Chapter Thirty Seven
Justin knew a fair bit about dragons from his studies at college, but he knew better than to leave his safety and the success of the quest to his knowledge alone. As he watched the door close behind Art, he began to gather all of his knowledge about dragons to the front of his mind. Looking around, he realized that this would be the perfect time to take notes.
"Can I have some paper, a quill, and ink, please?" He didn't address the question to anyone in particular, but he was surprised when Maggie stood up and asked one of the guards outside the door to bring what he required. Most princesses in the stories he had read would have delegated menial tasks to anyone besides themselves. But it was clear before this that Maggie wasn't a normal princess. Justin momentarily wondered if she would be offended if he told her that.
Shaking himself out of his thought spiral, he looked to Philip and spoke. "When the paper, ink, and quill arrive, I want you to write all that you know about the dragons in Aldervaile, and I will write all that I know about dragons, and then we will compare notes. Even if the gnomes refuse to help us, eventually we will need to deal with the dragon problem, and it will be good to have the information."
Philip cleared his throat and gestured towards the rows of books behind him. "If I may say, sir, we have many manuscripts about dragons on these very shelves. You would do well to examine some of them while we wait for the paper, ink, and quill."
Justin felt like an idiot and did his best to cover up his crimson face. Of course, they were in a library. What else was a library for if not to gather information? After a moment, Justin nodded towards the shelves and addressed Philip. "Can you show me where the books on dragons are?"
Philip didn't hesitate, but stood and went to a bottom shelf near the corner and pulled out three large books that looked like they hadn't been open in decades. "How often do people come to read these books?" Oaklie and Cora exchanged quizzical glances before Philip spoke.
"I am afraid that we are the only ones allowed into the royal library. I mean, only mages and the royal family are that is." Justin was sure he had heard wrong. "You mean that you have all these books with priceless information in them, and the only way you can read them is if you are part of the royal family or you are a mage?"
For the first time since knowing him, Philip looked truly uncomfortable. He took a long moment before answering. "Well, for this specific library, yes. We can't just let anyone off the streets come in and take books off the shelf. It would be a matter of safety for the royal family. But there are other public libraries that allow nobles and commoners alike to read from their shelves."
Once again, Justin's face turned crimson, and he looked at the door silently, begging it to open and for the guard to walk in. When it remained closed, he sighed and smiled sheepishly at Philip. "Well, that makes perfect sense. I didn't think of it that way." Leaning back in his seat to relax his tense shoulders, he took a second to think. "Is all the knowledge that you have on dragons in those 3 volumes?"
Philip set the books in front of Justin on the table and took a seat. It appeared as though he deflated into his chair, as though the books themselves had been almost too much for him to carry.
"While dragons are the largest of the magical creatures in Aldervaile, they have been one of the most elusive to us, until recently. When they were being hunted, they kept mostly to themselves to preserve their numbers. Once it was decreed that they couldn't be killed, they have come out of hiding more and more, and yet, we still know very little about them."
Just then, the door opened, and a guard walked in carrying the writing supplies. Justin had never been so glad to see someone he didn't know before in his life. When the supplies had been placed in front of him and Philip, he dipped the quill in the ink and then spoke.
"Well, now that we can take notes, please tell me everything you do know." Philip pulled one of the books that had been sitting in front of Justin towards him and began flipping through it. "Dragons have been in Aldervaile before Aldervaile was established as a kingdom. In fact, many people believe that the earliest settlers in the area took the land away from the dragons. I am not sure how that was possible, but it is true that they tend to live in mountain caves. Some of the smaller dragons live in the forests, but they all tend to live away from humans."
Justin scribbled furiously as he tried to capture everything that Philip said. He realized he didn't have to, since he already knew dragons tended to live in caves and away from humans, but he felt calmer when he was busy doing something, and he needed a calm mind to think clearly.
"How did the people of Aldervaile discover that dragons liked treasure?" Thinking back on all the books he had read about them, all that came to mind was the fact that dragons were naturally greedy animals that used their treasure for insulation in cold caves and for temperature regulation. He had even read about some dragons storing magical energy in their treasure or using it to attract mates.
Philip visibly relaxed at that question. "That is an easy question to answer, Master Justin. We have a written record of a knight going into the mountains to slay a dragon that had come upon his cave and seen mountains of gold and gems that had been missing from noble families all over the kingdom. Normally, the dragon would have killed the knight, and we would have never known, but the dragon was sleeping and didn't realize the knight was there. He was able to grab a large emerald as proof and escape before the dragon woke up. Since then, whenever there has been a dragon attack, and there is treasure in the area, some or all of it goes missing.
Justin tapped the quill against his lips and sucked in a loose feather. It took him a full 30 seconds to regain his composure while everyone looked on, startled. "Are you alright?" Justin could hear the laughter Maggie was desperately trying to suppress.
Justin set down his quill and nodded at the group at large. "I am alright, just embarrassed. That seems to be a running theme for me today. " After Justin's coughing fit, he took a few minutes to finish his notes before sitting back in his seat. As he was about to ask Philip to continue, the door opened and in walked Art. He looked stoic and determined as he made his way to his seat. The room grew still and stoic as he sat down, cleared his throat, and spoke.
"My associate knows where we can find a gnome, and the gnome he thinks will be willing to hear us out. I asked him to get in touch with him and invite him to the palace as soon as possible. He should be here in a few hours."