CHAPTER EIGHT: SETTLEMENTS AT DAWN WINERY
Before departing from Mondstadt completely, Ganyu had one last order of business to meet, opening the door to Angel's Share and walking to the front counter. Keqing had been confused on her now-friend's decision to visit the tavern before returning to their humble abode just down the northern alleyway, but she knew it was for a good reason, much aware Ganyu wasn't a partaker in alcoholic beverages of any kind.
People only came there for two reasons, to either get deadass drunk or meetup with comrades for a quick drink or two. Keqing had only gotten drunk once in her life, and it was at a banquet dinner that involved the Qixing and several other national officials that were interested in making business with Ningguang.
She'd decided to have just one glass of the champagne that had been provided, and after a single intake of the strong drink, she was already unable to walk a straight line. To say the least, she had received a nasty hangover and was embarrassed beyond belief upon being told about her behavior in her drunken state, and had swore to never go outside her comfort zone again.
Keqing's safe level of alcohol tolerance was something along the lines of a smooth red or white wine, one glass usually being enough to satisfy her. She could never down what her once-boss drank in her off time from her duties as the Tianquan, which was usually the very drink that had done her in. Rum was also a delicacy of Ningguang's, usually provided by Beidou on her visits to the Jade Chamber. That was one drink she couldn't stand the taste of, and was thankful that Angel's Share was absent of its lingering odor as Ganyu addressed the bartender with something she would've never expected to come out of her friend's mouth.
"Can I get one Flaming Flower Cocktail?" Ganyu requested.
Keqing gasped, addressing her partner's sudden craving for a most-likely mixed drink.
"Ganyu, are you crazy?!" Keqing addressed.
Ganyu answered by eying her colleague with a look of seriousness.
"Just trust me," Ganyu assured, to which Keqing very reluctantly allowed her half-adeptus friend to proceed.
"Ah, so you're the one Master Diluc was talking about," the bartender obliged. "I'm afraid he's not here at the moment. He's currently residing at his winery out towards the boundaries of Liyue."
"Do you know how I can get there?" Ganyu asked.
Keqing interrupted almost instantly, having caught onto what Ganyu was up to.
"No need for that, Ganyu. I've been to the Dawn Winery before on small business matters, so I can lead us there."
"Alright then," Ganyu accepted with a smile, turning to the bartender. "Sorry for the trouble."
The bartender shook his head.
"No trouble at all. You two stay safe on the open road, alright."
"We will," Ganyu finished, moving back to the exit along with Keqing.
Upon leaving the establishment, Ganyu led Keqing back to their mini-home to collect their spare clothes and weapons. Opening the door, Ganyu moved to collect her bow and stuff her extra attire into the bag that Jean had provided them for the road ahead.
However, she was stopped by Keqing, standing with her arms folded.
"Mind telling me what's going on here?" Keqing said assertively.
Ganyu knew she had the green light to speak of her secret involvement with Diluc from the letter, so she just gave Keqing the honest truth.
"Well, to put it straight, I basically have been working in secrecy with Master Diluc," Ganyu confessed. "He despises the Knights of Favonius for personal reasons to do with his past, so I've had to keep everything he has provided me from Jean and her knights. He's held his part of the deal and gave me information on who we may be dealing with along with just how dangerous they may be."
Keqing's expression changed to an understanding one, having been in the business of secret operations as the Yuheng.
"I see. In that case, I'd like to know exactly everything that has been discussed between you and him," Keqing directed.
Ganyu nodded.
"When we get to Dawn Winery, everything will become clear, I promise," Ganyu proposed, to which Keqing accepted as a fair response.
"Very well. Then let's get ready for the road," Keqing finished, moving to collect her sword and any other possessions.
Once the two had gathered and double checked the room for anything they may have missed, they exited the abode and started for the front gate of Mondstadt. Passing the bridge, the two took the right path that led directly to Springvale. Keqing led the way, being more familiar with the roads of Mondstadt's region and treacherous terrain.
They passed through fields and a wide gorge that had been a hotspot for both hilichurls and treasure hoarders, having encountered some of said enemies along their travel. They quickly sorted out the attacks with a few of Ganyu's arrows and a couple of electro-infused slashes of Keqing's sword, managing to escape without one scratch and zero signs of any struggle.
Ganyu and Keqing were all-too-familiar with the hilichurls and treasure hoarders by now, so it was no surprise that they could subdue them with little effort or trouble without breaking a sweat. After finishing off their enemies, they continued deeper into the dark canyon, eventually having met the sign that clarified their arrival at Springvale.
However, they didn't stop and had continued further along the path, where they eventually came to another sign and mansion. The fields were consisted of several rows of grape vines, and if that weren't enough of an indication that they had arrived at the Dawn Winery, the sign labeled with said title should've confirmed it well enough.
Walking to the entrance of the tall and fancy building, Keqing pushed one of the two doors open, allowing Ganyu clearance by holding it in place.
"After you," Keqing said kindly.
Ganyu accepted the offer and walked through the doorway, into the luxurious abode that carried a faint scent of pinewood. Having never been to Dawn Winery, Ganyu was amazed and slightly confused at the infrastructure of the building. It seemed less like a winery and more like a home to someone of great wealth, given the interior design being composed of things that were not of the cheaper price range.
The floor was made of marble tiles, there were several decorative pieces that could easily fetch a heavy price at an auction, and the entirety of the mansion didn't give any vibes that it belonged to someone of the lower bar of society. Less to say, it was quite a fascinating sight to Ganyu, usually more acquainted with nature and a work office.
Upon eying the dining table just off the right wall of the open room, they found their red-headed person of interest, currently engaged in reading over some letters. Keqing and Ganyu didn't interrupt, and just waited patiently for him to finish his current work, eventually receiving their reward of getting his attention after a short minute.
"Ah, it's you two," Diluc greeted, setting his paperwork off to the side. "Please have a seat."
"Oh, don't let us stop you from finishing any of your work, Sir Diluc," Ganyu assured.
"No no, it's fine," Diluc replied. "This is nothing necessarily important, so I can sort it out later."
Ganyu nodded in agreement then moved to the elongated table with Keqing, taking a seat across from her consultant. Upon tucking themselves up to the table, Diluc moved to greet his newest partner.
"You must be the Yuheng that Ms. Ganyu had mentioned prior."
"No need for formalities, sir," Keqing added. "Just call me, Keqing."
"As you wish," Diluc obliged. "That name strangely rings bells, but I'm not sure if we've actually met before."
"Oh, I've had to resolve some inconsistencies with paperwork related to Dawn Winery in the past, so you've probably heard my name through paperwork or your fellow employees," Keqing inquired.
"That would make sense, but regardless, it's a pleasure to meet you in person at last," Diluc stated.
"The pleasure is all mine," Keqing confirmed.
Diluc nodded in agreement, moving onto the matter at hand.
"Alright. Now, onto the reason you're here. To make things simple, I met and struck a deal with your fellow co-worker here regarding the unexpected demise of your home. In doing so, I sent out requests to people who could in any way provide information about the Fatui's activities, and to put it straight, it's not looking good."
Having gained Keqing's attention, Diluc proceeded with explaining what he'd provided Ganyu in her letter. The news had given Keqing a feeling of fear, seeing in reality, these Fatui agents could be literally anyone. After being provided everything he'd told Ganyu prior, she moved to giving Diluc insight on what had been discussed with Jean and the Knights.
"Alright, seeing you've been open with me, I'll respect your wishes of keeping this confidential to only us three. To put the meeting into a short but clear enough summary, Ganyu came up with a plan to potentially get information on who made the call to exterminate Liyue Harbor. The first order of business is to figure out if the cryo archon is the mastermind of this madness or if somebody else is pulling the strings, otherwise we could risk starting a pointless war with Snezhnaya."
Diluc nodded in complete agreement.
"You are very wise in tackling the situation this way, seeing there is the chance that the Tsaritsa isn't calling the shots," Diluc confirmed. "A war is the last thing Teyvat needs right now, so finding the source is a great alternative to avoid potentially walking into a trap."
Keqing nodded.
"Precisely, which is why we plan to lead someone who may be involved into our own trap," Keqing explained. "A certain Fatui official's name happened to come up just hours before the attack was initiated on Liyue Harbor, so we suspect he may have the information that we're looking for."
"So, you plan to lead him into a trap to interrogate him for answers, correct?" Diluc assumed.
"Yes. Jean already alerted us that someone involved with said official could've been watching us within Mondstadt, so we made a plan to leave the city to make it seem like we had no further involvement with the Knights of Favonius and had just come to Mondstadt for assistance with our injuries and such.
After a week of us being absent from the city, Jean will make a request to invite our target to the Knights of Favonius Headquarters and will make sure he doesn't leave the city until after Ganyu and I have squeezed out every piece of valuable information possible."
Diluc put a hand to his chin in thought, finding the whole plan very risky and the odds of success low.
"Your plan is good, but if this is a Fatui official of the higher ranks, then it's very much flawed," Diluc answered bluntly.
"The official is one of Snezhnaya's higher branches named Reshav Starchovski," Keqing confirmed. "I don't suppose you may know who he is?"
"I don't, but that may be due to his name being an alternate pen name for identity protection," Diluc theorized.
Keqing shook her head.
"Negative. The name showed up in the Fatui's records after being investigated by one of the Tianquan's most trusted inquirerers. Therefore, seeing it's on record, it's not a pen name."
Diluc nodded.
"With that confirmation, I can gladly say that you are right, meaning tracking his activity in Snezhnaya will not be difficult. In fact, things just got a whole lot easier, but we still shouldn't underestimate him. He is still a well-trained soldier of the Fatui, and if he's involved with the destruction of an entire city, he's dangerous and ruthless. To accomplish the destruction of an entire capital Is not an easy feat and requires the ability to escape the radar without any sort of detection.
You're very fortunate that you even managed to track him and get a name, seeing this man is not only a master of remaining low profile, but also a master of agility and stealth."
Keqing shook her head again.
"That's the thing; he was easy to track due to him sticking out like a sore thumb. It's like he wasn't even trying to remain low profile at all."
Diluc nodded, knowing the immediate reason why Reshav had chosen to expose himself.
"I see. Then it was an act of mockery towards you and your nation's government, seeing he appeared as a casual citizen. Only until the fuse was lit did you see him as who he really was."
Keqing felt a ping of anger pierce her pride, now aware that Reshav had been mocking not only her but the entire Qixing. Upon eying Ganyu, she could tell her friend felt the same, and it was an even bigger impact because she'd sworn to protect Liyue through a contract.
They'd been humiliated and bullied by this ungrateful son of a bitch without even realizing it.
"The nerve of that bastard!" Keqing barked. "I can't believe we were that foolish and naïve!"
Upon a touch to her shoulder, Keqing turned to find that it had been Ganyu, attempting to settle the growing fire of rage and pride within her soul.
"Save it. Getting angry about it now won't solve anything," Ganyu stated, to which Keqing calmed and nodded at.
"I'm sorry," Keqing apologized. "I don't know what came over me."
Diluc dismissed her apology with a wave of his hand.
"It's okay to be angry, but Ms. Ganyu is right," he stated. "Anger won't solve anything right now. What we need to focus on is making sure he makes it to Mondstadt and doesn't leave, so here's what I'm going to do. I've already sent requests out for information, so I have eyes watching Snezhnaya as we speak. Therefore, I'll forward another message to my partners to specifically watch for Reshav, and see if he brings some uninvited guests.
In an estimated time of one week, if your plan works, Reshav should be here. However, before that time comes, I want us to meet again to prepare for his arrival, seeing I don't see the knights handling a well-trained government official well. This is the first step to getting this whole situation to benefit our progress in delivering retribution to these savages, so we can't afford to make any mistakes. "
Keqing and Ganyu nodded, followed by one last statement from Ganyu.
"So, what do we do until you receive word from your inquirerers?"
"Simple. We wait," Diluc confirmed. "Seeing you have no other place to go, you two are more than welcome to take hospitality here."
Ganyu shook her head.
"No. We possibly couldn't," she replied.
"It's no trouble, seriously," Diluc assured. "We have plenty of space for you, and it's the least I can do for you after the tragic loss of your home."
"Well…if you insist, I guess we ca-
"We accept," Keqing interrupted, finishing the debate entirely.
"Perfect. I'll get you accommodated shortly," Diluc accepted. "For now, feel free to have a look around."
With the conversation summed up, Diluc got up from his seat and left to prepare the necessities for housing his two guests.
Once the coast was clear, Ganyu turned to her colleague with a look of unease, unsure if it was the best idea to stay.
"Do you really think staying here is the best idea?" Ganyu questioned sincerely. "Staying in one place may attract unwanted attention and endanger the workers here."
Keqing could see what Ganyu meant, but she had a feeling that they were safe to stay idle for the time being.
"From what Diluc said, it seems to me that the Fatui that attacked Liyue Harbor are not interested in any sort of motion to attack again at any moment," Keqing explained. "Apparently, the ship that had stowed away our foes is still residing in Snezhnaya's docks, and while it may seem frightening and wrong to stay put, I seriously think following Sir Diluc's direction is the best thing we can do for now."
Ganyu trusted Keqing's insight enough, having been given enough ground to be reasonable.
"Okay, I trust your judgment, Keqing," Ganyu responded with clarity.
Keqing responded with a smile that carried a light blush beneath her facial tone.
"So, we have a week to kill," Keqing started in a lazy tone, as if she'd just received the most relieving news of her life. "What do you want to do in that time?"
Ganyu put a hand to her chin in thought, recalling one crucial factor in this whole endeavor outside of the destruction of Liyue Harbor.
The absence of the Adepti and Rex Lapis in the entire disaster.
"I want to find out what happened to the Adepti and Morax," Ganyu answered. "Therefore, I believe it's time to return to where this all started."