Capítulo 4: Friendly Neighborhood Delivery Man
A small book, bound in leather and the words Adventurer's Handbook centered on its cover in bold, sat in his hands. Several colored bookmarks separated its sections, each one representative of a different category.
One led to a map with recently reported points of interested and other landmarks detailed in the pages that followed. Another functioned as a sort of bestiary, known habits along with popular methods to dealing with the wildlife and monsters known to reside in the region. Among those and others, Rei consistently found himself lingering on the first page.
A picture of his upper half, taken using some sort of experimental technology provided to the guild by their Fontaine branch, decorated the page alongside general information. Name, adventurer rank, the number of commissions he's completed. None at the moment but that'd change with time.
He was an adventurer.
The title hadn't been forced on him and had nothing to do with his family. It was something he chose to do.
A particularly strong breeze blew past.
He sat on the window sill of his room, one leg dangling off the edge. With the sun on the rise, the privacy of the early hours was slowly being replaced by the buzz people.
As the winds shifted once more, Rei caught sight of a distant figure descending from of spinning windmills. All the red in her outfit revealed Amber long before she touched down outside, waving up at him with a smile.
Rei grabbed his katana and, after a moment of consideration, a light brown pouch that he hooked to the back of his pants by its built in latches. The only good part in that horrendously designed thing the guild called a uniform. Prepared for the day, he headed down, waving to the receptionist on his way out.
"Good morning, Rei." Amber said, just as cheery as yesterday. Sun up or sun down, he couldn't imagine her being the grumpy sort; she was too earnest. "How did your trial go?"
"Good." He said, showing off the first page of his handbook for good measure.
"That's amazing. I knew you would do great. Maybe we'll run into each other outside they city when you start completing commissions."
"Do you leave Mondstadt often?" He asked while slipping the book in his pouch.
Aside from Amber and the high ranked people that greeted him when he first awoke, knights all wore the same armor with tiny variations. While she was well known, the people who stopped to speak with Amber didn't treat her like a superior in any capacity. Even odder, she left the city on her own rather than in groups like her colleagues.
"Of course, it's a part of an outrider's job." Amber said. She stood tall and proud, back straightened and fists to hips. "The Outriders of the Knights of Favonius patrol the roads and wilds of Mondstadt to make it as safe as possible for everyone, including adventurers."
A different branch of knights then. That explained the lack of armor; one needed to dress light to cover a lot of ground. Outriders must be something akin to scouts.
Dropping the serious stance, Amber smiled again, pulling out a small red bunny plushy no bigger than her palm. A long piece of dark brown string fell from it. "I noticed you didn't have anything to carry your sword so I made this."
She handed it over to him.
The cutesy bunny was more functional than a first glance portrayed. A metal clip, not unlike his new pouch, extruded from the head and tough leather made up the string.
"I may have gone a little too far with the bunny." Amber said with a slight laugh. There quite a few meticulous little details such as its smile and tall authentic looking ears.
Rei thought nothing of it, clipping the bunny to his left side and tying the leather strings around the katana's sheath. It swayed along with his movements a bit too much, but was secure enough and freed up his hands.
The visions that allowed people to control the world's elemental energies gave them access to a private storage space. The exact number of things that space could carry varied slightly from person to person, but generally speaking, there was barely enough space for a few sizable weapons.
He had to make due without that convenient ability.
"Thank you." Rei said. He had a feeling he'd thanking her plenty more in the coming days.
"It's no problem. Just think of it as a welcome gift." Amber grinned. "I need to start my patrol soon, but don't forget, if you need anything just ask."
She waved and jogged away, headed toward the city gates.
Was Amber so accommodating because she was such a nice person or was she carrying out some order to watch him? A question to mull over as he started his own day.
First stop? The Adventurer's Guild.
x-X-x
"Ad astra abyssosque, adventurer." Katheryne said as Rei approached the reception desk, already up and hard at work despite the early hour.
To the stars and the abyss. As much as his instructors talked down about the guild, even they admitted that the organization at least had a decent branding sense. Making use of a forgotten language in their slogan would draw in the curious sort. Revealing its meaning would inspire a sense of adventure in all but the most stubborn souls.
To the stars and the abyss. He really could go whatever he wanted when he wanted.
"Good morning." Rei said.
"Due to the early hour, the main guild hall is still closed." She gestured at the compact yet tall building connected to the desk. He hadn't gotten a look inside yet. "However, if you are here to undertake your first commission, I have some here."
"I wanted to ask about something before that. During my trial yesterday, miss Fischl, mentioned the Intelligence Department. I wanted to learn more about it."
Katheryne nodded. "Yes, she recommended you for a position among that department. Despite her looks, she is a senior member of the guild and one of the best in her chosen department; therefore, it would take one of remarkable ability to make such a strong impression."
"Be that as it may, the guild's rules prevent me from following through with that recommendation." Katheryne explained. "A majority of members start out as free adventurers as some have taken to calling them. You get to make use of the guild's facilities with no obligations or fees; a intentional decision to help promote and ease people into an adventurer's life style. As a department member, that would change."
Katheryne pulled a roll up sheet of paper from beneath the counter. The sheet Fischl had turned in. She unfurled it and revealed a map of the region, marked up in countless spots.
"As a member of the intelligence department, Miss Fischl, is no more required to complete commissions than free adventurers. However, in exchange for a weekly stipend, she is expected to provided up to date information on points of interest throughout the region at least once a week."
Rei nodded along. With a setup like that, the guild likely wasted enough resources as is on members who ultimately did nothing but reap the benefits.
"Departments are only available to trusted members."
"You are correct." Katheryne confirmed his guess. "A recommendation from a prominent member of the guild puts you in a good position, but you still need to prove your spirit for adventure by gathering relevant experience."
"By completing commissions?"
"Commissions, reporting undiscovered ruins, dispatching dangerous monsters. As an adventurer, you are the one that decides what you do. The guild only helps facilitates those decisions."
Rei couldn't help but smile. Some might call them inefficient; the amount of mora that went to waste following such a business model must be astronomical considering how long they've been around. All that mora to support an uncertain lifestyle most people couldn't or wouldn't chose to live took dedication and massive amounts of funding.
It was admirable. Unbelievable and suspicious too. The guild's roots traced back to Snezhnaya, a country that went to insane lengths to achieve their goals according to his teachings and books. Still, admirable all the same.
Rei was going to embrace that lifestyle whole heartedly.
Combat had been the one thing he'd been groomed to truly excel in since he could walk. It would be so easy to lean into those teachings and wipe out monster after monster until he was considered experienced enough for any position he desired.
But, truth be told, getting into a department didn't matter to him. What he really wanted was to see everything this foreign country had to offer, from its people to its wildlife.
The best way to do that and make enough mora to get by?
"I better get started on those commissions then." Rei said.
Katheryne moved with efficiency, presenting him jobs that would take him all over.
x-X-x
Bandits preyed on the road.
They were hidden among the fluttering greenery that framed a vast majority of Mondstadt's roads. Masked and armed with old weaponry, no one would blame an unprepared merchant for caving in to their demands due to their sheer numbers.
Rei was no merchant.
He spotted them with ease. Compared to Azumi and the others back home, the uncomfortable shuffles of these highwaymen made them stand out like torches in the pitch black darkness of night.
He turned into the forest before they spotted him, jogging around their poorly concealed ambush, careful not to tip over the wrapped container he held.
Sara, that orange haired woman from Good Hunter, wanted him to deliver an order of food from the city all the way to an adventurer staying in a nearby village called Springvale. He could scare off the group with his elemental energy and, failing that, take them out while keeping the food intact.
He didn't feel like it.
The first time he walked Mondstadt's roads and wilds, he'd been on the edge of delirium, blending colors his only guide to help. The second, he been sprinting after Fischl and Oz, unable to take in the sights from and to Mondstadt.
Now, he could move at his own pace and enjoy his surroundings.
The dancing leaves and their whistles. The chirps and cries of birds overhead. The cool breeze that always flowed through the country. The air here even smelled different. Fresher.
It's not like those bandits were going anywhere. He could always take them down on his way back instead of letting them ruin a perfect sight seeing trip.
Rei twisted on his ankle, narrowly avoiding the charge of a furry brown animal that burst from nearby bushes.
Nearly perfect trip.
From Inazuma to Mondstadt, it seemed boars and their territorial aggression were a constant annoyance.
A little pep added to his step, Rei continued to stroll towards his destination.
x-X-x
Springvale, as expected, was far smaller than Mondstadt's capital city. Tucked into an uneven cove of natural plateaus, its various buildings were fan out across the area. It lacked the stone paths of the city, well traveled dirt paths used by the denizens to navigate their home. At its center was a large windmill, lazily spinning in tune with gentle winds.
Saving further observations for later, Rei spotted his target next to a small spring of water below the town's windmill. That ugly green uniform would make anyone stand out.
"Are you the adventurer Pallad?" Rei asked, bag held up as he joined the brown haired man on a patch of grass beside the crystal clear spring.
"Finally! Took you long enough." The man snatched the bagged container away, grumbling. "There won't be any treasure if I wait any longer, but I guess food that smells this good is its own treasure." The man forgot all about Rei, muttering to himself about time.
Rei cleared his throat.
"Oh, thank you. Here's the mora." Pallad said, tossing over a pouch of Mora.
The man needed a lesson in manners. The people of Mondstadt were casual, true, but this man jumped clean into the rude category. Rei didn't care to make a big deal about it.
Now was the time to explore the village before heading back for another commission.
"No! No! Diona, this isn't funny! Come out now!" Rei didn't move a single step from the spring before a shouting woman descended from higher up in the village. Her head whipped about, scanning every nook and cranny until her eyes landed on them.
More specifically, Pallad.
"Adventurer! Thank the Anemo Archon. You need to help me." She called out rushing over and past Rei.
Pallad frown. "I'm a bit bu-"
"This is important. Diona, the chief's daughter is missing. I think-"
"I said I'm busy, lady. I've got a meal that needs eating and treasure that needs finding."
The woman's hope crumbled away, voice shaky. "B-But she's a child."
"And this is a village of hunters. Don't you have somebody that can track her down?" Pallad retorted.
"The h-hunters went out for a big hunt. You're a member of the guild aren't you, I'll pay if you find her."
"Didn't you hear me? I'm already on a job. Find someone else." Pallad said, stubbornly looking away as he shut the woman down.
Now, Rei wasn't going to hop on his high horse and judge someone else for their morals….No that's exactly what he was going to do.
He could understand wanting to do your own thing or not wanting to be responsible for something so important, but to brush off a missing child in favor of treasure and food? That took a startling lack of sympathy. And here he was hoping selfishness of that degree was rare and far between beyond his home.
It reminded him of his father.
"I'm an adventurer as well." Rei said. "You said a child went missing?"
"Y-Yes." The woman said, bits of hope returning. "It's Diona, the chief's daughter. She got in an argument with her father earlier today and he grounded her. She should've been at their home but she's missing. I think…I think she might've run away."
"How do you know she's not just hiding somewhere in the village?"
"I've been looking everywhere. I even had others helping; Diona isn't the easiest child to deal with but she wouldn't take a joke this far." The woman insisted. "And the other kids said she mentioned getting revenge on someone in Mondstadt. She's a smart kid. She'll know which roads to take to get there, but anything could attack her. She's just as stubborn as her father, so it might not be possible to bring her back. As long as she reaches Mondstadt-"
The missing child was headed to Mondstadt.
Via the same roads he spotted bandits on.
The bandits he let be.
"I'll find her." Rei declared. Electro energy thundered through him and he took off, the village's windmill turning to a distant speck as he sped towards Mondstadt.
x-X-x
This story is actually doing a lot better than expected. Since It's taking me forever to plan out my star wars story I might make this my secondary story and update every Tuesday and Thursday since I'm enjoying writing it. I guess I really enjoy making curious adventurous type MCs.
That aside, I'm sure some people picked up on it, but this currently takes place a few months before the start of the game. I'll be using the first few chapters to establish Rei in Mondstadt then I'm planning a time skip once that's all done. Hope you're all looking forward to that.
Consider supporting me on patreon if you want to help me write full time. I'm not currently doing advance chapters like my Skyrim story, but if I manage to squeeze in time and make some crazy progress on both writing and editing, it could happen for those interested. I'll keep you all posted on that.
patreon. com/TheExpGarden
REFLEXIONES DE LOS CREADORES 
ISpyExp
ISpyExp "We’re born free. All of us. Free. Some don’t believe it, some try to take it away. To hell with them!" -Eren Jaeger
Our friendly neightborhood terroist and monster has some crazy good quotes. Still can't believe AOT is over; I'll never forget my boy Eren.
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