CapOnBOBS

The return of @KotZ!!! Love the gator strung up ready for 'processing.' Welcome back!

@Ayrlego prospect license paid

*splash!..... slosh slosh slosh.... thud* "eh hem, I claim this land... for Oleon... and in the name of his Royal Majes..." Proudly declared Luis Gabon until his grand moment was cut short. "Wait, what, you know 'this land' is already 'claimed' by 'his Royal Majesty, right!?" RNTC Engineer Captain LaMond said half to himself and half to Luis. Utterly perplexed at the scene unfolding before him. "What!?" Luis didn't even turn around to face the inquisition. Formerly of Granoleon and Royal Court politics meddling, and now, having apparently found the last straw of certain members of the high counsel, newly appointed 'Royal Geological Surveyor of Ile sous le Vent.' "These are untamed lands and it is by divine decree that I must bring the Light of his Majesty to this unexplored corner of the world!" *facepalming* Lamond, "Wait did you think they just dropped us in this launch, the three of us, with I don't know, 200 LBs of surveyor equipment and ore testing sets to just... what... figure it out?... To brave whatever fortunes await us with our rock hammers and beakers?" "Well yes? yes!" Luis' certainty flagged, and was immediately bolstered, "Certainly the local tribes must be cured of their evil ways and brought into the full splendor of..." LaMond, fully grasping the situation now, "You do realize that missionaries have been here for years, that the settlement of Kojima is right over that dune, and that this has been, not just a royal territory, but a Crown Settlement, well on a year now right?" Now he couldn't resist, "DID YOU NOT!? Do you even speak the local language! How were you going to 'convert the heathens' by yelling at them in your Granoleon accent!?" Luis' shoulders slumped as LaMond continued, "Did you think... the three of us... hoping out of a launch with that ridiculous oversized flag and your.... what is that... a fencing foil?.... were going to build civilization on a desert island?" Laughing hysterically, "That you slapping that flag into the sand with myself, Pierre, and the Pantheon of the Faith as your witnesses is how National borders are set?" "Look man, tell you what, help Pierre unpack the survey equipment and I WON'T include this scene in my report back to RNTC headquarters. In fact, start grabbing up some samples, I'm going to 'strike out on my own, foraging for food...' over the dune to Kojima... ha... idiot..." LaMond splashed out of the launch, and continued to laugh as he walked up the dune, "Ha... I claim this land! hahahahaha!" Prospecting Build in Kojima, Ile sous le Vent.

A large artisan cafe by the RNTC, serving Vineyard of Light wines and a variety of local and imported foods. A large silvery refinery (factory) by the RNTC, turning raw ore from across the Empire into pure ingots of silver for local smiths, RNTC and Crown payments, and onward trade across the Brick Seas.

Of course the RNTC will not stand by idle as the LBSF scoops up prime real estate in Nola Mar. Recently, a upscale villa was purchased in the city center and renovated into a large artisan cafe. Some token grape vines have been placed in the gardens to attract patrons with the promise of the RNTC's own private label "Vineyard of Light" wines. Maintaining the classic villa feel and obligatory observance to the Faith, the central atrium contains a fountain and a marble likeness of Hermes, a well played move to ask for swift and safe voyages for RNTC ships traversing the Brick Seas. RNTC seems to deliberately recruit beautiful waitresses to all of their establishments. This just can not be coincidence. Well, it certainly attracts those Grenadiers, up from their Headquarters in North Sil on a pass no doubt. Sigh... taking the good with the bad, they are loud, but jolly, quick to fight, but only amongst themselves and regardless of how it started and how rough it gets, it ends with laughter and another bottle opened. Anyway, the ladies seem to find them charming and they certainly know how to run up a tab. "So it goes... I keep things well stocked for both food and drink, so long as everybody has a drink in hand, all is well." says Pierre, the manager of this latest RNTC establishment. As he pours a drink from a tapped barrel on the bar, he continues without looking up. "You know, those Soldiers fought like hell to free us from the yoke of King's Port..." shaking his head to himself, "things are much better here now, and we have our glorious king and those brave Soldiers to thank for it!"

Commerce

Thanks all, this one was a LONG time in the making and even longer time it lived in my head. Obviously Venice, some parts inspired, the tower I tried to make as close as possible and am really happy with how it turned out. This theme just seems to make sense to me for Nola Mar

Large.... boom

The LBSF, recognizing thr importance of Nola Mar, have invested in a massive Royal Commercial Venture, the Nola Mar Campanile.

The LBSF, recognizing thr importance of Nola Mar, have invested in a massive Royal Commercial Venture, the Nola Mar Campanile.

Admiral Retired Beauchamp walked out of the ornate, newly constructed LBSF Hall into the newly constructed waterfront square of Nola Mar. Home to the prized relique, the Quiver of Artemis, Nola Mar is very much the spiritual capital of the Empire of Light. While the primary Oleon Settlement on Terraversa must by the destiny of geography become an important trade hub. Construction of the giant bell tower, therefore begun immediately as part of the King's Herculean efforts to Rebuild Terraversa and to consolidate the Crown's hard won gains. Now complete, the Campanile towered over the city. A undeniable landmark to all shipping and a signal of the prestige of Oleon's primary settlement on the island. Nike as Wing-ed Victory adorns the spire. Around the top, panels harken to the majesty of Oleon. The strength of the Empire. Our glorious and benevolent monarch... Including the Royal Personage himself on his thrown... And the might of Blue Coat Arms... Moved by the patriotic sacrifices and ultimate victory of Oleon, the leading nobles and businessmen of the LBSF brought forth the initial funds and designs for the great undertaking. As such, their palatial Nola Mar headquarters is centrally located on the great square. As construction is now complete, many of the contributors have joined the old Admiral for a tour of their contributions and the long effort of the craftsmen. First he brought the small party of Oleon's greatest houses to the new municipal building and the giant fountain and column dedicated to those brave Soldiers and Sailors that gave their lives in the fighting here. The single blue marble column would stand out proudly above the rooftops of the city, if not for the towering Campanile in the background. The government building, fountain, and column are centrally located on the square. The entire square was built up with retaining walls expanding the existing harbor and waterfront out into the calm waters of the bay. and adjacent to the creek now turned into a proper canal. Additiinal LBSF offices occupy high end commercial offices across the canal. The central square has attracted such a wide variety of art and culture, always buzzing with exotic activities. The view up the tower from the main square keeps newcomers craning their necks. It is particularly encouraging to see the local Atwi welcome and integrated into the melting pot of Nola Mar's population and at ease retaining their traditions. The party of aging nobles and business' elites moves over to the Dolphin Bridge. Beauchamp points out that the architects matched the bridge with their own headquarters to create a complimentary effect between the two structures. They pause to watch a skilled launch crew ferrying trade goods recently offloaded from ships further inland to the commercial docks. The team seems at ease as they whip the fully ladened boat around the retaining walls, under the bridge supports, and into the canal. The bridge is yet another work of art and sign of wealth and prosperity. Ornate, wide, and beautiful it has already become a favorite spot for lovers and for artisans. Through the bridge, the winding water streets of the canals are busy with floating docks and gondolas... which are quickly becoming a favorite mode of transportation up and down the canals. The investment of the LBSF has transformed Nola Mar's waterfront into a commercial hub commensurate with the cities strategic location. 19,457 bricks. 99 x 115 studs. Submitted for consideration as a Royal commerce build for Nola Mar. @Ayrlego, @Bregir, @Capt Wolf, @Professor Thaum

Clever design well executed. I love seeing the ore in the rocks

The veteran heavy infantry of the 1st Grenadier Guards happen across an undisciplined Loti Patrol in the interior of El Oleandia. Hard to call the raid a proper battle when all the casualties are on the Loti side and the whole thing is done before they knew it had started.

*In the undiscernible dialect of the Loti* "Rectum?! Damn near killed'em!" An uproar of laughter, knee slapping, and gesticulation from around the campfire as the patrol's commander thrusts with his ceremonial blade... the sounds carry across the vast jungle of New Haven's largest island. Captain Richarde, B Company, 1st Battalion, 1st Grenadier Guards (Garde Grenadiers du 1er Régiment): *In a low whisper through the moonlight* "This is bayonet work, men... there will be other patrols in the area... no-one fires a shot... in and out and back on the move... if we can take the leader... that one with the sword... alive great... but if not... that's ok too... everybody ready... *heads nod around in the circle* right on my heels... lets go" Careless to camp so close to the trail, careless to not cover your tracks, careless to light a fire on a warm night like this, careless to not post sentries, careless to be so loud... whatever it was they were getting on about... That's ok. The Loti patrol was about to learn a lesson in military discipline from the heavy infantry of the 1st Grenadiers. Sharpened bayonets, tight rucksacks, calm breathing, light feet, the battle hardened vets of Terraversa kept in a tight line as they methodically crept towards the ruckus of the Loti troops. The whole affair was over before the Loti knew it was about. Not even a scratch to write home about from the grenadiers and one less patrol to contend with on the day of battle yet to come. What's more, once we get the leader back to headquarters, I'm sure Colonel Beauchamp will be eager to sit down with him and an interpreter. All in a night's work.

@TribunM gets it! I have found the dynamics of the absolute monarchy to be really fun in coloring my own contributions. While Oleon has some awesome, creative, and active players today, we are actually the scrapy underdog compared to Corrington and Eslandola. Obviously we are eager to recruit and no start is too small to help the brave blue coats check the red menace. The theme of an absolute state (strong central govt) has played well for us to institute a bunch of team internal mechanics that can jumpstart a new player. We have an active military campaign, two trade companies to participate in, and rank and titles of a couple varieties. Lots of places to jump in and start building a story. Of course the other factions offer cheap imitations of all those same things.... just kidding... but not really... Final thought: I was intimidated starting out two years ago, and realized very quickly that what EVERYONE'S real motivation is to enjoy building together. No matter the faction or story you want to create, the direction you want to go, everyone works together to help you do it.(Oleon is best though)

"They all said I was crazy! But, who is crazy now! Ah-hahahahaha!!" -Old Crazy Bill cackled crazily as Engineer Faust trotted up to Lavalette's newly operational Iron Mine. The mine was near the sight Gustav had last witnessed Old Crazy Bill's um... unorthodox... prospecting methods... The mining crew busily coming out of the still shallow mine at rapid and predictable intervals carrying out heavy crates of clearly rich iron ore. As the geographic survey contract specifies, the mine is the property of the crown, licensed to the Crown's Government proper that is, while Old Crazy Bill is now formerly a government employee as foreman of the Crown's newest strategic resource mine. "Just the man for the job" Gustav mused as he watched Bill smugly dance about, apparently in celebration that he had proved his sanity beyond a doubt, totally unaware of how his ravings might be taken as evidence against him. Well either because of or in spite of Bill's... supervision... the mine was already producing a quantity of ore beyond expectations and of a high purity.

@Ayrlego looks like in NOV-DEC Summary the Tax Formula (Column H) is not applied to LBSF. What a scandal this would create :-)

Large Sea Salt Factory in Eltina. Large Livestock Plantation in North Sil

The LBSF tri-colour flies outside of a large but modest stonework factory building on the Eltina waterfront. Seizing the opportunity presented, the clever businessmen of the LBSF have devised a way to purify and separate thr salt from seawater, turning a nuisance into a luxury item. The real commodity isnt the seasalt, obviously in over abundance, it is the cutting edge technology in place allowing the processing into refined salt. Without divulging too many proprietary secrets, a large wind powered pump pulls in seawater and stores it gravity feeding tanks. From their, patented filters separate seaweed, fish, and other particles from the water. The purified seawater is then pumped into large open boiling tanks. From here it is a matter of keeping tanks at a rolling boil and periodically letting one run dry to collect the final product. The final product of this Large Factory being a staple in every house of means across the Brick Seas, LBSF Premium Sea Salt.

That is a wonderful build. I live the color scheme and subject matter... whiskey... Jeez what are you rendering it with!? Are you using studio or something else to build? Are you editing after the fact to add the background and the flag? If you are using studio, what are the settings you use to render because this "looks" really great?!

Hey all, happy to see you all got as much of a kick out of this idea as I did. @Ayrlego thanks for running the geological lab for the entire Brick Seas and processing all those mineral samples for us. Iron it is.

The Royal Survey of Stephanique continues on the windward dunes of Lavalette. Though by no means a desert isle, areas get quite windswept and the shifting dunes are commonly called "the desert" by the locals. In a frustrated moment, the disheartened commissioner of the survey, which so far has not uncovered the rumored mineral wealth of Stephanique exclaimed, "Search Everywhere! Comb the Desert!" Months later, Gustav Faust, an engineer detailed to the survey rides out to check on one of the contracted survey teams led by the charming, "Old Crazy Bill." "Good afternoon... and how about this heat...?" *no response from the hired help and Old Crazy Bill seems to be fully engaged in trying to catch an imaginary fly buzzing around his head, completely unaware of the Engineer's arrival* "Found anything yet?" the Faust awkwardly tries to get a reaction out of the obviously uncomfortable survey crew. An exasperated crew member looks up, "We ain't found..." "Well we did find this big bright shiny rock" Old Crazy Bill casually mentions, laughs hysterically, and tosses the metallic rock to Faust. "Really!?" Faust is just shocked that Old Crazy Bill's um... peculiar... uh methods... had produced this promising specimen. "Well, I guess... keep it up? I"ll take this to the lab back in Lavalette" And one more. @Ayrlego Clearly such sophisticated equipment couldn't help but turn up something special... (25 DB prospect fee paid in license fee)

@Ayrlego I think we are a large town here now.

LBSF maximizing use of the rich soil along the Sil River to establish a large plantation.

I spent a dumb amount of time trying to find ways to buy animals on the cheap. Like, go to lego store and realize they have pigs in the mimifig pile. Spend 30 minutes digging then harass employees to fill a mini container with nothing but pigs. I also basically got a pity blacktron ship the other day when they realized I was wracking my brain on how to actually afford $190 in one shot.