Song of the Eastern Sands: Page 18
(Sorry for the delay, folks! This page proved to be a little trickier than anticipated!)
Similar to a monetary exchange in, say, an airport, embassies in Dunia carry currencies of all sorts from the different kingdoms. When trade deals are made, or when travelers need to exchange currency for official business, the treasury room is where that’s facilitated. Of course, the Sand Spiders are only really interested in facilitating how they earn money, so a room literally full of it means it’s a promising target.
Of course, rooms full of money are generally well-guarded, because money is used in exchange for goods and services, and therefore has value. The Sand Spiders will most definitely have their work cut out for them, and with their window of opportunity as tight as it it, things seem like they’ll move quickly, if at all.
This week, for guest art, I wanted to show the last of Darkspeed’s wonderful Western Deep character artwork! May I present Hardin, morally-questionable leader of the Sratha-din and all-around murder-face extraordinaire!
It’s not enough that Elson put together an awesome piece, but the lighting and composition really go that extra distance to capture Hardin’s menace. When that dagger comes out and he starts glaring at you (possibly with a conveniently massive fire behind him) it’s time to either run or plead. Running is not advisable — Hardin will catch you and just make you look silly. Pleading is preferable, but never a guarantee. I’m just saying if the scarf-wielding Ermehn guardian in chapter 1 had tried it he might not have had to try breathing through his neck.
Anyway! Thank you so much, Elson, for the incredible set of pieces! I hope we see more wonderful Western Deep artwork from you in the future!
Coincidentally, Pearl Flakes are also Theo’s favourite breakfast cereal.
“They’re crunchy on the outside, chewy on the inside, and they don’t have a single natural ingredient or essential vitamin to get in the way of that rich, fudgy taste!”
But seriously, it took me a while to wonder why the Sunsgrovian embassy would specifically have “pearl flakes” until I realized that it refers to Lutren harvesting gems from oysters and the like.
Pear Flakes: the perfect topping for… desert salmon!
*glances around anxiously* did I do good? No? Okay. *disappears back into the shadows*
Next thing you know, the Sand Spiders might raid the Nessian Stock Market (or whatever the quivalent that is)
Also, Badass Hardin just got more badass! Nice work, Elson!
Last week:
“What do the Sand Spiders want to steal? Documents?”
This week:
“Oh.”
I do love how Beck can’t wait to get started, while Rook and Asha are a little more apprehensive about just waltzing in. I also love how Beck looks in the final panel. Really, all of Beck’s behavior in this page adds support to her being very young; I’d actually peg her as younger than Asha, whether that’s accurate or not.
I’ll guess that tonight is some sort of Sunsgrovian festival where the guards are going to hit the town and get rather tipsy, but we’ll find out soon enough.
Excellent picture of Hardin, his eyes burn right into your soul.
Just hope nobody starts a staring contest with Hardin…
“Those eyes filled with such contempt and rage…” ~ Chp.1 Ermehn Guardian before realizing he done goofed
I feel so silly for not realizing the large amounts of tender that such places house. But seeing Beck and Asha so excited makes me feel all warm and giddy inside. I’m hoping due to the more “light-hearted” nature of this comic that the Sand Spiders wont get into deep, deep trouble ala certain Sunsgrovian Diplomats.
Would you say, they are the most MOE gang of thieves in Dunia? :)
I have a feeling that when all else fails, Beck and Asha are gonna do puppy dog eyes just to get out of a sticky situation, though I don’t know how effective that’ll be…
Okay! Here is my attempt at an analytical comment before SaraaLuna gets here!
I like how Rook is casually chilling, being literally laid back a bit, while Beck is either on the edge of her seat, or standing up. Little details like their body posture serves to accentuate how much more experienced and/or older he is compared to Beck.
As to their mission, one side of me hopes they don’t get caught–for their sakes, especially Rook’s. If a former slave is jailed, I’m thinking there is a possibility he may find himself on an auction block again… But on the other side, with war about to break out between the Ermehn, Canid, and Sunsgrove, the Tamain and the Lutren are probably going to need all the money they can get.
Also, I wonder which kingdom uses pearl flakes as currency? The Lutren of Sunsgrove?
*waits impatiently for next Saturday to roll around*
Well done. :p I approve.
Thank you! :D
Just to add a bit to what I said earlier, as I was looking at the teasers from the past year over again.
I think it’s possible that we’ll see the scene depicted in the second piece of concept art featured on this page here: https://westerndeep.net/comic/song-of-the-eastern-sands-teaser-4/
But of course, that is only speculation :)
If this story is following normal Heist movies “tonight” would most likely be some sort of gala (probably to welcome Janik).
If they do (somehow) pull this off, there’s no way people aren’t going to notice the large mountain of money from different countries they have stockpiled. Also this is a huge step up from swiping a merchant, Theo definitely has some ulterior motives
Minor quibble: Theo’s snout/muzzle is too long.
Otherwise, another excellent page well worth waiting for. And I think Hunter may have hit the nail on the head, about the festivities surrounding Janik’s arrival possibly being the very thing that will leave the treasury lightly-guarded.
And, Darkspeed strikes again! Outstanding Hardin, extemely moody and evocative in all the best ways with first-rate character rendering, although I might question the inclusion of very human-style chest muscles. (With … nipples, even? Has that detail ever been included on any prior “BWD” depiction, by either the official or fan artists?)
Rook is steadily becoming my favorite character here. He’s so laid back about this whole grand robbery thing; the ex-pirate side shines through well. I am curious to see what’s occurring for the guard to be lowered, though. I imagine regardless of how low it’s dropped–as much as it can be dropped for the occasion–that our crew of thieves are going to hit a rough patch or two. Fun times ensue.
On a complete tangent, Theo’s shirt glows so brightly in panel three that I mistook it for an indoor lantern.
That’s Theo’s contribution to the team, being an organic flashlight.
Morally Questionable Flashlight Grandpa.
Beck is increasingly giving me this vibe:
http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0187.html
They’re gonna steal the Declaration of Independence.
The original copy of the Treaty of Cenolau, maybe.
They need the map to the Plot Armor, after all. Clovis hid his somewhere
And that’s another page of Chapter 2 that’s been colored! And the most recent page when I started commenting, too.
https://westerndeep.net/comic/chapter-2-page-42/
Oh man, Theo doesn’t go for the small fry at all, does he? XD
Straight from mercantile theft to grand larceny, this will go SO WELL. No screwups at ALL.
Well, since they’re going after the Sunsgrovian embassy, and they just stole from a Tamian merchant, I can see at least one way that this can go horribly wrong . . .
At *least* one, hah! It’ll be so much more than that, I’m sure. When it rains, it pours. Even in a desert.
*Pokes head in* Hello peoples. I just found this place via something I found on Pinterest and just got through reading everything. So I hope no one minds if I stick around. Cause I’m not moving.
Anyway. So I bet that squirrel girl, Janik wasn’t it? I bet she’s going to show up.
(I’m probably just stating the obvious here, huh?)
Welcome to the Salmon party! The more the merrier! :D
Yay! More Salmon for the party!
Welcome!
Yay.. Why are we fish?
Just ask SaraLunaa, it’s all her fault (as far as I can tell) :P
Technically, the full title is “Bushtailed Lively Discussion Devotees of the Salmon Party”, and VarVau and myself deserve a good chunk of blame for the whole mess too. The nickname is cobbled together from the following sources:
Bushtail, and the gestalt name: https://westerndeep.net/comic/the-adventures-of-cain-yurk-page-04/
Lively Discussion Devotee: https://westerndeep.net/comic/chapter-2-page-84/
Salmon Party: https://westerndeep.net/comic/chapter-2-page-81/
Oops, that should be chunk of blame.
(**Fixed that for you, Fourth :) –Alex))
Ok, makes sense, I guess
Welcome newcomer.
Whatever this unholy mishmash of in-jokes and fishy puns has become, it certainly does not make sense.
Please do not hesitate to tell us to knock it off if the mood takes you.
Heaven knows there ain’t a straight-man among us.
Pearl flakes and gold, huh? I guess gold is the Vulpin currency or perhaps it’s the closest they have to international currency. Either way, the “pearl flakes” are obviously Lutren in origin. My question is why flakes as opposes to the actual pearls? Is it mother of pearl ,or am I missing something?
In retrospect, secret documents are probably a bit too high-stakes for a lighter take on the world of Dunia. Juust a bit.
Sounds like Rook has a bit of experience when it comes to well-guarded embassies- he doesn’t sound quite sold on this job. I love that over-head shot in that panel, an the way it bleeds over the background of the rest of the page.
And, of course, there’s the question of the hour: what’s the reason why the treasure room won’t be as well guarded? A possible reaction to the incident up north, maybe as it is a couple weeks since everything (well, except the Sunsgrovians) went south? Welcoming the new dipplomats from Terria? The coming weeks (perhaps even the next week!) will hold the answers.