News:

Welcome to World of Banished!

Main Menu

Abandoned - Railway - part 4 - Forevermore - Story 63

Started by Abandoned, November 21, 2020, 10:00:40 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Abandoned

#15
Letter 9  Autumn Year 8

Hello again Weary Traveler,

  It's been a year since I last wrote. I hope you have been well.  It was a busy year here, no time to sit around being blue.  In early spring we had our worst outbreak of the unknown disease, one patient would recover and another would come down with it.  There were 4 patients at one time in our Tiny hospital.  I checked on the families to be sure they had everything they needed, and I check that none of our essential workplaces were missing workers. 

  It was summer before I had time to check out the renovations southeast of town.  Let me tell you, weary traveler, I was amazed at what I found.  As children in the Annex we were often told the story of an old cold-hearted miser who once lived there.  He hated Christmas but loved money.  He thought Christmas was a time for reckless spending - the old "fools and their money are soon parted" theory.  He was right about that to some extent but of course he didn't mind if he was the one making the money.  He was a money lender and business man with warehouses. The story was told to teach us what was really important in life.  We thought the story was fiction but now I discovered it was true.  Southeast of town was a cemetery with 2 crypts, on one was engraved the name of that old miser, Ebenezer Scrooge.  The other was his business partner's.

There was a large mansion near Scrooge's crypt and a old road led south towards the west side of the Annex.  There was a market storehouse with a renovated sign that said Ebenezer's Emporium and a larger building that was Scrooge's Counting House.  The builders found some old inventory records and production statistics.  They said the small shack by the cemetery was beyond repair.  It may have housed a caretaker or poor employee.  There was the remains of an old fireplace but there were only a few small pieces of coal.  The big old mansion was cold and empty, the old crypt and graveyard also looked very cold and lonely.  So true that money doesn't buy lasting happiness.

  The family that arrived last year from the Annex moved into the mansion.  They of course knew the story and wanted to live in the historic building.  One of their 2 adult children moved into a Tiny house by the beekeeper and would fish from the new fishing pier by the cranberry bog.  A 2-story little house was built nearby for other young people who wanted places of their own.

  It's getting late, weary traveler, and the candle is burning low.  I'll write more another time.


Abandoned

Dec. 1st, 2020  Kid's Christmas 2020 mod has been released.  Find link to download here:

http://worldofbanished.com/index.php?topic=3883.0

Merry Christmas  :)

Abandoned

#17
Letter 10  Late Winter, Year 9

Dear Weary Traveler, 

It has been quite a busy year here as you can imagine, still trying to fill the quota of stocking stuffers for St. Nick.  We were way behind in orange production.  There were oranges in storage but they were not getting to the trading post, too many were being eaten.  We assigned another worker to wheel barrow duty.

  Winter of year 8 was cold and snowy,  the children built the first snowman of the season and played with their sleds in the park.   The first tree was trimmed with pretty blue ornaments and the snack stand was now roasting chestnuts.  We began to plan for other seasonal treats too.   We would add a plum forester to our fruit and nut orchards.

The first sacks of Letters to Santa arrived right after my last letter to you.  As Santa's mail clerk it is my job to open the letters and sort them.  I am to calculate the total number of each toy that needs to be made this year before forwarding the letters and totals to Santa. I'd already opened a dozen letters saying "I want a hippopotamus for Christmas."  It was a popular new toy last Christmas.  As I worked I could hear the children in the classroom below learning Christmas carols from their new song booklets.  They would soon be writing their letters to Santa.

   In early spring of year 9, the family in the mansion said they just could not keep the place warm.  We built a wood fuel market close to their house and collected branches.  We did notice the cold mist in the graveyard that they mentioned.  We began extending their road to meet up with our main street.  When 9 adults with 2 children arrived from the Annex to help in late spring, we began building a 2-story house and an animal shed on that road.  In summer there was another outbreak of the unknown disease.  We had no outbreak since spring of last year so the doctor was not on duty at the hospital.  There were 7 cases before the hospital was reopened.  The patients all recovered but we just had another outbreak now in late winter.  When will this end.  I'll keep you posted.

PS   Weary Traveler, don't forget to remind the children to write their letters to Santa

Abandoned

#18
Letter 11  Early Winter, Year 11

Dear Weary Traveler, 

   I'm sorry it has been so long since you last heard from me.  I hope this letter find you well.  Last year was a busy year.  In year 10 we built another stone street with lights and a market like the emporium and houses for those still living in the Holiday Inns. The new orchard forester was built and plum trees were being planted.  There was now a 2nd spice shop, this one built behind the mill and Christmas baker.  In summer we had another outbreak, 3 patients who recovered quickly. 

  When autumn came with shorter days and early snow, the older school boys began helping the candle shop owner light the street lanterns just before dark.  Some of the boys reported seeing ghosts over by Scrooges's mansion, they must be telling too many scary Halloween stories in Pumpkin Junction.  In late winter we reached a milestone - Forevermore had a population of 100 citizens, 55 adults, 13 students, and 32 young children.

  In spring of this year our plum orchard trees were doing well, and we cleared and planted another wheat field.  We would need more flour for holiday baking.  In summer there was yet another outbreak of the unknown disease which lingered into fall.  The first 3 patients recovered and then there were more for a total of 7, 4 of them were students.  We thought perhaps our schoolroom was overcrowded.  We had some of the girls outside in the morning helping feed the reindeer, and the boys left early in the afternoon to light the candle street lantern.  It was way too cold to have the younger children outside.

  I'll write again soon, weary traveler, stay well.

Abandoned

#19
Letter 12  Early Winter, Year 12

Dear Weary Traveler,

  It is another cold winter here in Forevermore but not quite as cold as it was last winter.  We had no shortage of firewood even without an official woodcutter but the family in Scrooge's mansion still complained about the cold.  They asked if it were possible to open the railway's tiny mine so they could have just a few pieces of coal.  They did not see any ghosts but they thought they heard chains rattle a few time and at night the wind howled around the house and often sounded like moaning.  I was having a hard time understanding the cold and the wind, the mansion was stone and it was protected from the cold northwest winter wind by the small mountain.  Perhaps it was the size of the rooms or the high ceilings but we could give coal a try, problem was the railway mine was far from the mansion.  We would have a free hauler soon, we had almost reached our stocking stuffer quota that was being stored at the trading post.  We opened the tiny mine and assigned 2 miners.  We build a tiny house by the railway stockpile and a young couple moved in and together they would mine for coal.

  That cold winter also prompted a request for comforting warm mulled wine, for medicinal purposes of course.  If it would help keep folks from contracting the unknown disease, it too was worth a try.  We would need grapes.  A grape house was built next to the spice house behind the Christmas Spirits tavern.  We had enough apple cider, time to make something stronger.

  In early autumn Santa's Elf return with more sacks of mail, he did not feel well.  He was the only patient in the hospital and quickly recovered.  By late autumn the first batch of mulled wine was ready.  I must admit, I did look forward to having some.  There was also now coal available on the stockpile behind the tavern and in front of the trading post, close enough for the mansion family to get a few pieces of coal.

  The elf has just returned with more letters to Santa so I must run to give him this one to deliver to you.

kid1293

"..for medical purpose..."

Well, that's one way to say it :)

Abandoned

 ;D ;D ;D of course,  ;D medicinal purpose  :)  almost as good as chicken soup  :)

Abandoned

#22
Letter 13  Early Winter, Year 13

Dear Weary Traveler, 

  I hope this letter finds you well.  We had yet another outbreak of the unknown disease in late spring that lasted well into summer this year.  It was a good thing that in early spring we built a Tiny tailor because our workshop smith was one of the patients.  Our total of coats did not suffer much.  We built a textile market by the new tailor so leather and wool were close at hand.  We built a Tiny smith near the railway stockpile just in case we would need more tools.

  I was a bit concerned over the requests in the latest batch of letters to Santa.  There were the usual I want a train, I want a rocking horse, bring my sister a toy squirrel, but more and more I was reading Dear Santa, could you bring my mommy a new coat or bring my daddy a new tool.  I was really glad that we had the quota of stocking stuffers complete and waiting for St. Nicholas to pick up. 

  Saint Nicholas arrived right on schedule in early winter to pick up the stocking stuffers. He loaded the sleigh, took off, and returned several times during the night to load more.  I heard the sleigh.  The children would wake in the morning to a stocking full of treats.

  It's getting late, weary traveler, I'll write more another time.  Stay well.

Abandoned

#23
Letter 14  Late Autumn, Year 14

Dear Weary Traveler, 

  Last winter was not as cold as winters usually are here in Forevermore but nonetheless there was an outbreak of the unknown disease in early spring.  The elf who brought Santa's mail said other places were hit hard by the disease and many of the North Pole elves were now out sick.  It seemed the disease was still causing shortages, the letters to Santa still ask for tools.  Dear Santa, my daddy works in the coal mine and needs a new pick axe.  Dear Santa, my daddy works on the railway and needs a new hammer.  I often wonder where the railway work crew was now.  I had a strange dream about the crew chief, maybe I'll tell you about it another time.

  Where was I, oh yes, the letters.  There were several letters from children who got lumps of coal in their stockings last year because they were naughty and wanted Santa to know they were good this year.  Speaking of coal, the family in the mansion said burning coal made the house a bit warmer but they woke at night now because of strange dreams. They were not bad dreams, mostly good memories of loved ones now gone, but what was strange was that family members often had the same dream of a Christmas past.  Maybe a cup of hot chocolate before bed would help them sleep better.

  By late summer a cocoa house was providing cocoa for the hot chocolate stand.  Umbrella tables and chairs were set up nearby but not many people wanted to sample hot cocoa on an 80 or 90 degree day.  One comment in favor of it was the hot chocolate did not get cold as fast as it did in winter.

  We were glad that by the time the temperatures started dropping in autumn, the spring disease outbreak seemed to finally be over.  The days were not only getting colder but shorter as well and again in autumn the boys lighting the street lanterns claimed to see a ghost by Scrooge's crypt.  By the time the first snowflakes fell we had installed street lanterns along the road to the mansion.  The boys were told to light them first each afternoon before it got dark.

My candle is again burning low, weary traveler, I'll write again soon.


Abandoned

#24
Letter 15  Late Winter, Year 15

Greetings Weary Traveler,

  I have sad news this time, weary traveler.  The year started well, we build a 2nd school, this one behind the chapel, thinking to keep the students a bit more separated.  The spring outbreak however was soon over, there were only 2 cases.  The mail elf brought news that a riverboat would be stopping by soon, they were collecting donations of tools and clothes for those in need.  We were also told that Hometown would probably not be able to fulfill their quota of toys for Santa this year due to illnesses, Santa is asking us to step in and make toys.  Of course we will.

Shortly after, the elves arrived, 10 adults with 2 children.  Most of the adults were young singles so our Holiday Inns were soon filled, we built another one.  Several houses and a gift shop were built too but not before there was another outbreak of the unknown disease and this one spread rapidly.  There were 4 cases of the unknown disease when the river boatman stop at our trading post.  We donated 100 tools and all the wool and hide coats that we had, he insisted we take some of the spices he had before hurrying on his way.  The 4 cases had rapidly turned into 20 and our tiny hospital was overwhelmed. 

  In early autumn the unknown disease claim a young child and then a worker in autumn and another child in late autumn.  The cleric held services at the tiny chapel and he and the boy's choir sang at the gravesides.  It will be a blue Christmas for those families.  Only now in late winter has the last patient recovered.  All the new families have homes, and we have a new candle shop, in the tiny chapel there is the soft glow of candlelight.  I can still hear the cleric and choir boys singing  "If we never meet again."


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0t0c69oWbY

kid1293


Kristahfer

Your last post really touched me. @Abandoned you have the unique ability to place before us the beauty that this game provides. You and many others have taken this game far beyond what the original author put together so many years ago.


How can you explain that this is not just a game? No it is a canvas with many different colors to choose from to paint your own picture. The various authors of additional modules that can be added to this game, allows a rainbow of options for you to mix and match as you splash the various colors on your canvas. Then along comes a few that have the skill to really let their work shine. Adding music just makes your stories really stand out.


Thank you so very much allowing me to view your beautiful work.


Kristahfer

Abandoned

@kid1293 It is a rather sad story this Christmas but I just could not write a holly jolly one this year - rather Christmas for the children as it should be with faith and hope thrown in.  :) and the beautiful additions to Christmas mod  :)  I love those street lanterns you made, in the snow they look like they are aglow.  :)

@Kristahfer Thank you so much :) I agree it starts with the beauty of this game itself, the change of the seasons, the trees, and the falling snow.  The beauty and variety of the mods can change the whole look and feel of a map like magic.  I am still amazed how it can all fall together.  I hope there will be many more stories to come.

Abandoned

#28
Letter 16  Winter, Year 16

Dear Weary Traveler,


  I hope this letter finds you, and those you love, well.  We had no new outbreak of the unknown disease this past spring for which we were grateful but the elf bringing Santa's mail had a different story to tell.  Santa's workshops at the North Pole are working at less than half capacity to keep the unknown disease outbreaks from spreading.  Holiday Hometown has no workers making toys at all, healthy workers are struggling to produce enough food for the town.  We were asked to make as many wooden toys as we could and we were given the patterns for trains, rocking horses, squirrels, and hippos.  Of course we agreed, this year especially the children should not be disappointed.

  This undertaking would take planning.  We had plenty of logs but they were mostly stockpiled by the railway and the fruit orchards where land was cleared for tracks and fruit trees.  Those would be the best locations for our toymakers.  We could easily build sleighs to store the toys and Santa or his elves would only have to stop to exchange sleighs like he did in Hometown.  After quickly consulting with our town's head dwarf, I had another idea for the elf to take back to Santa.  I got my answer when in spring 13 North Pole elves arrived with their 4 children. 

  We had already begun building 2 Toy workshops, 1 near the railway stockpile and 1 near the orchard stockpile.  We had more houses to build before we would start on sleigh building.  The elves brought word from Santa that by all means we should get toys to the sleighs in Holiday Hometown if we could.  We already had tracks going there, we only needed a train.  All that was needed was an engine, a freight car, and a caboose.  Our dwarves set to work building the freight car first.  Holiday Hometown had 5 sleighs that held 500 toys each.  Would we have time to make 2,500 toys and get them to Hometown before Christmas Eve, plus make enough toys for our own sleighs?  We had to try.   I was reminded that it would take a lot of coal to get the train to Hometown from here.  I assigned another worker to the tiny coal mine and the dwarves built a few mine cart.  The town's children started being extra good for fear they would get a lump of coal in their stockings.

I must go now, weary traveler, there's been another outbreak, stay well.

Abandoned

#29
Letter 17  Early Winter, Year 17

Greetings Weary Traveler,


  It's been a very busy year.  When last I wrote we just had another outbreak.  The 6-year-old daughter of the mansion family, Auren, became ill after awaking from a dream and sneaking outside hoping to see the graveyard ghost.  Her mother didn't realize it was the unknown disease until there was one case after another, there were 13 cases in all.  I had ordered chicken from the riverboat trader so we could have chicken soup in our fireplace kettles to cure the common colds.  Our chickens were laying hens and not the best for making soup.  The ordered chicken meat had not come yet.  We had clothes and iron tools to trade.  Our donations must have helped, the letters to Santa were all asking for toys now.

  The patients were all recovered by late spring when 17 elves with 8 children arrived to help make toys.   We began building houses.  Our food supply and our firewood supply both dropped.  We took to the woods to gather wild foods and firewood.  I also thought it time we secured our future wood supply by building a Tiny forester north of town beyond the hedgerow, and another just north of the railway station where the train engine had just been completed.  The freight car already had 211 toys inside.

  In early autumn I had a woodcutter cutting firewood, our supply would be too low for the coming winter.  I just got word of another outbreak and then word of another death, but it was Renna the gatherer who died during childbirth.  The 3 unknown disease patients all recovered.  By early winter we still needed housing for folks still living in the Inns, but we had a 3rd toy shop making toys.

  It's been a long day weary traveler, I'll write again soon.