Old Bridge Inn

[mccoyed]

The Old Bridge Inn rests at the border of Mitgardia and the Historican Crownlands. Its architecture is thus a mixture, and the structure has been rebuilt over and over again. Once, the bridge was wider and the tower fortified with a stone gatehouse. Watchers on the Water used to charge a toll and keep out Mitgardian raiders in times long past. History hangs over the place, but unlike the haunted ruins of other regions, the Old Bridge Inn has remained a place of life, change, and the congress of ideas and strangers from all over the land.

 

Alva Tyrnsdottir (remember her?) fought the Algus in northern Mitgardia and is now on a diplomatic mission to Cedrica to see the new High Queen Ylspeth on behalf of Asbjorn, Jarl of Arnarvhal. However, Alva has never been this far south or east. Thankfully, Barling has been far abroad and even has maps to help guide their way.

 

Alva and Barling consult a map of the roads from the Old Bridge Inn, trying to determine the safest route.

Sturlan is reluctant to leave the inn, however. They had rested here for a few days and he managed to meet himself a young barmaid, the inkeeper's daughter, who he took a shine to. He pleads with her to wait for him to come back. It's only going to be a few weeks... months? Maybe a year. Two at most!

 

Times have been hard in Historica lately. Maybe things are changing, but not fast enough for this man. Maimed escaping the Algus at Hardhearth (remember that?), he is now a beggar... a very low position for a proud Mitgardian to sink to. He lost his arm to Algus ice magic, but a passing shield-maiden offers him a much needed coin. The pies at Old Bridge Inn are famous and now he can afford one.

Times haven't been tough on everyone, of course. The rich fellow on the balcony doesn't have to worry about affording pies. He can afford all the pies and he passes the beggar from Hardhearth every day and offers him nothing. A merchant and traveler from Kaliphlin, he finds the cold of Mitgardia quite refreshing... especially with a nice glass of brandy. Just don't tell him that he would have to a lot further north to experience the REAL cold of Mitgardia.

Below him, a young girl steals some fish for the cats. She'll get a scolding later, but the look on Mr. Whisker's face is worth it.

 

 

Unbeknownst to the other travelers and locals, two very special women have been passing through. Astrid is still young and like Alva, she has never been this far from home. The colors of the flowers delight her, and her bodyguard Ylva cannot help but smile just a little even though she knows that if the wrong person should notice them, their perilous flight from the far-off kingdom of Blomgard will only get even more dangerous. Ylva is unused to humans who are so comfortable with having dwarves around. She and Astrid come from a land where dwarves and humans get along quite poorly.

 

Astrid is so delighted with the garden that she doesn't even notice the regal tourney knight approaching the inn behind her. That boy sure does! He's never seen a sight so inspiring in his short life!

The knight hopes that the crowning of Queen Ylspeth will reignite the floundering tourney circuit throughout Historica. All he has is his war-gear and his unadorned, but steady mount. Should the tourneys resume, he stands to win fame and fortune if he can trounce the little knights of the other Guilds. Perhaps that boy over there would squire for him. Every good knight needs a squire...

Another boy, hiding from his mother in the rubble of a bygone time, would be very jealous if he knew what he was missing up above! The fisherman on the dock wouldn't care either way. He lived for fishing, ale, and warm days on the river.

 

 

A rich Avalonian countess surveys her rooms in the tower suite. Who knew such a rustic and barbaric a place as Mitgardia could boast rooms so nicely furnished? Perhaps there was even good wine here. But then, she doubted it.

 

 

This young elven woman appreciates the view. She and her husband seldom travel in human lands and it never ceases to amaze her what the humans are capable of doing with a few handfuls of chiseled rocks. Little does she or anyone else know that a grumpy old minotaur lives below the Inn.

 

Though she is impressed, her husband is not. He preferred the forests and rivers and glades. When he came to human places, he found solace in wine. Now if only the halfling and dwarf at the neighboring table would make less noise! They argue and argue about politics until finally the halfling, scarred and scowling, asks for his opinion to settle the argument. Ugh! Why couldn't they just leave him alone. Of course the Queen was going to reopen diplomatic ties to Nocturnus. It was just a matter of time. What was there to even discuss!

If the poor elven husband only knew that peace and quiet was just a few flights of stairs away. Fresh pies off the oven meant that Lisfala, the proprietress of the Old Bridge Inn, could count on the word to spread. Soon, with Historica hopefully entering a period of peace, that word would spread to every corner of the Guildlands and the Crownlands and travelers would pass through. Maybe then she could make some much needed repairs. As she watched the happy patrons eating and smiling, plans for expansion and renovation flew through her mind.

But where was her daughter? Some day, this would all be hers. She had better not be outside talking to that Arnarvhalan scrub again!

 

The Old Bridge Inn could someday become an important junction in journeys through Mitgardia to the other Guildlands. Already, river boats laden with dwarf-mined ores passed through. Raiders and robbers still plagued the wilderness, meaning it was often unsafe to stop if the cargo was precious. This boat can't stop, it's too risky. Lisfala had seen them approach and lamented that for all the armsmen, mercenaries, and knights that passed through she still didn't have any stable security. Perhaps very soon she'd be able to hire some.

 

Builder's Notes:

This is the second biggest build I've done (first was Anarvhal) and this is actually version 2. The first version was MASSIVE but modular and I couldn't properly attach the parts. This build is inspired by the Cockatrice Inn from The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine and I credit that with getting me back into Lego because after seeing it I just had to build something like it.

I have tried to include some small updates for my previous Mitgardian "storyline" (always pretty loose) and some hints at possible future builds. I was in a hurry and forgot the new Historica logo. Sorry about that!

I still don't have a very good lighting setup, especially for builds this size. Sigh...

Edited July 12, 2017 by mccoyed

[Graham Gidman]

I must commend you on your write-up, it gave such a "life" to the build. 

[TitusV]

A very nice build! I really like the lay-out, with the bridge and the well-built rockwork

Though your half-timbered tudor sections are great as well, I think making the horizontal lines two plates, instead of one, high. This usually looks way better

Another note goes to the roofs in normal yellow. It's something we don't see very often over here, but this build shows that's a real pity!

It's good to see you back, mccoyed

[Gunman]

Nice build mate, one thing I would prefer to be different is the water. (more blue baseplates, connected - I guess you had limited supplies tho)

 

then again, really nice 

[Littleworlds]

Nice MOC! Your Minifigs are really nicely made. Interesting combinations that work very well 

As for the build itself: the layout is really cool, as are the interiors. I would though give the stonework more detail. More different colours, like darker stones, moss here and there; vine growing up them as well perhaps.

The wooden plank railing don't quite work with me btw. I would use tiles except for a couple of studded ones here and there, to create the illusion of actual planks, with different shades of brown to create a weathered look. 

All in all a really cool scene though! 

[mccoyed]

On 7/12/2017 at 2:21 PM, Graham Gidman said:

I must commend you on your write-up, it gave such a "life" to the build. 

Thanks GG.

On 7/12/2017 at 3:26 PM, TitusV said:

A very nice build! I really like the lay-out, with the bridge and the well-built rockwork

Though your half-timbered tudor sections are great as well, I think making the horizontal lines two plates, instead of one, high. This usually looks way better

Another note goes to the roofs in normal yellow. It's something we don't see very often over here, but this build shows that's a real pity!

It's good to see you back, mccoyed

Thanks Tidus. Can you elaborate on what you mean about the tudor section? Not sure if you're saying I can improve that but am interested if so.

12 hours ago, Gunman said:

Nice build mate, one thing I would prefer to be different is the water. (more blue baseplates, connected - I guess you had limited supplies tho)

 

then again, really nice 

Thanks. I agree about the baseplates but totally limited. I have one really big blue plate but it's got the smooth bottom that isn't as thick as a full plate, and it was too small to hold this build. The previous version of it had an irregular plate pattern and it looked too messy.

10 hours ago, Littleworlds said:

Nice MOC! Your Minifigs are really nicely made. Interesting combinations that work very well 

As for the build itself: the layout is really cool, as are the interiors. I would though give the stonework more detail. More different colours, like darker stones, moss here and there; vine growing up them as well perhaps.

The wooden plank railing don't quite work with me btw. I would use tiles except for a couple of studded ones here and there, to create the illusion of actual planks, with different shades of brown to create a weathered look. 

All in all a really cool scene though! 

Yeah I agree about the wooden railing but by then I was out of tiles. Too limited by parts, I think. I may have had enough to break it up a little so I'll consider that next time. Not sure what you mean about the stonework... do you mean the stone buildings or the back side of the build (where the stairs down to the dock is). I think I used different colors of stone, though I think dark bley and light bley should maybe have switched positions. I also tried to incorporate irregular lines and vegetation so I'd like to hear more about what you mean so I know which part you're referring to.

[Littleworlds]

Just now, mccoyed said:

Not sure what you mean about the stonework... do you mean the stone buildings or the back side of the build (where the stairs down to the dock is). I think I used different colors of stone, though I think dark bley and light bley should maybe have switched positions. I also tried to incorporate irregular lines and vegetation so I'd like to hear more about what you mean so I know which part you're referring to.

Ah ok, I try to clarify this: I mean the stone walls in particular. I would consider dark grey and even going towards sand brown tones. The colours so far look still a bit too uniform to me. Good idea btw to use the hinge pieces structure!

[mccoyed]

Just now, Littleworlds said:

Ah ok, I try to clarify this: I mean the stone walls in particular. I would consider dark grey and even going towards sand brown tones. The colours so far look still a bit too uniform to me. Good idea btw to use the hinge pieces structure!

Ah yes. I thought you might have meant this and I kind of agree. The way it went down is I built up the bridge pillars first and those do include some dark bley which I hoped would convey kind of older stone in poorer condition due to the proximity to water. However, looking at it now and with the high contrast in my photography it doesn't really have the effect I wanted anyway. It also doesn't help that I didn't repeat it in the upper buildings at all. I definitely need to experiment with greens and browns in stonework because it looks incredible when people do it right (TitusV for example). Should also focus on smaller, more detailed stuff since I can't photograph builds this size effectively.

Edited July 13, 2017 by mccoyed

[de Gothia]

A nice moc for sure! I really like the different heights in the build! I like the colours in the moc and its nice to see some interior!

[mccoyed]

20 minutes ago, de Gothia said:

A nice moc for sure! I really like the different heights in the build! I like the colours in the moc and its nice to see some interior!

Yeah! My next build is finally going to be some kind of basic keep with an SK style reverse-side open interior. I have to take apart this build first and that is going to take FOREVER.

[TitusV]

@mccoyed

: I left a note on Flickr, which should be clearer  Otherwise, just check out DC's amazing "Detailed Guide to Building a Mediëval Village"

[mccoyed]

I see it. Thanks! Will definitely try that next time!

[Blufiji]

What an awesome concept, reminds me of medieval Paris, where they used to have houses on the bridges of the Seine. The crampness of the build really implies the builder (of the inn) utilized the little bit of space to the max!

[Henjin_Quilones]

This is great, so many scenes packed into one build! It looks very nice. You did a very good job of conveying a sense of life and activity, imbuing these characters with personality both with the description and with the scene itself. My main critique might be similar to Titus', namely that your half-timbered tudor section could use a bit of work. Rather than the one-plate high brown border on top and bottom, a two-plate high border of brown would look better - it matches the width of a brick better that way (though a brick is technically 2.5 plate-heights wide). If you can, I would try to make the brown diagonal supports better overlap the brown borders, so that there is not an awkward bit of white in the corners. That being said, however, you have managed to make something that looks convincingly well-used, very old, and only half-way maintained, which, going from your description, is exactly what you intended. 

I also like the references to Queen Ylspeth...

[Muakhah]

As a fellow builder struggling with parts limitations in certain areas I think you did an amazing job. There are so many details and well chosen minifig parts. As others have said it is full of life and gives the impression of a cramped bustling inn. I really look forward to what you do next! 

[soccerkid6]

So good to see you back in the guilds! I am really amazed by the number and detail of interior spaces you included Tremendous story as well. It's really fun to see what each of the minifigures is doing and a bit about them.

Fun layout with the bridge and tower too, I wish we saw more builds with ideas like this

[mccoyed]

On 7/14/2017 at 9:39 AM, Blufiji said:

What an awesome concept, reminds me of medieval Paris, where they used to have houses on the bridges of the Seine. The crampness of the build really implies the builder (of the inn) utilized the little bit of space to the max!

Thanks Blu. Yeah, the inn from Witcher 3 that this build was inspired by is likely based on French medieval architecture since Touissant, the duchy where Blood and Wine takes place, is basically a France/Belgium type of place.

On 7/14/2017 at 10:37 AM, Henjin_Quilones said:

This is great, so many scenes packed into one build! It looks very nice. You did a very good job of conveying a sense of life and activity, imbuing these characters with personality both with the description and with the scene itself. My main critique might be similar to Titus', namely that your half-timbered tudor section could use a bit of work. Rather than the one-plate high brown border on top and bottom, a two-plate high border of brown would look better - it matches the width of a brick better that way (though a brick is technically 2.5 plate-heights wide). If you can, I would try to make the brown diagonal supports better overlap the brown borders, so that there is not an awkward bit of white in the corners. That being said, however, you have managed to make something that looks convincingly well-used, very old, and only half-way maintained, which, going from your description, is exactly what you intended. 

I also like the references to Queen Ylspeth...

I will definitely try for something better next time I do tudor stuff. I have done better in the past, actually, but I may have rushed a little with that part of this build.

RE: Ylspeth... I actually really liked that series and story and I hunted for the right Lego Batman minifig for almost an hour to get her hair. Expect to see her cameo or feature in future builds. Alva is headed to Cedrica as an envoy! She'll get there eventually.

On 7/14/2017 at 10:43 AM, Muakhah said:

As a fellow builder struggling with parts limitations in certain areas I think you did an amazing job. There are so many details and well chosen minifig parts. As others have said it is full of life and gives the impression of a cramped bustling inn. I really look forward to what you do next! 

Thanks Muakhah. I think minifigs are definitely my strong suit. I think I need to concentrate on smaller builds with more detail and effort in parts use and style. Getting better at the building blocks (hehe) will be good for larger builds if I ever have the pieces!

36 minutes ago, soccerkid6 said:

So good to see you back in the guilds! I am really amazed by the number and detail of interior spaces you included Tremendous story as well. It's really fun to see what each of the minifigures is doing and a bit about them.

Fun layout with the bridge and tower too, I wish we saw more builds with ideas like this

Thanks SK. I am excited for Book 3 and a chance to maybe jump to another guild. Book 2 has lasted the entire time I've been on GoH!