The Hand Book II: Escape from Lagash Ur

[MassEditor]

Korrak feels a hand grab him and lead him away while shouts rise up behind him. He struggles at first, not understanding what had just happened or where his brother was. He is pushed a long for a few minutes before his vision begins to return. He looks up and sees Anfauglir leading him down a long hallway. Behind him are Rokkar and Anzar stumbling along, obviously still blinded from the mysterious flash.

Korrak: What the hell just happened, and where are you taking us?

Anfauglir quickens the pace.

Anfauglir: If you keep quiet and do as I say, we'll have plenty of time for questions later. Let's keep moving because I promise Senurhem's hospitality doesn't get any better than what you saw earlier.

By now Anzar and Rokkar could see and started asking the same questions but Anfauglir hurried them along without a word.

Korrak: Let's do as he says, he’s the only one not trying to kill us.

Anzar isn't reassured. Is this another trick? Another trap?

Anzar: I trust him no more than I trust you two.

Anfauglir leads them down a myriad of hallways, several times fighting off soldiers who were now searching the entire fortress. They continue until Anfauglir stops at a large decorative fountain filled with molten lava. He activities a hidden switch, draining the lava and revealing a stone door. They rush through before Anfauglir flips another switch. The door closes and the sound of running lava can be heard on the other side.

Anfauglir: They shouldn't know we came this way, but we'll still have to bypass the guards patrolling outside.

They follow the corridor for several minutes before reaching a dead end of stone walls. Anfauglir reaches into a small hole cleverly hidden on the wall, lifting it up and unveiling a sky bathed in the orange-purple hues of an ending day. Above them the fortress walls tower upward, and the shouts of orcs can be heard nearby. They sneak for several more hours through the rough terrain before Anfauglir advises a rest.

Anfauglir: We need a break, though it may not be for long. Senurhem and Raavage are surely scouring the mountains in search of our little party.

No one argues. The day's events had taken a toll on all of them. Anzar sits on the ground and stretches out his tired legs while Korrak helps dress his brother's wound. Anzar contemplates the strange situation he's found himself in. He came to Lagash Ur to seek revenge against the Zugal, now he was escaping alongside them. He knew little of Anfauglir, expect that his life was now in the necromancer's hands. Anfauglir and Korrak talk briefly but as old friends, which does not encourage Anzar's trust in Anfauglir. Nevertheless Anfauglir had helped them escape and taken great risks to do so. Besides, it is not wise to travel the Rakarth without guide, especially when hundreds of hostile soldiers are tracking you down. Still, a million questions buzz inside Anzar's head.

Anzar: Necromancer, if this is another trap, I am too tired to avoid it. I have no choice but to trust you. Yet I must know, why did you forsake your people to help us escape?

Anfauglir: Necromancer? I have not been called that in some time, at least not by those so deeply indebted to me. Please, call me Anfauglir. To answer your question, by breaking with Senurhem I do not forsake my people but hope to save them. Senurhem has tied his fortunes to Raavage and the Black Spire. He hopes for limitless power but does not see his greed will bring doom to our lands, and possibly all of Historica.

Anfauglir knows this answer has only raised more questions, but cries in the distance instantly grab the party's attention. Raavage's troops must have caught their scent and were moving in.

Anfauglir: We have to go now. In a few hours we'll make it to my camp in the next valley, where my men are waiting. There we'll be safe. I'll try to explain everything I can then.

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About this MOC:

Greetings again! This is my third build covering the events directly after the Zugal/Dragon Master battle as well as Raavage's continued attempts to dominate Nocturnus. I'll be the first to admit this is a pretty rushed build, but I hated leaving you guys off with that cliff hanger on the last installment! Unfortunately life got a little busy recently and this build isn't quite all I wanted it to be (I suppose they never are - I just end up abandoning them at some point). I played with the lava fall forever and finally gave up on the current incarnation. I'm not to happy with the rock work either. I really wanted it to look like old layers of lava that had formed to rock with a carved out "bowl" where the lava wall had eroded the rocks for ages. I hope that kinda comes across but I really think it would have been more effective on a scene that was a bit bigger. This is certainly not the most decorative fortress wall ever, but I thought the clean, strange angles gave off a sinister feel. It definitely gave me some ideas for expanding this build in the future!

In any case, I certainly appreciate y'all taking a look and, of course, any C&C is always welcome!

For past and future installments, please see the following!

The Hand Book II: Summit at Lagash Ur

The Hand Book II: Summit at Lagash Ur Part II

The Hand Book II: Escape from Lagash Ur

The Hand Book II: Anfauglir's Camp

The Hand Book II: A Gathering Storm

For a refresher on the events leading up to these series of builds, please start here!

As a final note, let me add that I cannot wait to build a green field again!

Edited July 22, 2014 by MassEditor

[Yooha]

The lava flowing through the grille looks good. Waiting for the remaining parts of the story!

[mccoyed]

The lava and black rockwork are awesome. I especially love that final picture. The trouble I see is just in how the very geometric castle walls clash with/draw attention to the rock work in a way that seems a bit jarring. I'd say just a bit more variety in the landscape would work wonders.

[Lord Vladivus]

I'm not a fan of the way the tower meets the rock, but otherwise fantastic build! Also didn't see the twist coming! I STILL WANT TO KNOW MORE! Can't wait to see the end results of this!

[Scaevola]

Nice work,I like the fortress section as well as the "waterfall" of lava. The black rockwork is a little too conform for my taste, but great work overall

[plew2000]

Wow very cool I like the use of all the tiles and awkward pieces.

[Lady K]

Very nice. I like the lava and black rock work! The walls do look sinister, maybe dark gray would have given a more evil look.

Can't wait for more!

[Infernum]

Ooh, the plot thickens! Nice build too! Did you consider SNOT rocks for the crusted lava look?

[Torgar]

I really like the look of the lava flow and how the fortress looks. Great job!

[Hammerhand]

Another great build! And so many slopes! Great job on this, Mass Editor!

[Jorrith]

This is always a joy to read... Great build, love the lava in particular!

[soccerkid6]

I've always liked seeing Nocturnus builds with plenty of lava The black rockwork looks great and the wall/towers look quite intimidating. And the story just keeps getting more intriguing!

[MassEditor]

The lava flowing through the grille looks good. Waiting for the remaining parts of the story!

Thanks Yooha, hopefully in just a couple of days I'll have some more!

The lava and black rockwork are awesome. I especially love that final picture. The trouble I see is just in how the very geometric castle walls clash with/draw attention to the rock work in a way that seems a bit jarring. I'd say just a bit more variety in the landscape would work wonders.

Thanks a ton mccoyed for the feedback! I totally agree with your criticism, just a little bit more time and work and yeah, I think the rockwork could have been much better, especially where it meets the wall.

I'm not a fan of the way the tower meets the rock, but otherwise fantastic build! Also didn't see the twist coming! I STILL WANT TO KNOW MORE! Can't wait to see the end results of this!

Thanks LV, not much longer!

Nice work,I like the fortress section as well as the "waterfall" of lava. The black rockwork is a little too conform for my taste, but great work overall

Thanks S-man, always appreciate your feedback!

Wow very cool I like the use of all the tiles and awkward pieces.

Thanks dude!

Very nice. I like the lava and black rock work! The walls do look sinister, maybe dark gray would have given a more evil look.

Can't wait for more!

Thanks again adventurer1! I know it's hard to tell in this photo but the castle wall is built in dark bley. Unfortunately, in contrast to the black rockwork, it really came out looking light bley in the photos.

Ooh, the plot thickens! Nice build too! Did you consider SNOT rocks for the crusted lava look?

Thanks Infernum! Yes, I have come to love snot rockwork but it can be very time consuming and I was running so far behind on this I thought I would just rush it.

I really like the look of the lava flow and how the fortress looks. Great job!

Thanks dude!

Another great build! And so many slopes! Great job on this, Mass Editor!

Haha, thanks Hammerhand, glad you liked it!

This is always a joy to read... Great build, love the lava in particular!

Thanks Jorrith! I linked the first two parts of the story above so in case you missed anything please have a look!

I've always liked seeing Nocturnus builds with plenty of lava The black rockwork looks great and the wall/towers look quite intimidating. And the story just keeps getting more intriguing!

Thanks again SK! I think part of the reason I joined Nocturnus was because I had so many 1x1 orange dots!

[TheUtilityBelt]

The lava! It's beautiful! Can't wait for the next one!

[Garmadon]

Great job with the lava flow, MassEditor, and captivating story (as usual )!

I agree with the others that the rock-work and wall could have used a bit more variety, but excellent work for a rushed build

[Gideon]

Great work with the lava, both the flow and the cooled off black lava rocks!

I also like the grate a lot and of course the story Looking forward to reading more!

[Gabe]

The epic story continues! Nice build ME, the grate and the lava fall are definitely the highlights. A little more height variation between the black rock and the fortress wall would work wonders, as the line where the the two meet looks unnaturally straight (though who's to say what's unnatural in Nocty? ), but i'm sure you are aware of this. I look forward to seeing Anfauglir's camp!

[Gunman]

Another great moc from you ME, I like the smoothness of your rockwork

[Yzalirk]

The lava flow looks really nice!