Chapter Text
You recently purchased a small piece of land near a quaint village in the center of Palia called Kilima. You didn't have any family left and you recently lost your home to mother nature, so you were looking for a fresh start in life. As you make your way into the village, you exchange pleasantries with the villagers that you meet. It seems like the perfect place to settle down. While talking with some of the villagers, you acquire the directions to your new housing plot. As you make your way out of Kilima with a newly purchased tent in hand, you're eager to begin working on your homestead.
You make the trek up the hill and out of Kilima toward Bahari Bay. You take in the wooded landscape as you walk. The fresh air and sunlight begin to heal your tired soul. As you reach the top of the hill, you stumble upon a real estate sign. You surmise that you're headed in the right direction. As you place your hand on the sign, it detaches on one end and swings in the breeze. You pause for a moment to watch it swing before making your way down the dirt path toward your plot.
As you approach the plot, you notice that it seems to have been reclaimed by the wildlife around it. No wonder it was so cheap, you think to yourself. It looks like you're going to be busy for a while. You see chapaas scurrying around on the ground as you approach. Hopefully they don't mind sharing their land.
All of a sudden, your attention is drawn to a noise off to your left. As your eyes dart in that direction, you see a giant boulder crumble into pieces at the hands of a rather rugged man. As you stare at him in awe, he sees you approaching and stops.
“Oh, hey there. I’m Hodari Pavel of Pavel Mining. How can I help ya?”
Without thinking you reply, “You can tell me how you got those biceps.”
Did you really just say that out loud?
“Oh, uh… mostly from minin’ I guess. If you’d like some of your own, maybe you could find a use for this pick. You could start by usin’ it to clear some of the debris around here, if y’want,” he says.
He walks over to you and hands you an old, makeshift pick.
"You got a name, miss?" he asks.
"Oh, I'm Cassie," you reply.
"Well, Cassie, it seems you'n that pick are gonna be pretty busy for a while," he says. He throws his own pick over his shoulder as he talks.
“How do I get a pick like that?” you say, admiring his.
“You've gotta earn a nicer pick, Cassie,” he says, chuckling. “Look, I’ll make ya a deal. If ya wear this one out, I’ll craft ya a nicer one. Just come find me. Deal?”
“Deal,” you say.
He removes his glove as you extend your hand to shake his. His large, muscular hand completely envelopes yours as they meet.
“I should let ya get to work. Looks like you’ve got a lot of it to do. See ya around, Cassie,” he says.
“Bye, Hodari,” you reply.
You watch him walk off down the path toward Bahari Bay, admiring him as he leaves.
You’re going to have to hold him to his promise so that you have an excuse to talk to him again.
You use your newly acquired pick to level some rocks so that you can place your tent. As you forage around for food and find resources to make a cot, you settle into your tent for the evening.
You have a lot of work to do to turn this plot into a suitable home.