Abandoned - Fruit & Nuts - Story 17 NWS

[Abandoned]

Chapter 15


  The wait was over for the wool we ordered; Herberto, the general goods merchant, returned in early summer of year 5.   We traded apple, nuts, and wild honey for 120 bales of wool and ordered more.  Our frock maker got right to work making warm coats for us for next winter.  When we needed summer fairy clothes she would make more for us using the flax from the plum patch.



 Herberto couldn't really tell us what fruit folks would prefer for making their own cider and jams.  He did say that, in the past, most of his customers traded for ale rather than cider, although if he had apple cider someone was sure to take it in fall. He rarely got orders for mead.  He often had orders for fruit jam but not for any specific kind; customers were happy with whatever variety he had and traded for it, whether they had ordered it or not.  He couldn't tell us what fruit they would want to make their own our jam with.

  We were on our own to figure out what fruits they would most want to trade for; Annine, the food merchant, had not yet returned with any information.  Ale was made from wheat, apples, or pears.  We had no wheat, but we had apples and pears.  Both those fruits could be used to make cider, and the apples could also be made into jam.  Apples were often traded for here in the north because they stored well year-round.  We would make sure we always had plenty of apples to trade.

  One of the laborers made a quick trip through the portal to Seeds & Seedling to pick up some apple tree seedlings, he said there were cherry, pear, and plum seedling there if we needed them.  We extended the wood road from our new tiny shed and strawberry patch, past our house, and east into the forest.  An apple forester would plant the apple tree seedling in a large circular in that area.  A fruit gatherer was set up nearby, the worker would gather all the wild foods in a larger area and would then also gather the apples when there were some to be gathered.  Early autumn was a good time to plant fruit tree seedlings.

[Abandoned]

Chapter 16


  Autumn was also a good time to drink apple cider.  Herberto did say if he had apple cider with him in fall, customers always traded for it.  We hoped they would trade for our apples to make their own or they could use berries, cherries, pears, or plums.  A cider barrel, like the one we had, worked just as well as a tiny tavern for making cider.  We were hoping Annine could tell us which of those fruits besides apples we should produce more of for cider makers.



  We thought those wanting to make their own jam would have enough rose hips and blueberries gathered from the wild; our fruit gatherer got plenty even over the autumn and winter months.  The fruit forester's apple trees will have no problem getting pollinated; there were plenty of bees producing wild honey in the undisturbed forest to the west.  We just needed pots for the honey.  The forester could plant plums trees too if more were need; plum jam was delicious. 

  The fruit we thought would be most wanted for jam making was our strawberries.  Jonniel and I planted a 2nd strawberry patch.  Jonniel made another scarecrow and extended the fencing.  Our choices for jam making were definitely strawberries and plums.  We were eager to find out which fruits others would want.

[Abandoned]

Chapter 17




  Annine, the food merchant, finally returned this summer of our 6th year here; you just missed her.  Yes, eager explorer, it did take a while for the boatman to get here, but she brought us pumpkins and pottery pots for our wild honey for which she has many orders.  She's had many requests for pots and jugs from customers on her trade route who were already making their own ale, cider, and jam.

 This year's fruit harvest had just begun so we did not as yet have much fruit waiting at the trading post, but she said Herberto would be here soon to pick some up.  He too had many orders for wild honey and fruit, and requests for pots and jugs.

 Annine also brought us the information we had been waiting for; she had quite a bit to say.  She asked her customers what fruits they would most want for making ale, cider and jam; and she asked other boatmen to ask their customers too.

Elves, like ourselves, prefer to make cider with whatever fruits we can gather from the wild or from hedgerows.  The Elves of Rainbow Falls prefer plum nectar.

Nords like those in Newburg who farm prefer ale from barley or honey mead served in their mead halls.

Dwarves from the Quarry and the Underground City like other dwarves who mostly trade for food, prefer a hearty ale made from wheat served in their ale houses.

When asked the above questions:
1)  Does your settlement prefer Ale, Mead, or Cider?
2)  What Ale is preferred?  Apple, Pear, or Wheat?
3)  What fruit would Cider be made from?  Apples, Berries, Cherry, Pear, or Plum 
4) What fruit would be used to make Jam?  Apple, Blueberry, Plum, Rose Hip, or Strawberries

Humans replied that:

1) Cider was preferred over ale, 3 to 1 
2) Ale made from wheat or pears tied
3) Cider made from apples 3 to 1 over berries.  Pears would be used if apples were not available.
4) Jam from berries, blueberries, and strawberries were preferred 3 to 1 over rose hips, the type of berries depending on availability.

If no fruit was available, there was always root beer that could be made from roots.

 


 It's too bad you arrived on your houseboat after she'd already left; she could perhaps have answered some of your questions about the route and the supplies.   We've had good service from the river boatmen, and we hope it continues, perhaps more often since we will have more perishable fruits to trade.  Our apple production is good, and we've added an extra worker to the pear and berry patch.  We have 2 patches of strawberries, and our gatherer collects plenty of other berries, rose hips, and wild honey.  Herberto brings us crates and barrels for our fruit, and pottery pots for our honey, when he can, plus wool.  We have no complaints, eager explorer; if it takes too long for the boatmen to arrive, we make jam with the perishable fruit.

[Abandoned]

Chapter 18


  There is not much more that I can tell you, eager explorer.  As I said, this is our 6th summer here, 16 of us with 13 children came here through the magic portal from Seeds & Seedlings, and now Fruit & Nuts has a population of 71, 47 adults with 24 children, all happy and healthy.



 We have a total of 20 houses, 7 treehouses including my families, 9 tiny houses, and 5 mushroom houses along the river.  We will soon need more housing for young couples; many children have become young adults and will soon reached marriageable age.









 We have a good supply of resources, firewood, tools, and clothes plus a good variety of food.  We keep our citizens supplied with all they need and are proud we will be supplying fruit and nuts to settlements who are in need of them.   We are grateful to the river boatmen for supplying us with crates, barrels, and pots, and for all the information they brought us.  We are glad you stopped by here at Fruit & Nuts, eager explorer, and we hope you will enjoy the rest of the summer. 


The End