The doors shut behind them with an assertive and echoing thud, that despite the open windows led to a sweltering room beyond. The layers of syrup-thick air were accompanied by an ardent sense of dread that seemed to follow her every step and permeate every room. Being the maid she was, Noelle attributed that sense to the dust that piled in the corners and the way the lofty ceilings rose without ample cause.
The guild had only been vacant for a few days now, yet it was unlike any of the manors she attended to in Mond. The trinkets and furniture didn't complement each other or blend at all; instead of building a sense of home, they clashed like products in a showroom. Each individual piece demanded her complete attention like a group of competing auctioneers. Yet as the sun began its descent, the foyer waited silently.
"Are we sure they aren't still here?" Chongyun's voice interrupted.
"I doubt it," Xingqiu flipped a switch, and an electric chandelier hummed to life with a sterile sheen. "The Qixing started their investigation the morning I left, right?"
"They did, but that doesn't mean they haven't circled back." The group continued down the winding corridors, where Noelle did her best to ignore the wax-coated banisters. Nothing here had been properly polished.
Would it be considered rude to offer her services? She opted to stay silent.
"If their plan is as grand and conceited as we've been led to believe, then they've more important places to be."
"I suppose." Chongyun didn't appear convinced. He continually stepped ahead by crossing in front of Xingqiu, going so far as to check around the corners. Meanwhile, Xingqiu stiffened beside her like a Knight of Favonius at attention. His gaze fell absent as his mind wandered to other places, leaving her to wonder. Was this how Feiyun always felt? And just how many places could someone hide in a hollow building like this?
As they continued, a heavily worn, velvet-covered staircase caught her attention. She paused,
"Would your brother keep information in his room?" The pair startled and turned guiltily. They had continued to walk several paces, leaving her to stand uselessly by the steps. She didn't know where they led, and she didn't know where they were going either. "I'm not familiar with Liyuen organizational habits, but I would think even a personal office would be too plain. After all, it was the first place Mister Zhongli thought to look."
"You're right," Xingqiu broke free from his reverie, "although the bedrooms are usually where my father checks first."
"But your brother was working together with your father."
"You're right," his face lit up in a sudden epiphany, "I'm so used to hiding things from my father that he knew I would overlook his bedroom." He smiled, climbing two stairs for every stride. "Plus I never go into his room! Noelle, you're a genius!"
"Not really," she looked to Chongyun with amusement. Whatever nuance there was to stealth here was completely lost as they circled back to the obvious. It didn't surprise her then to find Xingqiu under the bed by the time they arrived, his legs sticking out from under the bed skirt as he wriggled his way into the narrow gap. It was a space he was uniquely qualified to fit in.
"Ummm…" Chongyun watched as his ankles disappeared, "isn't under the bed too obvious?"
"It's a classic for a reason!"
Thoughtlessly, Noelle opened the drawer to a nightstand.
"There's nothing! I can't believe it...ordinarily, this is such a great place for snacks and boo-ow!" Chongyun poorly suppressed a laugh as he hit his head on the bed frame.
"As long as we're searching the stupid places, maybe he hid things on his bookshelf."
"Funny, but that would actually be the worst place to hide something from me."
"You would think, but why would you go in his room to take books you could get for yourself?" He helped Xingqiu to a standing position, removing the cobwebs that clung to his shoulder.
"On the contrary, why else would I bother to come in here?"
Noelle cleared her throat,
"Is your brother interested in botany? Or swords?" She held up two books, one a textbook and another a light novel.
"Not that I'm aware. He hated even his basic self-defense classes." Xingqiu reached for the novel and turned it over in his hands, frowning.
"What's in the textbook?" Chongyun abruptly gestured for her to open it.
"Oh-um…" She opened to the first page where a loose sheet of paper clung to the inside cover. Someone recorded detailed notes in Liyuen, with handwriting so neat it could have been printed with a press.
"Spirit borneol," Chongyun read aloud, "an herb used by scholars in the Akademiya, this plant is known for its ability to induce hallucinations in certain individuals. In rare cases, it has been known to affect neurological function, acting as an antagonist to certain receptors in the reticular formation."
"Strange," she mused, "isn't the Akademiya in Sumeru?"
"I think so," he glanced over at Xingqiu who parsed through the novel carefully. Rather than provide his usual input he flipped past several dogeared pages."A'qiu?"
"I'll-um. I'll be right back." Just as Noelle glanced up she saw him leave. Chongyun frowned.
What was so important about A Legend of Sword?
Being dead wasn't very enjoyable; if it were a drink, it would be a rare one he couldn't finish. If it were a person, he'd cross the street to avoid it. If it were a song, he'd have to add his own creative twist. He could go on, but without a pen or a lyre it was useless. Not that he could hold onto either. Probably.
Even standing beside steaming bowls and flaming grills, he felt freezing. People kept walking through him regardless of where he stood, and even the most gentle of whispers were beginning to sound like screeches of the damned. Now he understood why the ghosts of legend and song always stayed in quiet, abandoned places.
What he wouldn't give for the serenity of a place like Wuwang Hill.
Though there was a consolation prize; everyone else had to dress well and squeeze into queues and corners, while he could walk freely and easily. Just as he was. Right through the crowds and tables. Though it made him woefully uncomfortable, he could easily match pace with Lady Miko as she returned from ordering her food.
She weaved through the room like a dance, back to the table that he never should have left. Unlike the rest of this place, sitting beside the Traveler was at least tolerable. Warmer, quieter, and for some reason calmer. Like a breeze on a sunny day. He was too exhausted to care about stepping through their food, so he climbed onto the table and sat over her shoulder on the window sill. He sighed and willed his foggy mind to listen.
He was here for something, and they were about to tell him that something. He was certain.
"So, Traveler, I hear you're not the only one here to talk business." Yae Miko slid into the booth on the opposite side of the table, bumping elbows with the Shogun in the process. The Traveler quickly swallowed and wiped her mouth with a spare napkin, though there was one already spread across her lap.
"Yes. I apologize, I haven't eaten since yesterday."
"Since yesterday?" Thoma seemed to take this personally for some reason.
"Oh my, was your travel from Mondstadt strenuous? Or was it the people of Liyue who caught you to do their bidding along the way?"
Mondstadt. It still existed! His chest suddenly felt light, the room a bit warmer.
The Traveler laughed politely, "I guess you could say it was a bit of both."
"I'm sure Barbatos was a handful," the Shogun suddenly stuttered, "or, sorry. I mean Barbatos' people can also...be a handful. They have many commissions too, I take it?"
"Oh yes," the Traveler replied smoothly, "everyone wants fresh grapes from the Winery, but no one wants to pick them."
"How is Mondstadt these days? Are they having the same problems that we are?"
"Well, that's what I was hoping to discuss actually."
"Barbatos wouldn't begin seizing visions, he's-" the Traveler suddenly interrupted,
"That's not what he-" and the Shogun raised her voice, "-he's not like me." The table fell silent, the fog in his mind growing thicker.
Who's Barbatos?
"I-I'm sorry," she glanced at something under the table, out of view from the other two. Lady Miko held her hand, though her face portrayed nothing. "I wasn't sure how to bring it up. The Sakoku Decree. I've been meaning to apologize to you. Thoma, Traveler, I'm sorry for the distress I've caused you both."
"Wait-that's what this was about?" Again, silence.
"Well, I did publish a best-selling novel." The Traveler laughed at that.
"It's fine," Thoma awkwardly fiddled with his chopsticks, "well not really. But, I understand. You nearly took my vision, but that's ultimately because of your perspective. At the time, you thought you were doing good." The Traveler shrugged,
"I'm just a bystander in all of this."
"Well, not exactly."
Their voices started blending together again. In a sudden amalgamation of clinking glasses and flowing laughter, their words slipped past him like sand in an hourglass. The frigid air returned ten-fold.
"The ley lines?" He clutched his head which began pounding, and his chest began dripping with ice. Like the blood and the memories were still fresh, though they couldn't have been. He wasn't meant to be here watching these people, but there had to be some reason.
He heard a shout, and the room erupted into chaos.
"Miasmas!"
When he opened his eyes, all he saw was a blue-haired boy.