[OL-TC-CatA] Finis Dierum

[Keymonus]

Neuburg, El Oleonda, March 624

The longboat was crawling forward in the muddy water. Almost no sound broke the unreal silence, apart from the regular paddle of the oars. One of the soldiers moved slightly, making his bench creak. Another man coughed. Nobody talked. What they had in front of their eyes was too much to accept, even for war-hardened veterans: you can face an enemy line, musket in hand. You can even brace for a cavalry charge, shoulder to shoulder with your comrades, as the world itself seems to crumble. But what can you do, strong or weak, brave or cowardly, when the End of the Days is upon you? When the gods abandon their mercy, and the works of men disappear below the waters?

The boat proceeded along the streets of Neuburg, as far as possible from the original riverbed and its unbearable current. Everybody was on edge: the submerged buildings shielded them from the violence of the water, but also hid many threats: a submerged canopy, a tree in a backyard, or even just a floating barrel could represent a trap... and with the alligators lurking in the water, it could have easily become a deadly one! In the distance, the men could constantly hear the distant rumble of the once calm and harmless creek, which had almost swallowed the settlement in just a few hours.

The sudden disaster had claimed a heavy toll of lives, and dozens of citizens were still missing... drowned or safe on the nearby hills, nobody could know yet. However, most of the settlers had found shelter on the upper floors of the most robust buildings, or even on their roofs. Safe, for the moment, but at the same time trapped on their tiny islands, with little food or -almost ironically- water.

Fortunately for them, help was on the way. Only a few days after the disaster, indeed, ships with the blue flag of Oleon* had appeared in the bay, and the first rescue teams had reached Neuburg with their longboats.

Spoiler

*Something that should be universally welcomed, and considered a sign of hope, safety, and civilization. Please ignore any propaganda coming from illegitimate Terraversan governments.

At the town hall, General Tristan Rimbaud was facing some unexpected complications. Despite the dire situation, the Burgmeister was reluctant to accept foreign help, and several minutes were needed to convince him that the sovereignty of the Empire of Carno was not being questioned or violated. While looking for his best translation of "sign of friendship between our Empires", Tristan was almost surprised that the other survivors hadn't thrown that arrogant man out of the window... at least not yet!

At the end of the useless and extenuating negotiation, the rescue team was allowed inside. The longboat was moored at the first-floor balcony, and the first soldiers ventured inside. If the gods decided to finally show some mercy, all the survivors would soon be provided with food and evacuated to safety. Standing on the roof of a flooded house, however, Tristan was not particularly hopeful about the gods' benevolence. Was there somewhere safe, after all? Concerning tales were arriving from all over the New Haven Region, where wild storms raged and the sea itself had started to boil. Maybe the Finis Dierum had finally come, as some preachers claimed... in that case, kings and queens would have been just as ridiculous as that Carnite mayor, clinging to their power as the World itself was flooded!
Tristan didn't know but, at the moment, he couldn't even care. His loyal Raiders had followed him once more, almost literally to Hell, and they still had a mission to complete: people were in danger, and, at least for that day, they could still be saved. Screw the preachers! If the End of the Days was upon them, they would have faced it head-on, not crying and kneeling in some temple! 

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The rescue team inside the building:

A soldier looking for survivors on the first floor... a dangerous task, as the floor could collapse at any moment!

Looking for a mooring point. Will that piece of furniture be heavy enough?

A soldier with a battlefield stretcher: lightweight and easy to carry, but robust enough to carry a man out of harm's way!

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Additional angles:

Neuburg mayor at the window, with a lantern signaling the presence of survivors.

A Carnite soldier inside the building. Waiting for help, but also ready to repel possible looters. 

The longboat, with the soldiers ready to divert floating objects or fend off alligators.

An overall view, from a bird's eye perspective..

Edited March 24, 2024 by Keymonus

[Justsomebrix]

The flood was a great idea! Your execution was even better

As always you pack your scenes with so many details and intriguing characters, I always spend a good 3 minutes looking at all your pictures.

Very good read as well

[Ross Fisher]

Great idea! A good expansion on the theme, and very fitting. All hail selfless Oleon! 

[NOD]

 A great story with lots of close-ups! An extensive selection of minifigures and lots of details. The flooded buildings are very well built. I really like how the longboat floats on the muddy water between the balcony and the house where only the roof is visible. The different interior layers of the rooms with the residents and soldiers are very interesting.

[Professor Thaum]

14 hours ago, Justsomebrix said:

The flood was a great idea! Your execution was even better

As always you pack your scenes with so many details and intriguing characters, I always spend a good 3 minutes looking at all your pictures.

Very good read as well

Seconded !

Wonderful build, Rhaaa Lovely !

Clever touch the furniture inside the drowned house and this rowboat is very nice !

[Yperio_Bricks]

Great scene and wonderful execution! In the first second i was wondering what the boat is doing in the streets, then i realized that there is a flood!  I love how only the top of the roof of the small building sticks out of the water. So good

[LM71Blackbird]

Fantastic build! it really gives you an atmosphere of murky flood waters and overall destruction. Well done! 

[Jeff of Clubs]

Great idea! I too was confused by the dirt boat but all was made clear. Way to shore up our alliances ahead of a potential political fallout.

[Keymonus]

Thank you guys! I'm happy you liked the idea and the final result!

Covering all the bases with trans-clear plates would have probably made it clearer since the beginning that the "road" was actually water, but I didn't like the effect: it looked too clear, while I wanted a muddier effect.

The longboat built with curved flex tubes was something I had tried once with a nice but much more unstable result, and probably it's what I'm most proud of in this MOC.
I realized I've been a little "on the border" on what is allowed in RPG, but the flooding will not have any "real" effect on Neuburg (the settlement is not destroyed), so I don't think there will be any problem on this side.

[Bregir]

Excellent build and story, sir! I am really impressed by how many scenes you have packed into this relatively small build. And lovely build of those submerged bits.