Chapter 4: Chapter 4
Our little trio finally made our way up the city's staircases and roads into the large courtyard in front of Mondstadt church, we both stared at the large statue that depicted the Anemo God Barbatos and sat down on one of the benches surrounding the statue to wait for Amber to be done reporting to her superior's.
"So, what are your plans should you join the Knights of Favonius?" Paimon asked me as I relaxed into the bench next to Lumine.
I shrugged as honestly, I just wanted a sense of belonging somewhere at the moment, and being a librarian would be a super easy job. Plus, I could maybe even some magic stuff from Lisa as supposedly she was the best magic user to come out of the Sumeru magic school for several generations.
"Honestly I just need to get my head on straight... After that, I plan to learn more of the world around me and see if I can get to Liyue to see if I magically pick up Geo, elemental powers when I poke Morax's statue."
"Hmm, Morax is the God of Geo and the god who makes all the Mora right?" Paimon asked with Lumine listening to our conversation closely and I nodded to Paimon's question. "Wow... Imagine being able to buy all the food you want and being able to make Mora whenever you want." Paimon whispered in a breathy tone before she chuckled nervously and wiped across her mouth to get rid of any drool.
"Lumine what do you plan on doing here in Mondstadt? If you want, we could do some Adventurer quests to get some funds and explore the land so to speak." I asked the absent-minded woman who was staring into the sky in seemingly in thought.
"Huh uhm... Yeah sure" Lumine shook her head to clear her thoughts allowing her amber eyes to meet mine and I could see the uncountable thoughts running through her eyes as she considered her next move.
"Hey, Jake... What do you think would be the best way to find a missing family member?" Lumine mumbled pulling her knees up and resting her arms and head against them as she stared at me.
I couldn't help the thought of just telling her that said sibling was being a voyeur and wasn't lost at all. Merely became addicted to the dark side's cookies for whatever the hell reason... But for one, I couldn't just say Aether went coo-coo and is being a teleporting asshole. So, she obviously wouldn't believe me.
"Lumine, I have the perfect idea to have people help you find your sibling... First, you do a mountain of side jobs before helping to save Mondstadt from some evil monster and as a reward, Mondstadt's Knights of Favonius and all the factions within Mondstadt will do you the great honor of throwing a brief description of your sibling on a piece of paper and slapping onto a tavern's information board."
Lumine and Paimon both gave me equally dry looks of disdain obviously thinking I was just being an ass... But just wait Lumine... Just wait...
"Nah, but more seriously I suggest appealing to all the Archons of the land as they each have ways of communicating with their respective elements and if pressured or bribed can do astounding things."
"But Jake, the Archons aren't just walking around, and we physically can't get away with bullying an Archon into doing what we want!" Paimon harshly whispered looking around furtively to see if anyone heard my blasphemous words.
"Pshhh, yeah some of the Archons aren't so easy to find but others are... Like the Electro and Dendro goddesses are both the leaders of their prospective nations, but I highly recommend not going to Inazuma as Baal or otherwise known as the Raiden Shogun has become... Extreme in securing her rule to the point of stealing people's visions."
Before Lumine could ask for more details on the Archons, Amber finally ran up around the corner of the cathedral's courtyard and towards us once she caught sight of us.
Hey guys! I managed to get something for your two that will be so cool!" Amber cried out and then, with a flourish, she pulled two large gliders out from behind her.
"These are called Wind Gliders and not only do all the Knights of Favonius use them, but many of the citizens of Mondstadt also love them. Mondstadt is the city of freedom and coming as close as you can to flying is the perfect way to show off your personal freedom." Amber explained with a wide grin as she helped us attach the wings on our clothes and I could only blink in surprise when the gliders seemed to fuse within our clothes.
"Yeah, these gliders are made from Storm Terror's feathers and Anemo elemental cores which always congregate around Barbatos's Statues, so the feathers are only now becoming rarer with how the dragon used to leave a lot of them wherever he landed and rubbed himself into some boulders, so we have a bunch of them saved up."
Huh sounds like before that weird, cursed stake on Devalin's neck grew its current size, he was probably trying to grind or break it down on the boulders.
"Come on! Jump off this ledge, I will meet you all at the bottom near the front fountain!" Amber cried out excitedly as she jumped off the large stone wall surrounding the church's park.
Me and Lumine both shared a look of 'What the fuck?' before Paimon cried out. "Well come on guys, flying isn't so hard anyway!"
Even as coolheaded as Lumine was, she couldn't help but flick Paimon in the forehead scolding her. "Unlike you, we can't fly."
But Lumine took a deep breath and leapt off the same stone wall that Amber jumped off of and a moment later feather wings popped off her shoulders spreading to capture the wind allowing Lumine to glide away.
Heh... You scared Jake?" Paimon teased wearing an evil grin and before I could retort about her being a mascot, she flew off to rejoin Lumine who was now flying between the Fatui's hotel and another building.
I couldn't help but look down from the stone wall seeing the fifteen-to-twenty-meter drop and knew even if I shot a blast of Anemo energy beneath me to break my fall, it likely result it me spraining my ankle if I was lucky...
"My mom used to say something about jumping off cliffs with my friends... But she never said I couldn't go hang gliding with my friends!" With that motivational speech said I leapt off the wall and merely a moment later I got a tinge in my shoulders with a fly of my upper shoulders the feather wings sprouted from my white jacket allowing me to glide down towards the city's front section at a fast pace.