Shadows Amidst Snowstorms/Story

Shadows Amidst Snowstorms is an Event Chapter.
Requirements: 
==List of Acts==
* Act I - The Snowy Past
* Act II - The Shadows Deepen
* Act III - A Secret Born From Ashes
==Summary==
===Act I - The Snowy Past===
While adventuring, Paimon asks the Traveler to return to Mondstadt to speak with Timaeus. They find him, Sucrose and Albedo, the latter who was just leaving. Paimon asks the two if they could create a machine to keep fruit fresh indefinitely, much to the Traveler's chagrin. They tell her that they are unable to and suggest they ask Albedo, as he might have the capability to do so.
The Traveler and Paimon head to the Dragonspine Adventurer Camp where they meet Cyrus, who reveals that he is hosting an event for the Adventurers' Guild to help his members train in ideal, safe circumstances. They also find Amber, who had come to accompany Joel. The three meet up with Joel before Eula joins in, having been invited by Amber to come. Eula is surprised when Joel treats her as an aunt. As Amber and Joel leave, Eula states that Joel has never been in the city for too long and is unaware of her history as a Lawrence Clan member. Cyrus then arrives with a new adventurer, Gerald; he was supposed to get another instructor after Fischl could not come, but they had not arrived either. The Traveler lets Eula train Gerald, since she could use it and she knows her way around Dragonspine.
After trying to look for Amber and Joel, they discover strange sounds and run into Albedo, who was looking for Starsilver for painting. Paimon asks him to teach the Traveler how to paint. He agrees and they return to his campsite, only to find it trashed and some of his notes missing. Albedo soon spots tracks and they pursue their thief to a cavern, where he has them stand outside while he tries to flush the thief out. Paimon notices some Starsilver nearby and has the Traveler collect them. When they return, Albedo comes out without the thief, stating that the thief was faster than he anticipated. They then hear yelling from across the lake. As they arrive, they discover Bennett and free him from the Fatui before noticing that Albedo has disappeared. Returning to the cavern entrance to try and look for him, Albedo surprises them and asks why they didn't remain by the entrance.
Before they could answer, Eula arrives and accuses Albedo of malicious intent, surprising him. She explains that while training Gerald, she saw him bring Joel to the highly dangerous wastelands. When she confronted him, he dropped him and attacked her, only to flee when she fought back. Albedo then realizes that someone has decided to impersonate him and is likely the same person as the thief, although he is not sure as to why someone would impersonate him. He explains his recent actions to her, with the Traveler and Paimon vouching his statements up to the point when he entered the cavern. Eula is still skeptical but chooses to trust him due to their camaraderie as fellow Favonious captains. Amber then arrives, having been tasked by Cyrus to look for Bennett. The four then depart, leaving Albedo, the Traveler and Paimon. Albedo asks the Traveler to accompany him back to his camp.
Back at the camp, the Traveler helps tidy up the mess left by the thief before Albedo reveals that he is a synthetic human created by Rhinedottir, also known as "Gold". He explains a bit about them before telling the Traveler he would handle the investigation on the thief alone, but the Traveler insists on helping him solve the mystery. He is grateful for their assistance and advises they spend some time with the Adventurers' Guild on their activities and to inform him of any clues they find.
===Act II - The Shadows Deepen===
The Traveler returns to Albedo's camp; neither of them have had any success in tracking the thief down, although Albedo had found some tracks similar to his own and now proceeds to figure out which adventurer is responsible for the havoc. Paimon then hears sounds and they investigate, finding Bennett, Amber and Eula, having failed to reach the base camp due to Bennett's bad luck. Returning to Albedo's camp, he uses alchemy to generate seats for the party before preparing dinner. Bennett falls asleep while Eula leaves for the lake, with Amber following suit. Albedo then brings the Traveler and Paimon to paint; the Traveler's attempt to paint Paimon is unsuccessful, prompting Albedo to revise it. Albedo remarks on how lively the place is, as he usually doesn't entertain many guests at a time in his camp and appreciates the rare times he can enjoy it.
The following day, the group makes their way down to the base camp when an avalanche occurs; Bennett falls off while Albedo dives to protect him. They are able to find Bennett but not Albedo, although he shows up quickly afterwards. The Traveler becomes suspicious of the avalanche, Albedo's inexplicable appearance and Eula being worried. Albedo suggests to use a "shorter" route that leads them back into the mountains. The group temporarily stops to let Bennett and Amber rest, while Eula notices that the Traveler has their suspicions. Albedo then attacks the group with Cryo powers; as he charges up a particularly powerful attack, he is suddenly stabbed from behind, revealing the true Albedo. The fake Albedo disappears and a massive mutant whopperflower appears in its place.
After defeating the monster, Albedo suspects that Durin's blood corrupted the whopperflower, which are known to imitate plants, who are incapable of removing the impostor. Due to the whopperflower's mutations, it mimicked a human, capable of movement and thus sought to infiltrate the group. The Traveler realized that "Albedo" was an impostor after noticing that it lacked the diamond mark on his neck, but feels that something else is missing. The group then descends to the base camp, but Cyrus is nowhere to be found. Eula, Amber and Bennett remain at the camp, while Albedo asks the Traveler to accompany him back to his own camp.
Back at Albedo's camp, Albedo reveals that the marking on his neck is actually a "birthmark" of sorts signifying that he is not a perfect and genuine human. The Traveler asks him why he's revealing so many secrets to them, in which he responds that like him, they are not of Teyvat, so he had few qualms sharing secrets with them; even then, if they told others, they would dismiss it as a tall tale. Paimon then states that she herself is a good storyteller, so Albedo asks them to return in a few days so they can see who is better. As the Traveler and Paimon leave, Albedo reminisces about Durin's failures and realizes that his first iteration has been responsible for the events and well aware of his intentions, goes off to confront the failed creation.
===Act III - A Secret Born From Ashes===
A few days after killing the Fellflower, the Traveler and Paimon return to Albedo's camp to tell their own version of the recent events. As Albedo tells his version of the story, the Traveler realizes that Albedo is trying to discreetly warn them the cruel and unbelievable truth. Albedo insists that the story is not true but reminds them to keep their guard up whenever they explore Dragonspine. Eula and Amber then arrive and bring the Traveler back to the base camp.
At the camp, the Traveler and Paimon discover another person, Joserf, who Pallad had found during his own misfortune. Joserf states that he had managed to survive his injuries, although with significant trauma and does not recall "The Boar Princess" or feeding the foxes when Paimon asks him about it. Eula gives both the Traveler and Joel some powdered rime to prevent their snowmen from melting and allowing them to be taken anywhere. As the group disbands, Paimon then remembers about her juicer and suggests they return to Timaeus to see if he can build one for them.
Returning to the alchemy store, they find Albedo and Paimon tells him what she wants. The Traveler notices that Albedo is missing his diamond mark before it inexplicably reappears, with Albedo revealing that it was just a poor prank. He tells Paimon that he is unable to fulfill her wish and the Traveler ponders if the Albedo before them is a fake as he does not appear to particularly care about the history behind his mark. As Paimon fumes over the fact that her Sunsettias are for herself, Albedo explains that those who are satisfied with life are unlikely to fall for such yearning, indicating to the Traveler that he appears to be the real deal.
==Characters==
==Total Rewards==
==Soundtracks==
ja:白雪に潜みし影/ストーリー
pt-br:Poeira e Neve Escura/História
ru:Белая пыль и снежная тень/История
vi:Ảo Ảnh Giữa Bão Tuyết/Cốt Truyện