Projected chapter count already going up, fantastic ;~;
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Though Snezhnaya has a train line from its capital to Sumeru's, Scaramouche's ride stops at Fontaine. Since he is undercover, Scaramouche stays on the train when it arrives at its supposed final station, and waits as it travels to a Fatui base disguised as a maintenance depot.
Scaramouche exits the station with a yawn and a stretch as the grunts give him a wide berth. With Il Dottore's notes in hand, he strides to one of the private, luxurious lounges reserved for Harbingers. He throws the file open as he lounges on a plush chair, waiting for an update.
He's already sent word of his arrival to his minions, and they should have things ready if they know what's good for them. Scaramouche better arrive at Fontaine hearing news of a popular troupe desperately searching for a replacement performer before they head to the World Fair, or heads will roll. Because it's sandstorm season, he will have to suffer the indignity of trying to navigate Sumeru's desert while in a dinky caravan instead of a comfortable journey through the Fatui's fast, sandstorm-proof trains.
While waiting, Scaramouche goes over his target's file again: Albedo, also known as the Kreideprinz. No last name is recorded anywhere, which already puts up warning signs. He has no recorded age, no family records, but lives with some country bumpkin adventurer and her daughter. He was appointed Chief Alchemist almost immediately after arriving in Mondstadt a few years ago. Though his research is lauded across alchemical academia, he has not expressed any interest in transferring to or even collaborating with research powerhouses, such as Sumeru Academia's alchemical division. For all his accomplishments, he might as well have appeared out of thin air.
Scaramouche can work with that. His target's limited social connections mean he'll be easier to make disappear if need be. Still, it's downright eerie how light his file is on details. Scaramouche wonders if Albedo's working for some other group, but no other organisations on Teyvat have the reach and willingness to resort to subterfuge which would surpass the Fatui's.
Maybe Scaramouche is just overthinking things. After all, this Albedo is from Mondstadt, which might as well be a lawless nature reserve. They probably haven't even invented the concept of paperwork.
As there's no further insight to glean, Scaramouche shifts his papers and takes out a few photos of Albedo. Last time he merely glanced at them to get an initial impression, but he has enough time now to give them a closer look.
Albedo looks to be around Scaramouche's height and weight, with a youthful face and a blank expression in most of his photos. He has a Geo vision below the collar of his shirt, which makes Scaramouche reconsider some of his strategies if he has to fight him. But what catches Scaramouche's attention is the area slightly above Albedo's vision. There's a strange golden mark on his neck, which, upon closer inspection, looks like a tattoo of a gold rhombus. Is it a glimpse of the bigger array Il Dottore wants Scaramouche to retrieve? If so, Albedo must really be into his craft. Scaramouche can't come up with any reason as to why anyone would craft whatever bullshit circles on their back. It's not practical, you couldn't even see them—
"Oh, I've met this guy," comes a casual voice behind Scaramouche, and he jumps in place, the photos crumpling under his hand as his other crackles with electro. He whips around, ready to fry whichever moron dared enter the lounge and spy on him, of all people—
But Scaramouche's anger melts into annoyance when he comes face to face with the intruder. "Tartaglia."
The ginger nitwit that somehow stumbled into the position of Harbinger gives Scaramouche a little wave before he sits back on a nearby couch, munching on a sandwich. "Good morning to you too, comrade."
Scaramouche wants to tell Childe in no unclear terms to fuck off, but that earlier remark has caught his attention. "And how would you know about an alchemist from Mondstadt?" he asks, even if he will have to suffer talking with Childe. "You were stationed in Liyue."
Then again, Tartaglia may just be messing with Scaramouche. It's not impossible Albedo travelled to Liyue for a smaller conference or meeting of sorts. Unlike Inazuma, everyone can move in and out of the two neighbouring nations as they please.
"Oh yeah, but there was this whole emergency in Dragonspine and, hm," Childe pauses mid-bite.
"And?" Scaramouche repeats, impatient. Of course he can't go for more than a question with Childe before he has to start pulling teeth.
Childe slowly chews, only answering after he swallows. "Well, you heard there was this whole kerfuffle a while back with me and a couple of other units, but I haven't met with Pierro for debriefing yet, so I'm not sure what I should say."
Interesting. Scaramouche has heard gossip of some sort of 'failure of collaboration', which is admin speak for multiple high-ups within their ranks fucking up. Il Dottore is somehow involved, but Scaramouche is not surprised, as that madman has his hands in as many pies as possible and, as a result, they sometimes explode in his face.
More than that, Childe's current smug smirk implies he's willing to do just the opposite of what he just said, given the right compensation.
A growl builds in the back of Scaramouche's throat. This is why he hates dealing with this brat. Tartaglia acts like he's dumber than a pile of bricks — and partly, he is — but he can also be cunning in his unique, deeply moronic ways.
"I'll owe you a favour," Scaramouche says with gritted teeth. He doesn't like how little information he has, and something about the alchemist sets off alarm bells.
Childe finishes his sandwich and slowly settles back into the couch with a thoughtful look, but a spark between Scaramouche's fingers has him stand up straighter a second later. "Sure! I don't have much to say, to be honest. But let's see, he has a Geo vision, fights with a sword but not very good at it, a genius alchemist apparently, has an assistant—"
"I already know all this," Scaramouche cuts him off with a hiss. Albedo's photograph told him as much about the Geo vision; the same when it comes to his alchemical prowess, and any lofty position such as 'Chief Alchemist' comes with its fair share of minions. The only passably useful info Childe gave him is that the alchemist is a middling sword fighter, but Scaramouche never doubted he could kick that nerd's ass.
"Uh," Childe frowns in thought, "other than that, he's also a… homunculus?"
Scaramouche crosses his arms, growing increasingly annoyed. "Now you're just making sounds at me."
Childe shrugs. "That's what it's called. It's an alchemical term."
Ah. Since alchemy is involved, the weird term makes sense. A long time ago, out of curiosity, Scaramouche opened an alchemical textbook. He read the first paragraph, where one half was made up of five-syllable jargon, and promptly closed it shut.
"What's that?" Scaramouche asks, even if he doesn't expect an answer. "Some kind of sect, or book club?"
"No, it means he's artificially made, I think," Childe says, and Scaramouche's thoughts come to a screeching halt.
"Come again?"
"Uh, created by alchemy?" Childe repeats. "His body is made of chalk, and it's got some weird properties to it. Surprisingly sturdy, but quickly falls apart if you know where to aim."
Yeah, which would be the alchemist's head and heart, same as it is as with every other living thing. Scaramouche has the same weak points as well, unfortunately.
But, he's got a more important question to worry about.
"… By which Archon?" Scaramouche asks, his mind already racing. Albedo being an artificial creation explains his sudden appearance and lack of biological family. There simply is none.
… Il Dottore didn't say anything about this, the bastard. If Albedo's construction is anything like Scaramouche's, a divine vessel meant to hold an Archon's power, he needs to be much more cautious.
"His Geo vision would imply Morax is responsible," Scaramouche says out loud when Childe doesn't answer, probably feeling smug over holding these answers over him. Well, screw that childish dunce, Scaramouche has logic and a deep knowledge of the topic on his side to discover the truth.
Though this newfound revelation means he and Albedo share…
Scaramouche quickly discards that thought as he continues his deduction: "Now, we're all aware that the Lord of Geo is supposedly dead and the Fatui possess his gnosis, and so on. But I know some sort of clusterfuck happened in Liyue, and that everyone involved in it, which includes you, Tartaglia, is keeping it on the hush-hush—"
Childe cuts him off with a laugh. "He was definitely not created by Morax."
"How the hell would you know—?"
"Just trust me on this," Childe says with a shit-eating grin that makes Scaramouche want to snap his neck like a twig. "I'm pretty sure he wasn't created by an Archon, actually. If I had to guess, I'd bet it was some alchemist."
Scaramouche almost shakes his head by instinct. No, there can't be some random fucking dude out there making humans. Scaramouche has only seen a glimpse of what goes on behind the scenes, but creating life, human life, is overseen by Celestia. 'Deviating' from that purview comes with severe consequences, worse than any diplomatic meltdown that the idiot mortals who surround Scaramouche can imagine.
And the alchemical circles Il Dottore wants him to retrieve… Scaramouche is willing to bet his hat they have to do with creating humans via alchemy and fuck, his assignment is not some brain-dead time-waster, but an active fucking landmine field.
"So," Childe speaks up while Scaramouche tries to suppress a headache. "Why are you after the guy?"
Scaramouche grimaces. His first instinct is to start raving about Il Dottore setting him up, but pauses when he thinks about that a second longer. He cannot say he's collaborating with Dottore as Childe all but said he was involved in the Fatui's most recent clusterfuck, and his smug expression compared to Il Dottore's sudden manpower issues implied the two had a falling out.
"None of your business. I'm doing my own investigations."
Except Scaramouche has still fucked himself over with that response. Now, he can't suddenly lose interest in the alchemy and travels back to Snezhnaya to give Il Dottore the bollocking he deserves. It will signal something is off about his supposedly self-appointed assignment, which would inevitably lead back to Il Dottore's involvement.
Fuck. Scaramouche is, at minimum, singeing hair off that madman's scalp when he comes back.
"Whatever you say," Childe says with a shrug. "One last thing. Watch out for his little sister. She's a pretty good fighter, got the drop on me last time."
Scaramouche, already at the end of his rope, gives Childe an incredulous look. "You got beaten up by a toddler?!"
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Klee watches Sumeru's capital city come into view with a wide grin. Her eyes are darkened by all the clay-coloured buildings nestled within the colossal tree's roots and trunk to overhead, where expansive branches provide some shade from the sweltering sun.
"We're here, we're here!" Klee says as she jumps around and hops to the back of the cart where Albedo and Sucrose are. The two have been mostly talking about alchemy or going over their plans for the World Expo. Klee doesn't understand most of it, only picking up that the two have to 'present their research' with a 'poster' and a 'demonstration'. She doesn't understand what those things would be either, but that's because she hasn't come with them to previous Expos. Albedo would always say that the journey is too long and too dangerous, but Klee insisted really hard this year!
After a quick acknowledgement, Albedo and Sucrose quickly finish their conversation and start packing up the few charts and papers they have scattered about.
Klee runs back to the front of the cart. Their driver is someone used to making the trip between the two countries, but he is very strict and doesn't let her on the rider's seat.
Still, Klee watches as they turn through side streets, which open up in a flat field with a large complex of buildings bordered by a glass and steel train station. They stop by the fenced entrance and start unloading, while Klee jumps down and stares at her surroundings. Around them, the other carts of their caravan are unloading as well, with people running from across the buildings and within the grounds. A thin trail of smoke from the train station must mean a train is parked there as well, with more people moving about the entrances and exits.
"That train is likely from Fontaine. It, Sumeru, and Snezhnaya have rail connections," Albedo says to Klee as he shoves a few implements in an overstuffed leather backpack before picking it up.
"I wish we had a station by Mondstadt, or even Liyue," Sucrose sighs as she disembarks, holding many small bags with cardboard tubes sticking out of them. "It would make our journey much more comfortable."
Yeah, Klee is feeling very warm, even if she's wearing her summer dress and a sun hat. Sucrose is in a similar state of undress and spent much of their journey fanning herself. Only her big brother is dressed as usual, wearing the same outfit no matter whether he's in Sumeru or Dragonspine.
"There were plans to build one in Liyue Harbor, but they ran into issues during construction at the Chasm," Albedo offhandedly says as he pays their driver.
Sucrose hums as she puts some of her bags down and unfolds a crumpled map half the size of her body, rotating it around a few times. "I think the alchemical showcase is in that building…" She points to the biggest building of the expo, several floors high and with a glass dome that peeks out of its top.
"Klee," Albedo says, and she turns around as he crouches down to face her. "Sucrose and I will have to be by our stall all day, so we won't be able to visit many places today."
Klee's face drops. She gets Albedo and Sucrose have their 'showcase', but being stuck in one place will be boring.
Albedo gives her an encouraging smile. "I know this must be boring, so you can go and look at all the other exhibitions, as long as you stay within the building." He looks up at Sucrose. "They have some interesting exhibits this year."
"Oh yes, I really want to look at the anatomical section! They have actual bones or moulds from all sorts of—" She cuts herself off and her cheeks flush. "Uh, there is also…" She looks back at her map and rotates it a few more times. "Oh, there's a kids' corner as well…"
Bah, Klee always found these sorts of things boring, especially since they never let her show off her Jumpy Dumpties. But the bone collection sounds interesting, even if it may be a bit spooky.
"When we're free, we can have a look around the other buildings," Albedo says as he gets up. "They have a circus and a festival-like exhibition at the grounds this year."
Klee's smile goes wide. If it's anything like Windrise, it'll be amazing! Impatient, she grabs Albedo's and Sucrose's sleeves and leads them to the big building.
This is going to be so much fun!
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Scaramouche curses his luck when he sees Albedo's stall flooded with people. The alchemical section is already crowded, mostly by students of Sumeru Academia and other smaller schools hoping to one day measure up to the former, but his target's stall is particularly busy.
Though Scaramouche's disguise as a performer lets him wander about the World Fair's grounds during the day since his troupe has an evening performance, it becomes an issue when surrounded by fancy-pants alchemists. More than one attendant pushes past him to get closer to Albedo's stall, feeling more entitled to his target's time.
Fuck it, Scaramouche definitely can't approach Albedo in any significant manner this way, and no way is he spending more time in this hopeless stampede. Hopefully most of this horde will have dispersed come afternoon, or he will have to discreetly start electrocuting people to thin out the crowds.
After Scaramouche moves past the horde of people, he starts wandering about the rest of the exhibition. He stops by a few stalls that catch his eye, but he often leaves them just as confused at what they meant to showcase. Most of the stall attendants are friendly, though they nervously stutter as they try to explain their over-complicated, horribly designed poster charts. Some of the more arrogant presenters give him strange looks or barely bother, probably thinking they're wasting their time explaining their oh-so-precious research with a mere performer instead of having deep technical talks with other 'high-minded' colleagues. In response, Scaramouche either insists on a presentation while berating their skills as communicators so he can watch them squirm or wordlessly walks out depending on his mood and how much time he wants to waste.
For the sake of his mission, Scaramouche has discarded his typical Harbinger uniform for a plain yukata, befitting his station as a wandering Inazuman performer and offering some comfort in Sumeru's high temperatures. Though part of him misses the respect people give him when walking around as a Harbinger, he enjoys moments of anonymity like this. The World Fair is a public showcase of this world's wonders, and attending it as a Harbinger would only attract unnecessary attention. So, it is as a simple performer that he walks around the exhibit, like a starved man finding himself with the world as his oyster.
… Except, after wasting his time on such brilliant exhibitions as 'world's largest iron ingot' and 50 different iterations of inferior versions of steam machines already powering Snezhnaya's factories, Scaramouche finds the exhibits lacking. Instead of miracles, he comes across parlour tricks. It just goes to show how limited mortals, humans, are against true divine power.
And on that note, if Albedo is an artificial creation by a human, Scaramouche has nothing to fear. If anything, he'll probably be easier to beat up than a regular guy.
Chuckling to himself at that last thought, Scaramouche walks into a large room labelled 'Anatomical Exhibitions of Teyvat's Creatures and Beyond'. The room inside is chock-full of glass cases full of bones, waxy recreations of the flesh they once held, and some sparse furniture to spare the feet of weary travellers.
This exhibit is considerably less busy than the alchemical section, but there are still a few people milling about, and Scaramouche doesn't understand why. He moves from glass case to glass case with little interest. He's seen hilichurl bones and their unnerving resemblance to human ones a thousand times before.
Scaramouche mindlessly walks to another glass case, this one a flat table where another skeleton has been carefully laid out. Now that he doesn't have to worry about being trampled, and is somewhere where it's publicly acceptable to zone off, he thinks of his plans.
Or lack thereof. He should have expected this so-called genius alchemist would have Teyvat's fellow nerds clamouring after him. Even if he manages to reach his stall, Albedo will probably see him as another mindless recipient of a probably boring alchemical presentation. Because of how busy it will be, Scaramouche can't even strike up casual conversation, as that will probably annoy Albedo by unnecessarily taking up his time.
Still, he can't spend all that time in his stall, can he? The alchemical showcases will go on until mid-afternoon, so Albedo will technically be free then. But, he may still be hounded by other researchers, or invited to exclusive social events, which a simple performer like him certainly can't attend unless he befriends another alchemist…
Or with any luck, Albedo will be sick of the crowds and talking about alchemy all day, and Scaramouche can entice him with a free ticket to his performance. But, Scaramouche still needs the chance to meet Albedo in a more relaxed environment…
His line of thought is broken by a small figure on the other side of the glass. The top of its head is barely visible, but the little fingers grabbing at the top of the glass certainly aren't.
Scaramouche walks around to see a little girl hopping up and down, using the glass as a boost. "You shouldn't touch the glass, you know. If the guards see you, they'll kick you out."
The kid looks up at him with a frown. "But I can't see!" To emphasise her point, she hops in place, trying to get a better look but only making her oversized hat bounce.
Scaramouche glances back at a grumpy-looking guard who scans the area. He steps between him and the kid, hiding her from the guard's sight.
As the kid hops again, Scaramouche picks her up by the waist, hoping a quick glimpse will satisfy her, and she will go wander to a different place, leaving him alone. "They're just bones."
The kid lets out a quick yelp at being picked up, but she quickly refocuses on the bones on display, leaning forward with her mouth open wide.
Scaramouche moves to put her down, but the kid protests, so he keeps holding her up.
Right. Scaramouche shouldn't have expected anything different. That's how kids are. Half-formed beings, both in spirit and mind, for whom everything is new and exciting... Full of naivete that brings joy, but puts them in danger.
Speaking of, Scaramouche looks around to see if she can pass her off to an adult, but she seems unaccompanied. "Where are your parents?"
"My big brother is busy talking to people," Klee says as she finally leans back, probably realising the bones on display are as boring as everything else here.
"So he left you to wander on your own?" Scaramouche asks with a frown as he puts her down.
"Uh huh."
"That's dangerous. There could be bad people here."
To his surprise, the kid laughs. "That's fine, I'm very strong!" she says, hands akimbo but her little frame suggesting the opposite, before gesturing to the small furball accessory attached to her oversized backpack. "And I have Dodoco to keep me company!"
This is a pointless conversation, Scaramouche realises. He can't argue that point with a little kid, amusing as she may be. Still, perhaps he can let someone here be aware that there's an unaccompanied kid running around.
He's distracted again as the kid tugs at his sleeve. "Can you lift me again so I can see the other boxes?"
Scaramouche blankly looks down at her. Though she is nothing more than a distraction, she's also the most interesting thing here.
"Oh, I don't know," Scaramouche teases her. "What's in it for me?"
The kid pouts. "Um… pretty please?"
Scaramouche bites back a laugh. The magic words. How amusingly childish.
"Oh, and my brother is here with a friend who makes delicious candy! She can give you some!"
"Your folks are in the culinary section?" Scaramouche asks. He's been meaning to visit that area since some delicious food could at least sate his curiosity. But that area is in a completely different building, at the other end of the exhibition rounds. How did this little girl end up all the way here?
To his surprise, the kid shakes her head and points the way Scaramouche came from. "They're over there! But, it's very busy."
"Your brother is an alchemist?" Scaramouche asks with renewed interest. Any alchemist would be a good point of contact for his target. If he can get in this kid's good graces, he can be introduced to her brother, who could in turn introduce him to Albedo…
Yes, this would be a much better plan than just strolling up to his target's stall and hoping to win his trust that way.
"Well, candy or not, I would be happy to meet them," Scaramouche says as he realises he doesn't even know the kid's name. "I'm Kunikuzushi. What's your name, squirt?"
"Kuni… ku… zushi," the kid struggles with his name. She's clearly not Inazuman, but her dress suggests she could be from Fontaine, or even Mondstadt — and wouldn't the latter be a hilarious coincidence?
"Nice to meet you!" The kid extends her tiny hand with a big smile. "I'm Klee!"
Scaramouche freezes, his hand half-way extended. "Klee?"
"Yeah!"
It can't be. "Are you from Mondstadt?"
Klee gasps. "How did you know?"
No. No fucking way. "What's your brother called?"
"Albedo," Klee says as she tilts her head. "Do you know him, Kuniku-zushi?" she asks, pronouncing his name more fluently than last time.
Scaramouche lets out a short laugh, equal parts incredulous and nonchalant. "No, but I would like to. He's quite famous."
Klee grins. "Then I can bring you to him, but you have to show me all around this place first!"
Scaramouche feels like cackling. But he keeps it down to a smile as he finally shakes the kid's hand.
"It's a deal then, Klee."
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:D
