Taming the Wild One

[kahir88]

Conrad met many interesting people in his life so far. Most of them become his allies, few of them his enemies. But there is only a handful of them, who has remarkable stories, how they joined, to the Wolf Brigade. This is their stories:

This is the story of Lok, the Wild One.

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  A few years ago, Conrad was traveling through Avalonia, with some of his soldiers, and two new potential recruits. They had to venture through a small forest, known as the Thin Forest. The forest got its name, by growing along next to a small river centuries ago. The only way to cross the river, on a small bridge. And Conrad was sure, the bridge wasn't occupied, when they crossed it from the other side. A young boy, wearing leather armor customized to fit for his size, stood on the middle of the bridge.

-What's the matter, boy? - started Conrad. - Are you lost?

- All who wishes, to cross this bridge must pay its toll! - the boy didn't show any fear against the armed men.

-When I crossed this bridge not long ago, there wasn't any toll for crossing it. - Conrad tried to resolve this small conflict with peace. He admired the boy for his courage. He reminds him when he was that young. - And what's the toll?

- Five golden coins! - came the answer.

- Hah, that's not much for...

- ...Per person for the crossing! - the boy interrupted Conrad with his sentence. 

Conrad was amazed. He wasn't prepared for that answer. His pouch wasn't empty, but he could spend that much gold for other things, more important. He turned around and start counting his soldiers, and captives. At halfway he stopped. He felt he was fooled. He turned back to the boy:

- Alright boy, here is the deal: let us cross your bridge and we won't slap you, while we crossing it. - Conrad allowed himself a  smug smile. - Can you count how many slaps will you get, if you being so stubborn?

- Non! - replied the boy with such bravery. - Cause the others will beat the gold out of you! - He whistled, and the Thin Forest filled up with bandits. Conrad was sure, there were more human in this small section of the forest, then trees. For last, a large brute arrived at the scene, wielding a staff. He leads them, Conrad made the conclusion.

- Alright... - his voice was calm and powerful. - The toll raised. Handle over all of your weapons, and equipment, and be gone!

Conrad was in bigger trouble than this, but he had to think fast. He had to come out from this situation as a winner. He looked around a bunch of lowlifes, dwelling in the forest. Living day by day, with no future. He remembered how harsh was for him. That's it!

- And what if I offer you something instead... - the brute raised his eyebrow, above his intact eye. - I'm offering you, and your man a chance. Work for me, I can give you a home, food, and payment. No longer have to live in the forest, rob others to survive another day! I know how hard the forest can be, be reasonable, think for your people!

The bandits looked at each other with questions on their faces. Their leader saw them too it was tempting to accept it, but he didn't want to lose their freedom. He also had to think fast:

- You say you know how hard to live in the forest. - he took the staff from the boy. - Then you know it rules. We follow only the strongest. Beat me! - and he threw the staff to Conrad. - And we will follow you.
- And if you win? - asked Conrad while he put down his weapons and armor. - I guess you still take our wealth and equipment, right?
- I heard they give good money for slaves in Varlyrio... - smiled the brute. This gave Conrad the creeps. If the duel was about smiling, Conrad was surely lost it.

They stepped on the bridge railing and looked to each other. For the spectators, it felt like an eternity. Then, the brute grabbed the staff with both hands and started swinging wildly. Conrad considers to not parry them, only to dodge them, and find his opponents weak point. After a few unsuccessful strikes, the bandit decided, to change his tactics, he started swinging more rapidly, more wildly. Conrad used this as an advantage and after a dodge, he hit the brutes knee. He roared in anger and pain, then he raised the staff above his head to strike down. Again, Conrad was faster and hit his chin. He lost his balance and to regain it, he had to step back. But Conrad was counting on this, he struck the staff behind his opponent, and pushed him. His own weight does the rest.

Birds flew away when the quiet of the forest was disturbed with a loud splash. And another. Everyone was watching the water, under the waterfall.
-Bruaaahhh! - surfaced the brute. The temperature of the water surely helped him, not to blown up, from his anger. He swam to the shore, where one of his men helped him out, he looked up.

Conrad stood on the conquered bridge. The rest of the spectators, both bandits and mercenaries were looking at him and waiting for his answer. He blow some water out of his nose, he felt the bruise on his chin, but the cold water eased his pain. The others still waited for his answer.
- Let it be. - came the answer at last. - If you lead, we will follow you.
Both sides started to cheer. Conrad not only recruited new members for his army but found someone who will be his loyal friend. There was one more formality...
- We not yet introduced our self. I am Conrad the Sly. The leader of the Wolf Brigade mercenary group.
- You can call me Lok. Lok the Wild One...

Spoiler

 

 

 

Edited February 28, 2019 by kahir88

[en_zoo]

I feel like the terrain in the 2nd build is still a bit too messy - too many colours and shapes in such small space makes it too crowded for my eye. The 1st one instead is neater and enjoyable. The highlight for me is the story - at every episode I sympathise with the brigade a little more

[kahir88]

Damn,  I promise I will stop making outdoor builds! :D Two types of green and brow are too many colors, pff. I will never understand you guys. :D

[W Navarre]

Nice one, I like the dummy that is being broken!  The bridge, also, in the other MOC is very nice!  About the colors though, here's the thing, you lack order: there is grey, and brown, and green mixed together in patchy blocks and different variations, and since LEGO bricks are mostly square the best way tot avoid this is to gather all the brown in one place and the green in another, and sprinkle it with grey (for an example).   So that way it looks like dirt, and grass, and some rocks, and you can focus on making the single transition line smooth, otherwise there are too many color transitions everywhere to control, and it looks messy, like LEGO bricks and not terrain! You must keep at it though!  So you can improve!

[Grover]

I am enjoying reading the stories of Conrad and his men!  As the others say, the indoor build is superior to the outdoor build, but both are interesting and tell a story.  I am not sure what I could suggest for a more cohesive outdoor scene, although W Navarre's suggestions about clumping colors together is good.  I do like the beehive and the multi-level scene for sure.  The bridge and waterfall on the stream are reminiscent of Robin Hood and makes for a good story.  I am a little curious about all the vines, as it makes me think more of a jungle and less of a hardwood forest, but the scene is still enjoyable.  Nice work!

[The Last of Nergoue]

very nice scenes, although i feel like the stonework i a little messy in the first scene, and the landscaping in the second scene is also a bit messy. but over all i really enjoy both builds!

[de Gothia]

Some great details you have in your mocs!

 

The last scene feels a little too detailed though, many plants and colours makes the figs kind of fade away and they are the thing you want to highligt in the moc.. 

[zoth33]

I like all the different scenes, the wolf brigade training is a neat idea and all the scenes tell the story well.  I like the scene with the water feature, the landscaping is good.   The figs are pretty cool, I have a soft spot for the old school figs.  

[kahir88]

On 3/1/2019 at 8:01 AM, Grover said:

am a little curious about all the vines, as it makes me think more of a jungle and less of a hardwood forest

I would call them, some kind of willow trees.

[Grover]

Ah, OK, that makes sense, and down by the river, too!  I should have thought of that.  It kind of reminded me of spanish moss in trees, but the rest of the setting wasn't right for that.  I like how the stream pours over the edge, too!  I missed that the first time around for some reason.

[Henjin_Quilones]

The indoor scene is nice, and the outdoor is not bad. I think what the others suggest is good, though. It is not necessarily a problem to have lots of hues of green in a build (I count at least four or five in yours), but if you are going to do so, it is important to arrange them so you don't end up with a visually disorganized and chaotic result. I've said it before, and I'll probably say it again, but lots of colors on a small footprint ends up looking messy, because there is too much going on. Subtracting a few makes everything else look a bit sharper and clearer. In this build, I would cut out the small amount of olive and sand green, keeping only the dark green and the regular green. You already have the dark grey for rocks and light grey for the bridge (with only a bit of dark in a few spots) so that is good. If you could use dark brown for the dirt and only use reddish brown for the trees trunks, that would also help. 

That said, I love the action shots. You are getting very good at posing figs to show the action ongoing, especially the one where the Wild One is falling off of the bridge, and you show him in mid-air before hitting the water. Few builders illustrate their stories with pictures as effectively as you do, so keep it up! I love your stories, even with their hyper-abundance of commas, so keep them coming, too. 

[soccerkid6]

That apple archery target practice looks a little stressful!

Always good seeing more of your storyline, and like HQ I appreciate all the effort you put into posing for different shots