Day One

Dear Diary....

I was so lucky to be able to buy a ticket for the newly named Spirit of Calesco, and so I spent today at the magnificent station. It seemed to have been updated recently, but still, it had a simply amazing old fashioned feel, with its polished copper trims, and stunning red brickwork. The attention to detail was simply marvelous! Everything was polished and swept, even the back corners and side alleys surrounding the main platform.

Actually, mentioning the side alleyways reminds me of the one thing that went wrong today. I got lost! I was wandering around, with only a mild interest in what I was doing, or where I was going, I was too busy staring at my ticket with it's wonderful gold star. Suddenly I was away from all of the people in the station, and I looked up, only to realise that I had no idea where I was! I began to cry a little. How could this day, that was supposed to be perfect, go so wrong. But I was surprised to see a man with a pocketwatch round the corner and come toward me. He handed me a tissue, and without a word, led me back to the platform and the Spirit of Calesco.

He left before I got to thank him, so I wonder who he was.

Back on the platform, with children frolicking around my skirts, I examined the brand new train that I would be aboard for the next few days. It was a large steam engine, black with brilliant blue and bronze trims. The name, Spirit of Calesco, was written in bright gold on the front of the train, and the copper chimney stretched to the sky.

The whole thing was amazing, and I cannot wait for the journey to begin!

Day Two

Dear Diary...

It was amazing to arrive in Garland today. It was absolutely stunning, the lake with it's island chapel. When the train stopped, I got off to wander around the lake and take a barge to the grave of the tragic Bride and Groom. I felt that it was important to leave some kind of token for the couple, so I left my poinsettia brooch on the snow. Turning to walk away, I was confronted by the most amazing thing!

A ghostly procession was coming across the river. Mentally, I checked the date. Today was the day of the tragedy! I gasped, and tied a knot in my handkerchief, nervously watching and waiting to see what would happen next. Suddenly, a dog barked, and the apparition disappeared, leaving me exhilarated and disappointed, I guess I had wanted to see the bride herself.

Later on, back in the train, I sat in the dining car, eating my dinner, when a friend of mine that I knew years ago sat in the seat opposite me. It was such a surprise! But we fell quickly into our old familiar pattern, teasing one another in riddles, something we began long ago, when we both traveled a lot and imagined ourselves encountering a Sphinx. I solved the most riddles of the two of us, much to my delight.

But now it's bedtime, and apart from the unfortunate tear in my stockings that I got, today has been simply marvelous!

Until tomorrow.

Hello, Carzeebear!
It seems that you have missed two required words for Stop 1, dice and poinsettia.

As a penalty, for Stop 2 you must add on these requirements below to your entry.

Words: - Mannequin, extreme, sky.
Tasks: - Fall down stairs.

Day Three

Today was simply dreadful! I woke up stiff and sore all over, just like one of those shop mannequins, and all because I fell down the steps yesterday! And then, looking out my carriage window at the sky (to judge the day's impending weather, of course) I noticed that there was smoke billowing out of one of the volcanoes at the center of the island. This was an extremely bad omen, but I refused to let it spoil the day for me.

When we arrived in Reinsend, I left the train with a spring in my step, lunch had been delicious, and I wanted to see the town that I had always imagined to be something like where Santa lived. I was not disappointed! Surrounded by evergreen forests, and with snowy fields filled with reindeer, sleighs being crafted and such a merry spirit in the air, I could well have been at the north pole!

The first thing I did was write a postcard to my family, as my mother has a collection of them on her pantry door. It took me a while to find a pencil though. Next I wandered over to an empty paddock which, inexplicably, was making noise. There almost seemed to be mooing coming from it, though it was faint. A local told me that this was where they kept their famous "invisible cows" before walking away. Curious, I strained my eyes in an attempt to see these cows, but what I saw instead was absolutely incredible! The cows were not invisible, but merely tiny, the size of a ladybug! I snapped a picture and glued it to my postcard before sending it. These cows would amaze my mother as much as they did me!

The really bad part of my day came later that night, as we watched the sleigh parade as it traversed the town. The reindeer were trotting along quite nicely, and certainly under control, when (foolishly) I stepped forward to get a closer look. I tripped over a rake that was lying concealed by the snow, and fell on my face, right in the way of the parade. The reindeer were startled by my sudden appearance and began to run, began to stampede! I was too shocked to move, and only narrowly avoided being trampled!

My day concluded on a better note, as I helped the locals bake for that night's supper of hot chocolate and cookies.

Until tomorrow!

Day Four

Today, I suppose, was even worse than yesterday, but the sheer thrill of what happened is stopping me from being so morose.

I exited the train today with wonderment in my eyes. The snow was white and glistening, the mountains surrounding the town shining with the ice they were named for. The snow crunched under my boot as I walked towards the plateau where everybody seemed to be creating their sculptures. I gazed at them, awestruck, knowing that were I to join in the crafting, I could only create the most banal of snowmen. So, determined to make the most of my surroundings despite my lack of crafting abilities, I chose to take a hike.

Setting out into the mountainous landscape was exciting. I felt like an adventurer of old, the type that Jeryk talks about. When I was a child (Which, to be honest, wasn't that long ago.) he would always scold me when I tried to reenact his stories as he told them, often causing chaos and making little Cessy go haywire with excitement. Not long into my journey, I encountered a bridge that spanned a chasm between two mountains. I was halfway across it, when suddenly, the slightly moldy rope holding it up gave way with a twang, and sent me hurtling into the void. Ever prepared, I reached into my coat pocket and withdrew nothing less than the finest duct tape, which I swung as I fell, so that it would cling to the sides of the chasm and stop me from falling further.

However, not everything went as planned. Instead of sticking to the walls, the duct tape just stuck to me, and I ended up wrapped in the stuff as I hurtled towards what I was sure was my doom. I was wrong. From out of nowhere soared a great ice dragon, who scooped me up in her enormous talons and deposited me safely back at the path. (On the town side of the bridge.) I called a thanks as she flew off, but got no response other than the glint of sun off her magnificent scales.

When I returned to the town, I told the kind locals at the tour guide's office what had happened, and they offered me a solatium in the form of gold. But I simply had to turn it down, as the rescue by that dragon was more than enough for me. It was so amazing that I simply can't wait to see what happens tomorrow!

Day Five

Today was mostly good, except for when I twisted my ankle in the morning. (I really need to stop falling down staircases.)

When we arrived in Saints Pole, the very first thing to happen to me, happened as I left the train! This red and white pirate hat flew toward me on the breeze, and hit me square in the face. I wore it for the rest of the day, just to spite it for getting fluff in my eye and making be briefly irascible.

I was dawdling through the town, when suddenly a small child collided with my skirts! She seemed incredibly lachrymose in fact, her crying was incorrigible! When I asked her what was wrong, she showed me a broken toy, and sobbed out that her big brother had broken it. Looking around, I noticed that we were standing outside a toy shop that was allowing amateurs to try their hands at the craft, so I told the small girl that I would make her a new one. She smiled at me through her tears and practically dragged me into the shop.

As I attempted to build the girl a toy with all the bells and whistles, I told her the story of a woman called Jelly, who was the most vicious troll killer on the entire island, slaying them with no more than her vicious wit. The girl left in a far happier mood, and I ventured back into the township to try my luck at the casino.

At times my mind works like a calculator, and so it didn't take me much to win the jackpot.
A good end to the day, I think.

See you in Rochelle Harbour!

Day Six

I write this the morning after, as I was in no state to compose a journal last night.

The evening started nicely, but the old friend I ran into in Garland was here as well, and she decided to inundate me with fancy alcoholic beverages, a situation that has never ended well for me, and last night was no exception! The drink was almost acerbic being made, as it was, from lemons and limes.

From what I can recall, from there, the night went something like this: After becoming sufficiently intoxicated, I somehow persuaded myself that a tattoo was just the thing I needed! And so now, the wings of an ice dragon grace my back! I'm not sure where I got the tattoo though, so I wouldn't be surprised if the burning of my wings is the onset of some disease wrought by the artist's needle.

And that wasn't the worst of last night. As a stunning finale to my drunken capers, I stepped in a beehive causing them to swarm after me. I ran from them, all the way down to the marsh, down the length of some jetty and off the edge into the filthy water. I don't remember how I got out, but at least the salty water ameliorated my beestings!

I can't wait to go home, I seem to have done nothing but injure myself and fall off things on this "holiday".