???: ...
???: ... I just ...
Gradually regaining sight, the bird spies the furnishings of a simple office and the face of an old man staring back at him.
The old man, with a face both worried and confused, seems to be reiterating a previous statement.
Lizheng: So you've said your name was Gětiān Yànpíng, and you've come to this city in search of two lost belongings.
Lizheng: Is that correct?
The eagerness in the man's tone finally drags Gětiān's wandering soul back into his body.
Yanping: Yes. You may call me, Yànpíng.
Yanping: Forgive me, my mind is scattered—must be in need of rest after my trip.
Yanping: Whatever else do you need to know?
Lizheng: Well, we've made a mock-up of your belongings. Please check if they match your description.
Lizheng: We've never seen anything like these particular items in our city, so I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to tell us a little more about them.
The old man puts the files aside and unfolds two pieces of yellowed paper.
Lizheng: Take your time. Let me know if there's anything incorrect.
Yànpíng pins the pictures down with his wing and checks them over carefully.
Yanping: Yes, it's a good rendition. You should know the wand is made of bone, and the pendant of jade.
Lizheng: So, are these valuable, in any way?
Yanping: No. Not as you mean it. The wand itself is no more than a common tool. Used to cast arcane skills, but no different from the calligraphy brushes, flagons, or brooms other people use.
Lizheng: Oh, so you use it to cast your arcane skills.
The old man nods thoughtfully, before following with another question.
Lizheng: You just said it was a "common tool" ... So where you're from, arcanists don't need any sort of special wand?
Lizheng: Flagons, brooms, swords, sticks, even, eh, you said calligraphy brushes? It seems like anything could be used to cast arcane skills?
Yanping: I'm sure you've seen it for yourself. Arcanists are everywhere, even here I presume. Then you must know it is the caster's will that triggers the skill, the tool is only a medium, a matter of style rather than necessity.
Gětiān blinks at the man, confused at his strange ignorance of such basic precepts of arcanum.
The old man seems to read nothing into Gětiān's stare and continues.
Lizheng: Ah, well, we're sort of remote, so many things are different here ... I try not to assume.
Lizheng: I didn't mean to offend. I only was curious, we have arcanists here of course, but we know little about those outside of our community.
Yanping: The world is vast indeed ...
Lizheng: That's true.
Lizheng: So then this bone wand is your top priority. We are short of manpower right now, but I'll have it found.
Yanping: ... No.
Lizheng: Hmm?
The old man wrinkles his face in surprise at the bird's response, yet it comes to rest back to a smile again.
Lizheng: As you said the pendent is of no great value. To be honest, it seems quite ordinary, I think it's unlikely it will be stolen.
Lizheng: But the wand is a different case. The consequences of such a tool ending up in the wrong hands is certainly more severe.
Lizheng: Nonetheless, we will try to have them both returned to you.
Yanping: Thank you. I only meant that I can't say that the wand is a greater priority to me.
Lizheng: Why is that? The wand is an arcane tool, I can only guess it must be more valuable ...
Yanping: ...
The old man must have sensed Yànpíng's hesitation, so he cuts himself off to ask another more pointed question.
Lizheng: Heh heh, of course, I should have asked first. Which one is more valuable to you?
Yanping: ...
Gětiān replies with silence. Only the rustle of the feathers and the drip-drops of a water clock can be heard.
The worn stone floor is smooth and cold, proving uncomfortable to stand on compared to a branch.
Gětiān folds his wings, with claws tapping on the stone floor gently.
Yanping: I cannot say ...
Yanping: I should need to think it through, before I give an answer.
Surprised by Yànpíng's response, the old man leans in with interest.
Lizheng: I see. Please, take your time.
Lizheng: We may need to wait some time for your belongings to be found, you're welcome to stay here and talk with me.
Lizheng: I happen to need help with some questions of my own. Of course, you can ask me any that you have as well, whatever comes to mind.
Yanping: By all means, go ahead.
Lizheng: There is a young girl who runs a tavern in the city that has gone missing. We searched every corner but, still haven't found her.
Lizheng: She was wearing a red dress with a blue-green top. Did you happen to see her before you entered the city?
Yanping: No.
Lizheng: She has a friend, a foreign merchant of the same age with red hair, very eye-catching. Would that help at all?
Yanping: No, it would not.
Lizheng: Please, search your memories ... they might have been near a bridge.
Yanping: A bridge?
The word conjures up a memory. Indeed, there was a bridge.
Yanping: Built over the cliff, broken in two. Many have tried to make it over, and nearly as many failed. At least the skeletons below tell me so.
Lizheng: And what about the other side of the bridge?
Yanping: I recall further on there are trees, yes ... then rivers, then mountains, and a heavy fog that separates this place from there.
Yanping: The ones you're looking for would have no reason to jump that gap, if they could even manage it ...
He places a certainty in his tone, as if to stop the old man's questions, or at least convince him he in fact hasn't seen them.
Yet now he feels a rising uncertainty inside himself.
Lizheng: We will have to expand the search then. sighs I hope they're alright.
Yanping: ...
He thinks back to the bridge, as well as the parting that happened there.
There was a building on the other side of the gap, and yes, someone did jump across it.
Someone in a striking red dress, hard to miss against its plain surroundings.
???: What about Jiǔ Niángzǐ? She jumped over the bridge. Is she never coming back?
???: Perhaps we will meet again one day.
Yanping: Jiǔ Niángzǐ ...?
The memory and the name pop up in his mind, but for now he has to put them aside.
The old man remained locked in his stare all this time, before breaking the tension with another question.
Lizheng: Did you remember something?
Yanping: Naught that is of any use.
Yanping: My apologies. There is nothing I can do.
Lizheng: Oh ... Never mind then. We should talk more about your ...
Yanping: My wand, perhaps?
Yanping: I presume you wish to know how to use it and whether it may do harm to you.
Yanping: We have spent too much time circling about each other.
Lizheng: Circling? No, no! I ...
Yanping: Take no mind of it, I will tell you what I know.
Lizheng: ...!
The old man puts on a shocked face, its contours look strange for his age. Like a momentary glimpse of a younger man.
Yanping: As I said, this wand is not of any great power, but it has its uses to me and I would have it back.
Yanping: I will satisfy your curiosity. But then you must return it, at once.
Lizheng: Certainly. We are not thieves, after all.
Yanping: As I am just a visitor here, and you, my host. All I can do is make a humble request.
Somehow the request comes across as more of a polite warning.
Yet the old man seems not to sense the implication at all. He heaves a sigh of relief and nods along with Gětiān.
Lizheng: No problem, no problem at all.
Yanping: Good, things are simpler when the truth is out in the open. I will tell you about my wand, but first you need to answer my question.
Yanping: I can plainly see your bones don't fit your appearance.
Yanping: Are you disguised as someone else?
Lizheng: Hmm. You already have your answer, don't you?
Lizheng: But I will answer your question only after you answer mine.
He slightly nods and signals to Yànpíng.
Lizheng: Please.
