Genshin Impact

The Messenger of the Seven

Chapter 2

The Bard and The Traveller

Fighting against his grip, she turned and looked at him with anger in her eyes, "Diluc, you need to let me go. He needs help!"

Diluc shook his head, "You know I can't do that. I can't allow you to put your life on the line for a stranger."

She stopped, bowing her head, "But what if it wasn't a stranger? What if it was someone we know, like Jean or Klee? What if it was me?" She looked at him, her eyes glowed slightly, flickering as if they were the light from a candle.

His eyes widened, diverting his gaze from hers, "I am sorry, Celia. But I can't let you do this."

Celia scowled, "You can't stop me." She shifted her stance slightly, breaking free from his grip and running towards the twister, her Favonius Sword appeared in her hands.

He ran forward, holding his hand out to her, "No, Celia!"

Before she could even get to the twister, however, pain seared violently throughout her body. Her legs began to feel heavy, slowing her running down to barely a walk until she fell to kneeling. She gripped the handle of her sword tightly. "No... Not now... Not this again." She panted heavily as if she had run for much longer than she had done, her vision blurred and everything started to go dark all around her.

"Celia!"

"That's enough, Liuli."

Celia's eyes opened wide, seeing herself kneeling in a field of Glaze Lillys. At first glance, this field of flowers was like greeting an old friend, but this confused her, she had never been outside of Mondstadt before and Glaze Lillys only grew in particular parts of Liyue. It almost felt like she had been here before in recent years, which also confused her. She stood up, quickly realising that her legs no longer felt heavy, the pain had long since subsided also. She took a step forward, trying to make sense of what was happening.

"You are overstepping the boundaries of your contract again, Liuli."

She turned and looked at the man who stood amongst the Glaze Lillys. His back was turned to her, she looked at his long brown hair which was tied back, "Who are you? What do you mean by contract?"

"You will know soon enough, don't do anything too reckless, Liuli." He began to walk away.

Her eyes widened as she stepped forward and she broke out into a run, her hand stretched out towards him, "Wait! Why do you keep calling me Liuli?"

He stopped and turned to face her. His eyes were closed for a moment, then they opened, golden eyes stared back at her, a familiar smile on his lips, "Soon."

As she slowly opened her eyes, Celia's vision was partially blurred as she stared at the ceiling, after blinking a few times, her vision returned to normal, finding that she was in her bedroom. She exhaled and closed her eyes, but then gasped, sitting upright. Her wide eyes scanned the room, her gaze stopped on Kaeya who at in the corner of the room, staring out the window. She frowned, "Kaeya... What are you doing here?"

Kaeya lifted his head and stood up in a swift and effortless movement. He walked over to the bed, sat on the edge, placed his hands on the other side, and looked into her eyes closely. "I am here to make sure you are doing alright. I heard what happened when Stormterror attacked Mondstadt. How are you feeling?"

She looked into Kaeya's eye, then lowered her gaze, looking at her hands which rested on her lap, "Does Diluc know you are here?"

He nodded as a smile appeared on his face, "Of course he does. There isn't anything that happens here that he doesn't know about. He was the one who told me you collapsed." He placed his hand that he wasn't leaning against on her hand, "Now, don't try and divert the question. How are you feeling?" His eye widened as she leaned forward, resting her hand on his chest, "Ceci, are you still feeling bad? Maybe you should lie back down..."

She shook her head, "I am okay, I guess I just miss you living here..." She closed her eyes.

He exhaled and smiled, putting his arms around her and hugging her closely, "Yeah."

She smiled, then gasped, moving away and looking up at him, "What happened with that guy?"

He looked at her, "What guy? Oh, you mean the Traveller who fought off Stormterror? He is okay. He assisted me in the Temple of the Wolf. He is quite interesting actually, he can manipulate the power of anemo without a vision." He put his hands on her shoulders, "I heard from Diluc that you tried to go after him when he was caught by one of the twisters during the attack." He gripped her shoulders tighter, "You need to not be so reckless. You could have been very seriously hurt." His expression was very serious, but worry could also be seen.

Her eyes widened as she felt something inside her, the urge to argue her case, but she bowed her head, "I am sorry." She frowned, looking at him, "Wait... What do you mean by he fought off the Dragon?"

Kaeya smiled, his eye went to the door which was open ajar, seeing Diluc outside the room then back to her, "Well..."

...

A couple of days had passed since the Stormterror attack on Mondstadt. Most of the city was back to normal, save a few missing signs and some damaged roofs. The routines of the Mondstadters seemed to be more or less normalised now.

Celia sat at the bar of Angel's Share, sipping on a non-alcoholic fruity cocktail, tapping her toe against the footrest of the stool. Her eyes went to Diluc, seeing him talking to Charles.

"Master Diluc, this is this week's accounts." He placed the paperwork on the bar.

Diluc looked over it with folded arms, sighing deeply, "Hmm... The disaster has greatly affected business."

Charles nodded, "Well, let's hope it all ends soon."

The door opened and three people came charging in. A bard in green clothes, the Traveller and the floating creature. The traveller placed his hands on his hips, looking as if he was out of breath from running.

Diluc and Charles all turned to look at them.

Celia's eyes widened as she looked at the traveller.

The bard stepped forward, "Hi, we'd like a seat at your ahh... least conspicuous table."

Celia looked at him, frowning heavily, it felt like she knew him, she went to say something, but when the bard winked at her, she decided to say nothing and turned back to her drink.

Diluc turned to face them completely, holding his hand out, "Umm... The second floor has fewer customers, you'd be less conspicuous up there..." He glanced at Celia, seeing how she stared intently at her drink, then back at the bard, "But aren't you a bard? Why not sit front and centre?" He folded his arms, eyeing up the suspicious bard.

The bard laughed nervously, "Let's save the paid performance for next time. We'll be heading up now, see you in a bit!" The three of them hurriedly made it up the stairs.

Diluc watched as they climbed the stairs, "Hey, keep an eye on them. There's something strange about that bard. I'll go ask around."

Charles frowned, "Ask who exactly?"

Diluc scowled as he looked at him, "The "protectors" of Mondstadt..."

Celia snorted loudly, then quickly went back to sipping her drink when she could feel a glare being thrown at her.

Two knights entered the tavern one named Otto and the other Miles, both looking very concerned, they saw Diluc and headed straight for him.

"Ah, Master Diluc. Have you seen two thieves around?" Otto stepped forward.

Celia frowned, turning to look at them.

Diluc looked at her, then at the knights, "What happened? Why have you mobilized so many guards?"

Miles looked perplexed, "Haven't you heard, Master Diluc? Two thieves were trying to steal the Holy Lyre!"

Her eyes widened, "What? The Holy Lyre?" She looked at Diluc.

He put his hand to his chin, "Oh? How odd."

Miles waved his hands frantically, "Isn't it? The Holy Lyre is a treasure that was played by the God of Anemo themselves. Such a precious piece of cultural heritage-"

Diluc put his hands down to his sides, "Why would one want to steal something they can't sell off? Would pay better to steal from my cellars..."

The two knights exchanged looks, "Huh?"

Celia stood up from her stool.

Diluc pointed to the door, "Sorry, off-topic. Believe they headed that way."

Miles nodded, "Understood. Thank you, Master Diluc!" He saluted and turned to the door.

Otto looked at Celia, "Did you see the same thing?"

Diluc looked at Celia, unsure what her reaction would be.

Celia's eyes widened as she looked at Otto, but her shocked expression quickly switched to a scowl just like Diluc's, her hand rested on her hip as she stepped forward, "Is there a reason you are asking me? Do you not believe my brother? Why would he lie to you?"

Otto froze, he looked away from her, "N-No! I just..." He gritted his teeth, "I just wanted to make sure that the story adds up."

Celia stepped closer to him, her eyes flickered slightly, "Why? Are we suspects? I saw the same thing that Diluc did. Maybe you should go do your job and catch the thieves instead of wasting your time on questioning Diluc and myself." She turned back to the bar, sitting down on her stool, closing her eyes, "The Acting Grand Master will be hearing about this."

Otto gasped and hurried out of the tavern after Miles.

Diluc watched them leave and then turned to Celia, watching her exhale and bow her head, anxiousness clear as day on her expression now, "I am impressed with your performance, Ceci. But I have to ask, why did you lie? I know why I did, but why didn't you say something? You do work for them after all."

"Because I am just as curious as you." She turned in her seat, looking up at him, she scowled slightly, "Also, I work with them, not for them. I am not going to sit here and watch them question if they can trust what you say. You have done nothing but good by Mondstadt and if they can't see that, then they are fools." She sighed, her eyes moving to the bard as he walked down the stairs and towards the other side of the bar, looking at the wine collection. Her attention then turned to the traveller who also walked down the stairs, his floating companion following him. Her eyes met his for a moment but she turned back to Charles, giving him a slight nod.

He smiled and placed another drink in front of her.

"Today I think I'll have a glass of..."

"You can put down the bottle you stole from behind the counter," Diluc spoke as he stood behind the bard, his arms folded.

The bard smiled and turned, "...Something cold."

Diluc looked at the three of them with a stern look, "Right. I want answers."

"Lemme finish my drink first. I'll pay you- well, with a performance."

Diluc sighed, "It's not about money. You seem too young to be drinking."

Celia turned in her seat, looking at the bard.

He waved his hands slightly, "No need to worry. When I started drinking, you were still-"

Celia and Diluc exchanged a look then both turned back to the bard.

The traveller stepped forward, "How about you answer my question first?"

The bard turned to look at him, "Oh, you wanna ask, "Who's this?" Am I right?"

He nodded.

"He is Master Diluc, the boss of... ah, the owner of this tavern. He is very famous. By the way, his dandelion wine is one of my favourites." He shrugged his shoulders, "Though most of the time I can only afford a bottle or two..."

Diluc sighed, "I just heard about some thieves from the guards." He stopped, following his arms, "For the record, I like your guts for trying to steal the Holy Lyre der Himmel. Even if you are fools... but we don't often get to see people like you."

The floating companion balled her tiny firsts, leaving forward slightly, "It wasn't us that stole it! The real thief is still out there!"

The bard put his hands on his hips, "This is the hotshot of the Knights of Favonius. Why would someone so aspiring steal Mondstadt's sacred treasure?"

Diluc frowned, "Hotshot...? Oh, so it's you." He looked at Celia who was behind the traveller, then back to him. He folded his arms one more, "So, you and the bard are close friends?"

"We're not close, actually." He spoke up.

"Well... Despite only being a passing traveller, you still offered your help to Mondstadt in its time of need. A shame you joined the Knights." He unfolded his arms, "The Knights of Favonius... Inefficient right from beginning to end. And towards the Fatui? Weak and conservative." He closed his eyes, shaking his head, "Forget it. I don't feel like talking about it."

"Seems you don't really like the Knights of Favonius."

"Just differences in approach is all. I have my own hopes for this city." He looked at them again, "Now, answers. Why did you steal the Holy Lyre?"

The bard tilted his head, "You sure you want to know? It could implicate you in the affairs of the Knights of Favonius."

"That's fine. I somehow always end up implicated in their affairs."

Celia snorted slightly but froze when she could feel a glare from Diluc, she stared at her drink nervously.

"Who are you?" The traveller spoke up.

She gasped and turned to look at him, "I..." She looked over at Diluc, then shook her head, looking at him once more, "I am Celia. I often work with the Knights of Favonius as a messenger and sometimes with other odd jobs that they may need assistance with. I am also Diluc's-"

Diluc stepped forward, "She is my younger sister. You can trust her."

The traveller smiled.

Celia smiled back, then frowned as she noticed the weird grin on the bard's face.

The bard cleared his throat and stepped forward, folding his arms, "Anyway, if I tell you the story with a performance, will you believe me?"

Diluc looked at him, "It depends. I'll make my own judgement."

Celia turned back to her drink.

"Then will I get paid?"

"Your reward will range from anything between five Mora and the Holy Lyre. It all depends on your story."

He smiled, "Very well. Let me put on a show..." He brought out a lyre, producing beautiful music.

The music made Celia's eyes widen, something about it stirred deep in the back of her mind. She frowned as she turned to look at him

Diluc glanced at her and then back to the bard.

"The story I want to tell starts at... The sky dragon heeding his graves call... Brutal battle with the wicked dragon... Ingested venomous blood and fell into a slumber... Only to awake to be expelled in abhor..." He finished plucking at the strings.

Celia's eyes widened as she got off her chair, her mind swirling with memories that seemed to be her own, but not of her own. She lowered her gaze to the floor as sadness showed on her expression, "Dvalin." She muttered almost under her breath.

Venti looked at her, then back at Diluc.

Diluc's eyes widened as he looked at him, "What did I just witness... This is confidential information. Why did you let me know?"

Venti shrugged, "Why? Hmm... Perhaps the winds are changing. What say you, Master Diluc?"

Diluc placed his hand to his chin, "Interesting. Give me some time. I'll organize some contacts." He turned to the traveller, "Outlander, as one of the Knights it seems you're not a suspect. Blonde is the only description on the wanted poster. You should be safe." He turned to Venti, "As for the bard, however, it'd be better if you stayed in the tavern."

Venti laughed, placing his hands on his hips, "Haha. No problem! I like taverns."

Diluc scowled, "... Okay, let's meet here tonight after the tavern closes."

The traveller nodded and left the tavern with his floating companion.

Diluc walked behind the bar to grab something, but he looked up to see Celia step towards the bar, "Something the matter, Celia?"

She looked at Venti who stood next to her, then at Diluc, "I want to help."

Diluc looked at her for a moment, "I am not sure if that would be a good idea."

Venti sat on the stool in front of him, "Oh come on, Master Diluc. We could do with all the help that we could get. Also, wouldn't this be good for her considering?"

Celia frowned, glancing at Venti, but then turned back to Diluc, "Please, I know I can be of some help."

Diluc thought for a moment, then nodded, "Alright, I need you to take this note to Jean." He leaned against the bar, holding a pen and piece of paper, writing something down. He then rolled it up and handed it to her, "Get back here when you are done."

She nodded, turning to leave.

Diluc looked at Venti, "I hope you are right about letting her help."

"Hehe!"