[OL-FB1] Southern Isle: Meeting with Nightheart

[Franco Clarke]

In one of the many packed taverns of Bastion, a pirate and an officer of Oleon sat deep in conversation.  Erwin recalled of his recent successes at the terrabanks, whilst Nightheart talked of how he had been hunted, so far unsuccessfully, by a selection of Corries.

'Now Nightheart, as much as I enjoy talking to someone who shares my view on Corrington, I doubt you arranged to meet me in this grotty establishment for just a conversation' Erwin said.

Nightheart's scared face contorted into mock insult 'How dare you call this bar grotty, it be the crew's favourite tavern!'

Erwin rolled his eyes 'Contrary to popular belief, Officers of Oleon do actually have jobs to do, I currently have a shipment of cannon in Stingray's hold which are expected, so if we could be as swift as possible'

'Argh ok then' Nightheart conceded, reaching into his coat pocket and pulling out a tatty piece of parchment, 'I hear that you imperials like adding islands to your collection'

Intrigued, Erwin replied 'Indeed the empire could always use more islands to build bases on'

Nightheart unrolled the parchment, to reveal it was in fact a map, marking a previously undiscovered island far too the south of the sea of storms.

'We found the place once when we got a little over enthusiastic chasing a merchantman,'  Nightheart commented, 'It's a bit too far out of the way to much use as a hide-away.'

Erwin examined the map, noting the exact position of the new island, 'It could make a perfect base for exploring the surrounding areas for more islands. As far as I know no other nations have islands anyway near there, so it would be a great asset'

'Well as I said, it is no use to me, feel free to take it, the reputation you gain for discovering it might help you gain more support against Corrington'

Their conversation was interrupted by the arrival of a heavy cutlass blade on the table. Erwin looked up the blade to see it was being held by a Corrington officer.

'I officially claim that Island for the Empire of Corrington,' he barked out in a harsh voice.

Erwin considered drawing his sword and fighting it out, but then noticed the squad of Corries standing behind the officer.

The man turned to Nightheart, 'I hereby arrest you Pirate, for your crimes against Corrington.  I hope you like ropes, for you will be soon hanging from one!'

Erwin noticed that the other inhabitants of the bar had fallen silent and were beginning to look rather angry.

However the Corrington Officer obviously hadn't noticed as he rambled, 'Well Pirate you have indeed avoided the law for long enough, but Corrington has finally caught you. Now that I have captured the elusive Nightheart, I shall surely be promoted, probably to admiral, or perhaps even further.'

At this point he was interrupted by the gruff voice of one of the sea rats in the bar 'We put up with you imperial types visiting, but if you think you can still exercise your wretched laws here you've got another thing coming.'

The Officer turned to face the rat, irritated by the interruption 'How dare you! For your action you will arrested too, don't you know who I am?'

Before he could finish his rant, the entire population of the bar set upon the Corries using bottles, swords, their fists or whatever else they could lay their hands on.  Erwin drew his sword, but the map had been snatched by the officer before he could react. The Corrington marines overturned tables and chairs and set up a perimeter which they began defending against the mob of Sea Rats. This was working quite well until a smuggler grabbed one of the marine's rifles and shot through the chandelier on the ceiling. It plummeted to the floor, scattering the Corrish perimeter. Nightheart drew his battered sabre and turned to Erwin.

'It'd probably be best if you left, the boys might get a little over enthusiastic and think you're a Corrie!'

Erwin agreed and left by the back door as Nightheart leapt at the officer, sword in hand.  As he walked back to the Stingray one of the windows of the tavern burst open and a Corrington Marine was thrown through. Looks like they weren't doing very well.

 

As the dawn broke the Commodore watched his squadron through his one good eye. Although Nightheart had eluded them once again, they had gained a useful map and they weren't far behind Nightheart anyway.

He signalled with his figures too his captains who were standing to attention on the deck of his command ship.

'We will deploy two Merchant Raiders and one cutter to secure the southern Island. You may take the map, be sure to leave as soon as is possible'

The respected officers saluted and left for their ships.

'Another Raider will be dispatched to shadow Nightheart, return before the end of the month and report his movements. Avoid engagement by any means.'

Another one of the captains saluted and walked toward the prow of the ship. The commodore turned to the remaining officers.

'The rest of us will return to the main fleet, I need to talk to the Admiral'

 

This latest story was inspired by a scene in a certain pirate film, and allowed me to do some more night photography. I think these ones came out ok, and hopefully you can tell what is going on.

The build enabled me to experiment with one of those fancy tiled roofs I have seen being made, and also play around with floor planking.

Finally it was great fun arranging all the figure for the fight picture, and I've added some daylight photos so you can see the details a little better.

Hopefully you liked my little build, and I will hopefully be continuing the story tomorrow. 

 

[Kwatchi]

That is a fun little tavern brawl scene, but a better supporting story.  Can't wait until the next chapter.

[Kolonialbeamter]

Cool bar scene - loving that shady ambiance - and a great and fun read as always, Franco.

Next chapter, please 

Keep it up!

[Garmadon]

As the others have said, you've done a great job with the night scenes once again, and the yellow candle light works very well!   Awesome job with that fight scene too, and as always, your stories are a pleasure to read and follow!   Looking forward to more! 

[Franco Clarke]

17 hours ago, Kolonialbeamter said:

Cool bar scene - loving that shady ambiance - and a great and fun read as always, Franco.

Next chapter, please 

Keep it up!

Thank you, I might rejig this bar into a full building at some point, just didn't have the parts at the moment.

16 hours ago, Garmadon said:

As the others have said, you've done a great job with the night scenes once again, and the yellow candle light works very well!   Awesome job with that fight scene too, and as always, your stories are a pleasure to read and follow!   Looking forward to more! 

Thanks, I find that interior scenes work quite well, since artificial light is easier to replicate than natural moonlight. I'm glad you liked this first section, and the next stage is now up.