Homesteading the Frontier [IC Thread Group B]

[Xealot7]

Barron, Midmorning

It is nearing mid morning in the town of Barron. Each of you are making your way to the town center by the well. These streets are bustling, children running around playing, horse carts and wagons inching along carefully, adults walking and gossiping, everyone it seems has the same idea as you. They are all going to the Homestead meeting. True enough, most of them have no plans to go on the homestead, but still this is the most exciting things that has happened in Barron in the past 5 years.

However, things are different for you. You are actually going on the homestead. Each of your reasons are different, but all of you are ready for the change. Today is the day to requisition you gear and supplies and sign your agreement. Tomorrow. Tomorrow you set off into the frontier to face the unknown. As you get closer there is a large circle or people formed around the table where people are signing the agreements. Every time someone signs up, he or she, and sometimes families step into the center of the circle and a large cheer goes up in the air.

So far there are about 30 other people in the circle, smiling and talking amongst each other. You recognize a few of them. Now is your chance, the chance to make a new, better life for yourself. Go talk to the Comptroller about requisitioning gear and start on your new life.

Group B
IC Thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=7984168#post7984168)
OOC Thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=7984158#post7984158)
Recruiting Thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=143602)

[Dreamshifter]

Randal

"Pardon, me, let me past." Randal makes his way toward the table, wanting, no, needing, to sign up. I need this, I need a chance to work for myself! The crowd was think enough to slow him, though, and he considered putting on his "scary face". Crowds were never really his thing, and this one was worse than many. On the other hand, scaring people, or their kids, was not the way to make new friends. And he might need their help, at some point.

Fortunately, he managed not to step on many toes on his way to the table, and only had one close call with his spade threatening to hit someone. When he reached the table, he said plainly "Name's Randal. Farmer. Where do I sign?"

[Xealot7]

Barron Town Square

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you Randal, I'm Jordan Beemer, Comptroller for the fine city of Barron." says the rather pudgy man, with a large mustache and squinty, bespectacled eyes as he looks up from his ledger. "All that you must do is sign the ledger here, indicating what your skills are, and how long your will commit to living on any homesteaded plot we give you. If you are willing to sign up for a 5 year agreement, you will be given two gold pieces per month until that time is up. We will also supply you with temporary shelter, and certain supplies, which you can requisition, depending upon your profession. Are their any questions? If not, how long can we put you down for, huh?" .

[Jesse Drake]

Marley Greenwood

"Well, Chyp, here we are." Marley Greenwood, animal trainer and a stable boy, entered town, accompanied by a very large, dog-like squirrel with jagged flaps of skin under his arms, and a somewhat rough looking tail. Greenwood himself stands at a rather average height, his skin is rather pale, his hair dark burgundy- and somewhat glowing green eyes.

The two walk up to the man they assume will help them out. "Um, hello." He begins softly. "I'm Marley Greenwood-" he stops for a moment. "Who do I see about getting a job?"

[Xealot7]

The comptroller looks up at the man and begins to speak before looking at Chyp, doing a double take, then looking back to Marley. "Well sir, that's a... um... a mighty fine... um... dog? you got there... Oh and yes, this is where you sign up for the homesteading project." He gives a quick rundown, much as he did for Randal. "So, go ahead and sign right here, then go talk with Mr. Silas over their for your gear and first months payment. Also, if you will be needing a loan to get started, Mr. Silas can help with that as well."

[Dreamshifter]

Randal

Digesting the information, Randal asks "Five years? I can do that. Anything more offered for longer?" He prints his name, slowly, as if he hasn't had much practice writing. It only gets worse as he writes out "Farmer", then followed by "growing plants" and "raising animals".

[Xealot7]

"You can lock in 10 years if you like. The pay is the same per month, but at least you will still be getting payed after the 5 years." The comptroller looks at the man, "Farmer, that's a good, honest living. Your services will be needed on the frontier. Go talk to Mr. Silas over there to get your gear."

[Jesse Drake]

Marley Greenwood

Marley leans in towards the comptroller and whispers "Um... sir... I can't read or write." He says quickly. "Though I'm well versed in the native language of the forest folk. And I'm very skilled in training animals- and tending to them. I love'em." He looks at Chyp. "Ol' Chyp here is a squirrel, actually. I've trained him to go and grab things for me. And, he's also trained to protect me- why, he's far stronger than I am."

[Dreamshifter]

Randal

Nodding, Randal smiles. "Then ten it is. Thank-you." Turning to head to the indicated Mr. Silas, he pauses to look at the squirrel. "Wow. He's a big one. What's he eat, forests?" He grins at his joke, finding it quite funny.

[Xealot7]

The comptroller leans in to Marley and whispers. "Nothing to be ashamed of sir, and I tell you, there will be a'plenty of animals on the frontier that need training. I tell you what, I'll put your info down here, and we will mark you down for 5 years. All I need from you now is a mark of some sort right here... Once you do that you can go talk to Mr. Silas about any supplies you may need."

[Xealot7]

The Comptroller gives out a hearty laugh at Randal's joke.

Mr. Silas waves Randal over and begins listing off the gear he can provide him. "How are you sir, let's see, Farmers get, 1 Tent, 1 Bedroll, 2 Wool Blankets, 5lbs of flour, 3lbs of beef, 1 Barrel of water, 5lbs each of Wheat, Corn, and Barley for seed, 1 Shovel, 1 Hoe, and a Mule drawn plow. And no, before you ask, no mule or horse comes with it. If you need anything else, you will have to provide it yourself, although we can loan you the money, if you need it."

[Jesse Drake]

Marley Greenwood

Marley smiles. "Alright, let's see." He takes the pen and sketches a symbol that appears to be a leaf and a G at the same time.

He turns to Randal and grins. "Ha ha, no, but he'll eat just about anything in there. Leaves- lots of leaves- roots, mostly, and berries and nuts." Chyp leaps up on Marley's shoulders.

[Dreamshifter]

Randal

Randal's face screws up as he thinks on what Silas has told him, then he sighs softly. "Gonna need that mule, and I'm short. Gonna have to take that loan, I guess." He starts thinking again, and one could almost smell the burning hair. "Maybe buy a cow and some chickens too. Yeah, that would be nice to have. Spensive, but worth it."

That done, he turns back to Marley, looking over the squirrel again. "If you teach him to eat bark, you could say he eats trees! He is cute, though. If I pet him, he gonna bite?"

[Jesse Drake]

Marley Greenwood

"Of course not!" He looks at Chyp and smiles. "Chyp's never bitten no one I didn't ask him to." His grammar is a bit off, but you get the gist of what he's saying.

[Xealot7]

"Well, you know what, you can change your seed and plow out for 1 cow, 2 pigs, 5 chickens, and 1 rooster if you like. It's up to you. Also, we will supply all the lumber you need for the first month, you know to build a house, barn or something like that."

[Jesse Drake]

Marley Greenwood

Marley heads towards Silas to gather what supplies he may need. He reaches for a small piece of food and feeds it to Chyp- and then takes a bit himself.

[Dreamshifter]

Randal

With a big goofy grin, Randal reaches out to rub Chyp's head, in much the same way he would a cat's. Then he gets distracted with Mr. Silas's offering him options, and his hand just sort of stops moving in mid rub. "Yeah, animals might be a better choice. Lets do that instead. Thank-you."

[Xealot7]

"Whoa, nice... uh, um.. Beaver you got there stranger... let's see, as far as supplies go, you get 1 Tent, 1 Bedroll, 2 Wool Blankets, 5lbs of flour, 3lbs of beef, 1 Barrel of water, and 1 horse. Or you can give up the horse and get 1 cow, 2 pigs, 5 chickens, and 1 rooster."

[Jesse Drake]

Marley Greenwood

Marley's eyes widen. "No beef for me. I'm a vegetarian." He smiles wide. "But... well, I can raise the chickens for you. And the cow..." He looks down. "But what would be the purpose of the pig. I don't think that there are any truffles around."

Collecting milk was nothing. Collecting eggs is fine, though he'd never eat the eggs himself. But he'd refuse to raise animals for food. He won't shun the others for doing so, it's their right, but he won't have any part of it.

[Xealot7]

"Uh, well, if you don't want the pigs... trade them out for sheep or grain. I guess it's your call." Silas mutters something to himself that sounds like. "Vegetarian?"

[Jesse Drake]

Marley Greenwood

"That means I don't eat flesh." He thinks for a second. "I could do grain- that sounds fine by me... So, where will Chyp and I be staying?"

[Xealot7]

Silas says nothing about your eating habits, but answers your questions. "Tomorrow morning their will be wagons to take everyone out to the homestead. Just meet here at the crack of dawn. As for where to stay tonight, we aren't putting anyone up tonight, I guess just find a tavern, or take the tent we gave you and camp out."

[Jesse Drake]

Marley Greenwood

He sets off and goes to find a place to settle down. He tries for a while to work things, and most of it is done with the help of Chyp. Unless someone approaches him, he'll sleep all night, thinking of names for his animals.

[Dreamshifter]

Randal

He looks confused for a moment at the talk of not eating flesh, but then shrugs. After all, cows didn't eat other animals, so it wasn't that strange, really. "Tomorrow morning, dawn. Got it." He then takes the tent and heads off to sleep somewhere. A tent, I'm already getting ahead! I'll sleep well in this, I bet!

[Gaiyamato]

Cravan McLepid

Cravan had watched the proceedings with the other two with interest. He had been there patiently observing the signups all day, watching and counting the different professions and the choices of equipment for the settlers.
In his hands he carried his own ledger, taking notes in short-hand. Stuck to the side were scraps of paper covered in scribblings of numbers that seemed random to the untrained eye. To Cravan McLepid they were the mathematics of profit. At the mention of a loan he stepped forward and nodded to Jordan.
The McLepids may not be members of the town's nobility, but they were known enough that Cravan was not unkown to someone of Jordan's station, even if the man didn't give a hoot about the middle class merchant family.

"I'll sign up. Mister Cravan McLepid, Merchant, Trader and Book-keeper. I'll be happy to set up and run a regular supply run from the new colony and provide assistant loans beyond what the city can offer to the settlers, though only modest ones I am afraid. 5 years may be a little short to set things up properly so I'll take 10 years if thats alright with you."

He reached his hand out to Jordan for the man to shake. When that was completed he turned to the two that had just signed up and offered them his hand.
"If you need help aquiring supplies before we go I can offer some assitance. Just place orders with me and I'll do my best to get what you need as cheap as possible. I have my own wagon team to haul heavier equipment and I'm happy to rent out some space on it if it would save you all some trouble."

[Blaine.Bush]

Mick Armstrong

After purveying the scene for a while, a tall, burly man hoists his backpack up and lifts the lumber axe leaning against his leg. He makes his way over to the comptroller before setting down his belongings. Reaching out his hand for a shake, he says in a somewhat slow, methodical manner, "Name's Mick. Mick Armstrong. I'm a lumberjack. What do I sign for a plot o' land?"

[Xealot7]

Gaiyamato "Well, Mr. McLepid, it's a pleasure." says the comptroller, shaking Cravan's hand. "We will sign you up for the 10 year stay. I'm afraid it's too early to talk about setting up and additional place to issue loans, but maybe in the future? Glad to see your enthusiasm though. Go talk to Mr. Silas over there, he can get you more details on supplies."

Blaine.Bush "Nice to meet you Mr. Armstrong, there will be plenty of untouched forest out there for you to harvest. The homestead can definitely make use of your skills. Decide if you want to sign up for 5 or 10 years, sign here, then go talk to the gentleman by the wagon, Mr. Silas, for your gear issue."

[Gaiyamato]

Cravan McLepid

"Mick Armstrong, Cravan McLepid. Pleased to meet one of soon-to-be neighbours." he said as he stuck out his hand enthusiastically, perhaps slightly too much. Not only was his demeanor the best front he could create socially when excited but it betrayed the huge volumes of money he could smell getting ready to exchange hands.

As he greeted his fellow settlers he slowly moved toward the wagon where the others had already begun to discuss supplies.

[Cespenar]

Rhion

A young man turns around the corner in a steady jog, carrying a worn sack on his back and little more on his person, looking around frantically as if he is to catch a caravan that's leaving in moments. When he reaches the table, he stays silent for a moment or two, panting, and finally speaks.

"So, uh, this is the place, right? For the... homestead? I'm not late, am I?"

[Xealot7]

"No Sir, you aren't to late." The comptroller mentions to the young man before going over the rules and expectations in detail. "So, can we expect 5 years from you?"

[Cespenar]

Rhion

Rhion listens to the list of rules and expectations with a half ear, and nods several times when it's over.

"Five years? I see, okay, why not? Five years it is."

When he reaches the 'professions' section, Rhion freezes up. He hasn't thought a bit about what he would do when opening a new page in his life. A honest profession? Well, now, he had to improvise.

Before he stops himself, he scribbles down 'Fletching' and 'Small game hunting' near his name and fakes a signature. Raising his head, he grins half-heartedly at the comptroller and says, "Okay, now what?"

[Jesse Drake]

Marley Greenwood

After a moment, Marley grew restless. All this excitement, he wasn't going to sleep. He sits up, and exits his tent.

"Go get me a stick so we can play." He says to Chyp. The little rodent scurries off, and soon enough, he returns with a nice little branch.

Marley threw the stick- barely 15 feet. The squirrel went and got it. "Okay, we're just getting started-" Marley laughs. "Up high." The squirrel climbs any surface he can (tree or whatever is around).

"Here it comes!" The stick flew about 30 feet- truly a good throw on his part. Chyp leapt from his post and opened his flaps, and started to glide towards the stick. Then, he snagged it with a mighty clench, and tucked and rolled to the ground. Then he brought the stick back.

"Ha ha ha! That's good. Come on, this time, you leap for it!" He tossed it in the sky, and Chyp leapt to it with ease. They will continue to play for a few minutes.

[Xealot7]

Please use the new threads from now on.


New Threads
IC Thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=7990568#post7990568)
OOC Thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=7990592#post7990592)