[center][img]https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/146572ed-ee3b-477b-a1cb-fbd6adb87448.png[/img] [b][color=96512B][h3]Gerrik Far-Teacher[/h3] Level 8 Hain Hero 30 Khookies[/color][/b][/center] [center][u][i]Day 1[/i][/u][/center] Tallgrass is empty and quiet. The tents are gone, save for my own. All the people are gone. It feels strange and lonely. I've got my tent, the communal fire pit, my carapace-working oven, the farm, my tools, and some dried venison that will probably last seven more days before going off. No people. I'm on my own for the next hundred days, give or take. Even in my travels I haven't been alone for that long continuously. I've got plenty to do, though. The potatoes should be ready in about twenty days from now. The tomatoes in forty. The wheat in about seventy. Assuming they grow as I remember them, that is. I also want to plant more crops, because the farm should be able to provide food all year round, or close enough. The plants need tending then harvesting. I can also make more tools from the star-fiend carapace. They'd be useful to have, and they'd trade pretty well if I need anything to trade. And, of course, I need to keep myself well fed in the mean time. Let's get to work. [center][u][i]Day 5[/i][/u][/center] Wild animals which might like to eat the food I'm growing are an issue, especially without a tribe of people to ward them off. A violet slug tried encroaching on my farm today. They're pretty stupid animals, not paying any attention to other creatures. So I ran it through with a spear. The meat is bland, but I know a few recipes which should make it nicer. [center][u][i]Day 8[/i][/u][/center] Rain today. Too heavy to work outside, even with my leather jacket. It will water the fields, although I need to make sure that the blight doesn't return. Moisture tends to attract it. I stayed in the tent and inspected the toy I bought from Dibbler. It is truly a marvellous creation, clearly artificial yet somehow quite lifelike. The parts are so intricate and delicate, yet they all fit together perfectly. It is mesmerising to watch. [center][u][i]Day 14[/i][/u][/center] I'm out of manure. Without a village full of people, I'm using the stuff faster than I'm accumulating it. It isn't a huge issue. The plants are well established, so shouldn't need excessive nutrition. [center][u][i]Day 18[/i][/u][/center] The first of the potato crop is ready. I've dug them out, cleaned them, dried them and put them aside. It should add some nice variety to my diet. One thing I've had to consider is storage. It is no good collecting a whole bunch of food if it will all go mouldy before I can eat it all. Fortunately, plants are generally a bit easier than meat for storage. I know that I need to keep the potatoes dry and out of reach of anything which might eat it (besides myself, of course). However, my data is fairly scarce beyond that. Villages tend to gather only enough food to eat within a relatively short period of time. Farming, however, will tend to produce little food for a long period then provide all the food over a short period. This necessitates better storage. So I'm trying a few things out. I'll store some fresh, while others I'll bake, and others I'll dry. I'll see if storing in sealed containers helps over storing in a tent. I might even try burying a few of those containers, as long as I can prevent them from leaking. [center][u][i]Day 19[/i][/u][/center] Storage isn't the only thing I'm thinking about. I also need to consider my next crop of potatoes, and how to make it better than the last. For that, I have a plan. I'll take the best potatoes of this harvest, those which grew the fastest and the largest and didn't succumb to the blight, and plant those. Their descendants will likely share those traits, and hence the average quality of my crop will improve. I'm not sure how many iterations it will take for significant improvements to occur, but it should work, and would provide a substantial benefit over gathering wild food. [center][u][i]Day 23[/i][/u][/center] I've harvested all the potatoes, and planted the eyes from those which I deemed to be the best. Another twenty days can I can pick the tomatoes. Until then I need to tend to the vines and make sure they are growing well, and keeping the bugs away. The potatoes taste good. Somehow having grown them myself makes them feel more satisfying. [center][u][i]Day 25[/i][/u][/center] I've got to find a better way to collect star-fiend carapace. I've run out of limbs to cut off with the Eenal Bow, and even that was tedious. With the torso remaining, it's going to be very difficult cutting it into chunks I can carry. If I can get the carcass closer to Tallgrass, then I'll be able to work it better, possibly soften it in the forge or develop some tool. I'll cut it in half and drag it here if I have to. [center][u][i]Day 27[/i][/u][/center] I'm aching. Dragging it didn't work. It's too heavy, such that it sinks too much into the soil to move easily. I got half of it maybe a quarter of the way before I couldn't go any further, my muscles aching. I'll need a better plan. After I recover. If Sharon were here, she could have massaged some of the tension out of my body. [center][u][i]Day 35[/i][/u][/center] The tomatoes are almost ripe. It's been pretty dull, otherwise. I'm still trying to think through how to move the star-fiend carcass. [center][u][i]Day 38[/i][/u][/center] Tomato harvest is done. Tomatoes are wetter than potatoes, so storing them fresh for extended periods won't work. I'll have to dry them first- those I don't eat over the next few days, that is. There is also the matter of the seeds. I can't replant the tomatoes immediately, because they don't like the upcoming winter weather. I'll extract the seeds and store them separately. With no flesh on them, the seeds should last much longer on their own than the whole tomatoes. [center][u][i]Day 43[/i][/u][/center] Ashlings. They're rare, but vicious and cunning all the same. A pack of them tried sneaking up on my camp during the night. Of course, they didn't count on me being able to see them through walls while I slept. Once I Perceived them circling I got my Bow and quiver and went outside. They probably thought they had some safety, because it was a dark and overcast night, but I don't need light to see. I shattered a couple with empowered arrows from the Eenal Bow before the rest turned and fled. I shot a few more as they ran. Most exciting thing to happen for many days. Hideous creatures, though. I hope they run into a White Giant or some urtelem. [center][u][i]Day 47[/i][/u][/center] I've implemented a solution to my problem with the star-fiend carcass. I had been thinking about how useful it would be to have some urtelem to help, since they would be strong enough to carry the carcass. Unfortunately, no urtelem herds reside nearby. However, that got me thinking about how they roll to get around, which made me realise that rolling was a good way to move heavy things across the ground, since it removed the issue of dragging through the dirt. Now, I can't roll the star-fiend carcass itself, since it isn't round enough, but I realised that I could push it over smaller things which rolled, which would produce a similar effect. So I found some straight branches, smoothed them into cylinders and laid them out side by side and rolled the star-fiend carcass over them. I had to move the rollers from the back to the front continuously, but it is still a lot easier. I managed to get the carcass all the way up to my camp. This will make things much easier. [center][u][i]Day 50[/i][/u][/center] I've added onions to my crop. They tend to grow well over winter, and grow plentifully. While they only last up to ten days once harvested, they don't all have to be harvested at once, so that's a bonus. [center][u][i]Day 54[/i][/u][/center] The farm is pretty much taking care of itself at this stage. I've removed all the plants I don't want competing with my crops. It rains frequently enough to avoid the need to water the crops manually. Wheat and root vegetables tend to be low maintenance. I just have to keep animals away. I've built a star-fiend carapace tool which should help me harvest the wheat when it comes. I practice my spear technique. I whittle some arrows. But other than that, there's not much to do. [center][u][i]Day 56[/i][/u][/center] I'm barely half way through, but gods am I lonely! I thought I could do it. I miss having people to talk to. I miss everyone. I miss Sharon. Why did they have to go? The farm's working. I could have fed them. Why must I be alone? [color=Peru]No one said you had to be.[/color] Stone Chipper! How glad I am to see you! [color=Peru]Likewise, Gerrik. You're doing a good job here. It's the least I could do to provide a little support. Now, show me what you've learned about farming.[/color] [center][u][i]Day 57[/i][/u][/center] Tell me a story, Stone Chipper. [color=Peru]Alright. There once was a young girl named Conata. She lived in a distant land in the Ironheart Ranges. Ever since she was a little girl, she knew she was very different to the people around her, and the people of her village knew she was very different too. Although she was different, her adopted parents took good care of her and loved her very much. Conata worked hard, using her special skills to help the people around her. She felt that she could do anything, so boundless was her energy and stubborn her determination. In spite of her uniqueness, she made some good friends. Yet, she still felt out of place. She wanted to know where she really came from, but her adopted father promised to tell her only after she reached adulthood. Then came the Blinding Purge. She survived, although barely, yet many people she knew were killed. Understandably, she was quite distressed. Perhaps to cope, and perhaps to be better prepared, she trained in the ways of battle, and became a mighty warrior. But her mind was elsewhere, for she had learned something about her origins. She was a daughter of the gods, which was why she was so dissimilar to the people around her, but still many questions were unanswered. Her parents asked her to wait until adulthood to be told the answers, but Conata's patience had worn thin. She was so different to those around her that she felt like she didn't belong, even among her adopted family. So one night she packed her belongings and sneaked out to run away to a distant land where she heard she could find the answers, without even saying goodbye. So determined she was that she was willing to travel the great distance alone. As she was leaving, though, her close friends met her. They insisted that they come along, not because they needed to go where she was going, but because they were her friends. And so Conata was joined by her friends on her great journey. Although she could have travelled faster alone, the company more than made up for it. At one point in their journey, to take a shortcut, they travelled through the territory of a djinn lord. Conata was confident that they would be fine, although half way through they encountered the djinn lord and his lesser elementals. A fierce battle ensued. While her friends were terrified, Conata was brave and fought the djinn directly. Ultimately she was victorious, but only just, and she was wounded in the fight. Yet while the physical wounds healed, the emotional wounds did not. She thought she was tough. She thought she could handle her problems on her own. But she was starting to realise that there were problems which could beat her. Yet Conata did not want anyone to think her as weak. She pushed back the doubt and tried to be stronger, but all she did was push away her friends. Finally, Conata had become so distraught and stressed, and still so defiant, that her friends turned back and left for home, while Conata travelled onward, alone. Conata despaired at how difficult things had become. In battling to repress her feelings, to attempt to be stoic, every step became a chore. Then, suddenly, she met a strange girl. A strange yet very friendly girl. Conata went to this girl's village briefly, and they had a deep conversation. This girl told Conata that her fear and trauma was like a wound of the mind, and that it would hurt but heal. She also told Conata that true friends don't simply leave, and that Conata should go get her friends back, because being alone is hard. So Conata did. She ran through the night until she caught up with her friends. She confessed that she had been trying to act tough about the star-fiends and the djinn lord, that she didn't want to show weakness, while really she had been just as scared as her friends. But her friends was all she had, and she didn't want to travel alone. Having bared her heart and made amends, they were reunited and continued on their journey, friends once more, supporting each other.[/color] That story felt particularly relevant. Thank you, Stone Chipper. [color=Peru]The emotions you're feeling are normal, Gerrik. Don't think less of yourself for them. And remember that you don't have to face them alone.[/color] [center][u][i]Day 60[/i][/u][/center] A group of violet slugs tried encroaching on my farm again. I killed a couple for food and beat the rest back. A mild pest. Although, with their mild demeanour and rapid life cycle, it gives me an idea. I need to make some kind of enclosure. [center][u][i]Day 65[/i][/u][/center] Am I glad for carapace tools. This makes working wood much easier. Making the enclosure will still take some time, though. But I've got plenty of time. [center][u][i]Day 72[/i][/u][/center] The wheat harvest is under way. I use the long curved bladed implement I made earlier to help harvest it, for with it I can just sweep it and it catches all the wheat stalks and cuts them down and gathers them into a bundle. This makes for easy collection of the wheat, which would probably be useful as the farm gets larger. Some of the grain I have put aside to seed the next crop. The rest I will store somehow. There are a few variables to test, such as how aerated it should be and how much I need to dry it. I'll set apart the grain into batches. I've also set aside the stalks. They normally aren't edible, and I don't intend to eat them myself, but I think I can find a use for them. [center][u][i]Day 78[/i][/u][/center] I have finished the enclosure. It is a rectangular region of ground bounded by a short wooden wall. I put in half a hollowed out log, buried to be at ground level, to provide a basin to hold water. I've set up a little door to allow me access. To put inside the enclosure, I have captured some violet slugs. They're so slow and helpless that I can just pick them up, carry them and drop them into the enclosure. I've got water for them to drink, and I can give them the wheat stalks and any other food which isn't any good for me to eat for them to eat. They'll crawl around within the walls, and breed and produce more of themselves, and I can harvest them for the meat just like I would harvest the plants in the farm. I can also work on ensuring that the best slugs, on average, end up breeding, such that the next generation of slugs is better than the last, and so on. The only downside I can think of is that the meat isn't especially appetising. [center][u][i]Day 81[/i][/u][/center] I've collected numerous seedlings from herb plants and planted them around the farm. They're really easy to grow. The main benefit of having them in the farm is that it means I don't have to search through the forest for them. I also need to look out for seedlings from fruit trees. Those will take a few years to grow to maturity, but should provide a fairly steady crop once grown. As such, I need to get working on them fairly soon. [center][u][i]Day 82[/i][/u][/center] This violet slug farm requires more work than plants, predictably. I need to ensure they have an adequate water supply. I have to feed them as well as myself, and they're fairly voracious eaters for their size. And I need to make sure that their enclosure is kept relatively clean, although that process does provide some good fertiliser for the farm. Not only that, but I have to keep out predators too. A hawk swooped in while I was sleeping and snatched one of them away. I've chased away three foxes and a marble-eyed gargoyle already. It's one more thing to look out for. It'll be easier when people get back. Extra hands would be greatly appreciated. [center][u][i]Day 85[/i][/u][/center] I didn't expect to see Dibbler here, and he didn't expect to find anyone here either. His White Giant takes him on a fairly regular route, which means he knows when he'll arrive at different locations, and he's been to Tallgrass often enough to know their migratory patterns, so he wasn't expecting to make a stop here. But here we are. I traded him some hides and food for some salt. Salt water, or specifically the salt left after boiling it, has been used by coastal people to help preserve food, but there's a significant shortage of salt this far inland. Dibbler, being the merchant he is, knows this, and had some ready to sell for such an occasion. This salt should help make harvested food last longer. I'll need to keep buying more, of course, but it'll be worth it to make the food last longer. It was also nice to have someone to chat to, even if it was for just a little while. [center][u][i]Day 89[/i][/u][/center] I've found myself an apple tree sapling out in the forest. I dug it up, taking as much of it as I could, and went and planted it near the river in my farm. I'll need to take good care of it to make sure it survives and grows nice and strong. Plenty of water. A nice helping of manure. Then five or ten years later, I might have apples. [center][u][i]Day 94[/i][/u][/center] The weather's been pretty good down here. I suspect that the village should be returning relatively soon. I think they'll be impressed with what they see. The onions and potatoes should be good for harvesting when they return. I've got a good amount of grain which has survived. And I've got my violet slugs. Just working on my own I've been producing a surplus (although I admit that I have a few advantages). With a whole village farming, I suspect that we'll produce plenty of food to eat. [center][u][i]Day 96[/i][/u][/center] Any day now. [center][u][i]Day 99[/i][/u][/center] Tallgrass has returned! What a happy reunion! Everyone is here now. Arlen. Tami. And, most importantly, Sharon. It's so nice to have her back. And, as I predicted, they are all quite impressed with the farm. I showed them a harvest of onions, more in one spot than they've ever seen. I showed them the containers of grain I have. The captive violet slugs were of particular interest, although some seemed less than impressed at the idea of eating them regularly. I'll find ways to make it taste better. Regardless, I've managed to gather enough support for the farm that I should get a few full-time workers. The extra hands will allow us to expand the farm, to produce more food, which will let us expand the farm more and attract more people, and so on, and then, and then maybe Tallgrass won't be such a small village. Wow! Wouldn't that be exciting. But that's all in the future. I want to add more crops to the farm. I think I'll add peas next. [hider=Gerrikposting] Here Gerrik is alone in Tallgrass for a hundred days, farming. He works on various small innovations, tests numerous things, and so on. He's also pretty lonely. As usual, Gerrik's encyclopaedic knowledge, supernatural Perception, uncanny memory and divinely-gifted intelligence greatly accelerates innovations under his guidance. Major events: Potato, wheat and tomato harvests occurred. He made a scythe to help in the wheat harvest. Gerrik plans to plant only seeds from the best plants, improving crop quality with each generation, inventing plant domestication. Significant experimentation is performed regarding optimal conditions for storing the crops once harvested. Onions are added to the farm, as are herbs. An apple tree sapling is also planted at one point. Peas will be added later. Gerrik finally figures out how to move the star-fiend carcass- with rollers. Half way through Gerrik has a nervous breakdown due to loneliness, but Teknall comes and comforts him. Teknall tells Gerrik the story of Conata, cast in such a way that the message is that there's no need to pretend to be tough and able to do everything, and your friends are there to support you. This also implies that Teknall has been following Conata's story very closely. Gerrik captures a bunch of Violet Slugs and farms them, inventing animal domestication. Some salt is purchased from Dibbler the merchant. This will help in food preservation. The villagers of Tallgrass return to find a well-functioning farm. Gerrik manages to get some of them to work as farm hands. With the advent of agriculture, the expansion of Tallgrass into a major town is all but inevitable. [b]Khookie Summary[/b] [i]Start:[/i] 30 Khookies [i]Spent:[/i] 30 Khookies (-2 for plant domestication, -2 for food storage, -2 for rollers, -2 for domestication of violet slugs, -2 for scythe, -5 to establish Tallgrass into a major settlement, -15 to Level Up to 9 because he went through some tough stuff) [i]Earned:[/i] 10 Khookies (19,000+ character post) [i]End:[/i] 10 Khookies [/hider]