The Traveller and the Heron Chapter 5
Ritou 07:46 | Aether
"We just need to know where you source your goods," I asked Werner. It's been more or less ten minutes since me and Paimon have been haggling with this guy. Mr. Kurisu wasn't kidding when he gave us the info about him. "He may be difficult to deal with at first glance," he said. He was right.
"The sheer nerve! You don't go around asking questions like that! If I gave you my sources, I might as well hand you the whole darn business!" he says agitatedly, "Trade secret, got it? You know what "trade" and "secret" mean, right?"
I grit my teeth. "Can you just reduce your prices? That's all we really want here," I ask.
Werner just laughs. "Hah! Are you even buying!? Oh. I see what's going on here. Kurisu and his associates sent you here to try and plead their case, didn't they? Heh, they're wasting their time. The price is non-negotiable, not by a single Mora."
"Hey, what's your problem?!" Paimon asks angrily, "How can you be like that?!"
Werner waves us off dismissively. "Go on, get out of here. Tell them they're lucky to be buying from me or else they'd be in seriously hot water."
Feeling slightly irritated, turn and walk back to the town. Paimon follows and looks at me.
"What are we gonna do, Aether?" she asks "There's no talking to that guy…"
I take in the sight of the town in front of me and someone comes to mind.
"I think we should get the real fixer on this as soon as possible, let's go talk to Thoma"
Ritou 08:01 | Aether
It wasn't long until we found Thoma again. Talking with some of the guards stationed here on Ritou.
"Hey, Thoma," I called out to him. He turned around and saw me and Paimon approaching.
"That was quick, you resolved it already?" he asks. I looked down and scratched my head.
"Um~, actually we're having a bit of trouble…" Paimon says.
"Sorry Thoma, you're gonna have to help us help you, this guy is a real piece of work," I say sheepishly, reminded of who Werner spoke to us. Thoma just smiled.
"Oh? Well, by all means, tell me what you need," he says, "I'll help as much as I can, getting you to go fixing things when you've only just arrived is quite a demand."
I smile and chuckle a bit.
"Oh don't worry about it, if you were with us back in Mondstadt and Liyue, you'd understand," I say, "but what can you tell us about Werner?"
Thoma's face lights up in familiarity. "Oh, that guy? I'm familiar. He used to be a bit of a sorry sight, selling shells that he'd collect on the beach just to get by. But he seems to have suddenly shot up in the world recently. I can only assume he must have found a patron after leaving the International Trade Association"
"Huh? You're saying he used to be a member of the International Trade Association? So he's an outlander too?" Paimon asks.
"Why yes, couldn't you two tell when you spoke to him?" Thoma says. Now that I thought about it, his name and demeanour definitely seemed familiar.
"Seemed like a Mondstadter to me," I say. "At least, definitely didn't seem like a local, that's for sure."
Thoma nods. "That's right, Werner was born in Mondstadt, then went into the shipping business, trading between Liyue and Inazuma. When Inazuma closed to the outside world, he was one of the outlanders who ended up stranded on Ritou. The International Trade Association was initially very generous to him, but over time, with decree after decree, the association members found it increasingly difficult to make ends meet."
"So, he left the association…and turned their back on them…" I say, dumbfounded. With each passing moment, my sympathy for the outlanders on Ritou grew more and more. It wasn't just the vision hunt decree that affected the people of Inazuma as I thought before. There's a lot more at stake here with these decrees. I haven't seen oppression like this at all during my time here in this world.
"I'm sure it's more nuanced than that. I believe even the most ungrateful and cold-hearted of people still have some amount of gratitude and warmth left in them somewhere." Thoma goes on. His words resonated with me. Werner was from Mondstadt and made a business in Liyue. I was pretty much the same, and experiencing those two nations from the most perilous of times to the most beautiful of times, certainly leaves a mark. I bet he misses them an awful lot right now.
"I got it, thanks Thoma," I thanked him, "I think I'll go back and talk to him again."
"Really?" Paimon looks at me, "Is that all you need to know?"
I smile and nod, "Yep, I know exactly what we could do", I say with confidence.
"Well then, it sounds like you may have found a way in with him. I'll leave it to Aether. I'm leaving Ritou for a bit but I'll return soon."
"Where are you going?" I ask him.
"Konda Village, southeast of here. I'm meeting with… someone I know well to discuss some business-related things. Shouldn't take me long." he says to my curiosity.
"A fixer's job is never done I suppose," Paimon goes. Thoma laughs and rubs the back of his head "I guess you could say that," he says.
Konda Village 08:20 | Ayaka
Konda Village was still the sleepy township I had remembered it to be. Wheatfields, houses made of wood and straw, mossy stone walls. The quaintness of it all was so very refreshing for someone like myself and where I had come from. The Tenryou Commission was rarely active here aside from passing through to Ritou from the city, the influence of her excellency was few and far between here. Although Tenshukaku was more visible in the distance.
Upon entering the village I spot a familiar set of red clothing.
"Please keep watch outside the village, report back should anything come about," I order my guards, who immediately disperse to the outskirts. I walked up to Thoma. He was closer to the ground as he was speaking to Futaba and Takeru, two local kids from the village.
"I'd say Miss Kamisato is really cool, but it gets a little tiresome looking after her every need, she's very needy like that" I hear Thoma say. The sides of my mouth curl up as I hear this.
"Oh?" I say with a slightly fuming tone, "I'm needy, am I?" Thoma stands up extremely quickly and slowly turns around.
"M-Miss Kamisato! Glad you made it safely!" he says, clearly scared straight.
"Miss Kamisato!" Futaba and Takeru exclaim in unison as they leave Thoma and run up to me.
"What are you doing here of all places?" Takeru asks.
"Yeah, you don't come to the village often." Futaba follows. I bend down to speak to them.
"Just here to check on Tejima, you two, and of course to see how you two are doing of course, also please ignore Thoma and what he says, he obviously isn't very bright," I say as I look up at Thoma, who rolls his eyes. "Run along you two, we'll play sometime later," I say.
I look at Thoma. "Let us go meet Tejima for now, perhaps you can inform me of our honoured guest later," I say.
We had made our way over to Tejima's home in the village, one of the Inazumans who had lost their visions from the beginning of the Decree's reign. I had made it a priority to see these civilians. And that's when I had learned the true power of Visions and witnessed what happens when it is taken from the wielder.
Visions were more than a gift from the gods and the power to control the elements. They were our hopes, dreams, and ambitions. And to take away our Visions is to take away the pieces that made up who we really were.
"Tejima?", I say, as I knock on the door to his home, "Are you in?"
The door opened and a man with white hair tied in an unkempt bun walked out. Just one look at Tejima had given me a concerning feeling. It appears his condition was worsening just one the outset after losing his Vision.
"Yes? Oh, the Shirasagi Himegimi, I'm honoured to be in your presence once again." He says downtrodden.
"How are you feeling?" I ask.
Tejima looks up at the sky, pondering."To speak truthfully...I'm not sure, I feel fine in terms of my health and being. However… ever since my Vision was taken...it's as if a piece of me has been cut away. I feel as if my purpose is clouded, my convictions blurry and unrecognizable."
It had been as I suspected, his mental state was deteriorating, and more quickly than I had previously foreseen.
"I'm...sorry to hear that," I say.
"I wish to be left alone now...I need to think things over…, "Tejima says with a look of little hope on his face.
I bow as he closes the door on me and Thoma. We leave his doorstep and leave Tejima to his own devices. I could not help but feel hopeless at that moment, for we could do everything to make sure they were alive and well. There was no real cure to the effects of losing one's Vision. Does Her Excellency know this? Has she even seen the damage the Decree is causing? Those questions had overtaken me, but I couldn't waver now. Not when people were suffering.
"Thoma," I turned to him, "What of the Traveller? Do you believe he can help us?"
Thoma looked down at the ground beneath our feet and sighed, it gave me a sinking feeling.
"My lady...I'm afraid it's not so simple. The Traveller has come here for one purpose and one purpose alone. To meet the Raiden Shogun. It's possible he may not help us in our endeavours. Although I cannot rule out the possibility of his mind being swayed."
While it wasn't the best news I've heard today, it gave me an idea.
"You need not worry, I have a plan."
I apologize for the late entry, starting Med school soon so I've been a bit busy as of late. Should be able to write more now though! Thanks for reading + the support!
- Ariamath