Abandoned - Barnyards - Story 13 NWS

[Abandoned]

Intro


  This is the 13th story in the New World Series.  More towns in the north meant more northern trade route customers and more requests for farm animals.  Riverboat Depot did its best to supply the river boatmen and expeditions with farm animals. Green Pastures of story 3 supplies the Depot with sheep, pigs, and an occasional goat or two: their main purpose is producing wool, milk, and meat, not breeding.  Newburg could now trade furs for horses and hardier animal from the western trade merchants.  Northern trade route customers often waited a long time to get the farm animals they ordered.  Hoping to provide more animals and shorten the wait time, Riverboat Depot sent a group of volunteer to establish a settlement whose purpose was to breed barnyard animals.  The chosen area was close by, just upriver north of Seed & Feed of story 9.  The location would be convenient for the river boatment to pick up the needed animals, but the meadow was in a rocky mountainous area; there would not be much room for grazing; the animals would have to be fed.  The settlers would have to feed the animals, which in turn would help feed the settlers who named the town Barnyards.






Map seed# 512771816  Mountain Meadows, Small, fair, Disasters Off, Easy8 Deer,Groose,Bear,Grass

 
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 Tree Replacer X-Light, Maritimes Riffle, New Flora Edit, Kid More Caves (New), Wildlife Starts

Tweak Mods:   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, Jinxie Rabbit Hutch, Jinxie Bitty Village set, Kid Abandoned Places SE, Kid Old Town, Kid Workplace

Supporting Mods: Dwarf Signs, I See Fire (RK), Kid Animal Breeder, Kid Animal Shed Plus, Kid Deco Farm Animals, Kid Deco Mushroom, Kid Deco People, Kid Forest Ponds, Kid Hedgerow, Kid Houseboat, Kid Market Food, Kid Market Puzzle, Kid Some Boats, Kid Wayshrine, Kid Yard Cover, Snowman

Mod Note:  The new Kid More Caves mod has no start conditions, but I placed it with the starting mods in my mod list because I would place them on the map at the start, they are free-to-build.  There are dwelling caves, a storage cave, a mushroom cave, a bear cave, and a mine cave, all in 4 textures, rock and dirt, smooth or rough.  A shelter cave was added to the mod but not in time to include in this story; it is a 4-family boarding house type cave.



  Well, eager explorer, to answer your question, we had a good experience with a river boatman before we even arrived and settled here.  Come sit by the fire and I'll tell you all about it.

[Abandoned]

Chapter 1


  The boatman who operated the cargo ship picked up some farm animals for us from Green Pastures and then picked us up along with the rest of our animals at Riverboat Depot.  We were amazed how quickly and efficiently he loaded all our animals onto the boat and then off again when we arrived here.  That was not the easiest thing to do; the river was quite fast and rough due to the early spring snow melt and there was as yet no dock to moor the boat to.  It was cold, windy, and raining.  Before he left, the boatman unloaded our 3 supply carts, and said he was sure to be back sometime to pick up animals, but he would not take orders for animals from any customer in the far north who did not have a suitable barn built for them.  We were very impressed with the boatman.

 

  There were 27 of us that the boatman brought here, 16 adults with 11 children.  We had 2 cows, 3 goats, 4 sheep, 2 pigs, 4 chickens, 1 dog, and 2 black cats.  The men quickly put up a rope fence to keep the animals from scattering all over the area.  The rope fence wouldn't keep the chickens from going where they wanted but we hoped a sprinkling of the feed and seeds we brought with us would.  The dog and the 2 cats had already disappeared.



  The men gathered building materials while we women watched the animals, the children, and gathered branches and wild foods.  More materials were added to the stockpile as we cleared the way to a rocky ridge of caves a short distance from our clearing.

[Abandoned]

Chapter 2






  The rocky ridge extended from the river in the east all the way over to the small stream in the west.  There were 2 large caves suitable for storage, and there were several smaller caves that would serve as housing for the time being.  We found our dog had made himself at home in a small boulder-sized cave among the rocks next to one of the smaller caves.  Small rocks and stones were removed from the caves and by early summer 6 of our 8 families settled into the small dwelling caves, mine included.  My husband Burgeon and I settled into the small cave closest to the river.  My name is Suzettie, and I was expecting our first child.





  Three of the caves already had cook pots set up outside their entrances, and a notice board was built outside the large cave that faced our stockpile and storage carts.  We quickly took an inventory of what supplies we had.  We would have to gather more wild foods and keep a close eye on our food supply.  We had some thatch, and the animals seemed content to graze for the time being.

[Abandoned]

Chapter 3




  Another couple who was expecting their first child moved into a small cave in the outcropping by the mountain just southwest of the stockpile and storage carts.  They had been fishing in the forest pond next to their cave and gathering mushrooms in the mushroom cave on the other side of the pond before they stopped to help built the house and barnyard nearby.



  A large stone farmhouse was built by the storage carts for the last couple with 2 children.  They built a large animal shed across from the house for the 2 cows and newborn calf.  More thatch was gathered to feed the cows and a corn patch was quickly planted.  It was already late summer and there were a lot of animals left in the temporary pasture that needed shelter. 
 

[Abandoned]

Chapter 4


  There was plenty of room for building in the clearing.  The chickens were roaming around and were in the corn patch.  Our 2 black cats spent their time begging for a saucer of milk in the cow shed.   We decided those chickens needed a chicken shed next and also needed nests if we expected to have eggs and baby chicks.





  The chicken shed was built in the clearing near the corn patch.  They would be fed wild oats and then corn when the wild oats were gone.  It was already autumn; we hoped we would have all the animals housed before winter and be able to provide enough food for them and for ourselves.



  Our food supply got an unexpected increase when bears showed up dangerously close to our dwelling cave; Dentoney and Kiannon who lived in the small cave closest to the bears were terrified.  We were farmers and herdsmen, but we did have a couple of bows; 2 of the men made sure the area was safe from the bears.  Bear meat and furs were added to our storage cave and torches were lit at each cave entrance.

  When the weather continued to get colder, we realized we could use more workers down in the farmyard area.   Burgeon and I built a medium-sized farmhouse by the chicken shed. Our son, Audius, was born in late summer.  By late autumn, Burgeon went to working chopping firewood next to the stockpile.  When the first frost hit in late autumn, we realized we had to work fast to get the remaining farm animals housed and fed.

[Abandoned]

Chapter 5

 


  We built an animal shed for the pigs and their little newborn piglets down past the waterfall pond and mushroom cave.  We thought the moist soil there would be more to the pig's liking.  We did not have many wild roots so we would feed them potatoes until we could gather more roots.

  The sheep shed was built by the west end of the rocky ridge across from where the dog was still living in the small rock doghouse cave.  Hopefully, he was keeping the bears away.  None had been seen since the first encounter but we still kept the torches lit by the cave entrances just in case the bears returned. 



  We may have to use those bear furs to make warm coats before we got enough wool from our small sheep; are supply of coats was getting low.  A tailor workplace with an awning cover was set up right outside the storage cave entrance.  To keep our tool supply from getting any lower, a blacksmith's anvil with a covering was set up behind the woodcutter next to the stockpile.



  By late winter the last of the farm animals were moved into their own animal shed.  The goat shed was built by the river end of the rocky ridge across from the cave that Bureon and I lived in before we moved to our farmhouse. 

[Abandoned]

Chapter 6


  By the chicken shed near our house was built a rabbit hutch.  The laborers managed to catch a few rabbits while they were out looking for any wild foods that may have sprouted in early spring.  It was a cold rainy spring; we were glad we got as many roads laid out as we did the previous fall and winter. 





  The temperature warmed up enough to thaw the frozen bear meat allowing it to be put on the large spit that was built next to the woodcutter's workplace.  The fire was a bit smokey because of the rain and the meat took longer to roast but it was sure nice to pick up enough for dinner after a day's work was done. 

  We did a little exploring that 2nd spring.  There were several small rock formations scattered around our settlement, one was behind the rocky ridge by the river, and another was at the other end of the ridge just west of the sheep shed.  Burgeon said the formations may have been caused by wind and rain or by the same flood waters that probably carved the caves.  The little formations seemed to have a peaceful feeling about them; we called them way shrines.







  We found another way shrine a short distance behind the cow shed in a patch of stone and iron.  It was near the south mountain ridge where we found another large storage type cave with a small dwelling size one beside it.  It was what we found up by the north mountain ridge that had us a little curious and concerned.

[Abandoned]

Chapter 7


  We knew as soon as we neared the north mountain ridge that someone had been here before us.  We found a small stockpile of logs and thatch and 5 graves marked with small wooden crosses.





  At the west end of the ridge was a small cave, and a large one that could easily be a mine; there was quite a bit of loose iron, rock, and coal inside.  Another large cave was suitable for storage but there was nothing inside that one.  The small cave next to it was also empty.   The large cave next to that was the one that had us concerned.  Two signs blocked the entrance to this cave, one said "Danger" and the other said "Keep Out".  Was it another mine cave?   The 5 graves were nearby, did those laid to rest there die in this cave?  Another way shrine was also nearby.  Hopefully it helps the deceased to rest in peace.





  At the end of the mountain ridge near the river was another small cave, waterfall and fishing pond, and another mushroom cave.  It would appear to be a good place to settle.

[Abandoned]

Chapter 8


  In spring of year 2, we had one more place we wanted to explore before we got down to work.  We built a small jetty bridge across the stream to the west of our settlement by the Rocky Ridge.  The forest was thick, there was iron and stone scattered around, and there was another small stream on the other side by the foot of the mountains.  We saw a few deer.  It would be a good place to build a forester when we need logs.





  The rain had finally stopped, and we promptly completed the greenhouse we began over winter.   It would help protect the fire spit and the chicken shed from the cold northwest winter wind.  We planted potatoes, carrots, onions, and cabbage.  We called it our soup house and looked forward to vegetable soup next fall and winter.

  In late spring we were surprised by the arrival of 2 families who came down from the north mountains where they fled to after the bear attack a few years ago.  It was them and a few others who passed through Newburg heading south and decided to settle here by the waterfall and mushroom cave.  They barely began to settle in when a bear with cubs emerged from the cave.  The older couple's granddaughter wanted to play with the baby bear and the mother bear attacked.  Their son, his wife, and the granddaughter were killed.  Two others who tried to help also died from their injures after 2 more bears emerged from the cave.  The survivors fled into the forest and hills, returning only long enough to bury the dead, gather their belongings, and to put up the warning signs.  They've been struggling to survive; they saw our campfire smoke and came for help.  The others were sure to follow. 



  We welcomed the 2 families who moved into the cave Burgeon and I had vacated and the one behind it.  We did warn them that we had seen some bears and told them to keep their torches lit.  It was a short time after they got settled in that the trading post we had already begun work on was finished.

[Abandoned]

Chapter 9


  We built 2 voucher sheds by the trading post, one large and one small.  When we had a large or small animal ready for trade, the herdsman would pick up a voucher and take it to the trading post.  The trader would know what animals were available for the river boatman.  We built a water mill next to the trading post and took water and feed to the sheds to feed the animals while they waited at the trading post to be loaded onto the riverboats.



  We needed to be sure to have enough feed for the animals.  We gathered wild thatch and planted another corn patch behind the cow shed.  Next to it we built a corn crib to help dry the feed corn for winter use.  We were also eating some of the fresh-picked corn.



  A young single male moved into the small cave in the south mountain ridge.  He was the son of Anastacey and Lorraina who live in the cave on the right side of the Rocky Ridge storage cave.  We discovered that the large cave in the south mountain range had quite a bit of food stored in it.  We began building a bitty marketplace in town across from the fire spit. 

  It was late autumn when Flossom, the livestock merchant, came to our trading post.  He just stopped to say hello and that he was looking forward to picking up farm animals to take to waiting customers.





  It was only a short time later that we had the first frost of the season.  The corn was harvested and the marketplace was completed.  Folks would not have so far to go to pick up food and supplies.

[Abandoned]

Chapter 10


  That winter we saw the bears again; there were 3 of them.  Two of them stayed on the far side of the Rocky Ridge but one ventured to this side of the ridge as far as the goat shed.




  The two men with the bows came immediately and eliminated the problem.  There would be plenty of roast bear meat that winter, and more torches would be lit.  The dog had been barking but as usual he stayed close to his small dog cave.  He may have been barking at the builders who had been working on the grain greenhouse nearby by the small stream.  We would grow oats in the grain house since we had plenty of corn from the 2 patches and corn crib.





  In late winter, more bears were spotted across the small stream.  They crossed the stream and headed back towards the bear cave in the North Ridge.  When the snow melted, Burgeon and one of the men with a bow also headed north towards the cave to have a look.  The "Keep Out" sign had been broken into several pieces; the bears must have entered the cave.  Burgeon said he could feel air coming out of the cave entrance leaving him to believe that the cave had another entrance somewhere in those north mountains or on the other side of them.  The 2 men put together a new sign from pieces of wood from the small stockpile before heading back to town.

[Abandoned]

Chapter 11


  We indeed had plenty of bear meat in storage; we spent time over the winter updating our inventory. 





  We also added some town statistics to the notice board.  We only had 4 laborers and 2 builders.  We had 11 houses and 13 families. Our daughter, Gabrinley, was born in late summer of year 2.  Barnyard's population in spring of year 3 was 42, 23 adults and 19 children.  We were all happy and healthy and felt a bit safer since more torches were set up and lit around the Rocky Ridge and a man with a bow stood guard where the bears had been seen in the past.





  Burgeon came up with the idea to keep a big bonfire burning outside the bear cave as a deterrent to keep the bears from coming out of this cave entrance.  Lenaro and Filome, who lived in our old cave, said they would keep the fire going; they wanted to build a house by the cemetery where their son and his family were buried.  They moved out of our cave and into their new house, a young single male moved into our cave that the couple vacated. 

[Abandoned]

Chapter 12


  It was shortly after the family moved into their new house, that the families they left behind in the mountains came to join them.  There were 3 families, 6 adults with 2 children. 



  A couple with the 2 children moved into one of the caves in the North Ridge and a single young male moved into the cave by the waterfall.   The young male would fish from the pond and the couple would take over tending the bonfire.  They build a firewood storage box next to their cave.  Both caves had lit torches by their entrances.  Filome, in the house by the cemetery, would gather mushrooms from the mushroom cave.  The 3 families gathered branches and wild foods from the area and soon the storage cave in the North Ridge had a small supply of food.

  One family was still homeless when Flossom, the livestock merchant, returned.  He brought us a pair of turkeys from Newburg.  He had an order for rabbits and a nanny goat, he waited while the vouchered animals were brought to the dock.





  The last couple needing a home had a 7-year-old daughter.  The couple was not happy about returning here; they did not want to live by the bear cave or the cemetery.  They were the parents of the 2 young men who died trying to help the family that was attacked by the mother bear.  The couple was not happy that their sons could not save that family. We built them a nice little house next to the rabbit hutch.  They could help with the rabbits or with the turkeys that were now in a pen with a roost across from the rabbits.  Or they could help in the soup kitchen that was built shortly before they arrived.  We decided on vegetable soup with mushrooms and herbs.  We hoped that the family would be happy here; we assured them that we all thought their sons were heroes for trying to save that family, and that family's parents were now tending their son's grave as well as that of their own son and his family.

[Abandoned]

Chapter 13


  The hot vegetable soup was very popular that winter of year 3.  We had plenty of mushrooms gathered from the 2 mushroom caves and from the wild, but our herb supply was often low.  We gathered winter-hardy herbs and branches from the forest behind the Rocky Ridge and by early spring of year 4 we had a bitty herbalist's shed build on the road from town to the north.  Some of us thought it was a dangerous place for the herbalist to work; it was too close to where the bears had been on more than one occasion.   We could not argue with the fact that no bears have been seen in the past year since the bonfire and extra torches had been lit.
 


  The man with the bow that had been standing guard by the Rocky Ridge thought it was time to explore the bear cave to see just how big it was and if indeed there were other entrances.   Despite much protest, he decided he would do the investigating.  The bonfire was allowed to burn low, and the entrance sign was moved to allow him to pass into the cave.  We waited impatiently for his return.





  In the meantime, a small marketplace was built by the cemetery on the road heading north from town.  Those living in that area needed a more varied diet that the market could provide.  By the time the market was well stocked, and to our relief, the guard returned from the bear cave.

  The guard discovered that it was indeed a very large cave made up of several good-sized caves, a few smaller ones, and several tunnels branching off to the north and west. He met up with an unfriendly bear on his way back to the south entrance.  He returned with bear meat and several furs.  Although he'd seen no other bears in the cave, the bonfire at the entrance was relit.

[Abandoned]

Chapter 14


  That bear cave would be a continual source of bear meat and furs if we needed them.  For now, our food and clothing supplies were good.  After confirming that everyone had enough furs to make their homes comfortable, we took the cave furs to the trading post.  When Eveland, the general goods merchant was here and took our order, he told us not to worry if we did not have enough vouchered animals to trade; he and other riverboat merchants would take anything in trade, even gold if we found any in these mountains.  Tools and coats were always need.  We just had to keep in mind that the riverboats could not hold much stone or iron because of the weight.

  Eveland had not yet returned with the foods we ordered, but since he was here, we did wonder if there was any gold in our mountains.  There was 1 large cave and 2 small ones yet to explore.  It took us quite a while just to clear away the trees, stone, and iron that were blocking the way to the caves at the west end of the north mountain ridge.

 

  The small cave on the end was very small with a very low entrance; one had to enter it on hands and knees.  The small cave next to it was the same size as the Rocky Ridge dwelling caves, and 8-year-old Florraina move in.  She wanted to be a miner until she got into the mine next to her cave and found piles of huge boulders.  Even the smaller pieces were more than she could lift or carry.  There was stone, iron, and coal inside the cave; it would take experienced miners or Dwarves to safely retrieve the resources from the large cave.  There appeared to be no gold whatsoever.

  Eveland, the general good merchant, returned with food we order in late summer and again in winter of that 4th year.  We traded a calf, 2 sheep, and a few chickens for apples, and potatoes in late summer, and 7 furs and 2 rabbits for apples and roots in winter.  We placed the same order and took some iron tools and hide coats to the trading post for when he returned.



  Since the big mine cave did not extend very far back into the mountain ridge, the men decided the best way to determine if there was any gold in the north ridge was to dig a long narrow shaft next to the mine.  The shaft would need lumber for reinforcement against cave-ins so the woodcutter switch from cutting firewood to cutting lumber.  Florraina gave up thoughts of being a miner and set up a gatherer's workplace in front of her cave.  It was spring before the bitty mine shaft was complete.  No gold was found.