Ad Astra Abyssosque

It was the sound of tapping that woke Matt. Tapping and birdsong.

He blinked his eyes open in the morning light. He breathed in a deep breath and inhaled a wonderful, calming scent. The sight of a room he didn’t recognize barely registered as he snuggled into the warmth he was hugging.

The tapping happened again, and he opened his eyes to peer over at the window. A bird was perched on the sill outside. It pecked the glass, bobbed its head, hopped down the windowsill, then tapped the glass again.

Another bird joined it on the windowsill but the first was spooked and took flight. The second one flew after it.

Matt blinked his eyes closed again, trying to catch some more sleep. But after some moments he found he couldn’t regain his slumber. He lay there listening to the world wake up, while somewhere behind him he heard soft snoring. The warmth in his arms shifted a little and he looked down at the blonde head of hair.

For a moment, he was a little confused, but a second later he was reminded of where he was and who he was with. He was in an inn in the world of Teyvat with his wife. Who happened to look like Lumine from the game. And he looked like Aether from the game. And Paimon was in the bed behind him, looking very different from how he remembered her.

Matt shifted a little and yawned as he took in the appearance of the bedroom. Wooden and big enough to have two beds with gaps between them. Side tables and a dresser/trunk combo and a vanity stand with a washbasin. There was no bathroom, probably because Mondstadt hadn’t figured out indoor plumbing yet. Places like Fontaine probably had though.

But wait...

This inn had rooms downstairs with tubs and taps, and a separate toilet room. Hmmm, then maybe they had only just learned to incorporate plumbing into their infrastructure. If he saw that every building had a ground floor extension with bathroom facilities, then that would explain the tech as being recently added.

{Are you really thinking about plumbing early in the morning?} He heard his wife’s voice in his head as she yawned beside him. {Do you need to go that badly?}

[Well, I do need to go, but the lack of a bathroom on this floor got me thinking about the state of this world's technology.]

{Ahh... True.} She blinked around the room blearily before thumping her head back on the pillow. {Fontaine probably has showers.}

[That’s what I thought.]

She lay there for a bit; morning drowsiness still riddled her mind, before she breathed in and looked over at him.

{I need to pee.}

Matt snorted and lifted to cover to get out of bed. Then he remembered his nudity and quickly looked over at Paimon. His heart stopped for a moment when he saw her on her side towards them but sighed when she snored some more. He got up and used his inventory power to put his clothes back on.

Jen rolled to the other side and sat up on the edge of her side of the bed and used her inventory power too. She went from being a naked Lumine, an amazing sight so early in the morning, to being clothed. Which was still a wonderful sight.

Jen looked over her shoulder at him with a grin before getting up. She stretched in that very “Lumine” way. Matt enjoyed the sight before looking over at Paimon.

[Should we leave her for a bit or wake her up?]

{Hmmmm... She looks like she’s enjoying that sleep. I feel a little bad waking her up.}

[But we do need to figure out money soon, before tonight.]

{True, true. Let me just clear my face first.} She thought, before walking over to the washbasin and splashing her face with a little water.

That sounded like a good idea. He did the same once she was done and dried with a small towel beside the basin. As he did that, a fresh-faced Lumine walked over to Paimon.

While he cleared his face, he could hear Paimon mumbling behind him.

“...bweh? Wasse time?”

“It’s morning, Paimon. And we need to head to the Adventurer’s guild and see if we can get breakfast.” Jen told her.

“Breakfast?! Hmm, mm hungry...”

“Yep, so you need to get up.”

“...mhmmmugay...”

Jen turned to Matt.

{Did she just call me gay?}

[No? I think she said, “M’kay.”]

Jen snorted and yawned. Clearly her own drowsiness hadn’t fully left her.

{Do you want to head down first and pee? Maybe find out if there is a way to brush our teeth? Water and rinsing can only do so much.}

[Yeah, sure.] He nodded and turned to the door.

{Oh, and maybe see if Charles is kind enough to let us eat breakfast even though we don’t have money yet?}

[I’ll check.]

Matt left the waking of the beast to his wife and left the bedroom.

He opened and closed the door and walked down the hall to the stairs. He went down to the next floor, the one with the wrap around balcony looking down on the ground floor. He glanced at the tables and chairs on the balcony, but everything was quiet here. He kept climbing the stairs down and came to the ground floor.

Here there was a little more life as a waitress was seen cleaning a corner of the dining area with a broom, and a patron was eating breakfast at a table. Aether looked around the quiet inn before turning to the door to the bathroom area. He went and did his business and even found something interesting. Apparently, this world did know about teeth cleaning because there were a sink and mirror and a cabinet with a supply of cheap looking wooden toothbrushes.

There was a box with simple wooden sticks with bristles and there was a container of something that looked like toothpaste. The paste smelled of mint, and that got Matt thinking about those mint plants that were all over Teyvat. He sent the images of these findings to his wife.

[You think this stuff is toothpaste?]

{Well, it is next to those cheap brushes. Give it a go? Hopefully you don’t poison yourself.}

[Gee, thanks.]

Matt shook his head and pulled a brush out, felt to see if it had been used but a glance at a waste bin by the sink told him that used ones were thrown away. Were they one-time use ones? There was quite a lot in the box in the cabinet. Maybe Charles bought them in bulk?

Oh well. He’s been wanting to clean his teeth properly for days now. Simply using water to rinse just wasn’t the same. So, he put a little of the paste on the brush and got to work. And surprisingly it felt kind of nice and tasted okay. It foamed up the same way toothpaste did and left a nice aftertaste. He sent his findings to Jen and asked her to check with Paimon if this was the correct way to do things, once they were down here and cleaning up.

Afterwards, Matt rinsed and left the backroom bathroom area. He approached the bar and saw Charles writing something in a book.

“Good morning, Charles.” He greeted the man.

Charles looked up and back at him. He placed his quill pen down and turned to him fully.

“Ah, Aether, was it? Did you all sleep well?” He asked Matt.

“Yeah. The bed was really comfortable. Especially after roughing it for a few days.”

“That’s good to hear. So, what's the plan for you and yours today?” He asked politely. Though, Matt knew that he must be wondering if they were staying another night and how they might be paying for it.

“The three of us were going to visit the Adventurer’s Guild and see about some work, then visit the church and maybe sightsee a little. Hopefully, we’ll be able to finish a job and be able to pay for another night here.”

“I see. So, shall I keep the room in your name until you know if you have the money for it?”

“If that’s not too much trouble, that would be great.”

“It’s no trouble at all. We wouldn’t want you sleeping in the streets and Amber seems to think you are dependable.”

“Also, would it be too much trouble to have breakfast before we head out? Something light would be perfectly fine. You can put it on a tab of what we owe you.”

Charles nodded easily.

“Yes, that would be fine. Adventuring jobs can’t be done on an empty stomach.”

“Thank you, Charles. Also, if when we’re out and Amber comes looking for us, can you tell her our plans? In case she really needs to find us.”

“I can do that.” He nodded.

At that moment, Matt looked over as his wife and Paimon made it to the bottom of the stairs and went to the bathrooms. He turned back to Charles.

“Great. So, can we have three light breakfasts please?”

“I’ll let the kitchen know.” The man stepped away and through a back door.

Aether then went and chose a table in view of the bar and the other door to the kitchens. He sat down and waited for his female companions to join him. He watched their progress through Jen’s eyes and saw that the cheap wooden sticks and mint paste were in fact for cleaning teeth. Paimon confidently reached for them like they were normal for her. Jen followed suit and they brushed and rinsed and headed back to the dining area.

The door opened and they walked out and saw him. Jen and Paimon went and sat down with him.

“Morning, Aether!” Paimon greeted him cheerfully. It seemed her sleepiness had been washed away, and her usual Paimon-ness shone through.

“Morning, Paimon. I’ve ordered us some breakfast before we head out.”

“Yay! I was feeling hungry.” Of course she was. Hunger is Paimon’s default state.

They sat down with him, Jen next to him and Paimon across the table. He told them what he spoke with Charles about and the fact that he told him to let Amber know where they were if she ever came around.

“So, we’re finding a job straight after this?” Paimon asked.

“Yep. We gotta pull our weight if we’re going to stay here for a short while.” Aether told her. “So, we have to get started straight away.”

“That’s fine and all... I’m just worried if I’ll be able to help. I can’t exactly use a sword like you two.” Paimon admitted as her cheer seemed to deflate a little.

“You don’t need to, Paimon. You’re working as our guide, remember?” Lumine assured her. “Your job is already to show us around and help us acclimate to this place.”

“That’s... true.” The fairy girl slowly agreed.

“And because of that, we’re the ones that need to be paying you for that service.” Lumine said.

“Ah- no, no, no, you don’t need to do that. We’re friends and I wanted to help you find your sister.” Paimon waved her hands in front of her, denying the monetary compensation.

“Oh, well, what if we paid you in food and hugs?” Lumine offered with a grin.

Paimon paused and her face got a little warm.

“The-The... food sounds amazing, um, yeah...” The bashful girl chuckled a little nervously.

“Alright, so food and friendship and travel companions are the currency we provide. In exchange for your guidance, advice, and friendship. Does that sound good?” Aether stepped in.

“Um, yeah. Sounds great.”

“Then you don’t have to worry about not being able to fight, Paimon. Is that a deal?”

“... yeah. Deal.” She nodded, bashfully looking down at the table.

“Oh, and we teach you how to cook.” His wife added, remembering their promise to Paimon.

“Geh.” The fairy girl made a face and looked away.

Aether and Lumine laughed and chuckled.

After a short while, a waitress came out with their breakfast. Toast with some thin meats and cheeses and spreads. Plus, three drinks. They thanked her and dove in. They needed to be ready to swing a sword or move fast in case the Guild’s missions had them fighting or running. They barely talked as they ate, cleaning their plates clean and thanking Charles before heading out.

It was a couple hours before noon as the trio walked through a market street. Jen and Paimon were flitting from one stall to the next, oohing and aahing at the things on display.

[Make sure to take note of the prices. I have a feeling that Mora is similar to Japanese Yen. Missing that decimal point and all.]

{Right. It did seem like that with some of the ridiculous pricing from the game.} Jen thought as she looked at some bookmarks with pressed flowers in a fancy looking paper.

There were other stalls that had trinkets, baubles, and hair pins. Other stalls had food, fruit, and meat. They saw prices like sixty mora for a fruit, and five hundred for a pendant. If this was Japanese Yen, then that would make a fruit roughly sixty cents and the pendant roughly five dollars. Not counting for exchange rates or inflation. It was just easier to understand if he imagined a decimal point in the price.

So, that would make the two-thousand five hundred mora for a stay at the inn about twenty-five dollars. They had to make that or more today. More since they had breakfast outside of their paid stay.

Hopefully, the commissions paid well.

They walked all the way through the market street and found themselves back at the gate to the city. From there they could see the long staircase to the right with the shops and establishments at intervals. One building on the left side of the staircase looked like the Adventurer’s Guild.

Matt got a profound sense of nostalgia seeing the building with a service counter looking out to the street, and the woman standing there awaiting any adventurer looking for work.

{Katheryne, my love. We need money.}

Matt’s grin turned to a smirk at his wife before he approached the counter. His wife and Paimon followed behind. The woman behind the counter saw them approach and turned to them.

“Welcome to the Adventurer’s Guild.” She said quite formally with a short bow. The woman had dark hair that stopped just above her shoulders. She wore a headband that looked like a maid headdress, a green band with white frills, and a cute dress in green, white, a little bit of black, and red threads here and there. “What can I do for you today?”

This lady here was the “Nurse Joy” of Genshin Impact. One in every city.

“Good morning. We were hoping to register as adventurers. Can we do that here?” Aether asked her.

Of course, he and his wife already knew they could, but they were so out of order to the happenings of the game. This moment only really came about after the player character had done some missions involving Stormterror.

“Yes, you can.” The receptionist said, her calm expression barely changing. “My name is Katheryne. Ad astra abyssosque. May the stars guide you.”

“Ad astra abyssosque.” Aether and Lumine echoed politely.

Katheryne produced two slim folders and a quill that glimmered with faint Geo energy. “I’ll need your names, your place of origin, and any prior adventuring experience you might have.”

Aether and Lumine exchanged a brief look.

{Should we just put “travelers”?} Jen’s voice flickered gently through Matt’s mind.

[It’s not a lie.] He answered back. [Just… not the whole confusing truth.]

Aether filled out his portion first, then passed the quill to his wife. Paimon looked over Lumine’s shoulder, curious about the process.

“Will you be joining as well?” Katheryne asked Paimon. To which the fairy girl jumped.

“Me? Uh... Well, I don’t exactly fight or anything useful like that... ehe.” She rubbed the back of her head sheepishly.

“Not all commissions are combat related. Some are just about assisting people around the city. Or delivering things to people outside the walls.” Katheryne assured her.

“Oh... Um...” She glanced at Aether and Lumine, wondering what she should do.

“I think it’s a great idea.” Lumine said with an encouraging smile. “Even if you can’t fight, you can still take on some simple jobs to earn Mora. I think that’s incredibly valuable.”

Aether nodded along.

Paimon thinks it through for a moment before turning back to Katheryne and giving a hesitant nod. The receptionist smiles politely, really barely more than a shift in her facial muscles, and pulls out another folder with paperwork for Paimon to fill in.

Once the papers were complete, Katheryne inspected them with a professional nod. “Everything appears to be in order. Congratulations. The three of you are now officially registered adventurers. Your initial rank is Rank One, ‘Adventurer Novice.’ You may undertake basic commissions around Mondstadt to build your experience and reputation. Take these badges denoting your affiliation with the Guild. Also, here are three copies of the Adventurer’s Handbook for more information.”

She slid three bronze-colored adventurer badges across the counter as well as three books with tabs for different sections. The trio accepted them reverently.

“There is a commission board just to the left of my counter.” Katheryne continued. “You’re free to select any tasks marked for your rank. Please remember to report back here upon completion so rewards may be issued.”

“Thank you.” Aether said, giving her a grateful smile.

Paimon, after recovering from her sheepish moment, got excited and skipped ahead eagerly to look over the commission board. She planted herself in front of the board. “Okay! Let’s see what’s available.”

The board was filled with a mix of handwritten notices. Some official looking, some pinned with string and wax seals. Aether scanned for tasks marked with the green Novice corner ribbon.

“Oh! Oh! Look!” Paimon tapped a low-placed flyer with excitement. “This one says, ‘Assistance Needed at Good Hunter’! It says they’re short-staffed for the lunch rush today. They just need help delivering meals to nearby customers and carrying ingredients back from the square. No fighting required! I could totally help with that! Plus, I know Sara.”

Paimon looked a lot more confident now. Her prior visit, and the lack of strength requirements, really helped her see her own value for a task like this.

“That actually sounds perfect.” Lumine said, smiling at the girl. “Light work, good pay, and it keeps us inside Mondstadt.”

Aether pulled down the flyer. “Let’s mark this as our first option.”

“Here’s another one,” Lumine said, tapping a different paper. “‘Library Book Retrieval’. Apparently, a few borrowed volumes from the Knights have gone overdue. The borrowers live around the city, but they haven’t had time to return them. They’re offering Mora for someone to go collect the books and bring them back to the Favonius Library.”

“Hehe, that sounds exactly like the people of Mondstadt that I remember.” Paimon giggled.

Between the three of them, these tasks would be easy. And the pay being advertised looked pretty nice too.

{And it’ll let us get familiar with the city.} Jen added.

Aether took down the second flyer and folded it neatly.

“So, we take both?” He asked.

Paimon did a small, excited hop on the balls of her feet. “Yep! One delivery job, one errand job. Easy Mora! And we’ll still have time for lunch!”

Matt and Jen exchanged an amused glance. With tasks in hand, the three of them turned toward the heart of Mondstadt, sunlight spilling warmly across the cobblestones, with this as their first official steps as adventurers.

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