45 Immigrants
1166 Words
The trade had been quite fruitful for both parties. A much-needed improvement for their facilities came about when hundreds of iron bars flooded in from the dwarves.
They now had enough for mining picks, fishing hooks, weapons, building tools, and materials.
This also opened up for larger contraptions to help them with reclamation. Adduk was able to make larger axes and horse or ox-drawn plows to help clear out fields. They also started fabricating large band saws for efficient woodcutting.
A wagon would journey into Ramstead every day full of food and would come back with stacks of iron bars. Slowly, an official road was established and they built more wagons to ferry the goods daily. Dwarves from Ramstead would also make the journey to New Gracewood to learn about farming techniques.
Janus wrote manuals for them to peruse. The stories and crafts from the dwarves awarded him a lot of contribution points, which he exchanged with underground agricultural techniques. It turns out that some dwarven civilizations found a way to farm mushrooms underground. He gave this information to the Elder for free, but she exchanged the gesture with a chest full of gold the next day.
"It's too much! I don't have any need for gold. It looks to extravagant." Janus said.
"Come on now, I don't think they can eat this gold anyway. We can make goblets out of these. Father Galvan is in need of statues." Yvaine said.
Letters also came from various settlements nearby carried by experienced messengers. Apparently there are a number of micro tribes scattered around the area. These groups had a similar situation as the dwarves did, finding a way to survive in these harsh conditions. Some tribes were comprised of around thirty to fifty in population with some reaching up to eighty.
At first, they traded goods and sent letters back. Janus left Yvaine to do all the goodwill and negotiating. After all, it was her and Master Ringo's ideas that gained them the dwarves' trust. In fact, he cannot fathom how things could have happened between him and the Golden Rams had it not been for the timely arrival of the Elder and the council.
As the visits came frequently, Janus started inviting the other tribes to join them. Their reclamation progress was going faster, and around thirty percent of the population already had landed to call as their own. Anyone who joined was free to live off the land provided they rendered the same in services.
Janus started planning for large scale crops and industries for a self-sustainable village. He was happy to see each piece moving forward steadily. They started constructing brick houses, all according to manuals that Janus had copied and written every night. Slowly they established roads to make the flow of goods and workers even faster.
Janus' message was clear. Wayward Home was open for immigrants, if they do not mind the work and how remote the area was.
Their first wave of immigrants came from Galedon itself. They were a band of hunters who called themselves the Merriman. There were twenty-three of them. Composed of men and women who were part of an adventurer's guild. They used to accept bounties to slay monsters that terrorized the townsfolk. They have driven away from their last job in the Eastern part of Galedon due to a contract that went badly.
"It was a tricky situation." Said Jundra, their leader. A woman of dark skin and braided hair. Her bony facial structure and scarred body reminded Janus of Gisela. She spoke with a thick accent and had knives in every part of her leather garb.
"It turns out the werewolf was a noble of the town. The son of the mayor himself. No one else in the village knew about this. We killed him too late in the lycanthropic cycle, just as he was turning back into a human. There was no evidence of the boy being the werewolf, so we were accused of murder, but they couldn't fight anyone of us. In the end, I decided to just move away from that place peacefully, but no other town in the region would accept our services after that."
"An honorable choice. But how did you know of this location, we're not exactly a hop, skip and away from the last town."
"It was quite easy, we heard rumors of your crazy band and we were interested in the cataloging the creatures of the area. We just followed the trail that you left. A few upturned wagons here and there and the puff of smoke visible from the distance was enough to give you away."
"How about the beasts? They wouldn't go near us due to our number but I cannot imagine them being intimidated by your group."
"Oh yes, they didn't get intimidated alright. Pollock! Show him the spoils."
A tall, lanky man emerged from their group. He was barenaked except for a loincloth and bands of leather that held up his great axe. He held what looked like a chain of bones and left it for Janus to inspect. It was a collection of skulls and trophies from various animals. Judging from the teeth and claws added to the collection, it looked like a dangerous kind.
"A place to live and eat and explore, in exchange for having the foremost band of Monster Hunters in Galedon in the service of your village. What do you say, Prince?"
"I say you are welcome. Master Ringo will prepare for your accommodations. Sir Arthan and Captain Caleb will find you for any concerns. I hear there are large raptors giving us trouble in the northeast."
The Merriman looked wild and brutish, but hearing Jundra's words gave Janus the impression that she was honorable.
The next group of immigrants was goblin folk. They were nomads in the area who survived by keeping and taming snakes. This was the only diplomatic meeting where Yvaine never showed herself, for her fear of the slithering creatures. They were around thirty goblins in total, with their leader called Yashiek. She wore a headdress and a garb of feathers and scales with vipers scaling around her neck. She had a necklace of fangs and had skin that looked more yellow than Kazzuk and his band.
"Yashiek and his tribe have heard of you from the man named Errol. A beast tamer such as ourselves. We have been looking for a place to sssettle, as we have been losing some goblinfolk to wild animals of late. My people are weary and in need of permanent shelter. Our tribe is well versed in herbal remedy and poulticessss. This we can offer you. For there is no sicknesss that our concoction of toxins and venoms could not remedy."
Janus accepted them readily and arranged for Chief Kazzuk to show them around the premises. Both Chiefs went along well immediately.
A group of Dwarves, Monster Hunters, and Snake wranglers. Wayward Home was shaping up to becoming such a wonderful town. Janus' motivation went up as he collected more points with every new addition. What surprises could this land come up with next?
- Writer
