The Sentinel

A collosal statue of a pikeman wearing a long, ornate robe and helmet. It is actually a guard tower with cleverly disguised arrow-ports throughout the structure and comfortable accomidations for 16 guardsmen. At it's helm's crown, there is a lookout with grand views of the region, the road that approaches, and a few millers' huts. The sentinel has a stony appearance but is made from a scaly lumber, which was then laquered over with a thick clear paint. The carved giant soldier's features are feminine, yet strong with a piercing gaze fixed down upon approaching travellers. In thier enormous hand, a giant pike made from a cold, dark metal that rings out for a long time when soundly struck. The collosus' feet are clad in lightly armored sandals of unknown design, and in the back left heel, a hidden entrance to a ladderway. In the opposite heel, a hidden panel that hides a supply stash for guardsmen.

Purpose / Function

The tower was constructed as a showpiece of ingenuity and as a functional guard tower a half-kilometer from the city of UNKNOWN, guarding its approach road from the south. The interior was surprisingly spacious and plush for a guard building, but the philosophy then was a happy guard is an alert and effective guard. Led by a sargent of the guard keeping watch from above, orders were communicated to lower areas by speaker tubes. Meals and drink were brought up from the city kitchens and the garrison slept in underground chambers that were connected via tunnel to the town walls, facilitating discreet access.

Alterations

Through the ages, the statue-tower saw a few artistic changes, such as applying paint to the figure, replacing the weapon for a banner, and in the later years of its lifetime, remodeled into a private residence for an eccentric collector. After it fell into ruins it was nary but a pair of feet, with deep holes leading to what was once the dormitory.

Defenses

Cleverly disguised arrow slits surround the figure, allowing many archers take aim at nearby enemies. Beneath the elbows, trapdoors which can unleash boiling pitch pots, refuse, or human waste. The pike, incredibly, could be detached suddenly and dropped upon an enemy, although it was never used as such. The soil direcly before the tower was studded with sharpened wooden spikes to prevent sappers from quickly reaching the structure.

RUINED STRUCTURE
890

Founding Date

585

Alternative Names

The empty gargantuan

Type

Tower, Guard