[Freebuild] Unsought but Welcome

[The Stad]

Previously:

A New Post at Gammeltårn

Party Supplies

Perils Old and New

They had spread themselves around the low stone table at the center of the chamber, contemplating the map that had been expertly tooled into its surface.  Kjell, the restless second son of the Lord of Førstlys, had rarely spent time in this room as a boy, preferring to adventure around the city with his cousins rather than study charts in the keep.  His role in the conflicts of the past few years had made him all-too-familiar with this room and its centerpiece, but this was the first time that the colored pieces on the table differentiated between the Mitgardian forces from the mainland and the local levies of the Burial Isle.    

 

"The garrison at Duergvenn is considerable," Kjell's father pointed at the piece nearest him.  "Half of their number could be spared to march upon the Rigr's camp without leaving the city exposed.  If they join with the men from Soldengang, their combined strength could be at the pass in eight days.  Such a show of force should be enough to convince the mainlanders to stand down.  The Rigr is haughty, abrasive, and now apparently treasonous, but he is no fool."  

"No," replied Kjell, "he is no fool indeed, and he has undoubtedly taken this time to strengthen his own position at the pass.  From the north that way is unassailable. He could hold his camp against a force ten times his own.  The western levies would be too little, and far too late. We have here at Førstlys by far our greatest strength of arms, but the Jarl's garrison is camped at our gate, and their loyalty remains unknown.  I fear we cannot muster men enough for this task without recalling my brother from his adventures."

"What of the pathway to the south of the pass?" asked the lord, not acknowledging the mention of his eldest son.  "Is it so easily defended? Or, were he to be reinforced, could your cousin break this siege on his own?"  

"Makny is a cunning warrior and a hardy fighter.  From his position he could handle the Rigr with merely another two-score men.  But there is no way to get them to Gammeltårn, save for the path on which the Rigr is camped."

"What of the harbor?"  the lord asked, his eyes glancing to the golden-clad elves in the room.

"Father," Kjell began skeptically, "the South Coast is naught but towering rocks and churning swells.  Gammeltårn cannot even be seen from the sea, let alone reached by it." 

At this his father sighed and shook his head.  "It seems I should have had more rigorous tutors for you in your youth.  There are places on this island that do not yield their secrets to the unlearned, but the knowledge of which is your birthright, had you taken the time to know it." 

 

"My lord," spoke the dark-haired elf, "I see now that you have guessed at my history with this land, and I can guess why you have allowed my intrusion upon this council."  The Lord of Førstlys remained silent, though a faint smile played at the corners of his mouth as the elf strode to the desk and picked up a block in the Førstlys livery.  "Allow me to offer my knowledge of those same secrets, and my own strength of arms in this errand.  To hear account of your situation, I suspect this task aligns with my larger duty on these shores.  As such," he placed the block on the map to the south of the island, "we are yours to command." 

Kjell, utterly confused by the turn in conversation, took the offered hand.  "My lord, we are grateful for whatever aid you can provide, though I fear I cannot yet guess at what that might be."

"My young friend," smiled the elf, "All things shall be known in due time.  But now make haste and prepare your retinue, for we sail at noon."  

Spoiler

A better view of the map.

Hope you enjoy the story, C&C welcome!

 

[W Navarre]

Very cool! Looks like some games with that map and the battalions. And the details over the door are magnificently arranged! 

[Grover]

Outstanding!  Really brilliant work.  It'd been a while, so I had to go back and re-read the previous parts, but the story flows nicely, and I love the characters.  You have a good eye for building minis.  The lighting is unbelievable.  It looks like sunlight pouring in through the windows and completely natural!  I love that you can see detail in the window lattices in the shadow.  One of my other favorites are the braziers on the wall.  It's quite a challenge to get them to hang at an angle like that and they look great.  Doors, tiles, all very nice.  The map on the table looks like it was really frustrating to build, but it came out great!  Kudos, and keep up the outstanding work!

[Eoin Wallace]

Looks great, I love the map! 

[Kai NRG]

Very cool idea with a map built onto a raised floor like that!  I also really like the way you did the arches over the doors, might have to borrow that sometime!

[mrcp6d]

Nice mosaic work, both in the map and in the walls/columns.  As others have stated, the arch technique above the doors is really cool.  The photography here with the light coming through the windows is fantastic.

[The Stad]

On 4/17/2020 at 11:37 AM, W Navarre said:

Very cool! Looks like some games with that map and the battalions. And the details over the door are magnificently arranged! 

Thank you, that means a lot from someone who is renowned for his details!

On 4/17/2020 at 7:04 PM, Grover said:

Outstanding!  Really brilliant work.  It'd been a while, so I had to go back and re-read the previous parts, but the story flows nicely, and I love the characters.  You have a good eye for building minis.  The lighting is unbelievable.  It looks like sunlight pouring in through the windows and completely natural!  I love that you can see detail in the window lattices in the shadow.  One of my other favorites are the braziers on the wall.  It's quite a challenge to get them to hang at an angle like that and they look great.  Doors, tiles, all very nice.  The map on the table looks like it was really frustrating to build, but it came out great!  Kudos, and keep up the outstanding work!

Thanks @Grover, I appreciate you taking the time to go back over the (very drawn-out) story!  The lighting is exactly that, I put the lion's share of my lattice pieces in the window openings and waited for the right sunny morning to take the pictures. The only editing on them is the cropping.  The map and the braziers were actually both a lot of fun, just a bit of tinkering here and there before arriving at these final products.  The mosaics in the walls, though, were a fair amount more frustrating...

On 4/17/2020 at 10:23 PM, Eoin Wallace said:

Looks great, I love the map! 

Thanks!

On 4/18/2020 at 11:23 AM, Kai NRG said:

Very cool idea with a map built onto a raised floor like that!  I also really like the way you did the arches over the doors, might have to borrow that sometime!

Thanks!  Borrow away!

On 4/18/2020 at 1:51 PM, mrcp6d said:

Nice mosaic work, both in the map and in the walls/columns.  As others have stated, the arch technique above the doors is really cool.  The photography here with the light coming through the windows is fantastic.

Thank you, the arches are something I've been trying to use as a stylistic indicator based on the story origins of a build, but they have an added benefit of looking good from minifig-eye view. 

[dathil]

I also had to read back your stories, but I love your way of writing. The map is really well done, I have encountered the idea before but this execution is really clean!

[Basiliscus]

Great work on the map and minifig posing!

[socalbricks]

Great work! So many awesome techniques on display here - especially the map!