The Vanished Wilderness [IC | Closed]

[ApplePieistan]

Judith Pratt
Endless Wood, night 1

It was no surprise Judith managed to reach the Endless Wood before her unemployed friend. As tedious as she found her years living in the mountains, the endless hiking raised her tolerance for walking hours on end without rest. It was clear her new friend had no such experience, as he exhaustedly trudged towards the Endless Wood. While it was a little annoying how slow he was, it gave Judith time to start a nice little campfire around the outskirts of the woods. With a few sticks, foliage and her trusty flint, she could easily make a cozy fire, providing warmth in the night and helping her friend see where she is, just in case the mountain goats weren’t obvious enough. During her wait, Judith also managed to find the time to knap her flint a bit to make it sharp.

Once Judith’s out of shape friend managed to reach camp, he was fast asleep, fatigued by the long walk. Judith, on the other hand, was in deep thought. Her priority was to get leather, and for that, she needed to kill an animal. The only problem is all animals that would provide a decent amount of leather are tough and quick. With just a flint blade, most animals would evade or kill her. Slowly, Judith turns towards her sleeping friend, here not because of any skill or enthusiasm he possessed, but because he was given a copper noble. Surely, he wouldn’t be useful.

Quietly, Judith clutches her blade and approached her sleeping friend. His skin, bones, sinew, and meat could all be incredibly useful. Maybe he still has that copper noble on him, too. Surely, John would appreciate this, even if he could never know where the leather from his waterskin came from. With these thoughts encouraging her, Judith tightly grips her blade slits the man’s throat, killing him. It was a huge relief, knowing she wouldn’t have to hunt for food for pelt. Of course, she would be in deep trouble if anyone were to find out, but what are the chances anyone would find him out here, in the Endless Wood? Confident the chances are slim, Judith finally lays her head down to rest.

[G-Tech Corporation]

Petyor Vladislav
Banks of the White River

The Eastron plodded up out of the river, grabbing his dry boots once more off of the bank to jam them on wet feet. Not the most comfortable way to travel, certainly, but necessary to prevent the leather from behind ruined by his constant wading in the shallower regions of the White. A short distance back along the watercourse Ivan waved, and in a moment the young man was within earshot. Petyor held up a gleaming length of flint in pride, and also some tiny fragments of silver.

"These baskets will do for your purposes I hope." said the lad, passing Petyor two of the woven contraptions. The captain inspected his work; they were good, solidly made, with small braided straps to allow one to carry the device on one's back if desired while leaving the hands free.

"Smart addition there Ivan- yes, these will serve marvelously." A wave of the prospector's hand took in the small burbling stream that ran into the White River next to where they stood, and he nodded at the nuggets of lustrous metal in his palm.

"Farther upriver these placer deposits peter out, as far as I can tell. That means this is where we leave the White. Somewhere up in these hills, fed by this stream, there is silver in abundance. I warrant, if I am not deceived, that this deposit may make that scrape back in Farholme look like a pauper's repaste compared to the Emperor's banquet."

An upbeat proclamation. The man from Iral wasn't sure in the least of that- determining as much from a few chance encounters with ore washed down from the hill's was fool's work. But there was only enough money in Petyor's neck-pouch to pay the man's wages for one day more, and even that would be a stretch, so Petyor had every intention of driving him like a man possessed in the hours of the day that remained.

Speaking of which, ah, yes. Not yet noon- the morning fog had burnt away, but there were many hours still left until sundown for hard labor. The military man smiled to see the ambition in his employee's eyes, and together they trudged up the hills through the thick foliage, following the stream.

And indeed what Petyor sought for they found, scarcely an hour later. The burbling stream with no name, which perhaps one day men would name for its provenance of riches, came burbling out of the heights east of Farholme. And as Petyor sloshed through the water to the low cave where it emerged, perhaps a natural spring, the rocks beneath his bare feet glittered like a sea of stars.

"How has nobody ever found this before? There's just so much silver." said Ivan, voice wondering, expression that of a man in shock. Master Vladislav could only shrug.

"They must not have been looking that hard when they first made a survey of this region- I knew what I was looking for, and how to find it, while company men were probably more concerned with a general catalog. Those pebbles I have took hours of careful searching to discover, and I wasn't just looking at every shining rock, but rather for the amalgamation of native silver specifically, or her ores. They used to mine that, you know, near the Cliffs of Karsk. I didn't live too far away."

The young man nodded. He had never seen those cliffs, streaked with white gold, but men of the Valley had heard of them. Men went there to find their fortunes, and too few returned with anything save injury and sorrow.

Up came Petyor's pickaxe, and down, weather-worn hands applying themselves to the task of opening up the passage deeper into the small cave. Rock fractured under the metallic assault, slowly over many repeated strikes, but that was the work that Ivan had signed up for, in part. They had discussed this on their walk up the stream- refining the ore would be wisest, to save on the weight of carrying it back to Farholme, but in the long run being able to use the smelter and process the crushed ore into ingots would be most effective. Ultar would have to pay a king's ransom if they provided him silver bars ready to sell on the next ship, and they would be rich. Or, hopefully rich.

With that in mind, Ivan set to work gathering branches as the sun rode past noon, and his master slowly peeled back the skin over the bones of the earth to access the glittering veins within. Hours they labored, sweat coating Petyor's brow, but by the onset of afternoon and their break for luncheon- perhaps three o'clock as men in more civilized climes would make it- nearly two of the baskets were full of the rock and stone laced with shimmering starlight, and another basket filled to the brim with branches to be used for firing bricks or feeding flames.

Petyor's smile was tired at first, and the two men ate in surreal silence- their good fortune was beyond anything the men could have dreamt of upon arriving in the New World, but many more hours of labor beckoned ahead. Still, that tiredness was slowly washed from the bones with good water and soft nutty bread, and anon the twain rose again to their labor. As Petyor hauled the stone up out of the small pit descending into the earth he had carved, Ivan set to work separating the wheat from the chaff, as it were. Crushed ore would be less to carry than the raw stuff, and far more lucrative.

[Lusela]

Vasily Constantinovich Vodyanov

Day 2 ~ Mouth of Eras River ~ 7:00 am

Vasily woke up gently, the sunlight filtered through the leaves of the Manymun he slept against. He stretched up his hands and let out a yawn. Rubbing his eyes slowly to get the sleep out of him Vasily glanced down into the glade. Three mule-deer were each taking turn at the basket of wild fruit.

“Hey! Go on, get! Get your tails out of here!” all sleep gone from his eyes Vasily descended down the tree to his things. The deer scampered off before he could even make it to the bottom. Looking in the basket he saw how much the animals raided from him. What could have lasted him for maybe two weeks dwindled to a week worth of fruit. “This was a stupid idea, next time I won’t make the same mistake.” Vasily told himself.

After a quick breakfast of fruits Vasily gathered up his things and decided to go deeper into the Mouth of the Eras River. A three hour walk later and he noted that the environment had changed the deeper he went into the region. Manymun groves obstructed his view on almost all sides, reeds of all sorts grew around him. Some other species of trees and plants speckled the wet land around him.

Vasily had heard of the indigo cash crop and the rich soil here in the river mouth. He hoped he could make a fortune off of indigo later. An hour later and Vasily found a location for his future home. It was maybe an acre and a half surrounded by two rivers and a large Manymun grove to the east of the land. Towards the north it sloped up to a hill, the northern river would probably spill over to the western river when it flooded. But no matter, Vasily figured he could later just build some sort of wall to stop the flood.

It was already 11:30 in the morning and Vasily wanted to get some work in, today was the day he would have shelter and a fire. He sat down on the grassy hill and began eating some fruit from his basket for lunch. Once he finished his meal, Vasily decided to go and collect some branches to construct a lean-to and for firewood. It took about six hours of searching to get two bundles of branches, more than enough to build a basic lean-to. For the next two hours he built the lean-to and collected some foliage to add onto the roof. Vasily also managed to find some thick moss for a comfy bed, albeit a little dirty.

At 8:00 pm there was still just enough light for Vasily to try and find some flint for his fire, if he didn’t find any he could always try a fire-starting technique his older brother taught him. As luck would have it Vasily did find two pieces of flint. By 10:00 pm Vasily had his fire burning near his lean-to, tomorrow he would need to get more branches as his last bundle was already over halfway used. Vasily felt much better having a place to sleep and a warm fire next to him, he almost dozed off before remembering to move his basket of fruit closer to himself. He entirely forgot to eat today, so that’s what he did. He had a few fruit and then he dozed off with his scythe in his hands. All in all today was a pleasant day of hard work and building.

[Pentapolitan Kyrene]

Edmund Grufydd
East of Lake Nemis, Day 1

A few moments after he has passed through the palisade, Edmund sighed, and surveyed the shore of the lake. The woods were nearby, a range of foreboding trees trailing from the east of the river out in an ever-broadening thicket towards the endless woods on the eastern horizon, and he guessed it would be a trifling journey there and back. Axe resting on his shoulder, as if a pike, he fell into a marching pace, as he had done so many times before, and as had served him so well on night-marches in the north. Once safely out of earshot of Farholme, Edmund began to sing to himself, reciting marching songs and enjoying the crispness of his parade-ground voice isolated in the silence of the wilderness. His hob-nail soldier's boots, polished and patched, trudged on through the mud of the riverside, and through the long, untamed grass of the small plain leading up to the forest. He spotted, with casual interest, a few darting hares running from warren to warren, and even saqw a few deer darting between copses of squat little trees in the warmth of the early morning.

It was almost luxuriant, he found, to walk at his own pace, not at one set for him by a drummer. His march, exhausting for a civilian to keep up, was as pleasant as an afternoon stroll, and surrounded by the freshness and vigour of wildness and nature it took on that aspect wonderfully. The mud caked onto his boots, but shook off easily enough, or fell away as he strode into the dry grass, and the chirping insects kept well away as he strode on. Soon enough, he began to pass into a steadily thickening woodland, as the patches of copse and thicket grew ever more common until they merged together into one beautiful, sun-dappled forest. To the east, the trees and the canopy grew thicker, but out near the lake's shore they were pleasantly sparser, and allowed some smaller shrubs and bushes to grow. After perhaps less than an hour's march, Edmund found himself a good way into the forest, sticking near the lake-shore. For a moment, he leant onto the thick, rough bark of an mottled old fir tree and contemplated going further, to the junction of the white river, but thought better of it, for the time being.

He looked around him, in awe of the bounty of wood, all of it free to cut and free to sell, enough to occupy him for years and to built Farholme half a hundred times or more. Even at home he'd not had such freedom. The woodland around Archet, where his father had laid his cabin, was owned by the local baron, who would, mean-spirited as he was, only allow a few trees to be struck down a year after the pigs had had their fill of the forest's bounty, and so even in his youth he had never had such a range to choose from. It took him only a few moments to find a good candidate for the first tree to be struck down, a large, old fir tree with only a few upper branches left, which, by it's height and position would fall in such a way as to be easily pushed down over slick mud into the lake. With the tree chosen, Edmund had only one more concern to think on; how he intended to float the trees down to Farholme. He had seen many ways for such a thing to be done, sure enough, from dug-out canoes, if only heartwood or transport were needed, to great packs of logs driven by drivers through the water to their destination. He'd spent a good few years of his childhood out on expeditions with his father and other lumberjacks to clear a patch of land, and there, owing to his relative nimbleness to the older jacks he'd been put in charge of steering and punting individual logs.

It was a hard skill to learn, and one that had put him in the water a good few times, but it was far from impossible, and he was fairly certain that with a tree so broad as this he could stand atop it, with the shores of the river being so shallow, and punt it, with a large enough stick, down to Farholme to make the walk back. Of course, such a plan would only work to convey two or three logs at most, with him hopping between them to guide them in the still waters, and even then he'd be wary of trying to drive more than two logs. The best way to do it, he thought, especially on the river, would be to lash six or seven timbers together with a roughspun rope as a sort of raft, to be punted down to Farholme, unlashed and sold in a batch. For that, though, he'd need rope, and the wisest way to make Rope he could recall would be to interweave fibers of grass, which was always tedious work, and dull. Still, for a day's labour with his hands out in the grassland, he could make his work five-fold easier in future, and it was always easier to raft than to float.

He laughed at himself for a moment, having already gone into the wood when he could have saved half an hour in coming up with the idea sooner. He paused a moment, surveying the wood, and deciding instantly that there was not nearly enough grass to harvest enough to lash a raft together. He would have to go back out into the flat land surrounding Farholme, at the Forest's edge, and spend a few laborious hours gathering grass, and perhaps an hour more rendering it down into fiber, but a bushel or two of the stuff should function to lash together a raft. He'd be able to get half-way through getting his first tree down with the rest of the day, but then he'd have to be to sleep. The fruit left in the basket would last a week, by the weight of it, or six days more. If it would take him a day, or thereabouts, to gather the grass, cut it down to fiber, and then at the end of the process to lash together the trees, then he had five days to cut before he'd have to set out back to Farholme. With luck, that would mean five trees felled, and so ten copper nobles. He could feel his coinpurse filling now, and he smiled to himself at the simplicity of it. Perhaps he'd never be so wealthy as the miners if they found their silver, but he wouldn't have to work twelve hours a day, day in, day out at the bottom of a mine, and could live outdoors, and to a more comfortable rhythm.

First, though, he'd need to gather the grass. Leaving a notch in his chosen tree out of habit, since no other lumberjacks seemingly wandered the woods, he set out back into the grassland, and set to work, for what would be an arduous day's graft. He sang to himself to pass the time, and rolled up his trouser-legs, as he took up great bunches of long grass, twisting them into bushels. He worked for a few hours, all through the morning, singing of shepherding, of rafting, and of the roving hills of home until he no longer really thought as he wrenched up the grass. As the hottest hour of noon passed, he stopped and sat by the riverside, taking his boots off and holding his feet in the cool, blue waters, watching the shimmering fish dart through the reeds. Another idea bloomed in his head. With another few hours work he could gather enough grass to weave extra baskets, and at the same time to begin to gather up enough to weave a fishing net. If he were smart with his time, he could gather grass in the spare hours of the morning before beginning with the tree he cut each day, and by the end of the week have enough to weave a net, to be strung across the back of the raft. He could salt the fish, too, and either make a profit by selling them as rations, or keep them as spare food to go along with the fresh produce to be bought each week.

With the plan set out in his head, he set to work for the rest of the afternoon, another four hours, gathering another four bushels of grass. With the grass of the morning dried in the midday sun, he left the afternoon's grass out in the sun to dry too, while sitting down upon an old stump in the shade of the forest, likely felled in the building of Farholme, and setting to work splitting the fiber from the grass, a simple and quick enough task that soon enough found him with two bushels of fiber, reading for the weaving. With that much set aside, he felt quite confident he'd have enough to lash a raft together. With the day still bright and the evening just beginning, he was almost glad to finally return to the woods, basket slung over his shoulder and bushels of fiber balanced on top, tied into manageable bundles. The tree, and the relief of finally getting to work hacking it down, waited for him, like a much needed night's rest.

He set his legs apart, got a sturdy grip on the heartwood handle of his axe, and set to work, carving an ever larger and larger wedge from the side of the tree. He would come scarcely a third of the way to actually felling the thing before the darkness came in and put a stop to his work. Still, for a brief few hours, he remembered the cheerful nights of his youth doing the same, and the thought warmed him as he slept, hat over his eyes, leant up against a tree as he slept, after finishing the day's portion of fruit.

[Holy Tedalonia]

Edward "Ted" Tomlinson, Day 1, Part 2
Edward stalked the woods carefully searching for sticks, and branches that fell from trees. As he wandered around the vast trees of the Endless Woods he would bite into the wild fruit he got from Ultar. He had a entire basket for 4 copper knaves leaving himself with 4 copper nobles and 6 knaves. Uncertain whether he'll survive he was going to live with what he did best, hunting for food. If the city taught him anything, it was that food is the difference between living and dying, and he wasn't going to starve.

He hoped that he could at least craft a bow, such a thing would be necessary to catch any critter by surprise. Distance is what gives the prey the advantage, so in logic to make farther distance weaponry would turn that advantage to a disadvantage. Furthermore he could profit off of the leather. He needed something to bring him income after all...

[G-Tech Corporation]

Petyor Vladislav
Farholme

It was not a happy man that was roused by the tired Petyor at barely before the changing of the midnight watch, not in the least. Ultar's normally cheery disposition was hidden behind eyes filled with sleep, and his rest-addled brain was more grouchy than curious when the newcomer requested a mining deed. It was a full copper noble, and the dirty sweat-covered man seemed to wince as he paid the price of the Company's representative; Ultar pocketed the coin without a second thought, and handed over the small scrap of paper only too happy to get the sarden prospector out of his hair. Time to close up the shop in earnest, and this time he wasn't crawling back out of his bed for love nor God.

That was the thought going through his mind when the first basket was plopped down on the desk behind him. The storekeeper turned, eyebrows furrowing and mouth winding up for a scathing tirade about doing business at normal hours like civilized humans when he caught the glint in the woven baskets. Those words of condemnation died in his throat, and the fat Company man shuffled forward almost incredulously, holding his lantern higher to get a good look at what exactly the filthy wanderers had dragged into his shop.

Damnation. The color was unmistakeable there, suspended in the thin aggregate of lustrous compound and metallic rock. His lips refused to work for several seconds, before Ultar merely shook his head slowly.

"You do have the permits all in order."

"Aye, that I do." responded the sojourner, smile tired but satisfied.

"I don't suppose you'll be selling on the cheap on account of the Guild's backing?"

"Why, of course I will. After all, you've been a great help in this endeavor. For you, a silver penny and five nobles per starn."

A bargain at the price, really. The wheels in Ultar's head were already turning as the shock of the revelation cleared the sleep fully from his mind. Down there in the mine they were digging up silver, and rendering it easily enough, but more was always better. And it wasn't as if these two men could sell elsewhere... unless they wanted to wait for a ship. If they were smart they would've done that, but the shopkeeper knew the look. The look that said they were looking for cash now, consequences be damned. Fair enough, really. That coin pouch had sounded mighty empty.

He shook his head. Yes, he could double that profit easily on each basket, but the Company expected him to haggle.

"I can't give you more than a penny three, that's for certain. Gershwin would have my head for that even, but you did come to me first, so I'll talk him around."

Patented lies, and after a few seconds Ultar regretted giving them voice, for the miner's face hardened. Apparently the man knew the worth of what he had placed on the table, and wasn't inclined to suffer fools.

"Here I thought we were negotiating in good faith. A penny three, then, and not a copper less."

Ooh, that smarted. Still, plenty of a margin for profit, even after the Company's cut. Visions of splendor danced in Ultar's head- the Company gave him much of the profits of the store, since he operated it himself, and he saw only a pittance of income from overseeing the mine. Silver obtained through the shop alone, surely, would fall under his purview, not his arrangement with Lord Sepespian.

"Alright, fine. Hand them here and I'll count them out. Anything else you want?"

Petyor smiled in truth then, and behind him the stunned youth could only babble incoherently for a moment before hauling in the other baskets of crushed silver ore. A king's ransom, no, but far more money than he could have ever dreamt of for a day's work. And more to be made beside. As the captain purchased some other vital goods, Ivan merely smiled dumbly, hopes for the future growing much brighter.

And then the two men headed for bed, but not before Petyor had retained Aleksander's services, the other man that had ridden over on the ship with the original party. There were some women working in the mine too that might be interested, and a fat man Petyor had hoped to find, but it was not to be it seemed. Wherever the chubby fellow had headed off to, he was nowhere to be found. A few coppers rented out one of the stockades all to Petyor's own, where he held the goods and tools alongside his newfound wealth, but Ivan barely minded. A noble for his work, and another for a bonus, and the young farmer was a very happy man as night's cloak took him.

7-11am: Petyor (1 Flint) | Ivan (2 Long Grass -> 4 Baskets)
11am-11pm: Petyor (9 Silver Ore) | Ivan (8 Silver Ore -> 4 Crushed Silver) (1 Crushed Stone)
Crushed Stone left at Silver Mine, 4 Crushed Silver carried back to Farholme
4 Crushed Silver -> 5 Silver Knaves 2 Copper Nobles | 2 Nobles paid to Ivan, 2 Copper Spears, 1 Copper Pickaxe, 1 Copper Hammer, 2 Baskets, Housing Rental (-3 Silver Knaves 4 Copper Knaves)
End: Petyor, Ivan, Aleksander | 1 Silver Knave, 9 Copper Nobles, 6 Copper Knaves | 2 Spears, 2 Pickaxes, 2 Hammers, 6 Baskets

[ApplePieistan]

Judith Pratt
Endless Wood
Day 2

With Judith’s friend lying dead since last night, it felt right to begin preparing to leave. While the chances someone will find the corpse are slim, a bear, a wolf, or something equally terrifying may smell the meat, which would be trouble. Judith also missed things Farholme provided, like food, bedding, and a roof over her head. The forest had none of that, which means it was time to head home. Of course, she couldn’t just carry a corpse back to Farholme. To not get arrested, Judith would have to cut it up into unrecognizable pieces. Using her trusty flint knife, Judith began dismembering her former friend, collecting a decent haul of skin and flesh and sinew. Only the man’s skeleton was left behind, as it served Judith no purpose. It took six whole hours to cut up the body, but it was well worth it. Perhaps later, she could sell some of it to unknowing strangers.

While this was a fairly decent haul, Judith had one more item on her shopping list: plant oil. For this, she would have to spend yet another six hours, this time collecting nuts. It was a tedious task, and the polar opposite of adventure, but she had no other choice. Judith had already come this far to make some leather, and there was no sense in stopping now. With one mountain goat carrying the man’s flesh, skin, and sinew and the other carrying three bushels of candleberry nuts, finally, it was time to head back to Farholme. However, even with her and her mountain goats’ innate speed, it still took them until the dead of night for them to return home, exhausted and with only enough time for 4 hours of sleep.

[Volcanu]

John, Day 2, Farholme

After days of mining more limestone boulders, John comes back with 10 more grams of limestone. He soon finds Judith again and presents to her the limestone, ”I got the limestone you needed, Judith”

[Pax Nerdvana]

Jack Calhoun
Farholme

About noon, Jack took a moment to eat half of his loaf of bread. He had dug out a few grams of silver ore during the morning, and he hoped he would be able to get a couple more by quitting time, which would also be when he collected his pay. He had already worked about five hours already, and had about seven to go. He put away the other half of the loaf, and got back to work.

The hours passed fairly slowly. He couldn't wait to get off of work, collect his pay, and start saving up to buy provisions and supplies. Maybe he would even be able to get a pack animal. Jack realized he only had to work for another ten minutes, and he'd be done for the day. The ten minutes passed quickly. He dropped the pickaxe off at the tool rack, and went to the office to collect his pay. The paymaster handed him his pay, and he left the mine. He counted his money, and realized he had a little more than eight copper knaves and a copper noble, which was a fair amount. He was tired, so he decided to go relax in the shade of a tree, and finish his bread. Upon finishing the loaf, he returned to his quarters to turn in for the night.

[The GAmeTopians]

Day 1
Mercy Adella Porter
Farholme

I ducked into Ultar's shop for the second time that day, setting a basket of ore in front of him.
"That's my harvest for the day." My hand rested on the table, palm up, awaiting payment. Ultar was happy to oblige, setting a copper noble and 4 knaves into my hand.
"Most impressive, miss. Keep up the good work."
I nodded and turned away, not exactly happy with the amount of money - but it was a start.

Day 2
Mercy Adella Porter
Farholme

I rolled off my new bed, having slept relatively well considering the low-quality bedding - as in, none at all. I got to my feet with a groan, hefting my pickaxe over my shoulder and grabbing my empty basket.
"Back to the mine we go," I muttered to myself.
The journey was short, as the barracks were situated right next to the mine. Sliding back into the pit once more, I quickly got to work.

[Auphelia]

[quote="The GAmeTopians";p="34139650"]

Day 1
Lady Diana Wensworth
Farholme

And so the day ended, she ate a small supper and went to bed with the sun, this empty land bereft of such luxuries as candles and oil lamps. It had been a good day, and she had managed to weasel her way into doing the easiest job, using a pseudo hammer to break apart rocks to separate the most rock from the precious silver ore within.

Day 2
Lady Diana Wensworth
Farholme

And so she set out again, already feeling the monotony rest in her veins. She enjoyed it, the stability. She could see how it would be easy to slip into this way of living, getting a steady and not insignificant income, free housing. She could build up some substantial wealth over time, nothing like back on the mainland, but certainly enough. Some quick calculations, accounting for food and some "excursions" had her making roughly 65 Copper Nobles a month . . . 78 Silver Knaves in a year. She could buy the materials for a large house with that, get what she needed to set up at least five plots of land, and still have plenty left over. A year. Perhaps only a few months if she didn't care about eating well.

She slipped into Ulthar's shop early and got her pickax and hammer, heading down to the mines when only two unnamed miners were working. After the sun had risen above the trees and the birds began to chirp the other woman in the settlement slid down the shallow embankment and got to work near the other miners as Diana began to work on the piles left over from yesterday. It was still cool, a mist from the nearby lake that had formed last night vaguely there, only noticeable if she looked up and tried to see to the mountains beyond. It was nice, a good day to mine.

[Pentapolitan Kyrene]

Edmund Grufydd
East of lake Nemis

Day 2
The wedge of bare, white tree-flesh grew starker and broader with each hour of the new day. Blow after blow sent ever larger cuttings of soft, pale wood, like flakes of ivory, careening into the forest dirt. Edmund, focusing on the exertion, let himself forget to sing a tune to chop by, and simply hummed, a tune of rising and falling beats punctuated by the rhythm of constant motion. The swing of the axe, the thud of wood on copper, the wrenching back and the swing, over and over. It was simple work, for a man trained to pick out the right spot to cut and the right tree, and it passed quicker than Edmund had thought it would. In a decade of marching, he had strung out the memories he had of the work slowly, stretching hours of experience out into days of reminiscence and years of warmth, and in so doing, in so spending so many nights marching to the sound of his own half-forgotten axe-blows, he'd almost lost track of how long each tree had lasted.

Still, his feet had found good purchase,his boots solidly held in place by the dirt, and his stance practiced, high and comfortable, splitting the weight between both legs. He could no longer fathom, as the morning's work melted into the Afternoon's, that he'd ever been tired solely from standing. It was an insane notion, his legs so planted and his mind so focused on the rolling, ceaseless melody of swing and blow, that anyone could grow weary merely to stand upon their feet set upon some work. It was a haven to hack at the timber, and a joy to be so absorbed, to feel naught but the thud of axe on wood and heart on chest in tandem, and to hear nothing but the rustling of the leaves, and the gamboling of birds darting around the tree-tops, eager to see the new intruder in their midst. He began, unconsciously, to whistle, and soon enough, though he had hardly felt an hour pass, the trunk grew wispy, weak and thin.

It took a tremendous effort, then, to shift his legs and breathe without the tune of the axe. He found himself desperately thirsty, his mouth dry and his throat crackling. He rushed to the lakeside to gulp down the cool, blue waters of the evening, and felt a wave of coolness filter through the core of his being as mouthful after mouthful was gulped down. A few moments of rest at the lakeside, and he felt the warm, half-pleasant ache in his limbs. He could have slept then, but there remained work to be done. A satisfaction, almost pride, welled in his heart at the thought of it all, as he drew up to the tree, now resting on a spindle-thin wedge of trunk, and set about the final few dozen blows of felling it, struck from a different angle. He waited with gleefully bated breath as each blow heralded a crack of timber, until finally a heaving strike to the heart of the log sent the whole tree, all ancient and bedecked in pungent sap and deep green needles, came down with a thunderous, clattering crash, setting every bird in the canopy to flight. His first tree in a new, strange land. It felt right. It felt, as he slumped down beside it with his basket of fruit to gorge himself with the rest of the day's ration, his back pressed against the coolness of the bark, like home. He knew, at the back of his mind that there was still enough light to work, but he didn't care. Why labour four hours more for grass and fibrous dirt. No, he would rest, eat, drink and cool his face in the water of the lake, and then, the next tree would begin to be felled.

Day two Actions: Spend 12 hours felling a tree (4 Hours spent at the end of day 1) (+1 Timber), Spend four hours beginning to fell another (4/16 on tree two.). 5/7 Portions of fruit left.

[Lusela]

Vasily Vodyanov
Day 3 ~ Eras Mouth

Vasily woke up from a good night's rest. He slept much warmer than the previous night. Vasily grabbed some fruit from his basket and munched on them, while doing so he looked out on "his" land. It wasn't a large clearing, only an acre and a half by his estimates, but it would be enough for him to make a small plot or two for farming. That's what Vasily wanted to ultimately do, farm. Just like back home with Papa and Mama.

Vasily took another fruit and bit into it, he sighed deeply, "I already miss them, I've only been here for three days." In reality, he'd been away from his family for over a month, the boat ride to the foreign continent was a journey in of itself. "I'll make them proud, and then one day they'll come visit. We'll sing songs and praise God together in my home, my wife would make some sweet pierogi and our children would play with Tomka's kids no doubt." he sighed again, for his dream to come true he'd need to start his farming occupation.

In order to do that he needed to prepare the soil. And for that to happen he needed a hoe. And to get a hoe he needed a small source of income to pay for it. Vasily thought about what he had and what he could do to make some quick money. On the way here he did notice some indigo growing, as of yet Vasily didn't know if cutting indigo with a scythe would harm the plant or not. He didn't want to waste his time just to ruin a bunch of plants. With his scythe he knew that he could cut a lot of grass. Maybe he could weave baskets temporarily? Taking another fruit to bite into Vasily racked his brain for the price of a basket in Ultar's shop back in Farholme.

"Was it 1 copper knave? No it was 2, definitely 2. Maybe I could even sell a basket for 3 copper knaves." Vasily thought, "I'd be willing to bet all the baskets I'd make would fetch a fine price. Provided I work fast enough."

He wanted to take it easy for a little bit, his breakfast extended a bit longer. Not wasting any more time Vasily got right to work. Vasily started working at 8:00 am. With his scythe the time cutting grass was cut in half, literally. In 5 hours Vasily managed to cut 10 bushels of grass. For the next 10 hours Vasily passed the time making baskets, he made nearly two dozen, specifically 20. Throughout the day Vasily took little breaks for eating, drinking, and resting.

At the end of the day Vasily admired his work, there were so many baskets! He'd bring all these down to Farholme at the end of the day tomorrow. He planned on spending a night there because he definitely was not willing to go walking in the middle of the night back to his camp.
"Lets see, 20 baskets. Each basket could be sold for around 2 copper knaves, that's..." it took him a moment to add the numbers, "40 copper knaves! My!" Vasily let out a whistle. "4 copper nobles for a days work." He wondered how many nobles the miners back in Farholme were making, their work sure was more difficult than his, yet he would be paid more.

Vasily yawned deeply. Today was a successful day, all he needed to do was go to Farholme tomorrow and sell all these baskets, then he could buy a hoe. Maybe he'd even have enough money for some meat! Vasily quickly made his fire and went to bed.

4 bushels of grass in 4 hours
4 bushels of grass in 2 hours with scythe
2 baskets for 1 bushel of grass in 1 hour
16 hours of work a day
1 hour of work for 2 bushels of grass
6 hours work for 12 bushels of grass
5 huors work for 10 bushels of grass (What Vasily did)
20 baskets made in 10 hours with 10 bushels
2 baskets made in 1 hour with 1 bushel

[The Federation of Kendor]

Daniel Bauer, Day 1

Several weeks before his arrival at the New World, he was standing at the ports. It was hard for him, because aside from having to sacrifice a lot of things to search for opportunities in the Frontier, he couldn't go with his family for the trip. They had to stay in the Empire until the ship arrived back and allowed more new new colonists to go into the ship and went to the Frontier. However, he also took the journey with stride, hoping he would come back richer and more prosperous, and that his family would follow him. After the thoughts, Daniel boarded the ship, before waving a goodbye to his whole family, and then saying that he wished for their safety, as well as for them to follow him in his journey.

For several weeks he was on the ship, he observed the sea around him, trying to look our for any land, as well as the night skies, trying to analyze and found the constellations as the Empire knew. He had some experience with the sea before sailing to the New World, as he visited towns and villages that were located on the coast, participated on fishing, and even met his wife, who was the daughter of a fisherman, on one of those places. He also helped out around the ship, after saying to the crews that he wanted to help them with maintenance. He also talked with other colonists, as well as the ship's crews. However, he also kept thinking about his family back home.

One day, the day of the landing, he decided to slept early and for long hours the day before, in order to kept himself strong to observe the land and stay awakened as the ship docked. Indeed, he had strong endurance, but he had either ignored or only had few hours of sleep for several days. And indeed, this allowed him to watch what the new land was like. He was fascinated by the land that layer before him from the ship, the New World, as he scanned the landscape for something there. He saw as the ship sailed around the river, as he watched the land's details, like tress, animals, etc, until the ship arrived at a lake. He soon saw a town. It was Farholme, the military outpost and only settlement of the New World, at least for the moment, because more would later be established in matter of many years by new colonists, and their children, their grandchildren, and descendants, and so on.

Along with other colonists, he stood with them as Ultar talked to to him and all other colonists, before walking to the gangplank and down to the port with fellow colonists. After stepping on dry land for the first time since several weeks, he felt a bit of relief. A bit as his family wasn't there. Soon, he scanned the cities with his sharpened senses, looking for anything of interest. He soon heard Ultar offering a lot of things for the colonists, like jobs, dwellings, materials, and items.

Daniel took out his small money bag, before opening it to reveal the content inside, so he would know how much money he had. He counted the bronze currency and found that he now had 5 copper nobles, or 50 copper knaves. After that, he closed the bag again and put them into it's proper location on his clothing, before he saw the job and dwelling offer more closely. The jobs from Ultar, which were hauling timber to the docks, or mining for silver, would give him two copper nobles per timber or one copper noble and two knaves per 12 hours, respectively.

He considered his option on what would bring him more money. First, he decided to seek information about how much time it would take him to go into the Endless Wood, in order to now how much money he would be paid a day. He talked with locals who had settled and went to the Wood, telling him that it took a day to get there and then another to go back. This meant two copper nobles per two days.

Now, the option of silver mining seemed appealing to him. He would be paid an extra four copper knaves if he worked there. It also happened that his endurance for intensive labor was perfect. So he decided to walk into Ultar, saying that he wanted to be a silver miner, before buying a basket of fruit for five knaves, and renting a room for two knaves per day. Meanwhile, his job offer was accepted.

[Pax Nerdvana]

Jack Calhoun
Farholme
Jack woke up early, and went to the mine to start his shift. He grabbed a pickaxe, and began digging. He didn't buy food this morning because he had realized he would be provided food for the next week, which would hopefully be long enough to start stockpiling supplies for his expedition. He planned to put up a notice, looking for anyone who might be interested in joining him. Thinking about this helped pass the time until he was off work.

Like the day before, he picked up his pay, but unlike yesterday, he went to look for anyone who would be interested in starting an expedition, but he didn't know where to begin looking. He had yet to meet a lot of his fellow colonists, so he didn't know anyone who might be interested. He walked around asking random people if they would be interested in a mining expedition that would happen relatively soon.

[Auphelia]

Jack Calhoun
Farholme
Jack woke up early, and went to the mine to start his shift. He grabbed a pickaxe, and began digging. He didn't buy food this morning because he had realized he would be provided food for the next week, which would hopefully be long enough to start stockpiling supplies for his expedition. He planned to put up a notice, looking for anyone who might be interested in joining him. Thinking about this helped pass the time until he was off work.

Like the day before, he picked up his pay, but unlike yesterday, he went to look for anyone who would be interested in starting an expedition, but he didn't know where to begin looking. He had yet to meet a lot of his fellow colonists, so he didn't know anyone who might be interested. He walked around asking random people if they would be interested in a mining expedition that would happen relatively soon.

Day 1
Lady Diana Wensworth
Farholme

After her shift in the mines was over she went to go looking for a gentleman to "help", easily finding an eager miner and helping him out with a particularly hard problem he had been faced with. She exited his domicile, a tent near the pit, and quickly scurried away. She knew it probably wouldn't be enforced, but she wouldn't want to test her limits so soon after arriving. It was then that she ran into a man talking about some sort of mining trip. He had seen the pickax in her hand that she was going to return to the Shop and struck up a conversation.

"What sort of mining expedition is this and to where? And come to think of it, how much does it pay? Because I have a good thing going here, and I'm not inclined to leave it."

[Vrijstaat Limburg]

Christopher looked at himself in the mirror. He was well-rested, washed, and ready to go down into the pitchblack mines. He visited the shafts with some friends that he made that were also in the mining company, and they were laughing and joking their way to the stairs ranging deep into the coalmines. They could hear the clacking of hammers and picks from outside, and Christopher, among other new children, were dying to get in and experience what being a miner feels like. The constant thrill of the dark, the warm air of the shafts, and the sweat dropping from your face. The few got themselves their basic needs. A pickaxe and their uniforms. Well, uniform's a big word. overalls.

The five boys that did enter the mine immediately felt how hard the labour was, and they toiled through their 12 days of work. One boy fainted due to the constant heat and perhaps a lack of air, and had to be carried out by Christopher and a boy named George. George was different to the other boys. While "Chrissy" and the others spoke in very working-class accents, George had a really mundane, moderate-sounding voice, and was therefore immediately labeled as posh and different. Christopher did kind of envy George, though. He wished he had learnt to speak like that. Well, it didn't really matter now. What mattered is that four boys were crippling themselves because they were subjected to hard labour. The lads had to work with adults in the mines, and were expected to work just as hard, if not harder, than the more able-bodied grown-ups. Christopher tried not to think about it too much. While he beat his heavy pickaxe into the stone before him, he thought about his family and past back in the old world. While the kids moaned and the adult yells became more and more fierce, the best thing Christopher could do was to work in the mine half a week, get some money, buy necessary supplies, and fare out into the wilderness. It'd probably be less tiring than this business, because he knew that if he went on with mining, he would die very young. Christopher took a short break from his work to check on the boy outside. Nicklas was laying on his back and stared up into the sky. When Christopher approached him, he turned his head, kindly greeting him. Nicklas was large, some'd say fat, and he came from a working-class family from the Northwest. He says that his father was a befamed farmer back home, but that his parents disowned him because they didn't think he was good enough. Some people doubt that theory, though.

"Nicklas, are ye feeling better yet?"

"I feel a bit dizzy still, I'd raether lie outside here, if that's good with ye."

Nicklas had a horrible accent, it was near impossible to understand. Christopher had never heard something so unsophesticated and rough in his life.

"A'right, just come back in if ye feel like workin' again."

"Aye, will do, Chrissy."

The next few hours were really tiring for the bunch, but Chris eventually noticed that thinking about other stuff significantly reduces the pain. It was something that he had to get used to if he wanted to keep on working like this. He'd probably leave town once the local guild wasn't going to supply him with food anymore, but he did really dislike leaving his new friends here. Perhaps he could take them with him? Nothing wrong with having some company in the dark woods, and it'd make the journey even more adventurous. He'd try to overwin them tonight, while he ate the food that the guild masters gave them.

[Pax Nerdvana]

Jack Calhoun
Farholme
Jack woke up early, and went to the mine to start his shift. He grabbed a pickaxe, and began digging. He didn't buy food this morning because he had realized he would be provided food for the next week, which would hopefully be long enough to start stockpiling supplies for his expedition. He planned to put up a notice, looking for anyone who might be interested in joining him. Thinking about this helped pass the time until he was off work.

Like the day before, he picked up his pay, but unlike yesterday, he went to look for anyone who would be interested in starting an expedition, but he didn't know where to begin looking. He had yet to meet a lot of his fellow colonists, so he didn't know anyone who might be interested. He walked around asking random people if they would be interested in a mining expedition that would happen relatively soon.

Day 1
Lady Diana Wensworth
Farholme

After her shift in the mines was over she went to go looking for a gentleman to "help", easily finding an eager miner and helping him out with a particularly hard problem he had been faced with. She exited his domicile, a tent near the pit, and quickly scurried away. She knew it probably wouldn't be enforced, but she wouldn't want to test her limits so soon after arriving. It was then that she ran into a man talking about some sort of mining trip. He had seen the pickax in her hand that she was going to return to the Shop and struck up a conversation.

"What sort of mining expedition is this and to where? And come to think of it, how much does it pay? Because I have a good thing going here, and I'm not inclined to leave it."

Jack Calhoun looked at the lady and said,"I don't have more than a cursory plan, because I need money for supplies and what not. I still also have to decide where to go, and a few other things like that. Currently, I'm just looking for interest."

[Auphelia]

Jack Calhoun looked at the lady and said,"I don't have more than a cursory plan, because I need money for supplies and what not. I still also have to decide where to go, and a few other things like that. Currently, I'm just looking for interest."

Day 1
Lady Diana Wensworth
Farholme

She regarded the man, who appeared to be putting the cart in front of the horse. Not an altogether bad setup with the right materials, but still too awkward to condone.

"Where are you planning on mining? Surely you at least have a destination in mind, and a list of supplies you will need, so you at least know how much you will need to earn before leaving. On another note, people will want to know how much you are willing to pay before they agree to leave everything behind to go off on an adventure into an even greater unknown than this place."

Perhaps planning wasn't his strong suit, but she would like to help. It would give her something to do to occupy her time at the very least, and perhaps it could lead to wild riches and fortune if she played her cards right.

[Volcanu]

Day 3, Farholme
After more mining, John chipped off 5 more grams of limestone from the boulder. He rushes over to Judith and presents her more limestone. ”So now we have 15 grams of limestone” “Do you have the leather?”

ApplePieistan

[G-Tech Corporation]

Petyor Vladislav
5:00am, Day Two, Farholme

It was early when Petyor woke up, and he felt somewhere between death warmed over and a walking plague victim. He was a morning person, sure, but the hour was ungodly. Still, the first rays of sunlight were peeking through the windows of the blockhouse he had rented from Ultar, and that meant it was time to be up and about. Yesterday had been a hard day, and his muscles ached as if several demons had been tap-dancing on his arms, but there was no help for it.

Water splashed on his face from the well. A check in the common house to wake up the lads and the cook. Hot bacon fried as part of the Guild's largesse, bread and jerky for the trail, and the sun was just barely above the eastern woods when the three men set off for the mine. Aleksander and Petyor talked quietly as they walked, the captain getting acquainted with his new partner as Ivan walked along in the silence of a man still awaking. The young red-haired man came from the Northern Isles, where the sun barely shone for much of the year, and seemed more than happy to spend his days in sunlight and good company. Petyor noted that his hands were hard and cracked with the calluses of a laborer accustomed to rough work, and was glad of the fact, though they did not discuss it.

Anon the men came to the turning of the stream where the Silverlode, as Vladislav had named the stream that fed into the White, tumbled down out of the hills to join the great river. Aleksander almost stomped by it, over the small rocky ford, but the other two men smiled and directed him up the watercourse. It was easy to recognize for a mark that Petyor had cut into one of the great red pines which overshadowed the stream, but even without the mark that scene was now indelible in the military man's mind- he had always had a head for directions, and directions to profit were exactly the type of directions one would not easily forget.

Minutes later the new man's mouth slowly opened in amazement as Ivan pulled back the branches which camouflaged the entrance to the low mine. There, clear even in the sunlight of the pale morning, shining stars of silver glittered in the earth. A fortune, if you didn't have to sell through the middle-man of the Company, a good earning even if you did. Petyor would have to see about negotiating with the next captain to put into Farholme harbor about directly selling the goods to the Continent, but that would come later. As far as the Eastron man knew, no ships were due in for weeks, which meant they would have to get by for now the old-fashioned and less profitable way.

Down into the divet Petyor climbed, after discussing their goals for the day with the men, and handing them the advance on their pay. Up above the cavern Ivan and Aleksander set to their work with a will, clearing a small amount of land in a dell nearby of debris and branches, and beginning to work the castoff of the mining yesterday into roughly wrought stone for a furnace. Ultar was already taking a good cut due to the fact that the silver they were hauling down out of the hills was unrefined stuff, but for a nominal fee and the use of some charcoal, ah, then those silver ingots could be held and sold to captains directly for an immense profit.

[Pax Nerdvana]

Jack Calhoun looked at the lady and said,"I don't have more than a cursory plan, because I need money for supplies and what not. I still also have to decide where to go, and a few other things like that. Currently, I'm just looking for interest."

Day 1
Lady Diana Wensworth
Farholme

She regarded the man, who appeared to be putting the cart in front of the horse. Not an altogether bad setup with the right materials, but still too awkward to condone.

"Where are you planning on mining? Surely you at least have a destination in mind, and a list of supplies you will need, so you at least know how much you will need to earn before leaving. On another note, people will want to know how much you are willing to pay before they agree to leave everything behind to go off on an adventure into an even greater unknown than this place."

Perhaps planning wasn't his strong suit, but she would like to help. It would give her something to do to occupy her time at the very least, and perhaps it could lead to wild riches and fortune if she played her cards right.

Jack Calhoun
Farholme

Jack said,"I'm thinking of maybe heading up to the Jagged Peaks. I've heard there's some stuff worth mining up that way. People will, for the most part, have to bring their own gear. Pay will be a full share of whatever we find, 5 copper knaves and a noble upon leaving, and upon return. Does that sound reasonable to you, or should I offer more?"

[ApplePieistan]

Day 3, Farholme
After more mining, John chipped off 5 more grams of limestone from the boulder. He rushes over to Judith and presents her more limestone. ”So now we have 15 grams of limestone” “Do you have the leather?”

After spending all of last night walking home, Judith was exhausted. After only getting four hours of sleep last night, she was in no mood to make excuses or be kind to John. Rather, Judith opted to instead explain everything to him and hope he is fine with it. If all goes according to plan, Judith could go back to work making leather, and John would be okay with it.

“I’ve got pelt John, if that’s what you mean. To turn it into leather, I’ll need a few more days. I still have to squeeze the plant oil out of my candleberry nuts, which will take me all day today. Tomorrow, I have to let the pelt sit in the plant oil for that whole day. Two days after that, it has to sit in salt. The day after that, it has to be put in ash and crushed limestone, rinsed off, and have some animal fat put on the surface. Only then, can I tie up and make waterskins. If that sounds too long, you can venture out yourself and hope not to die of dehydration.”

[Volcanu]

Day 3, Farholme
After more mining, John chipped off 5 more grams of limestone from the boulder. He rushes over to Judith and presents her more limestone. ”So now we have 15 grams of limestone” “Do you have the leather?”

After spending all of last night walking home, Judith was exhausted. After only getting four hours of sleep last night, she was in no mood to make excuses or be kind to John. Rather, Judith opted to instead explain everything to him and hope he is fine with it. If all goes according to plan, Judith could go back to work making leather, and John would be okay with it.

“I’ve got pelt John, if that’s what you mean. To turn it into leather, I’ll need a few more days. I still have to squeeze the plant oil out of my candleberry nuts, which will take me all day today. Tomorrow, I have to let the pelt sit in the plant oil for that whole day. Two days after that, it has to sit in salt. The day after that, it has to be put in ash and crushed limestone, rinsed off, and have some animal fat put on the surface. Only then, can I tie up and make waterskins. If that sounds too long, you can venture out yourself and hope not to die of dehydration.”

“That sounds good to me” John says, “Could I help to speed up the process?”

[ApplePieistan]

After spending all of last night walking home, Judith was exhausted. After only getting four hours of sleep last night, she was in no mood to make excuses or be kind to John. Rather, Judith opted to instead explain everything to him and hope he is fine with it. If all goes according to plan, Judith could go back to work making leather, and John would be okay with it.

“I’ve got pelt John, if that’s what you mean. To turn it into leather, I’ll need a few more days. I still have to squeeze the plant oil out of my candleberry nuts, which will take me all day today. Tomorrow, I have to let the pelt sit in the plant oil for that whole day. Two days after that, it has to sit in salt. The day after that, it has to be put in ash and crushed limestone, rinsed off, and have some animal fat put on the surface. Only then, can I tie up and make waterskins. If that sounds too long, you can venture out yourself and hope not to die of dehydration.”

“That sounds good to me” John says, “Could I help to speed up the process?”

“No, not in any meaningful way. Most of this process is just letting things sit in salt or plant oil, which cannot be rushed. With this limestone, I have everything I need. Until then, you could… I dunno, punch rocks? Run around naked? I don’t care.” Despite her snarky attitude, Judith couldn’t help but laugh a bit to herself, thinking about her recommendations for passing the time. Without wasting too much more of the day, Judith began squeezing the plant oil out of nuts, like she promised. In lieu of a bucket, Judith decided to squeeze the oil directly onto the skin, thinking it’ll probably be alright. Probably.