Raven's Retreat - Dark Isle Saga: Chapter 1, Part 3

[Derfel Cadarn]

Dark Isle Saga

Chapter 1: Grim Hollow

Part 3

Raven's Retreat

After leaving Haldur's Crypt, Sarlina led Taryn through the village and towards the forest outskirts. She set a fierce pace, a look of mischief upon her face....

Taryn follwed keenly but slightly confused.

"So are you going to explain where we are headed and what this is all about" he asked?

"My dear Taryn, arn't secrets far more fun" she shot him an amused glance.

"I guess" he replyed, "But for once I'd like to be prepared for the enevitable trouble you're about to get me into!"

Sarlina stopped and turned to face him. Her face was unreadable at first but then she smiled.

"You love trouble, it shows in your face, i've seen the glow of joy you get when things turn ugly" She laughed, then put her arm through his and they walked on.

"There's so much evil in this land Taryn" she sighed. " We live in dark times but we do nothing to change it, we just accept and carry on with our lives, hoping and praying."

Taryn nodded, "Yes, but life is what it is. We make do and enjoy what special moments we can, thats all any man can do."

"No Taryn, it won't do, not for me." she retorted. " Avalonia was once a mighty realm, the first land settled in Historica and beloved by the ancient Druids. Our ansestors lived in paradise but they took it for granted and let it be overun and now its lost."

Taryn had heard this stories, all of us had. "Exactly, Avalonia WAS, not any more, those times are past, Avalonia is lost. The remaining legacy of our once great land retreated into the Dark Isle. Here we are, look at us now!" Taryn shook his head saddly. "This is all that remains, this is how it is."

"Not for long!" Sarlina pulled away and looked at him. " You know the legend of Haldur's heir...Avalonia's heir?"

"Of course, just that, a legend." replyed Taryn.

"No legend Taryn" she smiled wickedly. " I found Haldur's Scroll."

Taryn looked at her in bemusment. Legend says that the mighty Haldur kept in his possession a powerful scroll passed down by the ancient druids. It is said that the scroll contains secret knowledge on how to summon the ancient powers and restore the land.

Taryn shook his head, then looked again at Sarlina, not sure weather0 to believe her. "Even if you have found the scroll, there is no way either of us could read it."

"Very true." she smiled. "Infact, the scroll is empty, just a bare piece of parchment."

Taryn frowned "Oh well in that case I could make use of it myself, need to write a tally of my latest hunting kills." he laughed.

"Don't be stupid Taryn!" she snapped. "Just because it looks empty doesn't mean there's nothing there. We just need to reveal it and thats exactly what we're going to do."

"We are?" Taryn asked wearily.

"There's an old hermit who lives not far from here in an old abandoned cottage. He can help us, that's where we're going, to see Raven." She smiled and walked on ahead.

Taryn looked up towards the sky and smiled to himself. "Here comes trouble".

Raven's Retreat:

Finally Taryn and Sarlina reached a crest of a hill from where they could look down towards the old ruined cottage where Raven had taken shelter. It seemed to be an old farm house, much had collapsed and now lay twisted and overgrown. They walked on down the hill and made their way up to the cottage.

"So who is this Raven fellow anyway" enquired Taryn "And whats he doing stuck out here in this crumbling mess?"

"I know very little about him, only that he has knowledge of the old ways, or so I was told." she spoke, then stepped carefully over the debris that lay strewn about the place.

They came to a door that appeared to be locked, a tree had crashed through the roof, probably blown down during a storm and it had made the remaining roof section very unstable. Sarlina moved forward and peered through a hole in the plaster.

"What a shame, there was a time when this would have been a fine home. Now it lies in ruin like everything else." She pushed firmly on the door and it scraped open.

"Don't go in there" Taryn warned "Its not safe."

Sarlina frowned, then turned to go inside but Taryn pulled her back. "Let me, i'll check it out." he said firmly. Sarlina smiled and nodded.

The room was small and damp. Rotting wood littered the floor and birds nested amongst the remaining roof beams. In the corner lay some empty barrels but there was no sign of life.

"See, that wasn't so dangerous now was it?" Sarlina spoke sarcasticaly as Taryn ducked back out from the room.

Taryn looked at Sarlina, then kicked the door which resulted in a large roof beam come crashing down in a flurry of leaves and dirt. "Oh yes, completly safe!" he replyed, then turned and went to walk away but then stopped as he realised an old man was watching them.

The old man was standing by a broken cart, his hair was a dirty white and his face lacerated by time. He stooped over a short wooden pole which he used to help keep his balance. The old man stood motionless, watching the two of them. Then slowly he turned and made his way around the back of the house.

Taryn turned to Sarlina, "I'm guessing that's our guy?"

"Only one way to find out" she replyed, then jumped over the low stone wall and made after him. Taryn followed close behind and they made their way round the corner of the house to find the old man waiting for them by the doorway.

Sarlina walked slowly towards the old man. She bowed her head then brushed the hair back from her face and spoke. "My friend and I are looking for a man named Raven who is said to live here, do you know of him?" she asked softly.

The man stared inquisitively at her for a few moments then slowly nodded.

Sarlina smiled shyly "You're him arn't you? Your Raven?" she asked.

The old man once again slowly nodded. His face showed not one hint of emotion, as if he were as lifeless as a stone. He just continued to stare at the both of them, his gaze unsettling.

"I need your help" she said fervently. "I happened upon an ancient scroll which I believe to be Haldur's lost scroll of legend" she continued. "But it appears empty and so I need help to reveal what is hidden." She watched his reaction carefully.

The old man seemed unmoved by her words and Taryn rolled his eyes and shuffled restlessly. He thought it was all nonsense. Sarlina stood confused, unsure of what to do next. She was about to speak some more when suddenly the old man turned and went inside the cottage, closing the door behind him. Sarlina frowned.

"Lets just go" said Taryn quietly, "The man doesn't even speak, its a waste of time." He went to reach for Sarlina's hand but was interrupted by the sound of the door opening again. The old man reappeared clutching a red vial which he then held out towards Sarlina.

Sarlina hesitated for a moment, then reached out and took the vial from him. Taryn watched closly, a spark of surprised interest in his eye.

"So this will help.....This will reveal its secrets?" she asked. "But how, what is it I must do?"

The old man motioned with his staff towards a small pale filled with watter. He tipped the pale over and its contents spilt over the ground turning the light dusty earth a dark color.

Sarlina smiled and nodded, "I understand." she said thankfully. "Your help has been most welcome, thankyou."

The old man nodded a final time then disappeered inside the crumbling building.

Taryn moved closer to Sarlina and they both stared at the vial she held before them. "So we tip the contents of the vial onto the scroll which then reveals its secrets i'm guessing?" asked Taryn.

"Exactly!" Sarlina smiled triumphantly, then looked at Taryn amusingly. "You know you should never doubt me Taryn, I knew I was right about this."

"I don't doubt you Sarlina, I just worry about you. I want you to be safe, who knows what danger's this scroll could lead to." he said protectively.

Sarlina blushed, then embraced him, wrapping her arms around his waist. She gently looked up into his face. "I'm always safe with you Taryn, thats why I need you to help me with this. We have a chance to make a difference and restore this land to its former glory."

She pulled away from him and stood looking out towards the far distance. "Avalonia was once sacred, from here we ruled all Historica and lived in harmony. But when the Druids disappeared we abused the power they left us and were cursed with the existance of other tribes and people who came from across the seas. Now we are nothing and Historica has new lands and people, evil, pure evil. But with the knowledge from the scroll we can once again rise up and rid Historica from these other beings and have our sacred realm restored. Once again Avalonia will rule Historica" She spoke enthusiastically and laughed with happiness. "Lets go and make a change Taryn." she smiled and turned to walk.

Taryn smiled coyly back, but something wasn't right. He liked the idea of a restored happy peaceful Avalonia but not at the price of other land's lives. They wern't evil, they were just people like himself who had lives and families, the only difference being that they were from another land. Its true, Avalonia was the first land to be settled in Historica and for a time Historica was just inhabited by Avalonians. But those times had past, new lands and people had settled and they had become more powerful.

"Surely we should be trying to unite with the other lands and then together fight a common enemy." he thought to himself, "Not to rid the other lands from existance". He shook his head and looked up to watch Sarlina walking ahead clutching the vial in her hand. Taryn figured she wasn't thinking straight, her mind confused with the sudden joy of discovery. He hurried on to catch up with her and the two of them walked on, leaving the old man and the cottage behind them.

History tells us that it is Man who causes trouble, that it is Man who wages war and causes death and destruction...but reality was set to prove entirey different.

To be continued............

[-Carson Haupt-]

That house looks great! I'm glad to be a citizen of this great land.

[Captain BeerBeard]

Nu Breed! I see you figured out how to make everything twisted and rotten. I love the color. It's beautiful. Can't wait for the rest.

[Kristel]

The rundown building is amazing!

[Brickington]

Amazing! Just truly amazing. Your storytelling skills are incredible as well!

[Niku]

As usual the build is great, but the story kept my attention more.

[Evil Porkchop]

The building and MOC as a whole are great. The rundown and worn that you achieved is stunning.

[brickboy12]

Is this prelude to what Rex will be doing?

[kabel]

Breath taking, as always! I doubt that there is anyone who comes close to your skills, no matter how hard they try. You definetely build in a league of your own!

[Gideon]

Really nice build, and as usual in a league of its own! The uneven angles and color palette you are using gives a realistic feeling that almost makes me forget that is Lego.

Even though I'm usually more fan of yellow minifigs, the usage of flesh figures fits very well in a MOC with this level of realism.

A bit offtopic I would love to know how your backdrop and lighting arrangements look when taking these pictures, have you shown that somewhere already or is it a secret of the trade?

[Kai NRG]

Amazing as always DC, that black roof and the wagon especially. The color blending on the house gives it a great worn feeling. Honestly though, it almost seems like there are too many different colors in the entire MOC - it's hard to know where to look first. Your border however is fantastic, and I love the run-down look and all the details!

Can't wait for the rest of the story, it's very interesting!

[soccerkid6]

Incredible how well you captured a run down feeling

The headlight bricks with reddish brown rods through them is a genius design that I'm surprised no one else has thought of before

Stunning landscape as well

[de Gothia]

Well DC, as said by others, you are in your own League. This is beautiful! So much details and technique to look at! And as SK said, that headlight techinque is great and I´m sure we will soon see that in mocs from others !

[Mike S]

Awesome stuff! So much great stuff but my focus is drawn to that wonderful wagon.

[Cara]

Absolutely gorgeous in its ramshackleness. I love the slanted walls and the beams visable through the plaster. That window frame is so fun.

[Gideon]

Great story! I can't wait to read the continuation.

I just cant stop staring at all the details in the build, so much to be inspired by. But there is one thing that disturbed my eye a small bit, and that is the pattern underneath the window on the protruding part of the house which gave me a bit of a too "pixelized" feel, for lack of a better word.

[Maxim I]

A very great story together with an amazing build!

I really thought: "wow, you just have to shake the MOC and the whole building will collapse". But I am sure it is in fact a very solid MOC you made there!

[Legonardo]

sweet build oh fearless leader! liking this story so far, keep it up!