Thank you for your kind words Graham, Pynedor and Macruran! I'm glad that you like the photos
It's my first real dabble in diorama photos, so I wasn't that confident in them...and I still need to get some proper lighting sorted out
(I'm eying up some lamps online
) This was also my first foray into custom decals. I have designed
several coat of arms for this project, but I was inspired to convert them to Playmobil shield decals by LittleCarpetWars and I hope to make many more for each of the noble characters in Lost Kingdoms
Also, I have made a stylised zoomed-in map of this region of Balwen where this takes place, so I will share that soon.
But first, here's some more photos
On the eve of the Feast of St Tulban, a small scouting party in the service of Hanoth of Hautingaud patrolled the northern bank of the Pale River on their way back to their manor. This side of the river was in full view of the untamed Haunted Forest, and so the troop remained vigilant in case any dangers presented themselves and avoided going out in the open. At midday, they reached a small beak in the canopy and could look down onto the town of Devil's Tooth which lay in the centre of the river. Considered the last bastion of control on the edge of the Haunted Forest, the sight was usually one of comfort and order, but the keen-eyed among the troop see that chaos had overtaken the Devil's Tooth. Archers were rushing along its walls, soldiers were moving to defend the northern bridge. It was clear that the town was under attack, and the scouts were not in any position to help.
Goibert the scout had ridden nonstop since he sighted the Ogre attack at Devil's Tooth. He knew that the Baron of Ghostgate, Weson Mort, was staying at Lumgate Castle while he was surveying his lands, and Goibert knew that he must have a contingent of soldiers there who might be able to aid the town of Devil's Tooth. Luckily, Lumgate was relatively close to where Goibert and the other scouts in service to Hanoth of Hautingaud first sighted the trouble, and so he was able to ride due north along the Forest Road and petition the guards at the gate. Weson Mort was already in the courtyard of Lumgate Castle alongside its castellan, Peron Revantelles, and his close advisor Balder Liscourt, who was also a vassal, and Goibert's news was received there and then. Weson Mort could hardly believe that an Ogre could breach the gatehouse of Devil's Tooth, let alone threaten the town, and the news that local bandits had taken advantage of the situation deeply troubled him.
Not long after his audience with the scout, Weson Mort rallied a contingent of soldiers and knights to relieve the town of Devil's Tooth. As the Baron of Ghostgate and Wychtree, he had many soldiers at his command but few were with him at Lumgate Castle where he was staying. Part of him was sceptical of the scout's warning, as he was in service to Hanoth of Hautingaud. Hanoth was a knight in the retinue of Weson Mort's rival, the Baron of La Balan, but despite this Weson knew that in and around the Haunted Forest a show of force was necessary, no matter the danger. Alongside Weson Mort rode his close advisor and friend Balder Liscourt, who detested the forest and its inhabitants, and another of his household knights.
