Tara couldn’t be much more help than Adelinde or Rene—she had an idea of what to look for, but nothing definite. Itzun insisted that he would only help in a great manner if they fell into danger of failing. All she could do was warn and worry them.
Honestly, she couldn’t tell which seemed less real: the morning where they all wandered around, or everyone standing around with their own kinds of frowns while Matteo looked in any likely places for help. Tara alternated between standing next to him to see, next to Adelinde and Rene for comfort, or worrying in a corner on her own.
She found it a bit frustrating that Itzun wouldn’t do anything until the place could already be in shambles, but she didn’t want to lose this. Even if it meant giving him some kind of entertainment she would rather have no part in, she wouldn’t be able to manage if Dakari just…became an even worse version of the first island.
A part of her might not have minded if she knew her family could come along—the same portion, she realized, that would have agreed to leave everything behind in the first island if it meant still being alive. The childish side that didn’t want to accept that so much more people will die than just those she cared about. Not that the compromise really mattered—they were under no obligation to even bring Tara there, as ultimately it was Itzun’s decision on who to make the first ruler if the people didn’t elect one themselves. She couldn’t imagine them accepting the other three.
Matteo pulled out one book off the shelf, skimmed through it, then placed it on the desk behind him.
“Try looking in there?” he suggested. “It’s a storybook, but it’s as good of a place as any. I can keep looking for something more definitive, though.”
Tara nodded and wandered over; Rene murmured some promise to help, and Matteo gave her a general direction to look in.
Tara opened the book once she reached it, scanning the pages for anything useful. All she really knew was that it was somewhere. Itzun would let her know when she’s found it.
Unfortunately, there was nothing inside the book that she didn’t already know—nothing they could apply to this situation. Matteo looked over when she closed it, frowning when she pushed it aside.
She lingered by the desk and watched Matteo and Rene look through shelves, taking out anything that seemed helpful only to place it back on the shelf when it turned out to be nothing. Adelinde, still standing near the entrance, gave her attention to Tara and spoke up.
“Did Itzun mention if it was a book, specifically?”
The other two actually paused. Tara shook her head.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
“He said Aurik Qrian was the most likely to have useful information, out of the people we have access to speak with,” Tara explained. “The next likely being any people that were already aware of this—like the Dazuz family.”
“I guess if this doesn’t work out I can try talking to them,” Rene said, albeit sighing and still scowling. “They wouldn’t tell me anything directly, but they’ve probably cycled through most or all of their staff since I lived there—I could wait until they leave for some meeting or party, then just say I’m a guest.”
“Legal dubiousness aside, that could work,” Matteo mused. He looked at Adelinde. “Did you have an idea, though?”
“Somewhat,” Adelinde replied, nodding. “I don’t know if Aurik himself would have known Dakari’s fate if they succeeded, but he had a book of songs with melodies from the first island but lyrics by people of Dakari. He only played the cheerful ones, but there were darker songs as well.”
Matteo considered it for a second, then perked up a bit. “Oh! I might actually know where that is!” He then turned his attention to Tara, glancing back at Adelinde and Rene as he continued, “Tara, you can come with me in case its actually helpful—Mom and Rene can keep looking here.”
Tara murmured some agreement and the other two nodded, so Matteo quickly flipped through the book he was holding before sitting down it down. He led her down the hall and into the music room.
It came her turn to stand near the doorway, even less familiar with the placement of the score books than anything in the library. Matteo mumbled a bit—mostly to himself, she assumed, since she only caught a few words. She couldn’t tell if he was worried about the ultimate result if they didn’t find anything, or excited that they might not need to search for hours before finding something helpful.
Matteo combed through the main area of score books, moving from one shelf to another in search of a specific one. Once he went through all of them, he paused for a second before glancing back at Tara.
“It might be in the bedroom—I know it’s somewhere in the house,” he said. “Wait here.”
Tara nodded and he left. She remained by the doorway until he returned a few minutes later, skimming through a small score book; it must’ve been used fairly often, at least. He stopped at a particular song, giving her the book once he got close enough and pointing towards the song in question.
“It’s an older song, but I think it describes the scenario fairly well.”
She took the book and looked at the score. She couldn’t quite read the notes—she didn’t know what note corresponded to what on an instrument, at least—but the lyrics caught her attention.
Or, maybe a bit more accurately, a brief sensation of sleepiness meant that Itzun found it interesting. Matteo smiled when she skimmed through with a bit more attention. She let out her own little relieved sigh when she realized.
She knew the song itself had likely played in the music district before—just not with the lyrics. Even then, it could easily be interpreted as about the first island and Dakari; how, when one island was created, the other fell. Dakari’s earliest records were noted to be from a similar time that the first island lost all its people.
She read each section of the lyrics, trying to see if it shared anything else. Sure enough, one line came up: When one island threatens to rise and the other begins to sink, a third can guide the way.
It’s better than nothing, at least; she flashed a little thankful look to Matteo, then turned to show Adelinde and Rene.