News:

Welcome to World of Banished!

Main Menu

Abandoned - Summer Haven Hideaway - Story 56

Started by Abandoned, May 31, 2020, 10:28:47 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Abandoned

Intro


  This is the 56th story in the Smallville Series and it tells the tale of what became of the people seen fleeing into the forest after their ship wrecked in the previous story.  They were being chased by pirates and were unable to navigate the winding river.  When their ship crashed into the shore and capsized they escaped into the forest.  The incident was witnessed by the residents of Darkstone Coven (story 55) in year 55 SVT.  The Summer Haven Hideaway therefore is in the forest north of Darkstone Castle, not far from Monkstown and Haunted Hollow. 

 
Map  #  7255305          Valley,  Small, No Snow,  disasters Off,  Medium Start = 5 Families with Seeds


Mods enabled in load order:


Starting and Map Changing Mods:  Banished UI Maps, Labor Window, RK Minimized Status, CC Light Rain, Climate No Snow, Kid Tree Replacer X Light, New Flora Edit, Family Starts

Tweak Mods:   Better Fields, Fishing Dock 25%, Increased CC, 1:1 Alternative, Rocks Respawn, Tiny Smoke

Major or Must Have Mods:   An Empty Square, Nomad Sign Complete, Storage Crates, Kid Abandoned Places, Kid Alotoseed Trader, Settlers Deco, Kid Summer Haven  (new, testing).

Supporting Mods:  Beef Tomato, Deco Sunflowers, EB Ice Cream Cart, EB Sunflower, EB Beach Resort Deco Addon, EB Rock Quarry, Jinxie Festival Park, Kid Farmyard, Kid Fish n Ships, Kid House Boat, Kid Market Puzzle, Kid Pizza Hat, Kid Washing Mod, Kid Workshop, Water and Other Decorations. 


Mod Note:   You may be thinking, oh no, more havens, but Summer Haven was actually the first one made.  Forest Haven was made next and then released, followed by More Havens.  Summer Havens have 3 summery colored textures and some special additions.  The mod will be released for summer.


Yes, weary traveler, it was indeed scary being pursued by pirates, even more so when our ship capsized.  It was summer and the trees well hid the town across the river.  Our only thought was to escape the pirates, so we fled into the forest where we could safely hideaway.


Abandoned

#1
Chapter 1


    We had been in Riverview Resort while our house in Riverboat Junction was being renovated.  If you've ever been there, weary traveler, you know that the Junction consists of row upon row of wood and thatch stacked worker houses and warehouses. At the time, there was unrest and sickness due to overcrowding.  The older housing units were in a sad state of disrepair with broken floors, stairs, and windows.  The poor living conditions and long hours of work had residents migrating.  Major renovations were being done to prevent more loss of workers. We had our doubts about returning until we realized we were to have our first child, we had family back in the Junction.   My name is Jamilla and my husband is Rustice, Jamie and Rusty for short.

  There was trouble with pirates at the time and it took awhile but we finally managed to book passage on a merchant ship headed to Riverboat Junction.  The captain and his first mate were at Riverview Resort visiting with their families before taking them back to the Junction.  We set sail but soon veered off the main river to escape from pirates but their ship did not give up the pursuit.  We managed to stay ahead but the captain lost control in the swift currant of a winding river.  We hit the shore and capsized with the pirates close behind.  We fled into the forest, we did not see the town across the river.

  There were 6 of us plus 3 children, the captain's wife was expecting her second child.  It was late summer before we came upon a small farmstead.  Two farm families arrived there in early spring, they left their farms near the main river to the east after being raided by pirates numerous times.  There were 2 families, 4 adults with 7 children.  One family had a farmyard with an apple tree, wheat, beans, and a few chickens.  They were also chopping firewood.  They had a small fenced area next to the house with milk cows.  The second farm family also had chickens and were growing berries, corn, cabbage, and potatoes.  There was a large school building and a big barn.  They made us welcome and gladly shared all that they had with us.

Abandoned

#2
Chapter 2


  Rusty and I build our house by the lake.  He would take over fishing from the pier later on.  There were no school age children yet but I would watch the younger ones at the schoolhouse while parents were busy with other tasks.  I was still recovering from the birth of our daughter, Harmainey.  The older children had fun painting roof shingles with a water color dye made from wild onion peels.  Pine needles were used to make green roofs for a small shed and a house for the 1st mate and his family east of town.   After Riverboat Junction we were all impressed with the colorful roofs.  The captain built a tree house farther east by the river.  He wanted to keep watch for a passing riverboat in order to send word to Riverboat Junction.  We would also like to send a message to let our families know we were alive and well.  They must be wondering what happened to us after we sent a message that we had booked passage and would be headed home soon. 

  Having traveled the main rivers in this area in the past, the captain knew this smaller river was little traveled.  The entranceway, not far from Haunted Hollow, was very narrow and almost hidden from view, only small boats could make it through.  We were well hidden away from pirates.  The captain did not know what he was going to do, he could not afford another merchant ship.  Rusty, whose work in the Junction was boat building, could only build riverboats and fishing boats and possibly  houseboats like we saw in Riverview.  A merchant ship would be beyond his skills.  Both farm families agreed we were welcome to stay here as long as we wanted.  We would have a say in town management.  We agreed to name the town, Summer Haven Hideaway.  They expected a few more families from the main river farmsteads to be joining us.

  Production totals were good at the end of year 1 and there was a nice variety of foods on hand.  In spring of year 2, some of the other families joined us.


Kristahfer

Another good story.


Where did the little fishing dock come from?

Abandoned

 :) Thanks, @Kristahfer   The little fishing dock is part of Kid Summer Haven mod and has a variant for all the summer haven textures. 

Kristahfer

I Kid's Summer Haven currently available for download, and if so where. Is is part of Kid's Haven set?

Abandoned

#6
Oh sorry I missed that on the Info page.   Summer Haven is being tested and will be released for summer.  Forest Haven was released first and More Havens was released in Spring. See Intro mod note.  Summer Haven includes Kid's Work Place with a milk cow added for a back yard work place. See Yr 1 Family Farm 1 screenshot for view of cow.

Abandoned

#7
Chapter 3


  It took all of year 2 to provide housing for the new families.  There were 8 adults and 3 children.   Construction of the town hall that had already begun was completed first.  A house was built near the hunter, and a forester work station was built nearby.  The family would later add a butcher table to their yard to make venison sausages.  A workers house was built by the stockpile and the family would make tools and hide coats in their front yard.  Another house was built by the hunter, that family would gather wild foods in the area.  Two houses were built for the single girls, both age 12.  One of them planted a small farmyard with corn, tomatoes, and peppers while her house was being built.  She got baby chicks from the farmyard next to hers.


  In spring of year 3, 18 evacuees arrived from their village on the main river.  They had been raided by pirates several times but the last time was the last time.  One man was killed and another seriously injured when they tried to stop the pirates from abducting one of the young girls.  The whole village packed up what little they could carry, gathered together their children, chickens, and their few sheep, and headed inland.  They would be more than happy to make our Summer Hideaway their home.  We only wished they had more single young men. 


  Captain Chestel said if the pirate situation had worsened that much on the main river, there was a chance that river boatmen would come down this river instead.  We all agreed we should construct a trading post as well as the new houses for the villagers.  Our folks back in Riverboat Junction must by now have given up hope of seeing or hearing from us again.

Abandoned

#8
Chapter 4


  A house was built first for the family with the sheep.  Wool clothes would be welcomed.  We did not get snow but our winter temperatures did drop to the low 40Fs with a cold rain that chilled to the bone.  A second house was built by the newly planted wheat field, and a third house across the field from them.  That farm family would grow corn, berries, and potatoes, raise chickens and cut firewood.  A tree house was built for the third family, they wanted a view of the lake.  A small workers house was built for the family with a 14 year old son, and another was built for a single 9 year old girl.  So many children missed going to school.

  With so many new houses we were short of firewood by spring of year 4.  There were plenty of downed branches to collect until a backyard woodcutter could be set up.   The trading post on the river was completed by early spring.  I was eager to get word to our families that we were alive and well and that they now had 3 grandchildren.  I spent my time tending the children and fishing from the pier by our house.  I thought the fishing might be better over on the river.  Rusty said it would probably be better in the deeper water of the lake.

  The family in the tree house by the lake planted peach trees soon after they arrived last year, this spring they set up beehive boxes and by summer we had the first fresh summer peaches.  They were delicious and a real summer treat. 

  The first river boatman arrived that summer.  Devonnie, the resource merchant, assured us that more riverboats would be coming this way.  The inlet to this river was narrow and well hidden, pirates would not be able to follow.  The families who came from the main river area were very happy to hear they no longer had to worry about pirate raids.  Devonnie said that Riverboat Junction was in need of stone with all the renovations being done and canals being built elsewhere, but almost anything we had to trade would be accepted.  A lot of merchandise was being thrown overboard by river boatmen trying to outrun the pirates.  He would remind other boatmen about this river and he would be sure to deliver our messages to our families back in Riverboat Junction.


Abandoned

#10
 :) No problem  :)



Chapter 5 


  By early spring of year 5 a boat jetty was built and Rusty, with the help of Glorin, built a small fishing boat.  Glorin was the 14-year-old evacuee who recently moved into the house there by the lake with single girl, Beverly.  They were both 15 and just had their first child.  Glorin got permission to dig for earthworm in a few of the farmyard, and soon had a sign up letting others know he had Live Bait if they wanted to go fishing.  Rusty was the first to take the boat out to the center of the lake and soon returned with several very large fish.  I'd never seen one of these fish before but Rusty had.  They were slaughterfish, good to eat but bad to have in the water.  They had sharp teeth and would attack anything in the water that moved, they were called slaughterfish for a reason.  He and Glorin erected No Swimming signs all around the lake.  Everyone was warned to stay out of the other lake over by the river until it was checked too.  The children were disappointed they could not play in the water.

  I  caught more fish from the pier than was caught from the boat but I had a bit of a head start while the fishing pier and boat were being built.  The fish from the boat were a lot bigger.  Our food supply was also a lot bigger now and our storage units were near capacity.  Several small sheds were built around town where they were needed most.

  A livestock merchant stopped at the trading post with cattle but we were doing okay with our milk cows, sheep, and chickens.  He confirmed there was a need for stone.  Riverboat Junction had established a quarry town called Red Rock to the southwest but as of yet supply could not keep up with demand.  We began moving stone to the trading post to have on hand if there was anything we needed to trade for.  Avernestie, the tailor, said she often had to wait for leather for the warm coats.  She made linen clothes from flax for summer wear while she waiting.  We added another hunter to our workforce.

Abandoned

#11
Chapter 6


  Our second lake was about the same size as the first, and just as beautiful.  Rusty and Glorin agreed that if one lake had slaughterfish, it was safe to assume that other one did also.  We would not know for sure until some deep water fishing could be done and as of now our need for food and more fish did not justify building a pier, and fishing boat.  Even though the second lake was some distance from town, No Swimming signs were posted around that lake too.

  A family of 3 arrived by houseboat from Riverview Resort.  After their stay there, they really did not want to return to Riverboat Junction.  We invited them to stay with us and they accepted our offer.  A house was built for them not far from their houseboat.

  The weather had warmed and the children needed a distraction from the fact they could not play in the water.  A slide and a sand box with water was built in the school yard.  Two sailboats were built so families could spend some time on the water rather than in it.  A small gazebo proved to be very popular.  It was a pleasant walk to the small jetty that lead to the gazebo except when fall and winter came.  It was a long walk on that short pier when the cold northwest wind began to blow.  Closer to home a small park was built by the town hall.  On sunny winter days it was quite crowded.

Abandoned

#12
Chapter 7

    At the beginning of year 7 our Summer Hideaway had a population of 73, 37 adults, 10 students, and 26 young children.  We had 17 homes for 21 families but new houses were not needed quite yet for the adult children.  Our population was happy and healthy.

  A food merchant brought information from our families back in Riverboat Junction.  They were overjoyed to learn we were alive and well and delighted to learn of their new grandchildren.  We had new nieces and nephews as well.  Everyone sent their love.  The river boatman also made us realize how many more foods we could raise and how many more food products we could produce.  He confirmed the need for stone.  We would have a lot of stone to trade but were concerned about the weight and wear and tear on our wooden dock.  We began constructing another trading post with a sturdy stone dock.

  That year we spent some time studying our inventory records.  There were foods we could use more of but overall we had a good supply and good variety.  That would change in the future as our population continued to grow.  There was plenty of fish to be had in the river and the second lake.  There was land there to the south for homes and small farmyards.  Further west to the south was a large valley suitable for crop fields and livestock.  There was plenty of room for houses and farmyards  around the lake but to the north the land was pretty rocky.  There was plenty of surface iron and stone in all areas.

  The 2nd trading post was completed and Latrinidad, the seed merchant, arrived.  He had a lot of seeds and said he would gladly take stone in exchange.  He would be back often.  We were glad to hear that, we had a lot of stone.  We were concerned though with the stress and strain gathering so much heavy stone would have on the laborers.  We used some of the stone to construct a cemetery and began thinking of ways we could encourage workers to take more breaks at the town park. 


Abandoned

#13
Chapter 8 


  The first thing we did was build a farmer's market next to the park.  One stall for meat and fish, and another stall for fruits and vegetables.  Next we set up a brewing barrel to brew root beer, a summer treat for young and old alike.  Young Nell, who just turned 14, wanted a worker's house built where he could gather roots and wild foods from his back yard.  He did not want us to run short of roots, the root beer was already quite popular.  Our food supply remained high so a small barn was built halfway between the new gatherer and the new markets.

  We were amazed at the trade value we could get for our stone, but we did not need more seeds at the present time.  We had enough saved seeds for more small farmyards and we had  enough corn and wheat seeds for crop fields.  The seed trader said that barrels of seeds would keep for several years until we were ready to plant if the barrels were kept out of the sun and the rain.  We thought perhaps we should start buying seeds.  Summer Hideaway had several 13 and 14 year olds who would be wanting homes and families of their own soon, our population would increase.  We would collect more stone to trade.

  We had yet to see a general goods merchant to trade for leather but we were managing to produce enough linen clothes from the wild flax that was gathered, and warm coats with what wool and leather we had.  One of the river boatmen told us that there was a man named Savidan who had begun mapping the whole world, river travel and trade should improve once those maps became more widely available.

Kristahfer

Well @Abandoned I guess since Savidan began mapping the whole world you may be sending out a small search party to find a new valley to began a new settlement.

Really like your stories, rather art work. Got some questions though;

Do you plan you little areas first then lay in the building and decorations?
or
Do you find a building, lay it where it looks good and then decorate as you go?
or
Do you pick your mods first, picking out the items you plan on using and what you may be using with them, then begin the planning with just those in mind.


No matter what I try I can never get any of my little villages to look anywhere as good as yours do.
I am just an old fuddy-duddy that flunked finger painting in kindergarten, maybe that is why.