[Haven] Do All Leaders Get Hand Cramps?

[Balthazar Black]

19 Ashan 721

It had been a long trial and it had only just begun. Balthazar put out his feelers for a blacksmith he'd heard landed somewhere on the island. Balder, Silk, and Ronan asked the people they knew, those people asked the people they knew, and so on and so forth. Sooner or later they would get back to Balthazar with something or he'd cast his focus further and write to Darius. However until he got a lead on the blacksmith, he needed to focus on more immediate concerns- clean water and the farm. He had an easy solution for one of them but when he got back to his tent and found an unfamiliar parchment and quill on his desk, curiosity overtook him. Was Ronan playing some sort of joke on him? He moved over to the parchment and read the note Elisabeth had left for him.

It was sweet but also an indication of what he feared all along. He needed to do more. He needed to be better. He would, for her.

Balthazar took a deep breath and tapped the quill Elisabeth had left for him on the parchment she had also left for him. He knew it was a message. She must have wanted something... but he did not know what. He was not going to write her a three page story. It would be a waste of paper to write something he could show her. Memory was superior to the written word, in his opinion, but she had left the pages all the same because she wanted something... and he had to figure it out. His shadow refused to help. He'd asked a few times and gotten nothing but a shrug or a grunt in response. Real talkers, this lot... but maybe that would change. Isabella had given him something he enjoyed once but he did not know if Elisabeth would enjoy something similar. Well... she'd only written one line of guidance so it was what is was. Balthazar began to write,

Elisabeth,

Always under watch,
Two clouds drift together,
They will endure still.

I don't know about that one, (there is an arrow drawn pointing to the lines above) it doesn't sound right. I thought these things were supposed to rhyme but it just felt (the rest is scribbled out.)

Always under watch,
It's better when you're near,
The world is quiet here.

This isn't working out, just touch the little piece I tore off.

Then Balthazar tore a small corner of the parchment and held it in his hand, his blackened nails growing a little sharper as he focused on the memory of their conversation at the Dusk Festival. She was there, she'd spoken to him, but now when she touched the torn piece she would get an echo of what it was like from his perspective and she'd know he hadn't forgotten. When the ink dried and the Flame Trooper has finished reviewing it, he folded the letter around the torn piece of parchment and set it down on her cot. He placed a blanket over the gift so a snooping Silk or Ronan would not touch it. He knew Balder would leave it alone and since they'd all moved into their own tents the odds were low, but Balthazar wanted it safe. If the shadow went for it, he would know and he would say something. Then he went back to his desk and sat down again. Another deep breath and he prepared to write the next letter he had to send. Being on island arrest made things difficult and Tornado's death made it even worse because he could not just go and get their resources. Fortunately he had a good memory, he'd been in Scalvoris for a while, and he had a settlement full of people he'd spent every trial since his release getting to know. People talked, they spoke of experiences, memories, places they had been and worked while they were away, and in one case, they spoke of the ironic name of their settlement.

Haven. Yet they were not the only one. There was a farm in Beacon known as Haven Farm but it was not on their island and by nature of a farm, they were not likely to move. That was fine, this Haven had the Munny family and they were perfectly adequate but they did need supplies and Balthazar figured there was no one better to reach out to. He'd gathered what intel he could on the farms in Beacon from his settlers before coming to write the letter so now it was really all about putting his thoughts to the paper. Haven Farm and Hope Farm were in competition and that could probably be used to garner some form agreement or charity. If Haven Farm refused to help then they could send a letter to Hope Farm with a better offer- not that he'd mention that in the letter.

To Ria at Haven Farm,

I am writing to you from a small but growing settlement near the Serenity Garden on Faldrass. We are a little but determined group who want to see life return to this island. Many of the settlers had homes here that were lost in the eruption and while we've managed to rebuild decent shelter, we have found ourselves in need of a reliable food source. The Badlands to the east do not offer us much but we have land to grow and our farmers think the soil will support whatever we put in the ground. There are strong winds near our settlement that we are hoping to use to run a mill but we do not have the things we need to operate without aid.

As we move out of the cold seasons we are finding ourselves in increasing need of seed to begin farming. I am writing to you to request a loan and suggest a partnership. I have heard that you are one of the best farms in Beacon and I was hoping you could send us any surplus wheat, oat, or vegetable seeds you have from this season or last or lying around- anything you can spare. It would help get us on our feet and in return we would set aside and send you a portion of every yield we make using your gift.

We are hoping this is the beginning of a beautiful partnership, we have heard the best things about your sheep milk and cheese.

- Yours Truly
Settlers in Need


Yes... that would do. Balthazar finished the letter and set it aside to dry before realizing he still had one piece of parchment left. Who did he want to write to next? Who did they need to write to next? They needed a source of clean water but who could he write to to solve that? He was better off having Elisabeth use calling to seek it out but she'd need to train more to find it beside the sea. He looked at the Flame Trooper standing a little bit closer now- probably trying to peer at the letter. Maybe he should write to Kura? No, she was on her way to the island and there were easier ways to get information to her. Balthazar was staring at one of them right now and it was staring back. They did this every so often. The trooper blinked first and Balthazar grinned.

He looked back down at the parchment. It would take six trials, maybe seven to get a response and if that response came as negotiation rather than aid, they would be delayed a little more. There were other projects to work on, other rumors to investigate. He was bound to his island but that just gave him a focus for his intelligence gathering. There were many rumors going around the island, it was time to prod the ones he thought might be able to help them all thrive... and the one that spoke to him for other reasons. His guards were working the blacksmith angle and he didn't know of any other remarkable craftsmen on the island, but across Scalvoris there were plenty of opportunities.

He considered writing to some of his friends from the Decked Hall. They were fighters and the club membership didn't guarantee any sort of connections, but Balthazar knew Durden was Yari and surely that would count for something. Maybe he could get Durden to come set up a club in Haven... get some real training going for his people that didn't require him around at all times. No... Yari were a little too extreme for Scalvorians. The trial had proven that.

In the end he didn't find himself writing to any of the people he thought about that could help his settlement. He took the quill in his hand and began writing another letter.

[Jackalope]

Experience: +10 xp

Knowledge:

Leadership - Not all leading is done from the frontlines
Logistics - Outsourcing seeds to get a farm running
Business Management - Trying to establish partnerships
Psychology - Interpreting meaning behind a gift

Skillplay: Appropriate to level

Consequences
1) Balthazar’s inquiries into the blacksmith don’t immediately yield results. The Elements ask if perhaps he means Rengel Lostand from Lostand Foundry? Or he could inquire at Saoire’s Dream?

2) Ria writes back quickly. She explains that, regretfully, she cannot spare much in the way of grain seed (she got his letter immediately after the spring wheat planting); however, she can do much better on the vegetable front. Sometime 30ish Ashan, seeds arrive of the following varieties: radishes, tomatoes, peppers, peas, beans. Anyone any good at farming will tell Balthazar that there are enough seeds for Haven to achieve self-sufficiency in these legumes and vegetables by next cycle, if the farmers know what they’re doing. Turning a small surplus in radishes and tomatoes before the end of the arc is a possibility.

There are also boxes of wheat, oats, and corn, enough for a combined couple acres of these; better than nothing, but nowhere near what Haven would need to be self-sufficient.

Loot: Seeds, as noted above.

Injuries/Overstepping: None.

Magic Experience?: None.

Renown: +15. The arrival of the seeds are quite an event for his settlement, and although “partnership” might be a bit too strong a word at this point, Haven’s agricultural prospects now on Ria’s mind.

Comments:

Poor Balthazar Black
Can’t even write a haiku
To save his own life. :p

Balthazar doesn’t sound like he is having much fun being governor and all. It really is a thankless job. But he seems to be bearing up alright, and with luck, he and his colonists won’t starve.