News:

Welcome to World of Banished!

Main Menu

Abandoned - Haunted Hollow - Story 19

Started by Abandoned, October 16, 2017, 10:45:20 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Abandoned

Intro:

This is the 19th story in the Smallville series.  It is just over one year ago that I posted my first story, telling the tale of the town of Smallville.  This group is not one of the expedition that set out from Smallville like many others had.  This group was turned away from Smallville due to overcrowding and food shortages.  They turned to piracy to survive and in fact were doing business out of a smuggler's cave southwest of this location.  When settlers arrived there and established the settlement of Monkstown, this group decide to relocate to this location where there was less chance of being discovered.  This is their tale.

The map is # 105864304  Green Valley, Small, Mild, disasters Off, Easy Start

Mods  and Load Order:

Starting and Map Changing Mods:  Banished UI Maps, Labor Window, RK Minimizes Status, EB Green Valley, Color Roads, DS Roads, New Flora with Gatherer.

Tweak Mods:  Better Fields, Bigger Wheel Barrows, Fishing Dock +25%, Hunting and Gathering, Hunting Season, Longer Living Orchards, Increased CC, 1:1 Aging, Rock Respawn, Tool Value Up, Woodcutter +3.

Major or Must Have Mods:   An Empty Square, Nomad Sign Complete, Kid: AlotofSeeds Trader, Forest Outpost, Gothic Deco, Gothic Fantasy, Gothic Farm, More Houses Dark, Tiny Separate

Supporting Mods:  Brads Smoking Shed, Campfire, Chicken Coop, Creepy Cemetery, Decorative Items Pack, EB Natural Irrigation Deco, Fenceless Pasture, Forest Combo, Kid Bed and Breakfast, Kid Old Fence, Leghorn, Smuggler's Cave, Storage Crates, Warehouse Inc.


Yes, weary traveler, those were dark days indeed when we first settled here.  We feared the Shadow of Death had fallen over us as it had fallen over Erathia back in the old days.  We were afraid, we were very afraid.  Let me tell you ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pi0GapxyT0Q

Abandoned

#1
Chapter 1

  We arrived in early spring with as many goods as we could carry from our smuggler's cave to the southwest.  We made a comfortable living off the river boatman who passed by.  They often threw goods overboard to lighten their load in order to pass by quickly.  All we had to do was collect the merchandise.  When settlers showed up we knew it wouldn't be long before we'd have to move on.  They just keep poking around.  We overheard talk by the river boatmen that this area was haunted.  Yes, haunted, can you believe that?  Well, we didn't believe it either but we thought the rumors would be enough to keep others away.  It wasn't long before we believed those rumors ourselves.

  There were 12 of us adults with 5 young children.  We immediately set to work building houses and a large barn for supplies.  My husband, Kentony, and I were both builders, my name is Rean.  We named our settlement Haunted Hollow.  The haunting began almost immediately.

  It began simply enough with a frightful howling that awoke us from our sleep around the midnight hour.  It was a sound the likes of which we had never heard before.  It reminded us of the scary tales of hell hounds that we heard as children.  We feared for the safety of the children and our sheep, but no one was brave enough to venture out to investigate.   Whenever we dared to peeked out the window, the moon was covered by dark ominous clouds.

  During the daylight hours we worked hard to establish the basic necessities: food, firewood, clothing, tools, and education, 2 of the children would reach school age soon.  By nightfall we were all safely inside behind barred doors fearing the haunting sounds would disturb our sleep again.  And they did, night after night, but the sheep and the town's people remained unharmed.

Several of the men, Kentony included, ventured as far as the river and found a suitable cave for pirating purposes.  They made it home just before dark, I was relieved.  Ken said we should start building a fishing pier. 

  In early autumn we built a beekeepers hut.  Belley planted several apple tree seedlings and we all wondered what sorcery she performed.  The trees grew and produced apples shortly after they were planted, and the last day of autumn, All Hallows Eve, the wind howled ominously through those trees all night long.  The strange howlings were heard often that winter, keeping us awake many nights.  We needed our sleep; in late autumn our first-born son Orlan and 4 other babies were born in Haunted Hollow.


Abandoned

#2
Chapter 2

  We were all glad when spring arrived with longer daylight hours.  Our food and firewood supply held up well over the winter months.  We wanted to be sure that continued.  The men ventured into the forest to the northwest and build a forester station and the farmers planted corn and pumpkins.  There were wild foods and herbs to be collected.  The apple trees were already blooming and producing fruits.  We now longer questioned this, we just accepted the fact we had an enchanted grove producing apples and honey.

  We thought it time to build a town hall to keep track of production statistics and other vital information.   At the first town meeting we agreed an enclosed classroom was needed.  Although there had been no trouble from the howling beasts, we worried about the children's safety in the outdoor classroom.  We also realized that with the children in school, it would be years before we gained more workers.  Should any wanders arrive in our haunted town we wanted a way to encourage them to stay.

  By early autumn a fantastic Bed and Breakfast hostel was completed and a tiled plaza was being constructed.  The warm autumn colors brightened our days and lifted our spirits, and they needed lifting after a second scarecrow appeared this autumn.  No one questioned the appearance of the first one last autumn.  Both crop farmers assumed the other had erected the scarecrow and each thought it was an odd time of year to do so.  This year, when I came out of the house and found the second scarecrow right next door, I question not only the time of year, but the time of day it was erected.  I knew it had not been there the day before when I went indoors just before dark.  Kentony agreed, it had not been there. 

  We called a town meeting and no one knew or admitted knowing a thing about either scarecrow.  We were all a bit more uneasy as we hurried home before dark.  Being the end of autumn, the howling and wind again resumed with vigor.  Some said it was only because the leaves were off the trees that it seemed that way.  Whatever the case may be, we all couldn't wait until the longer brighter days of spring.

Abandoned

#3
Chapter 3

  In spring of year 3, 5 nomads arrived in town and they were happy to stay with us.  We were happy to have 5 more workers.  The plaza had been finished and the enchanted trees were already producing apples and provided a shady spot to sit and rest or to enjoy a morning meal from the newly completed Breakfast Nook.  We had plenty of wild oats, berries, and apples to make a hearty oatmeal.  Soon we would have flour to make other breakfast treats which would include coffee from coffee beans grown in our own coffee greenhouse.  By summer, a market was built and most of the landscaping had been done.  The plaza was a nice place to idle and be happy.

  In early autumn the mill was completed.  Next year we would rotate the corn and pumpkin crops.  One house for our new residents was completed by the farm storage shed and another was planned at the same location.  At the end of autumn the last guests in the Bed & Breakfast hostel wanted to know whose crying woke them from their sleep at midnight.  They thought the sad sobbing may have come from the plaza.  Certainly no one would have been outside after dark much less at the plaza at midnight.  But what I found most unnerving was the fact that I had a dream that woke me at midnight.  I dreamed I was crying and I awoke feeling very lost and alone, as if I had been abandoned by someone I cared deeply for.  It was a very empty feeling.  And it was very quiet, there was no howling that night.

  I was still disturbed by the strange dream as I prepared breakfast for Kentony and Orlan that morning, and even more so when I learned of the crying heard coming from the plaza during the night.  To make matters worse, a third scarecrow was discovered by the market, again no one knew anything about it.  As the year drew to a close, I still could not shake the sad empty feeling and wondered if the Night Cap Tap shouldn't be making a stout ale rather than apple or fruit ciders.  We would have to trade for wheat or wheat seeds.  Perhaps it was time to start thinking about doing some trading.

brads3

have you really been telling the stories that long? time does fly when you are having fun.

Abandoned

Hi @brads3 , it doesn't seem that long but yes, a whole year.  Then again I thought 19 is a lot of stories in 1 year, more than 1 a month.  It has been fun, and there are more to come.  :)

brads3

do mine for me while you are at it. the computer gremlins are eating me alive.

TaylorItaly


Abandoned

Thank you @TaylorItaly , I am glad you are enjoying the story.

@brads3 I have been following your town, it is doing well despite computer problems.  :)

brads3

worst of it is my system keeps shutting it down. i have to keep saving and sometimes go back to an earlier save to nurse the game forwards.plus by now the bannies live so far away from the work it takes time to clear and carry materials.every time i try to build houses they kick laborers out and move builders in.

Abandoned

@brads3 it sounds like the map with so much on it is overheating your system and it is shutting down on you.  Maybe shortening play time will keep it cooler and prevent shut downs.  That must be so frustrating especially now when you must be getting close to completing your goal.

kid1293

@Abandoned - Thanks for doing this 'test' of Bed & Breakfast!
I am pretty sure it is working, but my eyes can have missed something.

It is getting more and more spooky. Nice Halloween setting.

Abandoned

@kid1293 , you are welcome, thank you for making another beautiful mod.  :)

Abandoned

#13
Chapter 4

  By the time year 3 came to an end, there were plans to build a water wheel mill on the small stream and to clear another crop field.  We would need more workers and more grain before assigning a worker.  The foundation was laid for a tiny hospital and a trading post.  Five children had been born, our own son, Millie included.  Our population was 32, 17 adults, 4 students, and 11 young children.  In spring of year 4, 4 more nomads joined our town.

  There was little to remind us of the hauntings, all was quiet during the night except for an occasional sob from the plaza.  I always knew before being told because I would awake with that sad empty feeling every time.  The only other reminder of the hauntings was the scarecrows, but every time we took them down, they reappeared by the next morning.

  In early autumn the trading post was completed and Cleaveric became trader.  He began stocking it with iron tools, beeswax, venison, and leather, items we had a surplus of.  In autumn it was he who discovered the 4th scarecrow near the trading post.  Like the rest of us, his sleep had been disturbed by the thundering sounds of a horse galloping through town.  I awoke first with a feeling of happiness followed almost immediately by a feeling of great sadness.  I was surprised to learn that Kentony awoke with those same opposing feelings.  He had a strange dream he barely remembered, only that in it he was riding a black war horse.  We talked of taking the children and leaving Haunted Hollow, but that thought was totally unacceptable to me.  I could not bear the thought of leaving the Hollow.

Some town residents said the galloping was interrupted by  the clink of armor and the frightening neigh of a horse before the galloping sounds resumed again.  Those still living in the Bed and Breakfast again heard sobbing from the plaza.  Both Cleaver, the brewer, and Anti, the apple-farming waitress, noticed 2 blue coffee mugs on one of the tables.   Like the scarecrows, when the mugs were removed they reappeared the next morning.  We had the start of a very nice mug collection.

Abandoned

#14
Chapter 5

  In Spring of year 5, 6 more nomads arrived in town.  It was a cool rainy spring so they were happy to have a warm dry place to call home.  We townspeople were happy that whatever coffee beans were not being used at the Breakfast Nook were available at the market and storage sheds to be picked up and taken home.  A hot cup of coffee was most welcome on those chilly spring mornings.

  In late summer, Beverla, the resource Merchant, arrived at the trading post.  His first concern was the smuggler's cave; he knew there had been trouble in the past with pirate's downriver near Monskstown but had not heard of any here.  We assured him we knew of no such activity here, no, no pirates, and added that we have been storing some items in that cave and may at some point use it to store alcohol since the cave was the perfect temperature for that.  We had in fact not given any thought to pirating; we had everything we needed and more, and besides, this was the first river boatman we had seen.

  The boatman only had logs to trade and since we didn't need any, he was soon on his way.  He did ask if we'd had any trouble with ghosts or undead creatures; he saw the scarecrow and he'd heard talk.  He said it was a well know fact that this area was the site of many battles with the undead back during the time of the great Restoration of Erathia.  That fact was not known to us so we thanked him for the information, but we did not share our haunting experiences with him.
 
  In fact, I had a haunting experience I did not share with anyone, not even Kentony.   A small bridge was built across the stream when the water wheel mill began milling flour.  We were hoping there would be sufficient space for more crop fields on that side of the stream, but other than cutting a few trees on the other side of the bridge, no one investigated further.   I was gathering wild foods on this side of the stream when suddenly the sky darkened and the thunder rolled, a cold wind picked up and it began to rain.  And that's when I saw a shadowy figure across the stream.   It looked to me as if the dark ghostly figure was a warrior with a sword.  It was difficult to see.  But when I first saw that dark warrior, my heart leapt but not with fear, with happiness like when waking from the strange dreams.  The apparition disappeared as suddenly as it had appeared and I was filled once again with great sadness and sense of loss.   Cold, wet, and confused I turned and hurried home.

  That autumn the sound of horse's hoofs were heard crossing the wood bridge and again sad sobbing was heard coming from the plaza.  The 5th scarecrow was found in the morning by the new herbalist by the forester station not far from the wood bridge.