"Wilhelm."
"Yes?"
"The bird is still there."
"Yes."
We calmly continued to eat, but every so often, there was a tapping on the window. We could see its shadow coming in through the curtain below the lantern lights outside.
It hadn't moved and just periodically tapped on the door like it was trying to get our attention, albeit in some weird polite way.
Artoria knew it wasn't a normal bird.
I knew it wasn't a normal bird.
I think only the bird didn't know that we knew it wasn't a normal bird.
Tap.
"How are the dumplings?"
"They're wonderful." Artoria smiled.
Tap.
"The duck is great too." I couldn't help but praise as I pulled off a piece with my chopsticks. "Trade you a bite for your pork."
She picked a piece up off her plate as she held it out for me, and I did the same as we fed each other.
Tap.
"Do you think they serve dessert?" Artoria asked. "I would quite like to experience it if they have it."
"I think I saw some egg tarts earlier today, but I wasn't really paying all that much attention to what other people were eating when we came in."
Tap.
"I'm curious about the weapons that Liyue has. I was impressed with the variety in Mondstadt; I wonder if we'll find anything interesting there as well." I said idly.
Artoria hummed thoughtfully. "I admit, I am enjoying the greatsword I have acquired. It had been…fun, to use a weapon I am more unfamiliar with. Perhaps I shall try something new here as well? I have not used a bow in quite some time."
Tap.
"What about a spear?" I asked.
"I have quite a bit of experience with polearms. I wielded my lance often enough, especially on horseback. The precursor to learning to wield a lance is proper training on utilizing a spear."
I never thought about that as they're so different in my mind," I replied.
"Despite its predominance in many such legends and stories, a lance is not a predominantly wielded weapon. They were often only utilized by a select few amidst the thick of a charge because they were difficult to wield properly. Gareth, however, felt compelled to make it her primary weapon of choice even outside of horseback combat." Artoria shook her head in exasperation. "Her Lancer was twice as tall as she was."
Tap.
"Ah." Artoria blinked.
"What?"
"I have just come to a realization. Her lance was designed by Merlin, and he spent considerable effort to have it crafted to his expectations. I am to believe he also participated in the forging using his own abilities. Her lance was able to spew fire, or so that is how it is in my memories. But now, I realize, it was part firearm. If in a primitive state compared to what is now familiar. I recall a comment he made when I asked him about it; he said that it was 'something he saw in the East'."
She had that thousand-yard stare about her as she came to this realization.
Tap.
Huh.
She stabbed a piece of pork with her chopstick with a twitching, somewhat menacing smile on her face. "I will make sure to have words with him if we ever meet again."
"...dare I ask?"
"He created firearms and didn't deem that important enough to explain to me." Her eye twitched.
Ah.
I could understand her attitude now. As the head of the state, literally the king, Merlin had created the next level of weapons for the battlefield and didn't say a word about it.
That kind of discovery would have turned the course of history quite substantially if it were industrialized.
Tap.
Artoria finally seemed to have enough and threw her chopstick at the window, imbedding it halfway, earning a squawk from the other side.
"Do you mind? We are having a private meal." She looked towards the window, chopsticks sticking out, and curtains blown back from the force of her throw.
The window cracked from the impaled chopstick as the focal point, crawling outwards from there, and finally shattered.
The bird stared at us for a long moment. "I see, my disguise was ineffective. This one should have expected that such splendor could not masquerade as a simple beast." It spoke in a very…articulate and oddly charming tone.
"Sure, let's go with that." I said dryly.
The bird, as if completely ignoring the atmosphere, climbed in through the window. Which…was rather awkward because it was kind of tall.
"...we were enjoying a meal together." Artoria spoke with a blank look on her face.
"Yes, of course. The food of Wangshu Inn is renowned throughout all of Liyue. Of course, thanks to my generosity to the owner one-hundred and thirty-seven years ago, I bestowed upon them their famous recipe of Raid Braised Pork Belly." The bird eyed the dishes on the table. "This went on to become their most famous dish, earning them fame among mortals throughout the lands. There is no need to thank me."
The bird bobbed its head slightly as if it were soaking in silent praise at its own words.
"Alas, this One has not come to discuss this One's past achievements." The bird continued. "This one was summoned by the Conqueror of Demons to assess a potential threat."
"Pardon?" I blinked.
"Speak plainly, Mortal. This one's time is precious. Relay the information you spoke to the Conqueror of Demons in full detail. If such information is as valuable as This One expects, rewards shall be bestowed."
"..."
"..."
Artoria and I stared at her and then glanced at each other.
The bird silently waited there, then it seemingly came to a realization. "This one has seemed to have made an error in etiquette."
Did it finally realize?
"For mortals to meet an Adeptus such as oneself, it must be difficult to speak one's mind openly." The bird's wings unfolded. "Fear not, Mortals. This One gives you permission to speak freely in this One's presence. I shan't judge you on it; carry on with your explanation."
It looked back and forth between us expectantly.
"Does this One's presence still make it difficult to speak? I understand; you may take a moment to gather your courage. I shall wait patiently for when you are ready." The bird just stood there as silence filled the room.
I raised my hand. "Question."
"Yes, Mortal?" The bird politely turned to me, like a teacher humoring a child.
"What exactly is an Adeptus?" I figured I may as well ask.
"Ah, you seek wisdom of ages past!" It unfurled its wings briefly before settling down. "An intriguing question. What is an Adeptus? We are those who have ascended beyond mortal needs and achieved enlightenment."
"You're Xian." I realized, eyes widening.
Okay, it all suddenly clicked in place.
"Ah, an older term! Quite, yes." The crane nodded, looking quite pleased.
Artoria looked at me, as if to ask for clarification.
"Remember the trip we took to Nuwa's Palace?" I told her, and then it clicked for her too.
In simple terms, this bird is an immortal in the Eastern sense of the word. Humans, demons, plants, animals—anything is capable of reaching enlightenment and achieving ascension.
Both in my birth world and even back home, the concept of Immortals exists. When we went to visit the Immortal Realm of the Chinese cosmology, it was filled with beings who sought the same immortal existence.
And during my time in Chaldea, there was also Yu, who was in fact a Xian as well.
And now, this bird in front of us was the same.
Okay, now that that's been cleared up, we're back at square one. Which is, what the fuck is this bird actually talking about?
You know what?
I plopped Sir Wiggles onto the table, saying nothing.
"Hmm?" The bird immediately snapped its head towards him. "Which Adeptus is this? No, you do not hail from Liyue. Further, a Youkai from Inazuma perhaps?"
Sir Wiggles twitched his nose, and the bird reeled back. "Why! This One Never!" It spoke in full aghast.
I don't know what Sir Wiggles said to it, but I approve.
"Hmph! Do you think this one would fall for such flattery!?" The bird's feathers fluffed up as if preening. "Thy words ring hollow and fall on deaf ears." It turned its head up but still looked to Sir Wiggles like it was waiting for something else.
Sir Wiggles wiggled its butt and hopped a couple times.
To the uneducated, it may seem he's just bouncing around, but he's able to communicate more through intentions when it comes to beings like this.
It's easy to forget that Sir Wiggles is technically a divine being.
"My name? I see, this one never introduced themselves. Very well, you may have the honor of hearing this one's name." Its wings spread out again. "This one is Cloud Retainer."
Artoria looked at me silently, conveying that she didn't know what was going on anymore.
Sir Wiggles hopped up onto my head, taking his preferred position as the bird turned back to me.
I was fairly sure it was a woman at this point; her tone carried with it that sort of nuance.
"Can you please elaborate on what you were asking?" Artoria said evenly. "You spoke about wanting to know the details about something?"
The bird turned back towards Artoria. "The information you revealed to the Conqueror of Demons. This one is here to hear directly."
"...Who is this 'Conqueror of Demons'?" I asked.
"Did you not meet him earlier today? He said that he appeared amidst an altercation with one of those Harbingers." The words spoken showed a barely hidden disdain towards them.
"Xiao?" I hazarded a guess.
"Ah, that is the name he uses among mortals." The bird bobbed its head in a simple manner.
So 'Conqueror of Demons' was something like his title or equivalent immortal name?
"And what did you want to hear about?"
"The secret shared with the Conqueror of Demons." She spoke. "This one flew all the way here to discuss the matter regarding the Archon of Mondstadt. Mention of the secret regarding the Gnosis means that you hold an important relationship with Barbatos; thus, I arrived swiftly and discreetly."
Oh.
Okay, I think we're all on the same page now.
I mentioned offhandedly to Xiao about Venti's Gnosis almost being stolen randomly because he mentioned Venti in a familiar way. I didn't think it would have these kinds of far-reaching repercussions.
The bird raised its wing, pointing at my sword. "This one notices the divine power radiating from thy sword. Does thy origin hail from Inazuma? The Storm is familiar."
I raised an eyebrow, because that's not the first time I've heard something like that.
Hmm, well, I suppose it wouldn't be strange for her to notice my divine authority still hanging by my side.
By that, Xiao also probably noticed too.
Did the stripper notice as well? I had a few new questions that I wanted answers for. But for now, I just ignored her question and went back to the topic. "You said you wanted to know about Venti?"
There was an infinitely small reaction when I said Venti. Like, the sort of thing you would do when you repressed a scowl.
Curious.
She spoke respectfully about Barbatos, but when I mentioned Venti, she had a negative reaction.
"...The Anemo Archon's Gnosis was stolen. The Conqueror of Demons spoke to me about this and confided that he did not know how to handle such information and sought my expertise. I have come to judge it. This one would ask you to explain fully."
Artoria just gave me a look to get it over with.
"There isn't much to say. We happened upon one of the Fatui Harbingers attacking Venti and trying to steal his Gnosis. We intervened when that happened, and she ran away before more people could arrive." It's not like I had anything to hide. "The fact that I saw the same woman responsible here prompted me to tell Xiao, considering he made a remark that seemed to imply familiarity with Venti. I figured there was no point in the warning.
"The audacity," Cloud Retainer said in a low voice. "Those Fatui, hmph! This one has always watched their movements with wariness; now this one was proven correct! They have always walked into this land with arrogance; now it seems they are finally revealing their true colors!"
"Is the Geo Archon in danger?" I asked.
"Hmph!" the bird scoffed. "Rex Lapis is not the same as that annoy—Ahem, as the Anemo Archon. Rex Lapis is not so easily defeated." She defended. "However, this One will alert the others and prepare accordingly."
"Well, have fun with that." It didn't concern us at all.
"This One must repay a debt of gratitude. Friends of the Anemo Archon, on behalf of the Adepti, I thank you for sharing this information with us." She surprisingly bowed her head in an act of polite thanks. It contrasted a bit with her haughty and arrogant attitude from before.
There was a pause before she reached into her wing with her beak and plucked a feather, setting it on the table.
"A promise given by This One is no light matter, so let it be known. You may use this feather of mine to call for aid if need be, and I will answer one time."
"...right." I suppose I should be thankful as well? I mean, we didn't really do anything except casually mention what happened to Venti. Well, a free feather then? "What are you going to do then?" I asked curiously.
"This one will alert the other Adepti, and we will descend upon Liyue once again to keep a close eye on those Fatui for now. You need not worry; we shall handle it from here. The Rite of Descension draws near as mortals celebrate the appearance of Rex Lapis. You may enjoy the festivities with the blessing of the Adepti!"
She made her way back to the window, stepping over broken glass, and awkwardly made her way outside of it despite her large size.
"This one bids farewell!" She flew off into the night.
I looked at Artoria, who was likewise at a loss. "I only have like 50% of an idea of what just happened."
Artoria let out a sigh. "At least it's over."
[Line Break]
The beds weren't as comfy as back home, but it wasn't a bad night's sleep, all things considered.
Artoria and I walked down the stairs to the ground floor as we met back up with the caravan just as the sun was rising.
Thankfully, our little incident earlier yesterday didn't become a big problem for everyone else. In fact, we barely had any glances thrown our way. Well, there also weren't that many people around this early in the morning.
Still, though, I felt like I could sleep for another few hours.
Even if I could stay awake for days at a time without issue, that didn't mean that I was immune to feeling tired from waking up early.
As weird as that sounded.
I think Artoria was a little peeved from last night still, from the bird ruining our meal.
Now that we know why it happened, it was perhaps understandable, in a way. Hurriedly coming over discreetly to make sure no one saw to find out the bombshell – from their perspective – that I just casually dropped on Xiao.
To them, I could imagine it was a much bigger deal than to us, who were just tourists at this point.
But even still.
That, and Artoria wasn't a good morning person. She forced herself to acclimatize to a morning routine out of habit and stubbornness, but she would very much rather sleep in for hours more.
I heard the shouts coming from the caravan leader as we climbed into our cart, just like the day before.
I got onto one side and immediately lay down, letting out a yawn. I can be thankful that I'm taking the second shift compared to the ones who were now walking next to the cart as we left the inn.
Just as I was closing my eye, I noticed a shadow over the peeking sun and something land on the cart.
A certain green set of wings retracted over me.
"This One has returned." She declared. "Do not worry, the other Mortals cannot hear me; I am using Adeptus Arts to keep my voice from reaching them. I spoke to the Conqueror of Demons once more, and he revealed that the Fatui Harbinger had threatened your well-being the prior day. Thus, after relaying news, I rushed back to pay back and arrived precisely on time! I will stand guard to assure that you suffer no harm on your journey to Liyue! There is no need to thank me, for it is the duty of the Adepti to defend Liyue!"
Even if they couldn't hear her, they could see the crane spreading its wings as it perched on the side of the cart.
"...wonderful."
"The journey is not long, but it gives this one an opportunity to ask questions. This one wishes to know what arts thou used to restore the mortal establishment after destruction. The Conqueror of Demons was most thoughtful in his description of events."
The bird bent its head down in a very clearly communicative way despite the stares. "This One harbors great interest in the arts of other lands. Let us share knowledge."
I let out a groan because I felt like it was going to be a long ride.
[LineBreak]
A/N
Wilhelm and Artoria, heading to Liyue, accidentally warn the Adepti head of time of a conspiracy regarding the Gnosis, so things may happen. And they also get a riding companion, which is obviously just a normal glowing green and blue crane, nothing to see there.
She means well, she's just a bit of a shut in and doesn't interact with people much.
If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m /astoryforone
I also have a boosty if you can't use the above under the same name