Levarton Library
Sennen frowns.
"Three pages and a few scattered references? For a whole island? Gods, we really don't know much about that place, do we?"
Sennen flicks to page 133 and sets about reading. What she learns, in short, is that her assumption was correct - outsiders have always been kept in the dark regarding Klaer Island and its inhabitants. The vargar's militant, isolationist cultural tendencies are noted to have made extensive research into their day-to-day lifestyle difficult; requests to learn more about the history of their civilisation have proven similarly fruitless, for no vargar has ever divulged more than sparse information after considerable effort. They seem to view knowledge as something you earn the right to possess, not something to be given on request.
So they could know damn well where she went, and not have told us because we were unworthy... great. Fantastic. Sennen is not feeling very confident at this point.
On she goes. There is mention of the vargar's unique language, which is poorly studied, as with everything about them. From recorded conversations alone, it's been determined by linguists that the vargar's tongue is a very distant relative of the language the world has since adopted as "Common Speech", but at this point the two are utterly mutually unintelligible. The vargar, isolationists that they are, are among the few civilised inhabitants of the world who do not consider learning to speak Common a vital and necessary skill, which does not make communication with them any easier.
What little is known about Klaer and the vargar goes as follows. The age of their civilisation can't be determined for certain, but neighbouring islands have been reporting vargar assaults for as long as they have been inhabited, so it seems their history stretches a very long way back. And this, as it happens, is the main thing outsiders know about the vargar - they are raiders. Vargar raids used to happen infrequently, but consistently, albeit with no determined pattern as to where they attacked and when. The raids were not for the purposes of conquest - no vargar ever stayed permanently after an assault. Consensus holds them to be part survival mechanism - Klaer is geographically harsh and barren, not a place with enough resources to sustain a whole civilisation by itself - and part simple display of strength. The language barrier and the vargar's inhospitable treatment of visitors mean very little is known of the tenets of their culture, but it's clear they are a proud warrior race, valuing strength above all else.
The section ends with a report on the vargar's mysterious self-destruction. No information on this is provided that Duane hadn't given long ago; they descended one day into a violent civil war, and because of their intense isolationism, it is unknown why. The war went on for long decades, reducing a once proud culture to a barely extant shadow of its former self, before ending as suddenly as it began approximately 30 years ago. Since the civil war began, the once ubiquitous vargar assaults of the past have ceased entirely, not that the people of the other northwesterly islands are complaining.
There is no mention of a Rosamund Sveynsdóttir anywhere.
Sennen flicks to each of the other pages marked with a mention of Klaer in turn. In each case, it's not much more than a brief description of a certain place being a hotspot for vargar raids. Still no hints as to who Rosamund Sveynsdóttir may be.
Hail majestic corporate light, heaven born and ever bright!Library, right side row
Jerrid begins to flip through the pages of this (as it would turn out to in fact be) periodical about recent goings-on in this chain of islands.
Uh...hmmm...
He lands on one page in particular.
Wait a minute...ah, no.
As it would turn out the wolf has simply landed on a page detailing the Barhaven incident.
Damnit. Say, kid, I'm gonna go talk with the others, why don't you come along and take that book with you?
June 27thLevarton (Library; History section)
Well...uh, this isn't really telling us anything. ("Estelle" mutters, reaching over Sennen's shoulder and peering between random pages.) What should we try now?
(Still carrying the book about Scale Cove (and still in the form of his emergency disguise), Ira finds Jerrid and Kauri down another aisle and walks up to them.) Have any luck, guys?
(The Sharkazil wanders aimlessly through the aisles, at one point passing by a small and very awestruck boy seated at a table reading about sea monsters. It inadvertently knocks down a few stacks of books with its tail along the way.)
Okay, uh, look. (Pablo says to the eel.) We're both adults here. We should know better than to fight like this.
(He pushes the ladder to the eel.) Go ahead, I don't think I'm in that big of a hurry anyway.
Oh, thanks! (The eel says. She then lifts the ladder off the bookshelves and leaves the aisle with it.)
(Pablo audibly groans.) Surely that wasn't the only ladder here... (He mumbles as he follows the eel.)
"Hey, least I didn't lose all my artistic talent when I crash landed in the arena here."Levarton Library
Sennen sighs.
"...I dunno. Should we just ask the others if they've found a lead?"
Hail majestic corporate light, heaven born and ever bright!Levarton Library
Sure, let's go. ("Estelle" says. She turns to catch back up with the others. She's inwardly frustrated about still not having found any sort of clues as to where she should tell Cleo to go next.)
(Hearing Jerrid, Ira, and Kauri's voices close by, she motions in the direction that she hears them.) It sounds like some of them are over there.
Nope! Found this book about where I'm from, though. (Ira says, holding up the book about Scale Cove.) Not like it'll help us right now, though. Let's go find the others, though.
(Ira turns to go, only for a gulper eel he doesn't recognize carrying a ladder to whirl around the corner of the shelf. She sets the ladder up against the shelves, blocking the way, then climbs up and begins rummaging through books at the top of the shelves. Pablo shows up at the end of the aisle a moment later.)
Make a new friend, Pablo? (Ira asks the whale shark as he starts to step around the ladder and avoid getting clocked by the books that the eel occasionally knocks down.)
...I suppose you could say that. (Pablo says, staring up at the eel with a mildly annoyed expression.)
"Hey, least I didn't lose all my artistic talent when I crash landed in the arena here."Library
Jerrid watches the display of the eel throwing down some books while carefully stepping around her, not looking very ask used as he does
...right. Okay, let's go find the others.
The wolf continues to work his away around and clears the ladder.
Do we ask for help from someone at the front desk if we can't find what we're looking for here?
June 27thLevarton's Library
Sennen catches up with the others, looking frustrated.
"Well, the obvious route turned out to be a bust. Nothing about a Rosamund in the history of Klaer. Not even any hint where she could've gone."
She sees the pile of books the eel is throwing down from the shelf, and looks briefly compelled to make some typically blunt comment on her manners, but then one of the books on the floor catches her eye. She picks it up and looks over its cover, sporting the same look of half-recognition she did when she first heard Rosamund's name. Anyone peering over her shoulder to see what she finds so intriguing will note that it's another history book, one entitled Quartism: A Short History of the World's Religion, with four simple symbols - red flame, blue water droplet, green cloud, brown rock - surrounding the title text.
Hail majestic corporate light, heaven born and ever bright!Library
Seems like a long shot if you ask me. (Pablo mutters in response.) Unless Sennen knows something about it that we don't.
(Ira looks at Sennen expectantly as she looks curiously at the book.) Well, does that book tell you anything, Sennen? (He asks her.)
"Hey, least I didn't lose all my artistic talent when I crash landed in the arena here."Levarton's Bend Library
Bright Eyes stood off to the side for mots of the visit, trying not to draw too much attention to herself. However, this new book caught her eye. She stepped up for a closer look. A moment later, her tail flicked.
"Hope this doesn't mean we'll have to face fire, water an' air monsters," she said. "I still don't have a sword that works on 'em, an' anyway, my last time dealin' with small ones cost me a good hat. Not lookin' forward to big ones."
I like cute things. You gotta deal with it.Levarton's Bend
Sennen stares at the book for a good long while. Specifically, at the symbol of the water droplet. Then, suddenly, she breaks into a satisfied grin.
"Guys. Guys. I know where I've heard of Rosamund Sveynsdóttir before."
Hail majestic corporate light, heaven born and ever bright!Levarton's Bend
Sennen drops the book and starts pacing back and forth dramatically as she launches into a spiel.
"Alright, so. I'm sure you all know this already, but I'm a princess. My dad's a king. And that means my dad is in close contact with a bunch of the most important people in the entire world. Back in the day, if I was lucky, I'd be there when he was talking to someone of super high standing - other monarchs, military leaders... religious leaders."
She gestures back to the discarded book on Quartism.
"I'm sure you've seen a Quartist before. That religion with the four elemental gods who are kinda friendly rivals? That's Quartism. Dad was a contact of all the major Quartist leaders, naturally - they were some of the Royal Palace of Kharland's most frequent guests. And the one person little Princess Sennen saw more than basically anyone outside the royal household was the High Priest of Aquinos."
She stops pacing, as if to emphasize that she's reaching the meat of her speech.
"I remember him well. He was an old, frail little feller, so he went everywhere with an entourage of bodyguards. Younger, stronger priests who'd scare off anyone tryin' to exploit a very important doddery old bloke. And do you want to know who his head bodyguard was?"
She grins.
"A wolf woman. A wolf woman named Rosamund Sveynsdóttir. I knew I'd seen her before, not just heard of her. And I was right."
Hail majestic corporate light, heaven born and ever bright!Library
Jerrid would've had half a mind to go after that eel for being annoying, but, the interjection of Sennen's speech prevented him from doing that. And as such, the revelation of the most important information to where this criminal is. And....she's a wolf woman. Interesting.
Then, if we gotta go to your dad's kingdom, then we should get going soon, no?
June 27thLibrary
That's assuming she would still be over there. (Pablo says. After a moment, Pablo turns to Sennen.) ...Uh, would she? Or would she be somewhere else now?
(Internally, Esmeralda rejoices that they finally have a lead and waits for Sennen to continue.)
"Hey, least I didn't lose all my artistic talent when I crash landed in the arena here."Levarton Library
Sennen shakes her head.
"She wouldn't be in Kharland, nah. But we know now that she's a priest of Aquinos, so I'd assume she'll spend most of her time in an Aquinist church. That's phase two, then - we find out where Rosamund Sveynsdóttir preaches. And if she's prominent enough that the High Priest of the whole faith dragged her with him to visit kings, I reckon there'll be info."
Edited by DubhKafkaesque on Jul 25th 2020 at 10:48:39 AM
Hail majestic corporate light, heaven born and ever bright!

Levarton Library
(Esmeralda looks over Sennen's shoulder as she looks through the index.) Uh, there. It says it's on pages 133 through 135, and again on pages 142, 143, and 152 through 154. (Esmeralda feels a bit uncomfortable contributing to finding out where the Shard is next to the folks she is working against, but she figures that it's the price to pay for keeping her cover.)
(Pablo wanders into a fairly secluded part of the library.) Now...what sort of book would help with finding this Rosamund person...
(Looking among the shelves, he spots a book entitled "Well-known Canines". Unfortunately, the book is at the top of the shelves and he is not big enough to reach it.)
Oh, I knew I spit out too much water... (Pablo mumbles. He looks around for a pitcher of water, but spots a bookshelf ladder further up the aisle from him.) ...Well, I'll make do with what's here, I guess.
(He walks over to the ladder and grabs it...at the same exact time that someone else does. Pablo is surprised to see another sea creature, an enormous gulper eel with a green gem on her snout, staring him in the eye. Unlike Pablo, she has a water bubble surrounding herself instead of wandering around without water; given the bright glow from the gem, it seems to be how she is doing this.)
Oh, sorry, I got to this ladder first. Wait your turn. (The eel says, pulling the ladder toward herself.)
Uh, no...uh, I clearly touched it first. (Pablo says, pulling the ladder towards himself.)
Haven't you heard of "ladies first"? (The eel says, pulling the ladder toward herself again.)
Yes, but the truth is that I was here before you were! (Pablo says, pulling the ladder toward himself again.)
(The two sea creatures' repeated hissing at each other and the sound of the ladder moving back and forth carries on a short distance away from them.)
"Hey, least I didn't lose all my artistic talent when I crash landed in the arena here."