Captain Genaro Posted March 6, 2017 Previously: New Arrivals and Old Rivalries Lavalette Bakery The Beginning of the End An Unexpected Reunion Unfortuantely, not even a RNTC major can outrun fate for long. Comments and criticism are welcome. "Eight, nine, ten," counted Philip before he suddenly gasped as he almost lost his balance. Ever since he arrived at Lavalette Philip had been practicing holding his breath, his current record being forty-three seconds, for Philip was part of several shipments of former prisoners of the Order. Men who, for the most part, hadn't done anything worse than offend the wrong person at the wrong time. So when the RNTC official arrived at the prison with the offer to commune their sentence in exchange for five years of hard labor, almost all eagerly signed up. After all, Philip told himself at the time, anything is better than rotting away in one of the Order's prisons for the next fifteen years. But after arriving in Lavalette, Philip started to have second thoughts. You see, to get peppercorn from the inland plantations to the mills, warehouses, and docks of Lavalette, the company was building canals and roads, but until the infrastructure could be complete, they sent barrels of the stuff down the river. Genius and foolproof is not for the rocks, banks, and shallows where the barrels perpetually got caught. Each day, Philip and his cohorts would wake up, roll up their trousers, grab a six-foot pole, and wade into the river, searching for stuck barrels to dislodge. Even in the dry season, it was dangerous work. Piranhas and alligators tended to stick to the warmer waters deeper in the jungle, but it wasn't uncommon for men to be bitten by deadly river snakes, to lose their footing on a slippery rock and drown, or to just disappear, possibly from natives, possibly from drowning, or possibly from one of the river sirens that lure unsuspecting workers to their watery grave (NOTE: The RNTC strongly condemns the circulation of these wife-tales and gossip. Lavalette is a wonderful place without the dangers of Indian attack, wild beasts, or imaginary phantoms. For more information, visit TravelLavalette.com or contact your local RNTC representative). Hold Your Breath by Capt. Genaro, on Flickr Fleeing into the jungle didn't seem like much of an escape to Philip, and he still wasn't willing to surrender his relative freedom to return to the Order's dungeons. Still, as someone who wasn't able to swim very well, holding your breath seemed like a valuable skill for a river-worker. And that's what Philip practiced every day as he pushed the massive barrels of peppercorn off the rocks and into the center of the fast-flowing river. But this one barrel simply wouldn't budge Push as he might, it just seemed to get stuck more and more. Not one to give up, Philip waded closer to the barrel. Odd, Philip mused, that's a rather expensive looking boot, what is it doing in the river? Moving forward a few more feet, Philip's question was answered when he saw the leg the boot was still attached to. Philip froze for a few moments, staring at the long-dead body of the RNTC officer. I better tell somebody, Philip thought, but not until I get these barrels loose. Hold Your Breath by Capt. Genaro, on Flickr Without figs or barrels: Hold Your Breath by Capt. Genaro, on Flickr Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mesabi Posted March 6, 2017 Very nice build, I really like how you did the jungle. The river is nice too. And I really like your story as well. I don't think the title is appropriate though, that river looks knee deep at best Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Elostirion Posted March 6, 2017 Lovely work. Great foliage and amazing water. One of the best I have seen from you so far. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Maxim I Posted March 6, 2017 Kinda disappointed here... I really hoped to see an existing website when going to visitlavallete.com... Anyway, great build! Excellent job on the nature elements in this build! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kai NRG Posted March 6, 2017 Great little build here Captain Genaro, the jungle looks bright and inviting and the clear plates over tan give a great shallow water effect! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Garmadon Posted March 7, 2017 The plot thickens - and wow, that mayor didn't last very long! Very nice build, as the others have said, that shallow water looks great, and the jungle foliage is quite nice as well, the pineapple and SNOTed rocks being my favorite details If I had one nitpick, it be that the rather flat leafy section of the trees seems to indicate desert/Arabian type trees rather than jungle-ish ones, but getting trees to look right can definitely be pretty tricky! I'd suggest placing a round brown brick or a couple of studs between every two or three leaf pieces to make the top appear more roundish. Great idea with sending out men to free the barrels from the rocks too - an excellent way to combine practical aspects of running Lavalette with the on-going story! Looking forward to more! On 3/6/2017 at 2:54 AM, Maxim I said: Kinda disappointed here... I really hoped to see an existing website when going to visitlavallete.com... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bregir Posted March 7, 2017 Great story - it seems like using convicts for labour is getting quite popular these days! I like the idea of floating the barrels down river, and having people ensure their passage, although they must be laden relatively lightly to swim in such shallow water. Your rockwork is lovely, although I have one gripe, being the 2x2 brick which open bottom we see very clearly. putting a corner plate on its bottom could fix this. I like the jungle too, and the technique for the tree-trunks is quite nice, especially the different slopes around the roots. I might well steal that! The studs give a nice texture to the bark, and I wonder if one could make thicker trees with a similar technique... Garmadon may be right about the crowns of the trees being a bit flat. Sad news for the Major, though, but I can't say I really liked him... Seems like the Order is tightening its grip on Lavalette! EXCITING! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Captain Genaro Posted March 11, 2017 On 3/5/2017 at 6:29 PM, Mesabi said: Very nice build, I really like how you did the jungle. The river is nice too. And I really like your story as well. I don't think the title is appropriate though, that river looks knee deep at best I'm glad you like it. As for the river, you only see the workers in the shallow banks as the barrels flow just fine in the deeper portions (at least that's my excuse). On 3/5/2017 at 11:17 PM, Elostirion said: Lovely work. Great foliage and amazing water. One of the best I have seen from you so far. That's some very high praise, thank you. On 3/6/2017 at 0:54 AM, Maxim I said: Kinda disappointed here... I really hoped to see an existing website when going to visitlavallete.com... Anyway, great build! Excellent job on the nature elements in this build! Our IT team informs me that just as soon as someone invents the internet we'll be up and running. Just give it a few centuries or so. And thank you for the compliment. On 3/6/2017 at 0:13 PM, Kai NRG said: Great little build here Captain Genaro, the jungle looks bright and inviting and the clear plates over tan give a great shallow water effect! I'm glad you like it. I'm pretty pleased with the way the water turned out. On 3/7/2017 at 6:31 AM, Garmadon said: The plot thickens - and wow, that mayor didn't last very long! Very nice build, as the others have said, that shallow water looks great, and the jungle foliage is quite nice as well, the pineapple and SNOTed rocks being my favorite details If I had one nitpick, it be that the rather flat leafy section of the trees seems to indicate desert/Arabian type trees rather than jungle-ish ones, but getting trees to look right can definitely be pretty tricky! I'd suggest placing a round brown brick or a couple of studs between every two or three leaf pieces to make the top appear more roundish. Great idea with sending out men to free the barrels from the rocks too - an excellent way to combine practical aspects of running Lavalette with the on-going story! Looking forward to more! Well, the mayor's doing just fine (if a little hung over); it's the major who got canned. Hopefully his replacement is a bit better. I see what you mean about the trees, and I will be sure to take it into account next time I use trees in my build. I'm glad you like the story as well. On 3/7/2017 at 7:20 AM, Bregir said: Great story - it seems like using convicts for labour is getting quite popular these days! I like the idea of floating the barrels down river, and having people ensure their passage, although they must be laden relatively lightly to swim in such shallow water. Your rockwork is lovely, although I have one gripe, being the 2x2 brick which open bottom we see very clearly. putting a corner plate on its bottom could fix this. I like the jungle too, and the technique for the tree-trunks is quite nice, especially the different slopes around the roots. I might well steal that! The studs give a nice texture to the bark, and I wonder if one could make thicker trees with a similar technique... Garmadon may be right about the crowns of the trees being a bit flat. Sad news for the Major, though, but I can't say I really liked him... Seems like the Order is tightening its grip on Lavalette! EXCITING! I didn't even consider the rock issue, thank you for pointing that out. I'm sure that you could make thicker trees using this technique, though you might need to experiment to help give the trunk a round shape. Hopefully you'll like the major's replacement a bit better. And it's a little premature to give the Order a victory here... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kolonialbeamter Posted March 11, 2017 Nooooo, the major is no more. At first I thought he was the one holding his breath, helping with the stuck barrels... curse the Order <-- apparently some mystical whatever force prevents me from posting this without strike-through... hmm... I better don't go near a river in the next days. CG, this is a cool build - and the story really accelerates. I love the rocks underneath the water surface, and that there's caves underneath the riverbanks. The foliage is also very well done - I particularly like the 'plant wall' on the far right, behind the tree. Also cool that you picked up the idea of barrels floating down the river. Keep'em builds coming! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
blackdeathgr Posted March 11, 2017 A bright idea, nicely executed! As story telling is a vital part of BoBS, I am anxiously waiting for the results after examining the dead RNTC soldier's body... (And no, I am not a cannibal) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Brandon Stark Posted March 11, 2017 I think you did a very good job on portraying the jungle. I can't wait for the next installment. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ayrlego Posted March 12, 2017 I saw this when you posted but didn't have time to comment, so it's good that I got back to it to say I love it! The vegetation looks great, as does the rock work and overhang and the water. Overall just a really well presented and colorful little scene! I hope Philip is allowed to 'acquire' that pineapple after such a hard day's work! On 3/8/2017 at 1:20 AM, Bregir said: it seems like using convicts for labour is getting quite popular these days! Yeah it's all the rage, I think colonies that start off this way have a bright future ahead of them.... but then I might be a bit biased on this.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Captain Genaro Posted March 15, 2017 On 3/11/2017 at 5:49 AM, Kolonialbeamter said: Nooooo, the major is no more. At first I thought he was the one holding his breath, helping with the stuck barrels... curse the Order <-- apparently some mystical whatever force prevents me from posting this without strike-through... hmm... I better don't go near a river in the next days. CG, this is a cool build - and the story really accelerates. I love the rocks underneath the water surface, and that there's caves underneath the riverbanks. The foliage is also very well done - I particularly like the 'plant wall' on the far right, behind the tree. Also cool that you picked up the idea of barrels floating down the river. Keep'em builds coming! Don't shed too many tears for the Major, he was merely a pawn in a much greater game. That you for the compliments. On 3/11/2017 at 0:13 PM, Brandon Stark said: I think you did a very good job on portraying the jungle. I can't wait for the next installment. Thank you for the compliment. On 3/11/2017 at 11:55 AM, blackdeathgr said: A bright idea, nicely executed! As story telling is a vital part of BoBS, I am anxiously waiting for the results after examining the dead RNTC soldier's body... (And no, I am not a cannibal) I'm glad you like it. The results will be released shortly. On 3/12/2017 at 4:19 AM, Ayrlego said: I saw this when you posted but didn't have time to comment, so it's good that I got back to it to say I love it! The vegetation looks great, as does the rock work and overhang and the water. Overall just a really well presented and colorful little scene! I hope Philip is allowed to 'acquire' that pineapple after such a hard day's work! Thank you, I'm glad you took the time to comment. I'm pleased to see that you like it so much. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Captain Dee Posted March 19, 2017 Neat way of illustrating a unique concept. I love all the dense overhanging vegetation, and the various bushes growing up in the background look nice. The horizontal rockwork is good and the clear water is refreshing to look at. You've posed the barrels and the body very convincingly. Again, this is a very creative and unique concept - you seem to have a way of developing intriguing stories. Keep it up. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
