A Lone Journey In Dragonspine

Mark opened the door to the tavern, noticing that Jean and Venti were still waiting for them.

"Oh, seems that you two waited for us in here. Should have expected no less from Jean, and I'm really amazed Venti didn't try to take a bottle for himself."

Venti laughed, shusshing Mark as if he had already done that. Jean glanced at the door as Diluc walked in, holding the lyre, while Paimond and Aether got in as well, taking off their masks.

"Ah, this is the Holy Lyre! You managed to retrieve it!" said Venti, grabbing it with a merry smile on his face. He twirled it around, inspecting it carefully, like one would take a good look at a friend they'd met for the first time in years.

"The pattern of flowing wind carved on the rosewood, and the strings still feel cool to the touch too. Oh, the memories..."

"What do you think, Venti? Can you summon Dvalin?" asked Jean, her eyes fixed on the lyre.

"Although this lyre is the real thing, I doubt that it's going to work," sighed Venti, holding it before him.

"As you can see, the lyre has been through a thousand years of history. Its Anemo power has run dry. In this condition, you couldn't play music fit for even Diluc's tavern with it..." 

Mark laughed at the comment, while Diluc seemed slightly irritated by it.

"Bards fight to get on the stage of my tavern. Don't make assumptions!"

Aether and Paimon glanced at him, with Paimon quick to intervene.

"Is that really important right now, Master Diluc!?" 

She then quickly switched to Venti, doing her version of glaring that Mark found to be similar to the way a cat would try to appear angry.

"And you—did you just borrow the Holy Lyre to play music for drunkards to hear?"

Venti laughed awkwardly.

"Hehe." 

Paimon nearly lost her cool.

"What do you mean 'hehe'!?"

Mark tried to hold back laughter, muttering to himself.

"She said the line. Finally." 

Venti then went back on track, holding the lyre in one hand as he spoke once more.

"Anyway, we won't be able to call Dvalin with it. The lyre itself is fine, but the strings..." 

He quickly handed it to Aether.

"You're up, outlander!"

Aether seemed taken aback, not seeing his role in this whole ordeal.

"Aether, do you still have Dvalin's Teardrop Crystal with you?"

Aether took out the crystal from his pocket, and both Jean and Mark watched it, its form now cleansed. Jean was at a loss for words, while Mark had a slight smirk on his face as he watched Aether mix the tear drop with the lyre, causing it to switch back to a form that was closer to its prime.

"Great! While you guys go search for more tears, as Venti was about to suggest, I'll go and catch some sleep. I'll be gone for a few days after this. I trust that you'll be able to figure things out without me."

As Mark shot for the door, Diluc blocked his path, looking at him. He wasn't used to people being on his eye level, which gave Mark a slight edge.

"Why the sudden rush, Mark? Could it be that you have someone to share the news with?"

Diluc's tone was as suspicious as possible; his very tone treated Mark as a spy.

"Look, Diluc," began Mark in a calm voice, "think whatever you want. Do you truly think I'm with the Fatui? I could have stabbed you in the back long ago were that the case."

Diluc scoffed, his arms crossed together as Jean moved between them.

"Calm down, both of you."

"I'm rather calm, as you can see." said Mark, his tone carefree.

"Look, all of you who are gathered here, think about me whatever you may. Just know that I'm here as an ally. Do whatever you want, but don't get in my way."

His voice went cold, as if the entire animosity within the room had chosen to seep into his words.

"After all, I might resort to violence as well, should the situation require it."

A faint wind seemed to graze everyone in the room, with Mark at its center.

"Now excuse me; I have some sleep to get, then some work to do."

He walked past Diluc, not even turning back as he left, closing the door behind him with a light thud.

His steps took him back to the headquarters of the Knights of Favonius, where he quickly went to his room. Once inside, he noticed Ras reading a book on his bed.

"Ras? Where were you all day?" asked Mark, a tired expression on his face.

"Oh, hey, dude. I was at the library with Lisa, trying to figure out something about that glow we both saw on my wrist. We checked book after book, record after record, but nothing came up."

He looked mildly disappointed, but he tried to brush it aside with a faint smile.

"We both gave up, and I chose to read a book about monsters. Did you know that slimes can end up growing as large as houses?"

Mark chuckled before toppling onto his bed, only to sit up right after.

"Right, my prayers. Don't mind me, my guy; I'll say them, then head to sleep. Tomorrow I make for Dragonspine."

Ras tilted his head slightly.

"The big snowy mountain? Do you plan to freeze yourself to death?"

Mark stood down on his knees, joining his palms together.

"Nope. I simply have some work to do. Now please excuse me..." 

Mark said his prayers, bowing down as he stood on his knees, speaking softly as he signed himself with the cross a few times both during and before finishing his prayers.

"Well, good night, Ras. I'm not sure when I'll return, but I will. Also, do help these guys if they need it, and try to train a bit. I know that you managed to get quite the phisique from that stunt, but you still need to maintain it and get used to your sword."

"Sure, I'll keep that in mind. Good night then, Mark."

Mark sat on his side, covering himself with a blanket, before drifting to sleep. In a second, his body was limp as his mind faded deep within its confines, putting together different ideas and memories to build up dreams.

He woke up as the sun began rising. Despite having slept for a mere few hours, he felt full of energy. He got up, glancing over at a still-sleeping Ras.

Mark made sure to quickly go wash his face before saying his morning prayers, only to then grab his sword, claymore, and gauntlets. He strode out through the town, walking out through the main gate, pacing confidently to Dragonspine.

"Let's see... I won't visit those guys since I don't want just anyone to know where I'm going. I'll just go where I know I have to. Time to check whether I still remember what I have to do."

He walked for an hour or so, finding himself face to face with a thin layer of snow that only increased in size the further in he went.

He scanned the area ahead of him before entering.

"You know, I thank God I was paying attention in physics class. Air should be an insulator, so if I do something like this..." 

His eyes closed as he focused, creating a small barrier that surrounded him.

"This should keep the cold air away, allowing me to enjoy the warmth like I'm under a blanket. Anemo sure comes in handy."

"So, there should be that large ice chunk right at the entrance, guarded by a large-"

He leapt to the side just in time to dodge a blow from a Frostarm Lawachurl, taking out his sword as he moved in to strike, cutting the monster along the arm. It let out a loud shriek that made Mark's blood run colder than the weather could even try.

"Come on, then, let's see what you have."

The Lawachurl tried to heave another blow at Mark, striking furiously, its blows heavy. Mark could dodge them pretty easily, dealing some damage with some quick slashes before moving aside once more.

"It almost feels a little too easy."

The monster stopped, frozen in place, as ice began growing on its body, covering it like armor.

"Well shit!" 

Mark began running around, leaping from side to side as the Lawachurl came at him, its movements faster than before.

"Shit, I need to end this now."

His steps led him around until his back was placed against the ice chunk. He was cornered.

Before him, the furred monster heaved one blow at Mark once more, which caused Mark to smirk as he used Anemo to jump high in the air. The monster's fist got stuck in the ice, which gave Mark enough time to drop on its head and shove his sword through the monster's eye, making it tumble to the side.

Its body lay before Mark for a few minutes, only to then scatter into small, crystal-like dust particles, leaving behind a pair of horns that Mark took.

"Time to break the ice."

He looked around for something, which he found hidden beneath a pile of snow. A red crystal that seemed to be growing from the ground. He snapped it off with a punch, his gauntlet clanking as it made contact. He then pressed that shard against part of the ice, cracking it.

Not long after, he found other chunks of the same red rock, which he used to finally break the ice. For a moment, he saw a weird, floating object before him. He could feel a faint energy from within, watching as, between some chunks of foreign ice, dark and light blue colors were mixing among themselves—a substance that Mark couldn't quite define. As he tried to touch it, it flew away, going straight to the top of the mountain.

"This should be interesting. It's the same as I remember. Then that should be here as well."

As he stood deep in thought, a grayish tree sprung up from beneath the ground, its branches made of the same red crystal he used to destroy the ice. His eyes were fixed on the large red stone nestled within its trunk, right above the roots.

"So you're here as well. Heh, I feel like I'm playing the game for the first time."

He began walking peacefully, strolling around like it was a normal Friday afternoon, and he went for a walk. The harsh weather didn't seem to really affect his morale.

"Reminds me of that one time I ran for half an hour in intense snow. Shit was worse than this by a damned mile..." 

The place was the same as he remembered. There were some ruins scattered about and weird machines that tried to stop him. Hilichurs roaming about—the same old story.

At one point, he came face to face with a large cavern that blocked his access, a wind so strong blowing through it that even his Anemo could do nothing to it.

"So, the quest shall progress the same. I see." 

He glanced around for a moment before walking to the remains of a room—a strange device in the center and a weird barrier blocking it. To the side, he found a stone tablet, which he read slowly, only to notice the yellow text glowing once he finished, a strange symbol appearing beside it.

"Seven more to go, if I'm not wrong. I'll kill two birds with one stone."

Whistling, he paced off again, embracing the idea of a long day of walking, fighting, and trying not to freeze to death in case his Anemo somehow failed him.