Hello everybody. I would like to ask you all to completely disregard and forget what used to be the previous chapter. I have turned it into a character guide for ya'll's convenience. Thank you, and I apologize if I caused any confusion. Feel free to comment with questions or suggestions.
THIS IS... TRY THREE
Let's hope it works, yeah?
Lutsen
Lutsen woke up slowly from his nap. He looked up at the sun and noticed it was hours later. His skin was wrinkly, much like a prune. He climbed out of the water and realized he had nothing to dry off with. Not one to be kept in the dumps for too long, he simply accepted this and began the walk back.
It had been a nice day when he went to sleep, but now the sky was becoming stormy and grey. He would have to rush home before the wind picked up again. The weather always seemed to be safe in the city, they had not had any casualties from people staying in Mondstadt during the storm. Lutsen was just lucky the storm had not hit while he was outside the city. The winds were known to throw people into the sky, they would be found miles away. Lutsen hadnt lost anyone to the wind storms yet, though his family had not chosen to come to the city. He was worried about them, the area of safety around Springvale was much smaller than that of Mondstadt. He was just glad they didnt live alone on a farm, individual structures did not seem to be protected from the storm. He had seen reports of houses blown away and families declared missing.
It was a sobering thought, as he swiftly walked back to Mondstadt, that he would never see some of the families his parents were friends with. His mother had grown up on a farm before marrying his father. It could just have easily been his family that was lost to the winds.
It was reassuring to Lutsen that his parents had always been in possession of much common sense. They would not leave the house without absolute requirement until it was declared safe by the Knights of Favonius. They were much smarter than him in this regard, he was lucky he had woken up before the storms picked up again. Nobody would have known where he was if he never returned after the day was up.
;
Lutsen was settling down for the night after returning home and cooking himself an egg(the 72nd he had eaten since arrival in Mondstadt), when he noticed his notebook open on the table. He had forgotten all about the list he had made that morning. He decided to investigate, he had the rest of today and tomorrow to be a detective.
He took out the pitifully small list, with luck he would be able to find a few more tidbits of information.
He arrived in Mondstadt four years ago
He was the best bard in the city
Diluc gave him wine even though he was underage
He knew every song anyone had ever asked him to play
Absolutely nothing else
Lutsen figured the best place to start would likely be the Angel's Share, where he often frequented. If Master Diluc was bartending, maybe he could get some information from him. Master Diluc was an intimidating man, but Lutsen was curious enough to try asking.
The Angel's Share was busy tonight, with every table filled. Master Diluc was at the bar, as he had hoped, and was speaking with Captain Kaeya. That put a bit of a damper in his plan. It was well known that when the two of them got to talking they could go on for hours. As he watched however, Venti walked up to the two and pulled Kaeya aside. He ordered for them and took Kaeya to a table at the back of the building. They faced away from the crowd as they spoke, so Lutsen could not read their emotions.
But that didn't matter right now. It would be rude to interrogate Venti himself, so instead he had his sights set on Diluc. And if Master Diluc didn't give him anything, then he supposed he could ask around the tavern. There were plenty of regulars here tonight, they would likely know things about Venti that he hadn't heard yet. But first, Master Diluc.
When he walked up to the counter, Master Diluc was mixing a drink for a customer. He sat down on one of the stools to begin questioning.
"Master Diluc, would you be willing to answer a few questions about Venti?" He tentatively asked.
"No."
"Not a single one?"
"Correct."
"Is there a reason, Sir?"
"I make it a point not to share information about my patrons. Go bother someone else if you're so desperate to spy."
Lutsen quietly stood up and backed away. Plan A had come to an abrupt and final conclusion, no he would not be given information. Oh well, it was a good thing Lutsen had a plan B. He approached the bard standing near the door. Bards often watched the world go 'round, looking for inspiration. Plus, he probably kept a tight watch on his competition. He would likely have information about Venti.
;
As the night went on, Lutsen discovered many small tidbits of information about Venti. None of them added up to much, but at least he could add to his list. From the bard by the door he discovered that when Venti got drunk, which seemed to happen surprisingly rarely, he would get very mellow and complain(whine) about the absence of a dearly loved man with golden hair. From a mahogany haired nun, he learned that Venti had walked into Mondstadt(and existence) on a sunny Friday morning. She had said that nobody had ever heard of him before he walked through the gates strumming a joyful tune and singing in a foreign language. The nun said children loved him, and he was asked to compete in the Best Bard of Mondstadt Competition, which he promptly won. Three times in a row.
He had not been able to get anything else from the patrons inside the tavern. Little was known about Mondstadt's favorite bard. In the center square however, he had gained tidbits of information from nearly everyone. Lutsen had learned that Venti seemed to love the stars and sun, singing beautiful ballads about them whenever he was asked to sing about what he loved. The bard had a penchant for trouble, he learned from a slightly frustrated old lady.
"That young fellow in green? Why, he's always running around stirring up a ruckus! I caught him sleeping on my roof once, dead drunk. And another time, he was up sitting on dear Barbatos' statue! The nerve of that boy. I got him down right quick, don't you worry. He didn't even seem sorry, just laughed and ran off, saying something about a meeting with a princess he had to get too. Just another one of his fanciful stories I'll expect. No respect for the elderly I tell you. Not. A. Bit. Oh, oh! And have I told you about the time he tried to shoot one of my cats? Blamed it on an allergy, but I'll say he just wanted an excuse to get rid of one of my cats. It's no secret he doesn't like them much. The way he did it though! Pulled out a- a big BOW, and he tried to shoot my dear Casper. And from up close, too. I mean, if you absolutely must shoot my cats then do it from a challenging range you know what I'm saying? This is the City of Freedom, the boy can do what he pleases, but he could learn a good lesson from those Liyueans. They're all so wonderfully polite my dear boy! If you ever want a nice time, the folks down in Quince are glorious people. This Venti could stand to learn a little patience from them… hmph. Well, he's no longer welcome in my home is all I can say. That Venti, he is just the most interesting lad. Don't go down his path dear, you'd do well in a nice job like… say… carpentry. Yes, a strong young man like you would do well in such a respected profession. Anyhoo, I'm off to breakfast with the ladies, I won't keep you waiting on little old me."
THAT had been the longest ten minutes of Lutsen's life.(And the best ten minutes of mine) Over the course of the day Lutsen had learned more and more about the mysterious bard. But nothing important. He didn't learn where Venti came from, he wasn't sure how old he was(underage), and he didn't seem to have any family in Mondstadt. All he knew was that Venti had a cat allergy, was hated by most of the old folks in the city, knew any song you'd ever heard of, and had a boyfriend that seemed to be MIA.
All in all, a productive day. Not as productive as he had hoped, but productive all the same. Perhaps tomorrow he could ask around the Favonius Headquarters...
-;-