That being so, I'm thinking they should have had more than a few opportunities, given as I'm thinking the academy doesn't have a strict policy against students going out in their own time - they just have to be there before the Turtle moves on and they don't miss more than three days worth of classes per month.<br/><br/>Give as they're on the edge of the turtle, they can see the surrounding terrain more easily and might have spotted something shinning amongst the other trees, which prompted them to investigate?<br/><br/><strong>Edit:</strong>Added some info about the dragon turtle on the world building page.