He looked ahead of them, subconsciously leading towards the airship docks.  If only they knew exactly where the island was, there was something crazy that they could try to get there.  Might be too dangerous, but it was the quickest thing he could think of short of stealing a vessel and just heading straight for the ocean, “There’s a few ways, but I guess it all comes down to where the island is.  I didn’t get a good look at it, but surely you’ve read over it.”

He looked over at her with a small smile, “Do you know which coast it’s off of?  We could always start that way, maybe see if we could pay someone to gate travel us there so that we’d be there faster and see where it takes us.  To be honest I’m used to knowing where my targets are, not seeking them out like this.”  His fingers moved up to his hair, lightly scratching through and mussing up the black locks,

“Don’t worry, I know when I’d have to leave.  Same for you though, if you get tired of having me around just say something and I’ll set off.”  Though he knew that he’d never part from her without offering a little more coin to get her on her way.  Even if it didn’t go towards her efforts to find the island, it would at least give her more food in her stomach or temporary shelter over her head.

Ernest's face fell. She had hoped that nothing would hinge too much on her knowing exactly where the island was. 

"To be honest," she said, "I have no clue where the island is. I can't read maps." She dropped her gaze. "Actually… I can't read at all.  As for coasts, I didn't even know there was more than one before today."

"Do you want to see the map again?" she asked. "I'm guessing you would know how to read it. You seem to know your way around these things."

Ernest stared at the ground. She hadn't meant to reveal so much. No one else knew she couldn't read - she was good at hiding it. Actually, no one knew much about her at all. She hoped not to seem too useless. She knew her way around a city, but finding the island had always baffled her. She looked up. Maybe there were advantages to having a travelling companion.