gedren_y Posted February 20, 2015 Posted February 20, 2015 (edited) Quest for the Egg Part I Somewhere east-northeast of Sultan's Gate: A sandstorm had gotten Sdair Zuuree and Kynkayd Hernbolnd lost until the Rakath were in sight again. This had taken several days. Finally they stumbled upon a trade route. With a correct heading, and a stable path in the right direction, the adventurers moved with purpose. It wasn't long before Sdair and Kynkayd encountered others along the way. Lady Kiila of the Red Sand Dynasty was on her first excursion with her brother Aven and their old family retainer Durn. To Kiila, the fair-skinned men became a welcome diversion from her brother's complaints about her attire. Sdair's strange replacement eye intrigued her. Then the ground started shaking. Sdair and Kynkayd were able to stay in the saddle, but the others were unseated and their mounts fled. Sdair being an honorable man, and Kynkayd not wanting to disagree the formidable warrior, decided that the five of them should find shelter for the night. In the morning they could look for the missing horses. What they found was the remains of some long lost wall, luckily with shattered wood strewn about. The wood gathered became a fine blaze as the sun slipped below the horizon. That night Lady Kiila inquired about the Nestlands Clansmen's quest, and how it came about. "Ah, dat der be a long, windin' tale," Sdair began wistfully, "An it begins wit da first Books of de Armored Eagle Goddess, taught to de ancient clansmen by de Sky Elves." "Sky Elves?" Kiila asked with relish, "I've never heard of that race, and my family's library is quite extensive." "Dey'r not a race, lass," Sdair replied with a grin, "Dey were a group of many elf races, even de Drow. Dey w'rship'd de Armored Eagle Goddess. Dey came ta de ancestr'l clan lands, far in de north, an' settl'd on a mountain dey called White Perch." "So your people came from Mitgardia?" Kiila interjected. "Dis wuz nearleh three an' a half thousan' years 'go. T'wasn' Mitgardia den." Sdair replied, then continued, "De Book of Confusion wuz de prophecies of de Goddess, writ in Green Elvish. It told of de Goddess leavin' dis world at de White Perch, and her returnin' in a deep place near a gran' nest of metals." "You speak as if you've actually read the original books," Kiila said with incredulity, "In Green Elvish?" "Nay de origin'l books, but fait'fl copies," Sdair answered, "Me da insisted Ah be able to read de words wit'out translashun." "And your being able to read Green Elvish is why you're on this quest now." Kiila inferred. "Yer quick, lass," Sdair said, continuing, "In de days when mah people settled de place we call de Nestlands, dey found an ancient cavern long sealed off. In it dere were piles of treasure and scrolls of all sort, car'f'leh orgehnized under paintin's of shields. One of de shield paintin's wuz copied for de Ghuin Nol High Guard." "Ghuin Nol High Guard?" inquired Kiila, "I read a report about the Battle of Queenscross that mentioned them." "Aye, Capt'n Hos wuz a good man," Sdair sighed, "Twas about de time he rushed off ta dat battle, mah boss den had ah bunch of scribes copyin' everathin' in de gran' librarehs of de clans. Ah got to read a scroll found in dat ancient cavern. De note alon' with the scroll said it wuz found in a pile under a Drow shield paintin'. . ." "The scroll was written in Green Elvish, by a Drow?" Kiila surmized. "Aye, an' it told of a tunnel dey found. De Drow dat entered died in strange ways," Sdair explained, "De words reminded me of de Book of Confusion. Dere's a passage about de traps dat await de unbelievin', an' how dey would die iffin' dey tried ta enter da Deep Nest. Evrehthin' listed in de Book of Confusion wuz in dat scroll." "So a scroll written by a Drow, gathered into a cavern thousands of years ago by someone unknown," Kiila ticked off, "Found by your ancestors, and transcribed during the Revolword War has put you on this quest today?" "Aye," Sdair answered. "Wow!" Kiila exclaimed. ---------------------------------------------------------------- While his sister prattles on with Sdair, Aven is counting stars to bore himself asleep. Kynkayd half-listens to Sdair's recounting, his wine bottle nearly empty. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Sdair settles himself into prayer. Kiila continues to eye Sdair with joyous interest. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Durn is worried about Lady Kiila. Her obvious interest in Sdair makes him want to stay awake and keep watch, but his body doesn't want to comply. Sdair's tale shows Durn that his faith and theirs are very far apart. "It will never work," Durst mumbles as he slips into dreamland. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Some overview shots of the build. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CCC? Edited February 23, 2015 by gedren_y Quote
Spader Posted February 20, 2015 Posted February 20, 2015 Interesting photo-editing.....and nice build! Quote
Lord Vladivus Posted February 20, 2015 Posted February 20, 2015 Nice build! Great story, I love how you have Sdair's accent! Quote
Jorrith Posted February 20, 2015 Posted February 20, 2015 Like the shopped background, it works really well! Also an excellent build, but what happened to the pictures? The overview pictures are pretty decent, but the others are a bit pixelated. Quote
gedren_y Posted February 20, 2015 Author Posted February 20, 2015 Thanks guys, but the background isn't photoshopped. It is actually a high quality picture of NGC 346 (upside down) in my large cosmos book. It took me over an hour to get the build in the right light, and at the right tilt to get the star field effect. The pictures aren't crisp because the build was in a precarious position (which had fallen several times before), so I just got the shots I could and moved on. Sdair's accent is fun to write, but a bit of a challenge. It represents an exaggeration of the local country drawl here. Quote
LittleJohn Posted February 20, 2015 Posted February 20, 2015 Great job, I really like the ruins Excellent campfire too Quote
soccerkid6 Posted February 21, 2015 Posted February 21, 2015 Neat desert landscape, I like the bits of ruins Very cool background choice too Quote
gedren_y Posted February 23, 2015 Author Posted February 23, 2015 (edited) Thanks. It seems I have a knack for desert ruins. The campfire was intended to be lit from below, but I couldn't get the light source positioned well enough to register in the low angled night shots. The build kept falling from its tilt as well, so I had to forgo it. I added a link to Quest for the Egg Part I to the top of the thread. Edited February 23, 2015 by gedren_y Quote
MassEditor Posted February 23, 2015 Posted February 23, 2015 Interesting build and great story, the star effect looks awesome too! Quote
Mike S Posted February 23, 2015 Posted February 23, 2015 Nice build and awesome use of a book for a backdrop! Quote
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