A bell went off. The door swung open. There a few patrons sat on the side keeping to themselves. For once, they weren't that loud. Diona popped up from behind the counter.
"Welcome." She began. "What would you like? Oh! Hi Kitten!"
Kitten let the door close behind her. "Hello. How have you been?"
"You mean minus all the nagging from the drunkards? Fine. I've been trying out some new recipes but they've all been a fail!"
Kitten sat down as Diona continued, "Frog mucus and Butterfly dust with a hint of spoiled cyder, and some disgusting valberries! The response to all of that? 'It's so sweet! I love what you changed for this drink! Could I get seconds?' Ugh! Why does nothing work?!"
"I don't know." She rested her head on her hand. "You'll get to what you're looking for eventually, though. That much I know."
"I hope so. Anyway, the usual?" Diona reached into the cabinet.
"Yeah." Kitten nodded. "You want to hear a story I heard recently? It might help take your mind off the mess of the drunkards."
"Please!" Diona's ears went to the side. "It's been a long day. Here's your drink, by the way."
"You've gotten faster at making these." Kitten noted.
"No. I just assumed that's what you would order since it's one of the few non-alcoholic things on this list." She started putting ingredients into the shaker.
"Okay." Kitten took a quick sip of her drink. "The setting starts on Dragonspine, the biggest and coldest mountain in Mondstat."
A person trudged through the snow. The whipping of the wind kept trying to blow them off the path, but they kept going. The man didn't look up, nor did he waver. He just kept climbing. His goal? To hide the three keys to his family's legacy. They were all moving to a place called Khanriah in a few weeks due to the severe changes in weather. Keeping that in mind, he didn't want them to be forgotten. The man kept trudging through the snow until he stopped. He slowly spun around, taking in all the sights of the summit. You could see Mondstat in one direction, Stone gate resting next to it, and the great span of ocean behind. The man knelt down and started digging in the snow. He gently placed a small box into the snow before covering it up.
He stepped back to see his work. "Good enough to be noticeable and still be hidden."
He turned around and started his way back down. Along the way, it was normal to fight hillychurls and whopperflowers so it did not surprise him when many ambushed him on the way down. As per usual, he took care of them in one sweep. His second stop was in front of what seemed to be a gravestone. He cleared the snow away to reveal a dirt ground. After a bit of work, he placed the second box in a little device. He closed it and placed the snow over top. Nothing happened.
He picked up some nearby Cecilia. "Let's see if you'll work buddy." He placed it on top.
After a few seconds, the snow parted to reveal the box. The man smiled before covering it with snow again. The final stop was at the foot of the mountain. It wasn't too far from the only living tree in Dragonspine. He kneeled down and dug into the snow. After building a similar contraption to the first, he placed the last box inside. As a marking place, he put a sword into the snow. Carefully he put a label on the side in Khanrian. The man stood.
"They're all in place. Now, my family is waiting for me. Hopefully, someone will remember our legacy from these boxes. And if they find the vault for these, they're welcome to what survived. Goodbye Dragonspine. You were a suitable home." He stared at the mountain.
It felt like only a few minutes before he departed from there. After leaving with his family, Dragonspine became the deserted mountain we know today. The only things living there were monsters of all kinds, and some Fatui. They say that to this day, his keys still lay there. Untouched by the world and the vault, unopened with no knowledge of where it is.
"That's it?" Diona placed the glass upside down.
Kitten nodded. "That's all he told, anyway." She took another sip of her fantastic summer serendipity coral sparkling tea.
"He could've tried to be a little more dramatic when talking about the boxes." Diona started shaking another drink. "My dad almost is better when talking about hillyhounds and hillyhogs."
She finished her drink. "Yeah, but he did a good job with descriptions of where the boxes are, at least. Although it's all based on solely guesses."
"Are you gonna try to find the treasure?"
Kitten shook her head. "No. Considering how often I take commissions, that would be annoying. Not to mention I've actually gotta get going soon."
"Are you heading to Liyue again?" Diona took her cup off the table. "Cause could you bring me back some Jueyun Chillies? I wanna try a new drink with them. Maybe this one'll be the one to stop all drunkards in Mondstat forever!"
"Alright." She was over by the door. "I'll make sure to grab some for you. Hopefully, the commissions there aren't so annoying as the ones in Mond. I'm okay with doing them but I'd prefer something else."
"What do you mean, annoying?" Her ears perked up.
"'Help me find my missing cat. I'll give you 200 mora for it'." Kitten sighed. "I know people go to the Adventurer's guild looking for help, but the one in Mond seems to really enjoy giving me those commissions."
"Because we're Katslein." One of her cat ears tilted to the side.
"Yeah." She nodded. "Anyway, I'll see you when I come back in town Diona." Kitten waved.
Diona did the same. "See you later! Stay safe!"
"Will do." The door closed behind her.
