2 Questions regarding VFD and the Safe Places.

[indyrams]

1. Is VFD a local organization? Or is it spread out all over the world?
2. How far were the locations traveled throughout the series spread from one another?
How far away was Paltryville from the Main City the Baudelaires home was in? Or how far from the Lake Lachrymose was from Uncle Monty's house, or from Prufrock Pref?
It seems to me that all locations visited in all the books (Excluding The End) were within the same state. Seeing as how Mr. Poe was able to travel with them if it wasn't too far and be back the next day for his job.

[Hermes]

1. Well, it certainly extends to Canada, which does not seem to be the main setting of the books. I'm not sure if we're ever told if it goes further than that. My guess is that there is a rather loosely structured group of organisations in different countries, which sometimes cooperate and sometimes work independently - that seems to fit the way VFD operates.

2. Yes, I think that all the places involved are quite close (at least by American standards. In Europe a hundred miles is a long way.) The carnival is clearly close enough to the city that you can get there and back in a day, although it's not the most obvious place for a day trip. Mount Fraught, which is probably the furthest place they visit, is a day's journey further on. Tedia and Paltryville are mentioned in TVV as part of a list of villages 'just outside the city', though in the case of Paltryville this is clearly a bit of an exaggeration - still, it's presumably nearer there than any other city.

[Anka]

1. I think we can't be sure from what the books tell, but I'm not sure. I like to think that it's spread out all over the world.
2. I also think that the places can't be that far away from each other, because most of the journeys from one place to another aren't longer than a few hours.

I'm sure someone has written something like that before and probably much better than me, but I wanted to do that now:

- Count Olafs house is in the Baudelaires' home town.
- Uncle Monty's house is in Tedia, which is separated from the city by Lousy Lane, which leady past Hazy Harbor. The car ride is long enough to be boring for Klaus, but every car ride is long enough to be boring for a child.
- To get to Lake Lachrymose they have to take the Fickle Ferry. When they call Mr. Poe he takes the first ferry of the day and when he arrives it's still in the morning.
- They take the train to Paltryville and it only says that it only stops there once a day. It seems like Mr. Poe is back on the same day.
- TAA already starts in front of the school, so we don't know how they get there and how long it takes. But again Mr. Poe comes soon after he has been called.
- Dark Avenue is in the city too.
- They go to V.F.D. by bus and have to walk "the rest of the afternoon"
- I don't have THH here, but I think they walk one night from VFD to the Last Chance general store (sorry if that's not exactly the right name, I haven't read that book in English) and a short bus ride to Heimlich Hospital.
- The car ride from the hospital to Caligari Carnival isn't more than a few hours too, I think.
- the same from the carnival to the mountains.
- TGG is under water, so I don't really know
- Hotel Denouement is in the city again (?)

[indyrams]

Thanks for the replies guys!

I ask also because, in the books didn't they make a big deal about going to all the safe places, and the Hotel was the "last safe place"?
Which is weird if all the safe places of VFD were somewhat in a close perimeter of each other.
Unless it's just one branch of VFD.

[Christmas Chief]

On the matter of locations, some people have constructed maps - you can see thedoctororwell's fairly detailed one here - but to answer generally, I think all the locations in ASOUE take place within reasonable proximity of one another. (I'm not sure why it's problematic to have the safe places close to one another, though. We're told in TPP volunteers were formally able to meet almost anywhere, but as villains destroyed one place after another the locations grew less numerous, ending with the destruction of the headquarters on Mt. Fraught and making the Hotel Denouement the last safe place.)