Ellani has been weaving webs her entire life, and has become quite good at it. The larger than average sized spider, since moving into the Velenosa estate, has created hundreds of thousands of delicate strands of silk which is usually cleaned weekly and removed from the entire rooms she decorates with her beautiful and intricate designs. It seems like a complete waste of art.

Empowered by the spidersilk baby blanket her son owns, knowing full well the silk can be used to make a strong yet rare material, Jaenelle has sought out to see that the webbing is put to use instead of destroyed. She gets aide in her project from House Tessere, hoping to use their experience in creating a new cloth so that House Velenosa might be known for such themselves. Tailors to work with the threads, apothecaries to assist in making sure they withstand the weaving process, and merchants to see that the resource is spoken about and interest is gathered. House Acheron is tapped due to their experience with spiders, and those of the peerage who have offered aide are welcomed without question to see that this cloth becomes a thing and not just an idea on paper.

Jaenelle promised Ellani that she would show her the beauty the world has to offer, little did the spider know but it would be her who helps to create it.

Berenice once helped House Tessere in their establishment of cloth-of-neodymium, and she is /delighted/ to turn her skills to efforts of her own house. Berenice makes sure that everyone who is needed to convince to invest in this process and project are persuaded to do so: she is one of the foremost fashionistas of Arx, after all, and she will /ensure/ that the end result takes the city by storm. With that in mind, how could someone ever decline to be a part of it?

The finest fabric artists in Arvum dwell in Iriscal and Sabine commits them all. /All/. 10,000 resources worth of all. They are accustomed to her demands to experiment with odd material and they work best under the pressure of the Marquessa's chill, expectant gaze, bringing with them centuries of technique, innovation, and more than a little professional pride, to figure out how to turn spider silk into cloth.

And not one of them, from Sabine down to the most green apprentice, makes any bones about their intentions of taking what they learn from this little experiment back to Iriscal to craft their /own/ unnaturally strong material down the road. This is the test run.

Brianna is using her exceptional skills of organization and delegation to help with the administrative side of these efforts. When there's pretty dresses involved, she is highly motivated.

Lady Tesha Telmar would like to assist in this wonderful venture of spider silk as she has a fondness for them in general, along with most other animals. She is going to use her skills with Propaganda in spreading the properties of spider silk and how wonderous it is and hoping that it becomes a hit.

Mabelle is thrilled to finally practice her alchemical skills on anything other than perfumes and .. perfumes. She intends to test the fabric and assures its durability as well as be one of the models to showcase it around the city once it's finally woven.

Mailys might be a merchant, but it's her skill with textiles that she's bringing to this table. She'll get right into the process, helping with spinning silk, weaving, all of it. She wants to know how it feels in her hands, against her skin. She wants to be able to guide the process, if some technique might be better than the one currently being used.

Apollo could try to apply some novel tanning techniques to some samples of the spider silk produced, just to see if anything changes the properties of the material in interesting or useful ways. But no. He knows that the stuff is going to be in short supply, produced by - apparently - a single spider. His valuable expertise, here, is in understanding how materials with a limited and variable supply can be managed so they reach market smoothly and don't vary wildly in perceived value. He'll study the output and the various factors that go into the production of the spider silk, and determine where there are bottlenecks, places where a likely point of failure would stop production entirely or slow it greatly, and decide in what ways supply should be stored and released to market in order to maximize its value.

Alexio Donatti is a handsome, cunning, and charming man; the merchants know it, both the men and ladies know it, everybody knows it! He also has an uncanny way with words to get people to _do_ what //he// wants them to think //they// want to do. It's incredible, really! This time it is no exception. Once the textile creation is finalized, he begins his work. He makes sure to spread the news vis-a-vis spider-silk a stone's throw away and off the beaten track. News begin to spread thin and wide about the wonderful properties of the strong and rare textile; and, once you get the people's tongue rolling, well...it is very hard to get them to stop. Isn't it? At least that's the hope!

The crafters guild is a powerful guild. Most just never realize it. But Josephine on behalf of the crafters guild has listened to Jaenelle's proposition and is prepared to throw the might of the guild's bank and it's people behind her and Tessere. A good portion of the guild's coffers are emptied, contracts are called in and the crafters of Arx band together. 500,000 silver from the guilds coffers are put forther, 250,000 from Josephine's own personal funds as well. 20,000 economic resources, some of it gathered by it's members, or procured specifically for this project are laid out. And they turn out in numbers to assist. Whether it's the skilled hands of weavers, market specialists who can gather the supplemental materials to make this new fabric and in the amount necessary to ensure no hitch in supplies that might hinder experimentation. Josephine reaches out to the other crafters guilds across the compact to inquire of anyone of their numbers who are willing to travel to the city and lend their expertise or brainstorming to make the Archduchess regent's vision come true and Elloni's silks something to behold and marvel. This is the Crafters Guild and she will show the city and compact that the guild remains as ever, -the- guild, and instrumental in this process.

Nurie has always been focused on spinning her sister's dreams into something tangible, the creation of Tessere's brocade being one pinnacle of such a thing. It's lit a fire within the baseborn tailor to continue on with research and further creativity. The use of spider's silk as a completely new kind of material to incorporate stokes her imagination and excitement (and of course what Sabine wants Sabine gets as far as her aid), and as part of the Tessere delegation she lends her expertise and skill directly in its creation, investing a great deal of her personal time to work with and provide feedback to the team of artisans.

Spider silk cloth is the dream of a certain sort of tailor with a romantic bent and a level of ambition that lesser men and women might call ‘unrealistic’. But Jaenelle is able to gather together people who are determined to make it happen, and who are willing to invest heavily and wager that it can be, will be done. First, they gather the discarded webs made by Ellani, and attempt to spin it into thread. If only it were that easy! Sadly, the old webs are unsuitable and shred to pieces. Ellani - after much persuasion and treats of her favorite insects for days - agrees to hold still and allow Jaenelle to draw out a little bit of fresh silk from her spinnerets. The fresh silk has the strength and flexibility they need, but it’s clear that one spider could never produce enough for cloth. Also, Ellani makes it clear she has better things to do with her time.

Back to the drawing board. The investments by Josephine and Sabine go into buying a warehouse - a very well sealed warehouse - and doing some experiments. With spiders. Big spiders, little spiders, angry spiders (they’re all angry spiders). Mabelle and Nurie work together, with Tesha serving as main spider wrangler, to develop a sort of...spider spinning harness. Lock the spider in at one end, and someone can sit at the other and slowly draw the silk out into a spool. It takes hours every day. It takes thousands of spiders.The spiders bite their handlers, they eat each other, many escape or die, and the warehouse has to be stocked with every fly, beetle, and other bug the local urchins can provide, making for an awkward working environment. Brianna’s meticulous notes help them discover which breeds of spiders have the best silk-to-horrible-arachnid-behavior ratio, and it’s only Alexio’s charm and Josephine’s authority that can keep people from quitting when they realize they’ve been hired to spin silk out of spider butts. Ellani seems interested in the process, in her way, but shows little sympathy for the servitude of her fellows; it’s a spider-eat-spider world.

Eventually, the spiders die, since spider breeding is not, yet, an Arvani branch of animal husbandry. But through blood, sweat, tears, and hundreds of spider bites, the experimenters have enough spools of thread to work with. Mabelle and Apollo brainstorm ways to ensure that the precious, limited thread can be maximized for production. Working together with Mailys and Nurie’s textile expertise, the thread is woven into a single, precious supply of spidersilk cloth, with not even an inch wasted. It feels like cool air on the skin, it’s surprisingly strong, and it takes dyes beautifully. Some varieties of spider even seem to naturally produce lightly colored silk, and now they have documentation about which ones. Without some other breakthrough, this is never going to be a sustainable industry, but for this moment, they have enough cloth to create a few precious outfits. More, thanks to the skillful promotion of Berenice, Tesha, and Alexio, the city realizes that it is these people, and the incomparable House Velenosa, which has done the impossible: spidersilk cloth.

50 portions have been given to Jaenelle - this is not a mass production process, so you'll need to do further actions to gain more, or refine the process. You also each get a clue proving that you know how to make spidersilk the hard way!

The second phase of expansion in Cascade Springs begins in earnest. While the first phase was about expanding the footprint of the town and ensuring its security, the second phase is all about building it up even further – new infrastructure, new facilities, and all the growth in population and trade and guard forces needed to exploit it. Arik Halfshav has stepped in to help lead and coordinate this phase of the growth allowing his family members to help where they are most talented.

* Countess Carita Darkwater is employing her considerable knowledge of Stewardship and experience from rebuilding Darkwater to oversee construction of the docks and warehouses, as well as any other necessary facilities in the city, to transform this small shrine town into something befitting its growing size.

* Nightingale and Softest Whisper Gianna is opening a branch of the famed Bard's College in Cascade Spring with the understanding it focus and promote northern arts and storytelling traditions while bringing talents from all over the Compact.

* Sven, Vincenzo, Perronne, Bethany, Lore, and Draven are all taking advantage of agreements with House Halfshav to expand their business to Cascade Springs and open storefronts with warehouses for their trade. Reduced rent and taxes with the only requirement being to employ or train Halfshav commoners.

* Brianna, Ajax, Thena, and Rowenova are all providing security for the trade of Cascade Springs as well as the sudden influx of activity during construction of all of these shops and infrastructure. Brianna has the Cascade Springs Guard (#367) to assist her as she is Captain of the Guard for this growing town. Mirk has also instructed Halfshavs Troop Patrols (#369) to assist the Knights of Solace in defending the Great Road traffic during this time.

* High Lady Donella Redrain is working with the Sword of Farhaven Dame Morrighan in bringing members of the Crafters Guild of Arx to Cascade Springs. One speaks to the people while the other creates a unique design to be sold in shops to the pilgrims that come to the Shrine of Mangata.

* Lord Mirk Halfshav and Lady Acantha Clearlake attempt to build confidence in the shrinetown of Cascade Springs so as to make it a desirable place to live and fill out its growing buildings.

After his leadership of the first section of the expansion, Mirk is stepping back to focus on influence instead of direct leadership. He's spreading the word of Cascade Springs, to merchants who might bring wealth, to commoners who would be hired as builders or farmers or other laborers the project will need, selling everyone on the merits of the place and building a grand vision of the future of Cascade Springs.

Countess Carita Darkwater has done much for Darkwater and in so doing has learned just who to talk to and how to organize a project and how to get things done efficiently while doing her own projects. For Cascade Springs she'll help by talking to those people of influence that can get the docks placed in just the right location for trade on the river. She's personally investing her own money into the project, to show her faith in House Halfshav.

Gianna will be directing the construction of the Bard's College. Well, not in a get-your-hands-dirty kind of way. Just organizing the traits the building will need to have (acoustics, acoustics, acoustics) and how many bard blue banners will need to go up and so on. She'll also have to select some talent from her pool to entice over thataway to run the dang place.

Vincenzo is investing in the Cascade Springs project to the tune of 100,000 silver and 200 economic writs. The intent is to build a second shop in Cascade Springs, and send his best steamstress North to head up the operation. She will be producing his designs while learning the fashion sensibilities of the locals and starting to incorporate that into her work. She's also going to be sending the best apprentices, hired locally, back to Arx to train under Vincenzo. The idea being to provide Northern talent opportunities to study under a Lycene tailor and train them up to be successes on their own and ship them back to the North.

As per contract with the Halfshavs, Ajax is working under the Commander of Lady Brianna in setting up Caravans to the town. Along the way Ajax is using silver and resources to attract additional independent sellswords for protection to take the entire weight off the local Garrison. Ajax speaks Northern Shav fluently to help avoid particular mishaps of miscommunication but for most part is just trying to keep everyone coordinated and the goods moving.

Perronne has been hired to put together a trade fair and entice merchants to visit, trade, and invest in Cascade Springs. She is most enthusiastic about this task, and will be contacting the merchants she knows to explain the economic advantages to having a thriving trade hub in Halfshav lands. For the trade fair, she's looking to highlight both local goods AND local purses - bringing in a variety of vendors of attractive trade items the North doesn't see very often for the locals to buy, while ensuring locals have the chance to display their best goods and argue their case for building new exchanges so that the Oathlands and South can receive those goods at profitable prices. To bolster the pitch, she's even purchasing and setting up her own trading house to run in Cascade Springs, having been promised a discount on the land/building, and reduced tariffs and tolls on select goods for the next two years.

The Bruvir family (Draven, Nova, and Flop) have put together 500 styled (economic styled) with which they start up a second home with a shop front in Cascade Springs. They ultimately combine their Alchemy and Medicine (Draven) along with their Security and Survival (Nova & Flop) for a thriving business which hopefully improves the living conditions of their purchasing patrons.
Besides this, Nova and Flop routinely participate in security work around the Halfshav township, too, making sure to be threat detectors/deterrants of the highest degree and team up to consistently report their observant findings!

Bethany brings with her the considerable weight of the Mercier trade family, who will be using Cascade Springs as a trading hub through which they'll be able to expand to new, totally untapped markets in the north. Having supervised the initial phase of construction, Bethany knows the nuts and bolts of the nascent city well enough to make sure that her family has every possible advantage, something she will use to entice them there.

Brianna will be taking care of the military presence in Cascade Springs, trying to keep people who are working and building safe. The family has employed various sellswords and has gathered a small troop to assist. There will be patrols through the area, keeping an eye out for people who shouldn't be on site, with guards stationed at buildings and build sites.

With prior agreements having been made with the Crafter's Guild, Morrighan's role is that of Assistant Guildmaster and Seamstress. She gathers members of the Guild, and with the help of Princess-Consort Donella Redrain (who does most of the talking), conveys the benefits and deal to those willing to uproot and make the move to the new township in the Northlands. Secondly, the dame is hard at work, creating a stunning piece to represent and honor both Cascade Springs and the Goddess Mangata. In a variety of sizes for toddlers up to adults, Morrighan provides hooded cloaks made of the finest wool found in the Northlands, dyed in a swirling sea-hued gradation, and lined with sumptuous white fur. The hem and edges are embellished with silver embroidery taking the form of crashing waves, and upon the back is an intricately embroidered silver emblem: an image of two streams coming to meet as one, and in the background is a mountain region with the sun beginning to rise over them with Mangata's likeness found in the sky. It's completed with a clasp of faceted aquamarine set in a pewter setting, shaped into a drop of water.

Vercyn is going to set up shop in Cascade Springs itself with a veritable army of messengers. He means to co-ordinate the efforts of the expansion of cascade springs, sending word and receiving it from his central location. He wants to make certain that things run at peak efficency and so they are well informed of any emergencies or shortage of workers or supplies.

Lady Acantha Clearlake has been asked to help with the more Diplomatic things concerning Cascade Springs. She's also good with campaigning on why it's a good place to visit/move/pilgrimage to. She's going to promote the township. She's also going to provide silver and social writs to make sure things go smoothly with the talking. Why should people move there? It is secure, it has trade, there are jobs, and new goods from the Compact. Why should people trade with the town? It's on the river, it's safer than the great road, and we secure trade routes to and from the shrine town. Also the largest shrine in the northlands to Mangata is there so it is also a pilgrimage site.

Per the deal with Halfshav, Lore is investing money and resources into a warehouse and storefront where Artiglio can sell and trade their goods and materials with a people they don't often have access to. Artiglio can expect a reduced rate on rents and import/export tariffs for two years, and will further invest additional resources into making the warehouse/storefront look more appealing as well as bring in some early goods to get a jumpstart on sales. Extra resources have also been invested into spreading word of this new trading hub and the store carrying special and exotic goods and materials. She is looking to set up an Artiglio cousin to run the operation but will be hiring locals for general labor and to apprentice in the merchant trade.

Dame Thena sends a number of veteran Knights of Solace to guard the supply trains to Cascade Springs, and to train the guard and other troops in the finer points of guarding the roads. She also donates silver from the Solace coffers.

Once notable for charitable works in the lowers, Donella attempts to help the effort by speaking to craftspeople known to live and/or work there of the advantages of life in a new settlement. It's cold in the north, but the air is fresh and clean, and the coin flows at a higher rate where there are not so many competitors for business. More space for families to grow, and for apprentices and journeymen to establish themselves. Better to be a big fish in a smaller pond, than a minnow in a reeking, massive fen.

Draven does his absoulte best to help Scout Rowenova, the best Wife ever, set up their home and their shop in Cascade Springs. He has already gotten his documentation on what herbs are in the area, so he is using the data to get a good idea on how to help people the most, with that.

As a representative of his family and their brewery that has up until now largely only been serving their drinks in Whitehold proper, Sven is investing time, effort and resources(400 econ) in making sure that visitors and residents in Cascade Springs will have access to some of the best spirits in the north.

Cascade Springs is becoming the fastest growing, most significant new settlement in all of the Northlands, and Halfshav lands are expanding enormously in terms of economic strength because of its tremendous growth and improvement. The security of the town, despite the strength of Halfshav forces, was by no means guaranteed. Perhaps the single greatest drawback of the Great Road is how swiftly powerful shav forces can travel along it, and it is a testament to the skill of Brianna, Ajax, Thena, and Rowenova that both the town and the roads leading to it stay secure. The fact the town grows in the wild, uninhibited Northlands without routine friendly brawls turning into something much more serious is a further sign of their great influence.

Waves of crafters and artisans, representatives of the Crafters Guild of Arx, head to Cascade Springs at the behest of Dame Morrighan and Princess-Consort Donella Redrain. The booming nature of Cascade Springs does put housing at a premium, and the amount of craftsmen coming up from Arx lets Cascade Springs almost keep up with demand, though it's still quite tight.

Carita uses her experience in rebuilding Darkwater masterfully, which is most visible in working with the different Northlands merchants who are starting the different businesses that will keep contributing to long term growth of Cascade Springs, particularly the families from far more distant parts of the Compact. Among those many merchants and businessmen and women of the Compact are Sven, Vincenzo, Perronne, Bethany, Lore, and Draven- each of whom are helping grow their own interests there.

Softest Whisper Gianna opening a branch of the Bard's College in Cascade Springs is wildly popular, as the Northlands have long had a disproportionately high representation among bards historically. The college branch opening is praised throughout the Northlands, and taken as a sign of the Whisper House's esteem, which is much appreciated.

As word spreads from Acantha's and Mirk's propaganda efforts, people from all over the Compact are coming to have a look at the town. Of course, whether the tone can sustain its growth and support the booming population it has long term is an open question, but for now it's tremendously successful.