“Ugh, Guild brokers giving us the bare minimum. Lazy asses…” Ryder grumbled, “Well, considering no one has undoed the curse in half a century, I don’t think we need to worry about someone else getting the request done before us. What’s your analysis on the Knight, Purple?” He asked once they stood at an unobtrusive spot.

  “It’s a cursed variant of a bound spirit. They are spirits tethered to an object, a person, or occasionally a land. The level of intelligence they retain varies from one to another, though most of them are only smart enough to protect their anchor. That is to say, they're dumb as rocks. The most sickeningly well-known example of a bound spirit are those who protect powerful weapons from 'unworthy' hands and act as a trial for those who are.”

  “Sickening?” The human raised his brow.

  Purple scoffed. “The basis for worthiness is completely arbitrary from spirit to spirit, and yet they pretend to be upholding an unquestionable ‘good’ moral standard. It’s disgusting.”

  “....Right. So, how should we break the curse?”

  “In the case of our Knight here, he appears to be bound to that instrument. Since his love is already dead, and her sister’s descendants still live in this city, it’s unlikely he’s protecting it for someone to claim it, which leaves us with three solutions. First, powerful, sustained holy magic. It’s not guaranteed to work, it will require a lot of priests or priestesses, and there’s always a chance that it will only cause the curse to spin out of control.”

  “I’d like to think some people had given it a try already, so there’s a high chance it wouldn't work. But, in the case that it does, we’ll mark that as a last resort. What’s the other two solutions?”

  “The second is to destroy the instrument. There were instances that destroying the anchor will kill the bound spirit. However, if that is not the case, it will transform the spirit into a nigh-unstoppable force of nature. For mortals, that is.”

  “...Okay, we’ll mark that as ‘don’t try it’. And the third?”

  “We resolve the origin of the curse. In this case, we need to fulfill the promise that Attis failed to uphold. Considering both subjects involved in the curse are ‘dead’, we need to fulfill the promise by proxy. In other words, causing something to happen that symbolizes the person who made the curse no longer holds on to it.”

  “So… Since Cybele is a musician, and he’s standing in front of her piano… Is it possible that the ‘proxy’ is a song that she plays for him when they’re alive? Like a song that symbolizes their love, therefore ‘showing’ that she has forgiven him? So, if we play the song while he’s occupied, the curse on him will be broken?”

  “It’s not certain that it is the proxy, since we've yet to know the details of the curse, but it’s possible. Still, there’s something odd about this bound spirit.” Purple scratched his chin.

  “What is it?”

  “The broker said that the knight walked to the piano after he killed all the soldiers and that he chased down those who shot the piano with a bow. I do not recall an instance of this happening to the degree he described before.”

  “Should we be worried about that?”

  “No. The Knight still exhibits the characteristics of a bound spirit, so-”

“G’day!”

  Everyone swiftly turned their attention to the cheery voice that dared to interrupt the scary dragon’s sentence. Purple glared downward at a young man with yellow hair. His overall physique resembled that of a human, saved for a few feline features, such as sharp pupils, a slender tail, and, as already seen on many of the citizens they passed by, a pair of fluffy ears. He had a soft orange tunic, an elegant dark red vest, and a pair of black, slim pants.

  “T’is my hon'r to meet’cha, o’ Drag’n Rider!” He then bowed with his left leg slightly lifted backward, his left hand behind his back, and his right arm across his chest.

  “Uh… Hi. Do I know you?” Ryder raised his brow.

  “Ah, pard’n me!” The young man straightened his back and cleared his throat. “Findir Toygir, at yer service!”

  “Don’t you know it’s rude to interrupt someone, mortal?” Purple gnarled.

  “My apologies! I couldn’t contain my excitement at meetin’ the fabled Drag’n Rider! The Slayer of the Black Drag’n!”

  The dragon’s scowled turned into a grin. “Look, Ryder, it’s a fan. They always bring a smile to your face.”

  “O’, it brings me joy to hear the Drag’n Rider is as happy to meet me as I am with ya!”

  Ryder held back the desire to elbow his companion and smiled awkwardly. “Uhm, yeah, nice to meet you. Well, we have business we need to attend to, Mr. Toygir, so we’ll-”

  “That is what I wanted to speak to ya about, Drag’n Rider! Ya see, I’m a travellin’ musician, and I accidentally broke my precious instrument a few days ago, and so I decided to stop by Miuzika to get it fixed! Imagine my surprise when I was wanderin’ the street and saw ya enterin’ the Guild! I couldn’t hold back my curiosity, and I had to know what the Drag’n Rider was doin' there! After ya left, I asked the old fella whatcha doin’, and he said ya takin’ down the legendary Onyx Knight! So, I told myself, ‘Findir, ya hafta follow the Drag’n Rider! He’s gonna break the curse, and ya gotta stick to him if ya wanna write a ballad of epic proportion!’. If what ya said is true about how to break a curse, then I promise I’ll be of great help to ya! I may not be the best musician, but I can play any song well with only a teeny bit of practice! Whaddya say?”

  There was a slight sour expression on Ryder’s face. He turned to Purple first, who gave him a shit-eating grin, and when he turned to Brown, she considered it for a few seconds before shrugging. As for Green, he giggled.

  “Uhh, sure, I guess. Just… don’t cause any trouble.”

  “I won’t! Thank ya for including me in yer quest! By the way, have y’all eaten lunch yet?”

  “No, not yet. Though, now that you mention, I'm starting to feel a little hungry.”

  “Yer in luck then, Drag’n Rider! I know a fantastic restaurant around ‘ere! Let’s go!” The yellow-ear raised his hand and lowered it before heading to their destination.

  Ryder intentionally slowed his steps as he whispered to his dragons, "I don't know if this is a good idea."

  "If your theory is correct, Ryder, then we will need to find a musician later on anyway. He seemed to be familiar with the place as well. A guide is better than a map, especially when he fits with this musical city," the brown dragon commented.

  "I guess you're right. We'll just have to keep an eye out on him." The rider then quickened his pace to catch up with their new friend.