("Estelle" looks at the other crew members, waiting for them to respond.)
(After a moment, Pablo responds.) Well...uh...one of the few land-people places I've been to had a library.
(Ira looks in Pablo's direction as he gets up to bring Kauri some unattended bananas before the Sharkazil claims them.) Really? What was its name?
...It's name was...hm. (Pablo mutters. He walks over to Bright Eyes' map.) Oh right, here it is.
(He points out the name "Levarton's Bend" on the map; the island the name is attached to doesn't seem particularly far from Klaer.) I remember seeing that name on a few signs where I was.
"Hey, least I didn't lose all my artistic talent when I crash landed in the arena here."The Zenpance
Sennen thinks.
"Levarton's Bend... not a place I'm familiar with. But if it's close, that works for me."
Hail majestic corporate light, heaven born and ever bright!The Zenpence
"Levarton's Bend?" Bright Eyes scratched her chin in thought. "Haven't heard of anything remarkable happenin' there, so it must be pretty quiet. As good a place as any for someone wantin' to lie low, at least." She stepped up to take the helm. "I'll get us on course at once."
I like cute things. You gotta deal with it.("Finally..." Esmeralda thinks to herself. She makes a mental note to find a way to send a report to Cleo once they get there. Surely this Levarton's Bend place has a carrier pigeon or something.)
(Sometime later, after traveling for a while, a small island comes into view. It appears to mostly consist of a snow-covered mountain with a forest around its base, except for one particular spot where a moderately-sized village sits.)
This the place, Pablo? (Ira asks the whale shark.)
Uh huh. Sure is. (Pablo nods.) Looks the same as it did before.
(Pulling up to the docks, there are a lot of fishing boats and trawlers. There are a number of fishermen either getting ready to head out to fish or coming back to shore with whatever they just caught. The street past the dock is full of markets and restaurants. A street going further into the town has several other businesses, and at the end of the street, a fairly large building is visible.)
"Hey, least I didn't lose all my artistic talent when I crash landed in the arena here."New Island
Jerrid observes the new island and makes an observation as he scratches behind his ears.
Hate to say it but I'm sure a place like this really would be a place for a criminal to hide out. I think they'd want this island for that specific purpose, no?
Edited by Team42Larson on Jul 8th 2020 at 5:22:59 AM
June 27thApproaching Levarton's Bend
"So you say there's a library here. Let's hope it's a decent size."
Hail majestic corporate light, heaven born and ever bright!That's the library up there. (Pablo tells Sennen, pointing to the large building up the street.)
Really? Sure is a big library for a town this size. (Ira remarks.)
Well, I guess you would need a building that big if you collected books like the guy who owns that place does. (Pablo continues.) At least, that's what I was told.
"Hey, least I didn't lose all my artistic talent when I crash landed in the arena here."Levarton's Bend
Sennen looks mildly surprised.
"...huh. Still a shot in the dark whether we'll find anything, but it's a start."
Hail majestic corporate light, heaven born and ever bright!Levarton's Bend
Bright Eyes took a moment to admire the massive library before disembarking. Any place with that many books had to have some good ones. She wondered if it had anything on fighting magic without magic, but even if it didn't, there were plenty of other topics worth reading up on.
After a moment to look around, she turned back to the rest of the crew. "Well, if you want other options, I could ask 'round the local taverns an' such," she said. "Got some practice being on the run myself, so I could check the best hidin' places for our Rosamund. Of course, if you'd rather I help you search that library..." Her tail perked up a bit. "...I'll be right behind you."
I like cute things. You gotta deal with it.Levarton
Well, if we know what we're doing now, let's hit the library! (Ira says. He begins walking up the street. Pablo follows along. Esmeralda looks around for a carrier pigeon as she follows.)
(Feeling left out, the Sharkazil comes off the boat as well and follows at a distance. A few of the town's mostly human populace gape at the creature as it follows the crew.)
Library
(Inside the library, rows of bookshelves lines the wood floor and walls. Close inspection shows that many of the books are of different languages. A few patrons are immediately visible to the crew browsing through the books on the shelves or sitting at tables or on chairs reading by a large fireplace. There is a large desk in the back of the room, and a large blue creature that looks like a hybrid of a snail and a snake sits behind it, looking at two different books at once with his eyestalks.)
Guess now we just ask around and hope we get SOME clues where to go next. (Pablo says, shrugging.)
(Ira looks at the others.) Should we stick together or split up? (He asks.)
Somewhere on the ocean...
(Cleo's boat has been going in roughly the same direction that Esmeralda left since Esmeralda did so. Cleo sits at the bow looking ahead for any other boats. The cooler weather has lead to her bundling up in a winter robe.)
(After a few minutes, Cleo's sister comes out on deck.) Heya, sis.
Hello, Jasmine. (Cleo says.)
(The two psychic dragons sit above deck in silence for a moment before Jasmine speaks up again.) You know, Cleo, it's nice and warm in Captain's quarters. You don't have to stay out here where it's cold.
...I just want to be ready if we see Ira's boat or when Esmeralda comes back, that's all. (Cleo says.) I hope she isn't lost.
Oh, c'mon, Cleo, Esmeralda's as sharp as a dragon claw. I'm sure she's even found Ira already. Or is close to it, anyway. (Jasmine says.) Besides, there's plenty of other guys out here who can come down and let you know if we see him or his boat.
(Then Jasmine adds:) Uh, and another thing, there was another reason I came out here, too. It's about Melody.
(Cleo freezes.) What is it?
Uh...well... (Jasmine mumbles.) Melody somehow turned herself completely orange. It was strange, and I thought you should know about it. Since you're her mother, of course.
(While she's relieved that nothing is horribly wrong, Cleo is still very confused. She's never heard of their species of dragon being able to change color before. A bit worried, she heads to captain's quarters and enters to find Melody sitting at the table reading, her normal color of raspberry red. Melody looks up and cheerfully greets her mother and aunt like nothing is amiss.) Hi, Mom! Aunty! What's going on?
(After a moment, Cleo sends a telepathic message to Jasmine.) Melody looks fine to me.
I swear she was as orange as a...orange! (Jasmine insists.)
(Cleo knows her younger sister is not one for telling tale tales, especially now as a grown dragon. She makes a mental note to keep a closer eye on Melody in case she inexplicably changes color again.)
"Hey, least I didn't lose all my artistic talent when I crash landed in the arena here."The library
Jerrid looks amongst the rows of books. If the group is going to find information on this Rosamund then they're gonna need to go among as many rows as possible in the least amount of time. Jerrid moves to the right.
We should split up. I'm taking the right-side row. Who wants to come with?
June 27thLevarton's Bend
Sennen's already pottered off in the direction of whichever section of the library seems like it would have books on world history.
Hail majestic corporate light, heaven born and ever bright!Library
Alright, come with me, kid. Anyone else who wants to come can. I'm taking the rightmost row.
Jerrid leads Kauri (and whomever else) to the right-side row of books and begins to look about the lowest column.
Okay, I need a book on history, or really anything that would help us nail down where this criminal is.
June 27thLevarton Library
(Ira and Pablo go two different directions into the library. Esmeralda decides to follow Sennen, figuring that she should find out where the crew is going from this town before sending a letter to Cleo. The Sharkazil enters the library behind everyone else and just begins to curiously wander this unfamiliar place aimlessly.)
("Estelle" comes up behind Sennen and looks around at the section they are approaching.) Um...don't mean to be rude, but how are books about world history supposed to help you guys find out where Rosamund is?
(Ira looks up and down the aisles of shelves for someone he might ask if they've seen a wolf woman at all. Eventually, he comes across a young man sitting against one set of shelves with a stack of books on one side of him and a small seal pup on the other. Ira begins moving down the aisle toward the man. The man's eyes go wide when he sees the dragon approaching, looking between Ira and the book and pulling the seal pup close to himself.)
Hey, hey, don't worry, I'm just looking for information about somebody my friends and I are looking for. (Ira says, assuming the man is worried just on account of him being a dragon.)
(Then Ira notices a curious fact. The book the man is reading is a fairly new-looking book entitled: "Scale Cove: The Reptile's Land". Ira wasn't aware that someone had written a book about his home island, though upon closer inspection, Ira recognizes the author's name as one he has heard around Scale Cove before.)
Hey, what are you reading about? If you don't mind me asking? (Ira asks the man.)
(The man wordlessly turns the book to face Ira. Ira then sees that one page has a sketch of none other than himself. Ira feels offended since he never approved of such a drawing, let alone as an illustration in a book. The next is exasperation, since the sketcher left out his unusually long eyelashes, like many others have done.)
You...um...you look an awful lot like their old ruler... (The man says to Ira.) ...Are you actually...?
(Now Ira gets worried that this man might rat him out if he knows about who Ira is, and that'll be the end of the road for him. Ira thinks fast:)
O-Oh, no no, I'm not really Irawaru, I'm...ahem, like, uh, I just take his form to prank people, sometimes, y'know? (Ira says, speaking in a different voice. He quickly changes form from his normal self to that of a smaller, solid green dragon of the same species as him.) I actually look like this!
(The man stares blankly at Ira for a moment before gathering his books and standing up.) Uh...sure, gotcha. I'm gonna go check out. C'mon, girl. (The man heads out of the aisle, mumbling to himself about how weird dragons are, with the seal pup following close behind. As he rounds the corner, the man unknowingly drops the book about Scale Cove on the floor.)
Hey, you dropped this! (Ira says, picking up the book. However, he's lost sight of the man and his seal companion already.)
(Ira looks down at the book. Intrigued about what the writer had to say about Scale Cove and potentially himself, Ira decides to hold on to it for now and continues to look for clues.)
"Hey, least I didn't lose all my artistic talent when I crash landed in the arena here."Levarton's Bend Library
Sennen responds to "Estelle" without turning away from the bookshelf.
"I'm lookin' for a book that could tell me more about Klaer Island. If I can remember the name from somewhere, maybe Rosamund was important enough to - ah, 'ere we go!"
She pulls out a hefty tome, newer than some by the looks of it, declared by its spine to be The Northwest Isles: A History of the Isolated Corners of the World by Adid Sala. There, on its cover, is a map that clearly depicts Klaer and Levarton's Bend, among others.
"Now, lessee here..."
Sennen turns to the index at the back, looking for "Klaer" and the page numbers on which it appears.
Hail majestic corporate light, heaven born and ever bright!Library, right side row
After a few moments of digging around Jerrid drags a book out with his paws and pulls it over to the nearby bench. After motioning Kauri to grab his own and come sit with him he starts scanning the book. In speicifc, it appears to be a periodical associating the recent news of this island chain.
Okay, kid, let's start looking.
June 27thKauri takes a random book and opens it up. Upon closer inspection, it seems to be about the island's history. Something about it being formed by volcanic eruption... Fascinating stuff. Certainly enough to hold the boy's attention. Unfortunately, it doesn't contribute much to the search. However, Kauri has now developed a small interest in volcanoes.
If I don't clash, I don't change. The world ends at my borders, and the best moments slip away.

"At this point, I'm just as confounded as the rest of you," says Melvin. "I guess we'd better go to the library."
Very good kitty