Adventures in the Iron Jungle

Somewhere between a month and two months ago Colonel Raymond approached me with the possibility of the two of us undertaking a dangerous expedition to the Iron Jungle along the southern edge of the Great Lake. Yesterday that possibility became a reality and the Colonel, serving as my trusty sidekick and guide, journeyed with me into that rather wild and primal country of steel trees and concrete floors.

I will not pretend that I had no reservations about the trip. That land has been known to swallow the unwary adventurer whole and the minds of many a brave soul have been reduced to nothing more than broken and sniveling shells after witnessing the world under the cover of those steel trees. I did, however, feel fairly confident in my ability to at least survive, if not thrive, in that hive of mechanical and engineering monstrosities and I knew that the Colonel had taken similar trips, on his own even, numerous times in the past. He was a veteran of the Iron Jungle and had even traversed across the country to the Great Concrete Forest famous for the Guardian of Liberty that guards it shores. I trusted that my sidekick would be able to guide my safely through the dangers of the Jungle alive and well and I did not go in unprepared. Armed with my knife, my telecommunications device, my money pouch, and my photographic soul stealer I was ready for an adventure.

Our journey began far earlier in the day (before nine o'clock even) than I was usually like, but I've been meaning to get back into my sleeping schedule for the education era anyway so I didn't mind too much. We met at the chariot station where the Matriarch of my clan dropped me off and the Colonel demonstrated to me how one went about acquiring passage to the chariots. Once we had gained access to our means of vehicular transportation I began to settle down and adjust to the fact that I was on a chariot for the first time since my relatively early childhood. The Colonel was truly shocked to discover that I had not ridden the chariot out of our homeland of River's Curve previously. As it would turn out, the day was full of me doing things I had never done before and that the Colonel and at which the Colonel was a confident veteran.

On the way to the Jungle we borrowed an hour of time from Kronos in order to give us a greater length of time in which to explore the wild so we arrived with close to two hours left to our morning. Our first mission within the Jungle itself was to acquire access to their local methods of transportation. I was pleased to see that despite the wildness of the location they were no longer using horse drawn carriages as their method of getting about and had actually developed rather sophisticated and complex ways of getting from one part of the jungle together. I am afraid that if my sidekick was not as skilled in navigating the various routes within this transportation system as he was I would have gotten quite lost very quickly. Thankfully he and his telecommunication device were able to lead us through the Jungle quite effectively all day long.

But I am getting distracted.

We acquired our transportation day passes and found our way to one of the Iron Jungles incredibly intriguing chariots that fly through the air above the many trails and pathways along the Jungle floor. It was my first time in a local chariot and although it wobbled back and forth a great deal it was a truly exciting experience to be flying above the many very tiny looking natives below me as we sped from one part of the city to the next.

After getting off of the aerial chariot we made our way to the largest of the Jungle's Steel Trees. I had seen this particular monster of a tree many times before, but only from a distance and only in passing. To be at its feet looking up was... interesting to say the least. Some individuals, both natives and other adventurers like ourselves, were actually climbing their way to the summit of this mount of steel and and glass, but the Colonel and I were strapped for funds and did not have the willingness to fund such a side venture. Instead we contented ourselves with looking at the beast from below, and I think that was quite satisfactory.

From the juggernaut of a tree we trekked by foot to the Grand Chariot station of the Jungle Union and wondered aimlessly around there for awhile, turning away the natives who sought hungrily after our savings because we are hardhearted and cruel like that. From the the station we caught a ground carriage to naval peninsula located along the shore of the Great Lake and well known for its attraction to non native adventurers like myself. I had, actually, been to the naval peninsula once before with the Elder brother but that had been on a very focused mission and we hadn't spent any time exploring the area. The Colonel and I came not as driven soldiers as my brother and I had previously, but as those seeking adventure and new lands and so we walked all along the outside edge of the peninsula and explored the insides of a large glass dome with regular trees growing inside of it.

By this time Colonel Raymond and I could feel our tumblies getting the rublies though and we opted to bring out visit to the peninsula to a close and hunt down some game to feast upon. The Colonel had heard of a local hunting ground that was relatively easy to gather from without having to fork over too many funds to the natives and yet still offered some pretty decent munchings and crunchings. It turned out that the place we visited (With a name that escapes me but sounded a little bit like Pinocchio) actually was pretty good and I partook in a specialty game native to the Iron Jungle and very thoroughly enjoyed by natives and adventurers there alike.

From the Pinocchio dinner the Colonel and I decided to take the underground pathways to the Oriental Orientated section of the Jungle. Once again I had a first as I rode a chariot UNDER THE GROUND. It was quite spectacular to descend beneath the concrete floor of the jungle only to discover a thriving hive of activity invisible and silent to those crawling about above right underneath their feet. I did get reprimanded by a native for taking photos of the trains down there but I think he may have thought I was going to use flash at an oncoming train which certainly would have been a bad idea (Or maybe he thought I was trying to steal their souls.).

Once in the Oriental Orientated area we found statues representing the twelve eras of each year and their animal counterparts that I found to be quite fascinating. I will admit that my understanding of the Oriental Orientated area was slightly misguided going in. I had previously those that the OO was meant to be a hotspot location for adventurers like myself and the Colonel to expose ourselves to the ethnicity of the other side of the world. Turns out it really was primarily a location when those from the Oriental Orientated part of the world were able to dwell within the Jungle without feeling too far separated from their home. As a result the Colonel and I were able to ooh and aah over the appearance of the place but the script written along their walls and wares was impossible for us to decipher.

From the OO we traversed to a slightly more natural jungle within the Iron Jungle where we observed a variety of animals in some not so natural habitats. Monkeys, zebras, aligators, and a tiger were among the beasts we studied there and I was quite impressed by the fact that the Iron Jungle provided such a nice zoology exhibit for the public without requiring any sort of fee. Even though we ended up showing up just before closing time and many of the animals were in hiding or sleeping I thought it was a rather enjoyable experience and was quite impressed with the quality of the habitats and the variety of the creatures (I saw a mongoose!).

After the jungle within the Jungle we started heading back the chariot station we would use to return home, but on the way we stopped at a truly magnificent fountains that is in fact not located in England despite its misleading name and wondered through a charming little park near the Iron Jungle Institute of Art that I had visited once before with a crew of my education peers. On our way out of the park we stopped and greeted the enormous metal bean that dwells there and picked up from Cream of Ice for refreshment before saying goodbye to the Iron Jungle as the sun started to set in earnest.

Back down into the underground tunnels to our station and our chariot the Colonel and I descended. We made a quick pit stop and the Chariotway sandwich kiosk before boarding our ride home. Upon our return the Patriarch of our clan arrived with the family carriage which I used to transport the Colonel back to his turf before return my Patriarch and myself back to our own place of lodging.

All in all, it was a truly amazing adventure and I must offer my sincere thanks to the Colonel for suggesting such a quest. The Iron Jungle both amazes and intimidates me. I could never live there as a native because despite having always thought of myself as more or less being a "city slicker" I find that the overwhelming amount of the people there and the enormity of the iron trees makes me feel a little bit claustrophobic and suppressed and that, given the opportunity, I would find living out in the natural wilds much more to my liking. As a place to visit for a short time however, the Iron Jungle is truly a remarkable place. Their aerial chariots and their towering trees of steel make for a very entertaining place to be. The variety and the complexity of place inhabited by so many varying souls is simultaneously awesome and terrifying. So many natives... so many adventurers... too many for me to handle long term served as an interesting reminder that the world is a lot bigger and a lot fuller than I usually think and that my little town of River Curve isn't actually very large at all.

I have no doubt that I will return to the Iron Jungle again some day and I'll likely pass through many, many more times in my life as I have passed through many, many times already, but this visit was quite possibly the most enjoyable one I'll ever have the opportunity to have. Thanks Colonel Raymond for an excellent idea.

Pax