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The Traveler's face was beaming as dozens of feet torpedoed up the stairs spiraling around Mondstadt. Smaller folks that would usually fall behind in the stampede were riding on the tops of helpful shoulders. Instead of them, the rear of the pack was made up of those who were not as enthusiastic as the others, but who were nonetheless following along the path.
Perhaps too much precious energy was being wasted here; although, it also had been building up for a year now. And with this being a limited time opportunity, no one wanted to waste a single moment. Especially those who would be experiencing this event for the very first time, who previously could only enjoy tales told from veteran players.
As the head of the pack, the Traveler was the first to make it to the end goal. Greeting them all was a single man, standing over a table with cat and bush figurines spread across an unfurled map. Gygax smiled and waved at the crowd, as Paimon cheered out what everyone was thinking:
"IT'S BACK!!!"
Terrace Patrol
"Just follow my lead on this one - I promise this will be good!"
Initially, Amber had only pulled aside Collei to show off her Windtrace experience. Upon noticing, though, Tighnari curiously followed along as well.
"First, you become a scarecrow..."
By the time Ayato was unleashed upon the Contested Zone, he found a suspicious trio of scarecrows stacked upon other scarecrows. Even to a newbie Hunter, it was clear that those scarecrows at the top were the Rebels. But how to reach them? The Hunter's Capture ability was infamous for having a limited vertical range. It made catching Rebels during climbing or in the air harder than if they were flat on the ground. This stacking tactic, using the tallest of the disguises, banked on that fact.
"Oh my..." Ayato mused as he looked up at the Rebels above him. "My sister warned me about this possibility..."
There was giggling coming from one of the scarecrows, as Tighnari's voice murmured out of another, "Maybe this kind of tactic is too harsh..."
"Oh, there's no need to worry for my sake," Ayato continued, as he began to take some steps backwards. "Because that warning was made during the organizers' meeting..."
None of the trio figured out the hidden threat in his statement, although Tighnari still figured that something was about to happen. As he prepared himself to leap off and flee, a net was launched from Ayato that dispelled the scarecrows under the disguised Rebels, causing them to fall. Tighnari's quick thinking saved him from getting immediately captured, while Amber and Collei were too stunned in the split second between reaching the ground and being descended upon by Ayato.
"I'll take my time in finding the last, so that you girls can study the map and make proper hiding strategies..."
Once again, the game of Windtrace had evolved, challenging old players to come up with new tricks.
Water Runners
"What idiot decided on this layout?!" Dori hissed through clenched teeth. At the side glance of one of the Vimara Village civilians, she coughed and clarified, "...for the Contested Zone. This specific radius for a Contested Zone."
Only a portion of Vimara Village was being used for a Contested Zone. It included merely the halves of the bridges dangling the air, as well as a steep cliff side and a narrow path next to the river. This layout made it quite difficult for a Hunter to navigate all the potential terrain the Rebels could be hiding within - even worse for someone of Dori's stature, who ran slower than most and had a shortness that made clearing certain obstacles trickier. At least the Hunter's Capture ability was able to reach Rebels trying to hide below the upper deck. Unfortunately, that was only a benefit if people hid under there. The Rebels of this round seemed to have different spots in mind.
Dori had finished gliding down to the lowest part of the Zone - scanning the cliff and shrubbery - when her fortunes plummeted further. The Contested Favor she was banking on saving her had finally started its descent: midway up the area. With no one yet captured, it was her only hope of uncovering at least one Rebel. But being so far away from it might embolden the Rebels to steal it from her, which was usually suicide in other Windtrace scenarios.
I have to get it first! was the thought that fueled her itty-bitty legs to carry her up the path as fast as possible, maybe even faster than an actual Windtrace chase. Her eyes zeroed in on the glowing light blue orb that rested on a canopy...
Then they glanced a little to the right, towards the jumping archaic basket closing in.
With a desperate lurch, Dori tried her hardest to touch that Favor before her foe. It disappeared, as did the basket, but Dori did not feel the energy charging her chosen Secret Favor. Panic continued to grip her mind as she repeatedly used the Capture ability.
Suddenly, a tall woman with long white hair and similar light garbs over a black bodysuit appeared suspended slightly off the ground. This woman - Shenhe of Liyue - sighed with defeat.
"You've earned this win, Hunter..."
She disappeared once again, into the invisible state that overtakes all captured Rebels, as Dori blinked and processed. Soon, a small grin formed on her face.
"Well, at least this wasn't a total loss..."
However, as she predicted, she was helpless in locating the other two Rebels without the use of the Contested Favor that Shenhe took with her "to the grave". But the fact she managed to pull off that capture of a Rebel using both invisibility as well as just barely activating the Contested Favor gave Dori a bonus of Windtrace coins that kept her mind off that technical defeat. No, in her mind - and the minds of those who had witnessed the round - she had won in a completely different way.
Sacrosanct Dominion
It was not uncommon for screams to sound during a round of Windtrace. In most cases, these were the screams of terror: a Rebel getting chased or being caught off guard by the Hunter. This was not the scream that assaulted Cyno's ears as he revealed himself a second after his Capture skill succeeded. The stranger known to him and the others by only the title of "the Wanderer'' was screeching wrathfully.
"There is no way! You must've-!"
Crossing his arms and barely holding off the urge to roll his eyes, Cyno cut him off with, "If you're going to descend to the lows of accusing me of cheating, I will have to suggest to the event runners that perhaps you need a break to cool off."
The Wanderer's only response was to clench his fists and seethe silently, disappearing into invisibility in that state. For Cyno to linger here any longer would be to throw the game, so he leaped off the bit of landscape the Rebel had attempted to use as cover. Only later would he learn - after the Wanderer had a stern talking to from the Traveler and Dendro Archon - that most of his rage had come from a frustration towards himself: a frustration that others had eluded his seeking using that spot, only for Cyno to check it right off the bat. With that perspective, the brief fit was a bit more understandable, but still evident that some were taking this fun pastime a bit too personally now.
Cyno's stance was that fun things should remain fun, regardless of victory or defeat. Though he could still empathize, as even he struggled to remember that when playing Genius Invocation TCG...
Witnessing that strong emotional reaction over losing - over technically repeated losses - was half of the picture, though. That very match, Cyno encountered the other side of the coin of his philosophy. Fully embracing the role of "Hunter", all of his senses were on high alert as if searching for a fleeing criminal that made it to the wild. Twinkling bells were the last thing that would escape his attention, although enough of an unexpected detection that he restrained from immediately launching every saved charge of "Capture".
Barrels and crates of wood were the disguises of this area. This area of Vissudha Field - where besides the natural landscape, there were the scarce campsites. Where did bells fit into this picture, particularly delicate and melodious ringing like this?
Still on guard, Cyno double and triple checked his surroundings. There was nothing new inside the tent before him, which was already a risky spot to hide in due to a combination of obviousness and natural barrenness. But the actual tent itself - the exterior and the tip of it - was an easy blind spot to Hunters who only did surface level observations. With that in mind, he started to circle the tent from the outside.
Another trickle of bells followed, always just a little out of reach, but so very close. It was almost maddening. It reminded Cyno of the unfortunately not uncommon trick around the Akademiya of leaving barely audible items hidden in a workspace to test the patience of the victim. If that was the intent here, the action was only serving to undermine the Rebel. Why draw attention to yourself in a game of hiding and seeking?
A sigh and giggle sounded when he stopped to really ponder that, which triggered a precious memory: the memory of first meeting his Archon as she was , not what she as a God needed to appear as. An endlessly curious child that found joy in everything... even danger, once it was escaped and could be reflected on.
And then it clicked. It seemed like a kind of illusion to emphasize her otherworldly nature, even within a human-shaped form, but recently he began to wonder if it was less of a trick of the mind or a trick for show and more like an involuntary thing always present in her presence. That her every step - any movement in general - would cause a twinkling.
That poor god. She's unknowingly a beacon to any Hunter.
Cyno shook his head, an action easily mistakable as a sign of defeat, especially as he moved on from the area without so much as looking up at the little green and white figure clutching to the upper sides of the tent, always trying to remain out of his field of vision. For now - maybe forever - it was best to let her believe her victory came from skill and luck, rather than pity from the enemy. After all, as the Wanderer proved: a game quickly stops being fun if all you do is lose.
Rustic Shadows
Three... two... one...
Yun Jin's ears were deaf to the breath that was held as the barrier dropped, just as she was blind to the figure that went invisible just as she was freed. It would only be after the round was over that she'd be taunted by the bard of Mondstadt on his daring plan: to go invisible right in front of her spawn point and watch her rush by him unknowingly. The worst part? This wasn't the first time he tried it - although this was the first time the Hunter didn't impulsively activate Capture on the off-chance he would play a trick like that.
Unfortunately for her, that was merely the first of her troubles that round.
As she darts around - eyes scanning each section of the village, inspecting each item, looking over each roof - she makes mental notes of what the area looks like in the event it later changes. The speed of this action means that her mind's processing of what she's seeing is a bit delayed. Her mind would only confirm that a spot was indeed clear after her eyes had already moved on to the next section. With limited time and targets incentivized to always be on the move, this was the strategy many Hunters went with.
No one was currently trying to sneak by using the canal. Nothing off about the roofs. Those rushing by her were the residents of the village: encouraged to remain in the area but ignore the players, as some odd way to spice up the game or maybe a compromise so residential areas could be used as game areas.
She never really thought to question their presence or lack of reactions before and no one else brought it up before. Were they... even actually the true, living breathing civilians meant to be here? How could the players mess around in a Contested Zone, only to have nothing be changed when returning to the same place during exploration - even whilst the Windtrace games were still active? Plus, some of these places should have monsters, rogues, and Fatui around, yet they seemed to disappear when a round started then reappear when it ended. And she knew it wasn't anything to do with Domains, because they all used the Waypoints and Statues of the Seven to blink to a new round after declaring intent to join at Gygax's table. She should really try returning to a Waypoint immediately after a round was over, to see if evidence of the game would be there like it should or if it just disappeared as soon as the clock struck the end. Maybe it'd help her determine what the heck those particles around that bucket were just now-
Wait.
Yun Jin's heels dug into the dirt, breaking her speed instantly. By the time her body was turning back, the memories had fully been replayed in her head. Glowing, yellow butterfly-shaped particles always signaled one thing - no, one person. And that person was one of the Rebels this round. That person was also definitely the type to dash right in front of a Hunter she deemed too distracted, to play a bold trick for laughs and adrenaline.
"HU TAO!!"
Alas, the offending bucket had already successfully disappeared behind a building. When Yun Jin followed the path, there was no sign of where Hu Tao had gone, or if she was even still a bucket anymore. By then, far from the sight of the Hunter, Hu Tao was sharing high fives with Venti.
Gold Beyond the Grains
He should’ve been more suspicious of the fact that Yae Miko had fallen so quickly, but Itto was neither the sharpest tool in the shed nor the humblest. All he had known is that the fox lady was disguised in an obvious spot, making him one third of the way to victory in the first several seconds of the round.
Luck would not be on his side for the rest of the round.
"Bleh, I hate these traps!" Itto wiped off mud that exploded onto his face from the phony item. It had been placed similarly to the fox lady's own failed hiding spot, so he had been sure this was another Rebel...
"Oh, come on !" The two remaining Rebels only ever heard Itto, never physically seeing him. Wherever he was, it wasn't anywhere close to where they were actually hiding. They had to wonder why he was following the Observer's obvious trail, especially after the third time...
"This time for sure..." When Itto was covered in mud for the fifth time, he gave up on cleaning himself off completely. He just cleared a line across his eyes and moved on to the next possible suspect. He was so engrossed in eventually being right, he accidentally tuned out the reveal of the Contested Favor, and its subsequent claiming by a Rebel. Not that the Rebels ever needed to use it for that round, as the Hunter was continuously drawn to non-disguised fake items.
It was ultimately an easy win for the Rebels, with at least an okay amount of Windtrace coins for Itto for the single Capture he had, but the round ended up only being fun for Yae. Loads and loads of fun for Yae...
I should let myself "lose" more often in this game...
Deeper Tides
It was one minute into the round and there was still no sign of the Hunter. Still being new to the game, the Rebels of this round - Nilou, Faruzan, and Layla - decided to stick together to start off before running off in different directions once the Hunter caught wind of them. To this end, they placed down multiple decoy props that granted them a radius of invisibility, combining them to widen their area of movement while still remaining unseen. With luck, the Hunter would gloss over their spot initially and they would be out of reach by the time they wisened up.
However, as the clock started ticking, the trio of Sumeru girls started to think their plan was too genius. Either that, or something else was afoot. They had yet to spot the Hunter. Not near their spot, nor in the distance from where they could spy.
"Is this usual for this game?" Faruzan asked, as if her two companions would be knowledgeable enough to answer.
"I don't really think so..." Nilou shrugged. A moment later, she suddenly gasped. "What if something happened to our Hunter?! Maybe they got hurt or stuck?!"
"I think we would've heard them cry out by now..."
Mouth opening, Layla let out a yawn, which was soon followed by, "Should we check on them? Waiting like this is getting kind of boring..."
"Ah, but maybe that's their angle! Luring us with boredom right to them, so they can snatch us without having to take a single step..."
"I honestly would have gotten too bored with that tactic myself, if I tried that."
A Favor then descended upon the field, far from where the trio's spot was. Several seconds passed as they awaited their cover being blown, only for the light of the Favor to still be shining in the distance.
"At this point, the round is going to be over with nothing happening," Nilou said. "Even if it's a trap, I'd rather that happen than win by standing and waiting here."
Sighing, Faruzan faced where the Hunter's spawn was located. "Fine, but I'd suggest taking a look from a distance. Maybe while disguised, too."
The trio made their way to the spawn in the guise of the smallest props on the map, inching slowly once they were near the zone in the case of an ambush. What they found, however, killed all the building tension in their muscles. Mona Megistus of Mondstadt sat cross-legged on the ground where concealing walls once were, fiddling with her astrology abilities. At first glance, it'd appear as if she was trying to scry the location of the Rebels rather than run around aimlessly. But if so, it was a really poor strategy on her part, as the game was now a few dozen seconds away from finishing.
Finally, Nilou exited her prop disguise and called out from their safe distance, "Hey, is everything alright?!"
Looking up, completely unbothered, Mona replied back, "Yeah, the rewards are about to drop."
"But...you're going to lose!"
"But I'll still be getting some coins." She gave a thumbs up as she added, "Enough to get me over the next reward tier. And you guys'll be making bank!"
"Aren't we supposed to be playing, though...?" Layla asked. By then, she and Faruzan had also revealed themselves.
"Ah, I'm over it. Got my fill of Windtrace this year, basically not much different from the last." As the timer sounded across the zone, Mona jumped up. "Maybe I'll see you tomorrow when they up the Windtrace coin limit."
Watching her disappear into a trail of water - now freed from the magical limits of the Contested Zone - the trio sincerely hoped the contrary, so she could not ruin another day of Windtrace for them.
The Pearl of Sango
A plopping sound followed the coral's sudden appearance next to the disguised Shinobu. Two pieces of coral being right next to each other should've been less than suspicious on Watatsumi Island. That had to have been the Observer's line of reasoning when they made the choice that they did.
Unfortunately for them and Shinobu, their Hunter this round was Shikanoin Heizou - and he was very perceptive. What most Hunters would overlook during a round, he viewed as something to check up on. He also quickly developed an infamous reputation for being one of the few Hunters in the game who actually remembered to look up while seeking...
With a sigh, Shinobu jumped away from her spot before he even reached it, but it was already too late. She only lasted a few more seconds during the chase. The invisibility of the Observer mode meant that even other Observers couldn't see one another, but maybe that was a good thing for whoever ruined her spot…
Beneath the Stone
In Windtrace, the course of a round constantly faces the possibility of rapidly changing, regardless of the quality of strategy or experience in the game. Besides the obvious element of Contested Favors illuminating hidden Rebels, trapping them, or aiding them in escape, one's own senses could become either an aid or hindrance. In previous stories, it has been demonstrated that overlooking Rebels - no matter how obvious their presence - is not an uncommon occurrence. One can think to check an unlikely spot and be rewarded, or fail to even consider looking up and miss a Rebel watching over them. Regular scenery can suddenly become suspicious when one must be alert on suspicious things, while those hiding in plain sight can get away with their boldness due to a Hunter not even expecting such a tactic to be utilized - why run around in the open when the primary objective seems to be to hide?
All this to say, that no matter how close victory seems to be, never assume you are going to win until you actually do.
Bennett, after playing the game since the beginning, had learned to take this lesson to heart. Just like now, it was not uncommon for him to make it to the final countdown, only for him to trip up during a chase or fail to notice an incoming Hunter that's figured out his plan. His feet could carry him for as long as his stamina allowed, but a Hunter with a superior movement strategy could still catch up. That's why he also had to "think on his feet", as the saying goes.
It was a good thing he chose "invisibility" as one of his Rebel skills for this round. After turning a corner, he activated it, keeping an ear out for the ticking of the brief counter that was only for him to hear. This tactic would not work if he couldn't find something to hide behind once he was visible - which would be very soon. While his choice to start the count after losing the Hunter's immediate line of sight was a nice choice, he was at a point of the map where cover was scarce and spaced out. Any direction chosen could be a direction the Hunter predicted him to take.
But the skill's countdown was not merciful enough. With only seconds to decide his next move and enact it - and already hearing heels on wood right behind him - Bennett raced for the pale tent off across the main building of the map. He couldn't afford to keep running without taking a break behind cover: the invisibility would drop right before the Hunter's eyes - making its use for naught - while his stamina was about to be spent. It would be a quick break, then he'd run the opposite direction the Hunter took.
It was the best play he could think of at the time, but it unfortunately was not going to help him this time. The effect of Capture kicked in so quickly, he couldn't tell if he was caught before or after the invisibility dropped. Either way, he found himself stuck in place, still in the middle of the entrance of the tent. Ten seconds later, the round was over.
His sigh was more of one of exhaustion, but maybe Yelan had mistaken it. Maybe she would've clapped him on the shoulder regardless, whispering a job well done for the both of them. With a hint of exhaust potentially present under those words, it was possible she actively chose not to mask her own state - just this once to make an unlucky boy feel special that he gave a Liyue official a good workout. Most would feel a crushing defeat at the thought they just had ten seconds to go... but Bennett felt ecstatic, with a hopeful thought that this meant the next time would be his victory - not by others carrying him to it by outlasting him, but he himself lasting to the end.
And even if he went the whole of this Windtrace period without his own hard-earned victory... there was always the next one.