Year 3, DecemberDecember is mild for the month, but still sees snowfall. You concentrate your building efforts on upgrading the communal housing that you own, as well as the barracks. Work is slow, given the weather, but you make some nice repairs and improvements, and they seem to be appreciated by the new residents of the town who don't own their own place to live yet.
You check on the winemaking, and Marge Kannity informs you that it will be several months yet fermenting, and then it will be bottled and aged. So that is still a bit off in the future.
You try to pave the area from the market to the docks, but the ground is frozen solid. This project will have to wait until spring.
You spend some time looking for horses on your land, but fail to find any of note, given the relative level of wealth in your land. You'll have to travel to Curbiston, most likely, to purchase a good breeding stock of horses. As you have progressed as far as you can with your mare, you don't really focus too much on riding.
You ask your Steward about Courting, and he explains that it is a relatively simple undertaking. You must ask permission to begin speaking romantically with a young lady, and, once received, will be expected to call upon her and write to her. If she is receptive to the match, you will be expected to wed relatively quickly if all parties agree.
Lastly, you decide to start up a special training regimen for some of your veteran archers. You lack horses for now, but you wish to train them in riding, as well as swordsmanship, winter survival, stealth, woodsmanship, and archery. You put the question to your men, and five of your veteran archers take up the challenge. You refer to them as Rangers, and they begin their training. As they learn their new skills, they will be shakier on the battlefield, but you expect that they will eventually be deadly warriors.
As you spend time at the barracks, you begin to take up the spear, in anticipation of eventually working with a lance. You progress well with the weapon, and have a modicum of skill by the end of the month.
January beckons. What would you like to do?
Age: 21 (February birthday)
Good Health
Great Fitness
Literate
Average Etiquette
Poor Rhetoric
Average Swordswman
Novice Spearman
Mediocre Shield User
Natural Archer
Mediocre Woodsman
Average Rider
Novice Legal Mind
Militia-grade Short Sword
Average Clothing
Mail Shirt
Fur cloak and leggings
Oak Shield
Old Brown Mare
Average Farmhouse
Bound New Testament
Book of Laws
Cask of Beer
Treasury - Empty
103 Citizens
Wooden Palisade
Nice Communal Housing
Nice Inn
Small Courthouse
Brick Roads
Growing Small Brick Paved Market
Nice Clayworks
Small Smelter
Modest dockyard
Watermill (Lumber Mill)
Basic Shipyard
Brewery
Two nightly patrols
Two-way Ferry
Medium population (Loyal)
River Parlon (fertile banks on both sides, light forest to the north)
Modest parcel farms south of the river (two plantings per season)
Adequate Communal Farm
Small Vineyard
Crude Roads
Small Warehouse
Average Barracks, Armory, and Obstacle Course
Mines north of river (silver, copper, gold, iron)
* Small community of miners in communal houses
Five veteran Archers
Ten veteran Spearmen
Five regular Axmen
Five regular Archers
Five green Rangers
Skilled Potters
Average Trappers
Novice Masons
Journeymen Miners
Novice Mechanics
Novice Metalworkers
Market Town of Carshire - One day's ride on main road
Folesden - Land of Count Foles - Downstream
* Curbiston - County Seat of Folesden
Land of Sir Denton - Upstream
Land of Sir Percival - Adjacent to Sir Denton's land, across the river
Hemswood Abbey - Far Upstream - Known for dark beer
Lands of Duke Erran - Across the river to the north - Used for hunting
King Edward Geronos IV, Lord of the Falls, Keeper of the Flame, Seer of the Dawn - Vaguely remembered
Duke Erran - Unknown
Count Aaron Foles - Your Liege Lord - An angry drunkard - Suspicious
Sir Blake Denton - Friendly
Sir Alan Percival - Friendly
Sir Uriel Lope - Count's Marshall - Unsure
Sir Melvin - Lady Marna's brother, Duke Erran's nephew - Polite
Lady Marna - Intrigued
Alan Alanson - Squire - Companionable
Fin - Captain - Happy
William Dent - Steward - Companionable
Ian Wood - Overseer of Construction- Devoted
Marge Kannity - Brewer - Happy
Victor Irlof - Master of the Market - Devoted
Curtis Stumpf - Miner - Happy
Morgan - Shipwright - Happy