You came early to the work yard: a large, open square with several stages and several booths set up along one side, from which foremen and businessperson select who is to fill their workslots for that day, or week, or month. Construction, cleaning, warehouse duty, road and railway labor, freight loading and unloading - all kinds of work is offered here, for the lucky few who can catch the eye of a prospective employer.
You came early, but the square is already packed. sleepy, huddled forms cram into the open area, looking as if they haven't slept in days, or eaten in longer. it's going to be tough to find day labor today, from the looks of things. your eyes scan naturally across the still silent stages, and off to the sides - to the booths announcing opportunities afar. The jobs in the city go fastest, and there is furious competition for them, even to the point of bloodshed. the jobs in nearby cities or on the farms are coveted, too, to a lesser extent. Fewer choose to travel across the miles to the frontiers - the hungriest, or most optimistic. sure, it can be good pay, better than what can be earned here, but the risks are equally large.
All of you stand together, forming a sort of barrier to keep out strangers. You've come here many times over the last couple months, and have met regularly. Sometimes you've even worked together. Oh, you aren't necessarily friends or allies, but, compared to the strangers, the gangsters, the unstable otehrs, at least these people are familiar, so you've formed a sort of ad hoc alliance - a club fueled by mutual self interest. You work together to maintain your position in line, to fend off thieves or bullies, and to get noticed for positions. you exchange information on who is hiring for what, and make the best arrangements you can.
The stalls will open soon, and the stages will soon be staffed with foremen, pointing and beckoning. You've enough food left for a few days, and rent is coming due sooner than you'd like.
So, what kind of work will you attempt ot grasp today? Will you try for something in the city, enough to fill your bellies for one more night? or will you look to the fields or to distant lands? Will you stay and try to work with some established company, or set out on your own for a journey?
1. day labor and food lines. if you stay here, you have the chance to pick up daily work, and food kitchens are open from very early to give a meal a day, assuming you get there before the food runs out
2. specialty work. You can post for specific job types. Skilled labor or professional work. Lower chance of getting in, but can provide a nearly survivable wage
3. attempt to get hired on a farm. Weekly labor, including a day's travel out and back, unpaid. That means you get 5 days work to cover a seven day period.
4. check on opporunities in other cities.
a) Teles City is struggling to rebuild the transportation infrastructure
b) Ichthya still sends fishing vessels out and has a thriving, if strained seaport
c) Ranchero Del Catalia is a center for meat packing
5. build the rails or roads. the frontier is expanding, and the infrastructure to connect it needs completed. Labor, protection, and support roles are in some demand for this.
6. head out to one of the four frontiers mentioned in the OP and try your luck as adventurers and entrepreneurs.
7. other. pursue a goal not mentioned above. competition may be fierce for a better life, but not every closed door is locked, and not every locked door is unpickable.
You can go it alone, or in groups, or all together. Since you are all currently together (even Gwyn, who comes out of hibernation for teh workline session), feel free to work out a plan together, or not.
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Topic: murderhobos (Read 11020 times)