The blare of a ships foghorn rang through my cave and woke my from my long
slumber. How long I had been asleep I didn't know and could not guess. The
horn rang again and the chatter of seagulls followed. The one memory I did
have was of finding a cave high up in the mountains, deep inland and isolated
from the teeming masses. So how was I able to hear a ship? Curious to find out
more, I cautiously stepped out of the cave.

The vast plains and highvelds which I had crossed to find my long term resting
spot had all disappeared! Gone forever, buried under oceanic water. People and
animals of all races and varieties had fled to higher ground and my mountain
retreat had become a mid-sized island. A vast refugee camp stretched out in
all directions, populated by people evicted from their now submerged cities.
Curious to find out more, I ripped out a moomin warcry - "PeehooooO!" ... and
a couple of other moomins who had survived responded in kind.

"Ah Doughnut, nice to meet you again!" said I, to the rotund moomin shaped
like one who had set up shop outside the camp and was peddling all kinds of
wares and services. "What happened here?"

"Well the gods decided the planet was too heavy on one side and smoothened it
out by splitting our continent into 5 and spreading them out."

"Darn, thats too bad! Is Babylon on any of the continents or is it
underwater?"

"Nah Babylon is fine, its on Laenor."

"Then why are you here? I thought you got displaced?"

"Nope, Im here to gouge...I mean sell stuff and make a profit. I'm businessman
you know. Do you want to join, I could use another hand around here?"

While this was a tempting offer, I was more of an explorer and wanted to see
the other lands. Taking a raincheck on his offer, I asked him about travelling
to the other lands.

"Well the cheapest form of transport would be to take a ferry from continent
to continent. This island is close by to Laenor, just swim over to the ferry
house and take a boat to the others. It costs a measly 2559 gold."

"Are there any other ways?" I queried.

"Well you could try to swim across the oceans but I doubt you'll make it", he
smiled happily and added, "or you could buy a ship and sail but beware of
pirates, especially if your ship is small and poorly guarded."

"So what can you tell me about these continents?" I was curious about these
new land masses.

"Well Laenor is pretty mild, not much harmful wildlife and its mostly flat.
Desolathya and Lucentium are rather rugged continents and the wildlife is bit
harsher but nothing you can't handle." Then he licked his lips and added, "Now
Lucentium is a kind of mild continent with harsh wildlife but here's the
kicker, its actually a collection of multiple islands. Travelling around is
real pain." Pausing for breath, he added, "And finally Furnachia is a rather
harsh land, lots of lava lakes and volcanic streams. The wildlife is rather
harsh and distances are pretty bad due to the rugged landscape. Buy a pair of
lava boots before you go exploring."

Thanking him, I headed towards Laenor and as I walked past the refuge camp, I
could hear the wails of the people who had lost everything they had known.
Some had committed suicide, unwilling to accept change and others were trying
to adapt and you could see them discussing ways to adapt with each other. As I
reached the shoreline, I could make out Laenor in the distance and the
coastline was speckled with ships under construction. "Oh, once I get there,
Im building myself a ship." I thought to myself and dove into the channel...