Chapter Fifteen
It was so nice to feel warm after Dragonspine's deathly chill. Jean smiled to herself, snuggling deeper into her blanket and basking in the sunshine.
Wait…sunshine?
"Oh no!"
Jean sat bolt upright in dismay, blinking in the cheery light. "I overslept!"
The sun was high in the sky, shining without a care for Jean's horror. How long did I sleep?! She shoved the blanket off and scrambled up, scanning the sea frantically from the sea stack with rising dread. A wordless cry broke from her at the empty shoreline, bereft of the Fatui ship.
The knight stared, unable to believe what her eyes were telling her. But it was true. Exhausted by her ordeal in the icy mountain, she'd overslept and lost the trail.
"No no no no no…" Jean was already moving, grabbing boots and jacket, kicking sand over the sad heap of embers that was all that remained of her campfire, and tugging her hair up into a hasty ponytail. Camp was broken in a matter of seconds, and Jean was jogging off.
Should I risk swimming across here, or make my way upriver to the bridge to cross? She hesitated, torn. It would take longer to travel upriver, but I can't be sure my stamina will hold out long enough to ford the river…
As she stood at the water's edge, biting her lip and trying to decide, a broken board drifted past her. And then another one followed it.
When the third board bobbed past, Jean blinked at it, roused from her thoughts. She slowly followed its trajectory, then her keen eyes flicked back upstream. Could they have… gone up the river? She considered this idea. Finally, with a groan of exasperation, she shoved her bangs out of her face. Well, at this point I don't really have a choice. At the very least, I'll need to head up until the river narrows. I'll keep an eye out for any more boards. It seems so out of place that it has to be a clue… right?
Her course determined, the knight loped along the riverbank, trying not to veer into the water by accident. She kept looking into the rippling water, checking for more boards. Sure enough, more debris floated past, strengthening her suspicions. Her path was complicated slightly, since she was forced to splash through the shallows to avoid hilichurl camps. But she couldn't stop to hassle with battles. Time was of the essence.
Before long, she sprinted around a small hill and spotted the bridge ahead of her. Her eyes narrowed. I can't tell from here if it's been more heavily damaged since the last time I passed this way. She closed the distance swiftly, and soon she stood above the splintered gaps. Looking upriver, she couldn't see any more boards, confirming that the debris had come from the bridge.
But she did spot something else.
The Fatui ship was gliding downstream, riding the current. A Fatui Electrohammer stood at the helm, humming to himself and totally relaxed. Jean's gloves clinked lightly as her hands fisted unconsciously. The knight dropped below the sparse railing and watched the small sloop's approach. Kaeya isn't in the cell anymore! And I can't see Diluc… where are they?!
As the ship passed below the bridge, she made her move. She fell from the sky like a bolt of Anemo fury, landing on the Electrohammer at the helm and knocking him off balance. He yelped and spun around, his weapon materializing.
"Hey! What's wrong with you, lady?"
Jean stood across from him, her sword brandished fearlessly at her side, her eyes cold. "Your prisoners. What did you do with them?"
He blinked. "We only had one prisoner, that knight who attacked us back in Mondstadt."
Right. As long as they haven't realized the truth, Diluc probably isn't considered a prisoner. "Then where is he now?"
The Fatui's jaw clenched. "Exactly why should I tell you anything, lady?! You're the one who pounced on me and threated me on my own ship! I would be well within my rights to call the Millelith on you!"
In response, Jean's mouth thinned. "I am the Acting Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius, and you kidnapped one of my knights. I am well within my rights to dispense justice to a vagabond who attacked someone under my command," she said in clipped tones.
Judging by the way the Electrohammer jumped, he wasn't expecting to find himself up against such a high-ranking officer. "Well, I—I still won't tell you!" The statement fell a little flat, reminding Jean more of Klee's occasional petulance rather than the strong defiance the Fatui no doubt meant it to be.
She was through with words. Lunging forward, she caught the man off guard and nearly landed a blow, forcing him to stumble back with an exclamation.
"Hey!" He defended himself from her swift attack, but his hammer was far too unwieldy to fend her off, and mere seconds passed before the tip of Jean's blade hovered at his throat.
"Talk fast, Fatui," she said coldly, channeling Eula's fearsome demeanor in hopes it would spook the man into talking.
It seemed to work. The Fatui gulped, dropping his hammer. "Why are you so worked up about this guy, anyway?! Surely there's plenty more knights where he came from!"
Jean's mouth thinned. "I care for everyone under my command. And that's beside the point. Captain Kaeya is one of my most trusted knights, and I would no sooner leave him in your hands than I would leave the city undefended."
"C-Captain? We have a Favonian captain in our hands?!" He gaped at her, nonplussed.
Her sword drooped slightly. "You didn't know he was a captain?"
"No! Every time Captain Vlad went to interrogate him, that ridiculous oaf Sven or his buddy Pieter would find something undeniably urgent that required immediate attention. Captain Vlad's barely touched the knight, and certainly hasn't questioned him at length."
Relief swept over Jean like her sister's healing Hydro powers. "Kaeya hasn't been harmed?"
The man shrugged. "Not seriously, anyway, not since I broke his arm when he attacked us." Instantly Jean's sword pricked his neck, and he winced. "Er, probably should've kept that to myself."
"You broke his arm!?" Jean's grip tightened on her sword at the thought of her friends being dragged off, injured and vulnerable. Regaining control of herself, she said flatly, "Enough. Just tell me where they're headed."
He shifted uncomfortably. "You won't… kill me after this, will you?"
For a moment, she was sorely tempted, but then she shook her head with a sigh. "I don't kill people in cold blood. As long as you never return to Mondstadt, you're free to go once you answer my question."
The Fatui nodded eagerly. "All right, but don't let anyone know you got the info from me. The team has been relocated to Stormterror's Lair, to the northwestern side, more or less straight across from the entrance. I'm supposed to ferry the ship back to the coastline and wait for fresh orders."
Satisfied, Jean stood back. "Very well. See to it that your orders never involve my knights or country again."
His head bobbed as he rubbed his neck. "Yes, lady. Thank you for sparing me, lady."
She brushed off his thanks and pivoted, leaping smoothly from the ship.
It didn't take her long to swim to shore from there, and she stood in the shallows for a moment, her sword drawn as she silently watched the Fatui. He gave her a few hasty, nervous glances as he regained control of the helm and started off on his way. Jean flicked her sword back and forth lightly the next time he looked back, wordlessly reminding him of his promise. He winced and quickly returned to his task.
Jean dismissed her sword. They're headed to Stormterror's Lair… at least now I have a solid destination. Her spirits rose a little, but her relief didn't last long.
A coo brought her out of her thoughts, and she blinked as a pigeon landed beside her. It cooed again, the trill vibrating through its fluffy body.
"Hmm… you look rather daring." A thought occurred to her, and she dropped down to coax the bird closer. "Are you one of Draff's, by any chance?" She edged nearer, frowning as she caught sight of a tiny missive secured to the pigeon's leg. Why would someone be contacting me? It probably isn't good news…
The bird hopped around a few times, but Jean was patient, and when it bobbed within reach, she scooped it up quickly. She eased the paper free and tucked the pigeon into the crook of her arm.
The news was worse than she'd thought. Four words in Noelle's precise handwriting marched across the thin note, causing dread to pool in Jean's stomach.
The Mage has escaped.