Tradesmeet - Varlyrian Port

[Rogue Angel]

Prologue:

Tradesmeet was teeming with Merchants.  Not in 20 years had Supano Amancio seen such an influx of outsiders, and he didn't like it.  As Rego, Supano had managed to throttle trade with other Guilds drive up the prices for goods both at home and abroad.  The new queen had threatened to cut off trade completely if he didn't meet her demands and relax the trade restrictions, and this had been the biggest challenge to his power since becoming Rego - and it had been a disaster.  The other families had balked at her threats, like the cowards they were, and he had been given no choice but to acquiesce.  The other families would have risen up against him and all would have been lost.  There would be a price to pay for all the coin he would be losing from this, the other families would be reminded why Supano Amancio was not a man to be crossed.

 

Situated two days east of Varlyrio, the Varlyrian port of Tradesmeet had long been frequented by Varlyrian merchants, as well as the occasional Kaliphin or Avalonian trade captain.  Most Varlyrian goods that would be sold in Historica would travel through this port, as well as almost all Historican goods coming into Varlyrio.  With the rise of Queen Yspleth, and the end to Varlyrian trade restrictions, Tradesmeet was now a prime location for traders from every corner of Historica, with fortunes to be made overnight. 

 

All of the Guilds are now represented at Tradesmeet.  Kaliphlin merchants have been able to establish a semi-permanent foothold on the island for years, and they are less than pleased about the island opening up to the other guilds.

 

Avalonian merchants were the first new visitors to arrive, and they have been bringing in as many trade goods as possible. 

 

Avalonian merchants are eager to sell their wares, and though they treasure their tights - they have had little success selling them to those outside Avalonia.

 

With Mitgardia located just north of Avalonia, their ships were quick on the heels of those of Avalonia, but they have been interested in both taking on Varlyrian wares...

 

As well as selling Mitgardian weapons and foodstuffs

 

Nocturnus has even managed to establish a presence, hocking wares both mundane and arcane.

 

As expected, there are those from Nocturnus who are looking to deal in more sinister and nefarious items

 

Varlyrian merchants have long traded here, and there is a permanent military presence here, complete with barracks and watchtowers.

 

The administrator and her retinue also have a manor on the island,

 

As well as a gnome inventor-in-residence.

 

The Varlyrian merchants are the only ones that are close enough to pedal fresh fruit and bakery, and Varlyrian wines are highly prized.

 

The wealth of seafood is also a rare delicacy for most historicans.

 

Despite the hustle and bustle, There is still plenty of room for more merchants and sailors, and with the normalization of relations, the fevered pace will continue indefinitely.

 

The mix of Historicans is wonderful to see, after the recent plague of wars, strife and discord, and this will hopefully become the standard, instead of the exception.

 

View full size pictures here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/29025875@N06/albums/72157672322578548/with/43993956282/

 

 

 

 

[zoth33]

This is fantastic.  I love the docks especially the use of tan and brown.  The market is nice.  The tent buildings are neat.  I like the towers but how do you get in them.  The two bigger buildings are great.  The one with the red roof reminds me of Roman architecture as do parts of the grey and red building.  Nicely done.

[Niku]

So many things to see on this massive moc, wow very full of activity and details, I really like your approach on every aspect of commerce for each guild and also many cameos could be spotted on.
I must admit I laughed on the Avalonian secondary export product (first one are trees, of course.)

[TitusV]

Such a nice MOC, good job RA! I really like how you represented all the different guilds, each with their own wares (the Avalonian ones )! The many details make it hard to pick one or two, but a special thumbup for the gnomish cabin is well deserved, I think  

[TheLordOfBricks]

Impressive! Great layout here, some awesome details around here as well! Keep it up! :)

[Kai NRG]

What a great bustling port scene, I love how all the guilds are represented!  Really neat layout too with the angled dock/platform!  

[Henjin_Quilones]

Looks good, Rogue! I love all of the cameos in the build, placed there for us to discover. The market area is well-built, with lots of stalls and wares, as well as a bustling amount of activity. 

Is it possible for merchants to avoid this island and go straight to the Varlyrian mainland, to get around what are inevitably higher costs of doing business through the middle man on Tradesmeet Port? I think it might be worth my while to sail an extra two days to make more money in one of the larger markets, especially if I can negotiate some trade deals with the leading cartels families. 

Also, I'm pretty sure we Avalonians no longer have a monopoly on tights, since your Venice-inspired courtly families of Varlyrio are almost certainly clad in calf, thigh, and cheek-hugging garments as well. It's no wonder Avalonian tights would not find much of a market there, then, since your people already have all the tights they need, at a lower price.

One last note: Supano better watch himself standing so near a crateload of Nocturnian pumpkins and and a tableful of pumpkin pies...

[Garmadon]

Excellently done, Rogue!  Great job with all the stalls and vendors, along with the busy market feel  Gotta love the tights stand too!   The barracks, Mitgardian ship, and gnome inventions are all neat as well - a great Varlyrian port all around!

[mccoyed]

This is just a great big treasure full of fun things to discover. Under normal circumstances, one might want to critique the lack of texturing and detail on paths and so on, but this is the kind of build where that stuff doesn't matter. There's too much going on to care whether there are a lot of studs on the ground (and I hope other guildies agree when they offer feedback!).

Also a great exposition build to set the tone for what's happening in Varlyrio and between all the guilds right now!

[Shroffy123]

Absolutely amazing ! 

[cablefoxley]

Great build there, loads and loads of details. The docks are nicely done and the markets bustling with goods and figs. But I love the gnome balloon the most.

Varlyrio looks like a good place to trade , my sig fig might pop across for a build or two. 

[mrcp6d]

Impressive in both scale and detail! 

[Grover]

Spectacular.  I don't even know where to begin.  I have no idea how you find the time for these epic builds, but thanks for sharing these wonderful builds! 

[soccerkid6]

That is one impressive dock setup! Sometimes it's challenging to give a market a nice broad range of products that are all unique, but you really rose to the challenge here
Looks like a well protected port with three separate watchtowers. It's great fun spotting all the familiar faces too! There are a lot more hidden in the build than I noticed at first

[x105Black]

Wow.  Where to start?

There are a wealth of great building styles and techniques represented here.  I will definitely be studying this.  I particularly like the grey and red building, it looks fantastic.  It also looks to be important, which a barracks should.  The small gnomish build gives me some idea of their architecture and style, which helps a lot.  All of the small stalls are wonderful, and the variety of exotic wares on sale here really show that there are representative traders from all over Historica.  And of course the sheer magnitude of the build is awesome.  It's not one of the biggest but it's quite large and has so much to see.

Fantastic job!

Edited August 20, 2018 by x105Black

[narbilu]

Just too much to watch... wow Rogue

[de Gothia]

BAAAM! What a moc my friend!! The scale og this beast, yet packed with details!

 

Some stones or pebbles on the street?

[Gideon]

Great layout, so much to see! I really like how the docks are angled in different directions, and nice detail with the sand green masonry bricks closest to the water too
You've really captured the feeling of a busy trade port, with all the different types of goods and cultures represented 

I know that photographing large layouts is a pain in the megabl..neck, but I think the presentation could have been improved with less visible cutting in post-processing, particularly of the center section of the water.
I would also recommend straightening pictures such that a vertical line through the center of the picture is vertical. 

[Spader]

The sheer scale here is inspiring, let alone the build itself. Excellent work!

[Exetrius]

On 8/16/2018 at 10:41 PM, mccoyed said:

This is just a great big treasure full of fun things to discover. Under normal circumstances, one might want to critique the lack of texturing and detail on paths and so on, but this is the kind of build where that stuff doesn't matter. There's too much going on to care whether there are a lot of studs on the ground (and I hope other guildies agree when they offer feedback!).

Also a great exposition build to set the tone for what's happening in Varlyrio and between all the guilds right now!

I agree with this comment! The military building is more interesting then the other buildings, more than decent. The market stalls are done nicely, especially the one that uses multiple tattered blue sails (cool way to invert those columns, btw). However, with the well-posed minifigs, cameos, and the wares through which each guild is represented, this scene easily sells itself! Well done! 

About Supano Amacio... he bears some interesting resemblances to Onicius Centario (ruler of Zotharith). Unintentional, I suppose? 

Spoiler

 

Edited August 28, 2018 by Exetrius
added picture for clarity

[mccoyed]

They both look like Elon Chorian wannabes to me. :P

[Exetrius]

3 hours ago, mccoyed said:

They both look like Elon Chorian wannabes to me. :P

 Similar, but at least distinguishably different. :P