Adventures of Alberich

A "Choose Your Own Story" Game produced by Mod Mei of
Storyteller: A Genshin Impact Coloringbook Zine

The atmosphere of Angel's Share is rowdy, stuffy, unnaturally humid (gods know why), but admittedly comfortable enough to enjoy a quality beverage made by Mondstadt's best.

You pay no attention to the table of shouting men playing poker on the second floor and take a sip of your drink, fingers firmly wrapped around your glass as you raise it to your mouth.

Out of the corner of your eye, you see Diluc grimace as his gaze flits to the ceiling. He's had problems with a certain noisy crowd all night, and has managed to stay patient through it all, but when a small splinter lands on the top of his head, he loses it.

Diluc slams his cleaning rag down and stomps towards the staircase, furious.

"Blithering drunkards," he says underneath his breath as emerges from behind the counter to put an end to the stir, "And absolute idiots, they are."

You only laugh and listen as he storms upstairs and begins to chastise them for the fifth time this evening.

As the owner of Angel's Share shouts at the group from the second floor, you feel a gust of cold wind hit your back as the door to the tavern opens. Before you can wheel around to see who caused the disturbance, a familiar voice rings out from behind.

"Oh! Traveler, what a wonderful surprise!" When you say nothing, too bothered by the lingering coldness of the breeze, Kaeya just laughs.

"You seem so happy to see me," he says, putting a hand on your shoulder, "C'mon Traveler, I know I'm your favorite, but you didn't have to make it that obvious."

You break into a chuckle at his antics, finally turning around to face him, your half-full drink becoming a secondary thought in his presence.

"The illustrious Cavalry Captain," you greet, playfully bowing your head, "To what do I owe the pleasure?" Kaeya smirks and crosses his arms, quirking a brow at your smaller figure.

"I was looking all over for you. Thought you might wanna blow this joint and go on an adventure with me."

You consider the thought for a moment, humming, but eventually decide to join him after draining your glass and hopping off of the barstool.

"Alright," he says, holding the door for you while you exit Angel's Share, "There were reports of a Ruin Hunter in Wolvendom, something that even I don't see very often, so I thought I could use some help."

"Well you came to the right place!" Paimon responds, startling Kaeya with her abrupt appearance, "(Y/N) and I, we're the best team ever! We'll defeat those mean Ruin Guards in no time, like 'pow pow!'"

You snicker as she shoots imaginary bullets with a pair of fingerguns.

"Well, I'm glad to hear!" Kaeya smiles, the corners of his lips upturned enough to show a pair of dimples just above the edges. "Just be warned, though. A note came in with the report, saying that it was enchanted with some kind of protection spell."

"A protection spell? And not a shield?" you echo, narrowing your eyes, "That's unusual... I don't remember Abyss Mages being able to conjure anything else except elemental-related magic."

Kaeya shrugs, shaking his head.

"I'm as in the dark about this as you are. Our lances weren't able to pierce its body, and when others tried going close to it, it smacked them away."

You hum at the comment, placing your index finger over your lips as you think. Paimon does the same as the Cavalry Captain watches on.

"Well, I guess it's no use thinking about what to do without experiencing it firsthand," you finally state, "Let's go and see this thing for ourselves."

"It's over here." Kaeya beckons you forward with a swipe of his hand.
"Just in the clearing."

Your brows furrow as you try to peer through the thick foliage while making as little noise as possible. Scanning the forest ground and beyond, you see dots of luminescent lamp grass lining the grass, shining Wolfhook berries scattered around the roots of trees, and the occasional Crimson Fox, but no signs of the robot in question.

"It's not there," you whisper, confused, "I can only see nature."

Kaeya, baffled, takes your place in the peephole to view the scenery for himself only to find that your observations were correct -- no sight of the reported mecha-monster anywhere.

"Uhm..." You suddenly feel a tap on your shoulder when Paimon squeaks,
her voice trembling. "(Y/N)...?"

You turn to her and see that all the color's been drained from her face, then slowly direct your gaze to the thing she's looking at.

The reported Ruin Hunter looms over Kaeya, Paimon, and you, a menacing hum coming from its engines and a fierce, red glow from its eye.

Before you can say anything, it strikes at Kaeya, the detrimental blow thankfully coming into contact with the ground instead of his body as he dives to evade the attack.

"That's our robot, alright!" he shouts, getting up and unsheathing his sword, "Traveler, go left! I'll distract it!"

"On it!" you yell back, quick to run behind the machine while Kaeya miraculously parries its blows. As you close in on the bot, Kaeya stumbles and is forced onto his knees as the hunter's claws get dangerously close to his chest.

"Kaeya!"

You let out a cry as you dodge the Ruin Hunter's arm to get in front of it and swing, your blade hitting the metal with a loud 'clang.' The world seems to slow as your eyes widen, realizing that the sweep didn't even manage to make a dent in the robot's armor.

The monster suddenly turns to you and slams you into a nearby tree, knocking the air out of your lungs and rendering you semi-unconscious.

You reach your arm out to Kaeya in a desperate effort to save him as Paimon shakes your shoulders, trying to force you awake.

"Kaeya-" you gasp, feeling your consciousness slipping away, "Kaeya-!"

The last thing you see before you pass out is a fiery stroke of red painting the woods and illuminating the night sky.

You let out a cry as you plunge your blade into the engine of the Ruin Hunter. The tip of your sword manages to reach the inner workings of the robot and sends elemental energy straight to its core.

The machine crackles, its limbs twitching and gears malfunctioning, and finally powers down as you dig your weapon deeper into it, mustering all your effort to escalate the attack.

"Oh gods," you pant, "Oh my gods." Turning to face Kaeya, you both exchange exhausted expressions and, seconds later, fall limp on the forest floor.

"Good... adventure... wasn't it?"

"Kaeya... please..."

"I'll buy you a drink, what about that?"

"On second thought... it was... a good adventure."

[End]

"-were you even thinking?"

You wake up on a couch back at Angel's Share with a throbbing headache. Groaning, you slide two feet off the cushion and hold your head as you walk towards the sound of someone yelling.

"You could have died if I hadn't intervened! Why didn't you mention that it was Abyssal Magic, Kaeya? Not elemental, but Herald magic!
Barbatos..."

"Diluc?" The sound of your voice surprises the crimson-haired male, stopping him in the middle of his tirade. "Why are you screaming?"

The tavern owner sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose as he walks towards you.

"I'm guessing Kaeya didn't tell you details about the mission he carelessly dragged you into." You shake your head and you swear that the bags underneath his eyes deepen at the sight.

"Well- But we made it out alright, right?" you say, hopeful. Diluc pauses for a moment to glare at Kaeya who smirks back knowingly, then tiredly gestures to the countertop at the front of Angel's Share.

"You need to rest and I'm exhausted, so just help yourself to dinner on the bar while I just... calm down."

"Can I get some Dandelion Wine?" Kaeya chimes in, smiling lovingly towards Diluc.

"No, you blundering drunk."

[End]