Clearing the Land

[Timmean]

Making his way along the edge of the forest, Timmean eventually stops at a spot far enough from The Watering Hole that it won't be at risk from falling trees, but close enough that the logs won't need to be dragged too far. The extra space would also provide a good buffer once the time came to burn out the old brush. He made one last sweep of the area, making sure the trees weren't too thickly packed; after all, he wanted to get this first plot done quickly. Once he was satisfied that he'd found the best spot, he approached the first tree, raised the new ax, and began to swing.

[Torvallis!]

[Nov 16, 2pm]

Torvallis! stopped by behind the watering hole for their daily check of "Can I burn stuff yet?", and was surprised to find Timmean working an axe on the trees already.

"Timmean! Aren't your arms rather worse for the wear than to be doing hard labour just yet?"

[Timmean]

Timmean glanced up in surprise, then grimaced at the memory of the bizarre "scientific tests" from the previous night.

"This work needs to get done, and as soon as possible... we have some crops that need to be planted before the winter, and waiting to be fully healed would make us miss our chance completely. The wounds are shallow, it doesn't bother me too much..."

Timmean's voice trailed off as an idea stuck him, the dull pain in his right arm now more pronounced after the chopping.

"Although, I could probably work a little faster if this were completely taken care of... oh, if only I had some earth mana, or some help to get these trees cut down. I mean, we have to get this spot cleared, remove the logs, burn the brush..."

[Torvallis!]

Torvallis! was already busy with a shovel, making a wide but shallow ditch around the area to prevent brush fire from spreading.

"Y'know, you should hop down to the forge and ask Borin for help, he(?)'s got some dirty big axes and could probably chop down the trees much better. I think Phineas might have a sled tucked away somewhere for carrying supplies in winter, it'd be useful for dragging the trees, less ground contact and all. If you get Melba and Horny to clear the rocks, they can see and save useful herbs for replanting in the plot come spring. Who knows, they might find some useful geologicals, too."

[Timmean]

Timmean paused, thinking for a moment.

"Hm, some good ideas there... I don't intend to badger anyone for help, but I'd be happy to have some volunteer assistance. I'll post a notice, and start passing the word around..."

Leaving the ax lodged in the first half-felled tree, Timmean turned and started back toward the watering hole, before shouting over his shoulder:

"And don't burn anything until we get everything useful out of there!"

(OOG: I'm going to wait a little bit to let other people post before continuing)

[Torvallis!]

Torvallis! continued working by themselves.

"I wonder if the sergeant would collect the stones for building a road later . . .?" they muttered to themselves.

[Timmean]

Timmean strolls back out, pulling the ax from the tree and returning to his work.

"I've got a notice posted, and I mentioned to Phineas and Ira that they could pass the word around. Hopefully we'll have a little extra help in the near future!"

(OOG: For the next while, I'll assume that Timmean is working on clearing trees in his spare time. Of course, we can still roleplay bits of the work, conversations, etc.)

[Torvallis!]

"Did I ditch off the area you were planning to burn off? If yes, then we'll also need to take down that tree," they said while pointing, "as well as those ones over there; they're not in the burn area, but some of their branches cross and their roots could easily be underneath. If the roots pop as a result of the brush fire and the trees fall inside of the area, it could be a vector for uncontrolled fire.

Now, we don't need to take out all the rocks until after it's cleared of brush, but we'll want to remove the larger ones first. That would be the ones I've already dug around. They'll protect weed roots during the fire, and moving them afterwards will upset the even layer of nutrient rich ash with all the dragging and whatnot. If we move all of them over to that side, in the ditch I dug, they'll protect against flooding from the brook during springmelt and storms. It won't stop the field from being flooded, nor would we exactly want that, but it'll stop a strong flow across the field which would strip the topsoil."

[Timmean]

Timmean paused, having felled a few trees, his mind suddenly in a state of confusion.

Is Torvallis being... responsible here? Did he just advise on how to prevent an uncontrolled fire?

Glancing around, Timmean took in the other suggestions Torvallis had made, nodding at each of them.

"That sounds like a good plan; we'll want to expand this plot a lot more before we plant in spring, but this will give us some space for our fall seeds. We'll get to moving those rocks once the rest of the trees are out of the way. Hopefully, we'll have a little more help soon."

With that, Timmean resumes his chopping, with a slightly less cynical view on the fire mage's sanity.

[Torvallis!]

Torvallis! turned away from Timmean, looking at the rest of the field. They took something out of a pouch, and held it close to their face, pointing with their other hand.

" . . . see how the ditch flares there? That's because the plants are especially dry there and might catch fire just because of the heat, not just because of sparks. We're lucky that the wind is very dependably in one direction here, and also that it blows away towards the clearing from here. Over there, I dug the ditch deeper for later irrigation efforts, but we won't need those for one field. No, when the brook floods next, it'll fill that ditch and begin digging deeper for us due to something called soil erosion, and cut down on labour later."

[Timmean]

(OoG: I'm going to wait a few more days to see if anyone else wants to weigh in on the work, if not I'll declare the first plot as cleared, and we'll move on to the final prep and the burn)

[Malva]

Malva wanders into the field where Timmean is working.
"I saw your notice. Do you still need any help?" she asked.

[Timmean]

Timmean glances up, smiling as he notices Malva.

"Well, the clearing is going pretty well, but there are a few logs and rocks to be carried off."

He gestures at the rough region of tree stumps, freshly-upturned soil, exposed shrubs, and other debris.

"And you're certainly welcome to scower the area for anything you'd find useful. I won't pretend to be an expert in alchemy, so I have no idea what you'd have interest in, but you're certainly welcome to have a look."

[Torvallis!]

"Nice long bit of work, isn't it? Nothing difficult, just a lot of it to do", opined Torvallis!.

"Should we tell stories while we work?"

[Timmean]

Timmean thinks for a moment, then shrugs.

"Sure, why not? Have anything in mind?"

[Torvallis!]

"Well, I can continue the faun story from earlier . . . I can retell some dwarven stories that Axebeard has been telling me around the fire . . . I made up some orcish stories that I'll attribute to Private Ugly, hey, has anyone seen that brute since we captured the demon sheep?"

[Timmean]

"Hmm, I don't think I've seen him since... and I don't recall being around for that faun story, either. Unless you want to start from the beginning, perhaps it would be best to tell another?"

[Torvallis!]

(OOC: writing it up into a separate thread)

[Torvallis!]

"I think that was a very cheerful story, don't you, Bartholomew?", Torvallis! remarked into their pouch.

(OOC: if you missed the first one, it can be found here, in the watering hole: https://epochnl.canadian-forum.com/t6-torvallis-s-inventive-folklore-the-story-of-bottom-the-faun)

[Timmean]

As Torvallis finished, Timmean swept his gaze over the area, pleased with the amount that had been cleared. The trees, largest rocks, and a few valuable plants had been removed, leaving an area of stumps and rough underbrush.

"Well, I think that about does it for here. Once we get a little water in those ditches, I think we'll be ready for the burn."

[Torvallis!]

"We're ready for the BURN?!", T!'s eyes lit up

[Timmean]

Timmean chuckles. "Yes, as soon as we get things whetted down. I believe Ira was going to help with that..."

As his voice trails off, Timmean heads toward the bunkhouse.

[Ira the Elf]

Ira follows behind Timmean, impressed by the amount of work he has done thus far.

"Wow Tim! This looks great!"

[Volkihere Malacalo]

Torvallis! Hears from behind him "If I may have a moment of your time Torvallis."

Volk says standing behind him.

"I wish to learn the art fire magic from a expert Pyro-mancer such as your self."

"Are you willing to help me."

[Volkihere Malacalo]

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