SirUlrich wrote:My first post is to say:
I love the story you're creating.
I never post anything but this post deserves my unconditional follow up.
Keep doing it!!!
Hey, I know you!
Thank you very much. Now, without further delay...
CHAPTER 16:
BROS BEFORE DOUGHSThis one is a bit longer than usual, so get ready
Another beautiful morning in the Retreat...
The days have been busy, as usual. A lot of work has been going on since I came back.
At first, most of the work was focused on bringing the place back to a 'running' state. That took some time and effort but was possible and done faster than I expected thanks to all the amazing people that helped - and the Ghost, of course
Soon enough, I was already figuring out ways to improve the Retreat now that it is back to activity.
One of the first things I came up with is what I'm calling a "Quality Yard". Now that I have some stuff that is of greater quality than regular building materials, I needed a different area to store it all so it wouldn't get mixed with regular wood and such. I came up with a nice design that also filled one of the empty spots that I had no idea what to do it since no houses could be built on it because of the terrain elevation.
Turns out I really like it! And the shed is very useful to store tools and wheelbarrows.
But hey, by now you might be wondering
"Quality? What do you mean, quality? Are you grinding quality?"Well - yes! Since I came back I decided to start up some of the industries I was lacking before my time away. Thanks to the donation of good seeds and such, my little grove has been up and running for a few weeks now!
Not only that, but with mulberries being replanted all the time and a new and better Loom and Spinning Wheel built with good quality wood and fibres, I'm finally able to keep my silk farm running - and now with 100% efficiency: all 20 cupboards being rotated every couple of days.
The tree grove and happy winds have also led me to more fun projects to fill the empty spaces with some of the nice stuff that was added while I was gone. Since now I plant Hazelnut trees, I can use its awesome wood for pretty buildings like those little and cozy rabbit hutches. I'm populating them as we speak with new rabbit tenants! I hope they appreciate the cold weather...
Oh, and yeah - there's a new, yellow wagon on that picture. You probably noticed it.
Well...
As the first wagon, this one was also found on an abandoned settlement. Turns out it also had a LOT of crops ripe for harvesting, and I couldn't simply ignore all that flax and hemp, right?
So after a few trips and haulings, got myself a neat loot.
With all the building going on, tar sticks have been a necessity... So I've also built a new Tar Kiln with better stones from Level 5 and have been burning tons of pine since them. I'm also planting pine - the better quality tar might be useful in the near future.
A lot has happened down the mountain as well.
It took quite some time, a lot of careful planning and materials testing... And a bit of help from me with the time restricted parts like the wax, of course
But my new neighbor started her housing life in style:
From leanto to Great Hall!
It turned out really nicely. I'm glad she's enthusiastic about making pretty buildings
Later that night, my 250 liters of wort finally turned into glorious, golden beer.
Glorious indeed!
I put it all in barrels and started my beer stock. Hopefully it will be filled with barrels one day, ready to be consumed by visitors and friends!
Talking about eating and drinking, that was some awesome timing.
Not long after that I've received an awesome invitation from the
Lady of Belle Dame.
She is going to host a feast for the kingdom in her beautiful town - I knew I would return there eventually! - and it will be a grand one at that. Bonfire, amazing furniture & symbelware, rows and rows of cupboards filled with food, etc...
For that reason, the whole kingdom will need to help her in preparing such a majestic event.
Besides a bit of foraging and other minor trivialities, I was tasked with hunting. A lot of it. The Lady and King Kaios himself would come with one of their Knerrir to collect all the meat - so I couldn't disappoint them.
I took up my sword and my shield and did my best... Bears love to hide, though. Bummer.
But there is something else... If the King is coming with one of their mighty Knerrir, he would need somewhere safe to port it... and also a road connecting straight to the Retreat since no river gets to it, obviously.
Alright, that sounds like a good excuse to build something nice... So I guess it is time to create a northern road - the Boreal Slope Road - and it should end near the water... Where I shall build a harbour.
A lot of night digging followed.
I had found the perfect spot - the closest water body to the Retreat - and imagined a nice harbour between two hills.
Should be something simple enough to be built in a couple of days but also fit enough for a great Knarr.
Terraforming took some time since I had to carve the sides of the hills but after it was done I quickly started with the paving and planning of a layout.
A nice harbour should have wide ways, carts and room for cargo... storage, etc.
I quite enjoyed that work and soon it started to take shape.
By the next day it was almost complete, but some finishing touches were still needed.
It would also be useful to have a building or two in it, so more delicate cargo can be safely stored. I was choosing lighter tones for the paving and such, so I ended up going for this very light and cheerful White/Green palette...
Welcome to White Harbour!Right.
So now I have the meat and I have a nice, claimed and safe spot for the Knarr to land.
All I have to do is wait...
I prepared everything to make sure they'd arrive safely, lit some fires along the shores of the river to guide their final approach and started my watch over the night...
They traveled far but it didn't take long before I finally saw it coming with a glorious pirate sail fit for a pirate lady like the Lady of Belle Dame.
Not so fit for a Sheriff King - I guess - but he is king so he might have whatever he wants
I really loved the Knarr! The model and the animations are pretty cool! I started to tease with the idea of building my own one day. I already built a place to park it anyway
After the initial greetings and a quick and nice trip to the Retreat, a major skinning operation started. We decided to skin the animals in my place since they don't really need the hides, so the Lady took care of that since she's a very skilled survivalist while King Kaios and me ran back and forth carrying the skinned carcasses to the harbour.
The sun was starting to break on the horizon by the time we were done. The ship was completely loaded and it was time to set sail.
After they got aboard and I started to wave, they invited me in.
"Come with us and then you can travel to your Hearthfire later", they said.
"So you can see the Knarr."Hell yeah! I jumped in and got myself a place on the crow's nest.
It was a good day.
... And I'm definitely building my own.
The following day was very nice.
Surprisingly, however, the best part of it was a message: My old pal' Z - former neighbor from back in the day - contacted me.
He's doing well and all, which is great. Turns out he is now a baker in a pretty nice village far away. I'm glad he found a place there and managed to move safely. Hopefully he's being 50% awesome and 50% crazy there still
Anyway, he really wanted to visit. Like
really. My charterstone got a "reset" after the village change anyway so he needed to visit it again to fast travel.
He asked me if he could visit and I was a bit worried. He is the baker after all, wouldn't he be busy? But nah,
bros before doughs, I say.
Took him some time but there he was, finally!
It was great to see him again and we talked a lot. I showed him the place, some new projects and ideas, etc...
He also brought me some nice delicacies from his ovens
and a couple more nice things that I possibly shouldn't mentionAfter we were done with all that, it felt like a nice time for a boat ride. There were some places around I wanted to show him and it would be a cool and relaxing way to hang out and spend some time.
It was a good time.
Before he traveled back to the village, however, I gave him a little gift too. A nice apple core with a pretty nice quality so now they can plant better apple trees.
Hopefully they've appreciated my gift
I know it's not much but we do what we can, right?
Also, an
IMPORTANT NOTICE!I shared with him my thoughts about - maybe - hosting a big feast somewhere between Christmas and New Year's Eve (I'm thinking December 30th!); open for everyone across the hearthlands! He was super excited and encouraged/convinced me to do so by giving me the last push I needed... So that *is* a plan now. I don't know if I can get everything set up but you'll all know ahead of time - of course. Anyway - if the idea interests you please let me know so I can have an idea of what to expect and all that!Back home, late at night...
That would be a nice ending for the chapter but there are things that must be said now.
I've witnessed something quite unusual...
Two mammoths together.
That was a pretty cool view.
I was going to get closer but then they walked away from each other...
Awe...
Sorry, Mammoths. I didn't mean to disturb you two. Just wanted a nice picture.
Wait, what is that--?I see something approaching.
Someone, rather. Someone with a boat on their back.
We meet and greet and I'm amazed. That was a long journey indeed.
I bring her in and offer a hot beverage. Welcome to Wulf's Retreat
Who is she? Well... You will all know that soon enough, probably sooner than you expect! Keep your eyes open
UPDATE:viewtopic.php?p=692917#p692917Until next time
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