A Small Review Upon The Third Week of Travel

I find it necessary to take some time to clarify a few things I have learned recently. This is, in part, due to the most amazing of adventures I have recently experienced and will be chronicling shortly! Since this will take several journal entries to collect, express, and correctly archive what happened, I thought I would take one small entry to catch my breath a bit and fill in whatever small cracks I might have overlooked so far.

I spent a small bit of time back at the Lorax game hall and struck up a small conversation with a few natives who were sitting at the automatic clockwork game devices. Among them were O9 Nakanihon, pictured here, an interesting fellow calling himself JibbaJa Jarvis, Denise Electricteeth, and Mr. Paster himself. Fortunately, I was able to get several questions answered. I discovered that a "Lorax" is a type of small creature that lives among and saves trees and forests. Given Mr. Paster's mission, this makes quite a bit of sense now that I know the full concept. The mechanical devices that the natives sit in front of for long periods of time are, indeed, a form of clockwork gaming device. In addition, the fortress I saw a few days ago with a roof full of flying devices, called "helicopters" by the natives, is not actually a fortress nor is it a military base. It is simply the residence of a wealthy local individual.

I have also learned from others I have spoken to that there is very little in the way of formal government here on the Mainland. There appears to be some in the form of a particular family that exercises control over things such as land and discipline. However, no one I spoke to seemed to be able to tell me where I might locate them and it appears they deal in the affairs of natives very light handedly.

The final bit of information I have discovered is that the land of the Mainland is divided up into areas much like there are counties in Caledon. However, upon the mainland, these areas are called "sims." What the history or foundation of the name might be, I do not know. Their names for the counties are very strange indeed but, in all ways, they seem to function very similiarly to Caledon counties.

After breaking camp in the Lorax forest, I decided I wanted to spend a bit more time in the area of the Dancing Lady Tavern. Arriving to the area, I was delighted to find a large steam-powered paddlewheel riverboat carrying the name of the S.S. Indigo docked directly to the front of it. What I failed to mention last time was that the coastline I had been following which led me to the pub had turned into a narrow cove that terminated into shallow v-shape, high ridges rising upwards from either side. Into that small cove, the Indigo had pulled and docked. Unfortunately, no one appeared to be on board and the state rooms, as well as the captain's bridge appeared deserted.

Why it had arrived was a mystery but I will not argue that it was a very welcome sight indeed. Taking a small tour of the vessel I inspected the large paddlewheel and its mechanics. I also wandered the vessel for a short while and found it beautifully constructed and quite spacious. It had been awhile since I had been granted the good fortune of standing on such a vessel. I paused on the upper deck to make some more notes and enjoy the view before moving onward.

Moving up the narrow cove, I stopped to enjoy a small collection of old world houses. I think I would do well to be able to afford a simple home such as this one day. A small cottage with a majestic view of the ocean would be fine with me. A place such as this would make a fine ground based office for an airship captain, methinks.

Travelling onward, I flew over the cove and onto a stretch of rolling land that although without much in the ways of trees or forest was strikingly peaceful. As I was standing there enjoying the scenery and trying to decide whether now was the time to strike more inland, I was approached by a man who sat upon a black and circular hovering device.

Like the appearance of a geni or a mysterious Fey, from that point forward, things were destined to never be the same...

~~To Be Continued~~