Intro
This is the 15th story in the New World Series. It tells of the Underground City of dwarves that the founders of Picks & Shovels (story 14) came from. They hoped to find gold to trade for food to send back to the City but made and traded tools instead. Before the northern trade route was established, the Underground City took tools to Newburg of story 1 & 5 to trade for the food they needed. As that city grew there was less food to trade, and residents were making the tools they needed themselves. The trade route river boatmen will now bring food from Riverboat Depot to the City, food paid for with tools from Picks & Shovels. The Underground City is in the cold northern mountains, west of Newburg.
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Map seed #665073046 Mountain One River, Small, Cold Mountain, 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, Climate Cold Mountain, Cold Realism, Old Forest terrain, override Fewer Trees, override maps, Settlers Deco, Jinxie Natural Decorations, Kid Tree Replacer Only Pines, New Flora Edit, Wildlife Starts
Tweak Mods: Fishing Dock +25%, Hunting (TS), Hunting Season, 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, Jinxie Bitty Village, Kid Abandoned Places SE, Kid Forge of Dwarves Winter, Kid Friendly Blue, Kid Tiny Downtown, Kid Workplace, Mini Warehouse (Kid)
Supporting Mods: Campfire (TS), I See Fire (RK), Kid Deadwood (updated, testing), Kid Deco People, Kid Hedgerow, Kid Houseboat, Kid Some Boats (updated), tiny Chopper
Mod Note: Kid Some Boats update release is debatable. Back in Smallville's World, dwarves often worked to send back food to a city they came from that had already been built. Later, it was assumed that the food reached that city. This time in the new world, those cities had not been built yet. Now when planning this underground dwarf city where founders of Picks & Shovels came from, I realized that food would have to arrive. The solution was a supply boat made by Kid for me for this story. Its use has been limited to fit the story, it really is a cheat, and release of update is still debatable.
Welcome to the Underground City, eager explorer. Yes, you're right, it is no longer a completely underground city. We have the river boatmen and our friends and family in Picks & Shovels to thank for that. Come sit by the fire and I'll tell you how that came to be.
Chapter 1
The Underground City is a very old settlement of dwarves. It dates back to the time of the battle for Middle Earth. These gates that lead down to the city withstood hordes of orcs and undead. The remnants of the old forge, that made war hammers for the dwarf army, are still there in one of the lower caves. It's been said that the fires of that forge kept all the caves as warm as a summer's day. Well, a summer's day isn't very warm here.
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That all changed over the years. The younger folks would go above ground to collect branches and firewood to keep the bonfires and cookfires burning. They kept the stockpile filled as best they could with logs, stone, and iron. The new forge made tools for the people and for trade with Newburg until recent years. Food has always been scarce here. Dwarves are not farmers, but even if they were, the land here is rocky and what soil there is is thickly covered with pine needles from the old forest. Not much thrives here, there is a lot of dead wood. There are a few old oaks here and there, and an occasional weathered apple tree or dying walnut.
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The Underground did manage to supply a small population with mushrooms gathered from around the small pond that provides some fish; there is some natural light that filters down into the caves. There are bears that provide meat and furs. When the population grew and food became scarce, the young people would move on, like the group that left and founded the Dwarves' Quarry some years ago. Then there was Kylar who I hoped to marry when I got old enough. He was one of our dwarves who would take the tools to Newburg and bring back food. When he came back the last time, he brought some potatoes and an elf girl, plus her brother and 2 friends. That put quite a strain on the food supplies, but the group plus 3 of our dwarf families soon left in search of gold to trade for food to send back here to the elders. There was a merchant from the west that stopped here a while ago wanting furs; he was told we don't kill bears for their fur, only for food when needed. He said he'd take gold instead of furs; if there was none here in these mountains there was sure to be some in the mountains to the southeast. That's where Kylar and the elf girl and group went; my friend, Vassidy, went with the elf girl's brother. Yes, eager explorer, they settled the town of Picks & Shovels. Another group of our dwarves followed them a year or so later. We are glad to hear they are all doing well.
Their leaving left room in our dwelling caves; those are the 2 gates on either side of the big main gate. Inside the big gate and the 2 dwelling caves, are paths that lead down to the city. The path down from the main gate is fairly wide but gets narrower and a bit steep in a few spots; it's not easy getting our branch carts and other resources down to the city when needed. The dwelling caves, on the other hand, have some sections of stone stairs leading down. There are small caves at different levels, 5 families can live in each set of dwelling caves behind the 2 small gates.
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There are 2 other gates to small caves that can be used for storage; long tunnels lead from there to the city. One gate is not far to the left of the 3 gates, the other is a way to the right. They weren't used much because of the bears, but as the above-ground city grew, the bears stayed away.
Chapter 2
Yes, eager explorer, the bears were a problem, and they were often right outside those storage cave gates. The outside workers had to be always on their guard. I became an outside worker when I turned 15 and agreed to marry Danning, who was also 15. We moved out of our parent's houses and into one of the dwelling caves; my name is Gilliss.
There were 6 families in the caves, 4 with children who had been living there for some time, and our friends, Carner and Drucile who were the same age as we were and also just married. All together there were 17 of us, 12 adults with 5 children.
There was a notice board just outside the main gates. We marked down which of the jobs we were doing and how much we added to the resources and other supplies. Just past the stockpile was a deadwood thicket, I was one of the workers. We gathered logs, cut the smaller ones for firewood, and collected branches. We also filled 2 carts with branches to take down to the city. Danning, who was working as a laborer, said I was like that elf girl; I enjoyed being outside.
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A little farther past the thicket, a ladder was placed against a large deadwood tree; from the top of the ladder, a hunter could see if the elk and bears were nearby. Two hunters were working the area and if the bears got too close, they could quickly climb up out of danger to a large branch in the tree. There were ladders placed by several large deadwood trees in the forest. That 1st year our hunters got a bear and several geese, adding meat, down, and furs to our supplies.
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Our friend, Carner, was over by the river to the west fishing from a fallen deadwood tree. Even in the summer, the northwest wind was cold; Carner said he wouldn't want to be fishing there in the winter.
Chapter 3
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There was more than just fish and meat to be had in our forest. Over by the fishing tree was a cache of wild mushrooms and a few herbs growing in a small thicket. Drucile volunteered to pick the mushrooms; I think she just wanted to be closer to the fishing tree and Carner. There were other wild foods to be gathered but only in the summer months. In late summer were gathered the wild foods, keeping an eye open for wild oats but found none.
There were several brier patches of berries, but where there were berries there were usually bears. It was not easy picking the berries in the briers, but the bears seemed to manage it just fine. We did get some berries from the patch closest to the gates.
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Elk could often be found near the scraggly old apple trees. They could also be seen eating the acorns that fell from the old oak trees. Danning thought I must have some elven blood in me if I knew where the animals could be found and what they were eating.
I knew what we would be eating in the Underground city over the winter; there wasn't much other than bear meat and potatoes. We hoped it would be enough. It got cold and frosty in early autumn, and it snowed in autumn. Carner and Drucile came back from the fishing tree and mushroom cache; the last of the berries were picked, and the carts of branches were filled and waiting to be taken down to the underground. We had taken logs down so more firewood could be cut down below if needed. It would be a long winter.
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Chapter 4
We had to watch and ration our meager food supply carefully over the winter. We were glad we still had some of the potatoes left from Newburg. They kept well in the cold underground storage building, but they would soon be gone. That elf girl who was here told us about the greenhouses they have in Newburg to grow food in the winter. There would not be enough light in the underground city, and above-ground the soil was too poor. We would need fertilizer from farm animals and plant debris to feed them; we had neither.
We spent a lot of time moving resources from the 2 above-ground storage caves to the underground storage building; the tunnels were long and rough and narrow in some spots. We needed to work on getting more food down to the city next year. We had to make several trips outside to get branches and firewood. We needed more help. It was nice to have more time to spend with family down in the city, we tried to convince a few of them to join us outside in spring.
There were 6 newborn that were born in the dwelling caves that 1st year; Danning and I had a baby boy we named Brocky. The sound of crying babies echoed through the dwelling cave tunnels day and night. One of the children became an adult. We outsiders spent a lot of time together down in the meeting hall discussing what improvements we could make to be more productive outside next year. We even discussed plans to move on like other young people had done in the past.
We got outside in early spring, but it was still cold and there was still snow on the ground; there was not much we could do but gather branches and cut firewood. We found a few frozen berries and apples. We saw no elk or bears, not even any tracks. We were almost out of food.
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Chapter 5
We began implementing some of the suggestions made at meetings we had. Carner and Drucile said that if they lived closer to the fishing tree and mushroom cache, they would surely catch more fish and gather more herbs and mushrooms. It would also help if they didn't have so far to go to the storage cave. Their new house was the first one built. It was right next to the cache. Some storage crates were placed next to their house and a shop was built by the deadwood thicket.
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Another house was built right next to the berry brier, halfway between the storage cave and the store. We began building roads like the laborers suggested. A house was built for Lion and Leliah whose daughter, Lillar, became an adult and choose to stay in the dwelling cave. The couple had a newborn son just after moving into the dwelling cave, and now another newborn son just after moving into their new house. That house was close to an apple tree and not far from the thicket and the area we designated as a cemetery. There was a burial cave in the underground, but it was full of ancestors. We needed a cemetery because we were so concerned we may lose citizens to starvation. In spring we still hadn't seen any elk or bears. A house was built by the hunting tree for the hunter and her family.
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A 5th house was built not far from the 2nd storage cave. Behind the house in the small valley was another deadwood thicket and one of the old walnut trees. By late summer there were apples and walnuts to pick. The elders below really enjoyed them; many of the elders had not had apples or walnuts in many years.
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Our house was the last one built. It was not far from the hunter's house. There was another thicket just west of our house and a berry brier to the east. We picked some berries until we spotted bears heading towards the brier. Danning headed to the hunting tree down to the southeast. Closer to home was another old apple tree and a deadwood with 2 owls. I loved the forest, and I loved hearing the hooting of the owls every night as I drifted off to sleep. Danning teasingly began calling me Elfie.
Chapter 6
Earlier in the year, a new young couple and 2 older couples with 2 adult children and 2 younger ones came above ground to help us. They moved into the dwelling caves as we moved out; they were not sure they would want to live above ground. In the dwelling caves they would still be close enough to help the elders in the lower city. We planned to move back into the dwelling caves with them if the winter was too cold or the snow too deep. It snowed in early autumn. There were 38 of us outsiders then, 21 adults and 17 children. We had very little firewood and very little food. It was good to have more help.
In early winter, it was cold but not too cold, and there was not that much snow. We continued working outside but many of the children had sleepovers down below with their grandmas and grandpas. Some of the children even went to school; the teacher was one of the elder men telling past history stories with some tall tales mixed in. A bear was caught getting a little too close to the children's playground; the elders put bear meat and other supplies near the large gate for us; they insisted we take the warm coats.
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The winter remained fairly mild, we continued working outside. We built a woodcutter's shelter with a roof to provide some protection from the snow and wind; our food supply increased, and some was taken downstairs along with logs and branches from the thicket. We set up an anvil we brought up from below to make a few more tools; we could not risk having a tool shortage.
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As always, winter past and it was soon spring.
Chapter 7
Thanks to the mild winter, 2 of the families decided they would move from the dwelling cave into houses of their own. One house was built just west of the shop and the other to the east along the shop road, not far from our house. The couple in that house were a few years older than Danning and I, they had a newborn daughter. That left a couple with 2 adult children and a newborn, plus Lillar still in the dwelling cave.
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Next to the shop a butcher shop was built. The bear meat that was still left would be made into sausages that would keep longer and make a few more meals. It wasn't long before 13-year-old Palmers moved from the dwelling cave and into a house of his own determined to add more bear meat to our food supply. His house was by the brier patch south of the storage cave east of town. He took the ladder from the deadwood tree next to the cave gate and put it against a tree farther south.
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Palmers' sister, Felecta, soon followed suit and had a house built for herself but on the other side of town not far from the mushroom cache. There was a hunting tree to the south just past the owl tree, but no bear or elk were seen in the area for a while.
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Our builder soon had a covering built over the anvil to protect it and the smith from rain and snow. After that was done, a fish smoker was built next to the shop. Fish could be caught year-round in the underground pond and now the fish from the river caught in spring, summer, and fall could be smoked to enjoy in winter too. It was only summer but we were concerned for our winter food supply; we knew it would not be long before the snow began to fall.
Chapter 8
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It was that summer of year 3 that a river boatman arrived with a delivery of food from Riverboat Depot. The food had been paid for with tools from Picks & Shovels. We could choose 730 trade units of food free of charge. He had apples and walnuts fresh from Rainbow Falls, flour and wheat from The Granary, goat cheese from Green Pastures, potatoes from Riverboat Depot, and fruit jam from Seeds & Seedlings. These were the standard items that kept well that he would be bringing special delivery; if we wanted to trade for other items, we would need to build a trading post and trade with a regular northern trade route merchant. The boatman wanted to know which of the items he had that we wanted and how much of each, and he'd unload them; it would take a while. We best send a worker to take the items to storage.
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It was a good selection the boatman brought, but not too hard to decide. We had apples and walnuts, but we had no grain so we took first chose 140 wheat and 368 flour. It was taking a while to count out the items; it was already late summer, and it began to snow. When we tried to thank him, the boatman said don't thank him, it was his job, and we were giving him food and shelter; he would deliver our thank-yous and messages to the Depot that would be taken to Picks & Shovels if we wanted. We quickly wrote messages to friends and family, thanking them and letting them know how we and the elders were doing. Those of us who could write helped those who couldn't.
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It got colder and snowed more as he began counting out and unloading the 222 potato we wanted. He got to 196 and said he could look for and count out more or add the balance of 26 units to the next delivery. We knew he was eager to be on his way before the weather got any worse; we got 704 of the 730 units of food due us and could wait for the 26 units. He took the messages we had written and was gone.
Chapter 9
Our builder was busy while the boatman made his delivery. Lion and Leliah requested a house be built behind theirs for their daughter, Lillar, who was still living in the dwelling cave, but when the house was completed, the last couple in the cave moved in instead. They had a 1-year-old and a newborn, Lillar insisted they take the house.
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Our coat supply was getting low and there were still furs in the storage cave that were not being used by the duds maker down below. An above-ground tailor was built across from the smoker and shop; we would have a few more warm coats. A baker shop was built across from the butcher and shop and we all looked forward to fresh baked bread made with the flour the river boatman brought us.
Our 2 hunters added bear and furs and elk and leather to our food and textile supplies. In winter of year 3, our surplus of food was by far the best it had been. Our supply of firewood was also good, and since the weather remained mild, we would continue to work outside unless it changed.
By early spring of year 4, our food supply was down; we had no wheat left and there was no flour for the baker to bake bread with. The butcher was making venison sausages instead of bear. The tailor ran out of furs but was able to make a few more warm coats with leather and goose down. We had not seen any geese since we first came above ground. It snowed again so we had no hope of finding wild foods anytime soon.
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In spring, 3 couples with 3 adult children and 1 young child moved into the dwelling caves. They raised our above-ground population to 54, 35 adults and 19 children. Three of those children were ours; Danning and I just had our 2nd daughter. We were glad we would have more help, and the parents and elders were glad that the young people chose to remain here rather than going somewhere else. Couples who did not want to work outside moved into the houses vacated by those who did.
Chapter 10
With more help, our food supply increased again but our overall health did not. We knew our soil was not good enough to grow vegetables or grain, but herbs seemed to grow well, so we built an herbalist's greenhouse and transplanted herbs from the wild into it. One of the couples from the dwelling cave built a house near the greenhouse.
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By early summer, we were all in perfect health. We had more workers to pick more berries, apples, and walnuts. In late summer and early autumn, we had a few rain and windstorms that brought many of the apples, walnuts, and deadwoods falling to the ground. Another couple had a house built by the east storage gate and they began clearing all the deadwood that came down there. They began filling a small stockpile with logs, firewood, and branches.
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A young single female moved from the dwelling cave to a house near the butcher and baker. That left her parents and siblings in one dwelling cave and Lillar in the other. Our food and firewood supplies were very low after a stormy summer.
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Chapter 11
We were surprised when the supply boat arrived in early autumn; it could snow any day. The boatman said that it was late summer before tools were picked up at Pick & Shovels, and he knew we would be waiting for more food. He took a chance on the weather and came right away. Problem was the water was still rough from the storms we had, and he was sure it would be a problem unloading the food from the rocking boat onto the shore. We quickly built a short jetty to tie the boat to and, guessing correctly, he began to unload flour first. The tools that were picked up had a value of 240 units and we were owe 26 units of food from the last delivery for a total of 266.
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It began to snow before the food was unloaded. The boatman unloaded 192 flour and 84 wheat, 10 units too much. He said he would not take any back now but would subtract it from the next delivery. It was still snowing, and it was getting colder, he was in a hurry to be on his way.
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Our workers were still trying to get as many mushrooms, herbs, berries, apples, and walnuts as possible harvested before they were completely buried under the snow. The flour went right to the baker. The hunter underground got a bear which they shared with us; the butcher was again making sausage from the bear meat. By the start of winter, our food supply was good but could have been better. We always made sure that plenty of everything we had went to the storage caves to be taken to those below. We were thankful for the river boatman making the trip so late in the year, and for Picks & Shovels for making the tools. More letters of appreciation went with the boatman back to Riverboat Depot.
Chapter 12
The elders and the others living underground were grateful for the work we were doing above ground. To show their appreciation, they took some of the wheat and opened the old ale house; they invited us all to come down to have a mug of ale when we had the chance. They gave us one of the old barrels to take above ground so we could brew some ale of our own: we still had some wheat left too.
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When the river boatman came in the summer of year 5, we accepted 216 flour, 112 potatoes, and 72 wedges of goat cheese, a surplus of 20 units that would be deducted from the next delivery. We could not wait to have a piece of that cheese with a thick slice of fresh baked bread and a mug of ale. We served some to the boatman for an evening meal and he thought our ale was the best he'd ever tasted. He said it was as good if not better than the ale the hobbits make. There would sure be a market for such fine ale. If we built a trading post, he would send another river boatman this way; we could order more food or whatever else we needed from that boatman.
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Well, looking at our inventory records, we had a good supply of food and firewood, but we needed more tools. We did not want to use too many tools from below, they needed them themselves; our smith went back to work at the anvil. Our supply of coats was again low, but again, we did not want to use too much of the underground supply; they gave us warm coats and textiles when they could. It was the shortage of textiles that was the problem; we needed more furs, down, or wool for warm coats. Our tailor went to work making a few hide coats from the leather we had. Before he left, we told the river boatman we would build a trading post.
Chapter 13
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By late summer, we had a simple trading jetty built on the other side of the fishing tree. By early autumn, Ariend from the dwelling cave built a lighthouse next to the jetty and would keep an eye out for a riverboat.
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As usual, in late autumn, we took stock of our food and other supplies. We had plenty of logs and our woodcutter was busy chopping firewood. Workers were still in the thickets gathering more. We had a few more tools and coats thanks to our smith, tailor, hunters, and our friends and family in the underground. The underground hunter got more bear meat than our 2 hunters combined. Geese were seen again this year but they escape our hunters this time. Only a few furs and leather were added to our textile supply, no down for warm coats.
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The butcher was again making sausages from venison after cutting some nice bear steaks. The baker was using the last of the flour to bake the bread, and we took 57 barrels of ale to the trading post before the wheat supply was gone. Going into winter our food supply was good but there was not much variety. Our overall health was still good but most of us were now back to wearing hide coats out in the cold.
Chapter 14
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In late spring of year 6, Catalya, the general goods merchant came to port. He was told we would have ale to trade. Our food supply was low but all he had with him was some seeds and a few hide coats. We ordered flour, down, and wool. The flour he said he could get for sure but we may have to wait for down and wool; textiles were in short supply and there were others ahead of us. He would do his best to bring us some.
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In late summer, the river boatman came with our food shipment from Riverboat Depot. This time we could have 980 units of food, that was 1,000 units minus the 20 we got extra the last time. We had to build a small extension onto the trading jetty for him to have room to unload the food. We got 320 flour, 224 wheat, 108 goat cheese, 196 potatoes, and 152 fruit jams. He gave us the full 1,000 units and said he would subtract the 20 next time. He would be back soon; a riverboat was leaving Riverboat depot to pick up more tools from Picks & Shovels at the same time he was leaving to come here. It was already early autumn when he left here and we had our 1st frost of the season so we were a bit concerned about a return trip. It snowed shortly after he left.
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We again enjoyed fresh baked bread, goat cheese, and ale while we waited for his return.
Chapter 15
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It was late autumn and snowing when the boatman returned. He pulled up to the small jetty we built for him the time he came when the river was so rough. This time he used the jetty because he saw bears coming this way as he came down the river approaching the lighthouse. He wanted to anchor farther away from where they might cross the river. One of the laborers ran to get the nearest hunter just in case, but the bears stayed on the other side of the river; our food was unloaded from the boat. We accepted 480 units of flour, 500 minus the 20 from the time before. He had a few more letters for us that had been delivered to the Depot with the tools; he gave them to us before hurrying on his way.
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We were always glad to get news from family and friends in Picks & Shovels. They were doing well; they were hunting, fishing, and raising almost all of their own food. They even have goats and sheep for milk and wool. We were doing well because of the tools they were making. Without the river boatman bringing us that food, we probably would not have survived. We certainly would not still be living here in the Underground City today; with the supplies we had on hand we knew we would be here at least one more winter.
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Chapter 16
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Well, yes, you're right, eager explorer, we have contributed a lot to our own wellbeing and food supply. We've used several large deadwoods as hunting trees when elk or bears were nearby. We've picked apples and walnuts from a few of the old trees that are scattered around the valley. We've gathered deadwood logs, firewood, and branches from the thickets and berries from the briers. We've picked mushrooms and herbs from the cache, and fished from the fishing tree that you saw when you arrived this spring.
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We've given food and supplies to the Underground City, and they've given back to us. Speaking of the underground, would you like a tour, eager explorer? I know you're in a hurry to be on your way, but a short tour won't take long.
Chapter 17
Oh, it's no trouble at all to give you a quick tour of the underground, eager explorer. We'll go through the storage cave by the brier; there are baskets of fresh-picked berries in that storage cave that need to be taken down below.
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Mod note: For this chapter and the next, the following changes were made to the Intro's Mod List:
Climate Cold Mountain was disabled
Old Forest terrain was disabled
Additional mods enabled: No Snow, Do Daylight Cycle, EB Grizzly Valley terrain, Kid More Caves, Kid Forest Ponds, Creepy Cemetery (RK), Deco Tombstones (Kid)
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This way, eager explorer, careful now, there are some branches right in front of you, wait and I'll light some more torches.
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There, that's better. It may look like a very small cave but you won't believe how much we can store in here until someone comes along and carries some of it down. There are the baskets of berries, your help is appreciated, eager explorer. We go through the tunnel there at the end of the cave. It will take us down to the main part of the city. The tunnel is dark and narrow; I'll grab a torch. Follow me.
Chapter 18
Here we are, eager explorer, in the main part of the Underground City. Yes, it is dark, but some natural light and water does filter down through the deep crevice above the waterfall and pond. It is enough to allow for fish and mushrooms and a few herbs to thrive. There are plenty of torches and bonfires scattered around the city that also provide some light, but the light is meager compared to the size of the cave.
(https://i.imgur.com/lWHWld5.jpeg)
So, the first building to your left is the new forge where tools are made. It's not really new, it's been here for decades but it's a lot newer than the old forge from medieval times. No, I'm afraid you won't be seeing the old forge, the passages and caves below are not safe; there have been several minor cave-ins in recent years.
(https://i.imgur.com/ZdZQov6.jpeg)
Next to the new forge is the City's storehouse; we can put the berries in there. You can see it is well stocked with a variety of foods, most of which are from the river boatman or what we produce above ground. Behind the forge and storehouse are the smelter and the small mine. We've been bringing surface iron down here, so the smelter is rarely used. The miner only brought out crystals from the mine to carve the 3 dwarf statues you see here.
(https://i.imgur.com/rZ49YmH.jpeg)
Now to your right, eager explorer, is the Town Hall and the old Ale House that was only recently reopened when we got wheat from the river boatman. Behind these 2 building are the main gate and the 2 dwelling caves. Yes, Lillar, is still living in one of them. All 3 caves lead to the above ground part of the city near the main stockpile and deadwood thicket.
Just beyond all these buildings along the road is the waterfall pond and mushroom cave. Fishing is quite good and mushrooms are plentiful. Don't you just love the sound of the water tumbling over the rocks? The waterfall pond and mushroom cave divides the main part of town from the residential area. Follow me.
(https://i.imgur.com/ipFUAoj.jpeg)
Chapter 19
Here we are. To your far right, eager explorer, is our duds maker and the school. I am happy to hear you will be looking into the textile trade. From what the trade route boatman told me, textiles are in short supply.
(https://i.imgur.com/4LQwQV3.jpeg)
The 9 buildings are family homes, the one right in front of us is where I grew up. My grandmother, parents, and 2 younger sisters live in this house. Across from it is where Danning grew up. His great grandmother, grandparents, parents, and younger brother and sister all live there. The other houses are made up of elders, seniors, siblings, or couples with children that moved into houses that were vacated when families left the city. There are some very old houses back in smaller caves but they have been empty for years. Our families are very glad that Danning and I moved into the dwelling caves and then above ground rather than moving away. I'm glad too.
The large round building down at the end of the road is the meeting hall where friends and family gather. Behind the meeting hall along the left cave wall are 2 passages. One passage with the old iron gate leads to the burial grounds with very old crypts and more recent graves. The other passage, next to the burial grounds, leads back to smaller caves, bear caves, and then down to abandoned mines and the old forge. The upper passages on both sides of the residential area are patrolled by hunters. A bear or 2 have made it as far as the fishing pond.
(https://i.imgur.com/k6G9IGR.jpeg)
(https://i.imgur.com/RGyem1D.jpeg)
Going back to the meeting hall, we'll go through the children's play area and out past the stone wall that helps protect the area. The above-ground children like coming down to visit their grandparents and getting to play here. So, eager explorer, that's the under-ground part of the Underground City.
(https://i.imgur.com/D2kjWVP.jpeg)
We'll take this passage to the tunnel that leads up to the 2nd storage cave; the one east of the main gates of the above-ground part of the city. This way.
Chapter 20
(https://i.imgur.com/T5sH8Ej.jpeg)
Oh, that's so much better to be back out in the fresh air and sunshine, isn't it, eager explorer? Give your eyes a minute or 2 to adjust to the light. I am so glad that Danning and I and our 3 children are living above ground, and glad our children won't be moving away to find food someday.
(https://i.imgur.com/Wq8LSzV.jpeg)
(https://i.imgur.com/oPPDtoa.jpeg)
Oh, speaking of children, I did not tell you how many people live in the Underground City. Above ground we have 36 adults with 30 children and in the underground there are 27 adults with 14 children. Together there are 107 citizens, 63 adults and 44 children. Most of the children underground are soon-to-be young adults, a few will reach marriageable age and moving into the dwelling caves like we did.
There is plenty of room up here to expand and there are plenty of deadwood thickets, apple and walnut trees, berry briers, and mushroom caches. As long as the supply boat comes with wheat, we can continue to make ale and trade for food and needed textiles, I hope. Glad to know that we could trade for fertilizer and built greenhouse, and glad you came for this visit.
(https://i.imgur.com/kMXtdt1.jpeg)
Come, I'll walk you to your houseboat. We'll stop at the shop to pick up the basket I have for you. There's bread, smoked fish, goat cheese, apples, and berries, enough to see you to your next destination. Safe travels, eager explorer.
The End
:D :D :thumbsup Thanks
:) Thanks,
@taniu Kid Deadwood update has been released. Find info and link to download here:
https://worldofbanished.com/index.php?topic=4484.0