Post by Serge on Jan 3, 2010 1:44:42 GMT -4
What was past the edge, he wondered, pressing the curling piece of paper against the sun-bathed rock. It was a miracle he'd been able to dry it out after finding it on that shipwreck, but not even folding it a dozen times stopped it from curling over on itself. Oh well, he had two hands to hold it open with...
It was a map, slightly yellow and moldy, and with creases all over the place. It was still usable, though, and that was all that mattered. Little squiggly shapes represented the islands, and little scribbly characters represented their names. He could only recognize a few. There was S* L&C@#, right near B&RB*@#S and S^ V&NC%N@. The ocean was labeled C^R)BB&^N S^&. Ah, probably St. Lucia, Barbados, and St. Vincent. He had no idea what the ocean was supposed to be called, other than 'The Ocean', and there were too many strange characters for that.
Odder than the strange symbols humans liked to write with, though, were the larger squiggly shapes toward the top and bottom of the page. The started off looking like islands, but grew too large, and were suddenly flat where the page ended. What were those supposed to be? What kind of island was perfectly flat, and so large?
The most important detail, though, was what the map lacked. It lacked everything underwater, and everything relative to him. Serge had dug this map out so he could find something important, but if it wasn't on the map, then...
But wait, he thought. What if this map DID show things underwater? What if those strange landmasses were not landmasses at all? Of course none of them would be what he was looking for, though. None of them were in the right spot. What he was looking for would be on the top right portion of the map, or so he'd been told. Northeast. Unless he was holding the map upside down, of course, not that the thought had crossed his mind yet.
At the moment, what was important was this. If those strange landmasses were things underwater, and what he was looking for was supposed to be to the right of the islands... It wasn't on the map. It wasn't in the Ocean, it wasn't on the world. It would be past the edge of the world, if it truly existed.
What was past the edge of the world, he found himself wondering again. This time, though, it wasn't just a whimsical thought passing through his mind. It was a question that desperately needed answering.
It was settled then. There was only one way to find out.
He had to go northeast, to the edge of the world, past the edge of the world.
Unless, of course, he was holding the map upside down.
Serge furrowed his brow, frowning as he realized that it was entirely possible the map was being held the wrong way. He didn't want to wind up going southwest, and couldn't afford to. It was hard enough surviving in the waters he knew, let alone waters he would have no sense of direction in.
Unfortunately, it seemed desperate times called for desperate measures. He was going to have to travel to that port, and trick someone into pointing out which way was north on the map.
Serge set off, realizing only too late that he'd just gotten the map wet again by swimming underwater.
It was a map, slightly yellow and moldy, and with creases all over the place. It was still usable, though, and that was all that mattered. Little squiggly shapes represented the islands, and little scribbly characters represented their names. He could only recognize a few. There was S* L&C@#, right near B&RB*@#S and S^ V&NC%N@. The ocean was labeled C^R)BB&^N S^&. Ah, probably St. Lucia, Barbados, and St. Vincent. He had no idea what the ocean was supposed to be called, other than 'The Ocean', and there were too many strange characters for that.
Odder than the strange symbols humans liked to write with, though, were the larger squiggly shapes toward the top and bottom of the page. The started off looking like islands, but grew too large, and were suddenly flat where the page ended. What were those supposed to be? What kind of island was perfectly flat, and so large?
The most important detail, though, was what the map lacked. It lacked everything underwater, and everything relative to him. Serge had dug this map out so he could find something important, but if it wasn't on the map, then...
But wait, he thought. What if this map DID show things underwater? What if those strange landmasses were not landmasses at all? Of course none of them would be what he was looking for, though. None of them were in the right spot. What he was looking for would be on the top right portion of the map, or so he'd been told. Northeast. Unless he was holding the map upside down, of course, not that the thought had crossed his mind yet.
At the moment, what was important was this. If those strange landmasses were things underwater, and what he was looking for was supposed to be to the right of the islands... It wasn't on the map. It wasn't in the Ocean, it wasn't on the world. It would be past the edge of the world, if it truly existed.
What was past the edge of the world, he found himself wondering again. This time, though, it wasn't just a whimsical thought passing through his mind. It was a question that desperately needed answering.
It was settled then. There was only one way to find out.
He had to go northeast, to the edge of the world, past the edge of the world.
Unless, of course, he was holding the map upside down.
Serge furrowed his brow, frowning as he realized that it was entirely possible the map was being held the wrong way. He didn't want to wind up going southwest, and couldn't afford to. It was hard enough surviving in the waters he knew, let alone waters he would have no sense of direction in.
Unfortunately, it seemed desperate times called for desperate measures. He was going to have to travel to that port, and trick someone into pointing out which way was north on the map.
Serge set off, realizing only too late that he'd just gotten the map wet again by swimming underwater.