Genshin Impact Murder Mystery

Chapter 3. The Mysterious Goblet

At around 10 in the morning Aether and Gorou both woke up from their peaceful slumber. They started stretching with Aether letting out a yawn.
“Morning Gorou, did you sleep well?”
Aether asks.
“Yes, the bed was really comfortable. Did you sleep well?”
Gorou replied.
“Same here, I had a rather pleasant. How about we get ready, grab our equipment and go to Good Hunter again for something to eat?”
Aether says.
“Sure sounds good.”
Gorou answered.
Both of them began to get ready. Afterwards they got the equipment ready and checked everything a second time just to make sure they didn’t forget anything. In the end they just had to refill their water supply. Now both of them made their way towards Good Hunter. Still not having seen much of Mondstadt, Gorou watched his surroundings with curious eyes. A short walk later they arrived at Good Hunter.
“Well Gorou do you want to order today or should I do it?”
Aether asks.
“Aether I think it would be better if you order again.”
Gorou replied
“Alright be right back”
Aether says.
In the meanwhile Gorou looked for a seat again. Like last time a short while after Aether returned with the food. This time both of them had a satisfying salad.
“So Aether do you have some ideas what could have happened to the Hillichurls?"
Gorou questioned Aether.
“Maybe it’s some sort of a disease.”Aether says
“Could be but if it were a disease there would be a high chance of the hunters and knights also falling ill but as far as we know that is not the case.”
Gorou mentions.
“You are right it’s probably is something else I just hope this time the abyss has nothing to do with it who knows what that could mean for everyone if the abyss could make all of their forces stronger.”
Aether says concern clearly evident in all his words.
“it would be catastrophe the people without a vision would not stand a chance against them anymore many would lose their life’s. Let’s just hope this isn’t something they have planned.”
Gorou says.
By the time they had finished eating they still had one and a half hours left so both decided to walk around Monstadt for a bit. After there little site seeing trip they arrived just in time before the head quarters everyone else was already there just casually chatting. As they noticed the duo approaching all attention switched to them. Both quickly made their way over to them.
“As all of us are now here we can begin this investigation trip.”
Jean says
All nodded in agreement. As they were ready to leave they heard shouting and multiple knights running after a certain sparkling knight. Who stopped running less than two meters away from them after seeing Master Jean. The knights were now finally able to catch up to her but were completely out of breath.
“Klee what did you do this time?”
Jean asked in a firm voice.
“Nothing I swear it just so happens that I came a cross a tree that had something shine in it so I wanted to take a look at it. Well it turned out to be a small kunai and I really just wanted to take a look at it I swear but this is when these guys found me.”
Klee explains pointing at the knights.
” I knew they would probably assume I had something planned with it so before they could tell you anything I wanted to tell you the truth so I don’t get solatary confindment. Plus I swear I have no clue how the kunai got up there.”
Klee finished telling her story.
“Well I have to say a random kunai being stuck in a tree is uncommon but I doubt Klee would lie about something like this.”
Albedo exclaimed while Klee nodded in response.
"Furthermore this whole event could have been avoided if someone had a better watch over her.”
Albedo says.
“We are terribly sorry one moment Klee was in our site but the next she was gone and when we found her she was on that tree with the kunai.”
The knights explained.
“I have to agree with you Albedo but it seems Klee wasn’t making it to easy on them. Which is still no excuse non the less. For know you will get a different task search around Mondstadt for more of those kunais we wouldn’t want any exidance happening.”
Jean proclaimed
“Yes, we will do as you said.”
The knights say slightly bowing and quickly leaving to start their new task.
“Now we have another problem who is going to keep an eye on Klee? It seems as though I don’t have a choice I am going to keep my eyes on Klee while all of you start the investigation trip.”
Jean says with a sigh.
“Jean darling, no I will keep watch over Klee while you go with the others they will need you more than me there. After all I am just a librarian.”
Lisa exclaimed.
“But Lisa the knowledge you have will benefit them way more than my combat skills.”
Jean protests.
“Than let me rephrase this you haven’t been outside for days and were always busy with paper work. I think it would be beneficial for you to go on this trip even though there will be danger ahead. At least you will not be walking back and forth in your room thinking about what could be the cause of all of this. Plus you have Albedo with you so don’t worry and even if you need my knowledge in the case Albedos would not be enough you can always request my assistance although it could take some time getting an answere.”
Lisa says.
“Are you sure about this?”
Jean asked
“Positive and with me around I am sure Klee won’t do anything, am I right?”
Lisa says her gaze going towards Klee who only nods fiercely.
“Alright then I will leave Klee in your hands and if we need more answeres will send one of us back to inform you.”
Jean says.
“Well then Klee why don’t we say goodbye to everyone”
Lisa suggests.
“Bye everyone have a good trip and...ahm…. Please be careful.”
Klee says happily.
“Goodbye save travels.”
Lisa says with a little wave.
Lisa and Klee both start leaving together and go inside the head quarters.
“It is now time to begin this trip firstly we will go to Springvale and ask Draff if any Hillichurls have been seen lately. Then we will head straight to Brightcrown Canyon. Alright everyone lets go.”
Jean exclaimed.
With that the group started their trip. Timmy’s birds were once again scared away and his tantrum even louder than before. The group journeyed farther until they reached Springvale. In Springvale they all started looking for Draff. When they found him he was slightly drunk but non the less they still needed to ask if there were any sightings of Hillichurls.
“Draff we came here to ask if you or any of the hunters have seen more Hillichurls?”
Jean asked.
“What Hillichurls * hic * there are no Hillichurls here… why would there be Hillichurls here?” Draff slurred.
“It seems he is completely drunk we’ll have to ask some one else.”
Jean says.
“why don’t we split up and all of us ask around if anyone has seen something?”
Kaeya suggested.
“Good idea we’ll meet at the spring in 10 minutes.”
Jean replied.
All of them went in different directions and asked around 10 minutes later they meet at the spring.
“so what did everybody find?”
Jean asked.
“From what I have gather the people have not seen any more of these Hillichurls as of now in Springvale.”
Albedo exclaimed.
“I heard that to but the hunters said they saw some again when they went out to hunt luckily no one got injured.”
Amber says.
“Are there any new informations or are these all we have?”
Kaeya asked.
“Well I don’t have any new information.”
“Yes neither do I”
Aether and Gorou say.
“So it seems new Hillichurls have appeared again but haven’t made their way towards Springvale yet, those are some good news. We have found out everything we came here for let’s get a move on.”
Jean replies.
They start making their way to Brightcrown Canyon on the way they encountered the Hillichurls mentioned by the hunters. With the help of everyone the Hillichurls were no match for them they might be more resilient than before but against vision holder they still don’t have much of a chance. Passing threw Wolvendom was quiet easy. All of them were prepared for a fight and yet as thy came closer to Wolvendom no Hillichurls were found. Soon the answere was revealed to them, it turns out that the Hillichurls wandered into Andruises arena. They immediately knew what fate was bestowed upon them. Continuing their way towards their destination they needed to glide from one cliff to another.
After a long time the group finally arrived at Bright Crown Canyon. Looking at the sky showed them the time was nearing dusk. A top of the cliff they were able to look down and there they saw many of the strange Hillichurls even some abyss mages seemed to be effected.
“It seems we found the rut of our problems.”
Jean says.
“You seem to be correct but we still don’t know how their like this just that they are coming from here. Now we just need to...Huh...do you all hear that?”
Kaeya exclaimed.
All of them perked their ears and indeed from afar you could make out some quiet fighting noises.
“Yes, we hear it too. It appears that someone is fighting something over there.”
Albedo says pointing west.
“We should go there they might need our help.”
Amber says.
“You’re right Amber let’s go.”
Jean decided.
All of them made their way west towards the sound of fighting. On their way they had to go past a Cicin mage. They kept on making their way towards the sound as they neared the end of the cliff all of them were able to see what conspired down below. Down there they could see Diluc who was fighting against an Pyro abyss mage. He was visibly getting exhausted and yet the shield hadn’t taken much damage at all. Around them the team could see the remains of a ruin guard and multiple Hillichurls. It was evident that he had been fighting for quit a while now.
“Diluc seems to be having some trouble down there.”
Kaeya says.
“You are right master Diluc is an excellent fighter but it seems he needs our help, so let’s go!”
Jean exclaimed.
All of them nodded and made their way down using their gliders. They plunged down and started attacking the abyss mage with their elemental skills. The most effective attacks were the one from Kaeya and Aether with their Cryo and Electro attacks. The shield finally broke and after that the mage was quikly taken care of with Diluc scoring the final below.
“Master Diluc are you alright?”
Jean asks.
“No need to worry. I am alright although I don’t like to admit it but without the help of t he Knights of Favonius this could have taken a turn for the worst so I must thank you. It seems you are not completely incompetent.”
Diluc says with a sigh.
“Well I must ask Diluc what are you doing here so far away from Dawn Winery?”
Kaeys asks with a sly smile adorn on his face.
“Well if you must know I was here trying to investigate the strange Hillichurls that are said to be appearing near Springvale. My investigation lead me here I saw some of the Hillichurls leaving the group that has gathered east from here, so I decided to follow them they lead me to this place. Most of them vanished inside of that cavern over there but some remained outside so I decided to make my move. Yet in doing so I gain the attention of a near by ruin guard and also alarmed that abyss mage. The rest should be clear to you.”
Diluc says while pointing towards the newly discovered cave.
“You said that you saw the rest of the Hillichurls go inside the cave, did they come out up until now?”
Albedo asks curiously.
“As far as I know not a single one has left the cave.”
Diluc answered.
“So I guess we should also go inside and see were the Hillichurls have gone to am I right?”
Aether asks.
“You are correct with you assumption.”
Jean replied with a slight smile.
“Diluc would you be so kind to come with us I know you are not a big fan of the Knights but I think we could really need your help especially if we were to come a cross a Cryo abyss mage seeing as they to are affected by this strange phenomenon.”
Aether asks with concern in his eyes for his friends.
“Since it was you who asked I guess I can make an acception and work with you but after this mystery is solved we will go our separated ways, understood.”
Diluc says sternly.
“Understood.”
Aether says while a sweat drop comes down his face.
“Well then, Let’s finish this, swiftly.”
Diluc exclaimed while walking towards the entrance of the cave.
Everyone followed behind him Jean and Amber up front, Kaeya and Albedo in the middle and Aether and Gorou were the last.
“Hey...uhm...Aether?”
Gorou asks
“mhm”
came as a reply.
“This Diluc doesn’t seem to like the Knights very much.”
Gorou says.
“You are right about that, Diluc and the Knights have a rather complex past with each other which has lead him to dislike the Knights.”
Aether answered.
“Ahh, okay. Anyway we should keep up with the rest”
Gorou says.
Aether only nodded as a response.
They started walking a bit faster to join the others deeper in the cave. Inside, the cave was illuminated with a red and black glow of some sort it reminded Aether of Dragonspine. Even deeper inside the cave there was the aura of an evil presents which made everyone keep their guard up. All of them had a sense of being watched but couldn’t pin point where it was coming from so for now they had to ignore their feeling. It was forgotten soon later because of the horrifying scene which played before them. The Hillichurls that had gone into the cave were now violently fighting each other to the death. On a podium there also stood a mysterious Goblet which had the same dark presents around it as the Hillichurl.
“W-what’s going on with the Hillichurls?”
Amber stuttered.
“I have no idea but this is really indescribable.”
Jean answered trying to keep her cool.
“”This is certainly new…”
Kaeya chimed in.
“Hmm… and that Goblet over there is quite interesting I wonder if it has something to do with the Hillichurls behaviour.”
Albedo says calmly.
“Well what do you all think we should do next?”
Gorou asks.
Before anyone could answere him their presents was finally noticed by the Hillichurls. They immediately stooped attacking each other and prepared to engage in battle with the team.
“There is no time to think about this now. At this moment we need to defeat our enemy.”
Diluc says
Shortly after he rushes to the enemy.
“Time for retribution”
Diluc yelled.
Without warning he fired out of his claymore an all mighty phoenix that burned the enemy and pushed them away. The team also engaged in the battle. Kaeya rushed after the enemy to unleash his Frostgnaw he did this just in time to trigger a melt reaction which dealt even more damage. Jean used her Gale Blade to hold the enemy’s for a short time in place. This time was used for Amber to place her Baron Bunny as Jean released her hold, the enemy flew towards the explosive puppet which not a moment later detonated. After the attack the enemy was visibly damaged yet still standing. So the rest of them started their offence. Albedo placed his Solar Isotoma near the enemy so they would be in it’s range right after that Gorou used his Inuzaka All-Round Defense to support the team.
“Now advance.”
Gorou says towards Aether.
Aether wasted no time and ran towards the Hillichurls and into the radius Albedo’s Solar Isotoma when he was in range of them he used his Belowing Thunder attack. This electrocuted the enemy and the rest of their health was taken from them trough the damage they took from the Solar Isatoma.
“Glad that’s over.”
Amber says.
“I guess now it’s time to answere the question if the Goblet has something to do with this because if you look at it now the dark aura around it has completely vanished.”
Albedo says with his hand under his chin.
All of them looked towards the Goblet that stood proudly on the pedestal it had indeed stopped
admitting the strange aura.
“Albedo do you think the Goblet could be the source of the change in the Hillichurls?”
Jean asks.
“I am not sure for me to be certain I will need to inspect it more carefully and do some research.”
Albedo replied.
“We should take it with us if it is the cause of the Hillichurls taking it away would already solve our problems and if it’s not it maybe Albedo’s research will provide some new clues.”
Kaeya exclaimed.
“But wouldn’t be dangerous for us to take it?”
Amber asks.
“As far as we know only the Hillichurls and abyss mages have been effected. No one that has been in contact with them seems to be infected by this other wise we would have noticed. By this the possibility of us being effected is rather small also considering the fact that we hold Visions.
Non the less caution must still be had the aura that was coming from it before felt similar to that of that from Durrin’s remains in Dragonspine. For this and other factors I will ask Aether would you be so kind to take the Goblet?”
Albedo asks.
“Me, why me?”
Aether countered.
“The reason is from all of us you posses the ability to command the elements without a Vision and are more resilient to such influences such as those you can encounter in Dragonspine. My experiments on you have shone that much. On top of that the possibility of you being influenced are the lowest.”
Albedo stated.
“Alright I’ll do it.”
Aether says with determination.
“Just to make sure nothing happens wear these gloves and put this cloth around it.”
Albedo says giving Aether a pair of thick gloves and a with cloth.
Aether puts them on end starts to make his way towards the Goblet nothing felt of about it and he didn’t get any weird feelings from it. As he touch it with gloves and the cloth he felt nothing not even the slightest bit of an evil presents or dread. It was just an old Goblet. He put the cloth around it and with it in hand turned around.
“Aether how do you feel?”
Albedo asks.
“To be honest completely fine I’ve had my encounters with things like this before but I would always feel a scene of dread after touching but here nothing of the sorts happened. I guess maybe the Goblet was effected by the Hillichurls or something along those lines.”
Aether explained.
“Well for now we know this Goblet does not effect you but we can’t rule out he possibility that it could be the rut if the problems for know we should study it get a better understanding of it.”
Albedo says.
“You are right for now we should get out of here and make a camp somewhere near but far enough from the other Hillichurls.”
Jean says.
“Sure let’s go everyone.”
Aether says.
All of them walked out of the cave together this is were they released it was already dark so they quickly needed a place to make their camp. They decided to make the camp on top of the cliff they were previously on, it is also the place were they defeated the Cicin mage. On their way the team killed some Anemo slimes. Arriving at their destination they immediately began to set up camp. In the end 5 tents were set up of which one of them was given to Diluc. After that it was decided that Gorou and Aether and Amber and Jean each shared a tent while the others had on for themselves. It was also decided that the Goblet would be stored in Albedos tent so that he would be able to study it better. After everything was done all of them sat around the campfire were some Sunsettias were being roasted. A talk began soon after.
“So what will we be doing tomorrow?”
Amber asks.
“Tomorrow we will eliminate the rest of the Hillichurls in this area.”
Jean answered.
“Since we know what will be doing tomorrow how about we speak of the topic who of us will be standing guard for the night. Right now we shouldn’t be careless after all were ere still rather close to the enemy on top of that I still have this feeling we are being watched.”
Diluc says.
“You’re right and I am pretty sure everyone still feels the same way. Is there anyone who would like to volunteer being the first guard for this night?”
Jean asks.
“It would be my honour to have first watch and with my advanced hearing I’ll be able to sound alarm on time for you all to be prepared even in the darkness of the night.”
Gorou says.
“Alright then you will take the first watch then who will take the second?”
Jean asks again.
“I would be able to replace him for I always wake up rather early in the morning.”
Albedo exclaimed.
“Alright then it is decided and I thank you two for doing this.”
Jean says with a smile.
After this small exchange all of them started eating the Sunsettias. Now it was even later then before and everyone decided to go to sleep.
All of them said goodnight to each other and made their way to their tents all but two people. These people were Gorou and Diluc. Before Gorou could ask what he wanted Diluc spoke.
“Thank you for doing the first watch also I hadn’t had the time to introduce myself to you. I am
Diluc, of Mondstadt. It is a pleasure to meet you.”
Diluc says.
“The pleasure is all mine I am general Gorou of the Watatsumi Island resistance.”
Gorou replied.
“Well then it was to meet you Gorou but now it is time that I also go to sleep for tomorrow will be exhausting.”
Diluc says.
“I understand goodnight.”
Gorou says.
After that Diluc also made his way towards the tent leaving Gorou alone to stand guard in case anything happens.
Five hours later Albedo came out of his tent to replace Gorou. He walked towards the spot he guessed Gorou would be but what he found was shocking. He immediately ran to the tents and woke everyone up and showed them his discovery. All what they could do was stand there the shook evident6 on their faces. If you had to describe what all of them felt in that moment was you would come to the conclusion that it was despair and disbelieve.
For what Albedo had found was…
a scene of a crime and in the middle of it all laid...
a dead Gorou.