Keymonus

Thank you for your comments! As I said before, I needed somebody to slaughter in a small battle scene, and find them in the past was the best option I realized just now that this is the third "Old memories"/"war memories", sorry!

@SkaForHire, this is my prospect on Ile de Zeus (previously Isle of Mistery): Money among the stone. I already licensed it as a prospect, paying the 25 DBs. Thank for your time in advance!

Money among the stones - Mine Prospect

Money among the stones l Keymonus l Oleon

"This is the biggest nugget we have found till now!" uttered the silver seeker "And we will find bigger ones! We are all rich!" A group of adventurers left Astrapi two weeks ago and decided to get up River of True Faith, looking for valuable minerals. Along the bank of the lesser tributary, they saw "silver nuggets" (they believe) shining among the rocks... elated, they decided to build a little hut for tools and supplies and to collect as many nuggets as they could before returning in town, where they will squander all their earnings in rhum and (utterly drunk ) look for a financier to start a real mine. Unfortunately for the seekers, some silver nuggets (even if they are really silver) don't actually mean that the surrounding hills contain a huge silver lode... but who knows what an accurate geological survey will find! PS This is my MOC of a mine prospect on île de Zeus... does somebody know which form I have to fill now to pay the 25 DBs and discover what my men found? Thank you!!!

Thank you for your comments! I wanted to represent a small battle scene and, since Marderians are already KO, I had to find another enemy! The funniest part was surely building these friendly minifigures and the pile of debris

Nice little house, Legostone! I like the classic-looking colour scheme, and also the idea of Eslandolans and Corries working together for humanitarian purposes!

Nice windmill, Captain Wolf! The octagonal design is very innovative and the ladders/blades are very effective.... In other words, it really seems a windmill!

Old memories | Keymonus | Oleon

Great drawing Khorne, and great addition to BoBS!!! This is how one of yours legionnaires would look like "in brick life"

"As I told you few hours ago, I have something interesting to recount about the letter I received. It contains nothing more than a date and a location, both written in a Varcoastan military code; the lack of any further detail confirms for me that my old comrade, as is defines himself, is in serious troubles and feared that his message could have been intercepted. For this reason, since Le Phénix is already ready for the voyage, I'll leave Astrapi with the morning tide and get to Eltina as soon as possible. For this reason, Renè, you have to manage my estate here in Astrapi for a while." "Is there such a rush, monsieur Rimbaud?" "My honour depends on it" replied Tristan seriosly "But you will shortly understand. As you know, I started my career on the Western Border, fighting bandits and marauders coming from Pontilla. Ten years ago, when I was a young lieutenant,I received my first serious task: the armies of the Great Raider got close to Pontillan border during their continuous war aganist The Great Alliance States and for this reason an Oleander and Varcoastan joint force was formed, and I was in charge of our battalion; it was more a symbolic gesture than a real help, since at the time incursions towards East were quite common and Pontilla had never been really endangered, but that time was different..." "The Great Raider declared war on Pontilla, Captain?" "Yes, Sergeant Dubois... in a sense, the Great Raider was already at war with Pontilla, since his kingdom is always at war with his neighbours. I'll be clearer: their society is basically divided in three classes. The first is composed by the knights, who own nothing but their weapons and their horses, but are allowed to take whatever they want whenever they want." "The second class is formed by plunderers and mercenaries, whose fate depends on the warlord they serve and follow during forays." "The third class is made up of farmers, artisans, peasants and so on... they spend their whole life working and wishing not to starve after their village has been plundered by their lords." "You can imagine that this kind of society completely ignores borders and is based upon perennial war." Captain Rimbaud continued: "As I was saying, when we arrived in Pontilla the disaster had just happened: after a couple of little skirmishes, the army of our allies had been directly engaged and totally destroyed by those barbarians... Western Pontilla was already on fire, and the undefended towns of the East would soon have been devastated. Alexander Braun -the commander of Varcoastan forces- and I had to act quickly, without waiting for orders: we decided to move as west as we could and we entrenched ourselves in the ruins of an ancient castle." "But you only had few hundred soldiers..." "Four hundred, to be exact. It was quite a suicidal move, but we had to allow the evacuation of civilians towards Oleander border: every day we had gained would have reduced the massacre; we knew, however, that there was no way out for us." "It was a terrible battle... there were twelve enemies for each of us, but many of them didn't use firearms and their strong cavalry was useless aganist our barricades; our brave soldiers suffered severe losses, but didn't withdraw of a footstep. The enemy commanders were furious: behind us they could almost see the rich Pontillan countyside, but simply could not pass without overwhelming us... and we resisted with nails and teeth for five days, using flintlocks and swords." "And how did you survive, monsieur Rimbaud?" "We were very lucky: on the sixth day we had almost finished our gunpowder and we were waiting for the decisive assault, but it simply didn't come... an army coming from The States of the Great Alleance wedged itself between our enemies and their territories, the oppressed peasants rose up and the front moved hundred miles west. Not to be locked out, the raiders withdrew with haste, abandoning their camp with prisoners and most of the loot... What a great day!" With a half smile, Tristan continued: "After five days of uninterrupted fight, Alexander and I had become brothers rather than simple comrades. We both promised to come without hesitation to assist the other in case of need, but also not to be too proud to forget asking for help. You can understand, my friends, that I have to hurry up... the letter I received is a serious call for help and is at least two weeks old."

Thank you! Builing the scale was surely the most challenging part, also because the barrel is much heavier than the weights. Unfortunately the windows I used are a little scatched, but thank you!

Thank you for your comments! This scene started as a little freebuild (only the dock and the boat) and then "evolved"

Great plantation, Doctor, and great LDD render! Usually I prefer brick-built things, but the details of your trees and of the harvesting process are astonishing... In short original idea an great execution, keep it up! Ps Are the Sea Rats becoming farmers? Probably a hoe will fit your better than the trident!

Quite unusual ship, but surely well built! I like both your story about the Red Friars (realistic, considering that something similar happened to Malta knights) and the use of an obsolete (but not less fascinating) ship for relatively secondary purposes. Nice job Bregir, keep it up!

Great minichallenge Maxim! I will surely join it!

Commercial Bureau - Small Commerce - License active

In Astrapi was recently opened the new Commercial Bureau. This little building, situated in the port quarter of the town, represents the heart of all the trades from and to the island. Here, in fact, goods are weighed by an impartial functionary and honest prices are defined for what will be distributed in stores or exported on other islands; the functionary is also responsible for the sample of Imperial Pound kept in the Bureau as guarantee of absolute accuracy. This building, moreover, represents a fundamental meetig point for merchants looking for or trying to sell something (in this case, barrels of spices), asking for information about the most lucrative trades or needing armed escort for their ships. Without minifigures The pieces of furniture

Reinforcements to Astrapi l Keymonus l Oleon

"All right René, I owe you a bottle of Corlander Brandy... Now you can tell me how you "guessed" that our soldiers would have landed this afternoon?" "Ahaha, you are quite philosophical about your defeat in our honest bet! This morning Le Phénix, the ship carrying the men you recruited, was spotted by the fishing vessel Trident, fifty miles north of the island: considering the different speed of the ships I could easily talk with the capitain of the latter and then arrange our little gamble right before our ship could be seen from the harbour. Knowledge is power, and sometimes also ensures a bottle of fine brandy!" Renè Duchamp, quite amused, continued "Coming back to important issues, I already estabilished provisioning and accomodation for our soldier. The upkeep costs, considering wage, food, clothes and weapons, will surely reduce our monthly balance, but honestly an additional platoon in Astrapi definitely reassures me... Maybe our investment won't end with a great fire and sharp blades among our ribs." "Your optimism moves me, can I borrow your handkerchief?" Joked Tristan Rimbaud "This time, however, you are right. Mardier is defeated but not broke, and soon they could begin a guerrilla-like campaign aganist Eslandola; a considerable number of privateers and mercenaries, however, will soon be fired and, together with deserters and adventurers, will begin to sail under a black flag. The Greens and the Corries were ready to bite each other's throat for a bunch of ruins and, on a good pretext, they would really do it... only Zeus knows what could happen then! Difficult times are certainly ahead, my friend, and ten good rifles will discourage unwelcome visitors." "Finally we will also receive fresh news from the West. I don't miss gossip about the court at all, but it's always nice to hear something from our old, civilised world, not to mention trends and rumors about colonial goods. The new Commercial Bureau here in the port will improve direct trades between Astrapi and Granoleon, but we have to invest into the right wares to ensure prosperty to our town." "Exactly, Renè. For this reason I asked Sergeant Dubois, the officer in charge, to collect as much information as possible about price changes, shortage of goods and willingness of bankers and aristocrats to invest in different businesses. If we make a bad move now, Île de Zeus will remain a minor and forgotten colony; if we make the right one, it will become the centre of the commercial routes in the archipelago." "Welcome in Astrapi, Sergeant. Did you have a smooth journey?" "Thank you, Sir. Our journey was quite smooth, we only met a couple of pirate sambuke near to Southern Oleon but they vaniquished when they saw our cannons; moreover, we picked up tailwind most of the time and didn't encounter any storm. Le Phénix is an excellent ship, and proved it during the crossing." "And what about the information I asked?" "I talked with merchants and factory owners in Granoleon and wrote a detailed report. My opinion is that, excluding a little group of old conservatives, most wealthy people in Oleon are still interested in colonial investments, in particular the ones concerning spices and sugar cane. Furthermore, Sir, I was given a letter for you: it comes from "your old comrade", the man who delivered it said so, and told that you would have understood; he seemed very circumspect and had a strong Varcoastan accent, but I couldn't guess anything more." "As the messanger told you, I understood, and it concerns a promise I made years ago... It is quite an interesting story, what about discussing it in front of a bottle of Corlander Brandy? I know someone who has just won one of that and is eager to share it with his friends..." "It seems fair, even if eager is not the best word" "Agreed, Sir! And, incidentally, this is one of the reasons why I missed you, Captain. Oh, I almost forgot: an army surgeon, Doctor Marcel Laurent, joined us. He has already been in the New World and is considered a specialist in tropical diseases. In a couple of week he will be reached by his assistant carrying surgical insruments and other stuff. He asked for a building to start a little clinic." Credit Captain Braunsfeld for the bridge

Your building is simply great! The raised baseplate and the different houses fit very well. I particularly like the first picture (sooner or later I'll steal your bridge and the windows )... it reminds me seventeenth-century buildings, half houses and half castles, where Italian and Spanish noblemen lived (mainly in Lombardy and Southern Italy)

Thank you for your comments! I'm satisfied by the overall result, even if the facade isn't exactly as I designed it at first. The most challenging part were surely the mechanical connection between the grindstone and the waterwheel and the design of the roof (keep it together was quite a challenge!!!) Thank you! I'm looking forward to seeing it!

Gunpowder for La Royale - Small Factory - License active

Gunpowder for La Royale | Keymonus | Oleon

"As you required in your letter, Monsieur Rimbaud, I invested the sum you sent in this powder mill. The property of your brimstone quarry outside the town provides us a regular flow of the most expensive raw material and, even if we still have to import saltpeter and coal, the profit margin is extremely good. Moreover, to avoid dangerous sabotages, I required a continuous watch." "You have been prudent as usual, Renè. We produce gunpowder in the New World, without additional import cost... that means more and cheaper gunpowder for our navy, and someone will probably be disappointed. Nevertheless, I think that our enemies will not dare directly attack us here... we should provide a small escort to the shipments of raw materials too. And what about water?" "The water we need comes from River of the True Faith so, except during severe droughts, the mill will keep working. But..." "But?" "Monsieur Rimbaud, I've been loyal to your family since before you were born, so I'll take the liberty of being completely frank: are you sure that investing in Astrapi, a relatively insignificant colony hundreds of miles far from our motherland, is a good idea?" "I understand your doubts, old friend of mine: you fear I will waste all my holdings on a godsforsaken island... but don't worry, I'm not looking forward to going broke: Astrapi is in a strategic position and, if the settlement grows, will become a fundamental resupply place for Oleander fleets east of Breshau, so I'm sure that my bet will soon be rewarded. Now, what about visiting the interior?" Here is were gunpowder is produced: sulphur, saltpeter and coal are grinded together by the heavy millstone; the powder obtained is then sifted and stored in barrels, wet with alchool to minimize the risk of explosion. Proportion of the three components and dimension of powder grains define the explosive power of the powder (the smaller, the stronger); the back wall seems so unstable because actually it is: in case of explosion it would direct the explosion towards an uninhabited area (in this case the river).