Gelu, the angry doctor has been claimed and shall henceforth be known as Dr. Winston.
15th Granite, 100
We arrive at our chosen site. The cavern is a dependable landmark, and right where the map indicates.
The land here is rather flat, giving us a good view of the territory. The first thing we notice is that several large pig-tail tents have been pitched in the vicinity. My first thought was actually, "Neat! That'll save a lot of time building living space."
My brain kicked in quickly, and I sighted a figure standing among the bubbly bulbs.
Thep hissed, actually hissed and said, "It's an orc!"
Dr. Winston went for one of the axes on the wagon, but I intercepted her, "Easy now," I told her, "he's unarmed."
"So what do we do?" Mastrosp asked. Everyone was looking at me.
"Let's go say hello." And so the seven of us did.
The orc looked up from the pond as we aprroached, he was half again as large as Mastrosp and his mouth was crowded by large tusks. He audibly sniffed the air as he surveyed us each in turn, "Human?"
"Greetings, we are indeed the humans of The Splattered Confederacies. Who might you be?" I responded.
"Me Latugdur. Overlord of der animals. What you do here?"
"Well," I looked awkwardly at my crew. "We were looking to settle here. We didn't know that the land belonged to you."
"Land not belong to Latugdur."
"Oh? Who does it belong to?"
"Land belong to all who can feel der transcendant awe dat de land inspires."
"That's...nice. So, you don't mind if we build our home here?"
"Course not. Feel free to use der tents. Latugdur be here, contemplating humbling majesty of creation."
Nothing on Gaia is as it seems, I am reminded.
So we set to it. Rozmo and Jepum, the woodcutters, train two of our wargs in war. The dogs now follow their trainers at all time. I caution the loggers not to get too attached. I train a bitch of my own. The last warg will be kept safe in the pasture to provide the next generation.
Rozmo also reckons that the kodo which pulled our wagon here can handle battle. I let her attempt it.
I notice that there are a fair amount of spider webs around. I decide to build a loom and harvest the silk. Once we set up our market, the silk will be a nice source of gold.
The worgs are soon trained. I ask Rozmo and Jepum to cut down the trees, all 503 of them.
"Did you...count them?" Rozmo asks, "How?"
"Just do it." I take a deep breath, "Please."
Next I have Thep construct a carpentry work shop and begin building some beds. The tents will be a huge time savings. One I designate as a barracks, one a mess hall, one for storage, and the last as my office.
* * *
4th Slate, 100
It turns out that through an obscure legal loophole, tents do not count as 'indoors.' It would therefor be against regulations to use them as living space.
We'll need to build our own houses, and begin doing so with our growing wood supply. I also miners turning our stone into blocks. Once they've done that, we will designate a mine shaft to find more.
I notice that some campfires have popped up around the tents.
I contemplate the troubling possibility that Latugdur is pyrokinetic.
Next we wall off the entrance to the caverns. Eventually it will make for excellent combat training as well as provide access to resources. For now we need neither.
* * *
15th Felsite, 100
Rains have begun to fall most days. Luckily we have finished our little wooden hut and can sleep indoors. We begin work on the second floor which will be out dining room.
Then we set up our first merchant stall and begin selling our silk.
Next we set up a butchery and tannery. We're running low on food, so we butcher our water buffalo.
Two months have past and the mood here is pretty high. The wild life is unthreatening. The orc is confusing, but friendly, and we have established a start toward self sufficiency.
Next we'll need to set up a trade depot. We must also attract migrants and work toward training and arming them. We have not been threatened yet, but it is inevitable that we will be.
* * *
1st Hematite, 100
It is now summer.
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Topic: Goblins in my Garden of Gaia?!? (Read 2150 times)