JOURNAL EXCERPTS

The way to the first point of destination »
The way to the second point of destination »
The way to the third point of destination »


Excerpt 1

<...illegible...> have not seen for several months. And I promised him I would come more often. I felt the pang of guilt and made a promise to myself to visit him right after I finish with my matters in the city.

I got to the city when it was already dark I was completely exhausted. I have not slept much during the last week and wanted to make up for it now. First though, I needed to take of the expired safety deposit box and purchase some ammunition, tomorrow if not today.

I got lucky selling my loot - found a merchant that offered me a really good price; I even bought everything I needed from him. At that point I was so tired that my legs were about to give up on me and I was hearing a constant ringing in my head. I must sleep! I don't think I am going to look for Shady, the more I think about his offer the less <...further text is illegible...>

I did not get a chance to sleep anyway. The chief had urgently summoned me to the University. When I tried to explain my physical condition to him he called me a slacker and shut off the speaker. I guess I will just have to go and find out what global cataclysms occurred that are preventing a tired hunter from getting the rest he yearned for.

No, it was not an alien attack on the Lost City and or a citywide prisoner pardon. No, just some scientist lost some extremely important lab chip and apparently that is more important that me getting some rest. Furthermore, he lost it in some God forsaken place. According to his story he came about a desert and was suddenly attacked by insectoids. The chip must be retrieved immediately. Spending one more night traveling was not what I had been dreaming about. Yet, I knew that the Chief would not have asked me to take this assignment if he did not feel it was of outmost importance.
[-173/15] - Western border of our world...
Chief also mentioned that I would get paid very well for completing this assignment. If I make it in time. And right now I really needed that money.

I grabbed a snack, picked up my weapons and was on the way. Now, I have something to talk about with those vzziks, a very, very important piece of equipment.
I checked my map and plotted a course. If I am not mistaken I will actually have some extra time. I will go to the [-1/8] portal. I will start at [-4/4] so I can wash up at the lake.

[-2/6] While I was washing up I was going over my route in my head trying to find any weak points or inconsistencies but everything looked fine. I should hurry. I am writing this as I walk.

[-1/7] Suddenly, I remembered that I forgot about the money. Luckily I did not have to go back since I had the money from selling my loot with me. I guess I will have to carry all of it with me for now.

[-1/8] I am finally leaving the grimy polluted outskirts of New Moscow. It is well past midnight yet I met three miners on the road.

[-120/66] Wood Portal. I am going south.
I don't like the city. As soon as I got further away from it I felt much better right away. All of my grumpiness and frustration was obviously bogus. The only person who believed it was the grief-stricken engineer that was sitting in the corner. The Chief did not buy the spectacle and I did not buy it myself. Being on the road is my life and now that I am traveling I feel much better already even though I am still tired.

[-120/68] Changing my direction to southwest.

[-122/70] I found a road. This is an industrial zone, also quite polluted, but I should be out of here relatively soon. Moving west as fast as I can. By the way, if I <...further text is illegible...>

[-146/70] I can see the mountains up ahead. Tomorrow will probably be a hot day. I picked up as much water as I could at the lake (I may not get a chance to get more tomorrow). I did not want to stop here - the road here crosses mutant lands and I felt their presence with my skin. Moving further west.

[-148/70] The plains slowly gave way to the rocky ground. The elevation is not that bad so I am still moving with the same speed.

[-158/70] The road abruptly turned north. I was here several months ago and still remember this region pretty well, even without the map. Still, the roads here are pretty confusing so I am not going to rely solely on my memory. Now I have to go northwest for a while.

[-160/68] I went back on the road and turned north. The fatigue is setting in and my eyes are just closing by themselves.

[-160/61] I am turning northwest again. By the way, sometime ago I found a nice rest stop around here somewhere higher in the mountains. It would be nice to stop by and rest right now but I cannot afford to lose any time.

[-173/48] I almost slept through it. Somehow I managed to fall asleep while walking! But my intuition did not fail me and I woke up right in time, as usual. I feel great now. Changed direction to north.

[-173/43] On the road again. The elevation is over; I am actually going downhill now.

[-173/16] Stop. Here I am. Right in the dip there was a small piece of desert land. It is strange that I never noticed it before. I decided to rest for a little bit and take a look around; the combat could be complicated.

Everything turned out fine. As soon as I moved into [-173/15] I was attacked by a swarm of vzziks. Barely survived. Maybe they expected to get something valuable out of me but my plan worked and I have the precious lab chip. Now I just need to heal myself a little and rest; I have some time to look around again.

I found a strange building on one of the rocky elevations northwest from here ([-174/14]). It looks like a derelict arsenal and some other ugly looking building too. There may be something valuable inside. On the other side it may be a trap by those who prey on lonely travelers. Should I risk it?

No, I cannot risk the chip so I will have to come back here some other time. And next time I will have better gear too. I have to head back. I have plenty of time but I should not be wasting any of it. <...further text is illegible...>

I am back on the road. I do not have to rush anymore. Traveling a road you have traveled before is much <...further text is illegible...>

Portal. This is a very nice place; I do not think there is air like this anywhere else. The city is not more than half an hour away; I just have to go around [-9/9], by going through [-10/9] for example, and then head directly northeast.

It was kind of funny, the engineer met me at the University entrance and quietly asked if I will take his case or not and his look was very gloomy. I did not exploit the situation even though I felt like it. I simply gave him his chip and a few Vzzik wings as a souvenir and went to see the Chief.

After I told him my story the Chief considered something for as little while, then took out a thin blue folder from his desk and <...further text is illegible...>