Fantasy RPG Forum - Standing Trials

As part of the relief effort last season, Faith had purchased four houses near to Beacon Village. There was no doubting, now, with over a hundred residents, the village was indeed that and she was pleased beyond measure that she had created something, she knew, which would continue if she did not. The fifth place she had bought, however, was right in Scalvoris Town and she had plans for that. Aeon's Hope would be what it was called and it would be a place where Isonomia worked in the town itself. Just down the street from the Order of the Adunih, Faith had ideas for it and she'd asked Galena to come with her this morning to look at the place.

"What are you thinking, Faith?" Galena asked. It was a beautiful place, lots of wood inside and large windows which let in a lot of light. They'd looked around each of the rooms and Galena had made all the correct and appropriate noises of appreciation, but Faith's former mentor had to admit that she was somewhat confused. "We've talked about it before, Galena. The need for a place which is not just healing of the body but the mind too. Places where people like Delta could come." The place was secure enough, Faith said. Although it was in town, it was on a bridge and so was also quiet with nice views.

"I thought we could make this that place." Faith said and Galena looked at her in surprise. "The Order can't afford to buy this, Faith, to pay the upkeep," Faith nodded her head. "I know. We will. Isonomia. If you're happy for us to. The order provides the equipment and expertise, the faction provides the structure and upkeep. A collaboration." Galena looked at Faith in surprise, it had to be said. "Are you really only nineteen arcs old?" Faith smiled slightly and nodded. "I'll be twenty in Saun," Galena chuckled and shook her head. the young woman had no idea, she knew, of just what she had achieved.

"How's Padraig?" Galena asked, wondering what the physicist thought of such and Faith shrugged. "Not back yet," Galena frowned and looked at Faith with concern. "How are you managing?" Faith smiled and gave the immediate, rehearsed and increasingly less true answer. "I'm fine," she said, "the twins keep me busy and he'll be home soon, I'm sure." Galena nodded, not fooled for a moment but well aware that the disciplined young teenager would tell her nothing if she didn't want to. "If I can be of any help, you know just to call, don't you?" Faith nodded and smiled. "I do. I will, I promise you."

Gesturing around, though, Faith gave a smile. "Partners. Equal say in what happens, everything done in a true collaboration. We have common goals and the clients that come here are likely to be people who are going to end up in, or come from, Beacon. It works for us both." Galena nodded her head and she smiled. "You have a deal," she said and she beamed. Faith returned the expression and the two of them continued to chat about the practicalities as they planned out the place.
534 Words
No knowledge.

That afternoon, once she and Galena had bade each other farewell after they'd worked out the details of the Clinic, Faith made her way to Beacon. There, the other three houses were and she wanted to make sure that things there were going well. The Clinic and the three houses in Beacon had all been renovated by the Council as part of the relief effort last season. She'd bought them, the Council had paid the renovation costs as the temporary solution to the accommodation issue. It had worked out for Faith in the long run and now, Beacon had doubled in size and, therefore, in the number of people they could help.

"These houses," she said to Alissa, her friend and self-appointed bodyguard, "I was thinking that they would be good for larger families, maybe those with older children for whom the houses aren't big enough. But mostly, for people who are single." Alissa looked at her in some surprise, there. "Single people? Why?" It made sense to the biqaj woman to put families there, but why singles, too, she asked? Faith looked around at the room they were in and gestured. "This room is too small for a family. It's enough for one person. The houses, the usual ones that we've had? They are big enough for two people and a baby to live in. If a single individual lives in one, that's two people we could have helped, lost." Alissa looked at Faith and she resisted the urge to shake her head sightly. "It makes sense, true."

Faith made her way around each of the houses, each of the rooms. She had a truly abysmal sense of direction, but she had the ability to remember each room and that would have to do, she figured. It wasn't so much the rooms that she really had wanted to see, anyhow. It was the gardens. The first house, the one which she had called the Shoemaker's Retreat after Cyrus, Padraig's grandfather. This one had a large, good sized garden, some outbuildings and a large walled garden area. She could use those and so an idea began to form.

There was a very real difference, Faith knew, between what could be grown on a farm and what could be grown in a garden. She was a gardener, without a doubt, but a farmer not at all. Yet, she understood the principles and so she considered. "Alright, what I want to do is to have a medicine garden," she said to Alissa. That would make sense, Faith knew and it would be something which they could grow here which wasn't appropriate for the farm. "If we can get some good greenhouses going, we can grow things here, like they do in the gardens in the rest of Beacon, which aren't easily grown on the farm, or the vineyard." That would work, Faith knew. Beacon was a sprawling, chaotic place and Faith loved it here. This was a place where people worked and lived together. It wasn't perfect, there were issues and that was without doubt, but still. It was a place where there was hope.

The possibility that there could be more.

It could be better

534 Words
Gardening: Grows different things to farms
Gardening: Greenhouses and so on are easier small scale
Gardening: A medicine garden

So, she had the medicine garden and she could get that going. There were plenty of people here in Beacon who would and could help with that. It was one of the trades which was taught to the trainees. Gardening, working with plants in order to grow food and medicines, flowers and plants. It was an important one to have, a useful skill and it meant that those trainees who left having worked the gardens had that as a skill, a possible job opportunity. With the farms and the vineyard, also, alongside all the gardens in the village, there were a fair few of the residents here who were more than skilled enough.

However, it was the gardens in Katie's Light which really interested her. The Real Estate Agent person had said they were massive and they were not wrong. The one thing which Cally's didn't have was an orchard and here, there was enough land to be able to have a small one. Faith was pleased at that and said so to Alissa. "We can grow some lovely orchard fruits here, don't you think?" Alissa nodded, smiling at Faith as she did. "It sounds great, Faith. A nice orchard will really add to the place," Faith couldn't help but get the feeling that somehow this was going to turn into one of Alissa's very common 'I'm concerned you're doing too much, Faith' speeches. It didn't seem to be though, so Faith put it down to her own paranoia.

The last place to consider was the garden in the grounds of 'The Twins'. That was an interesting one, because it was right on the coast. Beacon was on the shoreline of Scalvoris, but most of the houses weren't - and even those which were near the shore, weren't right on it like The Twins was. That meant that the soil would be different, she knew and, when they were there one of the first things Faith did in the large garden was to kneel and test the soil, checking it. "Ew! What are you doing?!" Alissa asked as Faith put a few grains of earth in her mouth and then spat them out.

"I'm working out what the soil's like here. What? You'll eat vegetables pulled from it but not put a few grains in your mouth?" Faith teased slightly and Alissa grinned. "I don't care if you're right, it's ew." Faith chuckled. "We can grow samphire here. That is excellent." Alissa looked at her and raised an eyebrow. "It is?" Faith nodded.

"Samphire tastes delicious and has a number of medicinal uses," she explained. "It's not difficult to grow, but it is difficult to get the exact right conditions. We have a windbreak, but enough of the salty sea air and the soil is just right. It's a delicacy." That meant that they could sell it in Cally's and thus, make more money for the people here and others in need. "It's a wonderful flavour, but is useful medicinally, also. Good for the immune system and all sorts." Faith glanced at Alissa and a sudden grin caught her. "Behave. I can see you and your amusement at me." Alissa shook her head. "It's not amusement, Faith. Well it is I suppose but only because I'm teasing you. It's just, everything has a function, doesn't it, a purpose? It all fits together?" Faith nodded. Yes. Yes that was very much how she saw the world.

And here, they were another step on the way to making the world a better place.

513 Words
Gardening: Soil types
Design: Landscaping: Where to grow Samphire
Design: Landscaping: Design your garden based on your environment