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Abandoned - Riverboat Junction - Story 34

Started by Abandoned, October 08, 2018, 08:29:00 AM

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Abandoned

#15
Chapter 7


  By year 50 another row of 2-story worker's cabins was complete and another row started right behind it.  There was much unrest now in RJ.  The overcrowding wasn't bad enough but the older housing units were in a state of disrepair and nothing was being done about broken floors or broken stairs or broken windows.   Residents were unhappy about poor living conditions, long hours of work, and being separated from their loved ones for long periods of time.

  Grandma Nanner was the only town elder left of the twelve.  She said Grandpa Bald and the others would have wanted the tavern reopened so the solution was to reopen the tavern.  This of course resulted in more citizens being fished out of the water by the jetty.  The townspeople's solution was to leave.  Riverview Resort sounded awfully good to them.  They began building houseboats.  In year 52 the first immigrants left Riverboat Junction.  They were not deterred by the fact that there had been a deadly tornado in Newport not far from Riverview Resort .

  I was born that summer of year 52 and in Spring of year 53 Grandma Nanner died.  It was suggested by someone that the first 2 children of each of the 6 founding family become the new 12 town elders.  Their first town decision was to keep the tavern open, their second was to send 6 families to the Red Desert northwest of Riverboat Junction.  Mr. Red and his associate, Mr. Eb, suggested it as a good place to build a rock quarry for the resource merchants to pick up stone.  The new quarry town was named Red Rock. 

  The small cemetery where Grandma Nanner was laid to rest beside Grandpa Bald was full so another cemetery was built near the tiny market.  Despite so many deaths due to old age and so many families leaving, the population was 378 by the summer of year 58.  The food surplus was still very high but it had dropped a bit.  More hunters and gatherers were added and another jetty fishing pier was built on the small lake.  On the big lake, more houseboats were ready to leave.  Mr. Red, who had returned to RJ years earlier after inspecting the canal in Bloomington and other possible sites, was building himself a red houseboat.  He planned to visit Riverview Resort for a vacation as soon as possible. 

  In year 59, a river boatman returning from Riverview brought news that a man named Savidan and a group of land surveyors were there.  They were charting the changing rivers and making a map.  This was good news indeed.

Abandoned

#16
Chapter 8


  In year 60 a river boatman returned with one of the new World Maps.  At that time, the map maker had only visited 18 towns, the last was way up north in the mountains where gold was discovered.  The town of Prospect had just been put on the map.  How the world has changed since then.   Riverboat Junction was added to the World Map many years later.   A copy of that old map is framed and hanging on the wall of the Town Hall if you care to see it.   There is also a copy of the Holy Book that the monks of Monkstown had finally completed in year 61.

  At that time, RJ's food supply was still high but more food was being used than was being producing.  New crop fields were cleared and another fishing pier was built on the river.  More fisherman and hunters were added to existing workplaces.  Another cemetery was built and more worker's cabins were added on both sides of the creek as well as a few shacks.  More immigrants left for Riverview resort and Mr. Red's red houseboat was also on its way there at the end of year 62.

  It took a while for news to reach us that in year 62 the town of Summerset in the swamp was overrun with giant frogs.  It was a tragedy of Holy Book proportions.  There were survivors in need of help.  Yes, weary traveler, can you imagine that, having a giant frog eat your legs?  But, how better to help than to send peg legs like the pirates use and, the new trade good would bring in a tidy profit.  A workshop was quickly built and all riverboats headed east had a good supply of peg legs on board.  Hopefully, not too many of them would fall into the hands of the pirate's that had become quite active in those waters of late.  Not many boatman wanted to go east and most of those returning detoured to the central river to avoid the pirates.  One of RJ's best boatmen did not return at all, it was assumed that Kylandro was one of the many victims of the giant frog invasion, Summerset was on his route.

There was also news that the pirates had a larger ship, and that one of the larger sailing ships coming from Riverview Resort had disappeared.  The new town elders were surprised and concerned with the number of citizens still wanting to migrate.  The elders did not want to loss experienced workers who they had built schools for.  So far, it was young uneducated citizens who were leaving for Riverview, the exception was the group who went to the Red Desert.  They were educated.  The elders were not happy to hear that Red Rock Quarry was building a beach resort.  To discourage further migration they promised the citizens that their cabins would be renovated, floors, walls, windows, and stairs would all be repaired, and more single family houses would be built.   Citizens were outraged when the first thing that was built was a fancy new Town Hall across the river.  A hospital and a school and playground were built next.  Another group of disgruntled citizens left Riverboat Junction before renovations of the worker's cabins finally began.

Goblin Girl

These new copper roofed buildings are lovely!
I'm dying for all of this stuff to be released.  :D

zak4862

I agree 100% GG.They are looking fabulous!  :o  ;)

Abandoned

 :)  The green copper roof was first used on Forest Outpost church, and then used in Garden Sheds II and later Granny's Park was updated with them.  The roof does look nice with the golden stone.  :)

Abandoned

#20
Chapter 9


  I was still a school girl so I had plenty of time to go across the river to see what was going on.  I played on the swings in the playground.  Everyone was surprised to learn that only one family would live in each of the big mansions that was build.  The old town tavern was reopened as soon as the first grumbling about the new tavern were heard around town.  Repairs to the worker's cabins were well underway before the church and lighthouses were built.  A cemetery would be built by the church, Riverboat Junction had a lot of people dying from old age.

  In early spring of year 67 my parents shack was being renovated and Tavonte, the hunter, asked me to marry him.  We moved into the hunting lodge residence across the river by the newly planted apple orchard.  The walnut parks on that side of town were already producing walnuts.  In late winter our son, Joaquinn was born.

  In year 68 cabin renovations continued and a small chapel was built in the old part of town.  Some said it was built to keep more of the citizens on that side of town.  The worker's cabins were even more over-crowded, there were many young people still living with their parents.  Across the river a farmer's market was built as well as a small gazebo.  Construction of more single-family houses had begun and would continue the following year.  They were not nearly as large as the mansions but they were much bigger than the worker's cabins in Old Town.  By late summer of year 69 the row of new houses was complete and families had moved in, mostly children and grandchildren of the town elders.  Tavonte and I had our 2nd son, Urie.   That brought the population of Riverboat Junction to 442, 325 adults, 54 students, and 63 young children.  The education rate was 88%.

Gatherer

The new part of town looks really good. Love those copper roofs and the layout of the buildings with the town hall as the focal point.
There's never enough deco stuff!!!
Fiat panis.

Abandoned

Thanks @Gatherer, I think I succeeded in making this part of town look more open and spacious than the busy overcrowded old part of town.  The copper roof is a very pleasant color  :)

Abandoned

#23
Chapter 10


  With the high rate of educated workers the production rate was also very good thus trade was good.    A new trading post, 2 warehouse ports, and another jetty were constructed on the other side of the river and big lake.  More riverboats were built as well as several large merchant sailing ships.  Other towns were prospering as well and often needed more or had more to trade than the small riverboats could carry. Some towns had their own ships and preferred to bring their goods to Riverboat Junction themselves.  And as you know, weary traveler, when there was room on the merchant ships they also accepted passengers.  The problem with these larger slower ships was pirates.  If the ships were heavily loaded or the winds weren't favorable they were easy prey.

  In summer of year 72, a merchant ship from Mountain Mines arrived in port having managed to outrun the pirates.  They had to throw crates of valuable jade statues, sapphire necklaces, diamond rings, and fruit wines overboard.  River boatmen with eastern routes were adamant that none of their customers were attempting to trade any of those goods, they must still be at the bottom of the east river.  Earlier that year, a sailing ship carrying a family of 5 was not so lucky, the ship disappeared in those same waters and the family was not seen or heard from since. 

  It sparked a controversy when another boatman outran a pirate ship without throwing his cargo overboard.  Some claimed the others were too hasty parting with their merchandise and the elders agreed and issued a warning.  This resulted in several severely injured boatmen returning without their cargo and another still had not returned.  The pirates were getting bolder. Several small farm villages reported being raided, their storage barns pillaged.  One pirate ship got pretty close to RJ before it disappeared into the fog. 

  Some blamed that cool damp foggy weather on the outbreak of influenza in late summer of year 73, and of course overcrowding was blamed for the spread of the disease.  There were numerous cases in Old Town but only 1 patient in the new hospital on the other side of the river.  There were more house on that side of the river now and more were being built all the time, but they were single family houses with more space in between.   

  The disease, the weather, and the focus on building were all blamed for the recent pirate activity southeast of town going unnoticed.  The pirates built a watch tower, and a pirate's stash was discovered.  It appeared one of our warehouses or storage barns had been pillaged.  Everything they stole from us they could have easily gathered themselves.  The smuggler's cave was empty and there were no pirates to be found.


Abandoned

#24
Chapter 11


  There was no further activity near the Smuggler's Cave during year 75, only the usual attempts to waylay the river boatmen.  There was an increase in the number of deaths from old age and there were now several new town elders.  My parents were still alive and well and still living in the same house.  My mother was still tending the sheep in the sheep shed.  She sheers the sheep in the sheep shed.   No, weary traveler, I will not repeat that again faster ten times.

  Despite the large number of recent deaths, Riverboat Junction's population in late spring of year 76 was 516, 347 adults, 60 students, and 109 young children.  Our education rate was very good at 92%.  We still needed housing for young families and our overall health could have been better.  A tiny herbalist was built and, of course, more housing.

  In early spring of year 78, a young man came to town in a riverboat he claimed to have found back in the swamp to the east where he lived.  His name was Brette, he was well-mannered and seemed to be well-educated. He seemed to know some of the boatmen.  He said he was a pig farmer and found that pigs thrived in the swamp, loved wallowing in the soggy swamp soil, were easy to care for, and multiplied well. The pork meat was delicious.  He thought swamp settlements would thrive raising pigs and wanted the Junction's help distributing the animals.  The town elders did not consider the matter for very long before they agreed, they recognized a profitable venture when they heard one.  The swamp region needed something to make the trade runs there worthwhile, the boatmen were returning with froglegs that no one wanted.  The froglegs did not keep long and amounted to a sizeable loss of profit.

  The elders did not want the pigs on the new side of town, that's where most of them lived, and there was no room in Old Town.  The only area large enough for a pasture was on the other side of the canal but no one wanted to work that close to the smuggler's cave.  Brette did not mind the location but he would only be staying until the pigs were settled and breeding as they should.  He had to get back to his pig farm in the swamp.  So, even though there had been no further pirate activity in that area,  a fort wall with watchtowers was built and even the canal fishermen felt more secure.  Later that year the wall was extended on both ends.

  The following year everything changed.  I remember the day well, it was my daughter, Kalynn's 9th birthday.  Her grandparents were over to celebrate with us and the men went to the Kings Arms tavern for ale.  It was getting dark when they returned with the news.  The worker lighting the fire at the Old Town lighthouse spotted a red houseboat run aground by the smuggler's cave.  The houseboat was just like the one owned by Mr. Red, the canal inspector, who was expected to return at any time.  The men would investigate first thing in the morning.

kid1293


Abandoned

#26
 :)


Chapter 12


  The men left at first light headed for the houseboat and smuggler's cave.  They crossed the far canal bridge and came to a halt.  Nailed to the fort wall was a badly spelt and poorly worded note scribbled with a piece of coal on a scrap of cloth.  "U want cannel man giv 100 barrolls of rum to porthowse".  That's right, weary traveler, the pirates were holding Mr. Red, the canal inspector, hostage for ransom, they wanted 100 barrels of rum. 

  An emergency town hall meeting of elders was called.  It was agreed that the ransom must be paid to rescue Mr. Red, he was afterall a valued member of the community.  The problem was the rum, where do they get the rum.  Word went out with the boatmen that we needed rum.  Brette, the pig farmer, heard of this and came forward with the information that he knew the recipe and knew how to make rum.  It was made back in the swamp where sugar cane was grown and milled into the sugar that was distilled into rum.  He described the buildings needed and the process.  Word again went out with the boatmen.

  By early spring of year 80, Brette was gone.  No one knew when he left or how, but his old riverboat was gone.  Down the east river the pirate's built a stone warehouse port where the rum was to be delivered to pay the ransom.  Waylor, the general goods merchant, returned first with sugar cane seeds.  But it was too late, the crop fields had already been planted and were doing well.  It was to late to clear new fields for the sugar cane.  In early summer, Uniqua, another general goods merchant, returned with sugar cane.  All 2000 canes were delivered to the nearest storage unit and then to the just constructed sugar mill.  The rum distillery would be up and running in late summer.

  Late autumn of year 80 marked one year since the ransom note was found and we were just starting to make the rum.  There was no sign of life around the pirate's base during the day, but the lighthouse keeper saw movement by the pirate's stash at night.  Was the captive still alive?  We dare not risk his safety by going too near.  We could only hope he was alive and well, and produce the needed rum as soon as possible. 

Abandoned

#27
Chapter 13


  They tiny hunting tower was dismantled and another distillery was built in its place.  The barrels of rum were put in the small shed where 3 workers with wheelbarrows picked them up to take to the pirate's warehouse.  It was a long way to go with the heavy barrels and was taking longer than we had hoped.  Another year went by and we still did not have enough rum to pay the ransom.  In late autumn of year 81 there were only 36 rum barrels in the pirates warehouse, by late winter there were 55.

  In spring of year 82, sugar cane was planted in one of the bean fields.  The crop did well and was harvested by late autumn.  During that summer of 82, one of the pirates was spotted during the day going to the stash for fuel.  The pirate was a woman.  We assumed she was getting firewood for heat and cooking so perhaps Mr. Red did not mind quite so much being held captive.  There were 71 barrels of rum in the pirate's warehouse and more than enough waiting in the shed to be picked up and delivered to pay off the ransom.  The Imperial Fleet had arrived to secure the area and rid it of the pirate infestation, the waterways around Riverboat Junction were now being patrolled.  Four of the Crown ships were waiting for the captive's release before clearing this area.

  In late autumn of year 82, the last of the rum was delivered to the pirate's warehouse and we all waited.  Cheers rang out all around town when Mr. Red's red houseboat was spotted coming through the canal and returning to port.  The Imperial ships were on their way to the smuggler's cave but when they got there they were too late.  The pirates made a hasty escape but failed to take the rum  with them.  Their watchtower and stash were dismantled and the rum was reclaimed before the warehouse was also demolished.  The rum was taken to the King's Arm for the victory celebration. 

Gatherer

There's never enough deco stuff!!!
Fiat panis.

kid1293

Quote from: Gatherer on October 21, 2018, 12:31:24 PM
Cool looking ships!

Be patient! You'll get them tomorrow. :)

This story took me by surprise. It is really a story, not just a city building blog.
Big thanks to @Abandoned for writing it!