GrainfieldsDay 13 of the Grainworks Initiative
Mark woke up and got breakfast at the inn. When he stepped outside, he took one last look around Meadowrun Dairy. As far as he could see in every direction were pastures full of cows and piles of manure being prepared as fertilizer for the crops. The size of the operation was mind-boggling. Up in the grainfields, they had some cows—maybe eight of them. Here they had perhaps eight hundred. The scale was completely different.
Mark thought about how much life would change once they really started shipping the food available in Brightwater Valley. Finally, he brought up his map again and looked at it. A road headed southeast into an area he had not yet surveyed, though no point of interest was marked there. Since the road was going that way, he decided to follow it.
This was the first area in the zone where he saw a significant number of trees. There were not enough for logging on the scale of Silvermere, but there were enough for local needs. Mark finally got to the end of the zone, and the road was heading out of the southwest corner of the zone. He made a note on the guild map indicating the direction the road was heading but that it was not explored. He then turned around and headed back northeast.
This time he took the right fork in the road that headed towards the Brightwater Ferry. This was one of the few full-time river crossings that was set up in the zone other than Riverbend Trading Post, which was on an island between two branches of the river with roads connecting both sides of the valley through it.
Mark took the ferry to the other side of the river so he could continue his survey going east. The ferry ride was quick and very smooth; his horse was not at all troubled by the ride, which surprised Mark. He had ridden it through fords before, but he had never taken it on a boat and was pleased by how well it handled the ride.
Now that he was across the river, his next site was in view, or at least the fields were in view. Greenfields Cooperative was an outpost that specialized in potatoes, cabbage, carrots, turnips, beans, and many other vegetables and covered a huge amount of land. Mark could see fields marked off by fences and dirt paths between them. It was interesting to see the different sizes, shapes, and appearances of the plants growing there.
Workers were spread across nearly every field. Some planted while others harvested, loaded wagons, or repaired irrigation ditches. Unlike the scattered farms Mark was used to, this felt like one enormous coordinated operation. Before he had wandered long, he was flagged down by one of the farmers and directed to meet with Victoria, who was in charge of the village.
Victoria said, “Hello, I hear you're interested in looking around our operation and setting up some trade contracts with us.”
Mark said, "Yes, I represent a village named Beaver Crossing that is located north of this zone beyond the lake at the top of the river.”
Victoria said, “I have not traveled that much but have never been up past the orchards on this side of the river and only to the dairy on the other side.”
Mark said, “If you're interested, I'd like to send you an invite to the Adventurers Guild. That would give you access to the zone maps available to guild members.”
Victoria said, “Maps beyond just our local villages would be nice. How do I get those?”
As with the earlier villages, Mark introduced the Adventurers Guild, demonstrated the regional maps, and answered questions about its benefits before arranging future trade. With that done, he continued north on the road heading towards the Honey Hill Apiaries, where he was told he could get honey and beeswax and other honey-made products. He was excited about going there, getting a tour, and sharing the same guild information he had given the other outposts and villages.
Mark then went southwest across the bridge into Riverbend Trading Post. He stayed long enough to get the mapping credit, found one of the leaders he had met last time, invited him to the guild, and explained the mapping and other guild benefits before heading north. He wanted to quickly hit the last outpost in the zone named Orchard Grove on his way up the east side of the valley before dark.
Mark spent little time in Orchard Grove beyond sharing guild information with the outpost leader and getting permission to ride through and map the orchard area while heading north. Night finally came when he was a mile north of the orchards and maybe only two to three miles south of the lake in Grainfields. He was stopping for the night when he received a series of System messages.
[Skill Improved]
Resource Surveying Level 2
New Capabilities:
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Better identify valuable resources while surveyingImprove recognition of terrain suitable for future developmentReduce time required to complete regional surveys◈ ◈ ◈
Mark had gained Resource Surveying long ago, so it was interesting to see it improve now. Maybe that was one benefit of a trip devoted almost entirely to surveying. The other two messages were less surprising.
[Survey Completion]
Steward Survey Progress: Brightwater Valley
83% Survey Complete
Regional Stewardship Requirement Updated◈ ◈ ◈
The other was a guild message. He had turned those off when they first started appearing on his trip south; the constant reputation and point-of-interest notices did not interest him. This one, however, seemed to slip past the filter.
[Explorer Milestone]
Brightwater Valley
Survey Progress: 86%
Major Discoveries: 17
Guild Recruits Sponsored: 38
Explorer Reputation +275◈ ◈ ◈
He was surprised he had invited that many people to the guild. About thirty markers had already appeared for places he had not visited, and as he watched, new areas appeared or gained identifying tags. Flipping through the interface for the guild, he found the stats for the zone. It showed that 147 people had already joined the guild.
One thing Mark realized from this trip was that he had made a mistake from the start. He should never have come just to map the zone; he should have arrived with a broader objective in mind. Realizing this, he brought up his class requirements again.
[Frontier Steward — Journeyman Rank]
Advancement Requirements:Establish 1 recognized village (1/1)Beaver Crossing recognizedComplete 3 regional infrastructure projects (0 / 3)Projects Under Stewardship:Grainworks InitiativeTimber ConsortiumAdventurer's EnclaveSupport a population of 500+ across connected settlements (723 / 500)Establish 3 recognized regional specializations (0 / 3)Maintain a collection of 15 recognized manuals (10 / 15)Structural Reinforcement TechniquesTrail Surveying and Route PlanningAdvanced Food Preservation MethodsWilderness Resource ExtractionBasic Metal Forming PrinciplesFurnace Efficiency and Heat ControlIron Tool Design PrinciplesAdvanced Fasteners and JoineryBasic Foundry OperationsMetalworking Organization and SafetyEstablish 3 recognized institutions (0 / 3)Expand controlled territory influence to 7 connected regions (4 / 7)GrainfieldsSilvermereForestBrightwater ValleyDiscover and establish contact with 3 system-controlled regions (2 / 3)CaveHarbor
Potential Advancement: Master Frontier Steward◈ ◈ ◈
The only changes were that he now had a fourth connected region after completing the survey and his population had crossed the five-hundred threshold. But he still had a lot of work to do. He needed to visit three new zones, which meant deciding which direction to head next. His guild map showed a few potential zones.
There were four named zones that he did not recognize, and other than the map showing him where they were in relation to him, he did not know which to visit next. In the next zone, though, he would need to slow down, talk to people, and actually visit. Other than sending out guild invites and racing around, he had not done much this trip. He did not feel like he had advanced anything, even though he had checked a box off a list. Maybe that was becoming a steward. The work that mattered most rarely felt exciting while you were doing it.
Tomorrow he would ride home and figure out what to do next. Maybe he needed to take a day off and relax. Sadly, he was no longer sure what he found relaxing.