World-Hopping 101

Shopping list: 

(this comes from years of experience. ;P) 

'''- Sets of clothing; as plain as possible. Combats are better than jeans, as denim is noticeable in some worlds. Make sure you have something that's faux-mediaeval/RenFaire stylee. Avoid obvious zips, no logos. Ideally, you want about four to five sets, as you've said, and pack each set of them separately in watertight bags. Remember a couple pairs of shoes - wear hiking boots for preference, or something with steel toecaps, carry light plimsolls/pumps just in case. '''



'''- Torch. Well, Maglite. This is useful even in worlds without electricity, as it's a honking great lump of metal and rubber as well as a light-source. '''



'''- Compass. Trust me. My direction sense and navigation-by-stars is good, but not that good. Likewise, any supernatural powers we have may well be inactive or unreliable. Also, it reacts when in the presence of magnetic stuff, and you never know when this is handy. :P '''



'''- Small world atlas. I need to draw dots all over it to remind myself and everyone else of the crossing points I know of, and get Sal and Mattmatt to check these against their recollections. '''



'''<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">- Basic first aid kit. Include bandages, antiseptics, disinfectants, painkillers, anything else maybe handy. I think it is likely that we're resistant to disease slightly. Remember sunscreen for Mattmatt, E45 and so on on the offchance. '''

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<p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;">'''<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">- Food. Tins not recommended because of weight, but chocolate/glucose tablets are a lifesaver. Water bottles. Only fill these when we're away from civilisation because of the weight, again. '''

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<p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;">'''<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">- Bedrolls of some kind; the tightest-packed sleeping bags we can find. '''

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<p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;">'''<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">- Towels. Remember your towel. Hithhiker's Guide was right; they're blankets, bandages, ropes, something to write on and, if all else fails, something to dry yourself with. '''

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<p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;">'''<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">- Entertainment yes! Paper, pens, pencils (avoid anything that looks high-tech/obviously unnatural at a distance), decks of cards, a few piles of books. Regularly replace the piles of books at second hand shops. Also, Rough Guide to wherever we happen to be if we decide to leave Arran. I'd dearly love some kind of music to be available, but am aware that's far more of a luxury item than anything else. '''

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<p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;">'''<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">- Earplugs/sleep masks. Really. *sigh* '''

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<p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;">'''<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">As prev, keep everything in separate watertight packaging. The ziploc baggies are good, if not perfect. This is because it appears that Sally's affinity for water tends to dump us into the sea occasionally. '''

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Andy’s Qus: 

'''<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Setup we need short term <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> - can we have a one week plan? I think that if we survive the next 24 hours, we can maybe be that optimistic... '''

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">How the world hangs together 

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;">'''<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Because otherwise, it shall all definitely hang apart? '''

<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">No; seriously… I can talk in metaphors till the cows come home and eat all our souls, but the summary goes thusly: 

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;">'''<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">There are a number of worlds which are like leaves in a book, scales on a dragon, pearls on a chain. Each is separated from another by the shift in colour of a leaf or the life and death of a sparrow; and by the knowledge that it’s impossible to move from one to another. Worlds are sometimes linked in series which are internally consistent and can be reached from one another by certain magical or technological means (see Sliders, Chrestomanci, Planescape et al); I believe all of these posit some form of Place Between. '''

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<p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;">'''<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">However the shift between worlds is effected, it is easier to move to a similar world than one vastly different; it is easier to move from a world with high energy to one with low, it is easier to move between worlds at certain weak spots in reality, and it is easier to move to a place if you have some kind of anchor. '''

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The weak spots I can remember are: 

'''<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The Rising Sun inn, outside Stoke (may be ST7 8DS; may not…) – outside the front car park. '''

'''<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The centre of Arran (<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">So you know, the hostel is <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">http://www.syha.org.uk/SYHA/web/site/Hostels/Lochranza.asp<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> - in the website, it’s closed over winter and available for private hire rather than for specific rooms. Otherwise, prices are actually around £10/night. There are two six-bed rooms, and four five-bed rooms.) '''

<p dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-bf0eef0d-1fcf-e0d6-6151-e22dd706075c" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The castle on Arran is owned (apparently in all worlds; as stated by other Travellers) by ‘Penny’/’Penelope’, who is either associated with or actually a demon.  

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">She was visited by us once. We will not return. She gave us answers, but at an unreasonable cost.

'''<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">A point in the middle of Italy, about 20-ish miles south of Rome. '''

<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The source of the Blue Nile (I think) 

<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The land bridge between Kamchatka and Alaska (avoid; usually a pile of werewolves squatting there…) 

'''<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">There’s two in the Rockies somewhere, one of which we found through an excitingly gruelling winter of magical navigation through the mountains. '''

'''<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Somewhere on the 39 <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 7.99px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: super;">th <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Parallel in Vietnam. '''

'''<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">One in the Black Forest. '''

<p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;">'''<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Anyhow. These worlds are set together in a double helix which spins from Chaos to Order (and back again?) '''

'''<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">How do we make sure we can get back to here? '''

'''<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.33px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Sally uses a focus made of earth from the world she’s going to and an individualised image she knows is definitely from the place she’s going to. There is a certain amount of leeway in timing; shifting worlds sometimes skews the timestream. '''