I arrived in this region as it is the most south-westerly of the continent. A very 'salty' air to the place, I had a wonderful walk northwards into Antiquity Irish Coast. Beautifully luscious in its greenery, and decorated with charming cottages, it was a pleasure to take a stroll along the rutted track. I made my way down to the coastline and looked to sail through Antiquity Battle Dock, skirting Antiquity Oceania and into Antiquity Texas which houses the residence of the Prime Minister. A point that I feel I should make, as I wish I had considered it before setting off: water travel arrangement. Having been a mostly mainland explorer up to now, I had never felt the need for any kind of boat. After a couple of unsuccessful attempts to obtain something 'on the fly', I 'made do' with an old landing craft, which just about limped to Texas. Having resolved to rectify the situation at the earliest possible moment, I am pleased to say that I am now the proud owner of an old steam powered fishing boat. I'll not be caught out next time.
From Texas I crossed the bridge east into Antiquity Britannica, and from there caught my next transport to Magi Island. I have to admit, the name leapt out at me when studying the map, and being a nice little 'l' of three regions I thought it might have something of interest.
Magi Island itself is mainly set for commerce. It has a quaint fishing town look to it and some of the buildings would not be out of place in certain parts of New Toulouse. Unfortunately, I was unable to produce my landing craft for the journey south through Magi Island Sea and into Magi Port Town which was to be the jump point to the next stop. Undeterred, and by use of the arcane arts (available free to all), I was able to fly the route. The Port Town seemed to be made up of small residences, very plain and unassuming in nature.
I had been looking forward to my next stop-over, which would be in Sylvhara Elen. This was part of a large collection of regions, and the name of this one and those adjoining just screamed 'Elvish' to me. I was correct. As time was pressing on, I decided that it would probably do the area more justice if I had time to expore all the regions and converse with some of its inhabitants. A return to be planned later.
Studying my map, I could see that there were lands to the south, which although not adjoining the Elvish lands, they did abut them. These had names mentioning dragons and faeries, and I just had to have a peek, and so selected one of the most southern regions, called Faery Dust. Green and 'woody' as was to be expected, but little sign of any small folk. Perhaps a major expedition would prove to be more fruitful at a later date.
Now onto the last leg of the journey before arriving on the continent of the Realm of the Roses.
The deep green of Midsomer Meadows and its companion, Midsomer Isle just grabbed my attention as I studied the map when preparing for this trip. I have never seen a land with such a dark green.. I wonder what it would look like peppered with snow? Meadows had a large store area called Belle Amie, and some very nice secluded spots which would be ideal for couples wishing to talk quietly or dance in beautiful surroundings. Indeed, Midsomer seems to be geared towards this purpose with gazebos, balconies and even cottages available for use or residency. A charming walk from one region into the next and my target was in sight.... the south western tip of the Realm of the Roses, Caledon Cymru.
My journey would now be most simple, and although I could walk a great deal of it, I decided to avail myself of the CAT public transport system. Walking from Cymru into Caledon Greystoke, and then Caledon Oxbridge Village where I was able to catch the airship Sumie K with only an 8 minute wait.
I was tempted to light my pipe to while away the minutes, but thought better of it as I didn't know how these ships were powered and didn't want to risk any sort of combustion. I took one of the route planners offered, and thought to take the route into Caledon Southend, where I would then be able to walk to Caledon Ahavah which I understood to have a new synogogue which I was most keen to visit. Sumie K arrived on time and I climbed aboard.
Instead of taking the route indicated on the leaflet, Sumie K's new route took us into Caledon Steam SkyCity and then through: Caledon; Caledon II; Caledon Tamrannoch; Caledon on Sea; and finally to the end of the line at Caledon Cay. This is a wonderful terminal, linking four CAT routes, and is wonderfully centrally situated. Looking at the various routes, I found that my next CAT would be Dorothy Ruth which would take me to Caledon Cape Wrath. With some 20 minutes before its arrival, I decided to make use of the time with a quick look at my Order's Caledon Chapterhouse which is situated in Caledon Cay. Currently preparing for renovation, I found the building easily enough and delighted in looking at some of the maps that were contained there. It was easy to get distracted... I'm terrible when presented with old documents, and as a result I had to make a dash for the CAT platform as I saw that Dorothy Ruth was docked when I was walking up the road. I had to dodge the tram, and fortunately my leap carried me up far enough and into the safety of the carriage before Dorothy Ruth disembarked.
Our route took us out of Caledon Cay and through: Caledon Rothesay; Caledon Mayfair; Caledon Penzance; Caledon Strathspey, Caledon Brigadoon (I didn't spy the village unfortunately); and finally into Caledon Cape Wrath where I departed and bid Dorothy Ruth a fond farewell for a safe journey travelled. I'm a bit strange like that.... I always thank the public transport vehicles themselves.
I decided to stretch my legs a little before the final stage of my journey. I knew that there was a hospital in Cape Wrath, and as a friend is considering some surgery, decided to check out the facilities. The hospital comes under the control of the RCAF, but even though it is primarily intended for the pilots and service people of that organisation, I was hoping that it also opened its door to the general public. Unfortunately I was unable to find anyone that could help me with my enquiry, and with time pressing on, I decided to make my way to the Winterfell Embassy on the north coast.
I made use of the bench and finally had the pleasure of a smoke with my pipe. It's strange, I am rarely seen about NT without my pipe, but being abroad I found that I hadn't missed it too much at all. That being said... it was WONDERFUL.
The Embassy also contains a boat house which accomodates the famous Winterfell ferry. Although I would not be exploring Winterfell on this visit, I would be able to say that I had used the ferry, but next time I will make full use of it. We (the ferry and I) sailed out of Cape Wrath and into the eternal twilight of the realm of the northern rose, Winterfell, and in particular her Absinthe town. We stopped at the bank where I saw a charming elf about her business. I smiled at her but I don't think she noticed me sitting in the ferry.... she certainly seemed to have an aura about her... an aura that stated 'I might be small, but DON'T mess with me'. The ferry then made its way across the river into the town of Winterfell Laudanum, where I climbed out and thanked her. A walk through the town and into the leafy surroundings of Nepenthe Lane saw me arrive at my final destination, the Motherhouse of my Order.
I was greeted by my fellow Councillor, AJ Raffles, and having a little while before the council meeting was due to commence, he supplied me with refreshment and we caught up each other with our latest news. As we are a particular type in the Order, being devoted to observation and study of our chosen field, he knew that I would want to see the library. And my, but I was not disappointed.
The meeting went smoothly, it was wonderful to see my old friends again. But a promise had been made to new friends in NT, and I would be having to get back to join the party. But with this journey now having been made, I would be able to return direct to the Motherhouse next time, and explore the delights of the gem that is Winterfell.
No comments:
Post a Comment