2 Welcome to Monstadt

By the time the Servants reached the castle, it was nearly dusk.

As the two servants slowed down and began to walk towards the city entrance, they were halted by a pair of guards.

"Halt travelers! State your name and purpose", called out one of the guards.

"Well uh..yo. You might not believe us, but we're not from this pl-", Cú tried to say before Emiya cut him off with hand.

Are you a fool? They might label us as hostiles! hissed Emiya as he projected his voice to Cú.

The guard raised his eyebrow.

"Did you say 'not from this place'?"

The guard paused for a second.

"Maybe you're from the same place as the Traveler."

Emiya raised his eyebrow.

"I'm sorry. Who is-"

"Swan, go get the grand master."

"But Lawrence, the Favonius Handbook says-"

"Now's not the time, Swan. Remember when the Traveler came? Go get the grand master. And tell her we have two more otherworldly travelers."

The guard, whose name was probably Swan, sighed before turning and running into the city.

"Anyway, I will have to trouble you two to wait here as the-"

"Well well, who do we have here hmm~?"

A new person appeared, clad in blue clothing with a fur pelt over his right shoulder.

"Ah! Captain Kaeya sir!", the guard named Lawrence said.

"Seems like more otherworldy travelers mm? And here I thought Lumine would be the only one other than that mysterious sibling."

Cú frowned.

"And you are?...."

"Oh, whoops, my bad. I'm Kaeya, a Captain of the Knights of Favonius. I take it that you two aren't from around here?"

Emiya glared at Cú again while Cú shrugged before answering.

"Yeah. We aren't. Call me Lancer and this grouchy man over here is Archer. Guess you could call us acquaintances, but that's as far as our relationship goes."

Emiya then proceeded to ask, "Captain Kaeya, would you mind telling us where we are at the moment?"

Kaeya smirked. "Well, to answer your question, you are at the gates of Monstadt, the city of freedom. And your names are Archer and Lancer? How strange."

Monstadt huh. Literally 'Moon City', Emiya thought.

"Well, while we wait for Ms.Jean to arrive, why don't I take you two on a tour? Sightseeing per say."

Cú nodded, "Sure."

As the trio walked around the city, Emiya and Cú noticed something.

"Hey Captain Kaeya, it doesn't seem like your citizens think our clothing is weird."

"Or that fact that you are obviously carrying a large red spear. No worries, although if you could put away the spear that would be nice. The people hear have seen their share of strange clothing from numerous nations," Kaeya replied.

"Anyway, as I said earlier, this is Monstadt the city, located in Monstadt the region although if you just mention Monstadt to anyone, they would probably automatically assume the city. Over there is the Market District and there is...."

Eventually, the three reached an open plaza area.

"And that is a statue of Barbatos, the Anemo Archon. Our entire city worships him for he is essentially our god and protector, although he doesn't intervene much like the Geo Archon or the Electro Archon."

"A god called an archon? Interesting", Emiya mulled.

"Oh, does your world have gods?"

"A lot. So many, it's contradicting. It's best if you don't think about it too hard", Cú replied.

Kaeya simply nodded.

"Ah, hello travelers. I'm sorry for the wait", called a tall woman in blue and white.

"My name is Jean. I am the Acting Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius. I hear that you two are not of this world?"

Emiya replied, "Yes ma'am. My name is Archer and he is Lancer."

Since when did you get so polite, bastard? Cú projected, You've been polite the entire time we've been here!

The woman named Jean frowned slightly before replying,

"Alright. Nice to meet you two, Archer and Lancer. Just call me Jean. Given that you are not from here and are without a guide like the one Lumine, the Traveler, has, I suggest you simply explore the city until I am able to contact Lumine and request her to come."

"Thank you, Jean", said Cú.

As Jean walked towards the cathedral north of the plaza they were in, another girl came running up.

"Hi Kaeya. Oh and hello Archer and Lancer. I overheard the conversation earlier. So you two aren't from around here either huh? Well, let me give you a tour of Monstadt!"

"No need, Amber, I had already given them one", Kaeya said.

"Well, in that case, let's go to Good Hunters and maybe register you two with the Adventurers Guild. If you want to be an adventurer of course", Amber said, clearly undaunted by Kaeya's remarks.

"Fine by me. What about you, Archer?", Cú said.

"That would be alright with me as well. Please lead the way, Ms.Amber", Emiya replied.

"Follow me! And just call me Amber please!"

For the rest of the day, the trio went around the city visiting different shops.

At Good Hunters, the trio had some dinner. Emiya had to restrain the urge to get behind the stove and cook something. Cú spent his time laughing at Emiya while a clueless Amber and Sara decided it was best to leave the question unasked.

At Angel's Share, Cú ended up drunk so Emiya had to drag him outside. Following Amber to just outside the city by the docks, Emiya, much to Amber's horror, tossed Cú into the water. This sobered him pretty quick. Amber paid for the bill and refused to pay for anything else on the rest of the tour.

When they passed the tavern again, Emiya overheard, "That blue man drinks as much as the bard. It seems I will have to notify Master Diluc about another massive drinker."

When Amber tried to steer them into Cat's Tail, both Emiya and Cú took one look at the bartender and instantly refused to go inside, stating that the bartender looked similar to someone they know. Amber, puzzled, asked,

"What do you mean 'magical fox' and 'it's the cat one'?"

She never got an answer.

At the Floral Shop, the two took a liking to some of the flowers. Sadly, since they had no mora, they could not pay for any. However, Flora let them have a free windwheel aster.

(Cú tried getting Emiya to project some mora, but he refused, insisting on not giving a child fraudulent money.)

At the Blacksmith's, Wagner asked them, without looking up, to leave him alone if they didn't want a weapon. At Amber's request, Wagner looked up and gave a short 'hello'. He paused for a second to look at Cú's weapon before looking back down at whatever weapon he was working on.

They then stopped by the souvenir shop. Once again, with no currency on them, the duo had to leave without buying anything. Emiya decided to project one of the small blue gems that could be bought at the souvenir shop, but made sure to hide it from Amber and Marjorie.

Finally, the trio went to the Adventurers' Guild.

"Welcome, Amber and the two travelers. I am Katheryne, the receptionist here at the Adventurers' Guild. It's my job to assign quests to Mondstadt's adventurers and provide intelligence support."

"Hello Katheryne", Amber said, "I'd like to sign these two up as adventurers."

"That can be done. Although, if they wish to sign up as a team, I'm afraid they'll need one more person."

"It's alright Katheryne. They're foreign beings just like Lumine so signing them up as a two-man team should be alright. Is that fine with you two."

Cú scoffed. "Eh. I hate working with this guy, but given the fact that we're in a different world, it's fine."

"What he said."

Katheryne nodded.

"Alright. Here is an Adventurer Handbook. It lists the locations and drops of different enemies. Also, every day you will be assigned with 4 daily commissions. Although there is no need to complete them, it is highly recommended you do so."

Katheryne then gave them a map.

"This map locates all the teleporters and Statues in Teyvat. As you explore further, portions of the map will be unlocked based on which Statues you visit."

"Statues?", asked Emiya.

"Structures found around Teyvat. Based on which nation you are in, the Statue will be of the Archon that governs there. For example, here in Mondstadt you will only find Statues of the Anemo Archon Barbatos."

"Ok. Thank you Katheryne", Cú said.

"You are welcome. Enjoy your adventures."

Amber began to guide the duo to a building.

"For tonight, you two can stay with me. Jean has already contacted the Traveler so you should be meeting her tomorrow. Rest up 'cause the Traveler will probably be pushing you two to the limits tomorrow!"

Emiya and Cú looked at each other before nodding.

"Amber, there is no need. We, as beings made of pure mana, have no need for sleep. We'll just go into spiritual form until the morning. Thank you for today."

"Spiritual form? Are you two ghosts or something? Anyway, if it's too long, don't explain. You guys still need to rest up anyway."

Emiya simply smiled and nodded.

As Amber watched, the two disappeared from sight. A moment later, she could no longer feel their presence.

"How strange", Amber muttered, "At least Lumine was human-like. These two really feel like ghosts."