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TJByrum -> RE: The Village (10/29/2012 15:12:39)
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The Villagers
I finally made it out of the woods and onto the large open valley where my home was. The valley was surrounded by forests to the west, which I hunted in, a mountain range to the north, a swampland to the east, and another forest to the south. The Village itself was positioned in the middle of the valley, where a river ran right through the middle. It wasn't always called 'the Village', but its original name was never used and fell out of existence, so travelers and others simply called it the Village and the name stuck. Originally it was settled when a family built a mill along the forest and began cutting down the trees and such. They built houses around the mill and soon it started looking like an actual town. People stopped by often so the the family constructed an inn and began serving food and renting rooms to the travelers. Soon more people moved to the land to cultivate the rich soil, and farms began to sprout up around the little village. Eventually the sawmill evolved into a fully functioning town and became what it is today. The original forest that the sawmill was built for was gone now and it seemed as if a forest never existed in its place.
My house was on the western edge of town, connected to another building - Mr. Windsor's shop, and like all buildings in the town, it was made of nicely cut wood from the sawmill. I hauled my trophy buck all the to the back door of the shop. The door was large so we could fit things through there. I pulled in my buck and closed the doors behind me. The air inside was warm and the smell of roasted meat filled the air. It was dimly lit in the backroom, but I could see the fireplace illuminating the main room through the door. "Mr. Windsor... I'm back, and I got a big one!" I said with enthusiasm.
"Aaron? Aaron is that you boy?" The old man came through the door, a grin on his face appeared when he saw my large buck. His face was wrinkled with experience, but he was only about forty five or so. He was slim, bald, and cheerful, and he had always been that way. "My, my, my! That's a nice one you got there Aaron!" He started to examine the buck, amazed at such a kill. "Is this the one you've been tracking Aaron? Must've been hard to take down eh?"
"Not really sir. A shot to the shoulder, a slice to the neck, and he was done for. He was hard to pull back home though I'll tell you that much." Mr. Windsor made a gesture to help hang the deer up. "Can't wait to clean it" I mentioned, but Mr. Windsor grinned and laughed. "What's so funny?"
"You ain't cleanin' it kid, I am." I showed a disappointed expression on my face, but Mr. Windsor didn't seem to mind. It was my kill, my choice. "Ease up kid, let me do some of the work 'sides sittin' 'round here all the time. I ain't got much firewood left, so 'bout you go get us some more?"
I was still disappointed, but grateful that Mr. Windsor wanted to share equal work. I knew he had used him all my wood, and I knew I'd probably have to get us some more. "I'll be on my way sir." I nodded to him and he nodded to me and I left the backroom. The main room was a lot warmer and well-lit by the fire. It contained a wooden counter, wooden floor and insulated walls. Some other counters were around the shop but they had various items on them, although Mr. Windsor sold mostly meat from his backroom. There were two large windows in front of the store and I could see the town was quite busy. I walked outside the door and heard the bustling of the town, noisier than usual.
Jace Strison ran the sawmill on the south end of town, he was the man I needed to see about some firewood. Jace was a descendant of the Strison family, the original townsmen who built all of this; it was his heritage that we were here in the first place. I maneuvered and pushed my way through the dirty streets, still a bit muddy from the rainy stormy yesterday. I walked by the blacksmith, who made the townsmen various tools like hammers, saws, shovels, rakes, and more. There were tailors too, who made us clothes, and other shops to buy food from, as well as general stores and such. It was a nice and functional settlement, and I liked it here.
"Aaron. Aaron! Over here, come here!" Looking around, I saw Father Gregory waving his hands atop the church steps. Father Gregory was the head of the church, established here to bring us the good word. He was a good man, well-respected and preferred amongst the populace. I made my way to him and up onto the steps. "Aaron, my boy! How are you?" Gregory had a tonsure hairstyle, happy expression, and brown monk robes, but he was old and frail and it showed. "I trust the hunt went well considering you're back so early?"
"Yes sir, yes it did. A nice large buck I've been tracking for a year now, you should have seen it, Sarah would be impressed." Sarah was a local girl who I had a crush on, but she knew I liked her. I was teasing Gregory, who didn't really like Sarah and her family for 'religious reasons' or something. Sarah lived near the sawmill, and I saw her frequently when I volunteered to help or bought wood. She was a joyful and pretty young thing, slim, with pretty blue eyes and straight flowing black hair.
Gregory's expression changed to a serious one and said "Do not give into the temptations of flesh Aaron, it can ruin a good man such as yourself." I smiled at him, knowing he was just keeping me away from the people he disliked. "Well, we're getting visitors today, so I must tend to the church Aaron, see you later friend."
"Visitors? From where?" I asked, but the Father had walked away and into the church. It wasn't often we got visitors in the winter, so whoever was coming must be important. I shook my head and headed to the sawmill. It was being used to cut a large log, and it was powered by the river than ran through the town. Jace was overseeing the work and writing in a book, probably keeping track of his stock. "Jace!" I yelled, "Jace, how's it going?"
Jace was a large, lumbering man, a bit dirty. He had a big bushy beard and long brown hair, and he was easily the tallest person in the settlement. His voice boomed "Aaron! Early rise today eh?"
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