Chapter 3: Page 26
Bread and water! The classic medieval prison combination. That bread is probably a bit stale, but up in the frigid north you can be pretty certain that the water is cold.
Why not gruel, you ask? The staple of depressing prison tales? Well, that was my original idea, but then Rachel realized with their arms hoisted up like that… well, yeah. Can’t really eat soup or gruel in that state. But that’s okay! Bread and water is even more authentic, and is the go-to prison meal for most the kingdoms in Dunia.
There are some local variations — for example, Terria’s prison bread is actually pretty great, filled with nuts and seeds and hints of maple, but the water they offer with it is warm and gross. Instead of bread, Lutren prisons offer dried fish. Not good ones, either — the small bony ones that nobody really likes. The vulpin stick to a local unleavened bread and room-temperature water pulled from the aquifer under the city. Many felis prisons offer a simple boule of sourdough, with water available at all times via a constantly running channel of water that travels through a series of troughs into the prison cells below.
In short, prisons suck in the world of Beyond the Western Deep. Don’t get caught up with the wrong folks, friends of the Salmon Party!
For guest art this week, I was rummaging around my old images and found this very old (circa 2014) experimental piece that Jerome Jacinto put together that married the grim atmosphere of the Dark Souls series with Quinlan, Dakkan, and Kenosh. I’m a HUGE fan of the Souls series, so seeing Jerome marry that tone with Western Deep was a very cool moment for me.
The story behind the image as I recall was that during their journey to the north, the trio is forced to make their way through an old treewalker nest filled with all manner of questionable goop and noxious liquids. Kenosh, ever the professional, heads right in without a second thought. Dakkan eases himself in mostly to keep up with his father, and Quinlan is still more than a bit uncomfortable with the whole thing.
Amazing to see how Quinlan’s grown as a character in a few short days — life and death situations will do that to you!
Prison cuisine has got to be like a secret culinary art. I wonder if Quinlan is making that face because he has a shiny arrow up his……arsenal
But anywho! The trio adventuring through a bit more of the world before reaching Deltrada is something I honestly wished we could’ve seen. I know time and pacing is precious when building a story (Heck it’s been like 3 years ever since they reached Deltrada now right!), but its interesting that Jerome drew a concept for pretty much a BWD “dungeon” before getting to the first main area XD. And bringing a bit more flavor and lore into the world from characters exploring is always a plus in my book. I hope we can get to see some of this stuff in the future!
Is the guard going to place the bread and water into their hands? Otherwise, I suppose Quin could just use his foot to reach that stool, again. Might spill the water, though. And I like the look of that guard! I don’t recall seeing Canid fur that color before!
The Felis prison sounds like the one I’d shoot for–perhaps literally. Running water would be a luxury in those conditions!
I love the colors in that piece, especially the transition from yellow to purple! Very dramatic!
This looks like the same guard that came in with the General earlier, to me. I had wondered why such a “brilliant General” would need extra protection to visit two chained and injured prisoners, but I guess he’s just the guy with the keys. And bread.
Yep, it’s the dude from pages 11, 15, and 19 of Chapter 3, specifically.
All this talk of bread makes me want to go to longhorn and eat that wonderful bread they give you. Also the salmon party will have to figure out a name for this pompous one-eyed canid jailer.
“Ol’ One-Eye resented his nickname because he was barely middle aged, but it was catchy and easy to say so it stuck fast, and he took it out on his prisoners which was one of the small tragedies so common in that tumultuous age. He had initially gotten a degree in dungeon keeping because he had been a firm believer in rehabilitation of prisoners back into productive members of society, but now his praxis had turned into a crude mockery of his once held beliefs. There were occasional flashes of his original personality – he still liked to bake healthy gluten-free low sodium whole grain bread snacks for his wards, for example – but most of the time the prisoners were treated with sneering and unsolicited opinions of their leadership instead. Could all of this been avoided if his friends and peers had kept calling him Percy George-Minnow Rumplebottom the Third? One can only imagine.”
hahaha XD
ooh! love the new page! and Quin still keeping up that sass! good on him for his character development. also that soldier is a total jerk for putting dinner just outside Quin’s reach. unless he’s forced to pick up the bread the same way he did with the arrow… that’s just unsanitary.
anyway, nice guest art! I’m loving the colors and atmosphere here! but a Dark Souls-esque BWD game? let’s have Clovis and Ashtor spout out eerily cryptic lines and spread the plot out in the item descriptions. and have all the Canid and Ermehn soldiers armed to the teeth. but still… Clovis and Tosch being a Dark Souls bosses– someone make art of it!
How dare that Canid call honored Quin’s king pathetic!
Speaking to that Canid: At least the Tamian king actually does things, compared to YOUR king who just sits there looking pretty! Just you wait, wild dog! Once your ‘brilliant’ general (aka-your esteemed leader who’s doing all your king’s work) makes the slip-up of an Aisling lifetime, you’ll get yours!
But anyways, cool to see more iron-willed Quin, even if he’s still going through the fires.
I get that bread and water are a prison staple, but are we talking plain ol’ bread? Like white bread or some whole-grain/wheat? ‘Cause otherwise, I can’t say the Canid can account for taste. Oh well, still haven’t quite understood the grandeur of the cultured Canid.
What slip-up are you referring to, exactly? Imprisoning Quin and Dak and then not doing a better job of preventing them from escaping?
Ah, a good ole’ Redwall insult there!
Also I love the guard’s grin in the 5th panel
Haha, how true! I hope Quin gives him billyoh, wot wot, the old tree walloper!
I know it’s meant as an insult, but I now consider bushtail as one of the most beautiful words in the english language!
I notice that there’s no mention of food on a Polcan prison barque. But I assume that wormy hardtack is involved.
As for the Ermehn, let’s just say that prisoners aren’t part of the equation.
This guard is an appropriately smug literal-son-of-a-b*tch for the situation. I won’t be sad to see Quin garrote him with the chain. Shame it isn’t Lady Canid coming to her true love’s rescue, but you can’t have everything.
Looking forward to next week!
When you’re living in tents and desperately fending off your own starvation, you probably don’t bother feeding prisoners, if you even have any (and if you do they’re probably not kept alive very long anyway).
Wait, so do you think Quin’s going to yank his chain the rest of the way out of the wall right now, strangle the guard, and unlock the chains with the guard’s keys? Or wait until another time? I guess right now would be fun, and save having to chip away at Dak’s chain, but then Quin’s chain needs to be reeeally loose for this to work. Which I guess it is?…
Given his loose chain and his Tesque skills it’s certainly within the realm of possibility . . .
The odds of Quin getting grabbed and having threats snarled at his face in the next panel look pretty high right now. Can’t blame the guards though, they’re impressionable and just following the example set by Clovis and Tosch. Great snarlers, those two!
“dried bony fish”
Dried milkfish would be the worst kind of prison meal in the Lutren slammer
Ah…..ah… ah! AAAAH! Look, you guys! It’s Fern! He’s alright! He’s not dead! He just switched sides! And he’s got a new scar and fur and species! Ain’t it neat you guys! He’s alive! Fern’ alive!
he knew that joining the Ermehn was a bad idea at the start of this multiplayer game. he switched sides when he respawned in the next round
Aaaaand now I want a Western Deep in the style of Star Wars: Battlefront.
There’s some potential here.
I still think a Tekken or Mortal Kombat-style fighting game would work best at present.
I suppose an RTS could also be fun . . .
I think you’re on to something!
I guess no matter what your species is, if your profession involves using weapons, you’re not super unlikely to lose your eyesight in a fight. Hence why we’ve already seen two characters with useless eyes: an Ermehn warrior and a Canid guard.
This is my only contribution to this page’s comment section.
I’m loving Quin’s character development so far, btw.
Hahahah this is brilliant Saraa XD
He’s doesn’t want to burn up all his sass point juuust yet.
Fairly accurate, I’d say.
That sure DOES look pretty! (no, i did not misread the text)
Im like, “Maybe he is good? … nope. mean.” Classic guard.
Thanks to the guard, Quin now has confirmation that he, if not probably Dak as well, will indeed be executed soon if they don’t book it ASAP! No doubt left, if they had any, that it would be better to meekly not try to escape and just talk Tosch into releasing them.
Although I suppose the fact that the Canid are bothering to feed them means that they aren’t going to kill them *just* yet… run, Quin and Dak, run!!! There’s still time!!
That, or a convenient way to get rid of the stale bread nobody’s going to eat anyway… >:)
Someone needs to teach the Canid the recipe for French toast.
Spices up that stale bread without any of that uncomfortable “justifying murder” aspect of their current system.
But how can they learn of French toast without France around?
And what is this *justifying* murder nonesense?
It’s fun. It gets the other dude to finally shut up. What else is there?