Grover

Nice build! You definitely captured the dark feel of the forest. I like the color combos, and the stream there. The story fits well, too. Were I to offer a suggestion, it would be to get a shot at eye level of the figures. The overall scene shots are great for builders, but difficult to see what's going on. I didn't even notice the Ninjago snake guys until the third look, and aside from their orange spikes, have low contrast with their surroundings. Particularly with forest settings where there's a canopy, it's really nice to see an eye level shot, so you get the clear lines of sight for what's going on. Love the use of the snake guys. I've been collecting them for future use in my builds, so it's good to see someone else thinking along the same lines! Nice job, and keep up the good work! I look forward to seeing your builds as your story moves forward!

Our team: @Aurore, @Basiliscus, @Grover, @LittleJohn Our team's main thread: And each individual Flickr album, for judging individual builds. Aurore Basiliscus Grover LittleJohn

This is the collaboration between @LittleJohn, @Aurore, @Basiliscus and myself. Our respective Flickr albums are below, so each of our entries can be teased apart for judging purposes, since this is one story with a combined (and one split) set of entries. @Aurore: https://www.flickr.com/photos/171544749@N03/albums/72157714434347186 @Basiliscus: https://www.flickr.com/photos/cuahchic/albums/72157714510756378 @Grover: https://www.flickr.com/photos/139107544@N04/albums/72157714519891132/with/49958080817/ @LittleJohn: https://www.flickr.com/photos/130093880@N02/albums/72157714511159513 ********** Varlyrio history recap An assassination attempt was made on the life of Bernaldo Conzaga. Since the employer of the assassin was unknown, the head of the Conzaga family, Staffen, sent most of his children away to different corners of Historica, each with their own bodyguard, to keep them safe from further possible assassination attempts. Mychel went to western Varlyrio; Gisela went to Prenmôr, Avalonia; Poppa went to Kaliphlin; the rest of the family remained in Varlyrio. Gisela accepted a position as the ambassador of the town of Prenmôr. Little is known of the whereabouts of Poppa and Mychel. Following the assassination attempt, Staffen realized that he needed to move up in the hierarchy of the Varylrian political establishment if he wanted his family to survive, so he conspired with the de Fiori and di Carlo families to try to remove the current Rego from power. Unbeknownst to the conspirators, the de Fiori family met with Rego Amancio, threatening him. Finally, Varlyrio had failed to answer the call of the Queen for elite troops to battle a threat to all Historica. The reason for this is unknown. ---------- The Downfall of the Rego Rego Suprano Amancio walked down the staircase of his home with his trusted consulente. He surveyed his home with all the trappings of wealth and power, showcasing the spoils of his family's shipping trade: marble and gold everywhere, Kolgari slaves, exotic plants from the far reaches of Historica, and expensive statues. He was concerned that all he had built was in jeopardy due to a growing sentiment in the populace that he was not effective in representing the interest of Varlyrio with the Queen of Historica (most notably in the recent failure of Varlyrio to send troops to the summons of the Queen). The stupidity of his nephew Malco and a failed assassination attempt compounded these problems and weighed on his mind. "The assassin failed to kill that wretch Bernaldo," he began. "Remind me to drown the one who hired the killer." His counselor nodded. The Rego's face was tight with anger. "It's not enough that a drunken son of a minor family managed to bed my nephew's wife while he slept in the next room, but the incompetent killer failed his task and now the Conzaga boy brags about his conquest to anyone who will listen. Even worse, someone in this house has loose lips and the Conzagas have discovered that our family is responsible for the attempt on Bernaldo's life. This lends veracity to the rumors spreading like wildfire around the country and makes us seem incompetent and foolish, especially after the success of the Queen against the Enlightened without Varlyrian troops." If the Rego was concerned that such a minor family knew of his machinations, he did not show it. "I would send another assassin, but it would only feed the conspiracy theory about our family." The consulente thought a moment as they ended their walk near the fountain in the center of the room. "I would advise that we do not acknowledge the rumors that are circulating," he said. "We may be able to start some rumors of our own about members of the Conzaga family. It has been reported that Staffen's daughter Gisela recently relocated to a poor fledgling community in Avalonia. It could be that she is fleeing some horrible crime or perhaps her family has some highly contagious disease. That would prove disastrous for their wine business and turn attention away from our family." The Rego nodded his assent. "Make it happen," he said. "I will be in my study." With that, he turned on his heel, his dark red cape spinning behind him, and he stormed past the Kolgari slaves on his way out of the room. ---------- Following the attempt on his brother's life, Mychel Conzaga had been sent away to western Varylrio with his bodyguard, Meiyo, and three members of the private Conzaga militia. As the family's lead vintner, Mychel was determined not to let his time away from the vines be unproductive, and so he dedicated himself to learning about the local horticulture on his way through the western lands of Varlyrio. Through his travels to the mountains, he was very happy, but west of the mountains the lands were arid and poor for growing much of anything. Meiyo watched as disappointment set in for Mychel as he looked at the barren landscape and he came to the realization that there would be little for him to learn. He pulled his hat lower to keep the sun off his face and eventually quit scanning the horizon for new vegetation. A few weeks later, Mychel's small caravan began to encounter a little more terrain than the flat, barren landscape he had been traveling through. To be sure, it was still a desert wasteland, but at least now there were a few rocks and ravines that broke up the flat nothing of before. As they pushed onward toward a huge dry riverbed, they walked through shallow gullies with steep washouts. Around a corner, Mychel immediately halted the caravan, causing Meiyo to start with surprise. Her hand went to her sword on her back and loosened it in its sheath. She was worried that she had missed an enemy, but then realized that Mychel had only stopped the caravan to examine an unusually colored bright blue bush and lavender leafed trees. Maybe in a different life she would have relaxed and let Mychel have his fun with a new plant, but not now. Her senses were on high alert after the assassination attempt on Bernaldo, and she scanned the area with her eagle eyes. She didn't see anything, but something wasn't quite right. They had been traveling for weeks with hardly a living plant in sight, and now, in the bottom of this washout, they had come across strange plants flourishing in the same inhospitable environment? No, there had to be someone taking care of these plants. She looked around, now worried to be at the bottom of a gully with the high ground all around her, still keeping her hand on her sword. "Look at these!" Mychel exclaimed as he grabbed a handful of the strange blue plant. "Amazing! And in this desert! If we could learn how this plant grows, we might be able to save our vines during severe drought." Mychel, lost in thought, didn't hear the slithering motion as a large purple naga slid up behind him. Meiyo, however, was not taken by surprise, drawing her sword and jumping between the naga and Mychel. Immediately, she noticed an armored large cat-man carrying a crossbow appear from a camouflaged position on top of the nearest hill. The rest of Mychel's caravan took up a defensive posture, protecting him. Mychel looked up in surprise and turned to face the naga. "I see you have found my garden," the naga said calmly. Meiyo eyed the naga closely: her four arms held a shovel, gardening shears and a bucket. Meiyo gauged that she could lop at least one of those arms off in the first attack to try and level the playing field somewhat, but was unsure of how to deal with the rest of her arms and her tail if it came to that. "We are sorry to have intruded on your personal garden," Mychel said, never one for being afraid. "It is very lovely. Tell me, how do you manage to keep these plants watered here? They are exquisite." He stepped forward, putting his hand on Meiyo's armored shoulder. Meiyo kept her sword in hand but allowed him to step to her side to see the naga better. The naga smiled. "I see you appreciate horticulture," she said. She slithered to the nearby tree and set down her gardening implements, then waved off her guard at the top of the hill, who retreated down to join her, holding his crossbow in a non-threatening manner. Meiyo still held her sword, but now in a non-threatening posture. Making sure to keep in a position where she could throw herself between Mychel and the naga, she moved with them as they walked. The naga gestured to a crude stone building cut in a rock, and another dark skinned somewhat elven looking figure clad in dark blue appeared. Meiyo stiffened, but this figure appeared to be unarmed and more timid than the naga. "This my friend Aiya who helps me tend the flowers," the naga explained. "We are from the Kolgari tribes, deep below the earth." Meiyo was a little surprised. She had never met a Kolgari before and had only heard rumors. Now she had met a naga and a Kolgari in the same day! Mychel, the naga, and Aiya talked excitedly for an hour about plants, boring the Conzaga militia and exhausting Meiyo, who was determined not to let her guard down. Satisfied that Mychel was not here on some mission to exterminate the Kolgari, and that he was indeed a skilled botanist, the naga and Aiya invited Mychel and his entourage to visit the Kolgari civilization and exchange cultivation ideas. Mychel, of course, was thrilled. The Conzaga militia were less so, and Meiyo was very dubious, thinking this would be a prime time for a kidnapping. However, she was sworn to protect Mychel and follow his lead, so they were going to have to go below the surface. She comforted herself with the notion of a resupply, since they were running low on food and particularly water, both of which the Kolgari offered. She conferred briefly with Gineto, the leader of the Conzaga militia that served as Mychel's guards, and asked him and his men to carefully mark and remember the way down into the Kolgari settlement in the case that they needed to make a hasty escape back to the surface. She similarly admonished the wagon driver to keep the horse ready for a quick trip out if needed. She then returned to Mychel and they bid their farewell to the naga, following Aiya around a number of corners and then into a cave cunningly hidden by some dead bushes and rocks. They were able to bring their horse only a short distance into the shallow cave before the passage became too narrow. The wagoneer unsaddled Mychel's horse, then led them to a small pool of water formed naturally in the wall of the cave, where the thirsty animal happily drank. Seeing that the wagoneer would stay with the horse, Aiya then led the group through the small fissure in the rear of the cave. Meiyo was on her guard, but she had to admit, it felt nice to get out of the sun and heat. The cool, damp air of the cave continued to feel cooler and more humid as they progressed down. Mychel commented on how nice the air felt on his sunburn. Aiya led them downward by lamplight for what seemed like most of the day, deep into the darkness, from one tunnel to another, until finally they reached a point where she extinguished the lamp. Meiyo's feathers stood on end, and then her eyes adjusted. What she saw before her was truly stunning. A vast, underground cavern opened before the tunnel lit with the soft glow of various plants. Mychel was beside himself, amazed at the glowing lichens and fungi. A whole underground city was here, more incredible than anyone could have imagined. This had to be the fabled sunken city of legend. Aiya led them down into the city. Tall white and gold structures could be seen in the center of the city, but it was surrounded by fields that appeared to be farms and orchards. There were plants of colors rarely seen on the surface: strange blues and purples, pinks and magentas. Mychel found the whole place fascinating. They met various of the subterranean elves on their walk into the fields of fungi, flowers, trees, and other strange plants none of them had ever seen before. After walking what seemed like a mile, Aiya stopped at a small house made from some sort of white rock. "This is my family's house. We are farmers," she said. After showing the entourage into her rather small house, she introduced Mychel to her family and led the group onto the back patio where they looked out over the fields of strange plants that trailed off into the black darkness beyond. "You are welcome to stay with us for the night," Aiya said, much to Meiyo's disappointment. Mychel, of course, was thrilled. "This is great!" Mychel said to Meiyo. "We can learn from the Kolgari the ways of underground growing and use this to great effect on our vineyards!" Mieyo pulled him aside. "We should be wary that we are not being set up for an ambush," she said bluntly. "Look around. Do you think they'd attack us now? They could have attacked us at any point in those dark tunnels and we would have been slaughtered. Now they're going to invite us into their home to attack? It doesn't make any sense, and besides, the Rego doesn't have any people down here!" Meiyo had to admit that his logic made sense. She shrugged. At least she wasn't going to get sunburnt down here. She talked to Gineto and the other guards. "We will sleep in shifts so one of us is always on guard. These elves seem all right, but there is much we do not know. Stay alert." Aiya came over to the group. "I can show you your rooms in our guest house out back. It might be a little tight for all of you, but hopefully you can manage." She led them to the guest house that her parents were preparing dinner. There were no shutters on the windows and everything was open air, presumably because there was no weather underground and the temperature was nearly constant. The temperature was a little chilly, but the climate was nice otherwise. After settling in, they were invited to dine with Aiya's family. The evening was pleasant, and the meal was surprisingly good for whatever the plants were. Meiyo had some sort of sweetish blue paste and had to admit it was quite tasty. Mychel, of course, could have no end to all the plant excitement, and seemed to get on quite well with Aiya. That night, Mychel came to Meiyo before they went to sleep. "Meiyo, this is where I need to be. I can learn how to make our vines better in drought, bring in some exotic flavors, understand how they can cultivate without sunlight... and this is the place. I expect to stay here for a couple of weeks at least." Meiyo was not particularly happy about this, but Staffen's instructions were to take the boy west and keep him safe from harm, not to take him to a specific destination. She was sure he had not intended to send the boy to the Sunken City, but that couldn't be helped right now. She agreed, and Mychel headed to bed. The next few days were interesting, learning of the surroundings and inhabitants. The Kolgari were fairly reserved, probably having never seen outsiders before, but were hospitable and pleasant. After a while, Meiyo had to admit that the Kolgari were not a threat, and although she never relaxed her guard, the time began to pass faster. The horse, which had been brought down through a different passage after Mychel had decided to stay, didn't care much for the underground environment, but it was otherwise pleasant. About two weeks into their stay underground, Mychel was out with Aiya tending to some weird light blue glowing plants when Meiyo felt her pocket getting warm. She looked down and pulled out the small stone that Staffen had given her as a means of magical communication. It was glowing. She showed Mychel the stone. "Your father sent a message." Mychel nodded, and Meiyo activated the stone. A shimmering blue version of Staffen's face appeared and it began to speak. "Mychel, I have found the person responsible for the assassination attempt on your brother's life. It was the Amancio family. Return home at once." Short and to the point. Typical Staffen. Mychel frowned. "This is not good," he said. "The Amancios are the most powerful family in Varlyrio. What can we do if they tried to kill Bernaldo?" Aiya looked at Mychel. "The Amancios have a terrible reputation here. They are known for having built their empire on the trade of Kolgari slaves. They keep Kolgari slaves as servants even still." "That's horrible. I am not surprised, but it is still horrible." He paused a moment in thought. "Who is the ruler here?" he asked. "His Majesty King Vizien," Aiya replied. "Why?" "I need to request an audience with the King," Mychel said with a sly look on his face. Aiya looked taken aback. "I don't know if that's possible," she started, "but we can go to the palace and see." "Let's go!" Mychel said enthusiastically. Meiyo looked surprised. Mychel explained. "If I can talk to the King and get support from the Kolgari, we might be able to build a force capable of overtaking the Amancios." Meiyo was surprised at the audacity of the plan, but had to admit that it had merit: no one on the surface would ever expect an attack from Kolgari troops. "It could work," she agreed. "If your father can get a coalition of troops from various families together with the Kolgari, the Amancios might be vulnerable." Mychel smiled. Aiya led them to the palace at the heart of the city, where they had to convince the guards to let them have an audience with the King. After some persuasion, the guards granted their request and stripped Meiyo and Mychel of all weapons. Meiyo was unhappy with leaving her weapons behind, but took solace in the fact that she still had a dagger hidden in her boot that every search seemed to miss. A royal herald ushered them into the palace to the throne room, while two guards followed behind. Mychel stood agape at the amazing throne room. Huge trees wound their roots downward around the throne, which was connected by a bridge to the main floor. Light came into the round room through windows that were an organically interwoven mixture of stone and plant life. Meiyo had never before seen such beauty. Mychel and Meiyo bowed before the King, who listened to Mychel's story of the assassination attempt and his pitch to depose the rule of the Amancios once and for all. The king thought silently for a moment, then spoke. "The Amancios are a cruel and ruthless family. They have enslaved the Kolgari and built their empire on the backs of our people. Alone our people do not have the logistics on the surface to face the ruling family, as they could unite all of the families against us. It is to our shame that we have not been able to help our people for decades. If what you say is true, however, and families plot to overthrow the Rego, then we will stand with you and help to free our people by ridding Varlyrio of the Amancios once and for all. I shall send a magical message to Staffen Conzaga telling him of our intent to provide troops in support of the overthrow of the Amancios and the freeing of our people." Meiyo felt a shiver run down her spine. This would be dangerous. She was going to have her work cut out protecting him. They left the throne room, headed back to Aiya's house. Mychel thanked Aiya and her family, promising to return once they had rid the surface of the reign of the Amancios. ---------- The following weeks were a blur. Mychel and his entourage sent magical word to Staffen, then quickly packed and left for home. The trip back was with purpose and made at speed. Upon arriving home, Mychel found the household swarming with activity. His sister Gisela, now some sort of local ambassador in Avalonia, had returned with some Avalonian troops and mercenaries, and Staffen had arranged with the de Fiori and di Carlo families to coordinate an assault on the Amancio troops. The Rego's failures in dealing with the Queen had brought about the cooperation of three families to depose him, while his enslavement of the Kolgari had ensured their participation. The Conzagas had a personal score to settle for the attempt on Bernaldo's life, and so had been chosen to lead the assault. His uncle Nestur was planning the attack, and Bernaldo was running about boasting of how many Amancios he was going to kill. Mychel listened to Nestur explain the trap: the coalition of forces would attack the Amancio troops while they were in the open away from the manor house. At the same time, a smaller group led by Mychel and Gisela would attack the manor house directly while it was less heavily defended. Mychel and Meiyo left to prepare for the assault. ---------- Nestur had stopped in a small copse waiting for his scouts to return. In the distance he heard hoof beats, and approaching was one of his scouts, a boy younger than Bernaldo, riding hard towards him. "Lord, we are only half a league away from the river, and I managed to approach without them noticing," the scout motioning behind him. Nestur nodded. That was good. The Rego's troops would not be expecting an attack so deep in the heart of Varlyrio. The scout continued, "It looks like most of the militia are there Lord, just as you said. Mainly pikemen and halberdiers." Again Nestur nodded. This was going better than he thought. He waved the scout back into the column and signaled for the men to start marching again. Meanwhile, near the river, the Rego's men started the day lazily. They were deep in Varlyrio and had no known enemies, and therefore had posted no sentries. Foraging parties headed out to catch game to break their nightly fast, and guards milled about aimlessly. Suddenly, approaching the river came a marching column of unidentified soldiers. Surprised, the foraging parties ran back across the bridge and raised the alarm. As the Conzaga militia marched into view, it still wasn't clear what their intentions were. Although startled from their early morning reverie, the Rego's soldiers assembled at the bridge. As their own halberdiers brought up the rear, the pikemen made an iron shield in their front. At the head stood the commander, an old veteran named Arturo that Nestur had known from the Ravaage wars. Beside him, ornately dressed, was the local tax official who took a coin from every traveler using this crossing. As Nestur's men formed up on the opposite bank, the official shouted out, "State your business in the name of the Rego!" At that, Arturo whispered in the official's ear, presumably recognising Nestur astride his horse. "I am Nestur of the house Conzaga, a loyal servant of Varlyrio," he said, producing a sneer from the official. "I come seeking justice for my nephew!" and Nestur pointed to Bernaldo. Really this was unnecessary. Atop a beautiful white stallion, clad in the best golden armour that money could buy, Bernaldo resembled something from a camp fire tale. There was no mistaking who Nestur meant, but for added effect Bernaldo waved his lance mockingly. "Your nephew seems perfectly capable of enacting his own justice," the official retorted, drawing a few laughs from the Rego's troops. Nestur turned to look, and Bernaldo's face was flush red. He hoped he would not do anything rash. He saw the boy dig his spurs in, lower his lance and charge across the bridge! The fool! Nestur thought. No sane man would charge into pikemen while mounted. Nestur's plan had been to whittle down the pikemen with the Conzaga crossbowmen, and use the Avalonian infantry, kindly brought back by Gisela courtesy of Lady Gwenllian, to do most of the close quarters fighting. It wouldn't do if Bernaldo was killed in the very battle where the Conzagas were enacting revenge for his attempted murder! Without any other choice, Nestur ordered a full out attack. The Conzaga crossbowmen shot accurately into the densely packed ranks of pikemen, and the halberdiers and Avalonians crossed the bridge to save Bernaldo. Nestur followed behind, keeping a commanding view of the carnage. As Bernaldo crossed the bridge, lance couched, he struck the militia commander in the neck, the force of the blow knocking his helmet off. Arturo had no chance, and was dead before he struck the ground. Nestur saw Bernaldo shimmy his horse deftly past two raised pikes and chased down the routing militia. With their commander killed so suddenly, many had thrown down their weapons and run for their lives. In the end it was more of a massacre than a battle, with the Rego's demoralised soldiers offering little resistance. The elite pikemen gave a good account of themselves, but isolated and leaderless, they quickly offered surrender rather than die pointlessly. In the end, the dejected prisoners were rounded up and accepted their fate. Bernaldo returned from rounding up the enemy stragglers, a huge grin on his face. "Did you see that uncle! They'll fear us now!", Bernaldo exclaimed, pleased with his performance. "Yes nephew, you did well.", Nestur said calmly. Inside he was angry that Bernaldo's recklessness almost got himself killed, but in the end, the result spoke for itself. The tax official had lost his tongue, and Bernaldo brandished his sword at him, mocking his defeat. Nestur pulled him away to look at the dead. These were ordinary men, who had little agency in the power plays of their masters. Meanwhile, the Conzaga troops raided the enemy stores - there would be a feast tonight. The Conzagas had won this battle, but as Nestur surveyed the battlefield from the balcony of one the houses, he hoped that the second phase of the plan would go as smoothly. ---------- Mychel, Meiyo, Gisela, and her bodyguard Mohatu had all prepared the night before and barely slept. They had waited in a neighboring warehouse until first light, then led their troops to fiercely assault the Amancio manor. The defenders put up quite a fight, but only a skeleton crew had been left to guard the manor house. Within an hour, the Conzaga, de Fiori, and di Carlo families supported by Kolgari troops had taken the manor. Inside, the Rego was protected only by his last two bodyguards. His manor house was half burnt, with broken marble and gold everywhere. The normally impeccable Rego had lost his cape and his hair was tousled from the fighting. Mychel, Gisela, and their bodyguards confronted the Rego. He was surrounded, out of options. "Surrender!" Mychel cried. Seeing his predicament, the Rego pulled a magical green gem out of his pocket. Years ago, he had a wizard enchant it as a last resort for a situation like this. He crushed it in his hand. "You have not seen the last of me!" he shouted as the room began to shake. A huge earth elemental appeared from the floor, throwing pieces of dirt and tile everywhere. It grabbed the Rego and disappeared with him through the floor, carrying him away underground for his escape. The wily Rego had saved one ace up his sleeve! Seeing their master flee, his bodyguards dropped their swords and surrendered. The coalition had won the day, and they bound the surrendered troops and led them off the property. The Kolgari troops freed their enslaved kin, welcoming them back. Of course, the Varlyrian families sacked the house for valuables. Mychel and Gisela were left standing in the ruined foyer of the mansion in front of the broken fountain as looting and chaos reigned around them. "We are entering a new era, brother," Gisela commented, looking about at the once grand seat of power of Varlyrio. "Indeed, Ambassador," Mychel smiled. "The rule of the Amancio family has come to an end!"

This cracked me up! Let me say, this is a really outstanding build! You have managed to make a scene that looks clean and well-polished and yet still have a look of being an older room with worn stone walls. Not an easy balance, and you made it look great! The first pic has some really nice features. The golden ornamentation on the rails is fantastic, the guards look great, and the owl statue fits perfectly. I love the minis, too, how the advisor is running to catch up. The second picture really steals the show, though. I love the old school ladder and the statue above the door. The use of the puma as a stuffed trophy is great and subtle. The chandelier looks great for the office, and the decorations you inlaid into the front of the desk look good. Of course, your stories are well done, and this is no exception, adding just the right amount of deception and intrigue without beating everyone over the head with it or making a story so complex that it becomes confused. Great job!

Really gorgeous build! It's funny, because you and I had similar ideas (you'll see when our team posts our story). Love the detail and the color schemes. It really looks good like a Venetian house interior. The open scheme you used is great, and you make excellent use of the trans purple and pink bricks (I struggle to use them in my builds). The face in the curtains, the slightly leaning fences, the SNOT tooth plates... all outstanding. The lighting, particularly the light through the windows and doorways, is great. As for the story, it's good, but there are some details you may want to edit to make them consistent with canon: According to canon, Staffen sent Mychel, Gisela, and Poppa away. Bernaldo and Staffen's brother Nestur (as well as his father Besil, but he's retired) are still in Varlyrio. Poppa is distinctly not in Varlyrio (she is in Kaliphlin), and was probably the best guarded of the children whose whereabouts were the least known. Not saying she couldn't be kidnapped, but you could edit this to say that he had sent away some of his capable children, and didn't hide Poppa well enough, since she had been found and kidnapped in Kaliphlin, not Varlyrio. It would be an interesting story to build, since there may be some infiltration of the Conzaga family in order to find out here location. I would expect there to be some necessary explanation for why she was able to be found (as @Basiliscus points out it could be a de Fiori influenced family). I found Staffen to be portrayed as kind of cowardly and sniveling, which is not the vibe I have had of other stories of him, but perhaps that was intentional and meant to show that he was only interested in saving himself in the end. I did like the rest of the story, however, and I think you're doing a great job shaking up the somewhat static Varlyrio right now. The di Carlos entering and the shakeup of power with the Rego is great so far. I look forward to reading Parts II and IV!

There are some really cheap plastic drawers out there that will degrade over a fairly short amount of time (a few years) and these are problematic. Usually these are very cheaply manufactured and you get what you pay for. These would likely be better to buy metal, but then again, it would just be better to buy quality drawers to start with, and the cheap plastic drawers are usually the ones with outgassing issues. As an aside, some of the older Akro-Mils metal cabinets used to have PMMA drawers that not only became brittle quickly, but also outgassed heavily, so beware to any thinking that metal framed cabinets with plastic drawers is the way to go!

I would be somewhat careful drawing a comparison between metal and plastic. You are correct when you say that metal has been around thousands of years and plastic is young by comparison, but that also means we are unaware of how plastic ages in the long term. Leaching of plasticizers, flame retardants, and other additives can be problematic, as well as embrittlement and breakdown over time due to thermal and/or ultraviolet wear. So if you want something to be around a thousand years, metal is probably the way to go. Also, plastic receivers on firearms are one thing (and specialized plastics at that), but you won't see the chamber on a firearm made out of plastic: those are still metal because the ultimate strength is so much greater. However, I will agree with your point because we are dealing with plastic parts. If we want a cabinet that outlasts our ABS, then it should be made from metal (or glass!). We don't need to worry about thermal or UV breakdown of our cabinets since these things would damage what we're storing in there (i.e., Lego). The one thing we all must be careful of with plastic containers of any sort is how much they outgas. Acrylic (i.e., PMMA) outgasses quite a bit and, like PVC, can damage Lego over time since the volatile outassed chemicals (e.g., methyl methacrylate and methyl formate from PMMA) can partially dissolve the ABS, ruining it. So check to make sure your storage containers are made from polymers with low outgassing!

Wow, somehow I missed this, too. You're really using this quarantine to your advantage! The build is really gorgeous, and I'm enjoying seeing the Akrbri river develop as it expands! The roofing is elegant and simple, and the walls are decorated with just enough to make them interesting but not so much as to distract. I like the clean, interesting lines they make. I like the use of the arches, and the double-layered texture with the doors behind the arches on the inner wall. Great job!

Not sure how I missed this, but it's fantastic. Love the duplo sheep! I used one some years ago for one of my first challenge builds, and I think the incorporation of the Duplo animals is great. The harness with chains and the use of the horns is outstanding!

Very cool! Love the colors and the array of troops. The uniformity of the archers is quite remarkable. One question: do they say "Hail Heidra?" I don't know if you are planning on writing a story to go with your builds, but if you are, we would welcome you in the Guilds of Historica. You have already satisfied one of our mini-challenges of showing your troops!

Good luck on your move! In the meantime, I am interested in where Beleg's story is going. As for the build, I don't want to harp on things much as it seems like you were a bit rushed due to the move, but a few things, like minimizing the number of colors and maximizing light on the build when taking pictures can help a lot. Even if you're just using a cell phone camera, more light, especially from LEDs or a bright source, can really help, especially if you have a few lights from multiple angles to eliminate shadows. Look forward to seeing more of the story after your move!

Really beautiful! There's so much going on here. I like the muted color palette and how it works with the bright blue and white popping out against it. The fence technique with the hoses looks superb, and the slightly askew roof tiles are outstanding. The scale and setup of the scene are great, too. If I had to offer suggestions, they would surround the wooden wall. Usually crenelations were only facing outward on a wall particularly if they fenced in an inner higher area, unless there was a defensive reason, since if the wall was overrun, the inner defenders on higher ground wanted the enemy to be exposed and not have a defensive position to use against them. However, if the wall does not enclose anything for some reason, this would make more sense. Love the wood paneling on the wooden section of the castle: the plates it takes to do that become expensive, but the look is well worth it. I also like your choice of colors to break up the grey of the wall. It looks old but well cared for. Really excellent work! Which guild are you with? We have had a lot of old guild members returning and I am curious who you are building for.

Awesome to see the Nocturns saga continue! I appreciate how you made your build consistent with the previous builds, too. Great job with the detail here. The rockwork, particularly up top, looks very natural, and I like how you have multiple scenes there so we can see what's going on. Excellent work!

This is a fantastic river scene. You really hit the water depth well, and I love the banks of the river, how you can see the way the water has cut it down. There is a spot exactly like this on a river near where I grew up that has a bizzare 90° turn, so I don't find it unbelievable at all. The leaves on the whip tree are great, too, and I like the consistency between the builds you have for vegetation. Great job!

Cute little build! I like the upside down flower stems for a pine tree, and the use of the slope pieces and slight curve to the bridge is great!

Wow, welcome back! What a build of Albion, too! It's such a great build and you have so many awesome things going on it's hard to know where to start. First, the overall color scheme is fantastic. I love the bright colors against the grey background. It gives it the castle feel while still bringing some excitement into the build. The detail is really fantastic--the slopes on the blue roofed stall, the stained glass with gold, the random livestock that would be quite realistic for the period, the goods tied to the wagon roof with the net (really awesome!), and the non-square layout to the whole thing. I also like the way the streets are paved (showing the importance of the capital). I am very excited to see your work!

Very nice use of the foliage pieces here, and the rockwork is very nice. The tree trunk is interesting, although I have a hard time seeing the trunk itself for the 1x2 rasterization of it. I like the technique, though. It looks good on the upright tree. I hope the people sparring have some good balance though, it looks like some treacherous footing! Nice work!

I love the time of year when you can see new growth. It's a really beautiful season, and you've captured it marvelously here! Great use of the blues in the flowers and birds, capturing their colors against the greens. The bush and tree stump are excellent, and I like the way you built the path in two layers. Excellent work!

Thank you! I am glad you enjoyed the writing and the story. I definitely had some fun with the bear cavalry, and they're now on the Mitgardian intro thread!

Love it! It's got a post-apocalyptic or perhaps just urban blight feel to it. I like the level of detail with all the junk you threw in there, like the tires and the trash, and the off-kilter ice cream sign. The grasses between the concrete and the boarded up windows are a nice touch, too. Of course, if this is a really rough area of town and you want to go for realism, some syringes and bottles may be in order, too, plus maybe one of those new shopping cart pieces with a wheel removed! I really like this and I think it will help inspire me to do some rundown buildings myself!

That's interesting to hear. In any case, I really like it. It reminds me of Hohenschwangau Castle a bit. Great work!

In your wishlist, you can set a maximum price, then on the 'buy all' option, use the checkbox to exclude parts above your maximum. That way you can weed out sellers that have exorbitant prices.

Thank you! It was a lot of work, but I was happy with how it turned out. I hadn't seen a picture of Glorfindel with his helmet off, so I assumed that his hair color matched the hair on his face. His hair is the only dark grey hair piece I have, so that's what I used! The Golden Goblet is just a name I made up for what I think is the previously unnamed tavern depicted in Belynia, Avalonia, in the HSS thread by @Simon_S. I don't know if he's active or not, but I figured it wouldn't be bad to do an interior of something previously built. If that tavern had been named the Green Goblet, I can edit the story to fix it. The wall lattices were a B&P purchase. Turns out there's not a lot of them in brown out there! I'm glad you liked the lighting. I was thinking of doing all the pics with that lighting, but you couldn't see everything, so I opted to take the roof off for all but the initial shots. Thanks again!

Very exciting! I love watching the building progress. The slopes and curves on the roofline are great, and you have a very good eye for decoration. I will point out that the roof is Avalonian colored, however... a little nod to your neighbors in the south? The braziers lighting the porch are a nice touch as well. Enjoying watching this progress!

As a side question, how did we wind up with LotR in the Historic Themes, and Licensed didn't get it? LotR isn't exactly historic. We do have some Roman builds happening, too (most notably the crucifixion recently), so perhaps a forums for that? And does each subforum consolidate discussion and MOCs, or is it just MOCs there, and all discussion happens in the main forum?