GoH 10 A Life in Cedrica: Beneath the shadow of the capital

[kahir88]

The square of Rundolf Longspear. He was a hero a very long time ago. Now the only memory about him, he was a dragon slayer, and now he has a statue in this small square in Cedrica.
The traffic isn't that big, but, it's good for the residents who live here. Maybe the most noteworthy stores are the Silver Scissors and the Basket O'Goods. A tailor shop and a bakery. A smaller watchtower erects next to an old, crumbing district wall. The next district is a boring place, like this one.

The fish seller maybe the most recent change in the past three-four years. No one knows what was there before that time.
Maybe someone:
"- Yeehaa! Take that you filthy bandit!" - screamed the little boy, on a hobby-horse, while he swung wildly, with a stick.
"- Slow down little buddy, that bandit is already trembling in fear." - smiled the old man, while turning the page.
Yirroc corrected his grandfathers' helmet. He enjoyed staying with him, he had so many great stuff, and stories from the time, while he served in the army.
"- Grandpa-Grandpa! Can you tell the story, of how you fight alongside Draconius?"
"- Again, but you already heard it a thousand times." - he bends the corner of the page, and puts down the book. - "Okey, where should I start?"
"- But!" - interrupted the tale Yirroc. " -can I have your mace while you tell the story?"
"- Sure, but be careful, not like last time."

The rattle wouldn't be heard, cause a lute started to play a melody, and a voice joined in.
"- It's him!" - the young girl jumped up from the stool, and run out onto the balcony. Her makeup wasn't finished, and her hair was messy.
"- It's him..." smiled the woman on her way to the fish vendor, and remembered what happened last night.
It's him... The elf woman remembered the tune from last week. She turned her blushing head away, pretending like she is observing the tailor shop's window.
"- It's him! Baldween! Give me the..."
"- Here sire..." - the servant handled the crossbow to his master without a flinch.
"- Thank you Baldween. You are a loyal servant. Now! - the nobleman cocked the crossbow. "- Go and tell the Citys Watch, do not worry, this is just a family matter."

Both strings strummed at the same time. The last verse perfectly matched with the noble's "Die Bastard" warcry. The bard quickly throw away everything and made his escape before another crossbow bolt would hit him. On his run, he stumbled into a boy and a girl, coming from the baker with fresh pretzels.
"- Oh no, my coin!" -screamed the boy, and dropped his wealth on the ground, while he tried to find his balance. The golden coin smoothly landed on stones, and with tinkling sounds, quickly approached the nearby sewers.
The boy's effort was futile, to catch it. The sound of the rolling coin suddenly stopped and with a last golden shine, the darkness swallowed the coin.
"- Oh darn! There goes my whole fortune!" - sobbed the boy.
"- Can't we go after it?" - asked the girl, and gripped her coin more tightly
"- No silly, there are alligators in the sewers!"

And the boy wasn't wrong. And our little story would be ended here if he didn't drop his coin. So let us continue.
Follow the money.

Like thunder! The small coin, with a gleaming flash, impacted the planks. Next to a couple of dark elves. None of the flinched, they have some serious business to talk about. Maybe another plot? What people can tolerate this kind of scum in this city?

The answer is the city's scum, like them. Welcome to The Shadow Tunnels.
A city under a city. A connection of tunnels, sewers, pits, and coves, filled with filth, garbage, mud, debris, and gods knows what other things. The weak won't last here even for a minute. And those who choose this life, under a shining city of the realm. Both terrifying and miraculous. Let's meet them, but... keep a safe distance, and first only listen to them:

"- HEY! How could you cheat and beat me, when first I cheated!"

"- Ow.. sho! Sorry, Starry-eyed... I wasn't able to catch you a little friend..." - the boy threw back the old boot into the filth. The fish blinked with its three eyes, one after another.

"- Here-here! Two amputations for the price of one! Just for now!"

Can you smell it? Yes, that came from the Golden Ox. A well-known establishment from a kinder era. Maybe, Rundolf Longspear also had one or two meals here.
"- What's that smell? Smells delicious!"
"- Bat-stew!" - replied the cook. "- Wanna tasting?"
"- Bat-stew? Never heard of it. Is it good?"
"- This stew will be so famous, everybody will talk about it!"

"- What're this ... Documents forgery?"
"- I can fabricate you any kind of paper! Need to prove something, which you don't have? Find me! Need a diploma, so you can open a small surgery? Here I am! Want to deceive others and make a profit? Should we start now?" - rubbed the shady figure his hands together.
"- Excuse me, but I didn't understand the second sentence. Someone screamed downstairs like a charlatan butchering his legs... And how good are you? Where did you learn this trade?" - asked shyly, and tired to not look down between the gaps.
"- Here is my official document about it!" - and pulled out a dirty paper, with a wax seal.
"- But... But.. You created your own document? But this is a crime!"
"- Really?"

"- What do you sell?"
"- Mushrooms. Wanna try one?" - asked the vendor, and pulled out his cleaver, to take a slice.
"- Whoa, not so fast!" - protested the man. "- Is it safe? Aren't those poisonous?"
"- Nah... it just smacks you in the head a little." - nodded with his head, to the nearby guy, who sats near the counter. "- Here's my last customer. Let's ask him. HEY buddy! How do you feel?"
The man was somewhere between this reality, and the next one. His mind slowly crawled back to his body. He looked around, trying to find the source of the questions. His pupils were wide, saliva ran down his chin in thick streaks. He opened his mouth to say something.
"- Funny fish people! You can't talk!" - and with that, his mind was already lightyears away...
"- See!" - smiled the vendor " - I told you, he is experiencing weird things! So... wanna find out?"

 

And here is the full build: Both Closed and Opened:

Spoiler

Fish people. Sometimes I wonder, how others, after consuming mind-altering substances can see the world. Maybe, this can be accurate:
"- HEY buddy! How do you feel?"
"- Funny fish people! You can't talk!"

More pictures here:Beneath the shadow of the capital

 

Edited March 24, 2023 by kahir88

[W Navarre]

Way to go making the great undergrounds! So much detail down there, the top section is nice of course, but the darkness below just has to be the highlight here for sure! 

[Grover]

I don't know if you and I are just on the same wavelength or not, but I really love your builds.  This is no exception.  The upper part looks very much like I would expect the streets of Cedrica to look like, and is reminiscent of the Harry Potter Diagon Alley set to me.  Color choices are great, the interiors are superb, and it's of a scale to be played with as a set.  I like the baker, and the tailor with the shiny cloak is fantastic.  I also like your curvature on the tower. The black roof here really looks nice, especially with the two slopes.  The black and white tudor looks good, and your golden stature is awesome.  I particularly like the fish stand, with the NPU on the sign and the Ninjago CMF head, but also putting the stand at an angle to make it appear more natural.

Of course, the real star here is beneath the city, and the sewer drain near the fish stand is fantastic!  I LOVE your depiction of the drow.  I think they are some of the best I have seen.  The planks at angles, the SNOT use of the dark green for water, the repurposed sails as tattered curtains, and the hilarious appearance of Blinky the three-eyed fish from the Simpons is awesome!  The storyline here is hilarious, from the coin falling down the sewer to the guy barfing from the bat stew...  I love this concept that behind that facade of normal life, there's always something nefarious lurking!  The sense of humor here is really awesome. I love the subtlty of it.

You have a real eye for selecting the minis here. The guy with his glasses on his head, the masked assassin, the scribble cop face guy, and the guys passing cards to one another cheating at the table... all really amazing and obviously carefully selected.  It's not always easy to convey what a mini is doing or feeling, and you capture this well.  And then to make sure the whole sewer build not only fits under the main build but also folds up to open and close?  Unbelievable.  Keep up the fine work!

[jtooker]

The underwater-level portion is a terrific take on the category.  The stairs down and rickety dock planks fit well.  The dark green water fits well.

I do like the facade of the two above-ground buildings.  The SNOT work is great.

[Ecclesiastes]

This is one of my favorites! Cool story, but what steals the show is the way you thought out of the box. Following the coin, a great way of introducing a whole next-level society that is so different from the clean and proper way of living above ground. 

[Umbra-Manis]

Whoa, I was not expecting the underground levels! I saw the first shot, which is already great (I was just wondering where the water got too) and then Bang we're undergound and things are feeling very Nocty