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“What do you mean I treat children better? I do not.”
“You do. You absolutely do, you giant buffoon. You have a soft spot a mile wide for kids. You know how I know? You actually share information with them. You barely even do that to people you say you tolerate. But here you are! Saying actual words, with real meaning, to kids, for free!”
There’s a child in the underground ravine with golden bells secured on either side of her light brown hair. She sports a wide, disapproving frown, along with a height that goes up to just about tops of his knees. She is the third most surprising thing Al Haitham has seen today. The second is the polearm that dwarfs the child, with its length two times longer as she is tall. It’s clutched in her hands almost comically, in a grip that is, despite itself, strangely experienced. First place goes to the slain spinocrocodile laying a few feet behind them, dispatched by the very child frowning disapprovingly in front of him in this underground ravine with her comically large spear held in her small delicate hands.
He blinks.
She blinks.
Her voice, high but firm, says, “This place is dangerous, mister, you should be careful.”
“I can handle myself,” He finds himself replying. There’s nothing else really to say, to be honest.
She slings the polearm onto her back (somehow) and puts her hands on her hip. “Are you sure? You didn’t seem to notice those crocodiles swimming towards you.”
“I suppose. I was examining these Deshretian runes. There appears to be a hidden mechanism associated with this temple.”
She frowns, “That’s no good, mister, you have to pay better attention to your surroundings when in dangerous places like this.” It’s an astonishingly mature tone coming from a child that, again, doesn’t even come up to his knees. Honestly, there were many, decades older than she that could stand to learn something from her.
“You’re right. This is a place to be cautious. I felt that I needed to focus, however, so I was using my soundproof earpieces, which is why I didn’t hear them coming.” He shifts to show his side to her, in particular, the light foliar swords hanging from his belt, “However, I am not without my precautions. I dispatched the primal constructs that had awoken first and I don’t deem the wildlife here a threat. I’m confident in my ability to quickly dispatch them, and so I decided to start on decoding. Thank you for your concern but I will be fine.” He pauses. “Are you…?” He doesn’t quite know what he should ask. There’s something off about this picture, but he can’t put his finger on what. This child, from her clothing, appears to be from a foreign land, Liyue if he had to guess. He isn’t quite sure of the etiquette expected of children, especially not ones from another country, but he’s certain that there is something that should be done in this situation. What that is, however, is something he doesn’t quite remember.
She tilts her head curiously at his unfinished question. She flexes her fingers relaxedly in front of her, seeming unhurried and at ease.
Well, he was also free to explore as he liked as a child, so it’s probably fine.
“What brings you here?” He finally decides on. He’s curious as to what in The Temples Forsaken could have piqued a foreign child’s interest.
“I heard from some people at the market that there was something ‘real special’ you could find here. Since my shi-jie really likes special ingredients, I thought I would find some to bring back for her!”
Putting aside that she most likely heard Caravan Ribat’s band of would-be tomb raiders seeking Safhe Shatranj’s treasure, “So you’re searching for souvenirs unique to Sumeru?” He takes the radiant prism he’d taken from the remains of the primal constructs out of his bag and shows it to her. “Something like this?”
“Mmm, shi-jie likes weird ingredients, but I’m pretty sure even she wouldn’t put something like that in her food…” She looks worried for a moment, “or at least I hope not.”
“Well, in terms of culinary ingredients, there aren’t many in this cavern, as there is little else here but this puzzle. However, in regards to the desert of Hadramaveth, one specialty is the Ajilenakh Nut which grows on evergreen trees within certain desert oases. The Ajilenakh Nut is particularly sweet and delicious despite its thick and tough skin. It has a uniquely high sugar content, most likely due to its growth in the peculiar location of the desert. They are also often dried for further preservation. In terms of a specialty Sumeru ingredient, the Ajilenakh Nut certainly fits the category.”
“Wow, mister. You sure know a lot about nuts.”
“Yes, well. They have an interesting history and you could say I like them.”
("Why are you the way that you are?"
"I'm not sure what you're talking about, I was just speaking the truth."
"YOU-")
She takes off her bag and rummages through it for a moment before taking out a small parcel. “I dunno, Xiangling-jiejie said she doesn’t like nuts too much... Or the other thing, but I forget what. Plus, she likes stuff that’s a little weirder. I was in another part of Sumeru before and I found this!” The child presents what appears to be a large slice off a robust fungal nucleus. “It reminded me of the slime condensate that she experimented with her dishes so I decided to take some back for her to try.” She finishes cheerfully, carefully wrapping the fungus tissue back into her bag.
“Hm.” Al-Haitham tilts his head, “Well, many Amurta researchers attempted to categorize fungi as either a plant or animal for quite a while before finally giving up and leaving it in its own separate category. Perhaps you and your… sister will be able to shed some light on the issue from a culinary standpoint.”
“Hehe, if anyone could do it, it would be Xiangling-jiejie,” She says proudly.
“Other fruits found in the desert include the Henna berry. Though it is not used for consumption but rather to create a red pigment,” Al-Haitham adds after thinking for a moment. He rummages through his bag again.
“Ah. This is just something I was studying,” He shows her the sand grease pupa she had been eyeing curiously. “Sand grease pupae are the husks of quicksand eel larvae. There is a legend among the desert folk that ‘Quicksand Eels and Wenut are all descendants of the giant serpent that once devoured the sun.’ Of course, this is blatantly false.” He hands the pupa for her to feel, “However, studies have found that the Wenut and the sand grease pupae have a similar body fat composition which may have been where the comparison in legends came from.”
“It’s perfect, Xiangling-jiejie would love to cook with this!”
“I see... Although it is not commonly used as a culinary ingredient, there are less than savory merchant types out there who ‘grind them into powder to pass off as the high-end spices extracted from the body fat of the Wenut.’ All charged at exorbitantly high prices of course.
“If you’re interested, although I have already collected all the sand grease pupa from this area for my research, there are other common places to find them such as within the Wenut tunnels as well as the sands of Al-Azif.”
“Okay! I’ll go check it out right away. Thank you for your help, mister.” The girl hands the pupa back to him and accentuates her statement with a neat bow. The spear strapped to her back nearly skewers his arm, but he pulls back in time. “It was a pleasure to meet you, and please make sure you watch out for your surroundings!”
(“Al-Haitham you absolute buffoon of a man, tell me you did not just send a small child who’s not even taller than your knees into the Wenut tunnels.”
“I don’t see what the problem is, she seemed capable. If she was trusted enough to make her own trip to the Sumeru desert then she should be able to gauge what she can and cannot do. This is what all children do, is it not?”
“Al-Haitham, I have a genuine question. Did your parents allow you to go into the Wenut Tunnels in the desert sands of Sumeru as a child?”
“No.”
Kaveh makes the sound of a tea kettle about to explode. “Then-”
“My grandmother did.”
“You know, that actually explains so much about you.”)
“Are you capable of navigating there?”
“Oh! You’re right, I don’t see it marked on my map,” she exclaims with a furrow in her brow. “I was actually going to ask some of my Eel friends where I could find more of their former shells if I got lost though,” She admits sheepishly.
“You are skilled in studying Quicksand Eels, then?”
“Yep! I made some precious friends on my way here!”
“Interesting. I had thought it was strange because it’s usually very difficult to find this temple,” Al-Haitham puts a hand on his chin. “I see, so you were able to navigate underground to the Temples Forsaken by following the burrowing path of the Quicksand Eels.”
She tilts her head, blinking wordlessly.
“It is nothing. Would you mind if I accompanied you to the Wenut tunnels? I have business to engage in there and it seems your skills would be beneficial.”
“Sure! I’ve still got a long way to go in training with my master, but l’Il make sure to protect you, so don’t worry.”
“Much obliged.”
(“Do NOT just accept a child saying they’ll protect you so easily! Are you an adult or not??”)
It is a ways into the trip before the child finally exclaims, “Oh no! Where are my manners?” She turns to him, and this time, he remembers to take a step back. She bows seriously again. “My name is Yaoyao, I am a disciple of the Streetward Rambler. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”
“Likewise. I am Al-Haitham, I act as the Akademiya’s Scribe.”
“Ugh, there’s sand in my shoes.”
“That big snake sure had a lot of energy… And look! The greasy pupas you were talking about, mister!”
“Indeed. Although the Setekh Wenut has been defeated and will take some time to revive, these tunnels still contain a variety of monsters so proceed with caution.”
“Okay! I’ll make sure that you get through safe!”
“…” Al-Haitham glances down at the small child that is about as tall as his boots, who looks back up at him with a steady gaze.
He shrugs, “Thanks.”
Caravan Ribat, a couple hours later
“You had her the WHOLE time?” Paimon shrieks, “We were worried that Madame Ping AND Cloud Retainer AND every adeptus AND half-adeptus were going to kick our butts into tomorrow this whole time for nothing?!”
“Why are you laying on the ground, Traveler? It’s dusty here because of the sand… Oh! I have a cloth in my bag and you can lay on that instead of the ground!”
“Are you crying.”
‘Al-Haitham, you could stand to make that sound more like a question, you know.’