Chapter 3: Page 9
Can you believe that our very first page of the Beyond the Western Deep Prologue was posted on January 1st, 2012? That means as of tomorrow, we’ll have been telling this story for FIVE YEARS! And beyond that, you — the readers — have stuck with us, through thick and thin. To celebrate this auspicious event, I stamp today’s page with the OFFICIAL KENOSH SEAL OF APPROVAL.
Speaking of approval, the Canid don’t seem ready to give theirs to Quinlan just yet. Quite the contrary, while it’s been over a year since we’ve seen the poor Tamian, he’s just coming to from a pretty rough night. Getting betrayed by your best friend’s father, nearly killed a few times, then shot with a crossbow in the span of about 20 minutes, then waking up to a sword at your throat has a way of dampening one’s spirits.
Also, while the Canid seem to have temporarily patched up Quin’s shoulder, you can probably bet this garrison on the proverbial edge of civilization doesn’t really have an award-winning medical team. Though that WOULD be a very cool television show idea. It’s like ER, but with wolves? Sorry, I digress.
As I mentioned a few weeks back, I recently accepted a job offer from ArenaNet to help them on cool and exciting video game related things! My apartment has therefore become a forest of boxes and plastic tubs, and I will be in the process of moving for the whole first half of January (it takes a while to get a whole apartment’s worth of stuff across the entire country). Because of that, I will not have access to the Western Deep merchandise for a while, and will be temporarily closing the web store down until I’m in Bellevue and everything is set up.
But if you want to get a copy of Beyond the Western Deep volumes 1 or 2, you can do so on Amazon in the interim!
Volume 1 can be purchased here.
Volume 2 can be purchased here.
For guest art this week, another fun piece from Elson Wong, who felt compelled to draw Rook (of Song of the Eastern Sands fame) in his own style. Check it out:
I love how he turned out, Elson! As a former Polcan pirate and generally “the brawn” for any job the Sand Spiders pull off, it helps him come across as imposing and threatening when he needs to be. And side-eyeing you with a giant scimitar over his shoulder is probably a good way of accomplishing that goal!
Thank you so much, Elson!
And to the entire Salmon Party, I hope you all have a safe, happy, healthy New Year!
OMG it’s … QUIN!!!!
And Quin as we’ve never seen him before. Yowza, what a case of Morning Face in panel two! And whose paw could that be wielding the sword? Could Tosch be about to make his long-rumored appearance? Or perhaps Lady Canid? We shall find out next week! Hopefully.
Great guest art from Elson! Gotta keep the Sand Spiders alive while they’re offscreen!
And let me join Alex in wishing all my fellow Salmoners Happy New Year! May 2017 be better than the year just passed! (Whatever that means for you.)
Call me crazy, but I’d think that Tosch would be more interested in interrogating the son of Captain Kenosh rather than some Tamian schmuck. Which means a certain female soldier might just be the choice for Quinlan’s interrogator. Even though she doesn’t have an official name yet, I think she’s had more lines and screen time than any other Canid. (Didn’t Alex and Rachel promise more new named characters this chapter? More than just Mitria?)
And if my completely unofficial theory about her being Clovis’s daughter is right, she’s going to be pissed . . .
What Fourtch!? O.o Jesus, If I good understand… You mean that Dakkan would be interrogating Quinlan? O.o ;-;
Oh, no. No, no, no. I was just thinking that Tosch (the other general) would want to interrogate Dakkan more than Quinlan, and therefore might pass off the job of interrogating Quinlan to somebody like Lady Canid.
Although the more I think about it the more I realize that he’ll probably want to interrogate them both himself. I’m sure he has enough time for it.
Hmm, well indeed I supose the same situation in my other comment, well I just bad understand mean of your comment ^^; Well sorry for this mistake ^^;
Anyway I think taht in 100 % this sword or spear or dagger is indeed Gneral Tosch weapon… Ouch >,; * I supose that This interrogating would be little hurt…. ^^;
And I supose what great fun have alex from % years day after day read our new Our conspiracy theories and conjectures, theories of matrymonialno-battle and recipes for salmon and other delicacies :3
Ah, And Happy New year for you and everyone ^^ :D And who wanna tadte delicious salmon with grits with Greaves for New year Salmon Party? ^^ :D
The good news Quin is that you are not dead!
The bad news….yet.
The Canid never let up do they…
Welp I guess our beloved captain wont be getting the royal treatment (unless this IS the Canid’s Royal treatment). Really though, poor guy and now I wonder how they’ll get out of this mess. With me, I see several possibilities:
A.The Canid will eventually pardon them from their involvement and coax Quinlan and Dakkan to track down the Sratha-din
B. They manage to escape the garrison with the aid from an outside source….perhaps a sympathetic soldier/trainee (I’m looking at you snow colored Canid archer from Chp.2 Page 31! What is your deeaalll?) will help them out and maybe join them!
C. Janik uses her diplomacy skillz to pay their bills
D. *sigh*…Kenosh gets wind of their predicament and goes back to Deltrada to face proper judgement….War still happens anyway
E. Deus Ex Machina blows up a wall and they all fly away on a magical dragon
F. Somewhat unlikely…but the Sand Spiders break them out?
Who knows honestly, and I bet Dakkan is in no better shape than Quin. I’m sure he’s having to deal with harsh interrogations while figuring out his own father issues.
Also lots of love for Elson and his too cool for school rendition of our favorite and only Polcan delinquent. I really love the texture in the corner!
I’ve been forgetting to say this and it’s real late, but congrats on getting the job Alex! Here’s hoping you end up making lots of great things in the future!
Options A, C, and D seem the most likely to happen, although option B would be fun to see. (Greenpaw? Or maybe the eyepatch-wearing soldier with the spear in Chapter 2, page 46?)
I would also like to suggest option G: Tosch tells them that he’ll attack Sunsgrove on a certain date, then Quin has that long to head back home and tell his country about the whole “open war” thing. And of course, the Canid keep Dakkan hostage as a bargaining chip. So after Quin gets home (still wounded, mind), he has to decide whether to follow his orders as Captain of the Royal Guard or stage some crazy rescue mission to save his friend.
I’m placing bets on option E
If I were to take a wild guess at where the story is going-
With the chapter title being “Outcasts of the Western Deep”, I think it’s safe to assume that raven will return with a message saying that Quin and Dakkan are now banished from Sunsgrove, mostly so that Sunsgrove can keep the Canid as their allies. With their captain now a criminal, Crim will take his spot and be sent to Deltrada, while Quin and Dakkan will be released or be forced to escape, find Janik, meet up with Beck and Rook, and begin to search for Kenosh to either prove their innocence so they can return home, or to side with him and stop the Canid.
Well, finally caught on to the last page of BWD. And I must say, this is very well drawn.
Although… This page just refuted most of my theory. Oh well.
I was actually thinking that Clovis, despite being an absolute douchebag and getting stabbed on the back, would actually pull through or be in some sort of coma, hence the Canid’s reluctance in immediately lopping off Quin and Dakkan heads.
But seeing that Deltrada doesn’t have a world-class medical team, I guess things doesn’t seems to be going that way.
In my opinion, Option A and B seems most likely now. The Canids would give Quin and Dakkan a time limit on finding Kenosh before officially declaring war, while sending another Canid to supervise them two.
(Speaking of TV series, this looks like an episode of 24.)
Or, Tosch will come in, tell Quin that he is happy that Kenosh killed Clovis (And therefore giving him full control over the Canid military)
…
Of course, it might only be a very wild New Year party and Quin got so drunk that he allowed the others to chain him. XD
first of all, happy new year! *confetti pops out* yay!
ok, back to business. poor Quin… look what 2016 did to him! (nah, just kidding. i hope…)
I’m both excited and anxious to see what happens next! is it Tosch holding the sword? or is it the guard waiting for Tosch?
I wonder how Dakkan is doing… I mean, being the son of a traitor, it’s certain he’s having a much harder time than Quin. poor guys…
anyway, nice fan art! props to Elson as always! woohoo!
proof that 2016 truly is the worst year in recent memory. first the celebrity deaths, then politics (both real and fictional), then THIS. of all the low blows 2016 pulled, it had to be THIS
yeah… Well I can say, that I see little some references to the current policy in the BWD world, and what were and what happened now on the world, ya know, these wars, and uncertain tomorrow and precarious politics, I think taht BWD probably has never been quite as active as a couple of years ago … :/
Well for me too, indeed like you I had bad start and really god ending, and if comes about me this year was really good – a lot of drawing practice, World Youth Days and meeting with Pope, New Camera equipment, II place in Kraków nativity scenes competition, a lot of new photos and drawings etc. etc. :) … But I fear when I see what happened around As Var… :/ I hope that this year would be better for this damn world… :/
Hey, there guys! I missed you! Good to see you back!
Jakub, I hadn’t heard from you in months! What happened?
Heya zealot ^^ :D I live all the time as you see ^^; – Well I were all this time there, during my 1,5 year “missing” – and this is looooong story why i don’t take a part in Salmon party…. I were watch all Salmon Party and every next comic page, but I feel per these 1,5 year… nothing, emmm well I don’t feel during really fantastic Jerome comic part this all climate of salmon party, I started drawing my drawings and characters, I had a lot other art things to do and I meet someone which take me all time (now my best friend in real live ^^; ); I had some small depresion, etc etc. Now I feel that I miss you all in salmon Party and when Shield and others beg me to come back here, I feel that you really miss me… I feel in this moment that you are for me really important too, and I go somewhere and for year I forgot about Salmon Party… So I decide that I can’t wait more, and I’m back ^^ :) And that was good decision ^^ :D
I wonder if the lady Canid is in command for now.
Uuuuu… ><; Well I more afraid confronation with female warriors than male warriors ^^;…
*gulp
Typical awakening on January 1st. :)
QUINALAN!!!!!! O_O O_O O_O Oh God, Oh Alex and Rahel and everybody my friends O_O HE IS LIVEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! O_O *heard attack + the boulders are flying from my heart
.
.
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Huh… Well… *Ekhem* … Hey ^^; H-hello ^^; *Ekhem, (*uncertain enter again on slamon party fearful of the reaction of good old friends) …Well I’m sorry for that 1,5 year silence from my side… Especially I wanna apologize for it Sara and Shield, and everyone here from my old good friends… I had hard time and good time during this time, but all that time I don’t feel good and I don’t feel IT, to this day, when we are again in this Damn Deltrada Garnizon, and Quinlan was return. So if he retur, I think taht this day Is good day to return with him. So Hello again friends, and lets do this Salmon party like the good old days ^^ Ha!!!
You’re back! Welcome back, Jakub, and happy 2017!
Hey hey Fourth ^^ Nice to see you again :D Well I was there during this all tme, but I don’t feel good to write something on Salmon Party ^^; … Well what can I say more, Ah come on watch orginal hello guys from my Dago ^^ (Ya know, my character ^^; ) -> http://dagootter.deviantart.com/art/Writing-Lesson-lesson-1-648556944
Quinlan’s role as the butt monkey of BWD continues.
Really, though, this is a bad, baaad sign.
And if he’s being subjected to this, think what the Canid are doing to Dakkan, you know, the son of the man who betrayed and killed the general?
2016 got him :)
HAHAHA
“So, Captain Quinlan, you thought you could get through 2016 without a single bad thing happening to you, huh? HUH?”
“Do you really expect me to last a whole year without anything bad happening to me?”
“No, Mr. Quin, I expect you to die.”
I think everyone has it all wrong! Quinlan isn’t being interrogated, he’s just being woken up by a friendly Canid!
The sword? Well we all know how much the Canid love their swords, so it makes sense that they’d use them non-conventionally! I bet they totally use them as back scratchers too.
The shackles? Well with a shoulder wound like that, you need to keep the arms up for uh…. blood circulation! That’s it! See, it’s all just good ole’ Canid hospitality! I’m sure the next scene will have all the characters sitting around a table having a good ole’ laugh at the whole situation!
Maybe it’s a Canid barber there to give him a shave? You wouldn’t want to appear unkempt before general Tosch after all!
(The manacles are traditional Canid barbershop manacles)
“Welcome to Deltrada Designs, styles to DIE for. Please do not pull on or jangle your Canid motion inhibitors, as they are only administered to ensure an even cut and will be removed once all parties are satisfied. We do not use chairs, but instead rely on the finest bespoke granite hewn from the Northern Mountains by hand. We think you’ll appreciate the difference. The DELTRADA difference.”
Reminds me of this Dilbert cartoon: http://dilbert.com/strip/2002-1-17
You’re getting there, Alex!
So the Canid have their traditional friendship manacles, their traditional barbershop manacles, and their traditional wedding-head-on-a-pike. They sound like a lovely culture.
I assume then that this is Clovis demonstrating the final step of the traditional Canid greeting dance?
https://westerndeep.net/comic/chapter-2-page-36/
Oh,no. Quinlan is not being detained, he’s being retained, to consult on this foreign threat. After all that is what the late general said they were there for. Hope you guys have a happy new year! Make your new years resolutions and all that, this year I think I will make a resolution to set aside an hour to draw each day. A hobby I neglected a lot this year. Hopefully Quin and Dak live long enough to make one as well.>_<
I haven’t more time to read few other comments, but sorry if I repeat it again if someone has already pointed out, but it seems to me that this nice sword or some other edge that looks more like a dagger or a long spear does not belong to the lady Canid, but to Brother General Clovis whose name unfortunately I do not remember now (I remember that he is general too ^^; ) :/ …
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!DUM DUm Dum….. -_-
Yay five more years! Congrats and thank you for your hard work Rachel and Alex!
Thanks so much, Tuomas! Let’s not forget Jerome, either! It was his “Song of the Eastern Sands” that carried us through late 2015 and most of 2016 after all! :)
Let me also congratulate you three on five years of comicking! And congratulate you personally on the new job, Alex!
Thanks so much, Fourth! I hope your 2017 is a great one! :)
Happy New Year to all! I truly compliment Rachel on this strip. The light effects and the zoom out make it one of the best ones yet!
Five years…. I really hope my grandkids get to enjoy the comic’s ending. I’m sure it’ll end with a real pay off!
Aye, Three cheers for Jerome and all the hard work he had to put in to bring “Song of the Eastern Sand” to life in such detail that he did. Three cheers for you too Alex, story boarding and story writing are not easy feats. So Huzzah, Huzzah, Huzzah!
Where did the Kenosh seal of approval come from? I know I’ve seen it before, but I forget where. Would somebody please remind me?
YES!!! Quinlan is back! Can’t wait to see him and Dak in action!
I asked for two specific things for Christmas this year, and the Beyond the Western Deep shirt was one of them. I love it so much!
WOO! I’m so glad you like it! Happy New Year!
Quinlan’s bandage is under his clothes which means the canid went to the trouble of putting his shirt and tunic back on before the swordpoint interrogation. How thoughtful of them.
Awwwww :3 So sweet :3 Now they would be more nice and caring when they tear to end his tunic and shirt before whipping and terrible torture during interrogation <3 They are so nice for their guests – First, carefully and lovingly bear the wounded without destroying his clothes, and then merciless interrogation like a Gestapo <3
Yaaay <3
Truly, the Canid are a people of contradictions.
Yeah… :/
I think the comment box ate my last comment. Ah well. Poor Quin. :C I hope he and Dakkan get out of this in one piece, at least as much as they can. Congratulations on BTWD going on so long! Now that it’s 2017, I wish everyone in the Salmon Party a happy new year, and I hope we all fare better in the upcoming new year than our protagonists are now.
Well I had the same situation Sara yesterday ^^; Don’t worry :) And Happy New year, I hope that this year would be better than last year, and I hope that this year would be not so bad for Quin, Dakkan, Kenosh, all ermehn and everybody in BWD… Unfortuaently I smell bloody war in their world… :<
“…television show ides…”
Hmm. M*A*S*H anyone? Though yes, with wolves.
I don’t know, I like the idea of ER with wolves, I can already see the first episode!
A group of paramedics bring a car crash victim into the hospitals hallway.
A wolf dressed in ill-fitting doctor’s clothes walks over to one of the paramedics, who explains the situation to the wolf doctor.
The wolf approaches the wounded man’s body, sniffs it, licks his wounds a bit, then continues his way down the hallway. The paramedics look at the wolf leave in awkward silence.
Paramedic (To camera): And that’s pretty much the whole show. (beat) Sometimes they get violent, though.
And if they lose a patient, you don’t even have to worry about sending their corpse to the morgue!
Weeeell, shit.
You know, I actually, truly thought and kinda hoped that Kenosh and the Ermehn killing all the soldiers that saw Kenosh backstab Clovis (rest in peace, General Snowball) would prevent the Canid from realising what he did.
I was wrong. Sadface. :(
Yikes I hope they aren’t being too mean to Dak and Quin. Though as I type this, I know that they are being treated terribly. Chairmander above me said it short and sweet.
No. No, that can’t be all. I can’t have caught up to the story already; I’ve only been reading for three days! Where’s the rest?
…Are you seriously telling me that after a cliffhanger like this, I have to wait another three days to find out where this is going? I’ll never make it! I’ll go crazy! *shakes monitor*
Welcome to the Salmon party! And the head of the pack, with the rest of us. Only time will tell just what will happen next . . . of course, we’ll engage in rampant speculation all the while. Care to join us?
Hmm, and here I thought he was gonna wake up on a hospital bed. This is much more interesting.