Chapter Eighteen
The awfully late start on her journey paired with the fight against the lone Fatui to conspire against Jean. She wasn't able to make quite as much headway as she'd hoped. She passed Wangshu Inn as the sun peaked at noon, shortly after her encounter on the Fatui ship, but despite her best efforts, it was growing late by the time she reached the narrow pass between Liyue and Mondstadt.
"Excuse me, good sir, but could you tell me if a band of people crossed through here recently?" The slim knight offered a friendly smile along with her inquiry.
She stood at one of the vendor's stalls in the small courtyard just below the Stone Gate itself. The sun was hovering near the horizon, making her shift impatiently. I have to keep moving, but I need to make sure I'm on the right track. She had already asked the other vendors for information, but no one could verify that the Fatui and their captives had passed that way. The aging tea vendor was her last hope.
The elderly man blinked at her. "A band of people, you say? Hmm, that sounds familiar…" He rubbed his chin thoughtfully, leaning against the bundles of supplies stacked beside him. The stack shifted ever so slightly at his weight.
Jean watched him hopefully, waiting for him to finish pondering the question. Then her eye darted to the tower of bundles, and she drew in a quick breath. "Watch out!" She jumped forward, tugging the startled older man out of the way mere seconds before the top bundle tipped over the side and crashed to the ground right where he'd been standing.
"Oh goodness! D-dear me!" The elderly man stammered; his hand pressed to his heart. "I was nearly flattened! I can hardly believe it!" He kept gasping, his eyes huge.
Jean patted his arm, giving him a business-like inspection. "Are you hurt?"
He was staring at his supplies, looking a little green. "Oh dearie me!" When Jean gently nudged him again, he started out of his fugue. "I'm so sorry, young miss, I didn't hear you speaking to me. No no, thanks to your efforts, I'm not harmed at all. I owe you my life!"
Blushing, she waved off his gratitude. "It's nothing, sir. I'm just glad you weren't harmed." Stepping forward, she scooped up the bundle. "Where would you like me to put this?"
The old man kept blinking in surprise, but managed to stammer out directions to her. Once the supplies were safely stowed without risk of toppling, Jean brushed her gauntlets off. "Now then, I don't want to bother you, but I was hoping you could tell me if a small group passed through here last night?"
Snorting and huffing through his beard, the man nodded. "Yes, of course! At least… I think so." He was shuffling around beneath his little awning, clicking his tongue thoughtfully as he inspected teacup after teacup. "I don't stay up at night, of course, but I did happen to wake up sometime very late when I heard a few people making their way up the stairs. It seemed a bit odd to me, seeing as how most people don't travel at night, so I hazarded a quick look when they passed." He selected a small teacup and brought it back to the table. Carefully he poured some tea into it.
Jean held her breath, barely remembering to thank the man as he pressed the round teacup into her hands. "And?"
He squinted. "My eyesight's not what it used to be, young miss, so I can't say for sure just how many of them there were. One of them was quite large, and another one kept talking in this laughing sort of voice. I could've sworn that a couple of them had glowing eyes, but that might just be an old man's overactive imagination. I can't be sure it wasn't all just a dream, of course." He hesitated, making Jean's heart fall. A tiny smile crossed his lips. "But just before they went out of sight, this sweet little cat came and jumped up next to me for a minute." He sighed happily. "It was the most precious thing, soft and warm with the most beautiful fur. I've never seen a cat like that before. It didn't stay long, and it ran off after the rest of the group after just a few minutes." He looked down into his own teacup regretfully. "My granddaughter would love a cat like that…"
Jean nodded briskly, beyond relieved that Diluc's presence had confirmed the Electrohammer's information. "Thank you, kind sir. You've been most helpful!" She nearly set her teacup down before realizing how rude it was to avoid drinking it. Quickly she sipped the scalding liquid, swallowing far too much in one go. She held in a cough, nodding bravely against her watering eyes. "This is… quite good, sir."
He chuckled and waved his hand. "Ach, you can keep the cup and drink it as you go. I can see you're itching to be on your way, young miss. Please, if you ever pass this way again, stop in for a proper bit of tea. Oh, and have this Sunsettia! I won't take no for an answer, young lady," he finished firmly.
Smiling, Jean accepted the fruit. "I am indebted to you, kind sir. May you be blessed for your aid to me this day!" With that, she left, glancing up appreciatively at the great Stone Gate arch as it loomed above her. The impressive sight was gone from her thoughts as soon as she was past.
She loped up the trail along the river, her mind blank for once as she drank her tea and ate her Sunsettia. Oversleeping had done wonders for her stamina, and she felt like she could run all day, but her mind was utterly worn out from racing through potentially awful scenarios of what her friends might be going through. It was actually rather peaceful to simply jog along, enjoying the beauty of nature in the waterfalls, birds, squirrels and flowers that lined the well-worn path. It didn't take long to round the last bend of the road to Stone Gate.
That's when she spotted Dawn Winery in the distance, looking cheerful and welcoming and so very like Mondstadt. Without warning, the thought of her home hit her with a staggering bolt of homesickness. I do hope the Knights of Favonius are all working hard… I left orders with Lisa to assume command should the search around Springvale take longer than expected, but I don't think any of us expected this to drag on for so long. I hope they're able to cope in my absence…
Jean didn't have an inflated opinion of her importance to the city. She trusted that Lisa would keep things running smoothly. But she still felt a deep pang of guilt over all her work that was left undone. I should've finished off that response to Lady Ningguang about the Violetgrass trade… if Lisa hasn't written something completely dismissive and/or borderline mocking, I'll have to finish it when I get back, and it'll be horribly late. And oh! I forgot to approve the funding for Anna's family! Ugh, I'm utterly incompetent. Jean shook her head in disappointment at herself.
Her easy lope ate up the miles, and as the last sunbeams finally vanished from the sky, she entered the canyon leading to Stormterror's Lair. She cast a worried glance up as the canyon darked abruptly with the departure of the light. I don't know that I can keep going much longer without risking injury to myself…
Despite the monotony of the journey, there were a few wild moments. The unexpected presence of a Shield Mitachurl dozing just beyond the arch at the beginning of the canyon made for a rather unwelcome surprise. Although Jean wanted to take it out to keep her citizens safe, she didn't feel as though she had the time. The brothers were still in danger.
So she raced past the infuriated Mitachurl, still roaring his displeasure over being so rudely disturbed. Soon enough, he was lost to the shadowy depths behind her.
The darkness made it difficult to see, and more than once she nearly twisted her ankle. To her chagrin, she was forced to slow down. Her progress was not nearly to her liking, and by the time the night was mostly over, she still hadn't made it out of the canyon. Weary yet still filled with determination, she was so focused on keeping her footing in the treacherous ground that she completely missed the light footsteps up ahead.
The Acting Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius collided headlong with the stranger, bowling the smaller person over and crashing to the ground in unison.
"Ouch!"
"Yipes! AGAIN?!"
Jean sat up, rubbing her head and wincing. She eyed the other person contritely. "I beg your pardon! I truly didn't mean to knock you over like that!"
To her surprise, the other girl laughed. "Actually it's not the first time this has happened tonight." She gave a wry smirk. "I really thought this valley was supposed to be deserted! Guess I need to update my maps, haha!"
Jean climbed to her feet and reached down to help the girl up. "Stormterror's Lair is deserted. The ruins aren't exactly stable, so we try to discourage casual trips here. There shouldn't be anyone around here."
"I don't want to argue, but… it's definitely not deserted," the girl said firmly. "I went and dropped off a package in a campsite, so I'm guessing there's someone headed out there soon. And then on my way back, I was nearly run over by an adorable nekomata and a tall knight."
Jean was arrested in the middle of knocking dust off her sleeves. "A knight?"
"That's what he said. I think his name was… Kaeya?"
"You saw Kaeya?! Was he all right? Was Diluc with him?" Jean took a step forward. The girl recoiled slightly, alarm flashing in her eyes. Quickly Jean took ahold of herself. "Oh! I'm so sorry." Sighing, Jean rubbed her forehead. "I am Jean Gunnhilder, a Knight of Favonius. I've been tracking my missing friends for days, and I'm exhausted. But that's no excuse for acting so rudely."
The other girl patted her arm comfortingly. "Don't worry about it! My name is Kirara. I'm a courier for Komaniya Express, you see. One of their best, actually!" She beamed, then sobered as she returned to the subject at hand. "So you said your friends were missing?"
"Yes. They were kidnapped by Fatui days ago, and I've been trying to catch up and rescue them," Jean explained.
Gasping, Kirara covered her mouth. "Oh! That's awful!" At that point, her twin tails were flurrying so wildly in dismay that they caught Jean's attention even in the dim light. She blinked, but decided to ignore the odd sight in favor of information.
"Please, can you tell me where they are?"
"Yes, of course! But they weren't being held captive when I met them. I ran into them on the way back from the parcel drop-off. Stormterror's Lair is so beautiful, so I'd decided to go the long way around when I left. Lucky I did! Your knight didn't seem to know that nekomata can change back and forth at will."
"I'm sorry, what's a… nekomata?" Jean interrupted, deeply confused.
"Oh! Well, it's the kind of cat that can change back and forth between human and cat," Kirara explained blithely. "Like me! Anyways, I showed them how it works, and the nekomata figured it out right away!" She let out a tiny feline cheer.
Jean drew in a sharp breath. "So you mean… Diluc's not a cat anymore?"
Kirara nodded with an enormous grin. "Nope! He's back to normal now, if a bit weaker than he's used to. It'll wear off eventually, but sometimes your first couple shifts can really take a toll on you." She hesitated, then added slowly, "Although… it kinda felt like they were running from something. I asked if they needed help, and they gave each other a look like they were trying not to let me see. It's possible that they're still in danger." The young girl bit her lip.
"Thank you very much, Kirara." Jean's eyes went past the courier. "You've given me the strength to keep going. I'll get them out of there, don't worry! They'll be safe with me."
"If you say so," Kirara said doubtfully. "Okay, I should keep moving. I hope everything goes well for you and your friends!"
Jean gave her the Knights' salute before taking off in pursuit of the missing brothers. Hold on a little longer, you two. Just a little longer!