The trial after the discovery of a unique type of potato - and a few trials after the rat infestation had been dealt with - the settlers of Hopetoun had decided that festivities were in order. After all, their food supply had been saved, and the risk of disease from the bite of a disease-carrying rat had been avoided. Every tiny triumph on the edge of civilisation was deemed worthy of celebration.
As part of the preparations, Darius had tasked some of the settlers with building a small stockpile of wood. The founder had himself led the felling party, and with guidance from Lars, the group found a suitable thicket of trees. Lars had commented that he didn't recognise the particular type of tree they were chopping down, but it fell just like any other, and the group managed to chop the trunk into sections that were able to be transported back to the settlement.
That night, a bonfire was held. A few portions of the trunk were chopped into kindling and set alight, while two sections were left to the side to add to the fire at a later break. Orange embers climbed towards the sky as the flames beneath them danced with a seemingly endless energy. Personal supplies of ale and mead were shared, and Darius attempted to play the flute he had found the previous trial, but he blew directly into the hole, and the noise was shrill, so he tried a few variations before deciding to set it aside for another time.
A visibly merry Kirt approached him about the grain they had protected and the potatoes they had found.
"We needs...to protect our foods," he had said, with a slight hint of a slur. "So...no more ratses...can eats it."
Darius had nodded at the suggestion, but had no immediate answer to the farmer's request.
After a few breaks, and with most of the kindling having been consumed by the bonfire, a pair of settlers collected one of the remaining sections of tree trunk and dropped it onto the fire. Almost immediately, most of the flames died down, fizzling into smoke. The merriment stopped almost as quickly, as everyone attempted to figure out what was going on.
Darius picked up his axe and swung it at the trunk, the sharp head digging into the wood. Then he pulled back on it, and with the help of another settler, they were able to haul it from the embers. As soon as the trunk was removed, the flames flickered, and caught alight once more, all to everyone's amazement.
Lars stood nearby, and the wilderness man exchanged glances between the section of trunk, which remained intact, and the flames.
"They're from the same tree," the man said aloud, clearly confused. "The only difference between the two is..."
"...the bark," Darius competed the man's sentence.
He levered the axe to break it free, then hacked at the trunk until he broke through the bark, and tossed a few splinters from the heartwood onto the fire, which greedily consumed them in its flames. The woodworker chopped some more, throwing ever bigger pieces onto the bonfire, and each one caused the flames to grow.
It was only when he hacked off a piece of bark and gently lowered it onto one edge of the fire that the flames nearest it died away again. Marvelling at the sight, Darius used another stick to pull it from the fire, and the flames rose once again. His mind began to fill with possibilities.
"Do you think you'd remember the type of tree this was?" he turned to ask Lars, who nodded confidently. "Good. Fireproof wood could be useful."
Last edited by Darius Baer Bottom on Fri Mar 19, 2021 3:22 am, edited 2 times in total. word count: 636
The following morning, some of the settlers of Hopetoun were later to rise than usual. It turned out that the home brews that a few settlers had brought across from Almund were a little more potent than most had anticipated.
If Darius had harboured any hopes of enjoying a sleep-in, they were dashed by the arrival of Lars. Evidently, the dark-haired man had avoided the alcohol and had been spending the earliest breaks of the trial in the wilds beyond the settlement's borders.
And so, Darius Baer, founder of Hopetoun, captain of the Libertalia, Principales of the FireForged faction, member of Isonomia and Baron of House Smooglenuff, emerged from his tent mid-yawn, with bleary eyes and unkempt hair. He tucked in his tunic, before taking a swig from his waterskin and pouring a small amount of water onto the palm of one of his hands, then running his wet hand over his face to help shake off the weariness from the previous evening's celebrations.
Mercifully, Lars was a patient man who was quite used to biding his time while stalking prey in the wild, so he didn't mind waiting for Darius to gather himself. When that was done, however, the wilderness man wasted no time before he spoke.
"The trees you were asking about," the man began. "The ones that don't burn. I've found more of them. A lot more."
Two breaks later, the axes were in full swing. Trees were being felled, and the trunks were painstakingly being taken back to Hopetoun on the back of a horse-drawn wagon. It was slow, hard labour, but none of the group had believed that establishing a new settlement would be anything but.
During that time, Kirt had appeared, somewhat worse for wear, with a headache that was in no rush to leave him be. He had spoken to Darius again of keeping the food safe, and not only was he no longer slurring, but he was beginning to make a lot more sense.
"We need to build a granary," the farmer had suggested, and everybody within earshot appeared to agree.
A granary would keep the food out of reach of the likes of rats and other small animals, and protect the settlements food supply from disease or the impact of the surrounding elements.
"I can 'elp," another man had said, stepping forward.
The figure was tall, with broad shoulders and strong arms that showed he wasn't afraid of hard work - which was one of the reasons he had been picked to join the felling crew to begin with.
"Jarad is me name. Done a bit o' construction in me trials, I 'ave," the burly figure said, his voice deep and booming. "Reckon I can be 'elpful. You make the sections o' wood and I'll put 'em where they go."
Darius looked up at the man, who smiled, revealing gaps in his mouth where there had presumably once been teeth. The bearded blond was slightly intimidated by the sight, but he couldn't deny that he would need help to build a structure even as conceptually simple as a granary. And the man's eloquence wasn't necessarily a reflection on his talents with tools in hand. He certainly hadn't disappointed with the felling.
"Alright," Darius nodded after a brief moment of contemplation. "Let's see what we can get done together."
Last edited by Darius Baer Bottom on Sat Jun 05, 2021 6:55 pm, edited 2 times in total. word count: 587
The first thing they did was lay down foundation stones. An island as volcanic as Faldrass had no shortage of stones, and the pair were able to find enough sizeable ones that they could haul together and set down on the ground.
Darius had specifically chosen a dry site in the settlement - no easy task during Cylus, but the group had become familiar enough with the area to know which parts of their new home were less susceptible to the wet than others. Kirt had impressed upon them the need to keep the food stores dry where possible, and the bearded blond had endeavoured to comply.
With the foundation stones in place, Darius was able to use some string and chalk to measure for the lengths of wood that he required, while using his woodworking expertise to produce them. Jarad, meanwhile, was able to show him the basics of how to connect them.
The floor section was simple. Darius cut lengths of wood at an equal length and he and Jarad nailed them together. They stretched lengthways, piece by piece, from one corner foundation stone to another, and the centre stone provided support for the sections that were between the corner stones.
Jarad insisted on testing that the wood could bear their combined weight, and so both men stood on the platform. Darius was not brave enough to jump, but Jarad has no such qualms. After one section of wood began to creak beneath the weight, Darius abandoned the platform and set about cutting more sections of wood to provide added bracing.
Once they tested the platform again - and it held their combined jumping weight without any groans of complaint - it was getting close to nightfall, and they took some time to satisfy their hunger and quench their thirst.
"Reckon we gets the wall sections cut first thing in the mornin'," Jarad spoke between massive bites of a potato top fish pie that Serena had made for the builders. "Then we 'ave a go at puttin' the walls up, and the roof."
Darius nodded, watching the builder eat. He knew the community had mouths to feed, but it was clear that some were bigger than others - just another reminder of the settlement's need for a granary.
By the time the pair returned to their project the following morning, their progress had caught the attention of some of the other settlers, with a few lingering nearby. It was not long before Darius had recruited them to help with some of the heavy lifting. The lengths that would ultimately form the wall sections had been cut easily, with the bark remaining on the outside, as a form of protection from fire.
Once the first lengths had been cut, Jarad was eager to show Darius how to interlock the adjacent sections at the corner. With his measuring line, he talked the mariner through the process, and with the use of a hand saw and a small axe, they were able to make the holes they needed to create mortise and tenon joint. The ease with which they were able to then slot the lengths together amazed Darius, and then Jarad hammered wooden pegs to lock them in place.
Gradually the walls rose, and as the breaks drifted by, the group affixed a simple door and added roofing atop the apex of the triangular timber frame. Darius sent a pair of settlers to fetch orange sand from the nearest beach as Jarad began to add a layer of sod to the roof of the building.
"It does two things, sod does," the giant of a man explained. "It 'elps keep the inside nice an' warm, but your sand'll do that, too, o' course."
Darius nodded, squinting as he looked up at the builder, whose large frame looked all the larger when he was clambering over the roof.
"Other thing it 'elps with," Jarad continued, "is put weight on the walls, and pushes 'em together, so none of 'em sea breezes can get through any gaps in the wood."
Darius nodded, grateful for the man's expertise, as the pair of settlers returned, carrying a heavy sack between them. The bearded blond pointed to the floor of the building, and the ever-warm, orange granules were poured out onto the wooden surface. Then the canvas of an unused tent was laid out across the floor and nailed into place. The heated flooring would keep food dry, while the canvas would prevent the granules from getting mixed in with the edible stores.
The light had begun to fade by the time Darius finished building a small and simple pair of steps to the front door, to ensure the settlers could access their food, but the likes of rats and small predators could not - at which point the group stood back and admired their handiwork with no small amount of pride.
The structure was not the most attractive, but it was sturdy, resistant to fire, and well-insulated. All in all, it was a fine achievement for Hopetoun, with their first permanent structure.
"Come on," Darius addressed the workers with a weary but satisfied grin. "Let's have a quiet drink together to celebrate."
Knowledge:
Construction: Location, Location, Location!
Construction: Laying a good foundation will enable a structure to bear a heavy weight.
Construction: How to make a mortise and tenon joint.
Construction: The weight of sod on a roof can reduce draughts and increase insulation.
Investigation: Paying attention to the unusual may present unexpected opportunities.
Musical Instrument: Wind: Blowing too hard will create an undesirable sound.
Non-skill:
Location: Hopetoun
Flora: Charwood
Skillplay: See comments.
Renown: +10 for good sound leadery stuff and executing a valuable construction project, plus discovering a new resource. Maybe they’ll call it baerwood.
Comments: I’m picturing lots of straw hats and lemonade, with Vangelis music playing in the background. Not played by Darius, of course. It’s great seeing Hopetoun pull together as a community, and Darius blossom as its leader.
I would have put Detection as a skill used, since Darius noticed the bark was still on the logs pulled out of the campfire. Also, it looks like Darius is Untrained in Construction on his CS, not Novice (no xp, no knowledges). That said, he is a Expert woodworker, and he had NPC help with the more construction-y bits, so that’s fine.
I’m less convinced by the time frame. I’m not sure I buy that you could have put together a granary in just two trials with the resources available, especially since you didn’t even wake up on the 13th planning to build one, let alone having a design or a site prepared, or materials collected for one. I don’t think any of the tasks were beyond Darius’ abilities or resources; it just should have taken a bit more time.
The bit where he overblew the flute made me laugh. Been there, done that!
Let me know if you have any questions. Enjoy your rewards.
