The Walls of Rockwail

[-Sunder-]

Remington Rot knew from the moment he entered Moruth that it was going to be uncomfortable, but he never guessed that I would be quite as bad as it was.

The air in the swamp was so thick you could cut it, and the strong, stale smell of the moat water (if the oozing, green mass could even be called that any more) lingered in the back of the dead man's throat like an unwanted guest. Out of the ground before him rose the looming outer walls of Rockwail- the safest place in Moruth. Unlike many of the swamp villages, Rockwail was built on a bed of rock; in fact, the whole fortress was believed to be carved out of one huge boulder by dwarves hundreds of years prior. The place was surrounded by a field of smaller boulders, floating in the stagnant waters of the swamps, giving the local area the name 'the Boulderbogs'.

At the gates of the stronghold, Remington handed the guard on duty a letter. The man looked Rot up and down scrutinisingly, before scanning over the letter and handing it back to him.

"Hmm. Sounds believable to me. I'll take you to the Baron."

Remington nodded. The guard inserted a large key into one of the doors and twisted it. With an audible thunk, the door unlocked, and he hauled it open.

"Come on in. I'm gonna guess Theophraster told you how to get here?"

Remington nodded once more.

"Figures. Him and the Baron were close. Y'know, you're lucky to be here. Not many people outside these walls know that this place exists. That's why they call it the secret city."

The two passed through the gates and walked briskly down a long, twisting, cobblestone road. Being inside the walls showed the place to be less of a stronghold and more of a small city- crooked, towering buildings lined the streets and dark shadows were cast over the ground by the makeshift wooden walkways above them. Rockwail was a sprawling, squalid maze of narrow pathways and haphazardly constructed dwellings that leaned into one another like drunkards. The style of architecture seemed to change from building to building, and Remington recognised several different species and ethnicities as he and the guard wandered through the town.

"You didn't see all this from the outside, huh? Yeah, not many can see through the magic shield Theophraster put up when he and Baron Lonnidas started to put Rockwail together. Takes a very powerful mage to see through it. They say people don't even see the walls of this place unless they're expecting to."

As they began to reach the north-easterly corner of the city, the houses seemed to thin out and the paths got thicker. The very corner of the wall was in sight. Remington recognised the dwarven stylings in the wall; they reminded him of the lavish guild halls he used to sing in. The ground was no longer cobbled- instead, it was simply rough stone, and they walked down a gravel path. Wooden scaffolding was put up in the corner, where it seemed the last of the dwarven tiles lay. The beaten, crumbling walls really showed the age of the place.

"There used to be a shrine to some dwarven god here, hence the fancy tiles, but it collapsed in an earthquake. It was a long time ago, though- before any of us, or anybody else alive for that matter. Before they even built the walls. They reckon this spot was what Rockwail started from," the guard told Remington. He wasn't sure how long the guard had been talking, as he was too busy taking everything in, but he got the gist of what he was saying; Rockwail was old.

Remington spotted a tall man standing at the bottom of the scaffolds, and guessed by the epaulettes that he was the baron. He was a heavyset man, wearing worn scale-mail, a thick, grey cloak and the beige sleeves signature to the guards Remington had seen around the city (and, indeed, beside him). The Baron carried a longsword and a slightly rusted shield from the Ssilyrrlith era. A black eyepatch covered one of his eyes, and Remington could see the pink end of a ragged scar poking out beneath it, running down his cheek.

"Baron! I have a man here to see you, name of Remington Rot. He can't speak, and has a letter for you to read- it says he knows Theophraster," the guard spoke up to the baron, then handed him the letter. Baron Lonnidas nodded as he read through it, his long hair bobbing slightly, and when he spoke, his moustache wriggled like a caterpillar.

"Hmm, very good, Petir. You can leave now, I'll talk to the boy."

The guard, Petir, then left hurriedly.

"So, boy, you know Theophraster? He's an old friend of mine, a good man. I understand you're looking for your voice?"

Remington nodded enthusiastically.

"Well, you're in luck. I know how to help you out; one of the guards, Gawyne, had a similar problem, and he found his voice in a place in Avalonia, called the Hall of Songs. i don't know the way there, but he said he was guided by a traveller named The Weaver, and I do know where to find them. In the middle of the city is an ancient dwarven mausoleum known as the gauntlet. You can't miss it; they say all paths in Rockwail lead there. The mausoleum leads to a series of catacombs, where The Weaver trains. But, by the looks of you, you won't make it through easily on your own. I'd look for a mercenary to help take you to The Weaver."

Remington processed the information slowly, then finally nodded and smiled.

"Glad to be of assistance. Any friend of Theophraster is a friend of mine. Good luck, Remington Rot."

---

So, that's part deux of Remington's story. Now time for some extra pictures of the moc.

The whole moc! The back is super ugly, and I sorta forgot to make battlements for the rear of the wall (y'know, where they're most needed... :| ).

The scaffolding, and a closer look at the dwarven architecture.

Well, I think that's all. C&C is welcome!

[Exetrius]

Very nice proceeding of your story, I enjoy your elaborate writing style! I should do a build in Boulderbogs sometime. The walls are nice, but a little plain in some places in relation to how you describe the place in your story. The ground, on the other hand, is very well done in that aspect. Nice banner design and scaffolding. Keep up the good work!

[LittleJohn]

Excellent build and story, Sunder! The ground texturing and scaffolding are great, and I love that banner design!

I do think a little more texture in the walls would be good though, possibly a few more cracks, or some masonry bricks?

[TitusV]

very Nice build!

[soccerkid6]

I'm already quite intrigued by Remington Rot's story, and am interested to see it continue! I really like how you included dark and sand green in the wall, and the carved buttresses also add some nice detail

Good wooden scaffolding and ground texture too

[Blufiji]

The setting for your story really had my mind going with the descriptions. I wouldn't mind seeing the Boulderbogs fleshed out a bit more in future builds sir.

[-Sunder-]

Thanks for the compliments and advice everyone!

[Isundir]

The MOC is really nice, lots of nice little details. But the story is a really great read, wish I could write as entertaining stories as you