INVENTORY
A most unpleasant business. Hung around in the ball room, standing in the centre and staring at the east wall for a long time, without gaining any inspiration. Headed to the hall -- passing the spot where the body was found -- to ponder the case.
It’s hard out there for a colonist, even if our strategy is peaceful and purely economic. Looking back, this stretch really hasn’t made much sense since Ancona. Sailing to the next port south was a breeze, and heading inland to that other city in Umbria was fair enough... But returning to our, ah, glorious capital after all that countryside -- I’d forgotten how tiring that place is. Glad to have caught a ship out of there, but I doubt this Etrurian city will win much favour from the gods.
Spring, autumn, a barely-there winter -- that’s all the years have come down to. Sometimes I still think of that long march from Rumania to Serbia, and how in the next season, we triumphantly took the nearest supply centre in the south-east. Then onwards, into the enemy’s home ground! We took a second home centre of theirs, the next season. But now, after the convoy across the Aegean Sea, here we are -- with little left to conquer, at least in this direction.
I have to say, I miss the Centers for Disease Control. The visit to Washington was fine, and rushing down to the nearest city with a yellow infection, well -- one has to co-operate. But now that I've come further south to Bogota...
You'd think a travelling businessman from Schwerin could do better for himself. Hopping over to Hamburg didn't take much, and setting up the plant went smoothly, but when I had to make the priciest connection out of there... it doesn't bear thinking about. Well, at least from there it was easier to get to Magdeburg. Second-cheapest connection onward, and the cheapest connection from there -- well, the cheapest one that wasn't free. Cost a bit more to get to Kassel, but at least I'm here now.
London may be huge, but Mr X won't evade us forever. Having started on the east side of Regent’s Park, I quickly hailed a taxi to take me to the closest point where I could get a bus instead.
We've come quite far for halflings, through these mysterious lands. From the furthest plains of the northeast, on the south bank of the river which we followed west into wasteland -- oh, the forest was a welcome change after that. Then it was into engineer territory, before we turned east onto home terrain once more. All that travelling really gave me an appreciation of the nomad life, when we passed through their turf next. Then another stretch of dwarf territory, till -- finally! -- we're back on home ground.
Starting to question these decisions, even though we’ve built up a fine head of steam for our efforts. Taking the longest westward route out of Duluth, for a start. Heading to Denver was fine, I suppose, but it wasn’t very efficient to head back east after that. Though at least I took the shortest route out of that fourth stop, down to Kansas City. Followed by another quick jaunt down to Oklahoma City... but then it was once again the longest route out.