Chapter 4: Page 81
Looks like Quin and Dak are off the hook for now, but with walkers about, WHO KNOWS?
Work continues apace for the various Western Deep related projects we’ve announced, and we couldn’t be more excited to share those updates with the community as they come together.
For starters, here’s a fun work-in-progress musical piece we recently shared with our Music of the Western Deep Kickstarter backers featuring the piece “The Wastes,” which you might remember from our original sampler piece–only now built out with an expanded theme.
You can give it a listen right here: CHECK IT OUT!
As I wrote in the Kickstarter update: “If it feels like the musical motifs in the latter half are pulling the lower darker themes up into a higher place…well, that directly mirrors Hardin’s own arc in the story. Nolan has proven a tremendous partner in all this, completely grokking the characters and themes of the world of Beyond the Western Deep as he integrates them into his music.”
By the way, if you missed the music Kickstarter, we haven’t locked pre-orders yet!
If you wanted to get in on the rewards there, you can always visit the BackerKit preorder store (at least for the next month or so we we wrap on the digital album and need to prepare physical rewards).
Until next time!
Heh. You said “grokking.” (Points to the first reader who gets that reference.)
As for the last couple of pages, it seems Crim is much further out of the loop than we might have first assumed. Which makes sense, because if the canid are planning to invade Sunsgrove, they wouldn’t exactly send messenger birds ahead to advertise the fact, would they? In fact, they might want to keep everything that happened at Deltrada hush-hush, so that their military offensives catch everyone by surprise. Crim sure seems clueless – but, fortunately, also less overtly antagonistic toward Quin than we might have expected. Which is good … at least for now.
One question I’ve had, though: After the big buildup of Quin and Dak having to brave the Eastern Deep to get back to Sunsgrove, have they succeeded in doing so and we just didn’t get to see it, or are they still in the Eastern Deep? In which case, what’s Crim doing out there? Inquiring minds want to know!
Can’t wait to see what happens next!
Crim’s antagonism seemed to stem from him thinking that he’d make for a better scout captain than Quin. It also must’ve eaten him from inside that Quin didn’t even like the job that he wanted.
Stranger In A Strange Land, by Robert Heinlein, published in 1961.
I remember reading it in high school back in the mid ’70’s.
Whooooee, that was a while ago….
*gives Granny Smith an apple*
I think Crim tries to be professional but he still comes across as jerkish, because Quin and Dak would definitely know how to avoid treewalkers.
Why is Crim the Scout Captain? I dunno if Quinlan authorized that, or had a second in command in mind. Something feels fishy…
I’ll venture a theory and say that Sunsgrove received a tailored message about the events at Deltrada and replaced Quin. Hence the questioning from Crim and his reassurance that HE is the Scout Captain now. It could be another trap.
But we’ll see.
When Crim was passed over as Captain of the Royal Guard, he was promoted to Scout Captain instead. It’s not quite as illustrious a posting, and definitely not what Crim wanted (which was Quin’s job) but it’s still a position of high authority in Terria!
Not to ruin the mood of this page, but the top middle panel that’s a closeup of Crim’s face…let’s just say that one of his eyes looks a little “off-kilter” when next to the other. Maybe that could use a fixing? *nervous sweat & laugh*