Waylaid

[Full Plate]

Waylaid

Chapter I: The Tranquil Meadow

Chapter II: Old Bagshaw's Residence

Chapter III: The Poacher

Chapter IV: Making Camp

Chapter V: Solitary Council

Chapter VI: Escaping Home

Chapter VII: Waylaid

Chapter VIII: Archery Practice

Chapter IX: Honour the Fallen

Bonus Landscape: Avalonian Countryside

Mercy paid full attention to her surroundings as she was walking down the road. It was a peaceful countryside landscape with ripening fields and green meadows. She was alone on the road, which was probably for the best, as her seemingly leisurely stroll was full of dark intentions. She knew her prey was heading here, but would still be a few hours away, giving her plenty of time to scout the road for a good spot.

She stopped on the road in front of an old, derelict stone shed. There was plenty of cover around the building, which was to her benefit. Not that she would ever use a position that close to the road, but it would make it less obvious where the shot came from.

She turned and looked out over the field on the other side of the road. Beyond the field was long ridge running parallel to the road. It wasn't particularly high, but high enough that climbing it was out of the question. It was very far from the road though, making it very hard to land a shot from there. That suited Mercy just fine.

- 'If it's hard shot, no one will expect it', she thought to herself.

Mercy had made plenty of difficult shots in the past, and she could do it again. Not that she cared about making difficult shots. People in her business who tried to show off did not last long. People hired her for reliability, and that's what they got. The less fancy the better. An assassin who could be identified by their style, equipment or anything at all, was not worth their salts.

But when a hard shot was the superior option, Mercy would not back down from it.

- 'Well, better get going', she told herself.

It took Mercy the better part of an hour to make her way up to the ridge and prepare a spot for herself. As she was done she gave the site around her another glance. Everything seemed to be in order. She had prepared the place where she would be lying, it should be comfortable enough for a few hours of wait. She had trimmed the bushes around her to allow for unencumbered and quick escape. Her crossbow was loaded and ready, and so was the spare, although she knew she wouldn't need it. It had been years since she last missed a shot.

- 'Might as well get to work', Mercy thought to herself.

She lay down in the pile of leaves she had prepared for herself, supporting herself on her arms and elbows. Now started the waiting game.

It was another hour before the party came into view. It was four men travelling on horse, but Mercy was only to take out one of them.

The man riding first would be instantly recognised as Sir Darby by most people who had spent time in Albion. A slight legend from his time on the battlefield and generally well-liked among the commoners due to his low birth. He was not her mark however.

Neither was the second man, a stern black-haired man, who Mercy knew only as Sir Darby's second-in-command. Mercy didn't like him. People who were hard to read, usually had something to hide.

The last two were both red-haired men. Similar features, but Mercy read them as completely different types of men.

The first had the look of a veteran despite his obvious youth. A confident, care-free man with a smile on his face. Mercy didn't like him either. Confident men needed to be taken down a peg.

Coming up last was what seemed like a sorry excuse for a man. He looked scared for no apparent reason and he didn't seem too stable in his saddle. Mercy had no idea why he would be travelling with seasoned soldiers and she didn't really care much.

- 'Once I'm done I probably won't see any of you again', she tought.

Mercy's instructions had been to assassinate one of the riders, but not Sir Darby himself or his second-in-command. This was the first time she had ever been offered a choice of target, and it actually annoyed her. Taking someone's life was not a matter that was to be left to chance. People hired her because she was the best, and she delivered exactly what was requested. But when it was not clearly specified she felt slightly lost.

Deep down, though, she knew the real reason she was upset was because someone was going to die based on her decision. That was not the way it was supposed to be. She was an instrument of death, but not the initiator. She was just implementing somebody else's choices, and though she didn't like to admit it, that made a difference to her.

- 'Your assassin daughter has a conscience - aren't you happy Mum?' she thought to herself wryly.

Mercy took careful aim at the veteran redhead.

- 'Sorry' she whispered as the crossbow string twanged and the bolt flew toward its mark.

Sir Darby was enjoying the scenery. Rural landscapes and ripening crops was certainly more to his taste than bustling cities and high society. Out here he felt free and he enjoyed every second of it.

As he took a deep breath of the fresh air, a flicker on his right caught his eye only to be followed by a low thud behind him.

Sir Darby knew what he would see before he even turned his head, although he sorely wished he'd be wrong.

Sir Darby was not wrong. Kipp had a wooden bolt sprouting from his throat. His face was screaming, but made no sound. His horse was rearing out of control.

Sir Darby had seen enough bloodshed in his days to know that this was it for Kipp. He was losing a friend, but he could not let emotions get a hold of him right now. Assessing their situation was paramount.

Sir Darby saw Harlon and Nyle dismount, but for different reasons. Nyle carelessly ran up screaming to his brother who had now fallen to the ground. This was pretty much what Sir Darby would have expected of him.

Harlon dropped down to take cover behind his horse. Sir Darby thought that pretty pointless. The danger was over by now. If this ambush was meant to kill all of them there would have been a barrage of arrows headed for them simultaneosly.

No, this was a flawless, precise, single shot, serving some specific purpose. But what purpose?

Sir Darby needed to locate the assassin if he was to understand the reason behind this attack. The bolt had certainly come from their right, from the fields. But beyond the fields was a steep ridge, and such a skilled assassin wouldn't let himself be trapped in a field with no escape.

No, the shot must have come from the ridge itself, although that was an exceptional distance away.

Sir Darby quickly scanned the top of the ridge for anything that stood out. There was nothing there. Except... in that one spot the vegetation seemed lighter than elsewhere.

Intentional or not, that would be the position for an ambush.

Sir Darby kept his gaze intently on the spot, focused on catching any hint of the assassin's presence. It had only been a few moments since the first shot, so the shooter had likely not retreated yet. In the background he could hear Nyle wailing and Harlon barking at him to take cover, but Sir Darby zoned it all out, singularily focused on catching any movement. The seconds passed slowly.

And there it was. An ever so slight stir, but it was definitely there. No glimpse of the assassin unfortunately, but they had a site they could examine, which would surely yield some clue. That was the best he could do. Pursuit would be impossible.

Sir Darby turned his eyes back to the chaos on the road. Now was the time to see to his companions.

As Mercy left the area she could feel her heart pounding. That man had stared right at her! Had he spotted her? She had waited for him to look elsewhere before leaving, but he hadn't looked away once. In the end she had to leave as carefully as she could. There was definitely no chance of them pursuing her, especially not with that whimpering runt in their tow. But still, that piercing stare had certainly rattled her. And it felt strangely good.

- 'This was an exciting one' she thought as she walked away.

***

Bonus pictures:

Whew! Wall of text

Ok, so in the end I built some trees again, but this time with a new technique at least Was trying to create a row of willows that are pretty typical for the agricultural landscape in south of Sweden where I am from. The trees are cut down to "knobs" once every 2-3 years which gives them a distinctive look. Not entirely happy with the result, but I think they are at least recognizable (although my wife thought they were some kind of alien trees ). Here's what they look like in real life: link

Also tried to make a composite image for when the assassin takes aim, but my image processing skills are just not good enough so it I ended up looking rather unnatural unfortunately

Thanks for watching, hope you enjoyed it! C & C always welcome

Edited June 6, 2017 by Full Plate

[Gideon]

Very nice landscaping! Probably the best willow trees I've seen in LEGO bricks

"Parts intensive" doesn't quite cut it for your tree techniques

My favorite part of the build is however probably the irregular stone wall and the small gate in it. Brings back a lot of childhood memories from summers in the south of Sweden!

Regarding the photography I think you are doing a very good job with the lighting and (what at least seems like) intentional control of the depth-of-field to emphasize individual figures in the close-ups

What I'm not as fond of however is the background removal of the out-of-focus areas, you are making the edges of the selection too sharp so that the transition between the photo (shot on a white/gray background?) and the background looks a bit unnatural. I would recommend making the selection "softer" with an increasing transparency of the edge so that there is a smooth transition between the background and the out-of-focus bricks. Of course it is even easier to simply use a good backdrop to save a lot of time with background removal

[Kai NRG]

Very nice build, I really like the light grey and olive wall especially. The new tree trunk technique is pretty cool too! - out of curiosity, about how long does it take you to put together one of these clip trunks from scratch?

The story was very interesting as well!

[Garmadon]

Excellent and engaging story and very nice build, Full Plate, those trees do indeed look realistic, and the shack's wall is superb! The field is excellent, but I do think the landscape over all could use a few less colors to look more coherent, and the shack's roof unfortunately blends into the trees Great job with the photography, as Gideon mentioned, you really make the minifigure stand out!

[TitusV]

Lovely vegetation! Only point of critique: the roof and the trees seem to have the same colour.

But I really like that field!

[soccerkid6]

Wow, that was a brilliant story Which is fitting for such an impressive MOC. The whole thing looks very realistic, with the fence, stone wall, and paths being some highlights for me Lovely stone building too

[Captain Braunsfeld]

Fantastic layout and story - and those trees!

More!

[MassEditor]

A captivating story and build for sure! The tale was quite engrossing, and, along with the MOCs, makes for a wonderful presentation of build and story which we don't see often enough here, I think. I had a lot of fun reading this and guessing who would catch the arrow!

As usual, your builds are very unique and filled with interesting little details. I too particularly liked the low wall and the wheat field. The trees look great (especially when compared to the photo link you shared). It's always cool to see MOCs based on the builder's real-life environment (I have built a few swamps for GoH since I live in the middle of one ).

Again, a lovely blend of story and builds! Can't wait for more!

[Full Plate]

Very nice landscaping! Probably the best willow trees I've seen in LEGO bricks

"Parts intensive" doesn't quite cut it for your tree techniques

My favorite part of the build is however probably the irregular stone wall and the small gate in it. Brings back a lot of childhood memories from summers in the south of Sweden!

Regarding the photography I think you are doing a very good job with the lighting and (what at least seems like) intentional control of the depth-of-field to emphasize individual figures in the close-ups

What I'm not as fond of however is the background removal of the out-of-focus areas, you are making the edges of the selection too sharp so that the transition between the photo (shot on a white/gray background?) and the background looks a bit unnatural. I would recommend making the selection "softer" with an increasing transparency of the edge so that there is a smooth transition between the background and the out-of-focus bricks. Of course it is even easier to simply use a good backdrop to save a lot of time with background removal

Thanks Gideon! Haha, yeah, my trees tend to use quite a lot of parts. Glad you like the stone wall too

I definitely hear you on the photography issues. I actually just got a new camera so was able to do a bit more in terms of focus etc. Before I've been using a pocket cam in sunlight but these photos were taken at night with three identical lamps and bulbs. Pretty happy how that turned out (although still experimenting with light placements), but like you say I need to address the background issue - and I need to get a proper tripod. I actually find cutting out the background to be very hard for the out of focus areas, and especially when in focus and out of focus areas intersect. That never turns out good Maybe I'm just doing it wrong.

But yeah, best option is probably to get nice backgrounds. How do you do it? You buy some nice cloth and drape it over a chair or something?

Very nice build, I really like the light grey and olive wall especially. The new tree trunk technique is pretty cool too! - out of curiosity, about how long does it take you to put together one of these clip trunks from scratch?

The story was very interesting as well!

Thanks Kai! Glad you like it Wasn't sure people would have the endurance to get through the story

These new trees are quite a bit simpler than my previous trees. Made the last tree in about 30 minutes I think. The first one was a lot of experimentation and took a lot longer obviously.

Excellent and engaging story and very nice build, Full Plate, those trees do indeed look realistic, and the shack's wall is superb! The field is excellent, but I do think the landscape over all could use a few less colors to look more coherent, and the shack's roof unfortunately blends into the trees Great job with the photography, as Gideon mentioned, you really make the minifigure stand out!

Thanks Garmadon! Happy you like it

The shack wall and the stone wall by the field were definitely the most time consuming items here, but in the end the shack wall is not that prominent. Glad you noticed and liked it

The roof and the trees blending together is certainly an issue, and was something I didn't realise until people started mentioning it. Think I may try to make a different roof and see how it looks

Finding a balance of color a build is something I always struggle with. It's easy to get blind to the color when you have worked on a build for a while. Trying to look at it with fresh eyes now, I think you are probably right that there are a bit too much color going on here.

Lovely vegetation! Only point of critique: the roof and the trees seem to have the same colour.

But I really like that field!

Thanks Titus!

Yeah, the blending in color between trees and roof was unfortunate and something I failed to notice.

Wow, that was a brilliant story Which is fitting for such an impressive MOC. The whole thing looks very realistic, with the fence, stone wall, and paths being some highlights for me Lovely stone building too

Thanks SK!

Glad you like the build and the story!

Fantastic layout and story - and those trees!

More!

Thanks!

Don't worry, more will come

A captivating story and build for sure! The tale was quite engrossing, and, along with the MOCs, makes for a wonderful presentation of build and story which we don't see often enough here, I think. I had a lot of fun reading this and guessing who would catch the arrow!

As usual, your builds are very unique and filled with interesting little details. I too particularly liked the low wall and the wheat field. The trees look great (especially when compared to the photo link you shared). It's always cool to see MOCs based on the builder's real-life environment (I have built a few swamps for GoH since I live in the middle of one ).

Again, a lovely blend of story and builds! Can't wait for more!

Thanks ME!

Very happy you found the story intriguing! I thought I'd add a bit more action to this one. Usually my stories are just guys sitting around thinking about this and that

Glad that you enjoyed the rural landscape I think I also tend to build my "home environment" which is basically interspersed fields and forests. It's simply what I enjoy building

[Gideon]

I definitely hear you on the photography issues. I actually just got a new camera so was able to do a bit more in terms of focus etc. Before I've been using a pocket cam in sunlight but these photos were taken at night with three identical lamps and bulbs. Pretty happy how that turned out (although still experimenting with light placements), but like you say I need to address the background issue - and I need to get a proper tripod. I actually find cutting out the background to be very hard for the out of focus areas, and especially when in focus and out of focus areas intersect. That never turns out good Maybe I'm just doing it wrong.

But yeah, best option is probably to get nice backgrounds. How do you do it? You buy some nice cloth and drape it over a chair or something?

Congratulations on your new camera! As a bit of a photography nerd I was of course curious what camera you used (body, lens and focal length of your shots), but the Exif data of your edited images was not visible when I tried to spy in it on Flickr

Natural light isn't bad as you have done before, but great to hear that you are starting to work with fully controlling your lighting. Especially here in dark Scandinavia... As long as the lights are of the same type it's easy to setup the white balance in the camera or even easier to correct in post-processing. Good luck finding a lighting setup you are happy with!

When cutting out the in focus areas and out of focus areas the edges needs to be done separately I think, since you should use different "softness" of the edges depending on the amount of blur. So therefore it's much easier to only use a good backdrop and not cut anything away . And even if you are going to replace the background, using a backdrop with is approximately the same color and brightness makes the transitions much better without getting an ugly "aura" of a different brightness.

Here is my backdrop setup (I usually only shoot with the on-camera flash bounced off the ceiling but recently I've begun to experiment with a second one, not least to be able to fill in the areas shaded from the light coming from the "light source" overhead, like by the canopy in my mangrove build in the behind the scenes shot below).

I'm using a gently curved TUPPLUR blind from Ikea as my "infinity" backdrop (I've got a white and a black one as well), relatively cheap and easy to store when not in use. I'm hanging it onto the living room table from an old rusty drying rack (which the previous owners of our old apartment had left on the balcony, I'm happy I didn't scrap it as I originally had intended). The whole setup can be put up in about 5 minutes when the kids have fallen asleep

[BrickCurve]

Great build, the trees work really well. The hut looks great, using the same part as you used for the trees is a really nice touch. The field is nice as well.

One more thing on the photography, I can't touch on the knowledge of Kaliphlins expert photographer , but I can give some advice on composition and post production.

If you added the image of the knights to the background of a photo that shows the archer on the ridge, it might work better than being so close up in the perspective image.

A photo shot from the corner would look a better in my opinion, the main photo is taken from a hight looking down, if you get lower and angle the model so it lines up with the stone wall instead of the border would improve it a lot.

Also, for maximum depth of field (how much of the image is in focus) I recommend setting your cameras aperture to f/22, though I have no idea what fort of camera you have. Note, small apertures require a tripod, and if you are using a tripod, you may as well lower the ISO down to get the best quality you can out of the images (long exposures). Judging from your photos, you already know a lot of this, but anyway, its alway good to have a refresher!

[Full Plate]

Congratulations on your new camera! As a bit of a photography nerd I was of course curious what camera you used (body, lens and focal length of your shots), but the Exif data of your edited images was not visible when I tried to spy in it on Flickr

Natural light isn't bad as you have done before, but great to hear that you are starting to work with fully controlling your lighting. Especially here in dark Scandinavia... As long as the lights are of the same type it's easy to setup the white balance in the camera or even easier to correct in post-processing. Good luck finding a lighting setup you are happy with!

When cutting out the in focus areas and out of focus areas the edges needs to be done separately I think, since you should use different "softness" of the edges depending on the amount of blur. So therefore it's much easier to only use a good backdrop and not cut anything away . And even if you are going to replace the background, using a backdrop with is approximately the same color and brightness makes the transitions much better without getting an ugly "aura" of a different brightness.

Here is my backdrop setup (I usually only shoot with the on-camera flash bounced off the ceiling but recently I've begun to experiment with a second one, not least to be able to fill in the areas shaded from the light coming from the "light source" overhead, like by the canopy in my mangrove build in the behind the scenes shot below).

I'm using a gently curved TUPPLUR blind from Ikea as my "infinity" backdrop (I've got a white and a black one as well), relatively cheap and easy to store when not in use. I'm hanging it onto the living room table from an old rusty drying rack (which the previous owners of our old apartment had left on the balcony, I'm happy I didn't scrap it as I originally had intended). The whole setup can be put up in about 5 minutes when the kids have fallen asleep

Great thanks for all the tips Gideon!

My new camera is a Panasonic DMC-LX100. Not really high-end, but a big improvement from my old pocket cam, and yes, a lot easier to be able to take photos when the kids are in bed, and not be dependent on good weather Will be trying out with proper backgrounds - the tupplur setup looks nice, just gotta find something to attach it to. And need to get a proper tripod too.

Thanks again

Great build, the trees work really well. The hut looks great, using the same part as you used for the trees is a really nice touch. The field is nice as well.

One more thing on the photography, I can't touch on the knowledge of Kaliphlins expert photographer , but I can give some advice on composition and post production.

If you added the image of the knights to the background of a photo that shows the archer on the ridge, it might work better than being so close up in the perspective image.

A photo shot from the corner would look a better in my opinion, the main photo is taken from a hight looking down, if you get lower and angle the model so it lines up with the stone wall instead of the border would improve it a lot.

Also, for maximum depth of field (how much of the image is in focus) I recommend setting your cameras aperture to f/22, though I have no idea what fort of camera you have. Note, small apertures require a tripod, and if you are using a tripod, you may as well lower the ISO down to get the best quality you can out of the images (long exposures). Judging from your photos, you already know a lot of this, but anyway, its alway good to have a refresher!

Thanks!

Your idea for the photo composition when I use both models together might work better than the one I did, which I feel didn't work that well. I will try and see how it looks, thanks

Shooting from a lower angle could probably work. I took a few like that, but because the grain field is quite tall it blocks most of the rest of the landscape in those pictures. But I could probably find a good middle ground

I don't have a tripod yet, but when I get one I will be ready to fiddle more with the settings. Thanks for the advice!

[de Gothia]

Just amazing! Love the feeling and atmosphere you have in This one! Really a piece of Avalonia cut out and showed to us! Well Done!

[Exetrius]

Awesome how you manage to merge several different tones of vegetation together. Another fantastic build, keep it up!

Btw, there are some fantastic constructive comments about the photography as well, hats off to those who take the time to write such elaborate pieces of advice! (You're da real MVP!)

[LittleJohn]

Beautiful build, Full Plate! The trees look very much like the source material, and I love the low stone wall and old shed

Very captivating story too, looking forward to the next part!

[Elostirion]

For me the trees while quite amazing are not the highlight of this scene.

The true masterpiece for me is the arrangement of all those different natural colours for rocks, soil and vegetation in such a natural way. Also the curvings are just so... flowing, no hard edges, just real. What a truly brilliant scene.

Nice story as well, but sorry, just like the trees it is overshadowed by the rest of the build for me. I love it.

[Full Plate]

Just amazing! Love the feeling and atmosphere you have in This one! Really a piece of Avalonia cut out and showed to us! Well Done!

Thanks de Gothia! Glad you feel it embodies the spirit of Avalonia

Awesome how you manage to merge several different tones of vegetation together. Another fantastic build, keep it up!

Btw, there are some fantastic constructive comments about the photography as well, hats off to those who take the time to write such elaborate pieces of advice! (You're da real MVP!)

Thanks Exetrius!

Totally agree with you about all the helpful commenters - you guys are awesome!

Beautiful build, Full Plate! The trees look very much like the source material, and I love the low stone wall and old shed

Very captivating story too, looking forward to the next part!

Thanks Little John!

Glad you liked the build and the story

For me the trees while quite amazing are not the highlight of this scene.

The true masterpiece for me is the arrangement of all those different natural colours for rocks, soil and vegetation in such a natural way. Also the curvings are just so... flowing, no hard edges, just real. What a truly brilliant scene.

Nice story as well, but sorry, just like the trees it is overshadowed by the rest of the build for me. I love it.

Thanks Elostirion!

I'm happy you felt things are merging well. It was actually something I was a bit concerned about for this build, since it has a quite a few different areas. My previous builds have been more homogenous so this was a different challenge for me.

[The Maestro]

Really like the trees and scrub amazing!!!

[Jacob Nion]

Again some of the most impressive brick built trees I've ever seen! If I call you a tree lover that's in no way meant as the usual mocking of Avalonian folk. You really have a talent for landscaping. There is an unresitable atmosphere surrounding your build that makes your story even more enjoyable. Great job in both building and creating high fantasy.

[-Carson Haupt-]

I love the field!

[Full Plate]

Really like the trees and scrub amazing!!!

Thanks! Happy you like it

Again some of the most impressive brick built trees I've ever seen! If I call you a tree lover that's in no way meant as the usual mocking of Avalonian folk. You really have a talent for landscaping. There is an unresitable atmosphere surrounding your build that makes your story even more enjoyable. Great job in both building and creating high fantasy.

Thanks Jacob!

Haha, I will wear the 'tree lover' badge with pride

Glad you enjoy the atmosphere of the build and story!

I love the field!

Thanks!

[Umbra-Manis]

Those trees are insanely cool!

[kinggregus]

I do not think I have ever seen a build including so much different vegetation so well...

[perrush]

like most, I'm blown away by your tree technique. Could you give a short tutorial on how they were made ? Are they completely made off droid arms and axes ? Are is there any skeleton inside ? axes are cheap, but those droid arms ... ... :(