Abandoned - Newburg - Story 1 - A Whole New World Series

[Abandoned]

Chapter 10

  The harvest in year 11 looked like it would be a good one; there was no early frost or snow.  Half the crops were harvested but our food supply was still low.  We had no coats again.  The Nords were still not happy and who could blame them.  The mead was sitting in storage untouched.  Jenser had an idea.  He wanted to build a mead hall but there was no place that would be easily accessible to the most citizens.  I suggested we build a new longhouse by the new farm field, move the family out of the old longhouse and demolish it.  That would be a good spot for the mead hall.  Jenser agreed.
 




  A small workplace cabin was built by the animal pen and another over by the river.  Families from the hostel moved into those and the family from the old longhouse moved into the new one.  Work was very slow; we only had 2 laborers and 1 builder.  We then discovered that we needed tar for the new mead hall.  A tar kiln was built over by the stone quarry.  After assigning a worker, we were left with only one laborer.  The farmers would be able to help once the crops were harvested.  We were always waiting for something, either supplies or workers.  It was a bit discouraging.  Completing the mead hall was going to take a while.

[galensgranny]

Good thing you are building a Mead Hall (tavern).  In The North, no one is every fully happy unless they live in the radius of a tavern type building that is stocked with either some kind of liquor, or the meat that that can be roasted in the Mead Hall.  But, the roasted meat in the Mead Hall then does not count as food anymore. I messed up and thought it would count as food, so all that venison being roasted in the Mead Hall contributed to my town's lack of food when I thought I should have plenty.

Did you see what Tom posted about happiness in The North?  It can be a pain making sure all the Bannies are living in circles for all the needed aspects. https://www.banishedventures.com/howto-happiness/

[Abandoned]

Thanks, @galensgranny for posting the link; I did read it before starting the map.  It is a real challenge.  Good to know that roast meat in Mead Hall would not count as food, I will remember that.  I first built the workplace brewer barrel thinking it would count as happiness, but the mead just went into storage and sat there.  I was very glad to discover the Mead Hall would use it. 

The happiness isn't challenge enough, I make a storyline that I can't build a trading post yet.    I discovered some materials must be gotten from trader first before building, even the well needs rope that must be traded for.

I have a plan for story     

[Abandoned]

Chapter 11

  A family of 5 arrived in the Spring of year 13, we could not turn them away.  We still had houses to build but there was room in both the hostel and the longhouse.  When taking my yearly citizen count, I discovered that Glendalla had a 3rd child.  How could this be.  She was still unmarried and still would not say who the children's father was.  Jenser and I tried to figure it out but couldn't.  She arrived with the 2nd group of migrants 10 years ago.  There were 3 families with children which included 2 adult females and 1 adult male age 13.  There was an adult male age 12 and Andell age 45, and there was Glendalla age 17.  She and Andell were not a couple.  They were among the first to move into houses, he a turf house and she the bait shop nearby.  Well, we would probably never know; hopefully she will tell the children who their father is.  We had business to take care of.





  Our clothing supply recovered a little but then the tailor was again out of wadmal; she would have to stop making coats and make wadmal first.  The coat count would drop again.  We built another tailor shop over by the market.  One shop could make wadmal and the other could make the coats.  Hopefully, this would solve our constant coat shortage.  Before we got that problem solve, another arose; we were again out of tools.  The smith had run out of iron bars to make tools and had to switch to making iron bar.  A worker immediately began making stone tools again.
 


  In early winter of year 13, the mead hall was completed.  We were happy to see that the unused barrels of mead made by our small workplace brewer were taken from storage and were being served in the mead hall.  Ale or roast meat could have been made instead.  The gathering place and mead did make some of the Nords happy.  By the beginning of year 14, the town's overall happiness rose a little bit.



  By then we hoped we solved our tool problem like we did the tailors.  We built a 2nd smith's workplace not far from the first one.  One would make the iron bars and one would make tools, fittings, or whatever else may be needed.   We realized that available bog iron was getting scarce; we may soon need a mine for iron ore.

[galensgranny]

Did you try kicking Andell out of his turf house to see if he would move in with Glendalla?  Sometimes a family takes up two houses. 

[Abandoned]

No, I didn't, I did not notice it at first.  Whenever I get nomads and they are in temporary housing, I write down the year and families in order - sometimes I take a screenshot.  It is always the same - husband, wife, children, family group together even if just the couple.  Glendalla and Andell were not together as a couple.  Stranger things have happened    Makes for an interesting tidbit in the story.

[Abandoned]

Chapter 12


  Indeed, the chapel and the mead hall increased the happiness of some folks in town.  Our neighbors to the left of us and their children were completely happy.  Two of our children and myself were also completely happy but Jenser and our 3rd daughter were not.  Neither were our neighbors to the right or the ones across from us.





  Another workplace beehive was setup by the barley field to be sure we did not run out of honey for mead brewing.  Over by the grinder, a workplace baker oven was built.  It baked herb bread until we ran out of herbs, then switched to making nut bread with our walnuts.  Our food surplus was higher than it had ever been but the variety for everyone could still be improved.  Folks were happier with a more varied diet rather than eating the same thing day after day.



  Our one chapel was filled to capacity so two more were built.  As soon as the one down by the market was completed, our neighbors on the right and those across from us became members and were much happier.  The other chapel was built over by the sawmill and was also immediately filled with members.  There were families still in the hostel next to that chapel; I'm sure they would be happier with houses.

[Abandoned]

Chapter 13


  Two frame houses and a well were built over by the mead hall.  They became happier just moving into their own houses close to the mead hall, chapel, and market.  Another workplace house was built next to the chapel by the market and that family also became happier.



  Our tool supply had increased and there were more iron tools than stone tools.  Our clothing supply was lagging behind but it was warm clothes that were being made now.  The tailor often had to wait for linen and would switch to using sheepskins instead.  The weaver's hut was always short of flax, the small flax field was not big enough.  Since our food supply was holding steady and there was enough barley in storage for the grinder to make flour for the baker, we decided that the small barley field by the greenhouses would grow flax this year.  Better tools and clothes were sure to make folks happy.





  Our family was completely happy now.  Jenser was happy with his new job as gatherer.  He was now working in the quiet forest gathering wild foods and firewood.  Our house was in a pretty busy area across from the town center with its mini town hall, brewer barrel, and outdoor classroom.  The classroom was our only school and only could teach 5 students at a time.  Our oldest daughter, Merika, did not go to school; the classroom was full when she reached school age.  She really didn't need an education for the jobs she was doing.  The classroom was busier when migrants came to town; a brief course in survival was given to those just passing through, most going south.  There was a lot of coming and going right out our front door.

  Jenser had not been happy dealing with the constant food, firewood, tool, and clothing shortages.  Now that those supplies had increased and become more stable, Jenser had mentioned a desire to head south too, do some exploring, see if there were other settlements and possibilities for trade.  Yes, eager explorer, it was something to think about.

[Abandoned]

Chapter 14






  Newburg is actually not a bad place to live and the winters are not all that bad; temperatures are usually in the upper teens and low 20s.  The winter of year 14 was a cold one; it got down to only 4 degrees.  We've had no major storms, the snow falls gently.  The roads are always passable.  The winter days are very short and the nights and the shadows are very long.  It's nice to have the greenhouses and our little chapels.  Workers often stopped in at both for a few minutes just to warm up.  We built yet another chapel over by the apple and walnuts trees; it's in a good spot for the outside workers in that area to take a break. 





   Summer in Newburg is always pleasant with sunshine and temperatures in the low to mid 60s.  It's been as warm as 67 degrees on more than one occasion.  Autumn is usually a bit chilly and by late autumn winter arrives with cold and snow.  Spring is always welcome when it finally arrives; that spring of year 16 especially, because a 2nd mead hall was under construction over by the river.

[Abandoned]

Chapter 15



  Construction of the mead hall stopped while the builders waited for tar.  It was summer before the building was completed and the mead was brought out of storage.  We had plenty of mead on hand but were not sure how fast 2 mead halls would go through the supply.  We would have to keep a close eye on the brewer barrel and the beehives.  Our overall happiness improved again and we did not want it to drop.



  Jesnser spent a lot of time in that mead hall but it was not to drink mead.  He was busy going over boat blueprints with the new boat builder.  One of the woodcutters from the sawmill decided she would try to build some boats.   It should not be too difficult to make a basic riverboat.  Surely there must be a settlement or two downriver where some trading could be done.  A fishing boat might be useful, maybe even a boat like the one we had.  Construction of the first riverboat began immediately.





  There were other constructions that had also begun.  Not wanting the town's overall health to drop, an herbalist hut was built over by the cemetery.  A frame house was being build next to it and another one further down the road.  There were several young couples that wanted homes, but both houses were waiting for clay before they could be finished.



  The first riverboat was completed and equipped with crates and barrels and a cover for them.  If any young couples wanted to set off on their own, they were being encouraged to settle along a river in the hopes of later being part of a trade route.  Starting supplies would be given to them, just like back in Smallville.  We should start thinking of growing more potatoes.

[Abandoned]

Chapter 16




  We noticed that the harvest of year 16 was not being taken to storage; the half-barrels of barley and turnips were sitting on the fields.  The storage units were full but there was plenty of room in the market but still the crops sat out on the fields.  We assigned another worker to the market thinking to make room in the pit houses, but then it snowed.  We may have lost some crops but our harvest totals were still very good.  We built a small turf storage unit by the herbalist and a log shed down the road closer to the barley field.  The two houses in that area still did not have enough tar on site for the builders to complete their work.   We were also short of bog iron; construction work began on an iron mine north of the foresters.
 




  In spring of year 17, another group of migrants arrived but did not stay; they headed south.  They did not want to take a boat.  Our daughter, Mericka, was concerned every time her father talked about exploring this new world.  She was 15, and old enough to marry.  She was good friends with both Lenaro living next to us and Zollins living 2 doors down, 17-year-old Alvadore, in one of the frame houses behind the mead hall, seemed interested in her.  She said she was not going anywhere. 

  It was a hot summer with temperatures in the upper 70s.  Work continued on the mine but stopped long enough for the builders to return to the frame houses when the needed tar was finally available.





  The two frame houses along that back row were finally completed in autumn. Zollins along with Abigayley moved into one house, and his younger brother, Ranco, moved into the other.  Merika did not seem upset.

[Abandoned]

  Chapter 17


  In winter of year 17, Kamersalda, the hunter from the hunting camp was killed by a bear.  We were not aware of any bears in the area.  Neither of the hunters, up by where the mine was being dug, had ever seen one, and Kamersalda never mentioned ever seeing a bear or any sign of one.  Thinking it may have come from the southwest valley, we decided to build another hunting camp by the southwest barley field.  One less hunter would work in the north forest, we did not have many spare workers.
 
  Kamersalda was Alvadore's mother, and she left behind 2 other children ages 13 and 2 and a 29-year-old husband.  They were among the migrants that arrived in year 8.  Our daughter, Mericka, moved into the household soon after Kamersalda's passing, and took over her job as hunter.
 


  It was not clear to us just who our daughter was living with, Alvadore or his father; she claimed she was there to help take care of the 2-year-old toddler but we were not so sure. She would say no more.  There had been some speculation that there had been trouble in the marriage a few years ago but the couple had reconciled and had another baby.  Merika could not have been involved; she would only have been 12 or 13 at the time.  Again, she would not say.   She did say we should not worry; she would still look after her 2 sisters until we returned should we go off exploring.

  It was only a short time later that Windel the farmer died unexpectedly.  He left behind a wife, a married daughter, a 9-year-old daughter, and a 2-year-old son.  Windel, his wife, and oldest daughter were with the migrants that arrived in year 2.   

  The iron mine was completed in the following year.

[angainor88]

Unexpected bear, oh no!

[Abandoned]

Chapter 18




  Well, believe it or not, eager explorer, but in that first group of migrants with Windel and his wife, was Flemingo, the 39-year-old man who went off by himself and built the goahti up by the clay pit.  In the summer of year 18 that goahti was demolished.  In its place was built a frame house.  It was thought Windel would move into the longhouse or hostel until the new house was completed for him but instead, he moved in with Windels' widow, Amera. Maybe he was happy now.  And of course there was talk.





  There was another frame house and a stew pot built up where Flemingo's goahti used to be.  Rabbit stew was soon bubbling in the pot for all the outside workers up in that area.  There was only 1 miner assigned to the new iron mine, and another worker got a forester's workplace overlapping the other 2.  The mine would need a supply of logs and tallow to expand the shafts.  There were plans for a few workplace houses, another mead hall, and a 5th chapel.  The town's overall happiness dropped a little bit for reasons unknown. 



  Jenser and I were happy to have our 4th daughter, Arete, in late autumn.  Jenser said not to worry, when we go exploring, she and her sister Amia will go with us.  Sharmaniel would be starting school next year if there was room.  She would remain here with her older sister, Mericka.

[Abandoned]

Chapter 19


   There would definitely be room for more students in school the following year; a workplace schoolhouse was built where the small flax patch used to be.  The weaver thought she would have enough flax from the larger patch alone; production had improved.  If not, we could always find room for another patch somewhere.  There would be room for 12 students in the new school.





  The new chapel over by the forest and mine was completed in spring of year 19 also; 26 members immediately joined.  There was still not enough room for all the citizens in our 5 chapels.  It would be nice to have a large church someday.  The 3rd mead hall was completed by summer; we had plenty of mead in stock.  Our iron was a bit low so another miner went to work in the mine and a bit more bog iron was gathered from distant bogs.



  We had a good supply of fertilizer on hand, more than enough for another greenhouse.  One was built by the new chapel along with a log shed.  Our storage units were again nearing capacity. It would be nice to have a large storage barn someday, but for now everyone would have a full pantry including the 3 young single males that moved into the workplace cabins that were built on the other side of the new mead hall.  The boys were ages 13 and 14 whereas Alvadore, who was still living at home with his father and our daughter, was 19.