Stealing the Amulet (Collab part V)

[LegoHobbitFan]

Here is my part of a collab series that several of us Valyrian builders put together. You can see the full story with all the builds here.

 

The underworldly caves of Varlyrio had never looked more beautiful than on the mattinata of that first day. Råiden Tígrisdýrið felt a twinge of uncertainty and guilt for what he was about to do. 

The healing amulet was a powerful and ancient heirloom of the Kolgari, one of their most sacred artifacts, and stealing it was no small crime. Again, that was the whole point. He just had to frame the Rego for the theft—a scandal like that would isolate the Rego, Luca di Carli, from the people of Valyrio, and the Kolgari would undoubtedly sever their ties with him and cut off their support, politically isolating him. 

Still, as a loyal and patriotic Kolgarian Prince, he felt a bit remorseful about betraying his people like this. He hesitated for a moment, questioning whether it was really worth it, but again an image of Arama De Cioto flashed through his mind, and a new wave of determination flooded over him as he remembered for whom he was doing this. He had to. They would soon recover the amulet anyway!

He stopped and glanced over his shoulder, checking to make sure that he wasn’t being followed. Seeing no one, he turned forward and continued on. 

Today was the perfect opportunity: Råiden and Arama had worked it all out. Through Ilazio, Råiden had learned that the Rego had just dispatched his ambassador to the Sunken City on official business to meet with the Kolgari Council. With the Rego’s ambassador here at the time of the crime, he would be the obvious suspect for the theft. 

Once Råiden had stolen the amulet, he had arranged for his good friend, Islingr, who owed him a favor, to smuggle it into the Rego’s possession, solidifying his identity as the thief. With the Rego established as a dishonorable criminal, leaving him without much support, Ilazio would be able to assassinate him easily enough, which they all knew was exactly what Luca di Carli’s unjust villainy deserved. With the Rego gone, there would be nothing left to stand between Råiden and Arama! 

With these thoughts mulling in his mind, he crept stealthily through the rocks and trees, each step taking him closer to his objective.

Finally, he reached his destination, a small, open structure, unmistakable elven in design, carved into the surrounding rock. In the middle of this structure lay a pedestal on top of which rested the object that he had been seeking, the sacred healing amulet. 

Sticking close to the shadows that lay upon each side of the path, he glanced around warily, checking for any guards. While it was generally guarded fairly loosely—the Kolgari were an honorable people and had a strong bond of trust amongst each other—it wasn’t uncommon for a guard or two to be present. There shouldn’t have been any there today, not with most of the guards being rerouted to guard the meeting between the Kolgari Council and the Rego’s ambassador that was currently going on, but Råiden couldn’t take any risks. 

As he had expected, though, the amulet appeared to be unguarded, and, satisfied with these results, he stepped out of the shadows and ascended the large, flat steps leading up to his prize.

There it was. Råiden had been here many times, of course, as had many of the Kolgari, but this time felt different. 

He paused for a moment, then, in one quick, fluid motion, he advanced toward the amulet and lifted it from its spot on the pedestal, carefully tucking it into a fold in his garb. With the amulet in his possession, he began traversing back down the long path, at the bottom of which Arama was waiting for him and the success of the mission. She would relay the amulet to Islingr without delay, for her presence in the Sunken City was unknown thanks to Råiden. Then Islingr would do his job and the Rego would be incriminated before two full days were out!

It was only now that the weight of what he was doing fully hit him, and, once again, he paused, hesitating as to what to do next. But, once again, he thought of Arama, and regained his confidence in the mission. Despite the fact that his stomach was in knots, he couldn’t help but smile to himself a little, knowing the Rego’s fate was nearly secure.

[NOD]

Very nicely built. I like the octagonal bottom with the columns on the rock. The purple colored plants go well with it.

[Kai NRG]

I really like the bright fantasy colors you used here and the difficult octagon shape you pulled off!  Also really cool necklace design! 

[Umbra-Manis]

Lovely colorscheme, and I like how you rounded the edges of the geometric base!

[W Navarre]

Thank you for working with me on this collab! I love the colors in your build, the scene goes perfect with the story you wrote. I like the trunks of the birch trees and the combo of lavender and dark blue leaves. 

[Eyrezer]

I love this glimpse into the world of the Kolgari. As a new member, I haven't seen any other builds in this setting before so this is especially cool. The colour palette of the trees works well - the dark blue and lilac. I was also intruged by how you did the pillars but have since learned those piece for superheroes to stand on jauty angles come in light bluish grey. As Kai said, the octagonal base is impressive.

[Grover]

Very nice!  You managed to capture what I imagine when I think of the Kolgari quite well.  The small details with the white arches and flora are well done.  I also appreciate the smooth, octagonal stonework laid at the floor of the amulet stand.  I think that it's hard to appreciate how difficult it is to work detail into small builds like this until you've tried it, and you've done a great job here.  The stonework with the SNOT elements, particularly the incorporation of sloped wedges, is very nice.  Great job, and I look forward to more of your work!