kahir88 Posted March 24, 2019 (edited) 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 Zan, the Black Arrow. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- It was almost autumn, in the same year after meeting with Lok. Conrad was traveling with some soldiers, to find a new recruit. This time, a psychopath. His name was Zanzarah, he is an expert archer, many claims, he is better than most of the elves. A wanted person, for murdering, poaching and stealing... but mostly for murdering. Conrad was hoping, he would join them, or at least take the huge price for his head. His small party was approaching Zanzarahs last known location, a ruined tower inside the forest known as Deep Grove. The watchtower was built to keep away poachers and keep the forest safe. Ironic, now it is a hideout of a wanted murderer. The tower was in sight, stood in the middle of a grove. When they arrived at the border of the grove unusual sight welcomed them. The place was littered with skeletons, all of them died in the same range. None of them was nearer to the tower. The last victim was a young boy he was picking mushrooms. Looks like he ventured too close to the tower, poor soul. Conrad checked the boy. He was already cold and pale, maybe he was killed in the morning. He wasn't older than Conrad when he roamed the forests. - We will bury him, but first, we have business here. - gave the order Conrad, and slowly started to approach the tower. Suddenly, an arrow landed next to him. It came from the tower, as a warning. And if this wasn't enough, another warning came from the same direction. - That's close enough! - came the shout from the tower. - I already killed today. You should feel your self lucky, Go now, or the next arrow won't be a warning. - Zanzarah! I am Conrad, leader of a mercenary group. I'm here to talk to you! - shouted back to the tower, while he took two steps back. - I have an offer for you! - I don't wanna talk. Go and talk to your man, and leave me like the rest of the world. I'm not afraid of wolves...- shouted back the tower. A tough talker. This taught ran through Conrad's mind. Negotiation won't help this situation, maybe threatening... - You can't hide forever! Sooner or later someone will hire Boris... - Conrad took a pause in his speech, to give a weight it. - He will come for you, and there will be no mercy... Silence, no reply. - Alright! - came the answer finally. - If you can reach me in the tower, I will hear your offer. Before Conrad was able to react, one of his soldier step forward, and offered his service: - Boss, let me help you! - he raised his thick shield. - Stay behind me. - with that said, he started advancing to the tower. He didn't reach the border of the grove. A loud crack and he fell backward. The arrow penetrated the shield and killed the soldier with one shoot. This would be a remarkable feature if this act didn't cost one of Conrad's men's live... - I said, only you alone must come! - shouted the tower again. Conrad had to choose which is deadlier, the arrows, or the threats. - Or leave! To show you how generous can I be, I let you bury the deads. Conrad ordered his man, while he started removing his armor. - Boss, shouldn't you wear any protection against him? - Armor won't help in this situation. - he removed his shirt too. - I must rely on speed, to reach him. He took a deep breath, planned his path and start running. He quickly changed direction and rolled two, to reach a trunk. He was right, the next two arrows landed behind him. Behind the trunk, he panted: "Damn, he is fast..." thoughted Conrad. But before he could continue with his thoughts, he heard a crack above his head. "Damn!" And he jumped away from the trunk before the next arrow penetrated it. He remained out of sight. - Hey Conrad! If you still draw breath, wave out from the tree! Haha! - again, the shout came from the tower. Conrad was trapped. He was sure his next move will be his last. He saw the trunk with two arrows, the path in the leaves from the jump.... Leaves. Got it! He quickly signaled his men and told them his new plan. ... Meanwhile, in the tower, Zanzarah was waiting for Conrad's next move. - Which way will you jump away from behind that trunk? - smiled the archer. - I bet you will go right... They always go right. But something wasn't right. No movement from the leader. And then he saw it. Fiery arrows. Came from the forest, but only reached the bottom of the tower. Not reaching the tower itself. - Amateurs... - thought Zanzarah. - You must come closer to smoke me out of this tower. Sadly, if you came closer, you will die. But this time he was wrong. The dry leaves catch on fire and the dense smoke covered the entire tower. The archer damned their luck, he quickly tore his clothes and covered his face. He tired to look outside, but the smoke covered the place. - Clever move... *cough* - smiled the archer behind his mask. But before he could say another word, down there, the door smashed open, and footsteps can be heard on the stairs. - Damn! -turned Zanzarah around and aimed to the hatch, while counted the steps. The tower has fifty stairs, and a ladder to the top. He knew it, cause he had to climb it every day. - Forty-four.... forty-five... - continue the counting. - Come on thee more! Forty-eight.. forty-nine... And silence... only the crackle of the fire can be heard. He was beneath the archer, only the hatch separated them from each other. Zanzarah was ready to fire his arrow. He held his breath, the next breath would end in coughing. He was wondering, how Conrad wants to reach him, in caution open the hatch with something. Or will he charge in? No one will ever know how the mercenary leader wanted to reach the top of the tower. Zanzarah couldn't hold back his breath any longer, he took his last breath. He was right, and he hated when he was right. He coughed... His location was revealed. But it was too late for him. A loud crack could be heard from beneath his feet, and before he could react, another followed it, and the whole floor collapsed, and both he and the furniture fall down to the next level of the tower. When he freed himself from the debris, Conrad was already there, stand next to him, with his axe. Zanzarah looked around, his bow was far away, and his arrows were scattered. This was truly a defeat. He was escorted down, during that time, the mercenaries take out the fires, and waited for their leader. - So, what's next? To the authorities? - asked Zanzarah. - Maybe. - replied Conrad, while he re-equipped his armor. - Or you can hear my offer. Join us! You won't be a wanted person any longer. Don't have to hide in the forest, and fight for survive. - he paused. - And thanks to you, there is a job opportunity in our ranks. There won't be a next time If you won't take it now... - Then, mercenary life, or the gallows? You gave my tough choice. - scratched his neck the archer. - But sounds good to me this new life. Today, Zanzarah died in the tower. Call me Zan. My friends called me that if I had one... Spoiler Edited April 9, 2019 by kahir88 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Grover Posted March 25, 2019 (edited) Nice work! I like how you have all the stories of Conrad's band. Maybe you could put a link to all of the threads when you're done? The interior shot is great, that same training facility we saw for Lok, so I won't comment on that again. The forest scene is nicely done, too. The floor with all the dark green is impressive--that's a lot of dark green!--and it looks good against the browns of the trees. The other flora (bushes, etc.) look nice, too. I especially like the birch-type trees on the edge of the scene with the dark red. If they are meant to be a fantasy-type tree, it could be interesting to explain their history at some point. The only suggestion that I could have is that the main deciduous trees could be modified. On the one hand, you could add more leaves if you have them to make the trees more full, but considering that an archer would have to see through them, it seems that the forest is not dense, so the lack of leaves makes sense. That being the case, spicing up the tree trunks with other techniques could help provide some variety. Some tree techniques, like the droid arm technique Full Plate uses, are parts heavy, and others require some unusual pieces, like trees made out of hose, so they are not useful unless you have a lot of the right pieces. However, SNOT with long plates can work, as well as just more irregular placement of the regular bricks (some ideas like this), and with just a few less regular trees in there, it can help provide variety in the forest. Regardless, I really like the scene, and the details (like the beehive and the mushrooms) are great! As usual, the minifigure posing is superb, and the photography really gives an intimate scene. I feel like I'm looking at a comic book panel telling a story. The interior on the ruined tower is superb. It gives the idea of a ruined outpost with the window on the left, and the clutter inside is great, especially considering who is living there. The straw bed is nice, and the walls are a good mix of detail without getting too crazy. I love the way the floor has collapsed! That's really well done and posed perfectly. The story itself is dark; Conrad is willing to pick up a murder who killed an innocent boy for picking mushrooms, so that speaks to his character and personality as well. I like the realism, though: not everything is some Disney movie ending. I like how we've read about Conrad's backstory, and are now learning about him as a leader and man through the stories of the people that make up his crew. Well done! Edited March 25, 2019 by Grover Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
W Navarre Posted March 25, 2019 Nice, great work on the details inside the tower! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kahir88 Posted March 29, 2019 On 3/25/2019 at 3:35 AM, Grover said: If they are meant to be a fantasy-type tree, it could be interesting to explain their history at some point. Good idea! :D Thanks to the comments so far. About the forest. I was trying to please the community, by making this build, less colorful. Using only dark green and brown as the ground, and trying creating less flora, so everyone can focus on the story, the figure posing. I think I find a balance between the amount of the figures and nature in a, smaller build. As the leaves, that's all :D If I had more, I'm sure I would put them on the trees. The indoor of the watchtower was fun to build. First, the furniture, then the tower, and for last, wreck it all. I must mention the small stool, I saw it in the Avalonian mini-challenge from @TheLordOfBricks, and I knew, I must use it in this build. The story is dark, yes. I like the dark stories, with some dark humor too. I think I draw this darkness, from the Witcher books. I really like how Sapowski write! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
en_zoo Posted April 5, 2019 nice stuff here, Kahir. I like how you used the same first picture again, but to start the story of a different character. The interior is interesting - at a first look I thought the wall was too messy, but came to appreciate it after a while. As for the trees, the central one is definitely too regular, the others might work with few more leaves. Nice story and cool fig posing Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Henjin_Quilones Posted April 16, 2019 Nice story, and the builds complement that quite well. The action of the fire and Conrad's evasion is great. The forest is also visually much cleaner, without all of the extraneous colors, which allows the eye to focus more clearly on the action. I do agree with en_zoo that some of the trees are too regular, with perfectly straight sides and too many right angles, but that is something pretty minor and fairly easily fixed. I really like the way you are fleshing out your crew! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
soccerkid6 Posted April 26, 2019 It's cool seeing people start to use the new beehive element in their builds Nice work capturing a rickety look for the old tower Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
