Me and Lumine then left the knight's headquarters as Jean was going to be busy coordinating and dealing with a group of knights to take out a larger encampment of Hilichurls, Lisa was busy with research and the other knights with visions were apparently still out on assignment though I did hear that Noelle the super maid knight was finishing up her assignment and was en route back to Mondstadt.
"Hey uhm you both left out some pretty important stuff about why you both could handle that crystal and Paimon thinks we should have mentioned to Jean about that other suspicious person that was talking to Stormterror that day," Paimon said shrugging but I couldn't respond as I was busily deadpanning at how fate seemed to have us an on a set path.
"You mean that little Christmas-style elf in tights running up towards the cathedral..." I said dryly as I pointed at the short man in predominantly green clothes that was running up the stairs of Mondstadts paths.
"What?!" Paimon yelled but then she shook her head as she valiantly pointed at the running man and yelled. "Quick after him!" Paimon yelled and we silently agreed running up the path our target followed.
Venti went on to sing about how a bard strummed his lyre and soothed the lonely and irritable dragon, generally explaining how the Anemo God Barbatos brought the Anemo dragon Dvalin under his metaphorical wing and taking him as one of the guardians of Mondstadt.
"But the tides of despair soon engulfed the land..." He sang solemnly as he verbally painted the story of how the corrupted evil yet still innocent dragon of darkness that was made preceding the fall of Khaenri'ah came to Mondstadt unknowing of the terrible corruption it brought with every breath, every beat of its wings would spread a toxic miasma that would simply kill you if you were lucky."
"In those dark days, the Lion Fang perished, and the Falcon flag slept eternally within a deep slumber." He said and I knew by Lion fang that he was referring to the Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius had perished so that would mean that the armies of Mondstadt would be in disarray at best.
"Of the people's agony the bard soon sang. The soaring dragon that commanded the winds heeded his grave calls. And amidst the windstorms of evil a brutal war sprang." The bard sang as he slowed down his Lyre's previously suspenseful thrumming and taking on a mournful tone.
"But finally, blood of venom sent the sky dragon into a deep slumber. Only to be awake and be expelled in abhor... Why do people in this age despise me so." The bard sang.
Finally, he finished off by saying how Dvalin was now filled with naught but anger despair, and hatred for being abandoned both by Barbatos and the people of Mondstadt.
The crowd surrounding the bard clapped loudly giving praise for his excellent storytelling, and music with some even walking forward to drop some Mora into a bucket the clearly poor bard had laid out.
After the people split off to go about their business that very bard walked forward with a light smile as he seemingly took us in. "Wait so you guys are... Oh yeah, you guys are the ones who scared Dvalin away."
As Paimon went on to ask who Dvalin was Lumine scolded Paimon how Lisa literally just mentioned how Stormterror's real name was Dvalin. "Wait so why do you call him that? Are you two supposed to be close or something?" Paimon asked suspiciously as she stared at the bard.
The bard smugly put his hands on his waist as he grinned nonchalantly at Paimon's responding. "Oh, so close..."
Paimon turned around and pulled me and Lumine close as she muttered furtively. "Paimon thinks this guy has a screw loose. Should we just report him to the Knights and go on with our lives?"
"So, who are you?" Lumine said as she lightly pushed the flying Paimon away from her face with a finger.
"Heh, I am the great Venti, the bard, three-time winner of the 'Most Popular Bard of Mondstadt' to be precise," Venti said proudly as he stood as though we should have collapsed to our knees in supplication to his greatness. "So, what did you two need from me?" He asked as he finally put away his lyre inside his space bag.
"Obviously we want to know what's happening with storm terror," I said dryly.
"Storm..." Venti said blankly pretending not to understand what we were saying.
But Paimon seemingly exploded with fury as she stomped in the air and pointed at Venti. "Quit with the amnesia act and just tell us! Lumine shows him the crystal Dvalin left behind." Paimon asked and Lumine nodded then took out the once ominously glowing red crystal that had somehow shrunk and changed into a lightly glowing green crystal.
After a bit of testing with Venti giving me and Lumine a corrupted tear from Dvalin we were both able to cleanse it of its prior impurities though it was obvious that Lumine Traveler's essence was greater than my Aura as she was able to cleanse hers much quicker by a solid half of a minute.
"Wow, both of your abilities are worthy of being in a bard's poem hmm... Oh, the heroic duo should they stand beside one another clad in rays of golden and silver light. Though stand in shade you will be met with their blade..." Venti nodded as though the poem was rather well done on the spot even, I could not deny how well he alluded to Lumine's hair and eyes as well as my silver Aura.
Venti sighed losing her prior joy at making up a poem as he slumped. "Anyway, even if Dvalin is not taken down, his life is still withering away in the breeze due to the miasma that haunts him. Well, I have my own plans I need to get going." Venti said and without a care, he ran off his with pigtails bouncing as he jumped off the stone walls that surrounded the cathedral's grounds in front of the statute of Barbados.
"Man... Paimon thinks his voice was super familiar for some reason," Paimon said as she began rubbing her head franticly in thought as to how familiar the voice was.
I sighed as I realized I was at a bit of a crossing point as I could rely on my foreknowledge in order to get an advantage and be able to skip dancing around the subject with Venti the bard being the Anemo God in question.
Whelp no point in transmigrating if I can't bend canon over my knee in the glorious search of Waifus...
"Paimon... That tone-deaf bard was the Anemo God Barbatos..."I said slowly as I palmed my face and dragged my fingers down in seeming disappointment at such a godly figure being a bard of all things.
Lumine twitched and her head snapped to me as she seemingly searched my eyes for the truth of what I said and then seemingly recalled the time we were sent flying in the sky and heard the Anemo God speaking to us.
Lumine's face began to twitch as she realized we had to rely on a trap of a man in order to defeat the dragon Dvalin and then looked to me speaking. "Jake, do you have any idea where he could have gone?"
I nodded as Lisa told me a couple of tales about Barbatos in the telling of Dvalin's stories and many of them coincided with the god and his supporters loving to use the massive tree outside of Mondstadt as a sort of meeting ground as even a dragon could perch itself with the tree's massive branches.