Long ago, when the guilds were still young, outposts were established throughout the western range to keep watch on the Orcish Marches. In the spirit of cooperation fostered by the recent formation of the great guilds, a human contingent was dispatched to each outpost to join the Dwarven sentries keeping the ways thru the mountains clear and safe. One such outpost along a minor road a couple days' journey northwest of Erikson was manned one spring day by a human named Denric Wulfsen, far from his home outside Nordheim, and the dwarf Thorgal Axehand out of distant Omurtag.

Most of the outposts in these parts were dwarf-built, and Denric & Thorgal often passed the long hours of their shifts arguing over whether theirs was a watchtower or merely an outpost. Thorgal firmly believed it to be a tower, only exceeded by the great structures within the halls of the Dwarven cities. Denric refused to budge, noting his usual perch as the resident archer was barely a man's height off the ground. For three months the pair had been stationed there, alternating with another human/dwarf duo every 12 hours, spending their time off duty at a small mining town three miles inland.

It was a quiet life, with only the occasional trader or traveler passing near their outpost. Word of orc incursions further north had reached the mining town, but there was little fear of any raiders so far south. The only excitement they'd had on duty was when Thorgal dozed off against the nearby tree and a wolf mistook him for an easy meal. He was startled out of sleep with a yell, and only managed to get one wild glancing blow against the hungry creature before Denric's arrow pierced its heart.

On that particular spring day, over a month since the wolf incident, the two were bickering over the outpost's status, keeping an eye on the road in front of them but neglecting to keep watch on the woods & rocky hillsides around them...

Tark and Ruggezh, two orc scouts from the Marches, were part of an offensive seeking weak points to gain passage thru the mountains to target the richer lands to the east. Traveling much further south than the other scouts and raiders, the pair found a suitable spot they deemed too far from Erikson to warrant much defense. For a week they observed the occupants of the outpost from a distance, both shifts, and found the two on duty that day to be the best targets given their frequent if mild arguments. Ruggezh led Tark thru the woods northwest of the structure, approaching from behind as the watchmen bickered. Ruggezh gestured for Tark to take care of the dwarf, while he'd attack the human up top, who had foolishly left the ladder down.

Sadly--or, perhaps, fortunately--Thorgal and Denric never knew what hit them. Their petty squabbling was the gateway to a shift in power in the region, for a time anyway...

Here's a better view of the players:

More pics in the full Flickr album!

Thanks for viewing! This is my first real MOC structure. Can't wait to get Phase II done, but vacation beckons...

Nice outpost and mini story there Venkefedo. Lets see what you come up with for phase 2!

Good job. That's really one neat little tower and I love the use of the bulls torso for your sigfig .

Excellent start to the tower phases! I really like the angled supports at the corners of the tower and the battlements are good as well

Also a well written storyline, I like that you tied your build into existing GoH locations

Nice tower, the landscape is good, and the structure itself as a unique, pleasing shape

Nice! Great story too, I like the rocks.

Great MOC Venkefedo!

With those story though, you should show what the characters are saying (like this: Character's Name: What should I say?) so it doesn't confuse the reader. Also with parts where it describes the setting or something, a part where no one is saying anything, put them in them in these [] brackets and italicize the words, and no bold in them too. Hope this helps.

Nice work! Cool figs too!

I like that the tower feels like it has a specific aesthetic philosophy. By that I mean it looks dwarf-made as distinct from other Mitgardian styles, which admittedly tend to be different depending on the builder. In spite of the high level of craftsmanship and detail typical of GoH builds, structures can sometimes feel a little anonymous and though yours is a more humble build (so far!), it has a real style of its own.

I especially like the rockwork and that beautiful tree!

But the tower itself has a very realistic feel to it, too.

I do agree with Behemoth, in that your story (which is both wellwritten and amusing, although tragic / ) would benefit from using different formats for different kinds of narration. I would suggest copying the "rules" laid out in the Grand Griffon Tavern thread, to reuse a working format.

Anyways, I can't wait to see the next phases.

Cool fortified watchtower!!