SkaForHire

Yeah, it is posted, but people are not going to like the results... Especially Oleon, who could have easily hit 4000 DBs in trade this month.

Kings Port Advertiser and Ship List New Terra’s most reliable source for shipping news. April 616. VOL 1 ISSUE 3 Editor’s Column. Last month we used our eyes and ears throughout Terraversa to gather intelligence on future weather patterns due to the destruction caused by Hurricane Helga. A few old sailor’s wives accurately predicted a second hurricane, the one we named Stepho after the late King of Oleon. We even correctly figured most of its path, along the southern known islands and into the Sea of Storms. Today, the KPASL can claim that it is New Terra’s number one source for weather news as well! We have no love lost for the King of Oleon, cousin to the Royal Family of Mardier, our now hated enemy in this brutal civil war, but he had kept the peace for the last seven years between the great powers. Peace is good for business. Speaking of his death, you may have heard about the King’s poisoning. We have an inside source that tells us that this is true, and in fact, it was one of his mistresses that did him in. Apparently it was because he would not divorce his wife and make her queen! Yet another trusted source has told us that this mistress was actually a Corish agent! Poison is one way a cowardly Corlander would kill his enemy. The country has taken their King’s death well, and look forward to their new ruler. It should only be a matter of months before the King of Eslandola reigns in Granoleon as well. Tips and News: Building Supplies Needed! With a hurricane going through LeBellan, new building materials and migrant workers are needed to repair the Jewel of Oleon. The Oleanders are always flush with cash, so this should be an easy reward. However, they seem fond of the teakwood that is native to our own island, Terraversa. This is excellent news for our merchants. Oleanders Fail to Read anything but the Holy Texts, Lose Many Vessel to Hurricane Stepho! As noted above, we warned all of New Terra about the oncoming hurricane! This did not stop many from journeying through the storm’s path at points. However, the Oleander merchant marine seemed prepared to meet Poseidon, as they charged headfirst through the path of the Hurricane. Whereas they set a new trading record with Commerce de Breshaun, hauling in over 1000DBs in one run, they suffered heavy losses to the storm’s whims. Both the La Recouvrance and Revenant were trading extremely well on their voyage before disappearing in the storm with all hands. The Swift, the Divination also went to the bottom as they attempted to stay ahead of Stepho. The Comet and Amphitrite’s Lilly had a little more luck, but they were forced back to port before their route was completed. The Starliner as well was having a record run for a new vessel, but had to dump half its treasure overboard in order to keep from laying too low in the high waves. This happened to others not from Oleon, who also ignored all the signs, such as the Saucy Jack of Corrington, they lost half their valuable cargo of cotton in the storm. Still the Oleon fleet was not without its successes, including the second highest haul of the month on the Zephyr. Also lost in the Huricane: The Bloody White Crow, but nobody cares about a Sea Rat. Adventurers wanted! Sail to the Ile de Romantica and help Lord Prio clear the island of its native scourge. The island is currently a secret, so contact the Lord to receive coordinates. (Set bounty run for zone “Ile de Romantica”). We have no further information other than this secret island is supposedly rich with gold. Eslandola Cracks Down on Sea Rat Menace! The Eslandolans have taken to policing the Seas. Half way between Nellisa and The Nest of Theives, the Eslandolan Anti-Piracy Squadron met the Sea Rat merchant fleet “Sunset,” twice! The first action happened when Antigone’s Fury lagged behind the Sea Rat convoy, and was caught by the Blessed Angel. The Faction Ship II and Great Scott came to the aid of their merchant. A double boarding action pursued, with Eslandola’s whole squadron, the Blessed Angel, King of Mardier, and Holder’s Secret attacking the two Sea Rat ships. Finally the action broke off around six in the afternoon as it began to darken. The action picked up in the morning when the Eslandolans found the Absolutely Fabulous straying from the convoy. Again, the two Sea Rat ships came to her defense, but this time things became more hectic. While the merchants got away, the escorts fought off the Eslandolans. Faction Ship II took the King of Mardier in a boarding action while the Great scot was taken by Blessed Angel and Holder Secret through another boarding action. Putting a prize crew on the King of Mardier, Faction Ship II was too shorthanded to repel the Blessed Angel, who boarded her and forced a surrender. All ships escept the King of Mardier were sent in at Nova Terrelli, a great victory for the Eslandolans, even though the King of Mardier was taken as a prize back to Bastion. L’Olius Strikes Again! The Queen of Terreli failed to protect her convoy twice. The first time, she struck her colors against an unknown attacker’s broadside, only to have The cotton Lady and Golden Snake take the enemy (5A)ship with no name, and the Queen of Terreli back. Matters were not as fortunate in her next encounter, while defending her other flotilla. The infamous Mardieran Privateer, L’Olius showed up with three ships against the flotilla. With one broadside, the Queen of Terreli surrendered. With one broadside, L’Olius’ Crooked Sparrow sunk the Queen of Mardier. The Spotted Phil, the second privateer ship, captured Fenix, while the Bright Owl just barely escaped L’Olius’ third privateer vessel. I suppose now that the captain of the Queen of Terrelli is currently sitting in a prison here on the island, he is safe from court martial! L’Olius’ claim is that he has a letter of Marque against the Eslandolans because they are allies to the King of Mardier, or hated enemy in this civil war. We shall see if the prize is lawfully condemned or not. Bloody Bill Reemerges! If Eslandola had not had enough, unfortunately they were the infamous Bloody Bill’s newest target. Sadly, one of the greatest ships ever to sail the waters was taken. When the Travao was defending La Raenette, Bloody Bill’s Scavenger forced the ship to surrender through a boarding action. Seeing no other option, the Flotilla A took to line formation behind the Heart of Eslandia. Unfortunately, the crew of that vessel had not the heart to keep fighting the Scavenger, and surrendered after a boarding action. La Raenette was taken by Bill’s Little Scavenger, while Winds Beauty barely got away. Most likely the costliest maiden voyage in the history of these waters, the trade ships were taken back to Bastion, it was reported. Sea Rat Raid on Bardo suffers no Casualties! The small Sea Rat raid (we assume to avenge their fallen ships) met no resistance – after they changed destinations. The two crews who set off to attack one of the most profitable ports in the Sea of Storms stopped at this island during the crossing. While in a tavern, one of the pirates let slip where they were heading. One of the downtrodden also partaking in libations called the man out for being so stupid. He was shot on the spot, drug out in the street, and his fingers were cut off one by one. Finally, another patron stopped the Sea Rats from finishing off the man, by telling them that what the victim meant was that Bardo was defended by two, very large fortresses, and that they would need thousands of men to take the settlement. The Sea rats apologized, bought the man a beer, which probably poured out of the hole in his gut, and went to tell their captain. Luckily for them, their captain had already bought a tip in another tavern. The small settlement of Tarlo on this island, was currently undefended! Our Governor, Miro Oldis was asleep on this matter! The next day, in broad daylight, two Sea Rat vessels landed at Tarlo and liberated its wealth. It is said they did pretty well for a settlement that had so little commerce. Still, how many people have to die on this island before Oldis properly defends it? Ships Captured: Faction Ship II (SR) by Blessed Angel (ESL) King of Mardier (ESL) by Faction Ship II (SR) Great Scott (SR) by Blessed Angel and Holder’s Secret (ESL) La Raenette (ESL) by Bloody Bill the pirate in The Little Scavenger Tovao (ESL) by Bloody Bill the Pirate in The Scavenger Heart of Eslandia (ESL) by Bloody Bill the pirate in The Scavenger The Black Pea (3A), a pirate by HMS Mars (COR) Shamoo (3A) by HMS Paradise (COR) Scabby Pete (4A) by HMS Queens Glory (COR) Wild Whale (4A) by HMS Bull Shark (COR) Carnage (3A) by HMS Bull Shark (COR) The Bootlegger (3A) Garvian Privateer by HMS Paradise (COR) El Bellos (5A) by HMS Mars (COR) Queen of Terrelli (ESL) by L’Olius, Mardrier Privateer in Crooked Sparrow Fenix (ESL) by Spotted Phil, L’Olius’s second ship. Blowfish (3A) by HRS Eltina (OL) Cod Hunter (2A) by HMS Pandora (COR) Unknown (5A) By Cotton Lady and Golden Snake (ESL) In other news... Corrington Naval Strategists have determined that more escorts per flotilla tend to keep their merchant convoys safe. Incidents this month prove that theory, as even when a Corrington vessel was defeated, the secondary escort was always able to take the ship back and dispatch the attacker. Shipping List Here is this month’s shipping list: Mar20161 by skaforhire, on Flickr Mar20162 by skaforhire, on Flickr Mar20163 by skaforhire, on Flickr Mar20164 by skaforhire, on Flickr

I actually selfishly moved the date because I knew we would be judging Challenge II BoBS right now.

Thanks everyone, I had too little time, and not enough green to do too much more with the ground. But, engineering wise, the soldiers would have tried to level the land anyway to keep the ability to fire further, at least most blockhouses in the interior of North America were designed like this if the soldiers had time to do so. That is kind of what I was thinking here anyway, Away from the fort would eventually be other buildings, such as a storehouse or trade post. I might try to build the whole scene eventually.

The Winds have spoken, and Poseidon has been fed... Many Sailors lost their life to Hurricane Stefo, but they could have been spared, had their captains listened to the seafarers wisdom that floated about New Terran waters. Although we did have a new record breaking ship that sailed straight through the hurricane...

Go figure, somebody finally used the raid mechanism and I did not bother to check, just assuming that no one would ever use it! Yes, rumors of a settlement raid are abound. Using the old rules... which were much more dangerous and lucrative... Hmmm I think you just persuaded me to do the MRCA tonight instead of writing more dissertation... but that could also be procrastination. It really depends on how much beer I have available and if it will last that many hours hahaha.

I was saying that sister ships were always allowed. Although I do understand why it would be silly if ten of the same ship was out and about, in the end, it is really a game play mechanism until the next MRCA rules are ready.

I am just setting up my collection now for a photo, we don't mind if my Kaliphlin army joins for the photo op, right? I figure I should be making about 450 DBs, well maybe more, we are OKing werewolves, vampires, Puppy Monkey Babies?

Dear Felipe de la Manzana, We know that the peace between our settlements is still in good shape. Our fear is that the fracturing within the people known as the Ténotclaxcans may bring instability to the island. Emperor Azuma seems to have a splintering faction who wish to remain with the old religion. It is our understanding the MAESTRO representatives recently convinced the Ténotclaxcans under Azuma to drop the practice of human sacrifice. We agree with this civilized action, but it seems that those elements of Ténotclaxcan society that have a hard time following this path have now decided to conduct their rituals and take action with our former enemy, Oleon. This can only spell problems for our island. We encourage your vigilance in defending the island, and hope that some convention on ownership of the island can come to fruition. In good faith we send you Damion Denela, the merchant we captured at the sacrifice. LT. Tanner will bring him to you via ship within a fortnight. Take care, dear friend. Lord Governor Erie Flynn,

I hear they are already forming a Committee of Public Safety...

We have the next two challenges, but are waiting a month or so before releasing them. This will allow for more tweaking and "breathing."

I smell civil war! OR war on Corrington, because we get blamed for everything.

I did not see the Whisper MOC until this morning, or else I would have given you the updated warship list. Queen's Glory: Escort -- Class 5 H A Pandora: Escort -- Class 5 H A Paradise: Escort -- Class 4 A Mars: Escort -- Class 5 H A Lover’s Quarrel (Class 4A) Whisper (Class 4A) Bull Shark: Escort -- Class 5 H A Friends Forever (Class 4A) HMS Kite - Class 4A Unfortunately, Lover's Quarrel sat at home in Arlinsport this month!

Thanks everyone! Yes, trouble indeed! I did not license the fort in March, but will have to do so here in April!

Too much to quote... But here is how the current MRCA system works for now: 1) The free license only applies when you do not have any ships. 1a) shared ships are always considered owned by the one person who registered the ship. IE: The Sulky Harlequin counts towards Mike S.'s ship count. If he loses his Black Marlin (his free ship) he will have to pay for the Marlin's license again in order to use that MOC because the Sulky is still in play. 2) If a ship was captured in the MRCA, it stays in the MRCA until sunk or captured. You will know it when they resurface, the newspaper will tell you. 3) Sistershipping is in the game for the exact reason Maxim had mentioned. Some people will not have time to MOC a new ship every month. We don't want to kick them out of the game. We are not playing World of Warcraft here, we like casual participants as much as hardcore participants! Sistershipping allows more people access to one of the aspects of the game mechanism. Does it make 100% sense that a captured MOC can be floating around at the same time as a new license with the same MOC? Historically... actually, yes. Shipbuilders used the same schematics over and over again, especially when they had a good design. It would not be uncommon to purchase a ship that was almost identical. The reason why we can't demand a new MOC with some changed colors or small design tweaks is because many people do not keep their MOCs up more than a few days, weeks, or months. I tend to rip things up right away unless my wife wants to keep a MOC on display for a little while. Others just don't have room or the pieces to keep things up. Some have suggested a MOC that shows a new purchase happening or a microscale build, but I am not comfortable with adding another monthly MOC to everyone's chore list just to play the MRCA. Plus as much as I like bursar builds, we probably already have enough accountants represented in BoBS already! Taking away free licenses or sistershipping, while some may see inaccuracies righted, will result in less fun for many players, while keeping them should not infringe on anyone's fun. We reward the good builds with praise, we coach the bad builds with suggestions, but the MRCA and EGS stand as a rewards system and game mechanism so that everyone can feel a little more attached to the project, as much as we have strove to give numerous realistic options to the entire system, we need to have a game that is accessible, fun, and light-hearted.

NOTE: Settlement bank accounts can be tabulated now, as I don't think anyone conducted a raid this MRCA. So settlement mayors, you can assume that your town has full funding. Also, for real, mayors should update their settlement page with what builds are licensed, and at what level. This makes it obvious to everyone what is in the settlement, and nobody will have to go digging. You can use the query tool (wait we released that right?) to do this pretty quickly. Also builders, it would help to notify the settlement's mayor on the settlement page if your build has been licensed, and as what. This will make sure trade values are the highest possible, and that town banks are fully functioning. There will be slight learning period here, but once it is commonplace, this will help immensely!

Category A | Skaforhire | Corrington Category B | Skaforhire | Corrington

PART THREE: Return of the Torturer and K.G. Strikes Back Part One Part Two What a strange man K.G. Nichols really was, he had a thick draw, but Sully Tanner was unsure of where the accent was from. Nichols had proven himself valuable in the Juniper War years ago, but he was still serving out his sentence in the 27th Regiment, a penal regiment, called by some “The Roughnecks” by others, “The Murderers.” Sully knew a little about Nichols service, he was captured during the Juniper War, and instead of paroled like other officers, he was kept in an Oleon prison. At least he had some combat experience, for that Sully was thankful for. Nichol’s men were a bunch of misfits, most were not wearing proper uniform, and those who did word tattered, dirty, or mismatched uniforms. There was a reason Governor Flynn did not want them at Port Raleigh. They were too rough around the edges for his vision of civilization. Their guide, Qui’to, as Sully had found out when he set out with the man, had led them into the Jungle from Prospector’s bluff towards the Temple of the Snake. Tanner had actually been to the temple once before, that was where the Ténotclaxcans had made their last treaty with Port Raleigh. It was a “squat-looking” step pyramid, nothing like those of Ancient Halos, but still an impressive work of architecture in the middle of what seemed to be a deserted jungle. Of course Sully had been here long enough to know that was definitely NOT the case. When they go within spyglass distance, Sully brought his to his eye. His heart sank. There was a high priest, his fellow priest-warriors at the top of the pyramid, and they were holding up a baby above the alter. The alter sat in a pool of blood and former sacrifices’ body parts. On the golden alter lay a Corrington flag, already with some blood on it. DSC_2951 by skaforhire, on Flickr They could hear the priest shouting. Qui’to in rough Corrish translated. “They do ritual to give favor to your enemies. They wish you to fall from the earth. This ready war for them.” sac by skaforhire, on Flickr If that had not been bad enough, Sully moved his glass down to see who was on the top steps of the pyramid, about 20 feet in the air, watching the show. A Garvian officer and a few Meleckas, another tributary tribe to the Ténotclaxcans, stood on one said, a few other Halosians among them. Only a quarter of the pyramid was in use at this time, and the other top steps were occupied by a Eslandolian merchant and some of Qui’to’s tribe. Finally, in the middle was the big problem. Sully swallowed hard. “There is a platoon of Oleon troops up there, and a captain with them.” He said to Nichols. He gave Nichols the spyglass and immediately the underdressed officer swore. “That is Raphine Aramore – he is the bastard that tortured me during the war. I thought I gutted him good last time I saw him.” Sully was shocked, he had heard of Count Aramore, he was an elite commander during the war, and a known inquisitor for the Brotherhood. K.G. had been his prisoner? “Well, we don’t have much time if we are going to save the baby.” Sully said trying to formulate a plan. “Your man is already on the attack” Nichols pointed to Qui’to who was running full speed at the temple. “Damn it…” Sully now swore, not very gentlemanly he thought. “we are not supposed to…” he left off as all of the 27th started making their way towards the backside of the temple in an eerily quiet manner. Sully followed. -*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* As they stormed up the rear steps, K.G. had one thing on his mind – Count Aramore must die. He had spent too many years in an Oleon prison for a crime he did not commit, Aramore torturing him every day knowing that Nichols had no answers for him, for it was the count himself that was guilty of the crime. But right now there was no time to think about the act of betrayal that got him put in that cell. breakingupthesac by skaforhire, on Flickr The Roughnecks charged straight into the ritual, and halted the sacrifice. Still, the priest held the baby tight and his men began to fight. Many of the Andequotans began to flee, they didn’t want to die for their master’s sick games. Nichols saw that pretentious lieutenant Tanner knock down the alter and charge the priests. He was brave, K.G. would give him that. breakingupthe by skaforhire, on Flickr Nichols found Aramore two steps down. “YOU!” he shouted! duelb by skaforhire, on Flickr Aramore recognized his voice and his aged face instantly. “Oh, Nichols, so you are still alive? You look well, devilishly hansom in fact! “ Nichols looked into an all-to-familiar face, and winced as he thrust a sword at it. Aramore ducked and countered. The rest of the battle went still around them. “You know I am the better swordsman!” Aramore said. “Give up now!” “I believe I left you with quite a gaping present the last time we saw one another! “ Nichols said. “You stabbed me in the back!” Aramore cried, “I had no defense!” “Neither did she!” K.G. grunted. “Neither did she!!!” A swing went wide and cut open another Oleon soldier. As fast as it had begun, the battle was wrapping up… and Aramore knew this. The Count pulled a powder from his pouch and threw it into K.G.’s eyes. Nichols swung thw sword violently, temporarily blinded, but no deathblow came. In minutes he could see, and saw that the Corlanders were victorious. The Roundup by skaforhire, on Flickr The native had got his babe back, a Garvian foot soldier had been captured, and a Eslandolian merchant had surrendered. No doubt some MAESTRO scum. Nichols was furious, but there was no sign of Aramore. The only good news was that the single casualty among his men would recover quickly from a bump on the head. Oleanders couldn’t hit the broadside of a barn with a cannon anymore. -*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* Sully thrust the flag in the Ténotclaxcan’s face and screamed. “What were you doing here? Where is your king?” Qui’to, now holding his baby translated. “He say he came to watch, no king.” Qui’to said. Clearly Sully was not going to get anything out of this man, and he had no one who spoke Garvian or Eslandolan well enough to interrogate the other two men. Tanner knew there was a Olean prisoner, but in the chaos, somebody had slit his throat – Sully suspected Nichols, but did not see him do it. “Round them up, lets get them back to the fort before Aramore regroups. He noticed Nichols scowl harden further at the mention of the Count’s name. Lord Flynn was going to have his hands full here, and if there were more Oleanders on Annetta, war may not be too far behind.

Flynn Blockhouse [skaforhire] [Licence status: yes] [Type: Fort, Small [will be a medium when we hit 10 properties] [settlement value: 1] [Trade Value 5] fortflynn by skaforhire, on Flickr

Challenge II, Category A Part One Part Two Part Three The Flynn Blockhouse at Port Raleigh. fortflynn by skaforhire, on Flickr -*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* PART ONE: Her Only Hope The Day was young, and Lieutenant Sully Tanner was already exhausted. Governor Flynn had insisted on walking to the new Blockhouse named in his honor rather than ride – or at least walk the last three miles of the journey outside of Port Raleigh. Tanner was on bodyguard duty, with a few members of the 33rd Regiment that he now commanded. (Although he missed the Royal Marines, they were much… tougher.) The governor had his commission transferred to the 33rd, but he would always be a man with his eye to the sea. The first part of the fort to come into view was what the soldiers had nicknamed “the crown” the parapets on the top of the roof of the blockhouse were meant to serve as both a watch position and to provide extra cover fire from a superior vantage point. DSC_2898 by skaforhire, on Flickr The governor wanted to make his way to the fort to meet with a new trader. The trade, Mark Folton, desired to bid on the contract to supply the new fort. Sully knew that the man’s prices would beat the current supplier, the MAESTRO Company, but he doubted that Folton could supply in the same quantity as the Elsandolan company that held a post on Annetta as well. DSC_2890 by skaforhire, on Flickr The first think Sully noticed when they got to the large, flat clearing where the fort had been constructed was that the jungle growth had already began to reclaim the grounds that his men had spent so long to clear in order to build the fort. The governor had all of the settlement’s animals on the now pasture land, in hopes that the cattle and horses would mow the vegetation away. Unfortunately, by the look of it, the herd would have to be ten times larger to keep men from having to keep the clearing void of growth. DSC_2891 by skaforhire, on Flickr The fort was heavily armed, with eight large guns, two a side, pointing at the four compass points. The fort sat on a critical point along the native trail, about five miles from the settlement. This was the first contact point for natives who wanted to trade with the Corlanders. Eventually, a palisade and trading buildings would be added to the site, but for now the fort also stood as Port Raleigh’s western defense. DSC_2883 by skaforhire, on Flickr DSC_2888 by skaforhire, on Flickr Sully was watching the governor exchange pleasantries with the merchant, he could tell Lord Flynn was less than impressed, when all of the sudden, out of the brush, without warning from the guards in the Crown, two natives made their way straight for the governor. The men of the 33rd jumped in front of their governor to protect him. DSC_2893 by skaforhire, on Flickr But the woman was in tears, and the man, despite carrying a weapon did not act threatening… actually he seemed to be upset and pleading in another language. DSC_2896 by skaforhire, on Flickr Soon the governor brought over Folton who knew the language. These were not the Ténotclaxcans, but another tribe, The Andequota, a small group of natives from the southern side of the island. The Andequota were subservient to the Ténotclaxcans, due to a war a few decades ago. In fact they were a tributary people who did not have permission from their masters to talk to Halosians. That is probably why they were here now. DSC_2899 by skaforhire, on Flickr “She says that she wants to give you this blood ruby.” Folton said. Sully leaned in to pear at the largest ruby he had ever seen. “She says that she knows our kind love rubies and all things from the ground.” Folton continued. “Why? Is it a gesture of good faith?” Lord Flynn asked. The woman began to cry even harder now and Folton had trouble interpreting her through the sobs. “She says that her baby was taken by a Ténotclaxcan priest…. Something about too late… no, no, if we do not hurry we will be too late.” He stopped, and a second later his moth dropped open. He turned to the governor, “Sir, I think the priest means to harm the baby.” “Savages!” said one of the men of the 33rd. Sully knew that many of the regiment were new to New Terra, and were far from open-minded about other cultures, but this seemed to go a bit too far to just accept. One of the 33rd chimed in to one of his buddies: “we shant be stikin arr neck out for thaar kin! They bin murdin our brothers for months now.” The governor spoke, “She needs to talk to the Ténotclaxcan King here. We are not supposed to even be talking to her, our truce is barely held up by our mutual partnership with MAESTRO. “ “Sir, she says the King Azuma had sanctioned this atrocity!” Folton said. “He may even be at the Temple of the Snake” now. “By Zeus, that is terrible.” The governor said, and thought for a moment. “We can’t pull the troops here to go on this chase to save the infant, but at the same time, how can we forgive ourselves if we let the innocent be slaughtered? But I can’t put our men in danger. Tell her I am sorry.” Folton spoke to the woman, and then again looked stunned. “Sir, she says that there are Halosians there in Purple coats. No, err…. Purple and blue always get mixed up by the Andequota, I think she means blue coats” “Oleanders!” Lord Flynn said. “Sully, have someone ride back to town now and prepare the defenses at Fort Redoubtable. If the Oleanders are making dark pacts with the Ténotclaxcans, our very existence may be threatened. We need to send men there to assess the threat.” The governor looked at Sully. “Tanner, we can’t send the 33rd, but I want you to investigate this. Take the Andequota man, and go to Prospector’s bluff, it is on the way. Grab Lieutenant Nichols and what is left of his platoon from the 27th regiment. Do not engage unless the baby is in immediate danger and you know that you can save it.” The men of the 33rd breathed a sigh of relief, they knew this to be a dangerous mission, as the Ténotclaxcans were fierce warriors. If they were with Oleanders, or even if it was just the purple uniformed Garvians, this could be a real battle. The 27th Regiment. “The Roughnecks,” were disliked universally by every other army regiment. As a penal regiment, they were not thought to be fit for garrisoning cities, and the crown had begun to send them to the new world. Flynn didn’t want them here either, so he sent Nichols and his platoon out to a prospecting site to erect a fort. Sully was not pleased that he would be working with them at all. -*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* Thanks for reading the story and looking at the build! There actually is an interior, the roof pops off, but I could not get it totally furnished in time. I am a little disappointed with the surroundings, but a historic blockhouse would be in a clearing, which would have been leveled if possible. So I added the vegetation problem to make up for the empty space. I hope you all like it!

Agreed, we can make a caveat for the map, since it is not related to the actual MOC. Also, it may be OK to leave the portraits, but I will wait until a judge that can actually judge your entry chimes in, since you are in my faction, I can't really make the final say here.

Yes, Maxim, but you won't ever see those SOTLs unless somebody MOCs them! They are too busy keeping continental affairs in order.

Remember everyone,if you are participating in Challenge II, make sure you post a link to your entry on the challenge's page.

Although we have some quality entries so far, I would like to extend this mini challenge another 15 days, to give a few more people a chance to enter. So the new end date is April 15th anywhere in the world! Desert King's Challenge! Also, I would like everyone who may not have already to post a link to their entry here so I do not miss anyone!

Thank you everyone!