Song of the Eastern Sands: Page 37
BOSTON COMIC CON IS THIS WEEK! We’ll be leaving this page and the Comic Con info up through this week and over next weekend, and the next proper page will go up on 8/20!
VISIT US AT D831 IN ARTIST ALLEY!
So, the ambassador’s identity is finally revealed! Readers, I’d like you to meet Janik’s father! He’s a little stressed right now, as you can see. Obvious reasons, though. Let’s maybe give the guy some room.
Also, as you have also likely figured, this means Janik is not in the embassy, but is instead on her way to Nessa from Sunsgrove. The greater timeline for Song of the Eastern Sands and how it slots into Western Deep has finally been able to manifest itself cleanly into the fiction, which is something I always prefer instead of relying on supplemental text. I used to be pretty terrible about that, back in the early days of Western Deep, but I think I’m doing better now!
As I mentioned at the beginning of the post, it’s BOSTON COMIC CON this week! I love Boston Comic Con, and it’s not just because it gives me an excuse to go to Legal Seafood and order prohibitively expensive lobster mac and cheese.
That’s Quin and Dak dressed up like Minutemen. Rachel suggested it and, I dunno, I thought it was the greatest thing ever and did nothing to inhibit her. She did not disappoint!
So yes, as the map above shows, Rachel and I will be holding court at Artist Alley table D831, where we will have stuff for sale.
What stuff you ask? Good question! Here is this show’s price sheet:
Obviously this is just for Boston Comic Con — when we finish up with New York Comic Con in October, we’ll begin to evaluate updating the online store with some of this merch, in addition to the physical release of Volume 2, which is coming out for NYCC as well.
The hardcover of Volume 1 has indeed turned into a “limited edition” item, what with the Action Lab agreement signed and the paperback version hitting stores en masse! They were nice enough to let me sell through the remaining hardcovers at comic conventions, and I think after Boston (and possibly a few leftovers in Hartford ComiConn come September) the hardcovers will be officially sold out!
Anyway, come and see us in Boston if you can! We’d love to chat with you!
Well I was wrong about him being a guard. I didn’t expect Janik’s father to show up in the script beyond a mention.
…So guess he thinks the Canid might go after her next? Not an unreasonable assumption, but since he’s more of the expert on such matters, I’ll leave that judgement to him. I love the progression of his emotion in this piece- seeing a lot of your comrades murdered in front of you seems like it would shut anyone down- as demonstrated with a certain Lutren Captain. I also like way the panel splinters into a whole rectangle- lovely pacing. And I love that you can still see the amber currency on the ground.
Lol, the Sand Spiders probably didn’t expect this side quest to get so long. They still have an embassy to rob, after all- how do they intend to pull this off? Although I’m sure Janik can handle herself quite well!
Dakkan and Quinlan as Minutemen, huh? I like it.
“YOU HAVE OPTAINED A NEW QUEST!!!”
“THE NAMELESS TAMIAN IS JANIK’S FATHER! THAAT EXPLAINS EVERYTHING!”
Although I have a hard time thinking that these Canid assassins are likely targeting Janik herself. It leads me to wonder, just what are their motivation. I somewhat think this is more than just some simple “revenge scheme” but I dont know, I’m probably overthinking it.
I’m not gonna lie, Quin and Dak look real snazzy in those outfits haha.
*Your Quest Log Has Been Updated*
And thus, the Sand Spiders have gotten in even more over their heads. This whole thing is like most missions in Bioware games, where what should be a simple task spirals into something far more convoluted. Remember when you tried to enlist the help of the mages in the original Dragon Age?
Not that Janik’s father is in that good of a spot, either. He’s just seen his friends and guards get killed by Canid assassins in what to him seems like an unprovoked attack, and he would be dead too if not for a group of unusually charitable thieves. I used to think that Janik’s father would be killed, forcing her to learn the ropes of being ambassador to Nessa quickly, but now I’m not so sure. It would strain credibility a bit to have him almost die to assassins here only to die to something else later. Not saying that it couldn’t work, but it would have to be executed (pun intended) very carefully. Of course, I have no doubt Alex and Rachel can pull it off if that’s what they intend to happen.
Good luck at Comic Con, guys! Also, I have to agree with Veigue, Quin and Dak look pretty cool in those outfits!
Alright, I have a few theories for this situation:
A. Remember that shady guy who hired the Sand Spiders? What if he’s with the Canid assassins? Or at least he’s being used so the assassins won’t be directly involved… I mean, no name, no address, no meeting point. Just money. First, Janik’s dad. Now Janik herself.
B. That same guy might have known about the assassination attempt beforehand, and guided the Sand Spiders to stall or stop it, and keep the ambassadors of Terria safe, at least without them knowing about the assassins in there first place.
C. This is all a diversion. There could be more assassins on the way to Janik, with the two three Sand Spiders took down to stall the gang.
Theory C relies on the Canid considering Janik, the daughter of the ambassador, to be a more important target than the ambassador himself. Possible, if they know of her relationship with Kenosh in the same way that Clovis knew of his relationship with Caldus. Though Janik seems to be connected to Kenosh more through Quinlan, and Clovis had no idea who Quin was. If Kenosh had a longstanding relationship with the ambassador the Canid might know about, like he did with Caldus and Clovis, that would make the ambassador the primary target again.
Hmmm. Perhaps someone else can shine some more light on theory C. A and B seem more plausible to me. The suspicious nature of the source makes me lean toward A; it would be easy for the authorities to pin the theft (correctly) and murders (incorrectly) on the Sand Spiders.
Looks like we’ll need a bulletin board, a bunch of articles (on the situation and for more info on the Sand Spiders’ previous jobs,) sticky notes (for possible connections/speculation), printed versions of each of the Sand Spiders’ bios, a lot of pins and red yarn.
Also some police tape, a blacklight, those little number signs for marking evidence, chalk, tweezers, cotton swabs, and a lot of resealable bags for collecting evidence.
“It looks like these two-bit thieves and their random side story…”
(•_•) / ( •_•)>⌐■-■ / (⌐■_■)
“Just stole our complete attention.”
YEEEEEEAAAAAHHHH!!!!
Quite right.
I’ve just been cruising along on the SOTES train since it left the station, but it’s amazing how fast my brain kicks back into analysis mode once the main plot shows its face.
Thank you, squirrel David Caruso.
Oh. Ooh! If assassins are targeting diplomats then that doesn’t bode well for Janik. Looks like her segment turns out more adventurous than expected!
Will the prints be available in the online store? They look snazzy!
I knew that Janik would figure into this somehow! Hopefully she’s not going to be ambushed in the desert or something…
Quin and Dak look good as minutemen, it’s true, but I have to ask . . .
Why does the deadeye archer get the fife and the ace fiddler get the musket?
They don’t know what firearms are, so Dakkan just thinks it’s a fancy staff with a pointy bit!
Given his fear of blood, does Dakkan necessarily want a pointy bit on his staff?
“this is a weird looking staff…oh this line like the handle, and –” *BANG!*
“WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!”
This explanation is so on point.
It was a stupid flash of a funny mental image that I decided to make reality, to be perfectly frank. Though the root is probably because Dak’s more belligerent than Quin, so the former got a weapon and the latter didn’t.
That was amazing! It literally made me cry it in excitement!
Hi, everybody! I’ve been reading this comic for a while, and I finally decided to post something. The writing is amazing; I’m a huge fan! And I am looking forward to having Beyond the Western Deep and Song of the Eastern Sands conversations with you all!
Welcome, Evamere! Thank you so much for the kind words of support, and we’re so happy to have you join in on the fun!
Woah, Beck don’t get distracted!
That lutren you were willing to risk capture to aid just one page ago has an open sword wound she still might die from. You should really get some pressure on that or something.
And maybe a few of the folks on the floor might be still alive… I wonder if the Tamian that got stabbed in the chest still has a pulse… I don’t know much about squirrel biology, so maybe.
Looking back at page 28 it seems that poor guy was stabbed in the gut, the blade exiting the middle of his back.
If he was human he’d have a punctured abdomen and pleural cavity. The hole in his diaphragm may mean the pressure differential required to draw breath is gone. If the blade punctured his liver he would have terrible internal bleeding because that thing is like a huge blood bag. If the intestines were punctured he would almost certainly get an infection without antibiotics.
That’s all I remember from biology at school but the internet informs me that the pancreas, spleen, stomach and one of the kidneys are in that area too.
In a human.
As you say, he’s a fictional squirrel man. He could be back at work in a week.
Here’s hoping.
Let’s also not forget the possibility of permanent paralysis if the blade cut his spinal cord in half.
*attempts to impersonate a crime scene investigator*
Your biopsy reports are nice and all, but if that Lutren guard isn’t treated soon, they’ll become autopsy reports.
Someone get the EMTs — oh wait… there aren’t any EMTs in this era…