Cadby and Marigold moved to the Vale, where they will fish on the lands administered by the Baronet du Bois.
Their first morning there, after Marigold left for her job waiting tables at the Monk’s Inn, Lady du Beaumont visited. Lady du Beamont is the mother-in-law of the Baronet. Now she goes by Dowager Viscountess du Beaumont because her former title, which she inherited from her late husband, was restored to her by her lover, Lord Stirwuard.
Dowager Viscountess du Beaumont helped herself to some nuts that Marigold had received as a wedding present, while Cadby prepared green dandelion salad.
That evening, Marigold returned home from work. She had won a bet at work (a chance card), and brought home 250 gold, plus her salary of 264. Feeling hopeful, Cadby and she began trying for a baby to start their family.
Cadby had prepared porridge, and they talked about music and maypoles at dinner. Family had always been important to Cadby, and he was happy to have a family of his own, now.
Early the next morning, a herald came by and let the family know that plague had come again to Ayre. She collected $80 in bill payment as well.
Cadby began work as soon as he had eaten his breakfast. Soon, it would be too cold to catch any fish, and he must make the most of the little time left before Winter.
Meanwhile, Marigold chatted with Lady Lorraine, the Baronet’s mother, before going to work. Lady Lorraine gushed about how happy she was that the Fishers had come to the Vale. She told Marigold she had heard of their successful wedding party, inquired about what it was like to be a new wife, and even asked about the recent Beltane celebrations in Ayre.
Cadby snuggled his new wife in the early morning hours. Marigold was pregnant, having woken in at 2:00 in the morning to notice her first baby bump.
At dawn, Cadby and Marigold got up to begin their work.
Lady Lorraine returned for another visit, just as Cadby was taking a sponge bath outside. She turned around and waited for him to finish. Then he greeted her, and quickly let her know he needed to get to work.
Marigold went to work, not knowing how many days she had left to make money before she wouldn’t be able to work. So far, though, her pregnancy had been easy, and her health had been excellent.
She was halfway through her pregnancy and she had sent word to her mother and aunts in Ayre. She thought they would come and help when it was time for her baby to be delivered.
Late at night, when the baby’s kicking had woken her up, Marigold went down to the river side in the bracing wind in her nightgown. She loved to watch the water.
Sometimes the Baronet du Bois would walk by, but he had not greeted Marigold or Cadby.
Cadby was getting the hang of fishing and was able to use minnow fish as bait, now. He felt closer than ever to Marigold. But he was starting to miss his fellow men-at-arms, feeling like he was losing touch with his old life.
Cadby applied for a farmgate business license. He didn’t have a surplus of fish to sell, yet, but he had found some pretty colored glass, and clam shells, as well as boots at the shore. Those things could sell. He saved the glass to show to the Dowager Viscountess, thinking she would be glad to pay a fair price for it, and she did.
Meanwhile, the baby’s birth was drawing near, and Marigold’s mother and aunts had arrived to help. Marigold’s mother was also going to move in, at least for a while. She could help her daughter, and she and Mildred had not been able to come to an agreement about Ella’s role at the house or acceptable boundaries for her romantic relationships, since Mildred feared that as witches, their reputation was especially vulnerable.
But the evening before the baby was due, Marigold’s mother told them that the baby’s presentation was perfect. She hugged her sister-in-law, and abruptly left. Perhaps she felt that Ella, who had been apprenticing as a midwife, could handle the birth.
Everything was ready for the birth. Marigold had been in labor for hours, and hours, and hours, but she was doing well, walking and breathing. Marigold and Cadby even went down to the sunset at the river.
Ella, who had collected some reeds along the river, began weaving baskets, and found that she enjoyed it.
That night, as Marigold was taking one more walk to the river as she labored, a dog ran into the yard suddenly.
Cadby petted the dog. He had been interested in having a pet, but now, he was more focused on the baby’s arrival.
Ella had been called away to help with another birth, so Cadby and Marigold labored on without her.
In the middle of the night, Marigold’s baby was close to arriving. Her mother had not returned.
After a long labor, Marigold’s son was born. After the long labor, he looked a little blue right at birth, but within moments his color came back and he seemed strong. Cadby and she had already decided, if the baby were a boy, to name him Callum. Callum looked like he had his father’s skintone, with freckles, and his deep blue eyes.
When Ella returned, she began working on basket weaving again, as Marigold cuddled and nursed Callum. Both mother and baby were well, but exhausted.
And Cadby proudly helped out with Callum as well, often leaving his fishing to come and check on him, and caring for his wife’s needs.
The nights became colder and longer. Earl y one morning, Cassie Berry, who had begun working at the manor keep in the Vale as a servant and companion to the baronet’s daughter, walked by.
But in the Fisher’s cottage, everyone was tucked warmly in their beds.
Marigold had not returned to work at the Monk’s Inn, yet. She needed to nurse Callum. The boy was a strong, healthy infant with a good latch-on and a keen appetite.
When she had time, she still loved to go down to the shore. Both she and Cadby wanted to spend time together but it seemed there were too many things to take care of right now, and when he had the energy or time, Marigold did not. Her health was still superior, but the birth had taken some of her energy and she was still recovering.
But one afternoon when Ella had not returned from her work as a midwife, and Callum was sleeping, they found a few minutes to be nap and to be alone.
When Ella did return, she stood in the road for quite a while. There was a man-at-arms there, and both Ella and he were interested in getting to know each other a bit.
With winter’s snow threatening, the water was too cold for fishing, but Cadby still had plenty of work to do. He almost froze to death one evening, when the yard inexplicably began to flood with icy water, but he was able to stop the flow and return inside. Both Cadby and Marigold longed for hot baths like they used to be able to take – Cadby, at the bathhouse of the barracks, and Marigold, in the big wooden tub her aunt would fill for her at the cottage in Ayre.
Gameplay Notes
The first time the reporter came, she gave them a bad review, but the next time, surprisingly, she gave them a Best of the Best, which I felt was kind of ridiculous. Maybe it was because Cadby showed the reporter the second bowl of colored glass he had found and she bought it.
I was worried about Cadby and Marigold’s cash flow, going into playing this household. I wanted to save any fish Cadby (or Marigold) caught, for food through the winter. Marigold also brought some food with her, from Ayre, to stock the fridge.
But with Marigold’s job at the Monk’s Inn, and later, Ella’s job as a midwife, plus the sales of glass, baskets, boots, and clams, they did fine. They even ended up on the last day of business getting two rewards and I took the cash. So they earned $6000 total and paid $4000 in taxes, rent, tithes, business fee. I think they have enough food for the winter, and they will be able to buy fire wood. I’d like to add to their house if possible but that may have to wait for spring.
We’ll see what happens through the rest of the round, but Ella may not have to stay, long term. The Vale needs peasants farming, basket weaving, raising animals, etc, and I was also thinking to have Ella work at the Monk’s Inn instead of Marigold, since Marigold will be busy with children. Marigold may have conceived again at the end of the round, but I didn’t check the ACR.
Rhett came by a couple times, fuming about Ella, but since he is not “local” and is supposed to be insane in the Almshouse (ROS), I sent him away and ignored it.
Right at the end of the round, Ella met Liam Cassoulet. I think they may hit it off, since they are both romance sims.
With the cold weather, and no wood on the lot, I was worried about the family’s warmth, but as long as they were inside they seemed ok. I will probably send Cadby to Ayre to market in the beginning of winter, at least for firewood.
Marigold’s pregnancy and labor were the first time I used the Warwickshire to determine pregnancy health, labor statistics and outcome, fetal health, and how all of those statistics impacted mother and baby total health score (view here). As I posted on Tumblr, Marigold had the highest level of health going into the pregnancy. She had a healthy pregnancy. She has pelvimetry that is a little smaller than average, but Callum’s presentation score was excellent. Labor was long (without a midwife!) but the outcome was good. His fetal health was a little low but his infant random health score and total health score are in the good range. Sims in good health can still visit community lots but are more prone to illness. I hope his random roll at toddler transition improves his health. Marigold lost 17 health points but she is still in the Superior range, with no limitations on her health.
Me too, now that sims can lose their health or even their life in childbirth it is much riskier. Eventually hopefully they’ll be able to catch enough fish to pack and sell. Thanks for commenting!
Calm and beautiful for the most part although it started ominously with the note about plague again. The interior of the cottage with the firelight is so cozy, so warm, that it’s easy to believe the cottage can shelter them against the winter chill. I love the dirt road. The flood with the clouded sky and moon and dead trees is spooky and frightening – what caused the flood, do you know? Lady Lorraine stumbling on naked Cadby..LOL! There’s a quiet gentleness about everything even if their situation, money and Marigold’s health, darken it a bit particularly combined with the threat of plague. Just a lovely piece.
The flood was caused by the sink breaking, but since they don’t have running water I treated it more like a spring coming up in the yard suddenly. The sinks always seem to break in the first couple seasons of a new household! I thought it was pretty funny when Lady Lorraine came upon Cadby bathing but especially since she just turned her back, crossed her arms, and I think, even tapped her foot waiting for him to finish. I lived in Nepal years ago and for one short period of time I had to sponge bath from a cistern in the ground floor of a house without any wall or separation. People would sometimes come and go because the room were the cistern was, was on open area behind the base of the stair/ladder that led out to the street, but they were experts at averting their eyes if someone was bathing because there just is not the type of privacy we have here and it is appropriate not to look. It reminded me of that experience and it was something I haven’t seen in the Sims before. Of course, most of my sims have had indoor plumbing with separate bathrooms, too!
It makes me happy to hear how much you enjoyed the calm mood of this update. I love their little cottage and it pleases me that they are affectionate and show care for each other’s needs–I look forward to playing their family in the future. Now that I’m playing with the health rolls and limitations, I’m concerned for Callum’s health, especially if it were to decrease at all, and of course, would have preferred Marigold not to lose any health points, but it is realistic that she would have a temporary set-back in her health as she recovers postpartum. Marigold’s mother is a healer and I need her to increase her gardening badge and her magical abilities. If she could max out her magical skill and get a gold gardening badge, she would be one point above “good” expertise as a healer. That would allow her treatments to have a better than even chance of improving health (-2 to +5 roll). As it is, her treatments are just as likely to harm as to help. She is 2/3 of the way to full magical skill and has a bronze badge. I really need to identify who the next healer is going to be (Ella or maybe Hadley) and develop their skills because Mildred is an elder.
If you want to keep Rhett from walking onto your other lots, you can use IngeJones’s prisoner token. You just pop it in his inventory for as long as you want to keep him in the Almshouse and then take it out again when you’re ready. I used it for a couple of things in Sullivan 1.0 and it worked really well.
Anyway, I remember seeing baby Callum on Tumblr and now I finally can see his whole birth story here on your blog! I’m glad the Warwickshire method worked out in his and his mother’s favour! Goodness, that might be the most detailed challenge rules I’ve ever seen. My nerdy little heart is very impressed!
Hello Carla! *grin* adding Heloise’s Warwickshire to a medieval game is like making croissants from scratch on a marble slab with fresh butter you churned yourself. It requires a lot of attention and energy but the results are pretty delectable. It is fun trying to figure out how to track all this stuff too and I’m still refining the google form to guide me through the rolls for birth outcomes. It makes it especially rewarding when there is a favorable outcome like for Callum.
The blog has been about a month behind Tumblr but after Daralis’ round and building the castle, I don’t have any queued posts on the blog. So the lag between Tumblr and the blog won’t be quite as long.
Gabe, now that he’s locked in the Tower, has Inje’s prisoner token and it is working well, which is really helpful. I figure there’s no one at the Almshouse that could realistically stop Rhett from roaming the village. But if he keeps it up (being aggressive) he might end up in the tower.
I’m glad the delivery went well for Marigold, and that baby Callum rebounded a bit in his health. I really like how you roll all this, although I’m sure it’s a lot to track! I sometimes forget things I’ve tracked, and I track much less! I love the river, it’s beautiful, and I’d visit it personally if I could! Cadby and Marigold seem like a sweet couple, I hope they keep doing well, and that things go well for Ella too.
Ha, it is a lot of tracking. Today I finished playing the Berry’s and then realized when I was replying to one of your comments, I totally forgot to make Harold have plague for 2 days in his bedroom, his ROS. I had forgotten that ROS, and thought the only one his family had was the Sudden Tempest (lost their house). So yeah, I don’t always remember to track everything.
But it is fun, and I really like the birth and health rolls for a medieval game. It’s going to be a real pain when I have a sim with poor health; they won’t be able to leave the house or join in a lot of activities. But I guess it makes me appreciate the sims that have their health so much more. And so I was thrilled that Callum got some points back and Marigold is still in pretty good health too.
I really think Ella will either end up with the Innkeeper, Liam, or become the weaver or weaver’s wife. She enjoyed weaving a lot; playful sims naturally like Arts & Crafts and creativity, which the weaving station uses.
With Love From Ayre 
Aww, welcome to the world Callum! I’m glad Marigold had an easy delivery even without extra help there.
It’s great that Cadbury got a good review the second time. I hope that can help him get the word out about his business and bring more sales.
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Me too, now that sims can lose their health or even their life in childbirth it is much riskier. Eventually hopefully they’ll be able to catch enough fish to pack and sell. Thanks for commenting!
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Calm and beautiful for the most part although it started ominously with the note about plague again. The interior of the cottage with the firelight is so cozy, so warm, that it’s easy to believe the cottage can shelter them against the winter chill. I love the dirt road. The flood with the clouded sky and moon and dead trees is spooky and frightening – what caused the flood, do you know? Lady Lorraine stumbling on naked Cadby..LOL! There’s a quiet gentleness about everything even if their situation, money and Marigold’s health, darken it a bit particularly combined with the threat of plague. Just a lovely piece.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The flood was caused by the sink breaking, but since they don’t have running water I treated it more like a spring coming up in the yard suddenly. The sinks always seem to break in the first couple seasons of a new household! I thought it was pretty funny when Lady Lorraine came upon Cadby bathing but especially since she just turned her back, crossed her arms, and I think, even tapped her foot waiting for him to finish. I lived in Nepal years ago and for one short period of time I had to sponge bath from a cistern in the ground floor of a house without any wall or separation. People would sometimes come and go because the room were the cistern was, was on open area behind the base of the stair/ladder that led out to the street, but they were experts at averting their eyes if someone was bathing because there just is not the type of privacy we have here and it is appropriate not to look. It reminded me of that experience and it was something I haven’t seen in the Sims before. Of course, most of my sims have had indoor plumbing with separate bathrooms, too!
It makes me happy to hear how much you enjoyed the calm mood of this update. I love their little cottage and it pleases me that they are affectionate and show care for each other’s needs–I look forward to playing their family in the future. Now that I’m playing with the health rolls and limitations, I’m concerned for Callum’s health, especially if it were to decrease at all, and of course, would have preferred Marigold not to lose any health points, but it is realistic that she would have a temporary set-back in her health as she recovers postpartum. Marigold’s mother is a healer and I need her to increase her gardening badge and her magical abilities. If she could max out her magical skill and get a gold gardening badge, she would be one point above “good” expertise as a healer. That would allow her treatments to have a better than even chance of improving health (-2 to +5 roll). As it is, her treatments are just as likely to harm as to help. She is 2/3 of the way to full magical skill and has a bronze badge. I really need to identify who the next healer is going to be (Ella or maybe Hadley) and develop their skills because Mildred is an elder.
Thanks for commenting, Skyburned!
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If you want to keep Rhett from walking onto your other lots, you can use IngeJones’s prisoner token. You just pop it in his inventory for as long as you want to keep him in the Almshouse and then take it out again when you’re ready. I used it for a couple of things in Sullivan 1.0 and it worked really well.
Anyway, I remember seeing baby Callum on Tumblr and now I finally can see his whole birth story here on your blog! I’m glad the Warwickshire method worked out in his and his mother’s favour! Goodness, that might be the most detailed challenge rules I’ve ever seen. My nerdy little heart is very impressed!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hello Carla! *grin* adding Heloise’s Warwickshire to a medieval game is like making croissants from scratch on a marble slab with fresh butter you churned yourself. It requires a lot of attention and energy but the results are pretty delectable. It is fun trying to figure out how to track all this stuff too and I’m still refining the google form to guide me through the rolls for birth outcomes. It makes it especially rewarding when there is a favorable outcome like for Callum.
The blog has been about a month behind Tumblr but after Daralis’ round and building the castle, I don’t have any queued posts on the blog. So the lag between Tumblr and the blog won’t be quite as long.
Gabe, now that he’s locked in the Tower, has Inje’s prisoner token and it is working well, which is really helpful. I figure there’s no one at the Almshouse that could realistically stop Rhett from roaming the village. But if he keeps it up (being aggressive) he might end up in the tower.
Thanks for commenting, Carla!
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I’m glad the delivery went well for Marigold, and that baby Callum rebounded a bit in his health. I really like how you roll all this, although I’m sure it’s a lot to track! I sometimes forget things I’ve tracked, and I track much less! I love the river, it’s beautiful, and I’d visit it personally if I could! Cadby and Marigold seem like a sweet couple, I hope they keep doing well, and that things go well for Ella too.
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Ha, it is a lot of tracking. Today I finished playing the Berry’s and then realized when I was replying to one of your comments, I totally forgot to make Harold have plague for 2 days in his bedroom, his ROS. I had forgotten that ROS, and thought the only one his family had was the Sudden Tempest (lost their house). So yeah, I don’t always remember to track everything.
But it is fun, and I really like the birth and health rolls for a medieval game. It’s going to be a real pain when I have a sim with poor health; they won’t be able to leave the house or join in a lot of activities. But I guess it makes me appreciate the sims that have their health so much more. And so I was thrilled that Callum got some points back and Marigold is still in pretty good health too.
I really think Ella will either end up with the Innkeeper, Liam, or become the weaver or weaver’s wife. She enjoyed weaving a lot; playful sims naturally like Arts & Crafts and creativity, which the weaving station uses.
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