Around the World V1

§l§6 Around the World§r §l§6 §r§l§6in Twelve Days§r §l§6 §r§4Book One§r §4 §r§l§6 4788888§r §l§4 ✧ ✧ ✧§r

§0 ███§r§f███§r§0███§r §0 ███§r§f███§r§0███§r §0 ███§r§f███§r§0███§r §0 ███§r§f███§r§0███§r §0 Library Association§r §0 Press, 2020§r §0Published in beautiful§r §0 §r§2Bremerhaven§r §2 §r§0by §r§24788888§r §0 April 10th, 2020§r

§l§0Book One§r §0Days 1-3§r §o§0A more or less§r §o§0factual account,§r §o§0embellished for your§r §o§0enjoyment.§r

§lIntroduction:§r §0Dearest reader,§r §0I hope you greatly enjoy my journal. I want you to note it has been dramatized for your enjoyment, however, most of the events and interactions §r§o§0actually §r§o§0did occur§r§0 on CivRealms in early§r

spring of 2020. The journey takes place over twelve days, and spans across much of the known world of CivRealms, through some of the largest and smallest communities the server has to offer. In a way, it is my Odyssey, my first time travelling such

distances and exploring what was out there for myself. It was an adventure, my adventure, and it was fantastic. Now, I hope you deeply enjoy the story of my journey around the world in twelve days. §24788888§r §0April 5th, 2020§r

§0 §r§l§0 I. Loomings§r

For a month now I had stared at those bookshelves, 38 volumes high, taking up chests upon chests of space in the our library in Bremerhaven. We had various titles, from transcriptions by Chomer and Falconjh, to all of the CivRealms guides on alcohol

by axusgrad, and even such poetry as “jHON WICK” by FreeStyleJr08. I had never met any of these authors, for I was just a lowly librarian from Bremerhaven. But I had read their works, and I felt like I knew each player—their personality, their

interests, their voice. And, of course, there was one author that had always piqued my interest, her titles ever exclusive yet ever intriguing, and it was this unbridled, deep ambition to discover the forgotten works of JesstheFish which drove me to

adventure. §0Up to this point, I was not what one would consider a traveler. Now I had gotten out of the house before, walked to the other side of Bremerhaven and back. I'd even once made a trip to Norlund to visit Henderwicz, but that§r

was only for the purpose of acquiring books, which I so much enjoy. I enjoy- §0ed my books. I enjoy-§r §0ed Bremerhaven. And I thought I enjoyed the routine of staying put. But that all changed when I received a telegram from a certain Lanax of Tombstone.§r

"I just found a book no one else on the server has." §0I was intrigued by the proposition of a new book, but wary to accept. I had never gone so far inland into the continent, much less to Tombstone! I was just about to tell him no,§r

to make up a sorry excuse for myself, when he reeled me in. §0"Make that three books, no wait, maybe four. And I may have found a lead on those JesstheFish books you were looking for earlier."§r §0As if the four novels§r

were not enough to draw my attention, the possibility of completing the library’s collection of Jess’ books was tantalizing. The temptation was too great. For a month now I had been trying to hunt down her books from various collectors; this could

be my chance! §0In that moment, I decided that I could not live like I had been. Sure I was a simple librarian, but if I didn’t get those books it was a lie to say I was a scholar! I had read about these places in all my books, but I had never seen§r

them! How difficult could my journey be? There and then I knew I had to see what the world had to offer, and that to imbibe myself with the sweet succor of life I had to leave behind what I thought I knew and discover what I had forgotten.

§0 §r§l§0II. The Communes§r

I quickly packed my novels, nine titles in all, to trade with Lanax in Tombstone. I brought several books by local Bremerians, goldencrunchcrms and Narwhal_19, as well as a couple titles by myself. At the time, I didn’t own a horse, but I assumed that I

could take a somewhat roundabout path by taking the rail to Tolstoy and then sailing by boat to some river or another, finally cruising proudly into Tombstone. What could go wrong? I grabbed some mutton, my trusty boat, a minecart, and polished

my mithril armor for the journey. I really was going to do it! §0When I arrived in the commune of Makhnovia, I had an immense urge to turn around and head home. Somehow, I was homesick already from leaving Bremerhaven. For I realized I had known§r

nothing else, and it would be strange to move through the countryside with access only to my inventory and not the endless plains of Napistan. Slowly, I convinced myself to push onwards, stopping to check out the town of Maruipol first, though.

When I arrived in Tolstoy, I couldn’t believe that I was actually there. All the beautiful structures from a town I had only seen in screenshots... It was quite unreal. Several town members were there, and one of them was kind enough to give me some

advice as to the route I planned to take, a passage through Amaryllis, where I could trek a kilometer or so through the contentious region. I politely listened to them and then walked to the commune of Exarchos, confident in my own abilities.

Despite having sailed across the ocean once before, seeing the sea from Exarchos’ shores put everything in perspective. I was about to leave my homeland for the first time on my own. The thought sunk in as I checked my inventory one last

time and searched for a launch dock. A kind member of the commune whom I had been chatting with bid me farewell and safe voyages, and then I embarked onto the high seas, alone and unprepared for the hardships ahead.

§0 §r§l§0III. Tempest§r

About two kilometers into the open ocean, dark clouds began to form on the eastern horizon. Lightning struck the water in the distance, prompting my realization that I would need to dock if I had any sense within me. I checked my pocket map; Villa Mare

in Carbon/TRE was the closest settlement, only half a kilometer away. As the waves grew around me, I entered the Roman harbor and disembarked my vessel. My armor had been soaked, and I spent part of that night under a tree near the town, drying

my items out over a campfire. That was the end of the first day. §0The storm cleared up as quickly as it had begun, and I had no time to waste, so I raced to the seas. I knew my contact would be in Tombstone for the planned§r

rendezvous, but I didn't know for how long, so I decided to take what I believed to be a shortcut through the island to make up for lost time. I found out, and to my complete amazement, that this meant sailing directly into one of Carbon's vaults. In

horror, I watched as I reached a dead end in a river which ended at 50 layers of iron-encrusted obsidian. Several mithril-geared players began making their way towards me, but I quickly evaded them and got the hell out of there.

Now, instead of gaining back the time I had lost, I had nearly doubled it. What was I going to do? I was unsure if I had supplies to last me more than a couple days on the high seas! Then, I remembered what I had heard in Tolstoy: an overland route

through Amaryllis. I checked my maps. The road was there, just as I had been told, and would end up taking far less time than my original route. I was off! §0I entered Amaryllis discreetly, aware of the political tensions in the region. I half-§r

expected to encounter a war- §0zone, territory scarred by disagree- ment and dissension. Instead, my time in Amaryllis was one of the most peaceful parts of my entire journey. In hindsight, however, it may have been designed to look that way. As I walked§r

along a beaten path through a snow-capped mountain range near the coast, I came upon two players, jovaz and cherrylaser2000, who I talked to while they built. It was pleasant conversation, and they wished me safe travels, so I moved on.

When I finally reached the inland river of the continent, I was relieved, for I was making good time. As the sun went down and the second day ended, I felt surprisingly optimistic. I had already survived so much, and if this was the worst

of it, I’d surely be fine! I pitched my tent and watched the sun set on the languid river, oblivious of my nightmare to come.

§l§0 IV. Tombstone§r

Traveling to Tombstone proved to be one of the great highlights of my trip. In my experience, there are those places which are both productive and aesthetic, and Tombstone was one of them. The compound was a set of large, brown, wooden

buildings scattered throughout the countryside. I saw my contact, Lanax, right away. I had brought half a dozen books to exchange with him, and ended up trading them all for four newly uncovered books by various authors, such as Albyrt and Lodish.

I helped approve Lanax’s library for joining our association, and then we sat down for a drink as the sun went down. §0"So where did you track Jess’ books down to?" I asked.§r §0"A player by the§r

name of TTastic in Alexandria. He claimed that someone in their city council ought to have 'em," stated Lanax. §0"I’ll have to leave at first light tomorrow, then," I replied, "Alexandria is quite far away from here. Let's go have a§r

drink." §0The rest of that night was quite blurry in my memory. All I remember is going to a bar nearby, passing out there, waking up on top of one of the roofs of the buildings, climbing on top of a tower and telling Lanax that§r

I thought it would alleviate my headache, and the excruciating pain when I fell off the top of said tower and nearly died. I ended up sleeping on the side of the river that night.

§0The End of §r§4Book One§r §l§6 Around the World§r §l§6 in Twelve Days§r §l§6 §r§4Book Two§r §0Continues my journey, beginning with Lanax in Tombstone.§r