Black White's Expedition Log, Part 1

6:30pm July 14, AIF 103. That's AD 2130 in old reckoning. I arrived in the city of Godhook this morning aboard the airship Anna Carousa, all on my lonesome, and checked in at the least shady-looking hotel by the docks. I am to stay here until the others arrive, which should be a few days, before we proceed groundside and begin our task.

Not entirely sure what I'm supposed to be writing here. I was told to keep this log as a way of recording our results for my superiors, but I'm also supposed to use it to strengthen my cover identity as a tourist? I suppose I shall just use it as a personal journal until someone objects.

It's been a while since I traveled to one of the Upper Regions. I was actually a bit giddy as I looked out the window of my cabin in the Carousa, at the chunk of floating earth Godhook is situated upon. We burst through a cloud bank and suddenly it was there, with the morning sun playing off the white plaster walls and shining through the trees. It was almost like a movie.

The town is rather nice, I wouldn't mind staying here a bit. Inhabitants of the Upper Regions are stereotyped as being incredibly cavalier about how high up they are, and Godhook reflects this - there's very little construction on the relatively stable top of the island. The top is heavily wooded - I suspect they've devoted the small amount of flat ground available to them for food production? Almost everything, the cobblestone streets and rows of densely packed buildings  are situated in staggered tiers hanging off the vertical sides of the island. In a few places they actually double back, resulting in warehouses and playhouses and such built on hanging platforms suspended from the bottom of the island, connected by catwalks wide and sturdy enough to support cars and carriages and streetlamps and such. It's really quite amazing. As I look out the little picturesque window of my humble little room, I can peer over the flowerbox and look straight down to the surface, who knows how far below. We're high enough in the sky that groundside becomes blue and hazy with the distance. Come to think of it, I'm not sure what land that is down there. I know these islands are technically under British jurisdiction, but parts of the archipelago cross the channel to hover over France and Belgium. That's actually why we chose Godhook as a staging ground, in fact. Ah, but I probably shouldn't talk about that.

I'll look around the town more tomorrow, so as to have something to talk about if the others don't show up yet. This is Black White, signing off (ah, but it sounds so corny!)