Professor Walthan's Guide to Flora and Fauna, Vol 4
There is an entire series of books with this name, for the list of them see Professor Walthan's Guide to Flora and Fauna.
Volume 4: Turtle Shells
Contents
Even during my investigations for the source of the Turtle Shell armor, I would like to have it on record that I've actually never seen a Turtle. I don't even know what a Turtle looks like, to be perfectly frank.
I just know this type of armor is said to be made from the shell of a Turtle, and that Fishermen occasionally reel in fragments of these shells. Not a single fisherman I spoke to, from Sierhaven to Lowtide, has claimed to have ever seen one in person.
What I have heard on the other hand, is fishermen out on the open seas coming across women made of water. Legend has it these women call themselves Nereids, and grant those who offer them companionship on the waves a gift of a piece of this armor, or a giant shell for their own use. I've found no proof of the existence of these so-called Nereids, but I’m also quite unsettled around the open seas. Adding a further wrinkle to my incomplete investigations, I heard an adventurer in Lowtide a few weeks ago speaking of a piece of armor he had christened as 'Nereid-Made'. I tried to approach him, but by the time I did, the man had quite seriously jumped off the docks into the water, and swam away, faster than anyone I'd ever seen. I’m still unsure how he did it. Needless to say, this is a mystery I have yet to get a grasp on, but I’m sure one day the truth will come out. Unfortunately, I've yet to find anything but shell fragments and fragments of legends.
[Editor's note: What the Professor seemed to have missed was that Turtles are aquatic animals that can only be found after the 'Date Aquatic', according to some. Neither your editor here, nor the Professor know what said 'Date Aquatic' actually is, however.]