Chapter 3: Page 33
Aha! So, Shield already saw this because she stayed up to when last week’s page went up and caught the first draft of my post (I apologize if you felt like you were going insane and text just disappeared for seemingly no reason), but YES to all who have been guessing this area serves as Deltrada’s water source! Rachel rightly observed that it’s bad pool to reveal something in the notes that isn’t revealed in the page — particularly when our protagonists are on the cusp of making that same realization. I don’t like getting out ahead of our characters, so that was a good catch.
I hope our American readers had a fantastic Fourth of July! My parents were visiting from the east coast, so I was pretty much hanging out with them nonstop for the entire week. We saw some great stuff, visited some great places, almost got hit by a train leaving a Seattle Mariners game, and saw some incredible fireworks at Safeco Field! Check out the incredible slo-mo capabilities of my iPhone made manifest:
This week we’ve got some fun guest art from Austin Bradley, a new reader who binged the entire comic so far! Also Austin appreciated these posts (which I have a lot of fun writing), so thank you!!
It’s Hardin! I looove the art style, Austin! I’ve said it many a time in the past, but the thing I love most about our wonderful guest art is that it lets us see Western Deep characters in a variety of art styles. Austin’s take on Hardin feels very much like it’d fit right at home in an animated Western Deep series!
Thank you so much for reading, and for sending over this incredible piece of Hardin!
Nice page! Aww, too bad this one was spoiled, but the finished product came out great! But I can guess Dakkan doesn’t really have I’m indoor voice as to how that guy at outside the door can hear him… All I can say is: “uh oh…”
I love the guest art! He looks like something straight from an animated adaptation! It would be really cool if that happened for real, though! At least an animated short will do!
Those were some colorful fireworks! Unfortunately for me I didnt do much of anything besides staying at home and sleeping in but I hope everybody else enjoyed the Fourth! I also really dig Austin’s rendition of Hardin here. Sorta reminds me a bit of We Bear Bears and just imagining Hardin like that makes him almost adorable…..aw what the heck he still is in some weird twisted way.
Here’s hoping Quin had some swimming experience with Dakkan when they were kids…
Huh, I just heard of We Bare Bears while on vacation, and now you happen to mention it. Funny how things like that happen. (As a side note, the amount of both legal and illegal fireworks set off all over LA around the Fourth is quite stunning.)
It looks like a baby verson of our dear anti-hero….
I love it!
I’m glad you had such a great Fourth, Alex! (No relation between my username and the holiday). I have to agree with Veigue, those were some nice fireworks!
As for the page itself, our heroes are running out of options fast. Poor Quin, the universe keeps conspiring to drag him into all sorts of unpleasant situations he’d rather avoid.
Perhaps it’s time to go for the barrels after all . . .
http://68.media.tumblr.com/74d3c56c674c1659b059f598c2b58cd5/tumblr_oseq8qAxlf1vr9ozeo1_1280.png
You can link to that sketch again for the next eight pages, Jerijune, and I don’t think I would get tired of it even then. Simply brilliant!
I’ll see if I can come up with more gag sketches depending on the situation, but the barrel thing just seems so fitting here XD
It really doesn’t get old. One of my favorite things you’ve drawn, since it crosses one of my favorite comics and one of my favorite books.
Quin’s expression is priceless.
I just read through Tracy Butler’s facial expressions tutorial. http://lackadaisy.foxprints.com/exhibit.php?exhibitid=333
Quin and the cast better prepare for making such faces…
“Fourth Master: the master of fireworks displays and backyard barbecues!”
Hey, I’ve heard of worse superpowers. I’d take it.
Started around 11:30 pm and I’m now up-to-date with the newest comic so far… Totally worth it!
Welcome to the Salmon party! Hope you enjoy your stay.
Love your username and avatar, by the way.
Yesss more fish for the party!
Hey welcome to the Salmon Party. :P This comic is so binge-able it’s unbelievable.
Welcome to the salmon party!
(Sheesh, only three or four weeks since I joined…and Dak and Quin are already in trouble!)
Sheesh Quin, way to be an optimist!
Also I love his expression on that last panel (and the way he’s holding Dak’s arm made me squee just a bit)
Let’s just hope they didn’t install a grate where the water outflow is. I mean, they wouldn’t want a weak spot where filthy ermehn could just swim into the fort, would they?
On the other hand, they probably wouldn’t be as filthy after coming in through the nice clean stream. Hmm…
Don’t worry, folks! I’m sure that’s just a guard who’s looking for them because all the guards were planning on throwing them a surprise party, complete with gifts of traditional friendship bracelets! Any bets on who forget it was their birthday? Quin? Dak? Both??
…On a more serious note: no one’s mentioned this, but wouldn’t it be kind of hard for them to swim while wearing all their armor/gear?
As I remember from third edition D&D, armor penalties count double for swim checks.
Dakkan’s probably looking at a -4 to -6. But I’m sure Lutren get a racial +8 to swim.
Quin doesn’t look like he’s wearing armor, so he should be okay as long as he knows how to swim.
Dak’s armor-rather, Lutren armor- is probably designed with swimming in mind-it’s the Lutren’s main advantage over the other races.
This is a good point. We’re probably looking at a -2 tops then.
Yep. There’s a reason that they don’t go for a ton of metal in their armor. Well, a few reasons, but that’s the major one.
D&D 5th Ed. actually doesn’t have ANY movement penalty for wearing armor in water :)
Fifth Edition does many things I don’t agree with . . .
But he (and Dak) are still wearing their packs and weapons…
Yeep! Can’t go that way! Looks like we may be seeing a slide in the water park after all…
I’m glad you liked my art! Hardin’s a fun character to draw! Also glad to join the Salmon Party (although I may need some context for the name. I’m not sure I get it.)
It spawned from a joke drawing Saraa Luna made about Dakkan dreaming of the salmon god? Or something? It’s kind of taken on a life of its own X)
Jakub coined it- in his first post, he asked if he could join the salmon party and the name stuck.
(Jakub we miss you)
Agreed. Hope we see more of him soon.
I thought he had asked to join it because we were talking about it.
And yes, I miss too.
Alex, it’s ok- I figured that was probably the case once I thought about it a bit more. If memory serves, this isn’t the first time you’ve been carded for this. Uh, any chance you’lll put that extra world building info back up in a later post? That aside, I’ll be a bit later on the draw than usual-wifi is spotty here and power outages are semi common. I actually did get to see the page right after it was posted but unfortunately the power went out as I was composing my response and stayed out until now.
I really like that overhead map view of Deltrada in Dakkan’s thoughts- I’m sure Kenosh had Dakkan memorize a fair amount of maps and other information a captain of the lutren guard should know. Even though that master plan didn’t quite work out, I do appreciate that the brash, impulsive character is intelligent and knowledgeable about the world around him- even if he doesn’t always apply that knowledge. I like how the water looks in that second panel, too.
Well based on this, I am fairly sure Quin can’t swim. He looks very unsettled at the thought of jumping in there and he’s going so far as to tug on Dakkan’s arm to pull him away from the water with his guarding hand. Mind, there’s no real force behind it but it tells me Quin Does Not Want to go in there given that he doesn’t usually take charge. Especially since Dakkan tends to win in a battle of wills between the the two, although I’m sure changing that is part of Quin’s character arc given the rooftop exchange.
I’m seeing a few different outcomes here- Dakkan decides to bail and plunges in dragging Quin after or there being a confrontation seem the most likely. With his arm, no way Quin can use the bow so he’ll have to Tesque his way out of this. As best he can, at least. Dakkan seems to be more or less in one piece and has the staff so he’ll have to take point. Alternatively, those might be escaped Ermehn. I’m noticing the speech bubble comes from the direction Quinlan and Dakkan entered from. That’s more a crazy thought than anything else however, I severely doubt that’s the case. On the more plausible end, maybe they duck behind the machinery and pray to Tesque and the ocean not to be noticed by Tosch-senpai. Hell Kenosh might get in on it if his ‘time to pray to sonuva’ senses start tingling.
I am really fond of this page overall, particularly that panel with Quinlan and his ‘dak this is a terrible idea’ face. Someone needs to tell Quin that trying to tug a Lutren away from water is like keeping a Tamian out of a tree. Although Quin might get a saving throw for pure terror if he gets desperate enough.
I always do love the say you shape your responses. (“Tosch-senpai” make me laugh).
Good point about Quin not knowing how to swim, it seems like a logical deduction.
Do we even know if the Canid took any prisoners? Given that Clovis was killed trying to take Hardin prisoner, and the general Canid attitude towards the Ermehn, I’m going to guess that no quarter was given.
Oh. Thank you.
I think there are at least a couple left alive for interrogation purposes. The Canid probably have a loooot of questions regarding who this tribe is, do they have other plans, and what do they know about Sunsgrove’s role in this’d? If Feyn were still with us, I think I’d be more convinced it was an Ermehn there.
No, I have not forgotten Feyn. Our world is poorer for his loss.
It would be a good reversal of the trope if the duo tricks the guards to think that they’ve escaped by water while in actuality they’re just hiding behind some barrels. All the readers expect they’re going to swim to safety, so why wouldn’t the characters in the story too?
The only reason I can think of is the pike that are in Aisling’s waterways. The canid might think no one would be dumb enough to feed the fishes.
That, or the grate they’ve installed to prevent debris and intruders getting in.
When did we learn there are pike there?
I don’t ever remember hearing that.
In fall of the evyn-din, Bevan mentions them and in the CYOA, it’s one way you can die. I’m not sure they’d be in ground water but if it’s an underground river the pike can access, well.
What about the water-wurms. There is a rumor going that there are giant sea-snake/dragons in the waters, kind of like the giant forest caterpillars.