharply accuses you of eavesdropping on her. She’s about to really lay into your friend until she recognizes who you are, at which point she drops her accusations. She wants to know why you’ve come to the mountains—indeed, you’re currently standing on a path underneath the shadow of an exceptionally tall, snowy peak. You explain that you’re looking for someone—“Albedo”—and the shady nun advises that she’s marked his tracks so you can follow them up.
You use your elemental trace ability to head up the mountains with Rosaria accompanying you; the trees quickly give way from fir to snow-ladden and scraggly birch. The cold is dangerously pervasive and often you have to stop and activate heat-granting pillars along the way up to prevent yourself from freezing up totally. (You would think that if any of you had been planning to make a trek this far up north one of you would have thought to have seen about getting some thick coats, but no.)
Finally, the three of you find a young man standing in front of an easel along the pathway. Fortunately this seems to be the person you’re seeking, based on Rosaria’s confirmation. Unfortunately, there’s three hilichurls between you and him in the road dancing around a lit fire. Instead of them attacking the artist at work, though, the lot turn on you; you make fairly fast work of them in spite of their shields and clubs made of stone and ice.
Afterwards, Albedo wants to know who you are and why you disturbed the hilichurls. He says that he’d only just finished his sketch work of the monsters. This seems confusing, and his explanation about the “unique attributes” of one of the particular hilichurls seems even stranger. Before he can really get into it, Rosaria decides she’s had enough and leaves you to your mission.
You explain to Albedo that you met a girl in Mondstadt who said he was up in the mountains doing research. From this he extrapolates your identity—and not only that, but posits (correctly) that you’re not just from outside of Mondstadt but from an entirely different world. He then asks if you wouldn’t mind assisting him in some of his research—a study on the essence of life. He demonstrates to you an ability to make a broken tree branch bloom into fresh life—before it disappears into twinkling, dwindling lights.
Despite the wonders that alchemy can produce, Albedo says that he has a particular “seed” in his possession, a method of which that “has produced no results.” This thing, whatever it is, also hails from another world, and he’d like to make it grow. And that, apparently, is where you come in. He believes that because he is constrained by only being able to comprehend the intricacies of the known world, by studying, he may finally learn what it is he needs to know to get the seed to sprout.
“So I’m an… object of research?” You conclude.
Paimon is Very Unsure about this, but in spite of her unsease you’re curious.
“What’s in it for me?”
“Mora, knowledge. And the answer to the question you are seeking. It happens to be an answer that I can provide. How does that sound?”
Paimon does a little wiggly happy dance in mid-air, and you also happen to find this to be an agreeable arrangement. With the proposal settled, the three of you set off, heading further up the mountains towards where Albedo has himself stationed for his research.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
.001
Source: here, starting at 1:27 thru 18:10. (Sorry for the player’s commentary)
Date taken: I honestly don't know, she took it before one of my drops.
Contents Summary:
You and a floating girl (who seems to refer to herself in the third person as “Paimon” are first discussing how an adepti relic ended up belonging to someone by the name of “Childe.” She surmises that maybe the Fatui are hoping to be able to copy the Sigil of Permission (whatever that is, it’s clearly bad). It could be part of some larger scheme, so the two of you decide you’ll just have to keep a close eye on “Childe.”
Next the two of you head off to Dihua Marsh. Apparently you have some kind of outstanding date? You make your way to the designated spot and find yourself face-to-face with a man wearing a brown overcoat. You make some small talk (well, Paimon does mostly) about a place called the “Jade Chamber” and someone by the name of “Ningguang,” and a “Keqing” whom you apparently visited previously. Someone by the name Rex Lapis was recently murdered, but that’s barely touched upon before you spill the beans about your suspicions regarding “Childe” and the Sigil of Permission. He cautions you to be on your guard and be careful dealing with the Fatui.
Eventually you move onto the actual point of your meeting: gathering Glaze Lilies for the Rite of Passage. They’re not just any old lilies, though: only wild Glaze Lilies will do for their superior fragrance. However, you’re needed because… you have to sing to the flowers before picking them. Although you purport to be a masterful singer, when the time comes to show off—your singing so displeases the flowers that sleeping monsters spawn and attack you. Although the remains from the monsters, once disposed of, possess great medicinal value—they’re unfortunately absolutely useless for your purposes.
Just when all hope seems lost, a girl with blue hair and horns shows up. After informing her that she neglected to tell you how to get to the Jade Chamber, you find out that she was so disturbed by the passing of Rex Lapis that she had to come out to the wilderness to take a stroll to get her mind off things. You get a bit of a history lesson and are told that of the original Seven, only Barbatos remains with Rex Lapis now gone (and via context clues, you can gather that Barbatos, Rex Lapis, and the rest of the Seven are all gods—and Ganyu herself is a half-god of sorts).
In the end, she gives you a wild Glaze Lily she sang to and picked herself before departing to continue her work, and Zhongli announces that this task is completed—which conveniently wraps up most of your preparations for the Rite of Parting. Although Paimon comments that Zhongli seems well suited to pursue a career in agriculture, he expresses disinterest: he’s already been worn down by other endeavors in the past. It’s a little puzzling how worldly and jaded he seems, but it’s time to return to Liyue Harbor to finish things up, no time to dwell on those things too long for now.
.002
Source: here
Date Taken: 504
You’re on top of the deck of a large building overlooking a scenic view of tall mountains and a wide lake. (By the hustle and bustle and the variety of the clothing of the people around, as well as the woman behind the desk, you can tell this is the Wangshu Inn.) There’s a man at the end of the deck sighing to himself.
He says he doesn’t want to talk about his problems—but then promptly spills his guts to you. Business is booming, but there’s lots of monsters around. In order to protect his guests he has to spend a lot of time trying to hunt them all down, all alone. He offers to pay you handsomely for your help if you agree to help hunt them down. Although you initially try to softly reject the request, you do end up taking the job on—he’s taking on one set of monsters while you handle yet another.
You take off, using the fastest route—your windglider, which you use to float across the open waters and wilderness until you find yourself at Dihua Marsh. As you drift lower, first the tell-tale archer’s platforms come into view, followed by the stone disk and cooking bowl and crude fencing that accompanies such places. However, as your drift even lower and finally spot your would-be foes….
“Eh? The monsters here have all been beaten up!” The prone bodies of chilihurls lie strewn and unmoving across the ground. You investigate the bodies, but there are no clues to be found. Your floating companion surmises that it might have been another adventurer. Since the deed has already been done, she suggests that you go ahead and go back to Huai’an to collect the promised reward.
You, however, are still curious, and you have… a certain hunch. You continue to look around, climbing over rocks and hills, and finally use a nearby anemo device to release a huge gust of wind to launch you up high. From there, you continue to search the nearby marshland until finally you find another encampment, also full of defeated monsters… but also boy with teal hair standing amongst them.
You drop down to speak to him. Here you can see that one of his arms is covered in light green tattoos, his eyes are bright and golden, and he is—short. About as tall as you, short.
“… Oh, it’s you.” His face almost expressionless, his crossed arms almost giving him an air of… is it disapproval? Or maybe he’s just that serious. You ask him what he’s doing here, and he explains that he happened upon those monsters and decided to defeat them. “This area’s not safe, so…”
“I’ll be careful,” you promise.
“Right. I have other matters to attend to. See you.”
With that, he’s gone, disappearing through some magic that you don’t have, leaving you behind standing amidst that silent village.
.003
Source: Start, End
Date Taken: 504
There’s a blond woman in front of you with her hair pulled back into a ponytail wearing a cape and pants. She asks you if you know why you’re special. You shake your head no. In spite of this, she says that the Knights of Favonius have another favor to ask of you.
She presses a hand to her chest. “Please accept the title of Honorary Knight… and the gratitude of the Acting Grand Master.” She wants your help in finding out more information about Stormterror’s rage and strange crystals (her words, not yours). If you find anything, she wants you to report back to her.
You head back outside to the cobbled steets of Mondstadt. It’s a perfectly sunny day outside and the city is bustling. You head over to a decorative hedge, where your floating companion accuses you of not having told the whole truth.
“I’d like to investigate it on my own, first,” you explain. (You cannot remember what it is she’s referring to, but—there was something.)
“So you do remember him, that green guy. He looked like that guy, down there!” She points over the wall and down to the plaza. Just past the splashing fountain in the middle, there’s a guy dressed in green (from his cap to his cape to his little pumpkin shorts) dashing off somewhere.
“The exact shade of green, what a coincidence,” you mutter, voice dripping with sarcasm. It still takes your companion another ten or fifteen seconds to realize that it’s the same guy.
You two take off in the same direction you saw him go, but he was fast. You end up having to cast your elemental sight repeatedly to track him down, following his small green footsteps up a series of stairs toward a large cathedral. You find him playing a lyre in front of a large statue of a robed figure, surrounded by avidly listening townspeople.
His song is one about a dragon, born long ago when archons still walked among the folk, and his quest for knowledge. He befriended a bard who taught him a great deal with his songs, and for a time they lived happily. However all good things come to an end, and a vile dragon came to threaten the land. The bard called to his dragon friend, singing to him of the peril the people were in, and dragon came to protect them. A deadly battle ensued, and the brave dragon was poisoned by “blood of venom,” sending the dragon into a deep slumber. When he awoke again, the people were afraid of and him, and the dragon didn’t understand why. But there was no Holy Lyre to explain to him anymore nor soothe his pain, and bitterness began to fester within the dragon, the curse expanding silently.
His performance finishes and the crowd disperses, but you two remain behind. He recognizes you both. “You’re the ones that scared Dvalin away.”
His name is Venti and he claims to both be but a humble bard and also apparently close to Dvalin—the dragon also known as Stormterror. Or perhaps not so humble—“Three-time winner of the “Most Popular Bard of Mondstadt, to be precise,” he boasts.
He tries to play dumb about it all, so you produce something from your pocket—a tear, glowing a bright teal light. You’re all shocked to see the state that it’s in—it was full of impurities before. He produces another tear, almost identical, just red—and explains that Dvalin has been crying these tears in his anguish.
“Can you purify it?”
You reach out and accept the tear. You use your powers to make the tiny, crystal tear float, and in short order the crimson gem purges soft and green. You catch it as it falls into the palm of your hand.
Both your companion and Venti are impressed.
“You… really do have some wonderful abilities… Someone like you is going to end up getting written into a bard’s poem. ‘Oh, a hero so bright, should she stand in the light. Though stand in the shade, and you’ll be met by a blade,’” he recites off the top of his tongue.
His brief moment of glib poetry fades into an expression of deep concern. “Alas… I’ve really not the time to compose a melody for you at this moment. Anyway, even if Dvalin is not taken down, his life will still wither away in the breeze… He’ll burn himself out in the flames of anger.”
You ask if there’s anything you can do to help, to which he replies that you’ve helped him already by purifying the teardrop. However, he’s already devised his own plan… one that he refuses to divulge, other than to say you’ve reminded him “of a friend of so dear.” With a mischevious giggle he sets off, running to “the symbol of Mondstadt’s hero,” whatever that means.
Your companion wants to know what you think.
“This ‘weirdo’ as you put it—we need to keep an eye on him.”
.004
Source: Start: here, End: here
Date Taken: 504
You’re inside a stately building—red tiles and pillars and vases with plants decorate the room. You exit the doors and return to the wooden walkways of Liyue.
“Looks like we’ll be looking out for —‘s brother,” your companion says. The boy in question is a slight child, maybe ten years old, with bright blue eyes, more freckles than stars, and unruly hair wearing a fur trimmed hat. It seems that today’s mission involves babysitting. Your first idea for where to take him? Obviously the toy store.
Granny Shan is out at her cart even in the deep evening hours, selling her wares. Teucer has never seen a kite before. They’re quite popular with the children in Liyue, but Teucer—who’s apparently from Snezhnaya. Although a little shy, Teucer shows curiosity and asks how kites are played with. Although he’s impressed that they rely on wind power to ride high in the sky, what he really wants to know is whether any of them look like a “Mr. Cyclops.”
The elderly toy maker is just as confused as you are. Still, Teucer insists he wants a kite of Mr. Cyclops to fly high so all the kids can meet him. She does say she can do custom builds, but that she would need some reference material. Luckily Teucer apparently comes prepared, always—he has a picture of Mr. Cyclops that he drew himself and carries with himself everywhere. She says she can do it, but warns that a custom job can be quite expensive.
Teucer seems taken aback, but your floating companion isn’t worried. “Ah, we should be fine, — was pretty generous with that entertainment fund…” From the corners of his eyes, Teucer looks at you pleadingly. “Um… But then again, throwing money around willy-nilly is, y’know, kinda irresponsible…”
You can see exactly what your companion is trying to get at here, and you don’t hesitate to call her out on it. Hands on your hips, you ask, “You think we should pocket the change?”
“Well, um, so… Yes, technically speaking, these funds are earmarked for Teucer’s entertainment… But if there’s any left over when we’re done….” Unbelievable. “Either way,” the little pixy insists, “it’s time to talk prices!”
You haggle with Granny Shan, thinking the money might be needed later, and reluctantly the old woman agrees, not willing to spend the energy arguing. She advises you that she’ll complete the order, and for now, to just be on your way.
For your next stop, you take Teucer to Wanmin Restaurant. When you arrive at the outdoor stall restaurant, Teucer is immediately uncertain of the choking smell. When he’s informed that it comes from their signature chili, Tuecer becomes even more tentative: he can’t eat spicy food. He insists he needs his meals to have lots and lots of sugar and the oil has to be extra virgin vegetable oil.
You’re prepared to try taking your young charge somewhere else to eat, but Chef Mao insists that he can handle the custom order. “Giving the people what they want is the very reason Wanmin Restaurant exists.” He insists that he’ll stake his pride and life as a chef on making a suitable meal for Teucer. However, it’s going to cost you more than normal—so yet again the money bag you were given for barter with gets dug into in order to cover the costs. In the end the meal is too sweet for your fairy friend’s tastes, but Teucer says it’s just right—exactly like his sister Tonia makes.
Next up you all take Teucer to the wharf at his request. He says he was so caught up looking for his brother when he first arrived that he didn’t get a good look around. You head on down and Teucer is suitably impressed: the wharf is quite large and busy with people shopping for fresh seafood. Even the sea itself is different than what Teucer is used to. Your companion launches into a… rather unique spiel about the harbor, but Teucer gets distracted and runs off in the middle of her explanation to check out a gigantic anchor.
Teucer has never seen an anchor before and doesn’t know what it is; he says it looks like a “Commodor Hook.” This is apparently another one of his toys, and he claims it’s as giant and metal as the anchor in front of you. He says every year his brother sends them home another toy and they’re all big and have to stay in his backyard due to their size. Your companion seems shocked that his brother can use — funds for his personal gain. But now at least it’s clear as to why he would mistake a ruin guard for a toy.
“Even though I mostly came here to see my brother, the other big thing I wanted to do was play with Mr. Cyclops,” Teucer proclaims.
He immediately runs off to check out the stalls selling fish and is disappointed to find the fish to be so small. The fishmonger gets pretty heated about it, but Teucer insists that there are fish where he comes from that are two hundred times as big as the fish on sale there. His brother even went out to sea to catch one for him, and good to his word he came back several days later with an enormous fish for his family.
It occurs to you that maybe his brother is spoiling him too much.
Teucer then darts off to check out the boats, but even though there are boats to see, once he gets there he becomes upset. He misses his brother—and even though it’s only been hours, he claims that because it was such a short time it doesn’t count. He insists he doesn’t want to play anymore, he just wants to go see his brother.
On one level, you know that’s just how children are. (On another, you can understand; it’s been so long since you’ve seen your brother, you’d give just about anything to see him again at this point.) You agree to take him to see his brother who’s out at a river near Qingxu Pool much to Teucer’s delight.
You take Teucer by waypoint out into the fields and then glide down and keep heading onward to the location in question until you can finally see a group of people ahead of you. It’s—Childe, and a group of treasure hoarders! It’s clear they’re about to throw down, however—
“Brother!” Teucer darts forward, interrupting. “You’re selling them toys, aren’t you, brother? That’s so cool! I’ve always wanted to watch you work!”
To your extreme surprise, Childe does in fact proclaim that he is “The greatest toy salesman in Snezhnaya!”
Teucer thinks that this is just the coolest, and the treasure hoarders…. Clearly have no idea what kind of game he’s up to.
Childe continues to speak in, uh, a sort of code, telling the treasure hoarders that they owe 600,000 mora for the “toys” that Snezhnaya produced for them three months ago. The treasure hunters bust up laughing, and Teucer is just thrilled that his brother is spreading so much joy and laughter to everyone. Childe at least seems to have recovered somewhat and doesn’t flinch, insisting on payment.
He continues to go back and forth with the group and tricks them into letting him “audition” to join their group by getting some treasure they’ve been having trouble getting at. He makes it look like a breeze—literally using air gusts and rings to help him reach the chest in less than a minute. At this point the treasure hunters start to suspect that there’s something up with their new recruit and break off to have a group huddle.
After the group huddle breaks, the group declines to admit the “toy seller,” because he’s “too big a fish for their little pond.” They do, however, promise to make the payment of 600,000 mora for the “toys.” Childe accepts, and it seems like it’s all in a day’s work and everything’s gone over smoothly….
…. When suddenly a new member of the Fatui arrives telling him there’s a “fresh batch of recruits” that they need him to speak to. Although Childe attempts to reject the request, they’re already waiting for him south of Lingju Pass. According to him, “Every new batch of recruits must be baptized by the Tsaritsa’s will through the words of her Harbingers. This has always been our rule.” Childe’s the only one in the area present who can do the work, so it’s up to him to get it done.
Teucer is disappointed to hear that his brother has to keep working (teaching new “toysellers” the ropes…), but that quickly changes to enthusiasm to watch his brother work. He wants to follow in his brother’s footsteps and become a toy seller when he becomes older too. Childe tries to say that it’ll be boring and to encourage Teucer to go play with you instead, and Teucer tries to argue his case, but Childe insists that he has to go.
You’re less than impressed that Childe is dumping his little brother on you, but there’s not much for it, since covering it all up is tricky business. Still, you and your floating friend commiserate on just how strange it is to see him trying to hide “his dark side” from Teucer, and you have to wonder just how much longer he’s going to be able to continue to hide it. The two of you agree to help him keep his secret while Teucer is in Liyue—
And then you realize that in the time you two have been having your brief aside, Teucer has run off again.
Figuring he’s snuck off to go watch his brother, the two of you hurry to catch up. The quickest path is not a very safe one, and it’s disturbing to think that such a young child was out there alone, but when you arrive Teucer is safe and sound and ready for you to be quiet so he can listen to his brother’s speech.
There’s a small company of grunts standing at attention listening to him as he describes how they’ll stop at nothing to achieve the Tsaritsa’s goals and that they must sweep through the land like the icy wind. He gets all the way to describing their enemies when finally he notices… you lot. Teucer’s only jumping up and down and waving his arms for attention.
You can practically see him deflate.
He switches gears instantly, though, starting to prattle on about kites and rattle drums and becoming the foes of Mr. Cyclops in the marketplaces of Liyue. The recruits are… clearly, understandably, confused. Childe tries to save it by claiming that the marketplace is just an analogy for the battlefield, but not only does the messaging just end up getting more muddled but Teucer is shocked that they might be dismissed from the “Institute of Toys.”
He changes it up yet again, telling the recruits that he’s going to initiate them with a sparring match. The “new hires” are thrilled if uncertain of their worthiness to take on a Harbinger—and sure enough, they get soundly trounced in battle with Teucer watching all the while. The ceremony concludes easily enough, and Childe rushes over, acting as though he never saw Teucer in the back.
“There I was thinking that the Traveler had taken you to play at Wangshu Inn, haha!”
Childe is many things, but a good liar… maybe not so much. At least not when his brother’s involved.
.005
Source: Start, End
Date Taken: 504
You and Paimon come across a nun (wearing very, uhm, un-nun-like clothing)—who sharply accuses you of eavesdropping on her. She’s about to really lay into your friend until she recognizes who you are, at which point she drops her accusations. She wants to know why you’ve come to the mountains—indeed, you’re currently standing on a path underneath the shadow of an exceptionally tall, snowy peak. You explain that you’re looking for someone—“Albedo”—and the shady nun advises that she’s marked his tracks so you can follow them up.
You use your elemental trace ability to head up the mountains with Rosaria accompanying you; the trees quickly give way from fir to snow-ladden and scraggly birch. The cold is dangerously pervasive and often you have to stop and activate heat-granting pillars along the way up to prevent yourself from freezing up totally. (You would think that if any of you had been planning to make a trek this far up north one of you would have thought to have seen about getting some thick coats, but no.)
Finally, the three of you find a young man standing in front of an easel along the pathway. Fortunately this seems to be the person you’re seeking, based on Rosaria’s confirmation. Unfortunately, there’s three hilichurls between you and him in the road dancing around a lit fire. Instead of them attacking the artist at work, though, the lot turn on you; you make fairly fast work of them in spite of their shields and clubs made of stone and ice.
Afterwards, Albedo wants to know who you are and why you disturbed the hilichurls. He says that he’d only just finished his sketch work of the monsters. This seems confusing, and his explanation about the “unique attributes” of one of the particular hilichurls seems even stranger. Before he can really get into it, Rosaria decides she’s had enough and leaves you to your mission.
You explain to Albedo that you met a girl in Mondstadt who said he was up in the mountains doing research. From this he extrapolates your identity—and not only that, but posits (correctly) that you’re not just from outside of Mondstadt but from an entirely different world. He then asks if you wouldn’t mind assisting him in some of his research—a study on the essence of life. He demonstrates to you an ability to make a broken tree branch bloom into fresh life—before it disappears into twinkling, dwindling lights.
Despite the wonders that alchemy can produce, Albedo says that he has a particular “seed” in his possession, a method of which that “has produced no results.” This thing, whatever it is, also hails from another world, and he’d like to make it grow. And that, apparently, is where you come in. He believes that because he is constrained by only being able to comprehend the intricacies of the known world, by studying, he may finally learn what it is he needs to know to get the seed to sprout.
“So I’m an… object of research?” You conclude.
Paimon is Very Unsure about this, but in spite of her unsease you’re curious.
“What’s in it for me?”
“Mora, knowledge. And the answer to the question you are seeking. It happens to be an answer that I can provide. How does that sound?”
Paimon does a little wiggly happy dance in mid-air, and you also happen to find this to be an agreeable arrangement. With the proposal settled, the three of you set off, heading further up the mountains towards where Albedo has himself stationed for his research.