(This should be available to find ingame somewhere, I'll be throwing a few copies about and likely one to the library. The authorship is not clearly laid out.)
While surveying the survivors at the refugee camp, Charles takes notes as to the various barriers preventing the people from finding success.
The book is roughly handled. Pages contain large smears where the ink has become too wet to continue. Some appear to be teardrops. Countless crossed-out sections jumble the reading, making it difficult to digest the words. The writing is shaky, as if written in the field by someone leaning the book on whatever hard surface was available.
'Betty'. All survivor names changed for privacy.
The character size continues to get smaller, as if the writer realized the tale was becoming longer and longer, and so tried to fit as many letters on each page as possible.
The tale is gruesome. Horrific. Charles struggles to capture the emotion, the fear, the absolute terror and complete mental destruction the woman had gone through. There is no ending to the story. She begins with her life as a young adult and continues right up until the moment Charles walked in with a book and a feather-pen asking for her "Barriers to Success".
The writing becomes more cautious, slower, methodical, as the author is forced to mock himself.
"One barrier is idiots like you, thinking they can solve anything in this world!"
Furiously crossed-out words 'conclude' the tale of 'Betty'.
'Sven'
This rather joyful person explained that not everyone stuck in the camp hates the world, despite what it may have done to them.
The tale of 'Sven' is one of frequent miscommunications. A native Northyrian speaker, his understanding of Common is somehow abysmal. Worse than not understanding, he believes he does properly understand and speak Common. The tales are repeated misunderstandings with employers and officials of all types. No clear solution is spelled out, but one may hope that the conversation alone would assist in solidifying and correcting the language difficulties.
'Jee' Was simply missing a thumb. I can't for the life of me figure out why this prevented him from obtaining his goals, but it somehow did.
There is a short note scrawled across the side of the page about investigating the effects that injury can have on a person's morale. The word Legion is written beneath and underlined once, maybe a reminder.
The book continues to a tale of adventure.
'M' She wishes to remain only a letter. An older woman, fifty or more years for certain. What a life of adventure she led, fleeing from the law and her misdeeds. She had run and run until there was nowhere left to go, and all of her ill-gotten treasures were long discarded along the roadside. She was a notorious thief in her day, and as she explained to me most thief do not like to be known at all!
The tale continues for some pages, taking a disgusting twist when she faces her "punishments" from the state. Crimes of property were the least of the important crimes in the mind of the writer. His penmanship becomes alarmingly sharp, poking through pages at several places in the writing. Pages are torn out, spilled over, until eventually the next tale simply begins.
'Tina' could not tell her story. Although she was 'friendly' this amounted only to smiling and waving frequently. I was able to get no words from her, and some told that she had 'no tongue' although none seemed certain if that was true. Attempts to move within any close distance would be met with scurries away, smiles, and of course more gentle waves of the hand as if in a greeting.
There is a simple small "?" etched lightly after Tina's 'tale'.
'Rollo' Rollo was quick to jump in once someone woke him up from within one of the tents. Something of an 'important figure' in the camp, as he explained, Rollo knew all about everyone else's problems.
'Rollo' Goes on to explain that most of the refugees stuck in the camp are just drunk or lazy.
During the writing of Rollo's tale a woman walked into the camp and began screaming for assistance. Something had bit her finger, badly, an insect from the nearby jungle. An old person covered head-to-toe in wrinkled grey clothing was awakened from a tent and administered first-aid. She slapped some liquor from a bottle across the wound, wiped it up moments later with a 'clean part' of her robes, then finished the bottle in a dramatic chug before going right back inside her tent with the empty bottle clutched in hand.
The words 'questionable medical treatment' are sketched lightly underneath before the next tale begins.
'Nate'
Drawn beneath the name is a rough sketch of a bed.
"Haven't slept in a proper bed since I was a boy in m'Pa's household"
Nate explains that he attempts to labour, but his back frequently 'gives out' and he finds himself unable to get up from the ground, brought to tears from the searing pain-he can barely see! And nearly was devoured by a Barony Short-eared dogs just the week prior.
The word 'Doctor' is written firmly beneath, with an underline equally firm.
'Sandra'
Sandra said simply she would move from the refugee camp in an instant, and just not a soul had asked her what she wanted since she had been a 'pretty young thing'. The words are written awkwardly, another light question mark scrawled beneath.
'Mich' just wanted love. Many of them had very simple, completely impossible answers.
'Jenn' Bed.
'Z' Doesn't like cities, or people.
'Wheylo' Didn't want to come here in the first place, and just wants back out the rumbling pass.
Many had seen things that were too nightmarish to forget.
*Some of these people need a person to talk to. Someone with the ability to listen, who has seen the same nightmares.
The books ends on a light note.
Although these survivors have suffered, all in different ways, many of them have very attainable goals with little to nothing preventing them from achieving them. All that is required is the gentle reminder that there is more to life than simply surviving. Those of us who have the capacity to help others have not an obligation but the POSSIBILITY to help others. None should demand anything of you, but if you find it in your heart to assist these people I find it best to simply lead your life exactly as you wish so as to be a shining example to others to do the same. If you feel the desire to lend a hand, there are many ways to do so. One can open a bakery, plant some food, teach a man a skill, there are a hundred ways we may each uplift another. Every barrier removed is also an example of "How to Remove Barriers" for others to copy. Your actions ripple out through the world for all of time.
A small book titled 'Barriers to Success'
Re: A small book titled 'Barriers to Success'
Charles explains to some of the camp locals that his tower is open for crafting, inviting them to
"Come over and give the place a look, sort through the free clothes and find a nice spring outfit."
at the river-beach just across the road from them.