The Exetrius Saga (7): Taking the Runestone

[Exetrius]

Exetrius Saga

1: Fallen leaf

2: Message in Kyrrath

3: Equipment upgrade

4: Subjection of a legend

5: Family Dinner

6: Attack of the Hunters

Episode 7: Taking the Runestone

Exetrius looked down at the clouds that obscured the valley beneath him. Up here, on the barren mountain ridge, it was a quiet and sunny day and the view was absolutely breathtaking. He didn't come here at leisure, though. He was on his way to a special mana collector, on top of an isolated peak. The last time he came to this place, the air filled with snow and a howling, freezing wind.

The device was installed there almost twenty years ago, by one of the wizards of Zotharith. It passively converts the power of the strong winds into arcane energy, which is then stored in the runestone. It took several years to charge this rune crystal up to its full capacity, so it holds a vast amount of power. It's protected by a magic seal, so only those that have the complementary spell have access to this source. The protection is needed because mana is a scarce commodity; vital to all users of magic, but few of them have the skills to obtain it themselves. Zotharith holds a valuable share in the market of runes and mana crystals, but most of its wizards are free to use sources like this one to replenish their mana crystals or to forge runes. That's what Exetrius did last time, on that cold winter day.

However, today was different. He had been given an important job by the taskmaster this time: taking the runestone back to headquarters. He had been instructed to avoid a fracture or scattering at all costs, since that could release all the trapped energy in one huge explosion... The reason why it had to be returned was, as usual, not stated. But, since the Festival of the Ranks had been postponed for an unknown period of time due to "insufficient supplies", there was probably a shortage of arcane energy.

He stood right under the peak, the easy, carefree part of his trip was over. Now it was up to Exetrius to unlock the runestone from the installation and bring it home safely, without getting blown to smithereens...

To be continued.... in the next episode: Supplies arrive!

Hi everyone, thanks for looking at this new episode! The build was intended to be the scene of my character introduction when I joined GoH early June last year, but I never used it as such and had to break it down soon after I built it. You can find an overview picture here, on my Flickr. Nonetheless, C&C is greatly appreciated!

Edited August 17, 2016 by Exetrius

[Henjin_Quilones]

A nice use of perspective to make things seem larger than they are. Nicely done, and a good story, too.

[ixypixy]

Hi, nice little build & I agree with Henjin, that the perspective is good. Really enjoying your story, especially the use of magic. That's a cool idea that the crystals are passively charged up with magical arcane energy.

[TitusV]

Neat build, the perspecive works out great!

[BrickCurve]

The perspective is good here, thogugh it would work a lot better if there was some more rock work around it. It looks just a little odd in my opinion. Perhaps a bit out of context? I know! A darker coloured background would make it look really great.

Edited July 9, 2016 by BrickCurve

[Exetrius]

A nice use of perspective to make things seem larger than they are. Nicely done, and a good story, too.

Hi, nice little build & I agree with Henjin, that the perspective is good. Really enjoying your story, especially the use of magic. That's a cool idea that the crystals are passively charged up with magical arcane energy.

Neat build, the perspecive works out great!

Thanks for your compliments on the perspective, guys and lady!

@ixypixy Thanks! More magic is certainly on the way, you could say it's my niche.

The perspective is good here, thogugh it would work a lot better if there was some more rock work around it. It looks just a little odd in my opinion. Perhaps a bit out of context? I know! A darker coloured background would make it look really great.

Thank you for your constructive criticism, BrickCurve! I see what you mean, a context would add much potential to the build. If I were to redo this build nowadays, it would probably be much larger than the rough 6x6 studs that it measures. However, at the time I was short on grey bricks if I recall correctly. Anyway, I'll keep it in mind!

[BrickCurve]

Thank you for your constructive criticism, BrickCurve! I see what you mean, a context would add much potential to the build. If I were to redo this build nowadays, it would probably be much larger than the rough 6x6 studs that it measures. However, at the time I was short on grey bricks if I recall correctly. Anyway, I'll keep it in mind!

No problem! Adding the context would turn it from a nice build to great one!

[soccerkid6]

Pretty cool rock spire, made good use of what limited parts you had at the time.

Sounds like a suspenseful journey is about to begin

[Tezclatipoca]

Nice rock formation !

I am joining the others to congratulate you on your great use of perspective !

And the story is still great ! I am waiting the next episode now...

[Blufiji]

Agreeing with BC, a bit more rock work would make the build pop. The lore of the build however is great.

[LittleJohn]

Nice little vig, Exetrius! The forced perspective turned out great, and I like the bits of snow on the rocks, though since this is the top of a mountain it might have made since for it to be completely snow-covered

[Exetrius]

Pretty cool rock spire, made good use of what limited parts you had at the time.

Sounds like a suspenseful journey is about to begin

Nice rock formation !

I am joining the others to congratulate you on your great use of perspective !

And the story is still great ! I am waiting the next episode now...

Thanks, SK and Faladrin! I hope that I can bring the next episode soon, but at the moment I have a bit of a writer's block (for the build, not the story!).

Agreeing with BC, a bit more rock work would make the build pop. The lore of the build however is great.

Nice little vig, Exetrius! The forced perspective turned out great, and I like the bits of snow on the rocks, though since this is the top of a mountain it might have made since for it to be completely snow-covered

Thanks, both of you! @LittleJohn I didn't say it was the top of a mountain, it's a peak in a mountain ridge. But, you are right: more snow would be more appropriate.

[bricklover]

That pillar is awesome!