Farming Village
Most rural farming villages are a hive of activity.
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Daytime Sights & Sounds
Children clad in dirty shifts run along the road laughing and joking among themselves; they quiet at the sight of the adventurers and give the party a wide berth.
A villager pushes a handcart piled high with wood freshly cut from a nearby copse. A woodsman’s axe balances precariously atop the woodpile. The villager nods a friendly greeting as he passes.
Thin streams of smoke drift upwards from several chimneys. From the nearby houses, the laughter of children and the everyday sounds of life softly fill the air.
Villagers work in the fields, ploughing the earth, weeding and so on. Here and there, children run up and down waving their arms and shouting to scare away the birds that land to peck at the soil and the seeds therein.
A trader rumbles into the village on a cart piled high with boxes, barrels and sacks. Children run alongside the cart laughing and the trader shouts at them to get away.
A flock of birds nesting in a stand of trees at the end of the village suddenly screech and take flight. Perceptive characters spot a cat slinking through the trees.
Villagers—both alone and in small groups—walk the streets going about their daily business. Most greet the characters with nods or smiles although a few seem scared or awed by the adventurers, their weapons and their relative wealth.
The clang of metal on metal—the sounds of the village blacksmith at work—fill the air.
Nighttime Sights & Sounds
A mangy cat emerges from the undergrowth into the soft moonlight holding something in its mouth. It darts across the road and into the shadow of a building.
From somewhere off in the distance, an owl hoots loudly. A few minutes later, the owl hoots again, but this time from further away. A soft wind blows across the village, rustling the leaves and crops.
Thick clouds scud across the sky. As they pass in front of the moon, the village is plunged into periods of near-total darkness.
Soft laughter emerges from deep shadows clustering about a tree or building. Perceptive characters—or those with the ability to see in the dark—spot two villagers locked in a passionate embrace. The two are blissfully—and completely— unaware of the characters.
The sounds of drinking, laughter and revelry emerge from the village tavern. Outside the tavern, several people stand about drinking and talking.
A husband and wife sit outside their house enjoying a quiet conversation and drink. They watch the adventurers as the party passes. The man gestures at them, says something and the woman laughs softly.
A rustling at the side of the road presages the appearance of a mongrel dog—perhaps a stray or a farmer’s pet—with a stick in its mouth. It looks at the characters, drops the stick and wags its tail.
A fox darts through the village, accompanied by its two pups, looking for prey. It is cautious and avoids any large group of people, but could be coaxed out into the open by a druid, ranger or the like.
Village Dressing
Deep wheel ruts scar the road leading through the village. In autumn or winter rainwater fills the ruts while in summer the sun bakes them hard. Incautious travellers could trip and fall if they do not take care.
A tall, wide-girthed tree throws its thick leafy boughs high out over the road. Graffiti, cut into the tree’s bark, decorates its trunk and a swing rope hangs from one stout branch. The tree is a popular meeting place for courting couples and the like.
A crumbling, dilapidated barn stands amid a stand of dense weeds and saplings. Birds perch atop the barn’s sagging roof, cawing loudly.
Weeds, brambles and other bushes grow along the road, providing many places for wildlife—and perhaps mischievous children—to hide.
Wide hedges of carefully tended bushes and trees separate the village fields.
A small, partially overgrown shrine dedicated to the god of travellers stands back from the main road leading into the village. The shrine looks little visited. Clearly, the villagers do not maintain it.
Many small holes dot the ground in and around the village. Most are only a few feet deep and have clearly been hurriedly excavated. If the characters ask around, they learn a party of adventurers passed through recently and were overheard discussing burying their treasure for safekeeping in the locality. The villagers are trying to find it!
A small, weather-beaten sign partially hidden by weeds, directs visitors to the village inn.
Credit
This is a short system-neutral extract from 20 Things #34: Farming Village by Creighton Broadhurst.
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