Lord Buckethead Posted June 9, 2020 (edited) The importance of the oasis to the running of the Mokolei Empire is never to be underestimated. They provide critical souces of water among the many essential trade routes of th empire, and more so are a welcome sight for many weary travellers. Historically control of an oasis has essentailly meant control of the trade route it lies upon. Indeed, one of the main reasons the modern Mokolei Imperial family rose to such prominence in the first place was their early recognition of the strategic importance of these locations, and their ability to levarge control over them. While war has not ravaged these lands for centuries, the current rulers have never taken these sites for granted and it is by royal decree that Imperial troops are to be stationed at any oasis around the clock. This serves several purposes beyond maintaing control over the oasis itself however. These guards protect the traders that travel these routes and that are vital to the many isolated pockets of the empire, as it has become common for bandits to prey on these often tired victims. Additionally, Imperial control of trade routes is often used as leverage above the many satraps of the empire, ensuring that it is difficult for one to gain an unfair trade advantage over the other. _______________________________________________________________________________________ Lord Fernsby's expedition was now in a precarious position. Whereas before, their journey was marked by cities, towns and settlements that were relatively close to each other making resupply a simple matter, the expedition was now advancing in to the heart of the empire. As they continued the land become more and more sparse in population, being replaced by endless seas of sand. Having been on the road for several days now, supplies were running low among the expedition. Had it gone on any longer water would have had to be severely rationed. Fortunately for Fernsby, by the good graces of the powers that be, a glimmering oasis was bestowed upon the sights of the expedition sparking feelings of relief and extinguishing a growing sense of anguish. However as they approached the oasis, three large and distinct silhouettes became visible. Initially Fernsby feared the worst...bandits. "Form up" bellowed the company sergeant as the sepoys rushed to formation. "Belay that order" yelled Fersby as he observed the three figures further. They were adorned in elaborate uniforms and their stature did not match that of bandits. These were soldiers, and not just local militiamen. These were Imperial troops. Fernsby ordered the majority of the expedition to hold their position, gathered a small party of officers and sepoys, and approached the oasis. As they got closer and closer to the strangers their figures became larger and larger. Fersnby's previous encounters with Mokolei troops had made him well aware of their impressive stature, however the height and physical strength of these soldiers dwarfed anything Fersnby had seen before, including the famed Corlander grenadiers. The Mokolei Captain paced towards Fernsby, as his entourage maintained their position, evidently sizing him up. He could ascertain that they were foreigners, but from where they came from he had no clue. "Who are you and what is your business here" he demanded. "I am Captain Fernsby of the Empire of Corrington" replied Fersnby, doing his utmost to sound as diplomatic as possible. "My expedition and I are here on diplomatic business, and are making our way to your capital". The Mokolei Captain grunted, "Ha, you have a long way to travel". "Indeed" retorted Fersnby. "Our expedition has been travelling for quite some time now. We are tired, weary and in need of water and rest. Will you permit us to supply and rest ourselves". The Captain adjusted his posture, proudly standing straight and proclaiming "This oasis is for the free and open use by all who peacefully wish to travel our lands", as he gestured his hand toward the glistening blue water and greenery. Fernsby remove his hat and bowed before the Captain, "Thank you kindly, we are much obliged" he replied as he motioned to bring the rest of the expedition forward. As the expedition began to resupply Fernsby continued in conversation with the Captain about his journey and future plans. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Well it's been quite a while and I'm unsure many will remember me but here's a relatively low effort build from me. I've been wanting to build for quite some time now but life has sort of gotten in the way. I've been thinking about how I can continue given some of the restraints I'm faced with. First and foremost my AMRCA of which this is a continuation of the story. I'm afraid given the fact I can't consistently devote myself to lego I can't pretend it would be feasible for me to continue it, as much as I would have liked to. As such, allow me to apologise to @Bregir, @Ayrlego and @SilentWolf who all contributed to it. I know me pulling out isn't fair given what they devoted to it but I just don't see how it could continue. I can't ask you to wait for months (or years as is the case now) for me. Nonetheless I'm still keen to continue the story, which I intend to do through freebuilds. I will probably not interact with the EGS from now on, instead simply focusing on building stuff that interests me and continuing this expedition. Again, sorry to the aforementioned builders, I hope you at least got some enjoyment out of the AMRCA and if you want, feel free to join me on this leg of the journey. On a side note, this obviously leaves some inconsistencies in the overall story for the expedition, but I'll sort all that out later. In short this is sort of like a fast-forwarding of the story. I might fill in the gaps later, I might not. Not really in a position to make promises. Thanks for viewing ;). Edited June 9, 2020 by Lord Buckethead Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Professor Thaum Posted June 9, 2020 Nice one, the base and the "road" are well designed. I would tend to "dig" the road throught the tan base, but the approach of having it in relief, works very well ! I will borrow, for sure ! Your palm trees are so simple, but so effective ! Overall well done. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Keymonus Posted June 9, 2020 Lovely build, the pond in particular is very well done! I'm sorry you won't be able to participate regularly to BoBS, your AMRCA was one of the best we have seen up to now Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fraunces Posted June 9, 2020 Very nice build, the lawrence of arabia vibe is strong with this one Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
blackdeathgr Posted June 9, 2020 Excellent landscaping and nice minifig selection!!!!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bregir Posted June 9, 2020 Welcome back, LB, and with a very nice oasis build. I really like the oasis with the scattered vegetation around the ponds, and I am very happy to see this story continue. The expedition has certainly been long underway! If possible or needed, I will be happy to help it continue - although I am quite hung up on many other adventures! As to the MRCA, we have changed the format significantly - you can now continue your story as you please, and when or if you need/want GM input, you can request it. (It could for instance be to get the outcome of talks with Mokolei Emperor or similar, where you cannot yourself determine the result of the talks) So you don't need to worry about the formerly quite rigid format of the aMRCA (and you are also free to leave the previous ends loose if you prefer). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Brickwolf Posted June 9, 2020 Nice oasis, well built. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
zoth33 Posted June 10, 2020 Great scene. The landscape is nicely done, I like the water features with the palm trees in the middle. Great looking figs too. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
