Gideon

The first part of my Challenge VI entry is finally up! I finally found time to set up and photograph what actually was my first build for Kaliphlin. The last build (interior) will be edited and posted tomorrow along with it's story. But I have a problem, which of the following smaller builds should I choose as my third scored build? Help me decide! Queenscross after the battle by Gideon_83, on Flickr On the road to Castle Zar by Gideon_83, on Flickr

Challenge VI: A Song of Orcs and Fire Chapter I. Along the Arkbri River The Arkbri River flows through central Historica, from Mitgardia all the way down to Barqa in Kaliphlin. It is navigable along most of its course which makes it an important trade route. Despite the war, the traffic is lively along the river. A war party led by Sir Gideon and the avalonian Sir Derrik of Groenby is rushing to Queenscross further upstream. Sir Derrik and his men are survivors of the terrible sacking of Groenby by the Hand of Corruption. Some brave traders are still transporting their goods along the river. This particular river boat is loaded with food supplies for the army gathering in Queenscross, as some Barqa trader obvious has seen an excellent business opportunity to sell food at ridiculous prices as the destruction had left the city with precious little food to supply the forces making their stand against Victor's forces. Responding to the call to arms to Queenscross, Sir Gideon and his band of warriors are travelling up from Barqa along the towpath on the north side of the Arkbri river. It is however not safe to travel these days, as there have been encounters with orcs on this side of the river. Several of Sir Derrik’s men were killed by a raiding party, as well as the horse of Gideon’s squire. Fortunately nothing seems to dampen the spirit of this young lad, eager to earn glory on the battlefield. Meanwhile, refugees from the death and destruction further upstream are struggling in the heat in the opposite direction, not really towards anything but just desperately getting away from the slaughter. Right now they have been forced to take a break to let the oxen pulling the boat and the soldiers pass. Chapter II. After the Battle of Queenscross Many of those marching to Queenscross with Sir Gideon would later fall in the battle there, as told in the report of the battle by Paulos MacLean. Among the casualties were Gideon's old friend and comrade-in-arms Sir Derrik of Groenby and Sir Gideon’s squire, too brave for his own good. A few of those who have responded to the call to arms however showed up in Queenscross too late to join the battle. Surprisingly, some turned out to be acquaintances of Gideon. One of these is the scoundrel and former sailor Roger Farstrider, who had been expected to arrive with Gideon but somehow found himself delayed by some unclear reason, sounds like he found yet another excuse to save his skin when the odds looked bleak. But of course he wasn't more delayed than that he arrived in time to take part in some unsanctioned plunder of the fallen foes. Many are angry at him for avoiding the battle, where Roger’s deadly crossbow skills would have been sorely needed at times. At the side of a war-torn garden patch he is now doing what he likes best, taking a break from things and sharpening his enormous dagger. Not far after Roger, another man arrived along the same road. This was Lutalo, a dark and muscular proud warrior from one of the islands in the southern sea. Of some kind of noble birth after their fashion, he was exiled from his island many years ago never to return. He found refuge in the tolerant Kaliphlin society, and has fought for Gideon on more than one occasion. Arriving soaked in sweat after running for many miles, he is cursing long and loudly in his incomprehensible tongue for not making it in time to the glorious battle. On a street in the war-torn city, Gideon is bleeding from a dozen wounds and still shivering from nearly drowning when he fell into the river during the battle. The only thing that was between Gideon and certain death had been one of the mermaids aiding in the fight against the Hand of Corruption. Gideon is mourning the losses of both his old friend and his young protégé at the hands of the Cyclops. Suddenly an unexpected figure shows up. A female battlemage of the Khel'Zarim, truly a rare sight. Clad in crimson and with a grim looking and scarred face, there is however something familiar with this hard woman. Gideon (in pain and annoyed by the disturbance): What do you want? Wait...do I know you? There is something familiar about you? Battlemage: Gideon the half-elf isn't it? I'm Aidana, and the last time you saw me I was a young girl in the company of Sohail, father of that dishonest merchant Emad who I know you still have dealings with. Gideon: Look at you! Now I remember, but you certainly don't look like when we last met all those years ago! Aidana: I've seen more of the world, and know much of mysteries you haven't even heard about. And it's not only you steel-warriors who have to go through fighting and hardship. Gideon: Certainly not! Your order's reputation precedes you. But what brings you here? Aidana: As you can see, I was recruited by the Khel'Zarim who recognized my talent for more than just the small tricks I did to amuse Soheil's guests. They brought me to their seat at castle Zar, deep inside the jagged foothills of the Rakath Mountains, where the base of the Khel'Zarim have been for centuries. From there, we have strived to expand our knowledge of magic and also control and restrict its use throughout Historica. My wing of the Khel'Zarim is as you know called the battlemagi and our role has been to be the sword and shield of the order. Our goal is to seek out rogue wizards and other magical anomalies, wherever they may be. We do this both for the protection of Historica and for our own interest, since there is so much to learn of the mysteries of magic that the inward-looking graybeard scholars in the towers of Zar simply can't even imagine. The battlemagi’s main weapon has been elemental magic, but proficiency with cold steel is also an important part of our training. Most of our order, including myself, have focused our studies on fire magic. Indeed, some even claim that our order is a cult of fire, and if you have ever seen the eternal fire pits and stained glass windows in the great hall of castle Zar you can't be blamed for thinking that of us. Never numerous, the hard fight against the elementals throughout Historica has spread the Khel'Zarim battlemagi forces thin and caused heavy casualties among our ranks. Our castle was of course one of the primary targets of Victor's elemental mayhem, and countless elementals of all kinds put us under relentless attack. In order to defend the castle, the few of us who remained there had to resort to an extreme measure. We gathered the last of our strength and thanks to our deep understanding of elemental magic, we succeeded in creating an expanding anti-magic field around our castle which instantly dissipated the elementals just before they breached our castle walls. So far, the story sounds like a story of success to you, doesn't it? Gideon: Yes, but you don't seem to be too happy about it? Aidana: Indeed not. Now on to the dire news. Unfortunately, the anti-magic field also left us powerless and our spells useless. Only the eternal fire pits in the great hall, fuelled with deeper and more ancient magic, were spared the dimming of our magical power. Before the field had dissipated, we heard increasingly loud scratching noises which seemed to come from one of the walls. Suddenly holes started to appear in the courtyard at the base of the wall and out of the ground orcs started to emerge. Victor's plan had clearly been more cunning than we had expected, while we were busy fighting monstrous elementals a force of orcs had snuck in right under our noses and undisturbed dug their way in. My brethren fought valiantly, but many of the outnumbered and powerless battlemagi were slain by the invaders before we took the hard decision to abandon our castle. This leads me to where we are now. After the fall of Zar, me and my remaining brethren decided to split up and seek out the places where our skills were most needed. Hearing about the threat to Queenscross, I rushed here but didn't arrive in time. Fortunately, it seems that no sizeable elemental force were part of the enemy armies here so you and all the other brave warriors managed to hold here anyway. Gideon: Yes, but at a terrible cost. But you seem to have more to tell me? Aidana: Yes. Seeing that the enemy has been thwarted here, I am trying to gather a force to take back castle Zar. I know that you don't have many men left after the battle, but could I hope for your help in this endeavor? Gideon: Pah! As if a small band like us would be able to take a castle like that all by ourselves! Aidana: Yes. If the castle is poorly manned and you know how to get in without notice. After sacking much of the castle I saw most of the restless orcs continue on to new opportunities of plunder. Gideon: Aha! Now your plan suddenly sounds less unrealistic. But why the urgency? Shouldn't there be other more pressing matters for our steel and your fire, like taking back Cedrica or even going after those cursed Cyclops?! Aidana: There is surely much to be done, but I'm prepared to do whatever it takes to reclaim our castle without delay. I have reason to believe that the orcs haven't been able to enter all the hidden and protected parts of the castle yet, so much of our secrets may still be safe. And there might even be survivors hiding in these hidden parts of the castle. The archmage himself is still unaccounted for, and who knows the secrets of the castle better than him? Maybe he still is alive somewhere in there. But if Victor were to get there before us, he surely will find our secrets and kill our survivors and by that cause irreparable damage to our order. Gideon: Alright, once again I see that you have given this more thought than me.Aidana: Yes I have. So are you with me?Gideon: Gladly, but look at me. I'm not in any shape to kill more orcs anytime soon.Aidana: I agree, your wounds don't look very good! Let me do something about them. Gideon: Pah! As if magic could do me any good! And besides, don't you know that we elves are quite resistant to your kind of magic? Aidana: Don't presume to teach me about magic! And by the color of your skin you look just as much human as your pointy ears give away your elvish blood. Seeing how you still are alive after all these wounds I think you even must have some of the old blood of the northmen in you. She gives Gideon a small vial of a dark liquid, which he reluctantly empties. Gideon: Aaaah! It burns!! Aidana: Good. Then you aren't as immune to elemental magic as you thought and the potion is doing what it should. Look, the blood flow from that badly dressed wound is already stopping. And the shiver from the cold after your little swim in the river seems to have stopped? In a day or two you should be back in fighting shape. Chapter III: Through the Rakath Foothills And so it was that Gideon set out with a ragtag force towards the east, Aidana leading their way. Behind them were Lutalo (seeing the opportunity of finding glory in the coming battle) and Roger Farstrider (seeing the opportunity for gold in the coming battle). Another man with the same motive was Ediz Falconi, who also had been persuaded to join with some reinforcements from their nearby base at Falcon’s Nest. After a long travel on uneven roads up into the jagged foothills of the Rakath Mountains, the travellers pass over a ridge and finally see a great castle on the next mountain. Aidana: Behold, beautiful Zar! Now we are finally almost there, but we should await the darkness before trying to approach the castle. Gideon: Alright, but we are not trying to get through that main gate I hope? Aidana (chuckling): No, indeed not! To those who know the castle, there are innumerable hidden passageways. And some of them reach the outside of the castle as well. Roger Farstrider (catching up with the others): Sounds good! Hidden ways are always better than fighting. Ediz Falconi: Looks like a big castle, I assume our reward if we succeed will be accordingly? Aidana: Don’t you worry about that, if we take back the castle I will make sure that you are a rich man. Ediz: Sounds like my kind of battle! Lutalo: I yearn for a good glorious battle! It has been too long since I last had the chance to cleave an orc with my sword. Aidana (with a smile): Looks like you all can get what you are looking for. Now let’s rest a few hours and then get on to business. Chapter IV: Battle in the hall of the Khel'Zarim Aidana leads the party to a small crevace at the base of the mountain, and behind some rocks there is a smooth surface. She mumbles some arcane words and her staff starts to glow, and in response a fiery line spreads along the wall to form a doorway. With a low rumbling the door swings inwards and inside the opening a long narrow winding stair ascends into the mountain. Climbing for hours, the party finally reaches the castle. Most of the castle seems desolate and on the surface looks completely pillaged, with the decaying bodies of both magi and orcs still dot the courtyard. Some corpses clearly show signs of being eaten on, by orc or animal is hard to tell. From the great hall there is however some noise to be heard, and Aidana quickly leads the party in through the broken front door. Inside, a horrible scene unfolds. Dead bodies, skulls and bones surround the great marble council table where the band of remaining orcs apparently have taken up residence. Aidana, who has held a quiet determination throughout the infiltration of the castle loses her composure and screams: "Sacrilege! They are using one of the eternal fires for cooking! And it looks as they are cooking a human! This must end NOW!!" Surprised by the screaming, the orcs scramble for their weapons and prepare to attack the intruders who are quickly moving towards the orcs. A big orc in black armor with skeletal ornamentations, clearly the chieftain, stands outside the back door to the archmage's private palace and screams orders to his band. The battle begins when Gideon engages one of the orcs at the front along the wall, while Lutalo quickly jumps up on the council table to attack the orcs who are standing there. Roger Farstrider and one of Falconi's men take up their crossbows to eliminate the enemies with ranged weapons. The first casualties are one of the orc archers downed by one of Roger's bolts, the crossbow armed orc by the chieftain hit by the Falcon crossbowman. The enraged and still confused orc attacking Gideon exposes himself and falls to a quick strike from the half-elf. Falconi's men on both sides of the great table engage the foes, while Lutalo finally gets to taste blood on the tabletop. As more orcs are put out of action, the first casualty among the humans is the Falcon crossbowman who is hit by arrows from both remaining orcs with bows. On the right flank, the Falcons are quickly progressing through the still confused orcs while Gideon is circling around one of the fire pits. Roger Farstrider reloads his customized crossbow with lightning speed and takes aim at the ranged foe at the balcony. As another of the Falcons are mortally wounded, Aidana lands a hit with one of her fireballs knocking one of the orcs down engulfing it in searing flames. Falconi's closest man finishes off the orc he previously wounded. The battle clearly has turned in the favor of the humans, as Gideon and Ediz downs the last orcs by the firepits. Soon thereafter, a well-aimed crossbow bolt takes down the last orcish archer. All the humans, and the half-elf, advance towards the orcish chieftain who so far only with increasing desperation has tried to scream orders to his dwindling numbers. Before anyone, or even one of Roger's bolts, reaches the orc chieftain Aidana screams: He is mine! Now feel the fury of the Khel'Zarim!! A stream of fire arcs out of her staff and bright flames erupt around the big orc. The battle is over. Falconi tends to his wounded crossbowman and one of his men are finishing off the last surviving wounded orcs. Meanwhile, Gideon and Aidana enter the palace of the archmage. After some searching and calling out for survivors, a tile in the floor starts to move, exposing a stair. A dirty but well dressed grey-bearded man emerges from the opening calling out: Aidana! You did it!. Aidana: Archmagus, did you truly doubt that we would come back? Archmage: Yes, as the anti-magic field dissipated I thought that the battlemagi would retake the castle but as time went on and the only sounds I heard was from the orcs looking for treasure in my palace. Finally I was almost ready to do a final desperate attempt myself, but even with my powers I knew that it would likely have been my end. So I decided to remain here to destroy our secret archives if Victor came back. Aidana: I'm glad you didn't have to destroy the archives, imagine the loss to the world if the Flame had been let in there! Archmage: Yes my daughter, but I would let the Flame have them a thousand times rather than Victor laying his hands on them. Who knows what dark magic we have quelled over the centuries that Victor could use to terrible effect? Aidana: Of course, Archmagus. Archmage: We are still not safe here if Victor would turn his full attention here, but let us hope that other forces of good are victorious and that maybe as we speak even Victor himself has been defeated?And so it was that the Khel'Zarim once again ruled over their great castle, and the great hall was quickly restored to its proper state. And who knows, maybe the archmage is right that in the same moment, someone is fighting Victor himself...?

Really nice builds, all of them! Of course I like the Kaliphlin one best, that must be the most colorful Kaliphlin build yet but with a balance that's not hard on the eye but just plain joy to watch! And good story as well

What a barrage of excellent builds from the north, I am awestruck! But I agree that some good builds may not get the attention they deserve in the shadow of some of the others.

Nice shelter, I like the feeling of fir branches you create with the palm leaves!

The hidden entrances are the best in this build imho, especially when one knows what's in there :)

Great story and nice twist at the end :) It was well worth the time reading through!

Awesome exteriors, and cosy interiors as well :) the transparent sheets don't convince me however. The minifig posing is also nice btw.

Seems like you are moving between seasons quite a bit here, but I assume that it is due to different climate at different altitudes in the rugged Mitgardian landscape? ;) Anyway, excellent foliage as usual and the path is really nice.

I agree, the mix snow/ice/rock gives a much better winter feeling than if there is also green foliage. This looks more like late melting snow in winter/early spring than the early autumn snow feel of the previous builds. The snow on the roof is great btw!

Nice river and bridge, I agree that the snot design of the river banks is a neat technique. I have tried something similar but with no studs towards the river a while ago (in a yet unpublished build that will be shown here soon as part of my ch VI entry). But the one you have used looks much easier to build :P Anyway, the overhang over a snotted river bank clearly looks good also with snow!

Impressive foilage! But as one who have taken down a few trees myself I have to point out that with the cuts on the outside, the trees would probably have fallen away from the enemy ;)

Nice tower, the wooden part is good and the stone part even better :) I'm not convinced by the windows however, I think 1x1 bricks with stud on one side would have been better, but for the corners of the tower headlight bricks look just right! The lbg/dbg use is very well balanced and easier on the eye than some of the previous builds.

That plow design is brilliant! And that must be a large farm to have such a big house :) Less than two days per build on average, that is productivity!

Nice suspended tension, I really feel the calm the second before the boulders crash down into the enemy and chaos breaks out down there :)

Nice statue and impressive foilage! I agree that the lighting could have been a bit better, if you are in short supply of natural light I would recommend using indirect flash illumination if you have access to a good flash.

Your interiors, and especially the props inside, are excellent! Combining these two builds look so good, did you build a detatchable base on both sides on each module?

Feels like a really believable house design in a fortified city, and nice interior. But isn't the workshop too tidy for an inventor? ;)

Nice exterior, I think especially the door design is really successful! And great use of those cmf bases :) Inside, the table with the scrolls and the stained glass windows are nice. I think the yellow parts of the windows would have been even better if they were multiple plates thick, now with the green stud inside they look more like a lighter shade of green.

Couldn't find that yesterday for some reason (tired eyes probably), but I think I already have the answer I need. Since I have no aspirations to compete with the excellent stories about the end of Revolword I am going for a complimentary story instead. Remains to be seen if time permits it to be an actual Ch VI entry or just 3-4 Kaliphlin freebuilds :-P

So many nice builds in such short time, impressive! I will go back and look more closely and comment on the previous builds, but for this one my favorite parts are the interior (beautiful stairs!) and the terrain in front of the castle. The mottling and texturing on the walls make a great overall impression, but the large amount of dbg makes it a little hard to see all details in my opinion.

A quick question regarding challenge VI (that might have been responded to already?): Do you actually have to include Revolword in the builds? My story right now doesn't include him, and rather focuses on another part of the showdown and is therefore compatible with most other endings, is that ok? In the rules it says that the builds should "-Finish the Revolword saga by writing a story that incorporates at least three different builds.", what made me confused was just the "finish" word...

Thanks for summing up the heroes in a good way! I am not surprised that the sellsword captain Falconi managed to end up in a part of the battlefield where he survived, even though his (of course expendable!) company was decimated. This battle will be part of my ChVI story, and now I finally know who can be written into the rest of the story :)

Nice sinister harbor you have built there, and I like the hint of reddish light in the water. Feels...Nocturnal

My favourite part is the transition water-rock-wall on the left side of the front picture Keep them MOCs coming!