[OL-TC 2A] A suspicious jungle stroll

[Keymonus]

Military activity report - Intelligence Office of Seawatch, to New Haven Military District Strategic Command

Spoiler

Ghostly voices

Down below

Confidential report - to the exclusive attention of the General Staff

Our operatives in Seawatch report an unexpected movement of Carnite troops (est. strength of two jaeger companies), leaving the settlement southbound.
The status of this information is certain, independently reported by two of our informers in the settlement and directly confirmed by our operative Minerva. 

As it stands, the purpose of the expedition is unknown. No communication was given to the liaison officers of the Oleonese 3rd Division nor, to our knowledge, to the headquarters of other Coalition Forces. On official army reports, the operation is reported as a "recognition mission", but the marching order is not coherent with the declared objectives.
Our informers report that the contingent is mostly formed by Essian soldiers from elite units (Jaegers and Totenkopfe infantry), suggesting that military confrontation is expected. Moreover, the expedition is equipped with heavy carriages, not particularly suitable for the bad roads of El Oleonda islands. The expedition seems to need abundant supplies for a prolonged mission, to aim to recover heavy materials, or both.
Rumors claim that a group of Namerean coral divers was seen in one of the port taverns, and has recently disappeared. As it stands, it is impossible to verify whether the two events are connected.

The commanding officer of the expedition is Major Matthias von Stern, an experienced soldier decorated twice during the Battle for El Oleonda. The choice doesn't seem coherent with the limited purposes declared for the expedition.
Considering the inconsistencies and the secretive nature of the mission, a light infantry contingent was ordered to track the Carnite expedition, if possible avoiding any contact. Our forces consist of a company of Eranos Chasseurs and two platoons of Astrapi Colonial Chasseurs, under the command of Regiment General Tristan Rimbaud.

One of our assets, with direct access to the Carnite Governor's private correspondence, reported seeing a coded message of unknown content, together with a map of the Southern Coast and a note about a "cipher". The meaning of these reports is elusive, but it's clear that an object, identified as a cipher, is considered of utmost importance by the Carnite high command.
Updates will follow in case of further developments or reports from our operatives on the field.

With the best regards for Your Excellency,
Morpheus
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Overall view:

The heavy carriage:

A view of the muddy road with the carriage tracks:

 

An obvious credit goes to @Khorne, who first invented and developed the Essian culture and units within the NPC nation of Carno.

Edited June 10, 2024 by Keymonus

[NOD]

Interesting continuation of the story. To understand the context, I read the previous story again. The coral divers probably found other clues in addition to the object. Perhaps there are other buildings belonging to the inhabitants of the sunken city on the island? Maybe not all residents sank and some were able to save themselves? An expedition of light infantry and additional equipment on horse-drawn carriage is well equipped. Is the guy on the carriage Indiana Oleonda Jones? I am looking forward to finding out how the expedition with Major Matthias von Stern continues.

 

I like the town gate and the horse-drawn carriage on the muddy street.

[Fraunces]

This is so cool! I really love the way you are setting up this story from an Oleon spy-perceptive. Keep up the great work looking forward to the next part.

 

1 hour ago, NOD said:

Oleonda Jones

Nod your are dry humor is hilarious 

[Khorne]

Wow, the story is developing quickly! The previous build and this one are prequels to the first build of the story, right? Interesting to see the story continue and like Fraunces said: it's a neat writing device to tell this bit of the story via spies.

I also like seeing some more Essians  . I also have some more ideas to expand upon them, but haven't found the time to build anything yet. The raven shield above the gate is nice touch!

That being said, however: please do bear in mind that Essen (while a powerful city-state) is not the leading state in Carno, the red and whites of Aden are. So I think Seawatch would be more Aden-minded. Essen is a bit of an outcast in Carno, since they were the traitors that rebelled against the King. Hence, why they are kind of building up Treesborg next to Fort Arltrees as their "own" colony, so they don't have to deal with royal powers in the "real" Carnite colonies. But yeah, that's me nitpicking

I like how you used the oldschool firemen torsos! They work really well, too. I'd refrain from using the red epaulettes, because red is the color of Aden, which is Essen's arch rival in a way. And if possible: dark grey pants to make the uniform darker. But again: nitpicking here.

In all honesty: I really like seeing the Essians pop up and the build is really nice! I can just be nitpicky over such trivial details . Don't take it too personal!

I really want to see where the story is going next!

[Jeff of Clubs]

Great little build, Keymonus! You packed a lot into 20×20 on these builds so far! 

[Keymonus]

On 6/10/2024 at 7:11 PM, NOD said:

Interesting continuation of the story. To understand the context, I read the previous story again. The coral divers probably found other clues in addition to the object. Perhaps there are other buildings belonging to the inhabitants of the sunken city on the island? Maybe not all residents sank and some were able to save themselves? An expedition of light infantry and additional equipment on horse-drawn carriage is well equipped. Is the guy on the carriage Indiana Oleonda Jones? I am looking forward to finding out how the expedition with Major Matthias von Stern continues.

I like the town gate and the horse-drawn carriage on the muddy street.

Thank you! You guessed some aspects of where the story will go, but stay tuned for the next developments! I had nothing specific in mind for the carriage driver, but we would definitely need an Oleonda Jones!

On 6/10/2024 at 9:04 PM, Fraunces said:

This is so cool! I really love the way you are setting up this story from an Oleon spy-perceptive. Keep up the great work looking forward to the next part.

Thanks! The next part will (hopefully) be out by the end of the weekend, seen from another different perspective!

On 6/10/2024 at 10:51 PM, Khorne said:

Wow, the story is developing quickly! The previous build and this one are prequels to the first build of the story, right? Interesting to see the story continue and like Fraunces said: it's a neat writing device to tell this bit of the story via spies.

I also like seeing some more Essians  . I also have some more ideas to expand upon them, but haven't found the time to build anything yet. The raven shield above the gate is nice touch!

Thanks! As I told you separately, I'll try to follow your suggestions better regarding uniform colors and lore! And, as you suggested, who better than the warlike citizens of an outcast settlement, for a particularly dangerous glorious mission?

On 6/12/2024 at 3:16 PM, Jeff of Clubs said:

Great little build, Keymonus! You packed a lot into 20×20 on these builds so far! 

Thank you!!!