Intro
This is the 14th story in the New World Series. It tells the tale of the dwarves, nords, and elves who came through the bear cave from Barnyards of Story 13 looking for gold. They spent some time navigating the twisting and turning cave tunnels and finally came out in a mountain clearing northwest of Barnyards. They settled near a river as advised in Barnyards and hoped a river boatman would find them soon; they needed food. Dwarves were in the habit of trading for food, so they decided to do what they do best; they began making tools to trade. The mountainous area would have all the raw materials they need to make a variety of tools, and everyone knows tools made by dwarves are the best.
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Map seed #666653808 Mountain One River, Small, fair, Disasters Off, Med6 Elk,Geese,Bear
Mods activated for this map and load order:
Map Changing and Starting Mods: Banished UI Maps, Labor Window, RK Minimized Status, CC Light Rain, Override Map, Jinxie Natural Decorations, Kid Deco Tree Spring, Kid Tree Replacer X-Light, New Flora Edit, Kid More Caves, Wildlife Starts
Tweak Mods: Better Stock Piles, Better Stock Pile Storage, Fishing Dock +25%, Hunting (TS), Increased CC, 1:1 Alternative (Voeille), Override Winter Clothes, Rock Respawn, Tiny Smoke.
Major or Must Have Mods: An Empty Square, Nomads (Kid), override Uneducated, Storage Crates, Kid Workshop, Kid Abandoned Places SE, Kid Granny Neighborhood, Kid Granny Park, Kid Tiny, Kid Tiny Downtown, Kid Workplace
Supporting Mods: I See Fire (RK), Kid Deco Magic Mushroom, Kid Deco People, Kid Forest Ponds, Kid Hedgerow, Kid Houseboat, Kid Market Carts, Kid Patchwork, Kid Tool Emporium (Update, testing), Kid Tree Topper, Small Town Hall.
Mod Note: Kid Tool Emporium is being updated with the 5 texture from Kid Granny Neighborhood mod. The textures include vanilla wood and stone, making Tool Emporium more useable.
Welcome to Picks & Shovels, eager explorer. Good thing you came by houseboat instead of through the bear cave like we did. It was not an easy trip. Come, sit by the fire to warm up and I'll tell you all about it.
Chapter 1
It was cold and damp inside the cave, eager explorer; we soon exchanged our hide coats for the warm coats that were in the supply carts we were given back in Barnyards. We had to stop often to move rocks out of the way in order to get the carts through the tunnels which twisted and turned this way and that. We often came to a dead-end or an exit to a rocky cliff. We had to go back to a junction we had past and try again. At least we only ran into one bear, but we added bear meat and a few furs to our carts. We were very thankful for the food and those warm coats that were put in the carts when we left Barnyards. We went into the cave in spring and made it out of the cave in summer.
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We came out of the cave and into a thick forest, eager explorer. Even though the forest was thick and shaded, it took our eyes time to adjust to the bright sunlight after being in the cave for so long. The only light inside the cave and tunnels was from one of the dead-end exits, from a few cracks in the rocky ceiling, and from our few flickering torches.
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The area outside the cave was quite rocky but we were in a small valley not out on a cliff. There were 2 smaller caves, one on either side of the bear cave. We saw no river, but we did see a small pond beyond 2 large caves and a small group of bears. The bears scattered as we made our way north through the valley. From the top of the hill, we could see what appeared to be an abandoned village just past the pond. We made our way through the small village with our carts, calling out to see if anyone was there, but we received no answer. The weathered storage barn and houses were in pretty bad shape; no one had been here for some time.
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To the west of the village was another thick forest area and a river and a large herd of elk. We decided it was here we would stay.
Chapter 2
There were 19 of us, 12 adults with 7 children. We decided to take shelter in the abandoned houses, one was a total ruin and one was uninhabitable. There was a cottage that was larger than the others but the floor was badly rotted through and would be a danger to young children so one of our newlywed couples moved into it. They were both nords and friends of ours from Newburg. The 3 families of dwarves with children moved into the 3 small houses that were less damaged than ours was. My husband, Kylar, and I moved into the small house across from the ruin that was next to the stockpile. My name is Dorina. I'm a wood elf and Kylar is a dwarf. All 4 of the small houses badly needed repair.
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My brother, Minniel, and his new bride, Vassidy, moved into the small cave in the pass from which we saw this abandoned village. Being an elf, he was given the enchanted elven bow when we left Barnyards. He would keep watch and make sure that none of the bears approached the village.
Minniel and I were living in Newburg after our parents died of a fever. Kylar was one of the dwarves who brought tools to Newburg to trade. On his 3rd visit he asked me to return to his home with him; Minniel came with me, so did our nord friends, Humberton and Venia. We did not know we would be living in a crowded underground dwarf city. Yes, can you imagine that eager explorer, elves in an underground city! I readily agreed when Kylar said he was considering joining the group that was leaving to find gold to help feed his people. He knew I disliked the cave city and said one day he would build me a treehouse. We joined the group and Minniel did too after he asked Vassidy to come with him. Our nord friends joined too. We were happy to all be together and, like the dwarf families, we were eager to have better housing before winter.
Chapter 3
We replaced the broken door on our little house and others did some make-shift repairs as well but we needed to see to our resource and food supplies before we did anything else.
The mushroom cave had plenty of mushrooms that could be picked year-round. The pond was deep and had plenty of fish hiding between the rocks. If the pond did not freeze in winter, it too would provide food year-round. There were also some hardy wild foods and herbs to gather.
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Our nord friends immediately took advance of the clearing behind their cottage and planted 3 patches with potatoes, carrots, and barley. The crops came up quickly and were doing well. Venia worked in the greenhouses in Newburg, so she knew what she was doing. Work would stop in 2 of the patches over winter, time would best be spent elsewhere than trying to harvest what little might be left to harvest. The barley patch might still be productive if the snow did not get too deep.
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The well nearby could be used to water the patches if need be. The well was deep and had clean water fit for drinking and cooking. We inspected the barn which was empty except for a cart full of firewood branches that we brought outside. The barn needed immediate rebuilding before we could use it for storage; there was plenty of weathered wood on the stockpile to use. There was stone and iron as well, and if we needed more, we could scavenge the 3 resources from the rubble. We were surprised the dwarves had not checked out the mine shaft and large cave just north of the stockpile yet.
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My brother, elf that he was, had already checked out the forest we came through when we arrived. He found 3 what we elves call tree trunkers which are trees with large trunks that are easy to convert into workplaces. Minniel designated the 3 trees as a forester, a gatherer, and a hunter workplace. He saw a few bears, a flock of geese, and a herd of elk while he was exploring the forest; he got his bow and went to work in the hunter tree. By autumn, the large cave across from his cave and the newly restored storage barn both had a nice supply of foods.
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Chapter 4
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The elk remained in the forest after the first snowfall. Minniel thought the bears would soon go into hibernation in one of the 2 bear caves. Before autumn came to an end, Minniel and Vassidy had a newborn son and so did Humbeton and Venia. Kylar and I had a baby girl we named Lossom. It was time we got to some serious house building.
Minniel and Vassidy were happy in their cave; they spent most of their time outside. Humbeton and Venia put wood and bear skin rugs on their damaged floor so their cottage was good for a while. Our house and those of the 3 dwarf families had damaged roofs and needed immediate attention.
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The roof on the house next to ours was in worse shape the others; Thur and Harman moved out so the house could be demolished. They moved into a small cave near the cemetery that we first noticed when the leaves fell off the trees in autumn. They were having a stone house built by the cemetery; they would be its caretaker as well as doing their regular jobs. The small cemetery was overrun with weeds and fallen branches; it needed caretaking. We knew Harman would do a good job; Harman was already the caretaker of everyone in town. She was always asking if we were warm enough, if we had enough firewood, did we have enough food, were we eating some apples and berries. She was a little young to be called a mother hen, but she was one of the town elders. None of us minded a little mothering.
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The house down the road from us by the hedgerow was the next one set for demolition. Haywarden and Amintie wanted a cottage like the nords had and they wanted it close to the pond where Haywarden fished. Their cottage was built a little way down the road from their old house. Their son, Lymani, became an adult and wanted a place of his own; he moved into the small cave dwelling that Thur and Harman vacated.
Chapter 5
Two other small caves were discovered that winter, one to the left of the mine shaft and large cave, and one to the right, just behind the caretaker's house. Kylar and the other 3 dwarf men finally got a look at the cave and shaft.
The large cave was rich with iron and coal but was littered with large stone boulders that blocked the way to the others. There was some evidence of mining being done, there may have been a cave in, but we doubted that those who abandoned the town needed the stone or iron: there was plenty of both scattered around the valley and on the stockpile. Perhaps they were looking for gold; that would explain the abandoned mine shaft that was next to the large cave where no evidence of gold was found by our dwarves. There was a sign that said "keep out" in front of the mine shaft entrance but a quick look inside revealed nothing but more large stone. Zechard said not much could be done in either mine until the stones were removed; he volunteered to do the job as time allowed. He and his wife Tain would build their new house by the large cave and he would be the stonecutter. Their old house next to the nord's cottage would be demolished.
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Our house across from the ruin was also going to be demolished. Kylar was building the treehouse he promised me. It was next to the small cave that was recently discovered to the left of the large cave and mineshaft. The treehouse had a large porch where we could sit and look out over the town in one direction and see the river in the other direction when the leaves were off the trees. It was spring when we moved in; the leaves were open on the trees and the potatoes and cabbages were coming up. Thur and Harman had cleaned up the cemetery and built a fence. Demolition had begun on our old house, the stonecutter's old house, and the other small, damaged house by the barn. Humberton and Venia were packing up to move out of their cottage so it could be restored. Eleven dwarves came from the underground city to join us.
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Chapter 6
The 3 families followed us to Barnyards and then came through the cave as we did. They had no carts to slow them down but followed the trail we cleared to get our carts through. We knew the families, of course, so spent some time catching up on news of families and friends back home. Being dwarves, they did not mind moving into caves; Burrel and Jeralda with their 2 adult children moved into the small cave next to our treehouse. Emers and Onettina with their 2 young children moved into the small one on the other side of the mines. Cynthias and Arlett with their adult daughter moved into the large cave that was discovered across from the bear cave we all came through. The large cave was made up of 4 smaller caves that could house 4 families if needed.
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The adult daughter, Elouie, wanted to be on her own and moved to the small cave next to the bear cave. The families came across no bears when coming through the cave but that did not stop the parents from worrying. My brother, the hunter, advised keeping some torches lit like they did back in Barnyards, and he would keep an eye out for any bears headed in that direction. The reassurance allowed the parents to move from the shelter cave to the house that was built for them by the crop patches. Daughter Elouie went to work at the gatherer's tree trunker.
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Elouie's mother, Arlett, was uneducated but she knew how to make hide coats so volunteered to be the tailor at the new tailor's workshop that was built by the barn. She had a newborn son and would be working close to home. The shop was set up to make hide coats, wool coats, or warm coats from leather and wool. Arlett went to work only to discover we had neither hides nor wool, and we were short of coats.
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Our tool supply was getting low also, so an anvil was set up next to the ruin. A wood cutting stump was placed next to the stockpile in front of the ruin the previous autumn, so we would have no shortage of firewood over the winter.
Humberton, Venia, and their son moved out of their cottage and into the now empty shelter cave to wait for their house with its damaged floor to be restored.
Chapter 7
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By autumn, Humberton and Venia moved back into their restored cottage with a newborn; they had another son they named Wrighton. They were glad the crop patches were being cared for; Venia was finding it very relaxing to be fishing from the pond when she wasn't tending the children. It was good to have more workers.
We still had no leather for coats. My brother, Minniel, got a bear but no elk, even though his hunting tree was often surround by both bear and elk and sometimes geese.
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Harman, the cemetery caretaker, said she could make some warm coats with the wild flax and the goose down that Minniel put in storage with the goose meat. She had plenty experience back in the Underground City making duds. An outside tailor workplace was built next to the anvil; she said she could surely get a few warm coats made before the weather got any colder or it snowed.
The stonecutter also thought it was good having more help; it gave him more free time to spend in the mines. As before, he found no evidence of gold in the big cave, but after clearing away some of the stone he found even more iron and coal deposits at the back of the cave. He removed the sign and reopened the mine shaft next to the large cave and sure enough, he found evidence of a small vein of gold after he cleared away some of the stone. It would take a while to safely mine the gold but it should be tradeable for plenty of food to send back to the Underground City.
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Problem was, according to the dwarves that followed us here, the underground city did not have a lot of time to wait for more food. Another group was already planning to leave the city because of a lack of food and may be headed this way. There was even talk of expanding the city above ground in an attempt to provide more food for themselves. Newburg was not trading food for as many tools as they once did; that town had grown and needed more of the food for themselves.
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By late winter, we had a trading post built on the river. We were already planning to trade gold for food, leather, wool, or maybe even a sheep.
Chapter 8
It snowed again just after the trading post was completed. When Kylar went to take a look at it, he saw elk track in the snow. He could see some elk upriver by the shore but by the time my brother, Minniel, the hunter, got here the elk had crossed the river out of range. We needed leather. He may not have gotten an elk, but he found another large cave that would serve as shelter for at least 4 families if we needed it. We could barely see that cave from our north facing windows even when the leaves were off the trees.
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By early spring, we had a small stone town hall built in town to keep town records and record births and any deaths we may have. Our town had a population of 37, 22 adults and 15 children. We built the town hall with stone that Zechard was bringing out of the mine shaft. We hoped to have a little gold at the trading post when a river boatman showed up.
We built a stone chapel between the town hall and the cemetery. We often wondered about those buried there, speculating if their deaths were the reason the town was abandoned. Did they die in a cave in, or perhaps were attacked by bears? There were no names or dates carved on the small crosses and no way of knowing. Hopefully, the small chapel will help them rest in peace.
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There was still no gold brought out of the mine shaft so the dwarves decided they would do what they do best; they would make tools to trade for food. A tool smith was built by the trading post, and a tool shed was built next to it to store only tools until they were taken to the trading post. Basic iron tools would be made until some coal would be brought out of the mine cave. Any tool made by dwarves was always the best.
Chapter 9
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In early summer of that 3rd year, 3 nuggets of gold were brought out of the mine shaft. They were immediately taken to the trading post. A miner began removing coal from the mine cave. One of our supply carts was taken out of the storage barn and taken over by the tool maker and tool shed; it would be used to get the coal over where it was needed to make better tools.
I noticed there was no bear meat in the storage barn, but there was a lot in the storage cave down past the pond closer to the hunting tree. There were other foods that were in one storage unit but not in the other. We built a food store next to the town hall and assigned a worker to bring an assortment of food to the store. We were glad that the lack of variety had not cause any harm to the people's health.
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It was autumn when we saw a riverboat coming down the river. It was Kyrone, the general goods merchant who came from Riverboat Depot. The people of Barnyards told the river boatman that dwarves came in this direction and probably would need food. The river boatman told the people in Riverboat Depot and they in turn told Kyrone and sent him to find us. He only had wheat and seeds which we didn't need but he also had a message from the Depot. They were in need of a lot of quality tools that only dwarves could make and wanted to make a trade agreement with us. The dwarves agreed to make the needed tool if food was delivered to the unground city; we would take some leather and wool, and we could use some workers to replace the dwarves that would be making the tools. Building hammers and farming and forestry hoes and shovels were most needed as well as mining picks. As you just guessed, eager explorer, that's how our town got the name of Picks and Shovels.
Chapter 10
Before he left, Kyrone told us that he would not take our gold in trade. As of now there was no one on the northern trade route that would have any use for it. Perhaps Newburg could trade it to the merchant that came from the west but he would only be going from here to Riverboat Depot and back. He would only be picking up tools, nothing more. He'd prefer nothing else be stored in the trading post; if we wanted to trade other items, we should build a 2nd trading post. We stopped mining for gold.
High quality tools needed coal and high-quality iron; surface iron was good for basic iron tools but steel and hardened tools were best if made from coal and iron made from iron ore. Zechard went from mining gold in the shaft to mining coal in the mine cave, and a new mine was dug in the mountain behind our treehouse. Test samples showed it was a good place to mine for iron ore.
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The builder of the mine spotted a group of bears across the river, but they did not cross over to this side. No elk were spotted; they probably were kept away by the sound of the mine being built. Minnniel had some luck bagging geese, bear, and elk and providing us with goose and bear meat, venison, down, fur, and leather. The gatherer provided onions, roots, and mushrooms to go with the meat plus fresh picked winter berries. Harman went to work making warm coats from the leather and down, working outside despite the cold and snow.
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Chapter 11
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By early spring of year 4, an ore furnace was built. Production was slow waiting for iron ore; Burrel, who lived in the small cave next to our treehouse, was the only miner in the new ore mine. We had only 6 laborers and 2 builders at the time. Zechard, the stonecutter, was the only miner now working in the cave mine bringing out coal. We had 1 blacksmith working in the ore furnace turning iron ore into iron, 1 blacksmith working in the tool smith making hardened tools, and another blacksmith making iron tools at the anvil in town by the main stockpile.
By late spring we built a tool tower near the stockpile and tool shed, and finally my Kylar was back to doing what he loved doing, being a blacksmith making tools. Actually, he was not making tools; he was improving tools. With a little firewood and an iron tool, he was producing a quality steel tool. It was a handy skill to have when you had more firewood and iron tools than needed and little or no coal.
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As I said, eager explorer, we had few workers to produce what was needed. We were very happy to welcome the dwarves that arrived in late spring from the underground city. There were 15 of them, 11 adults with 4 children. We did know them, but they were more friends and family of the first group that arrived 2 years before; they were all around the same age, a bit older than our original group that came through the bear cave. Being dwarves, they did not mind moving into the 2 shelter caves.
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Chapter 12
The newly arrived dwarves were not happy to learn we were making tools for Riverboat Depot; it was after all the northern trade route and merchant from the west that were preventing Newburg from trading as much food for tools from the underground city as they once did. My Kylar could testify to that dwindling food supply having been one of the dwarves who took the tools to Newburg. The dwarves changed their mind about our tool making when we explained that food was going to be taken from Riverboat Depot to the underground city in exchange for our tools. With that in mind, the dwarves were happy to settle here with us and help to mine and make the tools.
The young singles were more eager to move out of the shelter caves than the older couples. Herbertie Jr moved from one shelter cave into a small, weathered wood house by the trading post, and his parents, Herbertie and Lisetta, moved from the other shelter cave into a stone house that was built by the ore furnace. Another weathered wood house was built next to them, and a lighthouse was built by the river.
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A dwarf couple with young children moved into a stone house that was built by my brother's cave. Torches were lit by the storage cave and bear cave across from the 2 house to discourage any bears from coming near. Our Nord friends, Humberton and Venia, convinced us to plant another barley patch not far from that storage cave. They thought we could use a 3rd barley patch and another potato patch also. We were very glad to have the nords here with us; they kept a close eye on our food supply for us. Dwarves are more accustomed to trading for food and elves are used to living off the wild. Both our food supply and overall health were good. Two of the new dwarf families chose to stay in the shelter caves, at least for the time being.
Chapter 13
We were very happy that Kyrone returned in Early Autumn with the items we ordered; we were very low on flax, down, and leather and we had no potatoes. We traded 80 iron tools, 40 hardened tools, and 10 steel tools for most of the leather, wool, and potatoes he brought, 730 units of food would be delivered to the underground city. We were thrilled, and we ordered more leather, wool, potatoes, and apples. Harman went immediately to the tailor shop in town to start making warm coats from the leather and wool; she enjoyed working inside instead of outside in the cold.
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We were low on stone and iron and needed to replace the tools we had just traded away. We went out to gather stone and iron and wild foods before the snow would fall. What surface stone and iron there was to be found was far from the stockpiles where needed; we decided it was time to scavenge what we could from the abandoned ruin in town. Onettina, from the small stone cave east of the mine cave, began salvaging logs, stone, and iron from the ruins. The stonecutters wife, Tian, was chopping firewood there in front of the ruin and her daughter, Skylah was making iron tools at the anvil. Yes, eager explorer, these dwarf women are hardy hard-working women.
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Another one was Anjelicity who lived in the shelter cave down by the hunter and gatherer tree trunkers. Anjelicity discovered a small grove of walnut trees hidden in the trees next to the cave. Her husband, Talonso, built a small shed among the walnut trees where she could have the children close by while she picked the walnuts. He built a swing for the older child to play on and a bench to sit on when the weather was warm enough. The walnuts were a nice addition to our food supply.
Chapter 14
In late spring of year 5, 10 workers with 4 children came from Riverboat Depot after being told by Kyrone, the river boatman, that we needed help. The group was made up of nords and humans. We were happy to have the help and thrilled with what they brought with them. A river boatman took the first shipment of food to the underground city, and he brought back letters from friends and family there; there was at least one letter for everyone here. The newcomers suggested we build a post office where all of us could leave letters we wanted to have delivered; Kyrone would pick them up and take them with the tools to Riverboat Depot. The post office was built next to the food store in town and the dwarf couple that had remained in the shelter cave by the ore mine moved in and would tend to the mail. They just had their first child who cried a lot and would disturb the new arrivals who were moving into the cave temporarily. A few of the new families moved into the other shelter cave. The nords in the group agreed with our Venia that more crops should be planted; they brought seed with them too.
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Kyrone returned in late summer. We did not have as many tools waiting at the trading post as we would have liked, but Kyrone brought the wool, leather and potatoes we ordered. We only had 10 iron tools, 40 hardened tools, and 5 steel tools, so we only took 25 each of the wool and leather that we needed; 240 units of food would be deliver to the underground city. It was not a problem that we did not take any potatoes. He said he would wait a little while if any of us wanted to write a quick note to those back in Riverboat Depot or the underground city. We've been very pleased with the service our river boatman provided, eager explorer, very pleased.
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To ensure that we would have more tools to trade next time he came, we added a miner to the ore mine, built another anvil for iron tools by the ore furnace, and went out to gather surface iron and stones. There was more stone and iron on the other side of the river than was left on this side but we gathered what we could; we thought about building a bridge. Harman got right back to work making warm coats with the wool and leather the river boatman brought.
Chapter 15
A family with 2 children, and 2 young singles moved into the 3 houses that were built over by the tool smith and tool shed. A patch of barley and one of potatoes were planted there and a small shed was built nearby.
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One of the new families with their 2 children moved into a new house near my brother's cave; he would have someone to share the hunting job with. An older single man moved into the small dwelling cave next to the bear cave. He was a farmer, but he would be happy to work at the forester tree trunker if needed.
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The last family of newcomers moved into their house by early winter. The couple had a child who was about to turn 1 and a newborn. They requested a water mill be built on the river near their new house and suggested that next spring we plant the wheat seeds they brought; wheat would make a finer flour than the barley.
Chapter 16
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The hardy winter wheat was planted in late winter by the tool smith in the patch where barley was planted the year before. It was already growing well in early spring of year 6, and the potatoes were coming up. A bakery shop was built down the road by the tool tower and our treehouse. Kylar and I both loved walking out onto our porch in the morning and smelling the nut bread being baked. He often went down to get a loaf while I tended the children, and then we would all sit at the table on the porch and have a thick slice of the warm bread for breakfast.
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By late spring, a patch of cabbage and another patch of wheat had been planted over by the mill. Kyrone returned. We traded 90 tools, 10 iron, 40 hardened, and 40 steel, for 25 wool, 25 leather, and 200 apples. We would be able to make a few more warm coats, and it was nice to get a bit more fruit. 390 units of food would be delivered to the underground city. He also brought a few more letters and took a few more back with him.
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That summer, we built a bridge across the river, not only to collect stone and iron but to hunt; elk and geese were often seen in the clearing across the river. When the animals were spotted, Minniel would bring his bow hoping to provide our tailors with some of the needed leather and down. Our supply of warm coats was always low.
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In autumn, we did not expect Kyrone to return so soon. We did not have the trading post restocked since his last visit, and he did not have much with him to trade, but he did not come to trade, he came with a gift. He brought us 2 sheep and a goat. He knew we always hesitated to trade for anything for ourselves rather than having food go to the underground city. A Depot order for the animals had been canceled and he immediately thought of us. We would have our own wool and not have to trade for it, if we wanted the sheep. We did, we took both the sheep and the goat. The children would have milk. We traded 18 iron tools for 12 leather.
Chapter 17
By the time the first snow fell, an animal shed was built by the storage barn and well. The spot was protected from the cold winter wind by the mountain to the north and it had full sun from the south. The animals adjusted well.
(https://i.imgur.com/gijDvHM.jpeg)
(https://i.imgur.com/eZUp2TJ.jpeg)
The children were also thriving here in Picks & Shovels. They helped with collecting wild oats to feed the animals and with many other small tasks. In late autumn they were still out playing in the walnut grove and competing to see who could gather the most fallen walnuts. The humans who came from Riverboat Depot told us about Hobbits who had festivals and contest for children and adults; the humans were descendants of the couple that came from the other side of the world, so they had a lot of stories to tell.
The humans suggested we build a school, but we didn't see much need for that. The dwarves taught their children how to make tools and the nords taught them how to make clothes and raise crops. My brother and I, being elves, taught the children the importance of clean water and air and protecting the trees and the animals. They would take care of us if we took care of them.
Chapter 18
(https://i.imgur.com/IpZYNfk.jpeg)
No one could ever accuse us of over hunting here in Picks & Shovels; hunting was not good the previous year, but a hunting workplace was built in that clearing across the river and a little goose meat and venison was added to the food supply plus some much-needed leather and down.
(https://i.imgur.com/97ayyRp.jpeg)
(https://i.imgur.com/qFTNRhK.jpeg)
When Kyrone came in early spring of year 7, we had a lot of tools waiting for him. We traded 40 iron tools, 60 hardened tools, and 50 steel tools for 25 leather and 360 apples. 1000 units of food would be taken to the unground city. With the leather we traded for and our own wool, plus the goose down and flax we gathered, we finally had a nice surplus of warm coats. Everyone in town now had a warm coat and the children spent more time playing outside even on the colder days. A small playground was built for them across from the chapel.
(https://i.imgur.com/pI3ZJw0.jpeg)
(https://i.imgur.com/n7gXqNF.jpeg)
The extra apples we traded for allowed us to build a workplace brewer and the dwarves sure enjoyed a good mug of apple ale; everyone in town did. When Kryrone came again in autumn, we traded 110 tools for another 300 apples and 40 leather. 500 units of food would go to the underground city.
Chapter 19
You're right, eager explorer, we really don't need the warm coats in summer here in Picks & Shovels; the sun is hot and temperatures get up to the mid-eighties. Maybe that is why we still have dwarves living in some of the cave and enjoying their work in the mines, it's cooler. It can get a little too warm working at the ore furnace or in the tool smith and tool tower.
(https://i.imgur.com/HBe6lEq.jpeg)
The warm summers and our resident nords and humans are the reason we don't have to rely on the boatmen for food; we have patches of potatoes, cabbage, wheat, and barley. We have the boatman to thank for delivering food to the underground city in exchange for our tools. In the 7 years we've been here, we traded 535 tools, 170 iron, 240 hardened, and 125 steel tools for the promise of 1,860 units of food being delivered to the city that most of us came here from.
(https://i.imgur.com/sxOvit6.jpeg)
If not for the river boatmen, we would not have a post office with letters going to and from friends and family in the city and Riverboat Depot. We are nowhere near being a city, but we have a town hall, post office, food store, and chapel.
(https://i.imgur.com/zeSk34G.jpeg)
Our fisherman, hunter, gatherer, and forester don't mind working outside in the summer, but autumn days are so much nicer. The bad thing about the autumn days is that there are not enough of them before it gets colder, and the snow begins to fall. If not for our river boatman bringing us leather and the sheep, we still would not have enough warm coats for everyone.
(https://i.imgur.com/nfSNlqh.jpeg)
(https://i.imgur.com/NnAjTuu.jpeg)
Chapter 20
(https://i.imgur.com/9loWdmh.jpeg)
Having arrived here on your houseboat in early spring, eager explorer, I am sure you would agree that early spring here in Picks & Shovels is not as warm as it could be, but it is a beautiful place to be.
(https://i.imgur.com/HQGzUhQ.jpeg)
(https://i.imgur.com/apzkGLt.jpeg)
The town has changed a lot since we came through the bear cave from Barnyards and found it abandoned. The town now has 25 homes, a post office, a food store, and a town hall. Picks & Shovels has 85 healthy and happy citizens, 54 adults with 31 children. We provide food, clothes, and tools for our citizens, and food for the underground city by sending our tools to Riverboat Depot. Countless farmers, foresters, quarrymen, and miners all along the northern trade route use our picks and shovels.
(https://i.imgur.com/Lyw8nXM.jpeg)
(https://i.imgur.com/IEgoRb3.jpeg)
Kylar and I are glad we came through that bear cave and now live in Picks & Shovels, and we are glad it is once again spring.
Happy First Day of Spring, eager explorer.
(https://i.imgur.com/HjA2EYd.jpeg)
The End
The Kid Tool Emporium update has been released. Find info and link to download here:
https://worldofbanished.com/index.php?topic=4478.0