Noah chuckled to himself. "I actually quite like cooking. Hopefully I'll be able to make something good for all of us." Al and Haruka both seemed friendly to the boy. He was thankful to have such agreeable people on their journey. The white-haired youth smiled as the others agreed to join him in his little excursion to the library. Hopping up from his seat, he motioned for them to follow. The group left the Great Hall and entered a long hallway constructed of the same dark grey stone that the rest of the castle consisted of. The passage was lit only dimly with small windows running along one side. Noah led the group down the hall for a few moments, before rather abruptly turning at a door to his left. A small sign affixed beside the doorway confirmed the boy's suspicion that they'd reached their destination, and with a hefty push he opened the room's thick oaken door.

   Inside the room, rows and rows of bookcases stood filled to their limit. A series of tables littered one side of the room, each surrounded by a few rather comfortable looking chairs. Noah beamed. "Looks like we found it." His eyes rolled over the hundreds of books in the thick wooden shelves. "But where do we start... Hmm." The boy began walking along the first row of bookshelves, scanning for anything related to the Great Northern Wastes. As he looked, he spoke up, his eyes glancing towards his companions for a moment. "So have either of you ever done something like this?" Their task was an abstract one to be sure, but then Al and Haruka didn't strike him as 'average' by any stretch of the imagination.



  Elizabeth nodded at Lexine's request. "Certainly. Maybe we'll find something useful." She smirked ever so slightly at Lexine's distrust of their host. "I'd be worried if you [i]did[/i] trust him to be honest. He's a dangerous person, but he seems to be on our side, if only for the moment." She couldn't help but think how applicable that statement was to the entirety of their expedition. The Esterlian began looking over the various wares available in the marketplace. She glanced to Lexine for a moment as she walked. "So, someone hired you to come out here, right?" The woman spoke softly. "I'm a bit surprised someone cared enough to invest in this whole thing." The woman refrained from directly asking about the specifics of Lexine's employer. She was curious, but doubted her compatriot had any urge to divulge such information to a total stranger.


   Elizabeth saw little amongst the marketplaces wares that struck her fancy. It would've been useful if Cross had told them exactly what his 'supplies' entailed. She purchased a box of matches and a few cooking supplies, as well as a fair amount of salted meat. She didn't intend to starve if Cross didn't send enough food. The market, though fairly simple, had a decent variety of stock. Elizabeth glanced to Lexine. "You looking for anything in particular?" It would be a long journey, that much was certain, and they couldn't afford for anyone to be unprepared. As the duo reached the end of one of the market's aisles, a voice called out from a nearby alleyway. "More foreigners?" Elizabeth stopped, her eye darting towards the source of the voice. A figure stood in the shadow of the alleyway, a yellowish cloak and hood concealing most of its features. After a moment, the figure spoke again. "I assume the pair of you are heading north as well?" The voice was flat and dull, but seemed to identify the figure before them as female. Elizabeth looked to Lexine, as if questioning how to respond to the newcomer.