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Abandoned - Westwood - Story 85

Started by Abandoned, September 30, 2022, 06:22:21 AM

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Abandoned

Chapter 11



  As soon as the snow melted, the last couple to arrive began potting seedlings.  They pointed out that there were a lot of herbs growing in the immediate area.  We began building a haven herbalist in the forest across the road from the potting shed.   Down the road from that shed was the storage shed and the new haven trading post that had just been completed.  The first of the seedlings were already being taken there.




   It was only a small trader, we did not see a need to do much trading, elves were pretty self-sufficient.  The newcomers told us that we may be able to trade off a lot of the stone that was filling our stockpiles.  There was a shortage of stone in many places.  Due to the flooding and tree damage a lot of building was now being done with stone, and a canal was being built in the east.  They'd heard rumor that Riverboat Junction was considering building a quarry down in the Red Rock Desert.  That was something to think about, we did have an awful lot of stone.

Abandoned

Chapter 12



  The herbalist's building was almost complete, construction had been paused so the trading post could be built first.  We were often still waiting for logs.  Another forester was now working in our valley forest.  The building was completed and the herbalist got right to work.  Hopefully, our still low overall health would improve.  If not we could trade for grain.




  A haven gatherer was built in our inland valley forest near the branch collector, there was a lot of wild foods to be had there.  We were hoping for a lot more wild oats.  A small haven shed was built by our house.  Our crates were full of venison.   There were now 3 large deer herds in our area.




Abandoned

Chapter 13


  In year 5 the first merchant came to our trading post.  Ferdin, the resource merchant, confirmed not only the need for stone but for tree seedlings, logs, and firewood.  Non-perishable food items were also needed.  We took only a few pieces of the firewood he had and gave him 100 stone and the first 10 seedling with instructions to deliver them to wherever they were needed most.


  Eugenery, the seed merchant, arrived a short time later.  He confirmed the need for seedlings and tree products: logs, firewood, fruit, and nuts.  We did not need any seeds, we were elves not farmers so he was soon on his way, but his visit left us thinking.  We had apple, chestnut, and hazelnut trees and shrubs in our hedgerows, and we had not forgotten about those walnut trees in our inland valley.  The deer had not forgotten either, the walnuts and acorns were eaten almost as soon as they fell from the trees.




  We build a large wooden platform under the small grove of walnut trees.  It would make picking the nuts easier and would catch the nuts that fell.  Some would roll off but the deer would find something when they came to the trees.  They would not go hungry, there were plenty of oak trees dropping acorns in our forest.  A nut roaster and small shed were built near the walnut platform.  The deer stayed near there too.





Abandoned

Chapter 14


  Despite the local's herbalist and ours, our overall health still had not improved.  Our gatherer added more wild oats to our diet but still it wasn't enough.  We thought some folk's diets were limited because of the distance to the food sources.  To remedy that, we built 3 tiny markets, one not far from the gatherer, one by the school, and one by the portal.





  We began stocking the trading post with stone and firewood, plus apples, chestnuts, hazelnuts, roasted walnuts, and our seedlings.  That year 14 more elves arrived with seedling pots.  There were 8 adults with 6 children.

Abandoned

Chapter 15



  One family had a haven tree topper house built by the nut grove in our inland valley.  The other 3 families wanted to live by the river and the school.   They built a haven platform that would have a house on a higher level than the other 2.  Two of the couples had 2 children each, one pair of children were twins.  The complex had its own market entrance but no worker was assigned, the tiny market that was recently built across from the school was well stocked already.




  The newly arrived elves built a potting shed next to the housing platform and would gather the seedlings to pot in the forest south. 




Abandoned

Chapter 16


  The family that had moved into the tree topper in our valley had a 6-year-old son who would be starting school soon.  The local's outdoor classroom, which was closer, was already full with 5 students.  The haven school by the river also had 5 students but had room for more.  It was a bit too far from our inland valley for a student to go, especially in the winter.  Archery and I had 3 children by then, our oldest boy was already 5-years old.  He would not start school until autumn of the following year.   Nevertheless, we decided we should have a school close by, but since there were only a few young children in our valley we built an outdoor classroom like the local's had.   It was built by the market and was somewhat protected from the north winter wind by the forest and mountain.




  By autumn of year 6, our classroom had 2 students.  The temperature was dropping and the autumn leaves had already fallen off the trees.  All the school children were wearing their warm coats.  The first frost of the season occurred in late autumn.




Abandoned

Chapter 17


  The father of the platform house twins was a builder.  He noticed there were many odd chunks of wood on the stockpiles that could not be used for building, or for firewood because they could not easily be split.  Being an elf, he hated to see anything go to waste, especially wood.  That autumn, he and a few helpers began carving statues.  By the time the winter snow melted there was an elf girl statue and a wooden sunflower by the portal. 




  Statues of 3 animals usually found in the north were placed in the local's north valley by the outdoor classroom.  The students were delighted with statues of animals they had never seen before, and they spent many classroom hours learning about moose, bears, and wolves.



  Two statues of rabbits and one of a fox were placed by the inland valley outdoor classroom.  Being elf children, they already knew that elves have a way with animals and with elves around the rabbits and foxes were not prey and predator.  Everyone was amused by the squirrel statues that were placed by the nut grove and roaster.   There was a statue of a pair of deer by the haven school, by the hunting stand, and in front of our house.  The deer herds were often gathered round them.




Abandoned

Chapter 18


  There were also a few statues of deer placed around town along with wood benches.  We could sit and watch the ducks or the change of the seasons.  We were convinced that we had the prettiest town in all the world.




  The west part of town had a lovely view of the river, the inland valley consisted mainly of an open meadow where the deer grazed, and the local's north part of town was dense forest with a mother tree. 




  Thanks to the oaks and maples in our pine forests, autumn was the most beautiful time of year.

Abandoned

Chapter 19



  In autumn of year 7, Westwood had a population of 85, 43 adults, 14 students, and 28 young children.  There were 23 families living in 22 homes.  There were 7 Haven houses, 3 of which were on an above-ground platform.  There were 6 Haven tree houses, and 9 Elven tree houses whose leafy roofs changed color with the season.  All the citizens were 100% happy and healthy.  The 3 markets did the trick seeing that all citizens had a variety of healthy foods available close by.





  We elves were hunters and gatherers.  We lived off what Mother Earth provided us with.  We caught fish and hunted deer for venison.  We got duck meat from our ponds, and eggs and rabbit meat from our hedgerows.  We gathered wild foods from the forest, and fruits and nuts from the hedgerows too.  We gathered branches for firewood so fewer trees would need to be cut down.



  And yes, weary traveler, we accomplished what we came here to do and more.

Abandoned

#24
Chapter 20


  We came south in year 40 SVT to provide seedlings to help replenish forests that were destroyed by years of extreme heat and drought, and by heavy rains and floods.  In autumn of year 7 we had 400 tree seedlings waiting at our trading post to be picked up by river boatmen and delivered to where they were needed most.  We also had stone and tree products that were badly needed in those same areas.  Ferdin, the resource merchant, and Cayden, the food merchant, would pick up the firewood, apples, and nuts along with the stone and seedlings.  We would accept little in trade, we would not profit from helping others with food and resources that were free for the taking.





  Well yes, we did have a little help from Elven magic.  We came through the magic portal to find local wood elves living in seasonal tree houses with a magic garden.  There were tree fellows, fairies, and will o' the whisps, and a sacred stone.  Mother Earth provided them with a mother tree and the most beautiful fall trees we had ever seen, and we've seen a lot of trees; we were wood elves.  Our wooden animal statues and the local wildlife only enhanced the beauty of Westwood. 




  We hope, weary traveler, that you enjoy all the beauty and the magic of the fall season.


The End

Glenn

Another lovely story, and lovely colours.

The last photo and the tree people looks like they could be from Lord of the Rings.

Abandoned


Abandoned

Kid Tree Replacer Fall and Kid Deco Tree Fall have been released.  Find links to downloads here:

http://worldofbanished.com/index.php?topic=4232.0
http://worldofbanished.com/index.php?topic=4231.0

Also Kid Forest Haven has been updated to vs1.04 which adds a small shed and a small trading post. Download here:

http://worldofbanished.com/index.php?action=downloads;sa=view;down=590

taniu

@Abandoned :) :) :)Thank you for the beautiful story - you brought the beautiful autumn mood and magic to your village of Westwood very nicely.Regards

Abandoned

Thank you @taniu  :)  Hope you and your wife are doing well and enjoying the fall season.  Today was a beautiful warm fall day here, the trees look just like in a story  ;D ;D ;D