Worlds Collide: Chapter 3 Lead

I powered through the morning, checking everything was running smoothly everywhere and sending Lily her weekly update to keep her mind at ease. I was desperate to do more research on Professor Vladimir. It turns out that he is a hard guy to find, he has two more books in Ryder’s library, one on human evolution and one on creature evolution. The internet has nothing on him, not a trace, it is like the guy didn’t exist. Even the publishers of his books can’t be traced. One publisher was listed as being located in Loria and the other one in Valdra, both countries that I have never heard of and neither has anyone on the internet.
Frustrated, I make a pot of fresh tea and wonder around the empty castle for a break. One particular hall is set up like a museum. The walls are lined with old paintings and artefacts. There is a whole series of globes and maps from different periods of time, most looking brown and weathered with age. I look over at the different depictions of empires and countries, their names and boarders changing over time. A small lightbulb flashes in my head and I look for the one from the 1700s. I scan the country names, struggling somewhat to decipher the cursive writing. Finally I find it, a large island off the coast of Portugal. The island is split into three, one country that I can’t read the name of at all because the ink has run, one that clearly says Loria and one with a V which I can only hope means Valdra. I flick to the newer maps, but after the 1800s the island disappears.
I grab my phone and look up google maps. Searching the ocean where the island should be. There is nothing but blue, not even a small remnant of the island left.
I know that they have been talking about global warming and climate change, but it's a bit strange that such a large island would just disappear and no historians would think to record it. It's weak, but at least it’s a lead. Maybe this professor has the answers I have been looking for or maybe he is just a crazy old man, either way something is niggling me to find out.
I know that this shouldn’t be my priority, but the kingdoms are running pretty smoothly as it is and i’m starting to go a bit stir crazy here alone, so when the choice comes down to go on an adventure or audit another old accounting book, my choice becomes pretty clear.
I rush to change into some khaki shorts and a loose white blouse, going for the best sexy adventurer look I can manage at short notice. I could probably fly to Portugal in less than an hour, but I decide to swim. Swimming will take a few hours, but is still much faster than a boat would be and means that I will avoid people seeing me and dragging me into some other stupid political tasks. When Lily comes back, I’m going to make her promise to never involve me in council business again.

After a pleasant swim, I arrive at a beach along the Algarve coast. I surface and climb onto the beach, grateful that it is off peak season, so there are no tourists to freak out at my arrival as a large black dragon. I take off and fly over the sea, staying close to the water to inspect the area where the island should be, but as google maps showed, there is nothing but the Atlantic ocean there.
Disappointed, I shift and head to the nearest beach bar for some cocktails to make the trip seem more worthwhile. Several pina coladas later, I realise that I need to head back before I am too drunk to swim straight.
I walk to the edge of the beach and shift back to my dragon then dive into the sea. After a minute or so of swimming, I see a mass of land and curse myself for drinking too much, since I must have swam in a circle. I look round to get my bearings, but find that I can still see the Portuguese coast in the distance. Confused, I surface and look down. There is nothing there, I rub my eyes and the dive down, seeing land below, but not above, I dip my head above and below the surface of the water so many times that I start to feel dizzy. Each time I see the same thing, nothing above but land below.
I dive down and swim around the land from below, but anytime I try to get on the land, I end up looking at the open water again and questioning my sanity/sobriety. Frustrated, I dive deep into the ocean, looking for another way. I weave through the cave system on the sea floor, it goes on for miles, the land that lies above must be substantial to have this maze of caves below it. A normal human diver would have had to turn back to refill their oxgyen tank by now.
I zig zag through the dark crevices, having to be careful not to hit any of the layered limestone formations. Eventually I find a small hole in one of the caves and I swim up to the surface. This time, I come out under a waterfall rather than the empty ocean. I swim through the waterfall and fly high up in to the air. I look around, expecting to see Portugal in the distance, but instead I see nothing but ocean. I fly the perimeter of the land and realise that it is a vast island, with dark evergreen forests and at least two main sprawling cities.
I start to feel excited that I have discovered something amazing, a hidden world, hopefully one that has more of Professor Vladimir’s books and maybe, just maybe, some answers. My excitement does not last long however, and before I can explore this world, a large red dragon crashes into me and knocks me to the ground.