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Abandoned - Overland Trail - part 2 - Respite - Story 45

Started by Abandoned, July 31, 2019, 07:12:39 AM

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Abandoned

Intro


This is the 45th story in the Smallville series and the 2st part of the Overland Trail mini series.  This story continues the tale of the 16th expedition to leave Smallville. Six families went south to the Outskirts of Smallville and became part of the 2nd wagon train. They were going in search of family and friends left behind when the lowlands flooded years earlier.  The wagons left Outskirts in early spring of year 50 SVT and traveled west and then south, going overland.  They arrived in the town of Skyview in late summer and left in autumn after a bridge had been built so they could cross the river.  Two families left the wagon train and headed south to Animal Refuge in hopes of finding lost loved ones there.  The wagon master, storage wagon, and four families continued on and have arrived in the town of Respite.

Map #  627452624          Plain-Humid,   Small,   Mild,  disasters Off,  Small Exodus -Easy (15 Families)

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Tweak Mods:   Better Fields, Dried Mushrooms, Fishing Dock 25%, Hunting, Hunting Season, Increased CC, Longer Living Orchards, 1:1 Alternative, Rock Respawn, Tiny Smoke

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Supporting Mods:   Campfire, Kid Fish n Ships, Kid Tree Topper (new, still testing), Mushroom Crop, RK Ducks as Livestock, Water & Other Decorations



As you know, weary traveler, 2 families left the wagon train and went south from Skyview heading to the Animal Refuge.  They were certain they would find their loved ones there or at least information about them.  And here we are camped outside the town of Respite, not far from the Refugee Camp.  One of the town elders is on her way to tell us about the town and about other flood survivors.  We will stay here long enough to repair wagons and restock supplies.  Once we cross the river we will make time for families to go to the Refugee Camp to make inquires there.  Oh, here she comes now.

Abandoned

#1
Chapter 1


Welcome to Respite, travelers, my name is Honor and my husband is Omario.  We came here from the flooded river junction to the south with a small group of flood survivors.  We met here with a group of survivors from the north and another group from the northeast.  There were 42 of us, 30 adults and 12 children.  There was not enough wild foods here for all of us but where were we to go?  We came from all directions and knew there was nothing there to go to, how much farther would we have to go?  We did not know at the time about the Animal Refuge or the Refugee camp that were founded only a short time before.  We were all exhausted and needed a rest.   We decided we would stay right here.  We named our settlement Respite.

  Each group had a cart of whatever supplies they had salvaged and some had a flock of sheep.  We found more sheep near here that had been abandoned during the floods.  We were glad to see several large herds of deer nearby so we would not have to sacrifice too many of the sheep.  Our main concerns were of course food and shelter.  We designated areas to pasture the sheep, set about hunting and building a fishing jetty for 2 fisherman.  The first house was a tree topper but those with young children preferred to wait for the boarding house or ground level houses to be built, so Omario and I moved into the first house.  We loved sitting together on our porch especially in the morning.

    That first summer, a school was built, and a tailor. Two children became adults before the school was completed.  Land was cleared for a 10X15 corn field but it was too late to plant the corn seeds we had.  More tree topper houses were built near the river and construction of ground level houses was begun farther away from it.  We gathered wild foods, and herbs, and branches for firewood.  Two woodcutters began chopping wood by the stockpile.  By late winter no one was homeless but the boarding house was still full.   Respite's population had grown to 53, 32 adults and 21 young children, including our newborn son, Zayde.

Abandoned

#2
Chapter 2


  In early spring the river and lake was high from melting snow and rain, but the darkest clouds stayed to the north and east and we had no flooding.  Both fields were planted with corn.  The farmers both spotted herds of deer closeby so a hunter was sent to that side of town, we were very low on food.  He found a large oak tree with a hollow trunk to use as a hunting  cabin.  Laborers were sent to gather wild foods and discovered another such tree north of town that would make a good forester station.

  Our corn harvests were good that year, the larger 12x10' field produced 840 ears and the 14x8' field 784.  We gathered more wild foods before the weather turned cool and rainy.  We wanted to build a town hall to record our town statistics and harvest totals but decided our town records must be kept safe from possible flooding, so a tree hall was build inland by the school and boarding house which was now empty.  All the citizens of Respite had a home.  When the rain stopped we went out again to gather wild foods before the rain turned to snow.  Another big oak tree was discovered not far from the hunter's, this one would be used by a gatherer.

Abandoned

#3
Chapter 3 


  We had another rainy early spring but again the darkest clouds seemed to be to the north and east of us.  Again, we had no flooding.  Our citizens wanted a cemetery should the need arise and they wanted it far from the river and the lakes in case of flooding.  We took it as a good sign that the river water level was going down when more and more reeds and ducks began appearing along our shores.

  In early summer of year 3, 13 evacuees arrived from the southwest.  We were surprised to learn that they left their homes in the southwest because of extreme heat and drought.  They had been turned away from the Mountain Mission, 7 other evacuees had gone north.  The Mission had been taking in evacuees in recent years but was now experiencing food and housing shortages.  They did not know if the Mission had taken in any flood victims, they were as surprise to here about the flooding as we were to hear about the drought.  We had food and the boarding house had room for all of them so we welcomed them to Respite. Housing construction resumed. 

  With so many available workers, building projects moved along rapidly. The trading post that was started earlier was completed in summer, around the time that Omario and I had our 2nd son, Ladavion.  Land next to the cemetery was quickly cleared and plum trees were planted.  One of the new arrivals was a builder and had plans for houses that required lumber and a special glass for window.  A tiny lumberer would cut as much lumber as needed and then cut firewood.  By late autumn, a tiny sand pit was operating and would provide the sand need to make the glass.  Nearby another tree topper house was build and a fisherman at the tiny fishing pier would see that new residents of that area got their fair share of fish.

  In early winter Lynetta, the seed merchant, arrived at our trading post.  It was then that we learned about the Refugee Camp up river, an expedition came from Smallville about 5 years ago to help flood victims.  Lynetta had potato seeds that we wanted.  She waited until late winter when we had enough trade goods brought to the trading post to make the trade.  We only hoped we would be able to have  a crop field cleared in time for spring planting.


Abandoned

#4
 Chapter 4


  In early spring a tiny glass workshop was completed and began making glass for windows.  Two crop fields were cleared in time for spring planting, one for potatoes and one for the squash seeds we brought here with us.  We hoped they would still sprout.

  In spring, 12 more evacuees from the southwest arrived in town.  We could not turn them away.  We immediately began more workplace houses and construction of the first stone house had begun.

With a population now of 88, we needed a steady year round food supply.  When the harvests of potatoes, squash, and corn were gone we had to rely on hunting, fishing, and gathering.  Omario and I often fished from the fish jetty near our home, now we build a boat jetty and boat and could fish farther out in the lake.  I found a beautiful spot straight out from shore near a small island.  There were reeds, and ducks, and plenty of fish.

  Three stone houses were built and a second floor was added to 2 of them.  Families would have a lot more room in them.  The families needed a lot of room, at the end of year 4 the population was 91, 54 adults, 6 students, and 31 young children.  The overall health had dropped slightly and as soon as the herbalist got to work in the big oak tree by the cemetery, folks stopped by to improve their health.

Abandoned

#5
Chapter 5


  Year 5 began as every other, with crops being planted.  We wondered if some folks weren't getting enough variety in their diets, our overall health was still down.  We collected wild foods on each side of town and when a large herd of deer were spotted by the lake, we sent the hunters there.  Our supply of leather was low.  We had plenty of warm coats already and a good supply of wool but not much leather. The deer herd moved on before the hunter got there.

  It rained a lot in early spring  that year and continued through summer.  The river and lake water's were high but not overflowing.  A campfire to roast venison was kept lit to help take the chill off of those working outside.  In late summer our tree hugger gatherer came across some giant mushrooms growing by the lake.  When cooler drier weather arrived she said they seemed to have dried out but the outer shell held its shape - they could be useful if they remained standing over winter.

  By early spring of year 6 we had another boat and boat jetty built.  A smoker was built nearby.  The tailor complained if he hung the coats he made outside they would smell like fish or smoke.  The summer wind blew from the west or southwest, and in winter the wind came down from the cold north, we thought the tailor had nothing to worry about.

  That spring 8 more refugees came from the southwest where it was still so hot and dry.  We found the newcomers just standing out in the rain many times.  The giant mushrooms had indeed held up over the winter and the hollow shell made nice little homes for our new residents.  The low area was cooler and damper than the main part of town.  The damp area would be ideal for growing the mushroom seeds that Lynetta, the seed merchant brought.  She gladly traded for logs, firewood, tools, and the flax we had.  Those items were badly need down to the southwest.  The drought had killed off many trees.  By late autumn a field was cleared for the mushrooms to be planted near the mushroom houses.  Fall fishing from the new fish jetty by the reeds was as good as we had hoped it would be.

Abandoned

#6
Chapter 6


  We collected wild foods often, and with another hunter's workplace built by the lake a variety of foods was available all around town.  By early spring of year 7 our overall health was again at 100%.  In spring 5 more refugees arrived from the southwest.  There was still room in the boarding house and we were still building more houses.  Another giant mushroom appeared and it too was hollowed out and livable.  The newcomers said that cooler clothes were needed down south and since we had flax on hand we set up a tailor workplace by the trading post to make linen clothes to trade.  The newcomers really enjoyed our cooler fall weather but we feared an early frost.  Our plum harvest was only at 56% so we added a second farmer to the field.  The frost in late autumn destroyed 20% of the crop but we did harvest a total of 880 plums that year.

  By spring of year 8 the boarding house was empty.  We were a bit surprised that no refugees arrived in town.  Our overall health was again a bit low.  We had enough workers so we thought it might be a good idea to build a couple of markets to insure a variety of foods was available.  We had fruit and corn and wild oats, plus plenty of protein.   In late Spring Taliana, the livestock merchant, brought ducks. We would soon have duck and duck eggs.  We feared they would try to join the wild ducks in the lake but to our surprise, in early spring of year 9, some of the wild ducks joined ours.

  No new refugee arrived in year 9 either.  We thought perhaps the heat wave and drought had finally come to an end.  We would have had more than enough food and housing to support more refugees.  Respite's population in early summer was 115, 69 adults, 20 students, and 26 young children.  We were 100% happy and healthy but our education rate had dropped.  Checking these statistics made us realize that our only school was filled to capacity and several children became adults without getting an education.  Before the new school was built another child became an adult, and the town of Respite suffered its first lost citizen.  Bertus, the hunter, was trampled by a wild boar that summer.

Abandoned

#7
Chapter 7

  By spring of year 10 a small chapel was built near the cemetery and, later in the year, a second chapel was built by the new school.  For the 3rd year in a row no refugees arrived in town.  It was not until the following year that Tallis, the food merchant, told us that the Mountain Mission established a Rescue Mission 3 years ago to house evacuees that they were turning away from the Mission.  It was halfway between the Mission and the Refugee Camp.

  The next few years were uneventful, we built houses when needed and kept an eye on the schools and production.  We gathered herbs and wild foods for variety but still our health and now our happiness was a bit low.  In late spring of year 13 a brewer barrel was set up to make mead from our wild honey, and in summer Derritt, the general goods merchant, had flour.  We made a trade and built a baker to make herb bread.  When our supply of wild honey ran low a beekeeper hive was set up near the brewer, but still our health and happiness did not rise.

  Year 14 began miserably especially for the fisherman and those who worked outside.  Early spring was cold and windy with a relentless driving rain that had us wondering if there would be flooding again, but the weather soon warmed nicely and the fisherman reported good fishing in the shallow waters around the small island.  By the time autumn arrived Respite's citizens were again 100% healthy and happy.  Whether its was because of the weather or the new well, or that there was mead in the storage shed we didn't know, what mattered was the fact they were healthy and happy again.

Abandoned

#8
Chapter 8


  At the beginning of our 15th year we were pretty pleased with ourselves.  We were 42 flood survivors who welcomed 38 evacuees from the drought stricken south.  Not only did we survive but we thrived.  We build a warehouse and jetty and spread the word among the boatmen that we had food and other needed goods to be delivered to the Mountain Mission by anyone who had room in their boats.  We were turned away from the Mission because they were short of food and housing and we didn't what that to happen to others.  We had so much more than we needed from our farmlands and farm animals and from our hunters, gatherers, and fisherman.  We had housing for everyone.  We had corner housing, and multifloor housing and tree toppers for those who feared flood waters, we had mushroom houses, and houses and cabins for workers, and we were still building houses for our 55 families.  At the end of year 15 Respite had a population of 140, 91 adults, 23 students, and 26 young children.  And every one of us was amazed to see your wagon train approaching our town in late winter.

  As luck would have it, our foresters had been busy cutting trees.  Areas to the south were in dire need of wood, the drought had killed off many trees over the years.  You had a nice clear area to set up camp while you were here and now you are hitched up and ready to leave already.  I am sorry no one here was able to provide information about those you are trying to find.  Your best bet to find them or information about them would be the Refugee Camp.  It is possible that some from this area may have gone to the Mountain Mission before we got here,  as I said, we were turned away from there because of overcrowding.  The bridge across the river is finished, if you continue going west to the small stream and follow that through the hills you will soon come to the Rescue Mission.  It is half way between the Refugee Camp and the Mountain Mission.  We wish you luck, weary travelers, on your continued journey.



Overland Trail to be Continued