[CH V-E] Eslandola Jones and the Lost City of Gold (now with Pictures!)

[Capt Wolf]

With apologies to George Lucas and Steven Spielberg...

 

The year is 617. Mardier forces are looking for the rumored Lost City of Gold in an effort to fund their war effort against Eslandola. Without the gold, Mardier’s war effort is doomed. And so Eslandola has sent Thaddeus Calvo, an adventurer and sometimes spy, to find the lost city before Mardier does. In the jungles of an island east of the Prio Seas, Calvo has risked life and limb to retrieve a golden idol with clues to the location of the lost city. But as he emerges from the depths of the jungle, he is surprised by his oft-times rival, Dr. René Belóche, an Oleon adventurer now working in the employ of Mardier.

“Eslandola Jones … we meet again!” exclaimed René. (“Jones” was one of Calvo’s aliases, and although René knew Calvo’s real name, he enjoyed calling him this in a mocking fashion.) René was accompanied by several local warriors of the Hovito tribe. “Quite a situation you’re in, eh?” Rene extended his hand. “I’ll take that idol now. Once again what was briefly yours is now mine.”

Calvo reached for his bag, and the Hovito warriors readied their spears in case he pulled a weapon. But all he did was reluctantly hand over the golden idol. The Hovitos thought René had retrieved it for them, but Calvo knew René would steal it from them as well. “Too bad the Hovitos don’t know you like I do, René,” said Calvo.

“True,” replied René. “You could warn them … if only you spoke Hovitos!” René then raised the idol high to display it to the Hovitos.

 

 

As their attention was diverted to the idol, Calvo bolted for his boat back at the river. With a quick word and motion, René commanded the Hovito warriors to go after him. Calvo narrowly made his escape.

 

 

Spoiler

 Overview of the 32x32 build

 

 

 

 

* * *

 Back in Nova Terreli, Calvo met with one of his contacts, Salejandro, and with Calvo’s longtime friend, Madame Marian Villeneuve. With Salejandro’s help, Calvo was able to discern the meaning of the symbols he had seen on the golden idol. “I know where it is, Marian! The Lost City of Gold -- I can find it in a week,” exclaimed Calvo.

“You mean WE can find it in a week,” stated Marian firmly.

“What? You can’t go with me,” replied Calvo.

“Oh yes I can. After all the adventures I’ve funded with little in return, until we find the Lost City of Gold, I’m your G** D*** partner!”

And so Calvo and Marian found passage on the Bantu Wind, a ship heading east. Captain Katanga looked like the sort of fellow who had been through a few close scrapes and knew how to smuggle something past the authorities. Now Calvo and Marian needed Katanga to smuggle them past Mardier ships on patrol in the Prio Seas. But Mardier had their spies as well, and René knew Calvo’s methods. As the Bantu Wind reached the far eastern waters of the Prio Seas, René was waiting, intercepting them with a Mardier gunship. Katanga alerted Calvo to hide.

When the Bantu Wind was boarded by René and his Mardier companions, Katanga surrendered to protect his ship and crew. The Mardier troops searched the ship for Calvo, but could not find him. “Where is he?” demanded the Mardierian colonel.

“I killed him,” replied Katanga. “He was of no value to me. Take whatever you want from my cargo, but leave the lady; she has value where we are headed.”

The colonel was incensed. “We will take what we want, pirate scum,” he declared, “and then we will decide whether or not to blow your ship out of the water!” The colonel pulled Marian away from Katanga, but René took custody of her instead. René had known her in younger days and had always been jealous of her relationship with Calvo.

As soon as the Mardierians were off the ship, Katanga ordered his men to find Calvo, still hidden on the ship. But he could not be found. While watching the Mardierian gunship depart, one of Katanga’s men found him. “There he is!” he exclaimed, pointing aft of the Mardierian ship. Calvo was in the water, his whip wrapped around the rudder!

 

 

* * *

 René had also discerned the location of the Lost City of Gold from the clues on the golden idol, and soon they reached their destination. René and the Mardierians made their way into the jungle, and Calvo made his way ashore and followed them. As they slowed down, Calvo diverted around them through the jungle and found a suitable spot for an ambush, a small pass through a ridge.

“Hello René!” yelled Calvo from the top of the ridge.

“Eslandola Jones?!” René queried in exasperation. “How? What are you doing here?”

“I don’t care about the gold anymore,” said Calvo. “I came for the lady.”

But before Calvo could rescue Marian from René, a few Mardierian soldiers quietly climbed the ridge and apprehended the Eslandolan.

René and the Mardierians proceeded through the jungle with Calvo and Marian in tow. Their objective should be over this next ridge. And when they reached the top of the ridge, they could see the ruins of an ancient city in the valley below. They descended into the ruins, and there they saw a golden chest upon an altar. René had Calvo and Marian tied up so they could not interfere. With the Mardierian colonel at his side, René prepared to open the golden chest.

“Marian,” whispered Calvo, “whatever you do, don’t look at the treasure, and definitely don’t touch it!”

 

 

For Calvo had also discerned not only the location of the Lost City of Gold, but also its curse.

And so, when René opened the chest and ran his hands through its contents of gold coins, he and the colonel, and the other Mardierian soldiers looking on, were turned to gold.

 

 

Spoiler

Overview of the 16x16 build

 

 

 

* * *

 

And so Mardier was denied the treasure to fund its war effort. Calvo and Marian stole the Mardierian gunship and made it back to civilization. And as for the location of the Lost City of Gold and its curse? That will stay a secret. Calvo reported that the Mardierian efforts to find it were in vain, as the rumored city did not exist.

 

[Legostone]

Fantastic idea and execution! I was hoping to see an Indiana Jones reference in this Challenge :D

[Bodi]

Eslandola Jones It's great to see the scenes of the movie built in lego. I like the end too, golden soldiers! 

[Capt Wolf]

16 hours ago, Legostone said:

Fantastic idea and execution! I was hoping to see an Indiana Jones reference in this Challenge :D

Thanks! It was one of the first things I thought of for this category. I was happy that I was able to work in some of my existing characters in doing so.

15 hours ago, Bodi said:

Eslandola Jones It's great to see the scenes of the movie built in lego. I like the end too, golden soldiers! 

Thanks! Building the first scene was my favorite. The end was something of a departure from the movie, but not too much, so I think it worked. I wanted to use some forced perspective and use gold microfigs in the background for other soldiers, but my foreground elements took up too much space. If I could have done the last scene in 32x32 it would have looked much more like the movie scene.

[Ayrlego]

Great scenes and nice Indiana Jones reference. The Eslandola Jones minifig is my favourite - so perfect for a 1600's Indiana Jones! The last scene with the soldiers turned to gold is a nice touch as well - great work!

[Capt Wolf]

20 hours ago, Ayrlego said:

Great scenes and nice Indiana Jones reference. The Eslandola Jones minifig is my favourite - so perfect for a 1600's Indiana Jones! The last scene with the soldiers turned to gold is a nice touch as well - great work!

Thanks. It was fun working with the Indiana Jones theme. Glad you like the minifig! I meant to have him holding a coiled whip in the first scene, but then forgot to add it. And I've always enjoyed monochromatic minifigs, so making a couple of gold ones was fun as well.

[Captain Braunsfeld]

Fine story!

Eslandola Jones go!

[Garmadon]

 Very nice builds and story, Capt Wolf, and I agree with Ayrlego, Thaddeus Calvo is such a cool minifig (and character )!  I think my favorite build might be the first as well, the vegetation is great - and the posing - and the tapering off towards the front just makes it so much cooler than just another rectangular base   Clever whip-ride on the second one too, and the ruins - not to mention the golden soldiers (hmm - was Calvo able to take those with him? ) - are excellent too!  Very nice entry overall!

[Bregir]

Nice take on a BoBS-ified version of Indiana Jones. Your 32x32 is a nice jungle build with some very lively posing. I would have liked to see something like rockwork or ruins on the side to break up the jungle, but otherwise, it is a really nice build.

The submarine scene... erhm... I mean warship scene... is nice too, although the vessel doesn't have the finish and style we have come to expect from you :)

The last scene is beautiful in its simplicity, and I am really impressed how you managed to get two photos out of such a little scene. Very good!

Your pictures appear a little yellow and grainy (especially the first one), as if taken with a simple camera at bad light? You could try correcting white-balance with a free program like GIMP or something along those lines, but preferably, better lighting setup should probably be on your wishlist.

Overall, a very nice entry, which is only better pictures and a bit of finish from being excellent.

[Capt Wolf]

On ‎5‎/‎17‎/‎2017 at 0:37 PM, Captain Braunsfeld said:

Fine story!

Eslandola Jones go!

Run, Indy! Run!

On ‎5‎/‎17‎/‎2017 at 7:45 PM, Garmadon said:

 Very nice builds and story, Capt Wolf, and I agree with Ayrlego, Thaddeus Calvo is such a cool minifig (and character )!  I think my favorite build might be the first as well, the vegetation is great - and the posing - and the tapering off towards the front just makes it so much cooler than just another rectangular base   Clever whip-ride on the second one too, and the ruins - not to mention the golden soldiers (hmm - was Calvo able to take those with him? ) - are excellent too!  Very nice entry overall!

Thanks! I had a lot of fun working Thaddeus Calvo into this. He has become quite the interesting character when I use him. And thanks for commenting on the tapered shape of the base in the first build. I was attempting to emphasize the focus of those chasing "Jones". As for the third build, alas, those gold people were just too heavy! (At least, that what Calvo says...) 

21 hours ago, Bregir said:

The last scene is beautiful in its simplicity, and I am really impressed how you managed to get two photos out of such a little scene. Very good!

Thanks! I was afraid there wasn't enough to that MOC, but the other scenes definitely wouldn't fit in 16x16.

21 hours ago, Bregir said:

The submarine scene... erhm... I mean warship scene... is nice too, although the vessel doesn't have the finish and style we have come to expect from you :)

Time constraints and piece shortages. It's a different style from my usual ships, too. But since Calvo took the ship in the end, it should re-appear at some point after a little more work has been done on it.

21 hours ago, Bregir said:

Your 32x32 is a nice jungle build with some very lively posing. I would have liked to see something like rockwork or ruins on the side to break up the jungle, but otherwise, it is a really nice build.

In retrospect, yes, some rockwork at the back would have been good.

21 hours ago, Bregir said:

Your pictures appear a little yellow and grainy (especially the first one), as if taken with a simple camera at bad light?

Bad lighting on this one. Again, time constraints. I shouldn't leave so much to the last minute.

Thanks for all the feedback!