The Library and Bookstore of Jotisdorf, Germany

S.S.1 p.1

The car rumbled and squeaked as it rolled along the old road, begging for the torment being caused by being moved to stop. Maybe it was that the car was old and that it made these noises, or maybe it was because there were 3 grown men squished into the backseat and only the driver in the front, causing the imbalance of weight and the possible pleas for help from the car.

Between the two, Thierry couldn’t decide which was causing it, or maybe he did but he was just itching to find a reason to insult his fellow historian partners and himself for deciding this was going to be a good idea.

Thierry was not as excited as his American colleagues were about going to this unpopular German city that had previously been talked about by every other historian in the American state from which they came.

He looked to his left, the thoughts of his colleagues had reminded him that they still existed. Joseph Brown was sitting in the middle since he was the smallest and for some reason looking all around in a manner that said he was expecting something to happen. William Taylor was quite the opposite, sitting still and staring down at his lap, reading the book on German history and more that was given to him. 

“Thierry?” William asked, looking up and over to see a surprised Thierry already staring at him. 

“Yes?” Thierry replied in English. William held his book up and open, the pages facing Thierry so he could examine the map of Germany.

“Huh? What is it?” Joseph asked, leaning towards Thierry to see what William was showing. 

“It is in German,” Joseph stated.

“Yes, that's why I was showing Thierry. Do you see the town we are heading to?” William asked Thierry. Joseph glared at William before shrinking away when William glared back at him.

“Okay you two, not in the car where we are all pinned together in the backseat. If you couldn’t find the town name, why would I? All town names are spelled the same in English." Thierry replied, examining the map anyway. William did have a point, there was no trace of the town they were heading to, which Thierry found a bit strange seeing as the tour guide and driver that they were with had given the book to them and claimed it was 'present' made. 

Thierry shooed William away from holding the book towards him and leaned forward to address the driver in German. "Excuse me, sir?" 

"No need to be proper, just call me Elias. What do you need?" The driver replied, only shooting a glance lasting no longer than a second towards Thierry before looking back at the road.

"The town we are going to, Jotisdorf, is not on this map you handed us," Thierry stated. The driver chuckled a bit and pulled the car to the side of the road, holding his hand out for the book. William laid it in his hands and all three watched as he pointed out one place on the map.

Kries Schworesbeck

"What does that mean?" Joseph asked, leaning in closer as if there was a hidden translation to English that he would see.

"It means Schworesbeck District, it's the district in which Jotisborf is," Thierry replied, turning his attention back to the driver.

"We see the district, but how come no town names are there?" He asked.

 The driver laughed and shook his head, "The Author of that book never put it in, so the translator that translated it didn't bother, it also looks like he didn't bother to translate the map either," Elias stated. Thierry thanked him and nodded, taking the book back.

He waited until the car was back on the road before looking at the book. He read the title, which ironically was just 'German History and Landscapes: For Tourists'. Underneath it, there were two names, Günter J. Gilbert, the author, and Kagan M. Walker, the translator.