Previously...
When Albedo awoke, the first rays of dawn peeked through the mouth of the campsite. The fire had been restoked through the night, now simmering at a low crackle as the flames licked hungrily at the remnants of a thick log.
Albedo shivered as a blanket fell from his shoulders, catching on the stool before crumpling to the floor; he had apparently fallen asleep at his workstation. Blearily, he rubbed the sleep from his eyes and the slight dampness of drool from his cheek, glancing over to the bedroll where the traveller and his companion had rested. He blinked at the empty space for a moment, puzzled.
Aether was gone.
Albedo was not sure if the traveller left of his own accord, but he had noticed that throughout the week or so that the traveller had stayed with him, Paimon had never left his side. Yet, here she was, curled in the scarf he had loaned her and snoring softly. He knelt next to the bedroll where the traveller had rested, looking for any clue for where he might have gone. The material was cold to the touch, no warmth left in it from where Aether had laid.
With a flick of his wrist, sparks of alchemy burst to life, reacting weakly with a trace of elemental energy. The reaction scattered a shimmer of frost over the worn blankets, the small crystals of ice faintly outlining footsteps leading to and away from the bedroll. Someone had been here. He watched pensively as the remnants of the Cryo energy melted, leaving no trace of its owner.
Shaking Paimon awake, he waited for her to blink blearily at him before asking if she had seen anything. The sprite jumped up in surprise, whipping around to see that Aether was properly gone.
"What?" she exclaimed, her voice taking a high(er) lilt of disbelief. "Did he just up and leave us? How rude!"
Albedo shook his head, a few strands of sandy hair coming loose from their braids. "No, I believe someone has taken him." He quickly explained the trace of elemental energy he found, although many of the beings that resided on the mountain harnessed cryo, so the clue did not narrow down their options on where the traveller might have gone. Albedo was a light sleeper, so whoever—or whatever—took him must have known how to move silently. If only he had not fallen asleep then this wouldn't have happened.
Brooding angrily at himself—because being angry was better than focusing on the foreign fluttering feeling of worry turning his stomach upside down at the thought of the blonde traveller—he began stuffing a satchel with supplies, readying himself to search the entire mountain if he had to. Paimon floated haphazardly around the campsite, looking under tables and books as though the traveller would magically appear from under them.
Annoyed, he turned to her. "Paimon, enough," he said curtly, snatching a book from her hands. The sketch he had tucked away fluttered out of its pages. He caught it deftly between his fingers, considering the smudged drawing for a quiet moment. Lodging it back in the thick pages, Albedo snapped the book shut with a resigned sigh. "If you want to make yourself useful, follow the path down the mountain and see if there's any sign of Aether. I'll go the opposite direction and do the same."
She nodded fiercely, disregarding his brief snip of annoyance and wrapping herself in the thick scarf once more. It was odd to see the sprite so serious. "You can count on Paimon!" She puffed out her chest, hands on her hips. One end of the scarf trailed unevenly behind her, her floating crown slightly askew, and a smear of the previous evening's dinner was smudged across her cheek. Aether would have laughed, and he found his mouth twitch up slightly at the thought of his shining smile.
"Let's go then, we don't have a moment to lose."
They discussed their plan quickly, agreeing to meet back at the campsite at sundown to report their findings. Albedo tossed a smooth brass ball to the floating girl, who fumbled with it momentarily. Curious, she inspected the device closely, turning it this way and that. He thumbed over the cool surface of his own device, taking a moment to contemplate how to explain the use of the flare simply. He had intended the colourful flares to be a birthday gift for Klee, however he supposed the current situation was more pressing.
After a moment, and some huffed pestering from the sprite, he explained that it was intended as a signalling device that released a bright cloud of smoke. He showed her how to trigger the flare's simple mechanism, and instructed her to alert him with it if an emergency occurred. Paimon appeared to be excited, although slightly confused, by the device, but she nodded in agreement at the plan. He also handed her a small bottle that he had corked and sealed with wax last night, which she frowned at. "Won't this knock him out again? Paimon can't exactly carry him back y'know."
"I didn't add the sedative this time," he explained. "It's not as strong, but it should ease some of the symptoms he was exhibiting earlier if the need should arise."
She shrugged, tossing both the flare and the bottle slightly up above her palm with a flick of her hand. Both objects disappeared from sight, leaving a shower of stars hanging in the space where they had been. Intrigued, Albedo was impressed by the pixie's ability to manipulate space so easily. He knew she was able to transition herself between pocket dimensions, but he was not aware that she was able to move objects into and from it. Although, he supposed from what he had observed of the travelling duo that it was a similar ability to how Aether sheathed and called upon his weapon at will. How peculiar. He wondered if she was able to use her ability to travel from place to place.
Before he could ask about it, Paimon had made her way out of the campsite, beginning her journey down the mountain's path and searching diligently from side to side in a zigzagging pattern. Steeling himself for a long day, Albedo sighed and turned about, starting his own journey up the mountain.
~*~
The echo of a lilting laugh rang in Aether's ears, stirring him from his dreams. The familiarity of the child-like sound tugged at his chest like the ghost of a long-forgotten memory. Hopeful, he rolled his heavy head to locate its source. Drops of sweat stung his half-lidded eyes, and tremors crawled up his spine like small shocks of electro. The sound faded as something damp and cool was drawn across his brow, chasing away the ghosts. Despite the coolness there, his body felt stiflingly warm, and his clothing stuck uncomfortably to his skin. Another bout of shivering made his skin feel like it was crawling with ants.
The woman at his bedside brushed another cool cloth across his face, mopping up the beads of perspiration that had formed there. As he blinked, her dark hair shifted to flaxen, eyes shimmering the same gold as his. Another blink, and the woman's face melded into his sister's. Aether gripped her hand tightly, her name on his chapped lips. Lumine, where have you been?
It felt like they were children again, Lumine looking after him if he'd fallen sick. Was that what had happened, why he was feeling so fuzzy? Lumine had told him to stay away from the plagued town but it felt like an age since he'd been there though. He should have listened to her. He tried voicing his apology, the words scraping through his dry throat.
She murmured something back, the timbre of her voice sounding strange, more mellow, but it was lost in the fog clouding his mind. He blinked at the ceiling—worn canvas; where were they again?—and let her voice wash over him, even if it was strange-sounding, as his eyes fluttered closed again. He fought against the wave of fatigue, wanting to spend some more time with his sister. If he let her go now, he felt like he wouldn't see her for a long time. She shushed him, laying the cool cloth over his eyes, and it was all he could do to allow the lull of sleep to take him.
~*~
Rosaria sat back on her heels in frustration as the boy fell unconscious again. She was getting nowhere. The timid healer she had fetched had removed his armour and said that he simply needed rest and fluids, which Rosaria felt was largely unhelpful for determining what the alchemist had actually done to the boy. She wanted answers.
The traveller himself wasn't much help either. Although he had been conscious for a brief period, he was delirious with fever and didn't respond to her questioning, muttering nonsense at her as though he was in a different world. Although his Amber eyes had been cast in her direction, he seemed to be looking through her rather than at her. She could only hope that after some rest his fever would subside and she could get to the bottom of whether or not the alchemist's meddling had turned him into a threat. Absently, she continued to pull the damp cloths from the boy's bare chest, cooling them slightly with her cryo as the healer had instructed before placing them back on another section of burning skin. There was nothing she could do but wait.
Morning turned to midday quite quickly, and Rosaria found her patience wearing thin from the monotony of caring for the traveller and waiting for him to stir. As she stood up to stretch, loud shouts resonated from a little ways outside her tent. Startled, she peaked around the canvas flap of the tent's opening to see where the sound had come from. At the same time, she crouched cautiously, reaching for her pike that she had left just within the tent's entrance. Rosaria felt her expression sour at the sight of the source of the commotion. Fatui.
The cackling of a trio of Cicin mages rang through the camp, electro energy cracking around them as they summoned their bug-like drones. Another group of Agents lead the way, crashing through the adventurers' camp and upending every nook and cranny they came across. Some adventurers who had not seen conflict during their travels fled down the main road towards Mondstadt, while others drew their weapons to face the intruders. Rosaria quickly joined them, rushing out from the safety of her tent and twirling her pike fiercely beside her. What in Lord Barbatos' name did the Fatui, of all people, want?
A sharp yelp drew her attention. The young healer that had helped her before had been cornered by one of the agents as she tried to assist a fellow adventurer, her wrist held captive in his brutish hand.
"Where is it?" she heard the Agent ask dangerously.
"I-I don't know!" she replied, voice wavering. The girl cried out as he tightened his grip, lifting her by the arm and dangling her like a plaything. Rosaria felt rage. How dare they attack these people unprovoked?
Rosaria flung herself towards the man, lunging at the Agent with her cryo-fueled blade. "Let her go," she demanded as the blade struck home, carving a sizeable chunk out of his chest plate. It had the desired effect, the brute releasing the girl and stumbling backwards a few paces. While he was dazed, Rosaria hefted the girl onto her feet before pushing her towards the camp's exit.
"Th-thank you sister!" she stammered before running for the exit.
The agent recovered quickly, scowling in annoyance before recognition sparked in his eyes. His expression pulled into a grin at the sight of her. "Sister, ey? Just who I was looking for," the agent drawled as he started to approach her, a ball of pyro swirling in his hand. "Now tell me, where is it?"
Rosaria eyed the flame cautiously. After all, her cryo abilities were at a disadvantage against pyro opponents. "Where is what?" she spat back, taking a defensive stance.
Sneering, he bared his yellowing teeth. She dove to the side and into a forward roll as he fired the flaming ball towards her, using her momentum to shoot her own icy shards towards his flank at speed. They hit home, drawing a grunt from the man as they lodged into his thigh. "Don't play dumb, girl. We saw you take it on the mountain. The dragon sword." Steam fogged the air slightly as the agent vaporised the shards, followed by a volley of pyro balls. Rosaria huffed as she narrowly dodged them, the last of them singing the edges of her veil.
What the hell was he talking about? Did he mean the Honarary Knight's strange blade? She pursed her lips. Had she known the Fatui were after it she would have left the blasted thing buried in the mountain. Glancing over to the tent the traveller was resting in, she was relieved to see it intact and untouched by the intruders, although a thin strand of bright pink smoke wafted mysteriously from behind it.
Rosaria cursed herself when the Agent turned to follow her gaze. "Ah, so that's where it is! Thank you for your cooperation." He flourished a bow, turning on his heel and taking off like lightning towards the tent. Ice-cold anger simmered around her. She would not be disregarded, or underestimated for that matter. Rosaria felt her body move as she pursued the man, her fury towards him and the Fatui propelling her forwards. As soon as the Agent entered the tent, she had run him through, blood freezing against her blade. The nameless Agent slumped forwards, dead. She scowled in distaste at the corpse, glad she had made it in time.
A startled gasp drew her attention as she pulled her pike free. She had not realised, but the Honarary Knight's floating companion had made an appearance and was staring at her dumbfounded, an empty bottle in her hand. More importantly, Rosaria noted, were the amber-coloured eyes that were giving her a similar expression.
The traveller was awake.