"...After a swift nap!" Xavier began marching across the street towards The Dragon's Rest.
As Bruce and Stephan quickly caught up to him, they all heard the familiar voice of the G.U.I.D.E. system.
[The Last Song of Bard Enzio] (Investigation)
Description: A bard vanished mid-performance, leaving behind only his lute. Strangely, his song still drifts through the streets at night. Find out why.
Reward: 10 Tungsten comets.
"Huh, no failure condition... But, seems kinda weird that the system worded it that he vanished mid-performance. The request form didn't say anything about that." Xavier tilted his head.
Bruce sighed lightly. "I guess this is one of those 'pick who you trust carefully' sort of moments."
Xavier looked at Bruce from the corner of his eye before letting out an agreeing hum. "Well, I guess the lute is physical evidence left behind, so we'll have to find it... Whatever, this is a problem for future us. Present us will drift off into a deep sleep for the rest of the day so that we can be rested for tonight's investigations!"
Xavier continued happily marching onwards to The Dragon's Rest.
━━━
Xavier inserted a room key labeled "3" into the third door's lock. He twisted it and heard a click, indicating that the door was now unlocked. He turned the knob and pushed the door open to reveal a most simple room.
The dark wooden floors and walls were cleaned spotless, as if the room were freshly constructed. The two beds were neatly made and tightly fit; just by looking, the trio could tell they would have trouble untucking the blankets.
Outside of the beds, the room possessed a fairly sized wooden desk and a single window with sanguine red curtains that lay opposite the door. The sun was still sparkling through the curtains and filling the room with dim light alongside a lightly noticeable warmth.
Xavier began walking into the room, his friends looking at him curiously. They felt that he's been awfully quiet regarding the bedding situation. If anyone were to complain that the people outnumbered the bed count, it would have been him.
But, he simply continued into the room before pulling the wooden chair from the desk and sitting himself down in it. He crossed his arms on the desk, put his head into them, and within the blink of an eye... he had fallen asleep. At the cold, hard wood desk.
Bruce stared at him for a few moments. "Even back on Earth, I was amazed by the conditions he could sleep in... Now, in a completely unfamiliar fantasy world, I remain amazed."
By the time Bruce looked back to ask Stephan which bed he would prefer, he was already gone. When he moved his vision back to the room, Stephan was asleep in the bed closer to the window. He sighed and moved to the other bed, falling into it before drifting off into a deep, deep sleep...
━━━
The night had arrived. The trio had woken up a couple of hours before their current expedition into the city, eating a hearty meal at the inn. During that time, they had also asked a few of the people in the inn about the lute. No one had known much about it, but eventually they came across one person who had said that it remained within the fountain that the bard had disappeared at.
They were currently walking to this fountain, moving south from the town square and the worn statue of the great warrior. As they moved closer and closer to their destination, they began to hear a serene melody being hummed. It felt as if they were being lured towards it.
The streets were quiet on this night. The trio had not known if the town was typically alive outside of the day, but something about this night in particular felt... off. Xavier was constantly looking back and forth, staying alert for any possible threats. Stephan walked alongside him, and Bruce followed closely behind.
Bruce let out a heavy yawn before rubbing his eyes. "I know we just woke up, but... I'm feeling very, very sleepy."
Xavier slightly turned his head and looked at him through the corner of his eye. "Try not to fall asleep while we're on an important job, please?"
"I know, I know. It's just that... another nap seems very appealing right about now."
The trio, without realizing, had finally arrived at the fountain. The flowing noise of water echoed throughout the empty streets and into the dark alleyways.
"Well, it's definitely a nice fountain..." Xavier stepped closer and peered into it, noticing an object resting at the bottom. He reached in and retrieved the object. "Hey guys, I think I found the..."
When he turned around, he noticed that Bruce had gone missing. He didn't see Stephan for a moment, either, but quickly saw him coming out from an alley off to the side.
"Stephan, do you know where Bruce went...? Oh, and also, I found the lute."
"Oh, cool. Bruce said he was headed back to the inn. He said he felt too tired to put any effort towards this."
"Oh, guess I couldn't hear him cause of the fountain..." Suddenly, an idea popped into Xavier's head. "Stephan, slightly off topic, but technically on topic... Do you think maybe the lute is cursed?"
Stephan tilted his head; it almost seemed as if a question mark was floating above him. "I mean... I guess it could be. It would make sense. The bard wielding it goes missing, a mysterious song being hummed at night, and it's louder the closer to the fountain you are..."
Xavier raised his hand and, with all of his might, threw the lute at the cobblestone road beneath him. The moment it hit the ground, it shattered into several pieces. However, the melody still sounded throughout the streets of Mesios.
"Well, that was a bust."
Stephan was completely shocked. "When you said cursed, I thought maybe we would go to a person who can undo curses! Not shatter the lute into a million pieces!"
"It was worth a shot, at least..."
Stephan yawned and rubbed his temple. "I'm too tired to argue about this..." He began to walk towards the fountain. "Maybe we missed something in the fountain..."
But, at the last moment before he reached the fountain, he tripped on a rock in the road and fell towards it. A miniature geyser was sent skyward, water droplets scattering everywhere, and a large SPLASH noise sounded throughout the streets. Xavier immediately turned around to scold his friend for being careless.
However, when he turned around, Stephan was nowhere to be seen, and the alluring melody began growing even louder.