Brightwater ValleyDay 5 of Grainworks Initiative
Mark and Sarah met for breakfast and decided they would meet just after lunch at the stables to start their trip upriver back to Beaver Crossing. Sarah was excited for the day and the trip home, as she really wanted to learn more about the system-sanctioned school and see it in action. Mark, of course, was all business. He needed river runners; that was his plan for the morning, and he did not have much time to do it.
When Mark got to the docks, he found the spot he had been sent to. A barge sat there with five men aboard, two pairs of horses nearby, and no cargo. They did have a big sign advertising “Ron’s River Runners,” though everyone was just sitting on the barge with none of them working. That made Mark's day. Not because he wanted them to be without work, but if they were free, he was pretty sure he could hire them.
As Mark approached the dock where the barge was tied up, one of the men saw him and tapped another on the shoulder. The second man looked over, headed toward Mark, and held out his hand.
The man said, “Hello, my name is Ron, and this is Ron’s River Runners. I am hoping you're in need of some cargo being hauled.”
Mark smiled and said, “Yes, I do need some cargo hauled, in a way. My name is Mark, and I came from way, way upstream past Sunvine Farms.”
Ron said, “I have been up to Sunvine many times, and there is nothing past there."
Mark said, "Well, I am glad to hear you have been up there, but I am here to tell you that there is another zone up north at the top of the river; there is a lake, and I represent a village near there that is looking for trade goods. And most specifically, we are looking to hire and/or partner with someone to haul cargo for us and help us train more people to run the river.”
Ron said, “That sounds like a good deal, I guess. For you. But if I teach you how to do the work, that would just put me out of a job, and there is right now a shortage of work and an excess number of river runners.”
Mark said, “I see that you have four horses. Are those to pull your barge upstream?”
Ron said, "Yes, they are. They are the best hauling horses in the area. But going upstream is slow, as there are not enough horses to swap them out regularly, and we have to stop often and rest them.”
Mark said, “What about oxen? Why not use them?”
Ron said, “I wish there were oxen. If only someone had them; I would do about anything in the world to get a pair of them to haul for me.”
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Mark said, “That is a deal then.”
Ron said, “Wait, what? You mean you own some oxen?”
Mark said, "Personally, no, but the village has eight of them, and we are breeding more and purchasing even more than that from another area northwest of us.”
Ron said, “If you're serious, I would trade a pair of oxen for the use of me and my boys to drag a barge of goods up to your lake and then stay a week or so to help you equip a team and train them on barge work. And while we're at it, can we sign a long-term contract for service also? I would give you a great deal in trade for those oxen and access to more later.”
Mark was then introduced to Ron’s team, and the group helped him find a cargo broker who would sell him a full load of items to take north on the first run. Mark was happy he had not spent many of his system credits and was sitting on a huge pile of them, so he could afford this first trip. He would have to get the village to reimburse him when he returned.
After the trades were done and his cargo was getting loaded on the barge, he asked about travel time and was told for a full barge it would take about three to four days to get to Sunvine Farms. Since there were no towpaths past that point, it might take that long or longer to cover the remaining distance. Mark let them know that he would hurry back and make sure work crews were breaking trails as fast as possible and that he would also get a pair of oxen headed south to meet them. They agreed that the west side of the river would be best, as the east side of the lake was a swamp and would be terrible for the tow teams to go around that side of the lake.
Mark was excited. He had gotten far more than he hoped for, and Dale would go crazy with all the stuff he was sending up on the barge. Mark himself wanted a good cherry pie, and among the things he was hauling back on the mule were what he had been told were some of the best pie cherries in the area. When Mark left the group, they were still loading but said they would be heading north within the next few hours. Mark went back to the stable to wait for Sarah.
Sarah met with Elizabeth, a teacher in Riverbend Trading Post, and spent the morning observing her. The first thing Elizabeth did was show Sarah how to interact with the school interface, which was similar to the village interface. Sarah was instructed to accept the first two lessons and then shown the other abilities available to both students and teachers.
Sarah spent the next couple of hours in lessons with Elizabeth and three other students. During her few hours of class, she learned three new skills, one of which was a skill called Learner, which helped her learn other skills more quickly. She also leveled up again and got a teaching skill with her level up. Because she had been a teacher before she came here, the learning came quickly and so did the skills. She completed both lessons, which pushed her over the top for her level.
She finally realized that it was later than she thought and thanked Elizabeth for all she had taught her and promised that she would come visit again someday and told Elizabeth that she would love for her to come visit Beaver Crossing anytime she was available.
Mark was impatiently waiting when Sarah returned. She apologized for being late but excitedly told him about the skills she gained and the level she had reached. Their plan was to head north as fast as they could so Mark could get materials and workmen moving on the path beside the river and send a pair of oxen south to help pull the load through the last stretch. Mark assumed that if they did not stop to explore anymore, they would be home by dinner the next night. Then they set off for Beaver Crossing.