Abandoned - Desert Oasis - Story 93

[Abandoned]

This story was originally posted on May 31, 2023

Intro


  This is the 93rd story in the Smallville Series.  The story is about another town on the east coast of the World Map.  It is far south of East Port story 90 but not as far south as the swamplands.  The founding families were told they would find the climate and terrain just like in the old country of Egypt from which they came. Their home country was overcrowded and running short of needed resources. This area was undisturbed and hard to reach by land because of the mountains and the swamp; it was rich in natural resources to be traded with the homeland.  The story begins in year 63 SVT.







Map seed # 115827336    Desert Oasis,   Small,   Upper Nile Fair,   Disasters Off,   Shepard (4 Families)


Mods activated for this map and load order are:

Map Changing and Starting Mods:   Banished UI Maps, Labor Window, RK Minimized Status, CC Light Rain

Tweak Mods:    Better Fields, Fishing Dock +25%, Increased CC,  Longer Living Orchards, 1:1 Alternative (Voeille), Rock Respawn, Tiny Smoke

Major or Must Have Mods:    An Empty Square, Fenceless Pasture, Nomads (Kid), override Uneducated, Storage Crates, A8 Moroccan Miscellaneous, Moroccan Housing, Jinxie Festival Park,  Kid Abandoned Places SE, Kid Mexican Fantasy (update see Mod Notes below), Kid Workplace, Mini Buildings (BL), NMT3 Orchards (RK), Rise of the Pharaoh (Beta 2)

Supporting Mods:   Chicken Coop (TS), DS Bridge Crossing, EB Village Resort Deco, Kid Animal Pen (update - matching fence pieces added), Kid Deco Farm Animals, Kid Deco People, Kid Farmyards, Kid Festival Ground, Kid House Boat, Kid Washing Mod, Kid Workshop, Tiny Chopper, Tiny Quarry


Mod Notes:  Red's Rise of the Pharaoh Beta2 is a beautiful mod but sadly unfinished.  It needs a few thing to make it more playable.  3 things are being added to Kid Mexican Fantasy: a flax patch, an iron deposit, and a market tool smith.  RK's Rise of the Pharaoh's flax is not the same as Kid's flax that is used by Kid Mexican Fantasy market tailor so a flax patch is being added.  All patches in Kid Mexican Fantasy mod require iron to build (for irrigation system); there is no iron in RK's Pharaoh mod so a small source of iron has been added; it is free to build and has a very limited output.  The new tool smith will make wood, stone, or iron tools.




  Can you believe it, weary traveler, the last thing we were told before leaving the old country was "go inland for fresh water but not too far inland; there was a deadly frog invasion in the swamp."  A frog invasion was the 2nd of the 10 plagues that all but destroyed Egypt in ancient times.  I just had a firstborn son aboard ship.  What had I gotten myself into?

[Abandoned]

Chapter 1


  My name is Laverie.  My husband is Jennis; I married him to avoid being married off to a fat old merchant that had 3 fat old wives and many camels.  My sister married one of the merchant's sons; his father saw me at the wedding feast he threw for them.  Our parents had 4 daughters; we had no dowries.  I did not know of this expedition when I married Jennis; it was his idea to marry and to come here.  The voyage was a nightmare with the crying children and the animals; we even had to help row the boat when the sea got rough.

  Jennis and I were the oldest of the 4 couples.  We and another couple were Bedouins, Egyptian herdsmen.  The other 2 couples were craftsmen and merchants.  We came to this distant shore with the merchant's camels, and with our donkeys, goats, sheep, chickens, and cats.  Cats are sacred and will protect our homes and bring us good luck.  We were to establish a settlement with crops and livestock and start production of building materials and trade goods.  How did they think 4 couples with 7 young children would be able to do all that before the ship returned with more workers?  At least there were no frogs in sight.  We saw some strange animals we'd never seen in the desert before, but no frogs.








Chapter 2


  First things first; we had to see to our animals.  Our housing could wait; we were Bedouins and caravan merchants; we were accustomed to sleeping outside with the herds and camels.  The sheep needed attention first.  The goats could go without water for a little while and the camels much longer.  We picked a spot next to the river for the sheep, the palm trees would provide them with shade all morning.  It would be a simple matter to draw water from the river to fill their troughs.  Their pasture would be irrigated to keep it green.





  An animal pen was built for the donkeys at the far end of the sheep pasture.  The donkeys would be feed some hay and grain.  They would pull the water carts to the fields and troughs where needed.  A water barrel was constructed by the river just past the donkey pen.

  Our irrigation barrels needed iron to carry the water from the barrels to the fields.  Iron was scarce in the desert but we found a few small deposits scattered among the stones and other minerals.  There was not much iron to be gotten from one small chunk of iron rock but it would be enough to irrigate the pasture and a few fields.







Chapter 3





  The corn and cotton were doing poorly without irrigation.  A chicken coop was built in between the 2 patches.  The chickens would keep unwanted bugs from damaging the corn and cotton; there would be no boll weevils in our cotton patch.  The chickens would fertilize the crops and weed the patches with their scratching.  Both crops improved as soon as they were irrigated. 





  Next to the cotton patch was a small farmyard where the goats would be kept and tended.  Cabbage, potatoes, and wheat were planted.  The goats would be feed whatever garden refuge was produced.  Fallen branches from the nearby trees would be chopped there and added to the firewood on the stockpile.  The crops were irrigated but the goats would be watered from the well that was dug across from them.  I remember as a child in the old country helping to take the herds of goats and flocks of sheep to the well to be watered.




Chapter 4




  The temperatures had cooled a bit and the fodder growing wild changed to an autumn gold color by the time we got the camels settled in a pen not far from the well.  One of the kittens had already checked out the pen's tent for a cozy spot for a cat nap.  Once our houses were built, each would have a special spot for whichever kitten chooses to stay.  I brought four of them from the same litter with us; they were all black with pretty green eyes.

  We've considered the cats to be sacred since ancient times.  They hunted mice and other rodents that destroyed the crops. They were of great value to the grain fields and temple granaries.  They also protected the houses from those rodents that carried diseases; they protected the families from illnesses.  They were considered to bring good luck and they were pampered.  They will be most welcome in our houses.  They were just kittens when we arrived and were satisfied with a bowl of goats milk.  As they got older they would be fed eggs, chicken, cheese, and fish too. 

  The cats were often associated with the gods and goddesses, and women in general.  I gave the 2 female kittens Egyptian names of Nefertiti and Cleopatra.  The males I names Midnight and Buttons.  We would have more kittens when they get older, enough for every house that gets built. 




Chapter 5


  With the crops planted and the animals cared for, it was time to build our houses. It would take a while since we only had 1 or 2 builders at any given time.  Our supply of both tools and clothes were getting low.  My sister, Ravenie, was a tailor who married the caravan merchant, Eastoney.  Since we needed clothes the most, their caravan tent was the first to be build; it was down at the end of the road past the newly planted flax patch.  A market tailor workplace was built next to it.  She would make linen clothes from cotton or flax.  A small textile market was set up across from the flax patch so the needed materials were close by.





  Laverner was a caravan tool merchant.  He built a tally tent, a caravan tent, and a market tool maker workplace by the stockpile.  Stone tools were being made.  There was a little iron left after building the patch irrigation pipes so that would be used up making a few iron tools as well. We hoped soon for copper tools like we had back in Egypt.  A woodcutter's stump was being built by the tool maker too.  Branches were being gathered from the wild and a branch cart was being emptied unto the stockpile continually.



  The last 2 houses were finally built for Sergil and Julissouri, and Jennis and I.  Our newborn had just turned 2.  The Bedouin houses were well suited to us herdsmen and farmers.  Between us we would care for the sheep, goats, and chickens.  I would look after the cats and the donkeys; the merchants would tend the camels.  Jennis was the first one fishing from the new mini fishing pier by the water barrel.  A heated washing barrel and scrub bucket were set up there for those who would rather take their washing to the water than take the water from the barrel or the well to the washing.







Chapter 6




  By the time the fishing pier was built, so was the trading post and the storage barn by the stockpile; our storage cart was almost full.   A caravan merchant food market was set up by the well.  It was a bit closer than the barn was to take the crops from the patches to.  Being by the well, it was convenient to pick up food from the market when going to fill our jars with water.  Anything that saved us time was welcome; we just did not have enough workers, although one of the girls just became a working adult.



  What? A school?  No, we had no school.  We didn't need schooling to be farmers and herdsmen and caravan merchants, or to work in the mud pits.  Back home only boys were schooled to be scribes.  We had no need for a scribe here.  But we did need workers and that 2nd year the ship returned with 15 more, all adult workers.







Chapter 7

  We sent word back with the ship that we needed date and fig trees; there were none here.  The trees we did have here were very important to us for shade; we didn't want to cut too many before more were planted to take their place.  We needed a forester, and we needed houses for the new workers.  Those worker houses needed clay to build.



  A clay pit was dug along the river south of the water barrel and fishing pier.  An Egyptian hut was built near the pit for one of the new families.  Two members of the family got right to work in the clay pit.  Inland from there, a forester and a gatherer were built; 2nd floor houses made of clay were built above each workplace for the workers and their families.





  The last family also built and Egyptian hut by the clay pit on the new road leading back to town. along the river.   At the end of that road a potter's workshop was built.  Clay not used for house building would go there to make pottery which in turn would be taken further down the road to either the storage barn for our use or the trading post.  We just never seemed to have enough pieces of pottery.






Chapter 8




  The ship returned in the spring of year 3 with fig seeds and 5 workers with 1 child.  We did not have enough trade goods to exchange for the seeds, but waiting until next time would give us time to prepare a spot for the orchard.  We were already planning where we could plant more vegetable.  With more workers we could add another gatherer and forester and plan the orchard for that area.  The new workers agreed; they would be happy to live and work in an area with more trees and shade.





   One couple built a clay house not far from the gatherer and forester.  Their baby daughter was born while they waited for the house to be completed.   Their adult daughter moved into the 2nd floor house that was built above them.  The girl was a blacksmith; she knew how to make useable metals from ores, and she knew how to make tools.  A blacksmith forge was built for her behind the 2-story house.  The last couple with the child moved into a house that was built above the blacksmith.  A caravan general market was built by the complex. 



  Land was cleared for an orchard west of the complex.  We had our doubts about how good fruit trees would do there; the sand on the dune was forever shifting with every wind that blew.  The forester and the gatherer were doing very good in that area; both would get another worker.  The gatherer was providing us with a nice variety of wild foods including honey, lettuce, lentils, pulse, mushrooms, roots, onions, leeks, garlic, berries, and eggs from the wild geese we saw.  Milk, eggs, chicken, fish, mutton, plus grain and vegetables from our patches rounded out our diet nicely, just like back in the old country.





Chapter 9



  We plant more corn, cabbage, and potatoes in a small farmyard next to the camel pen.  We added a couple of wild berry bushes, and some chickens for bug control.  Our chickens had multiplied.  The vegetables were close to the well for watering but we would add irrigation if needed.   We now had another donkey for hauling water, and we had more kittens. 

  We gave some thought to what the latest workers told us; there were many people in the old country that wanted to come here, enough to fill a city.  A city!  Well, there was room to expand.  We built 2 small wooden bridges across the stream to survey the area; there was plenty of room.  Would we be able to provide food and water to a multitude of people in the desert?  There was a good fishing spot by the riverbend on the small island but that would hardly be enough.  It would take more thought and some careful planning.









Chapter 10





    With the thought of more people to feed, we planted another farmyard of cabbage, potatoes, and corn.  There was room for it behind our Bedouin houses.  Across the road behind the tool smith we built a bakery to make our customary flat breads from our corn.  Our tool count had risen; the tool smith still had a little iron, and the blacksmith in the forest complex was now making quality copper tools.  Our clothing supply was still a bit low; we may need to plant another cotton patch.

  More workers arrived with the seed merchant that spring of year 4; again, we could not trade for the fig seeds.  There were 12 adults with 4 young children.  They went to work gathering stone and other resources and digging a mud pit.  Three of them went to work digging mud and making mud bricks.  They built 3 Egyptian huts there by the mud pit.  We built a cemetery nearby when one of the stonecutters was crushed by a rock.  Work began on the other side of the stream.






Chapter 11




  A large hostel was being built across the stream for the remaining families plus a small market nearby.  It was taking a long time to produce enough mud and mud bricks to complete them.  Meanwhile, a stone bridge was built across the river to the island.  A mini fishing pier was built at the river bend along with a small hut for the fisherman's family.  Another stone bridge crossed over the river to the area east of the hostel.



It was year 5 before the hostel was completed. The small market by the hostel had little more than fish and a small amount of wild food.  A gatherer with a clay house above was built behind the hostel, and a mud house was built behind the small market.  All the families were housed, and a small rest area and a playground for the children were built by the market.   



And then Rodolf, the seed merchant from the old country, arrived with 16 more, 13 adults with 3 children.  We still could not trade for the fig seeds.  We sent him away with a request that more families wait a few years until we could provide more housing; the hostel was again full.  Behind the hostel, another clay house and another mud house were built.






Chapter 12


   It was the following year that Killie, the general goods merchant, arrived with something he knew we would want: beer.  Yes, beer.  It was a favorite beverage of Egyptians since ancient times and it was ages since we have had any.  We traded for all 50 barrels he had plus date seeds.  All work was stopped for the day so we could enjoy that beer.  Planting the dates in the forest complex orchard could wait a day or 2.  The forest there was thriving and despite our reservations, the date trees did too.



  We began work on another hostel, next to the first but found ourselves short of materials.  We did not have enough mud, mud bricks, or bronze.  The mud and bricks would take time but we could not find any more bronze, just a lot of copper, tin, stone, and limestone.  While looking for bronze and waiting for mud and bricks, we built a gateway across the river by the stone bridge.  We planned to build a stone wall to prevent the strange wild animals there from entering our city. 





  The gateway was completed, and work on the wall and road paving had begun.  Our stonecutters decided to use the limestone to make 2 small sphinx statues to adorn the gateway entrance.  Two cat statues were carved and placed by the wooden bridge that crossed the small stream.  By then we had 2 river barges to move materials, and a houseboat.  We were running short of materials; iron deposits were scarce, we still had not found more bronze, and the surface stone deposits were being depleted. We could not depend on the old country for resources: we were here to provide them with resources, not the other way around.  In year 7, Rodolf, the seed merchant, came again with fig seeds.






Chapter 13




  We traded logs, thatch, and pottery for the fig seeds, and planted an orchard in an area with few trees west of the gatherer behind the hostel.  There was still plenty of wild food in the area to be gathered.  To the east of the gatherer behind the 2nd hostel building site, we began building large Moroccan houses; we had large families still living in the 1st hostel.  A large market was planned in the center of the walled area but it too was waiting for mud, bricks, and bronze.  We learned from the adult son of one of those families that it was possible to make bronze from copper and tin.  Our forest blacksmith confirmed it.  She stopped making copper and copper tools and began make tin from the tin ore on our stockpiles.  Our caravan merchant smith sent laborers out scouting for more iron deposits.  We would need more iron tools while the forest smith was busy with making first tin and then bronze; it was going to take a while to produce the bronze we needed.





  Another blacksmith shop was built inside the stone wall in the corner by the planned market; the adult son who informed us of the process, built a clay house above the shop and became the blacksmith.  He would make the bronze from the tin and copper.  Before long, the 2nd hostel was completed.






Chapter 14


  Rodolf returned again and brought 28 more migrants from the old country. We told him no more; if we were to supply resources to the old country, we could not continue to use them here.   There were 20 adults with 8 children that he brought.  Both hostels were filled and there were 2 families left homeless.  We were short of stone and could not built any more Moroccan houses; some of the families wanted large houses.  We could not continue building the wall and one wild boarlike creature was inside.  We built one clay house next to the blacksmith.





  We built 3 more mud houses by the small market and playground. The house on the end built a small chicken coop and asked me for some chickens. The small market would have eggs.  A fountain was built in front of the 1st hostel, and irrigation was added to the fig orchard.  We finally had enough bronze so that work on the large market could continue. 





  The market was quite impressive when it was completed.  It was sure to draw a crowd when it was well stocked with food and other essentials.




Chapter 15


  With the market built, we hopefully would not need any more bronze, our remaining copper could be used for tools.  No one here wanted to work in a copper mine; in ancient Egypt it was a fate worse than death to work in a copper mine. In the future we may be forced to return to stone or wooden tools.  We had more than enough wood; our 4 foresters could not cut the trees fast enough to keep up with the growth. They had done no planting for several years.  They tried to keep the trees from invading the date orchard.  We had the laborers help cut trees and take the logs to the trading post.



  We needed stone.  We had no choice, we needed to quarry stone.  We could perhaps get workers to work in a tiny well-shaded quarry or 2.  We would pick a spot where we had gathered a lot of surface stone; there was sure to be stone below the sand.  We picked 2 spots, one on the small island. The stockpile was right by the bridge that led to the stone gate, and to the market where we need the stone. The second spot for a quarry was west of the first hostel not far from the fig orchard.  We built awnings for shade over each one. 








   With the needed stone we were able to finish the wall, build 4 large Moroccan houses, a tannery, and bath house.  While we waited for the stone to complete each of those buildings, another clay house was built by the gate, and two mud houses and a camel pen were built alongside the market.  Both hostels were empty; all the families had homes.  We were ready to begin supplying the old country with materials other than just the logs.  But first we would celebrate.




Chapter 16




  The city was decorated with flags and banners in preparation for the celebration festival.  We traded logs for the beer that we ordered.  It would be served to adults in the large market along with plenty of food for the whole family.  A music tent and benches were set up in the market square.  A puppet show was set up not far from the children's playground.  There were booths serving lemonade, and candy, and elixirs for those who had too many treats.  There was music and laughter everywhere.  It was a grand celebration.





  There were 8 of us who came from the Land of the Pharaohs with our children, and our camels and donkeys, and our goats, sheep, chickens, and cats.  We built 2 merchant caravan tents and 2 Bedouin houses for our 4 families, and by year 12 we built a whole city with 40 houses and 62 families.  Desert Oasis has a population of 153, 96 adults and 57 children.  We know because the son of one of the last families to arrive, kept records.  He had been studying to be a scribe when the family left the old country.  He built a caravan tent and a mini town hall by the well and food market in town.  He took a census, and he found everyone to be happy and healthy as well.  There were no giant frogs.




So, weary traveler, that's about all I have to tell.  I wish you and yours well.


The End

[catty-cb]

  even better the 2nd time around