The subsequent relief froze the mucus in his nostrils; his ears still rang thanks to the rupturing screams, but besides that he only suffered from fatigue. Xiao was not so lucky. He must have been fighting for some time before he reached the city.

"Chongyun! Need help?" Lumine called up to him from the ground. As he looked down in the direction of her voice, he suddenly remembered the several story drop. "Hang on! I got it!" She summoned a second boulder. She may as well have summoned a pebble.

As he glided down to meet her she laughed, presumably at her failed attempt in assisting his dismount. The geo user immediately rushed to him and examined him, and he couldn't even see Xiao.

"Are you hurt? Do you require medical attention?"

"Xiaooooooo!" A flash of green raced through his periphery; the adeptus responded in a hushed tone he couldn't hear over his tinnitus.

"I'm good. You really saved me back there, um…"

"Noelle," she smiled as if she had not just demolished a goliath, "Maid of the Knights of Favonius! It's a pleasure to meet your acquaintance." She curtseyed like she was attending one of Xingqiu's guild events.

"Chongyun." He awkwardly nodded.

"Don't worry she's like this with everyone." Lumine winked and threw an arm around Noelle's shoulder. "Venti! Stop torturing the adeptus!" Xiao looked like he wanted to die in the socially awkward sort of way. Chongyun related heavily, and so he pointedly did everything in his power to avoid eye contact. It wasn't just for Xiao's sake though.

He pulled out a popsicle as the group came all together.

"Alright so not everyone knows each other. Here, I'll go first. I'm Lumine, I'm the Traveler, and a fun fact about me is that I lost a shoe while fighting an angry dragon. Venti, your turn."

"Alright! I'm Venti, I'm a bard from Mondstadt, and a fun fact about me is that this activity is incredibly stupid. Who are you?" From behind Xiao's folded arms, Venti poked his head out and stared at him.

"Chongyun. Are we not going to talk about the serpent or-"

"The Golden Wolflord," Xiao corrected, "I was on my way to the Chasm, and it emerged without warning."

"So we're just gonna jump right in? Okay whatever...isn't that native to Inazuma? What's it doing here?"

"Your guess is as good as mine, and it isn't native to anywhere. It's a demon from another dimension."

"Well. That ain't good." Lumine fished into her pocket, and after a bit of digging she pulled out a wad of gauze and antiseptic. She handed it to Xiao. "What was that about how I shouldn't worry about Zhongli's little favor, Venti?"

"He didn't tell me that a Wolflord was going to attack the city! He told me to look out for the Fatui!" Xiao threw his head back in exasperation. The gauze he held against his side was already soaked with blood.

"You guys saw Zhongli? When?"

"Okay, okay. Clearly, we need to do a bit of reconnaissance," Lumine raised her hands in defeat, "let's take a breather."

Noelle suddenly perked up. "Tea?"


Zhongli and Xingqiu walked for several hours before they finally took their first break. From Mt. Tianheng, they decided to glide northwest figuring the Millelith would be sparser. Now they sat within their own man-made cave on the northern outskirts of Tianqiu Valley; it was very out of the way if they wanted to get to Mondstadt, but apparently Zhongli held faith in his friend.

"You're back." The grass rustled across the open plain, carrying the scent of smoke from the south. Hopefully from other campers.

"Indeed. I was correct about the falcons."

"So your friend sent a message back?"

"Yes. Although, it looks like we're facing some communication issues. It appears he accompanied the Traveler to Liyue." Xingqiu sighed and continued drying the mushrooms he picked, spreading them on a plate near the cave's entrance. Zhongli continued preparing the meat they hunted; he cut as if it were second nature to him. "Don't lose all hope. He did talk to the winery owner."

"And?"

"He wasn't aware the delusion was stolen. Apparently, his family suffered a similar fate to yours. His father passed on many years ago, since the power was too much for him."

"Oh." Zhongli began to line the pan with the cutlets, and Xingqiu periodically contributed. He added his foragebles as Zhongli reached away, and he ignited the campfire with the provided flint. At times like these, he was incredibly thankful to the Adventurer's Guild; without the few supplies he'd still be eating sunsettias.

"He'll be meeting us soon. I'm grateful, since it's very difficult to communicate with a falcon," Zhongli shook his head, "Mondstadters." Xingqiu smiled tiredly, and he watched the flames curl around the pot. His stomach grumbled.

"Are you alright? You're usually much more talkative."

"Really? Did Lumine tell you that?"

"No. It's just an observation I made when I saw you at the guild. You spoke with a young cryo user before you joined me. Then you were quite animated. Is my assumption wrong?"

"You saw that? Heh," Xingqiu ran his hands across his face and through his hair, "that was Chongyun. I've known him since we were children, so I'm a bit more outgoing when he's around."

"I see. I'm the same way. I've known Venti for quite a while."

"Wait, this friend you've been speaking with…is Venti?"

"Do you know him?" The meat began to sizzle and Zhongli flipped it with the flick of his wrist.

"He follows Lumine around a lot. Isn't he-

"-obnoxious? Yes." Xingqiu laughed,

"I guess I should have realized when you mentioned the wine." A comfortable silence settled between them. Very slowly, the sun lowered in the sky until the fireflies emerged. Exhaustion began to sink in, his shoulders heavy from the exertion of the rapid climb.

"I have a question for you." Xingqiu bristled, "Nothing to worry about. It's just a personal curiosity of mine."

"Okay?"

"When you see me," he paused for a moment in thought, "never mind."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I believe the question requires more thought."

"Alright."


"So let me see if I have this straight. This morning Xiao saw Zhongli when he made a delivery. That was around the same time he sent a message to Venti. Sometime between then and early afternoon he and Xingqiu went missing and Chongyun noticed, and when Xiao began heading to the Chasm the seal was broken by an ancient demonic monster?"

"Sounds about right."

"Ye-ep!"

"Xiao?"

"Yes. You're correct."

"And we think the Fatui are up to something…" Lumine scribbled on the back of a travel pamphlet. Unfortunately, Liyue's main street no longer looked as beautiful as it did on the cover.

"Venti, help me get the tea from the other room."

"Okay!" The bard jumped out of his seat, simultaneously pushing Noelle back into hers. "We got it. You brewed it, we deliver." She folded her hands again, clearly uncomfortable being left idle. Lumine shut the kitchen door behind them.

"Have you heard from him?"

"He's in Tianqiu Valley. He ran with Xingqiu from the Millelith…If I had known more before I wouldn't have come with."

"Well, it can't be helped," she sighed, "stupid fucking gnosises. Gnoses? Whatever. If you still had them we could have stomped these assholes into the ground already."

"If wishing could make it so." Lumine rolled her sleeves as she paced over to the tea kettle. She carefully began pouring, evenly distributing between the four glasses. Never before had she been more thankful for her teapot, where, in the middle of the wilderness she could have a fully stocked kitchen. She did not want to set up a five person camp, especially if only three of them needed it.

"So you're going back with Zhongli then."

"Right. You four can investigate the chasm, and if we find more on the Fatui we'll call Xiao."

"What if we run into more demons?" Venti shrugged, his back turned to her as he plated Xiao's tofu.

"That's what Xiao's for. Are you really concerned?"

"I just have a bad feeling about it."

"Me too," he sighed, "take care of him for me will you?"

"I'll do my best." They stepped out of the kitchen and into the common space.