Chương 46: The Chronicles of Chronicler Canyon

It was turning out to be an even busier Nüwa's Day than Jordan had anticipated. After the ordeal in the basement, he spent the hour of the Horse trying to de-stress over several cups of tea. Which took some doing, not least because the very source of his stress had joined him at the table. Presently, Jordan and Canyon occupied one of the quieter corners of the White Dragon House.

The latter had put up a'be back soon' sign over the pawn shop, which her employer—the tiny owner of the teahouse who gave Jordan a searching smile as she set down a tray of jasmine tea—didn't seem to particularly mind. It wasn't exactly the most private setting, but… after what the two had just endured downstairs, privacy wasn't exactly a pressing need for either of them. It also wasn't exactly 'beneath an open sky' as previously aspired to by a certain someone's parting words.

Although, as Jordan would soon find out, the meeting wasn't without its own whiff of adventure. Jordan drank as soon as the tea was served, and regretted it immediately. He cursed himself for the rookie mistake, even as he did his best to hide the pain of his burnt tongue. All to no avail, however, thanks again to a system determined to have fun at his expense. JORDAN YU lost: 1 HP. If Canyon had been watching the combat log, she showed no reaction.

She took her time to take her first sip, covering her mouth with both hands as she did. The gesture was familiar to Jordan from one of Mom's shows, though the secrecy struck him as excessive between friends. Well, assuming Canyon actually considers me a friend … Charisma DC 12: success N üwa: "Oh, spare me, lordlet! Just a minute ago, the two of you were trading couplets like a pair of moonstruck lovers. And now, you can't even decide if you're friends? This is unbearable!" Shut up, N üwa! You're not helping!

Not helpful, perhaps, but the God of Charisma certainly was on point. If Jordan were living inside his own head right about now, he'd surely want to give himself a good smack. Across the table, Canyon looked considerably calmer than Jordan felt. Her rectangle was just about free of any redness as she opened the conversation." I'm pleased to see you again, Jordan Yu," she spoke with her usual muffle, sounding like she meant it.

Evidently, she'd resolved to move past the shock of their reunion, which was more than fine by Jordan.

"Did Pathfinder Foxhill tell you about my work?"" He did," Jordan said quickly, eager to snap up the softball, "but he didn't tell me why you're manning a pawn shop while occasionally transcribing letters for paying customers."" Is it so strange?"" Well, I don't know if it's strange. But it just… doesn't seem like your scene."

"… I'm not sure I'm familiar with that expression. As to the why, cities aren't cheap to live in, and we all must make ends meet somehow, no? You have your stipends from the Imperial Army, and I have… this."" It's just a temporary arrangement, then?" Canyon nodded, then deigned to elaborate." Madam Thousand"—referring to the teahouse owner—"is a family friend. My stay in Featherift City has dragged on longer than I initially anticipated, but thanks to the Madam, I've been able to land on my feet."

Jordan raised an eyebrow." Oh yeah? And why has it dragged on? Not that I'm complaining, of course. It's because you're still here that I got to— ahem!" Maybe the least convincing cough in history. Jordan felt himself go red again. Canyon, thankfully, had the grace to ignore his outburst. By way of answer, the woman pointed to a decorative shelf just above her head.

Which housed some sort of animal statuette, though the thing was too stylized—squat and flattened, kind of like a totem—for Jordan to make out exactly what animal. Perhaps of special note was its material: the same faded bronze as Jordan's Heavenly Cauldron." That," Canyon explained, "is a dragon statuette recovered from an ancient burial site in the far western bight. Thought to be pre-unification in origin, though confirmation tends to be impossible with artifacts of that age.

Madam Thousand is something of an arcane collector, you see, as you might have already surmised from the fact that she runs a pawn shop from the basement of a teahouse. This was the original reason I'd come to the city, at the Madam's invitation to write up a treatise about the statuette."" Original reason?" Jordan picked up what Canyon was putting down, surprised though he was by how much she'd decided to open up.

"You're saying your reason has changed since then?" This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Canyon nodded again, by now fully back to her usual serene self." There was an interesting wrinkle to the archaeological expedition that dug up the dragon statuette. Word is there were clear signs that the burial site had been disturbed before the expedition team had arrived."" Someone got there first? Looters?"" You would think so."

Canyon said this with a slight smile, audible if not visible.

"Were it not for the fact that only one item was missing from a veritable pile of otherwise highly valuable artifacts." Jordan frowned." How do they know the item was missing if it was, you know, missing? Not like the team had an inventory list before they got there, right?"" Correct. But, in the case of this particular item, its absence had left incontrovertible evidence of its existence. Starting with a prominent patch of the floor where the dust residue was much fresher compared to the rest of the site.

And within this patch, there were three evenly spaced marks to suggest that, whatever this missing object had been, it stood on three legs." For a second or two, Jordan could only frown in silence, feeling like he'd finally hit upon that brainteaser check Fuxi had been waiting for. But then he gasped aloud as realization hit, along with a sudden and powerful sense of déjà vu. What had this conversation reminded him of?

For at least one brief moment, Jordan found himself transported to the museum back home, listening and watching as one Kaede Masuda gave an enthusiastic talk about the—" Tripod cauldron," he said breathlessly. Across the table, he thought he could see Canyon's smile widen beneath her scarf.

"The missing item was a pre-unification tripod cauldron, just like… Akula's Vessel." And mine." That is indeed the working theory," Canyon said with a nod of approval.

"Which of course raises many questions. Why did this supposed looter take only the cauldron (and how)? Who was this looter and what did they know about the item they'd stolen? And how is it that the cauldron then ended up in the Garuda's possession?" Jordan took a second to process the implications of Canyon's words." So, you're pretty certain that the missing cauldron is the same one that's bound to Akula?"" The timing of everything fits.

It's corroborated by the imperial incident reports I've been able to dig up since I arrived in Featherift City."" How do you know…" Jordan began, thought better of it, then decided to forge ahead anyway.

"How do you know it's not mine?" Canyon shifted in her seat, looking slightly taken aback by the suggestion." I… well, I admit the thought never did occur to me. Possibly because your use of the cauldron has been so… low-profile compared to the Garuda's. Would you care to share, then, Jordan Yu? The provenance of your extraordinary Vessel?" Jordan almost did come clean then. The provenance of himself ending up inside this alien world… and what that might mean for its natives.

But then he thought of the poem he and Canyon had just co-authored. The particular line about fate weaving magic into an otherwise ordinary bond. And he… decided he wasn't quite ready to test that bond just yet." Assuming it's true that Akula ended up with the missing cauldron," he changed the subject, "how are you so sure she wasn't the one to have removed it from the burial site? Are you saying someone else stole it, then what, just decided to gift it to the first spiritkind they saw?" Canyon shook her head.

An admission of defeat rather than outright denial." That is part of what I'm trying to find out. But, as for how I'm sure that the Garuda herself never entered the burial site… the fact that nothing else had been disturbed is evidence enough. Too surgical, too calm, compared to…" Jordan didn't need Canyon to finish her sentence. He could well see where she was coming from. After all, the two of them had witnessed the same [Tempest] [Howling] toward them.

And yet, absurdly, he found himself wanting to defend the tempestuous spiritkind in question." Aw, Akula's not so bad once you get to know her!" he blurted, sounding for all the world as though he had gotten to know Akula.

"She's got a lot going on… but I think her heart is in the right place." Canyon studied Jordan for some time, betraying nothing of what she thought of his baseless claims." I've of course heard about your involvement in the tornado incident," she finally said, sans judgment in either direction.

"And our meeting today is indeed fortuitous, because I'd hoped to solicit your first-hand experience with… with this Akula. More than that, however, I wish there was a way for me to speak to her. The better to understand… all that's going on with her, as you've put it."" The Rangers of this city are looking for her, too," Jordan shared some insider info, though it likely wasn't news to Canyon.

"Have you thought about asking them to take you on their patrols?"" They would never agree to bring on a civilian. Besides which, I still wish to maintain… a level of discretion in my investigations. No, I know the chance of my coming face to face with Akula again is exceedingly low. Which is why I'm trying to gather as many clues as I can from within the city gates. But so far… with very little luck."" What have you tried?"" The Imperial Archives to begin with.

As well as interviews with Madam Thousand's archaeology contacts. The information I've gathered so far is too broad and too historical—nothing to connect to this particular incident in the here and now. If only there were some clues as to Akula's personal origins… that could be the key to understanding the mysteries pertaining to the cauldron…" Jordan had been nodding along sympathetically, resigned to the fact that this sort of investigation was far outside his area of expertise.

But then Canyon's mention of'personal' piqued a sudden flash of inspiration." Wait a minute…"" What is it, Jordan? Do you know something of how Akula came to haunt the skies over Featherift?"" No," Jordan murmured, the thoughts coming together even as he put them into words, "and this is probably a long shot… but I might have a suggestion of where you could look for your next clue."