#le also accidentally revealing that being thrown off cliffs is normal

[duunswitch]

"What a weird question. Of course it does." Why wouldn't it? "I think the one in the palace is restricted access for obvious reasons, but if you request a book that none of the public libraries have, they'll often make and send a temporary copy." Well, so long as said request wasn't for something restricted.

She was... pretty sure they'd deny a request for a book on how the city's main water source had been enchanted to be ever flowing, for example. The risk of someone reverse engineering and dismantling the enchantment by accident was too high, and not something they could afford.

"Most people travel on foot, or something like horses but we have to cross the mountains south of town so it's a bit more difficult for us..." She frowned, thoughtful as she tilted her head to consider the problem. The mountains themselves weren't terrible, there were multiple paths through. But the harpies...

She considered the sky, hands on her hips. "If we go now, we might... Mmm. Well, I think we can risk it. If we leave in the morning it should only be a day or two to cross. Faster if we run into a dragon."

A pause. "Slower if I get thrown off a cliff again. Which I'm sure won't happen. Definitely."

“I see.”

CURIOUS. He’d have to immerse himself in the pertinent literature to attain a better grasp on this world’s history and cultural mores. The status of international transport spoke to the condition of international relations — this information appeared to indicate either a relative lack of world conflict or a system of intergovernmental diplomacy so robust so as to suggest relative indifference to people crossing borders with minimal regulation. An implicit honor system was not uncommon in more collectivist, tight-knit societies, but its praxis on worldwide scale was largely unheard of in both his world’s antiquity and modern age. Prevalent warfare was sufficient to encourage the construction of fortifications in and around Uruk, but it was the contemporary lack of globalization and intercontinental transport that impeded the development of travel documents that could be broadly enforced and recognized.

“So how will we be getting there, exactly? If traveling is as easy as you suggest, then I imagine there’s a system to support it.” Leanne’s comment on Zanjkran attested to some degree of border security, but their purpose was to guard for sandstorms, not martial threat? While natural forces could prove more lethal than the fruits of civilization, the prospect of not accounting for the human element appeared to Gilgamesh both foreign and negligent. Had not Zanjkran things worth guarding on a basis of greater severity? A country’s fortifications often attested to its history with war, informed by its status with neighboring nations and resources. While his mind churns at the possibilities, ever-devouring in its near-insatiable hunger for knowledge it had not held (a circumstance precious and rare), he stills — Leanne alone would not be sufficient. She could, at best, provide anecdotal or somewhat reliable responses toward the questions he had. 

      “Does Zanjkran have any libraries?”