Ryder let out a satisfied sigh as he stretched his arms. “Now I’m really curious who Findir is. It sounded like he’s from a rich family or noble house.”

“If he was a noble, he would’ve disguised himself and used another name,” Brown informed as they returned to their lodging under the night sky.

“Huh, I see. Well, once this is all over, I need to thank him properly, and hopefully, we’ll have time to chat like friends. I bet his story is gonna be quite… interesting…” The human switched to his draconic eyes and narrowed it when he saw two familiar figures tip-toeing in the direction of Elisha’s house. The dragons noticed as well and locked their sight on them.

Green let out a suppressed growl.

“Yeah, let’s follow them. I’ve a feeling what they’re up to.”

The trio followed the two gentlemen all the way until they reached the piano house. The duo kept on whispering to each other and didn’t notice they were followed even once. When they arrived at their destination, the light inside the house went out at the same time. So, without any delay, they began picking the lock on the front door.

“How do you want to approach this, Ryder?” The earth dragon inquired.

“Hmm, if we capture them right now, there’s a chance they’ll just spin a tale and insist they weren’t trying to break into the house. I think we should let them go in first, prepare a trap on the walkway, and then catch them when they run out.”

The dragons nodded.

Inside the house, Gibol and Leddin lit a dim magic candle before prowling through the rooms in search of the sheets. They swiftly realized only one room on the bottom floor was locked, and after picking it open, their suspicions were correct. Dozens of music sheets were kept in pristine condition inside a large glass cabinet. When the fat man was about to open the cabinet’s door, a grumbling slipped through his mouth as he noticed yet another lock on yet another door. He took out his tools and-

“THIEVES! THERE ARE THIEVES INSIDE!”

Light was immediately seen inside a room on the second floor. The duo cursed as they heard a heavy set of footsteps making its way to the stairs. They rushed out of the house without closing any of the doors and, because they weren’t paying attention, were instantly caught inside a mud trap. Right as Ryder was about to step out of the bush, the duo reached their hands into their pockets, grabbed a small sphere, and smashed it on the ground they were standing on. A puff of smoke enveloped their body, and when Green extended his vines to wrap around them, they already vanished with the smoke.

“What the fuck is going on?!” Elisha roared as she arrived at the entrance after turning on the light on the ground floor. Then she noticed the dragon rider gang. “Why the fuck are you here? You better explain what’s going on or I’m going to call the guards to arrest you!”

Ryder panickedly pulled out a piece of paper and showed it to her. “Woah, calm down! I came here because I’ve gotten what you wanted! Simon’s written agreement, with his signature, that states he’ll direct your symphony!”

“You… You got it? Show it to me!” She stretched her hand out and gestured for the paper.

The human handed the paper over to her and explained, “I was going to give this to you tomorrow, but then I saw the two men who hassled you earlier breaking into your house. I shouted to wake you up and tried to capture them, but they escaped via teleportation.”

The purple-ear ignored him and pored over the agreement. When she finished, she peered at the mud trap behind the rider and then turned back to look at the opened door to the sheet room. A sigh escaped her mouth as she faced Ryder again. “Come by tomorrow and I’ll lend you the sheet, as promised.”

“Okay. While I don’t think those thieves will come by again, I’ll ask my dragon to stay here and protect you, in case they're stubborn. Is that alright?”

“I… Only if your dragon behaves themselves.” She glanced at Green.

“She’s as intelligent as you and me, Ms. Klawe. She won’t cause you any trouble.” Ryder nodded at Brown. The earth dragon shifted back into her dragon form, which shocked Elisha so much that she let out an unintentional yelp.

“See you tomorrow, then.” The human bade.

The cat-woman gave a nervous glance to Brown and gulped. “See you.” And she shut the door.

The rider turned to his green companion. “Let’s go to Alin’s place. I doubt they’ll stop here, so you’ll have to protect them if they show up there.”

The plant dragon growled.

“I know. We can only hope that the third sister’s place won’t get a visit from them. I doubt Purple will help even if he’s here. Anyway, let’s go.”

X

"Those scoundrels! To think they’re willin' to resort to such underhanded tactics! If I see them again, I’ll let them have a taste of my fist!" Findir raised his knuckles.

“You’ll get arrested if you do that,” Ryder countered.

“Then we’ll deliver them to the hands of justice!”

“We don’t have concrete evidence that they were the one who broke in, though. There’s nothing we can do.” He patted the yellow-ear’s back.

The musician whimpered. “To think those criminals could get away with their crime...”

“There’s no need to be so upset. I did stop them in time, after all. In any case, the guards will handle it. We just need to complete the quest.”

“Very well.”

When they arrived at their destination, Ryder handed Brown her breakfast while the cat-man knocked on the door. The dragon shifted to her humanoid form and opened the food’s packaging. “She woke up about 10 minutes ago.”

“Nothing else happened during the night?”

“No.”

“Okay. Guess we’ll wait for her to come out.”

10 minutes later.

Footsteps were heard right before Elisha greeted them in a casual but dignified attire. “Come in.”

Ryder nodded and entered the building with his two companions. The interior design was as superb as the exterior. The walls were adorned with music-themed decorations, musical achievements, and pictures of Elisha’s family. Despite how large the house was, it was kept pretty clean.

She headed straight for the locked room, removed a sheet from the cabinet, and handed it to Ryder. “This is probably what you're looking for.”

“Probably?”

“I played the sheets my mother inherited hundreds of times, and this is the only one that sounded incomplete.”

“May I use yer piano to see if it truly is the sheet we’re looking for, Ms. Klawe?” The musician politely gestured at the piano sitting in the living room.

The purple-ear nodded. Findir took the new sheet and brought out the first one before sitting down in front of the instrument. Then, he started pressing the keyboard and played the song. The teenager noticed the middle-aged woman closed her eyes as her head gently swayed to the tune.

However, much like last time, the tune ended abruptly.

“So, you had the first part from Aunt Thalia’s home. I suppose the final part is in Aunt Syrinx’ house.” Elisha opened her eyes and glanced at the rider.

Findir nodded.

“Before we leave, I have a few questions I would like to ask, if you don’t mind.” Ryder stared back.