Page 1144…
Hi all!
Only 3 pages this week. Monday, Wednesday, Friday.
Also…
I wanted to congratulate Andrea Doty for the winning donation for the “Alexander Beefcake” original print.
We’ll be getting the print out to you next week. Please email me if you’d like it personalized in any way.
🙂
Thanks to all who donated!
Hope you liked the desktop image.
Scott
Whoa… interesting the way that old Nick is calling Arthur’s name… as if he expects an answer.
Interesting… We have a brief narration here, as was seen before during Alex’s training montage. Is this the first segment in the story apart from Alex or other human characters’ local presence or knowledge? I know Orion speculated that Nicodemus would be going back to the tomb.
Unless Arthur is going to show up now… then there would be a human character present.
There was the bit when Paddington and Kiwi were talking about how the Rock Giants moved because their forest was cut down.
Arthur’s spirit is trapped near his body… in the cave.
Didn’t Nicodemus see any sight of Authur when Alex pulled the sword out of the dias eight years ago? Doesn’t the dragon remember?
I can seen this one too 😛
do we sense a hint of desperate hope there? 😉
from the flashback I got the impression he’d want arthur back or at least have a chance to talk to him once again…
kinda tragic, if it IS that way.
Me thinks it’s a little late for a nice chit-chat or afternoon thee with Arthur.
Nicodemus seems desperate to me for some reason… and I like it how instead of you showing Alex waking up you take a detour and show us what Nic did after he flew off.
(Nicodemus: Aurthur? Aurthur!!! Ollie Ollie oxen free!)
The voting incentive….A little cheesecake for the ladies?
Well, from a story telling perspective, while most of the Dreamland Chronicles focus around Alex’s involvement, he is only just starting to understand that Dreamland exists without him (eventhough he’s known… he’s only really now starting to *understand*). Now that he has learned a little of what went on before him, he now wonders what’s going on around him. As his awareness of Dreamland increases, the insight to the reader increases.
I read that first line and immediately think Superfriends (“Meanwhile, at the Hall of Justice”). Ah, the Saturday morning memories 🙂
Unless, of course, our pal Nick comes up with a bunch of warm and fluffy lies.
Arthur was double asleep when the wraiths came, remember? Some work with the forked tongue, and he’s leading Nightmare Realm legions to overthrow this silly usurper boy. Yessss, preciossss…
Ah. Nice memories indeed.
🙂
Uh, Alex in underwear is not the present voting incentive. It’s Nicodemus standing over fire. Which conceivably could be a turn-on, but I don’t think you meant it.
Ahh what a tangled web we weave. 😀 or rather Scott weaves. lol! I really have enjoyed the glimpses into Nic’s thinking and reasoning. It’s almost as if he’s been played for a sap by the King of the Nightmare Realm. And will we ever get to see the King of the Nightmare Realm??
Oh, dang it!! I wanted to donate for that wallpaper. 🙁 Curse you procrastination and lack of fun money! ;P
Nice translucency on Nic’s wings.
I’ve never seen someone so angry because it was a Monday. 😀 I hope Arthur answers before Nick tears the tomb apart.
I think Nic is scared. He sees that the sword has picked someone else. and in his mind that equals that they are the new human king = Arthur’s dead. He never wanted that to happen; looks like he had hopes that he’d be able to save him, somehow.
id just like to give a big thank you to Scot for this amazing story it has me compleatly hooked and more than that its inspired me to start writing again oh and also a big thanks to all you fellow dreamers too your insightful coments are a delight to read
Er… so bodies don’t decompose in Dreamland? I figured Arthur couldn’t be anything BUT spirit at this point.
well, i think since Arthur’s body never left Camelot when he was regularly visiting Dreamland, there would be no corpse there anyway. if there was one anywhere, it would be at Camelot. BUT since he technically at neither place, there is no body. maybe.
Also, when it’s a woman being pictured with a lot of exposed skin it’s cheesecake. When it’s a man being shown with a lot of exposed skin it’s beefcake. Dunno why. That’s just how it works.
Hi!!!!! I’m back on the computer from 4 or 3 days ago, but anyway I just read the last few pages and I’m confused. I forget what Astoria is. Heh heh
I have to agree with you there. Our community of Dreamers is one of the most intelligent – and even more remarkably civil – communities on the internet, at least in my experience.
Okay, I’m going to stop there before we start injuring ourselves patting ourselves on the back …
😉
Welcome back, Sophia! Have you started back to school yet? (Good luck!)
Astoria, as I recall, was the Elven capital city – the big tree. Hang on (checking Dreamland wiki) … oops! I’m wrong, that was Ashendel. Astoria is the capital of Dreamland, where Alex and company first met Nicodemus (as an adult group), and where Felicity and Nicole got separated as children: http://thedreamlandchronicles.wikidot.com/places:astoria
Does the supposed evil dragon still have a hidden loyalty? I get the idea that Nic is bowing/knealing before King Arthur’s tomb. I also cant help but wonder with this page that maybe it isnt Nic’s fault he comes across so bad, like maybe the Nightmare Realm creatures twisted his mind to make him think he was ruler of anything and everything just so they wouldnt have to deal with the possibility of a new king rising up from the Human World and leave the dirty work to the dragon…
crazy i know, but hey =)
YES! LOL. That’s what I heard, too. Complete with narration in Ted Knight’s voice.
I’ll do a little more patting, @Tek. It’s first and foremost Scott’s storytelling and visually stunning graphics that hooked me, but it’s the community that keeps me around. I’ve started to read other webcomics, and the comments end up being adult-only or very abusive of each other. I appreciate that everyone behaves civilly here.
Oh, and, if I might —
We rock!
(ok, I’ll stop. I think I’m getting a cramp in my shoulder.)
Hm. I’m noting Nic’s initial pose in this one, and is it safe to assume there’s some sort of passage in the wall there, or somesuch? Because it seems apparent he is turning towards the altar after coming from where that wall lies, instead of just coming down the hallway. Presumably this is a hint of how he’s able to get into the tomb without being noticed.
He seemed to have left a body in both worlds when his spirit became trapped between them.
I’d call it “denial.” Nic does not want to believe that his perfect scheme has now been thwarted.
Even if he kills Alex or has the wraiths kill him in the waking world, there will just be another king popping up the next night somewhere else in Dreamland, on and on forever. If Arthur is truly gone, eventually one of the new human kings may penetrate Nic’s defenses and kill him.
Here’s my prediction for tomorrow. Nic will open up the crypt and find it empty, except for a curious doodle:
http://www.livescience.com/history/080915-hs-kilroy.html
🙂
I like the layout of the last panel very much. Not only does it make Nic look very small compared to the statues of kings, the kings also appear to be looking disapprovingly down on Nic.
i think tragic or not, wont make up for the fact he betrayed him, and i thik he trying to find out where the last stones are now that he lost the amulet.
if arthur is alive in spirit i would think nico going to try to say i can help you get out of the trap but i am betting he knwos it was nic and the wraiths that did the deed.
You know…. I hope Arthur shows up in Spirit form and tell the usurper that he has deserved this torment and that by being in league with the Nightmare Realm he is in fact endangering Astoria…
But I do believe that Nic will say he is the rightful King of Astoria just because his ego is that big… lol anyway thank you Scott for such a wonderful tale to read… Even though you give us daily cliffhangers grinz.
Oops Nic, nice realizing that your little plan backfired, like usual. He should know by now that it’s just never going to work out with him as king…
I don’t think Nic is kneeling. I think that’s just the way his legs look when he’s standing or walking. They couldn’t be straight at the “knee” due to the bone structure…like a cat or dog’s.
Maybe it’s me, but I found it a little odd that Nic would be calling out Arthur’s name upon entrance to the tomb. Unlike some of the other readers, I didn’t immediately interpret his shouting as wishful thinking, so maybe that’s my problem. However, it just seems rather odd for Nic to expect a conscious Arthur…which would be the only reason to call out to him.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but I thought the sword only related to Arthur once his spirit was trapped in that possession = kingship. The spirit being trapped between worlds was related to him falling asleep in Dreamland and the spell to make the amulet/bracelet/whatever being interupted…since the sword was not “in his possession” during the spell. Therefore (with my confused logic) the sword being “taken” from Arthur wouldn’t have brought his spirit back…right?
*brain begins to smoke from over-exertion*
I was just about that say that xD
“Cheescake” almost certainly came first–apparently from the idea that cheesecake was soft and feminine. More than that is hard to say. “Beefcake” was developed in the last 50 or so years to give the girls equal time.
So Scott,are you scaling back on the comics to just three days now?
Not as a rule. I just have a meeting in L.A.
was is nic calling for Arthur now? shouldn’t he realized arthur was free once alex pulled the sword out 8 years ago? i’m only guessing here.
btw, love the kickass desktop pic of nic today. 🙂
3 days are just fine by me!
I think that Arthur is still trapped between worlds but any subsequent King of Dreamland is, in effect, a temporary king whilst Dreamland waits for the return of Arthur. Dan can’t come into Dreamland because the first born coming to Dreamland would be a genuine succession but the 2nd born, whilst the first is still alive, means that it’s just the deputy taking over.
“Taking over” as in only whilst the King is away.
As I have the power of foresight, here comes tomorrows dialogue:
Nic: “Arthur! … Arthur!”
Arthur: ” -sigh- yes, Nicodemus, what do you want?”
Nic: ” Arthur? Is it really you?”
Arthur: “Of course not, you silly. You watched me get ambushed 500 years ago!”
Nic: “But all I wanted, was….”
Arthur: “Yehyehyeh, whatever. Now speak up!”
Nic: “Gee Arthur, I have a small dental problem and since I’m running out of friends these days, I was kinda hoping you met a dentist in that limbo world of yours.”
Arhur: ” Oh please Nic, I’m merely your guilty conscience who’s talking. You really want this embarring faceplant to work, don’t you?”
I think that when Alex claimed the sword, Arthur stopped being king. Succession was successfully passed to Alex. Now Arthur drifts in Limbo. Even if he somehow returned to Dreamland, it would be as a former regent.
At this point, Dan can’t get to Dreamland because he’s an adult. Unless he gets the amulet that is presumably in Arthur’s hand in Limbo, of course.
There is a back staircase that he has used before, which is good because the front has been resealed behind the cliff. http://thedreamlandchronicles.com/the-dreamland-chronicles/chapter-01/page-39/
However, it doesn’t seem like he just came down it to end up where he is. Maybe he has been there a little bit already and we see him in the middle of pacing around the tomb while searching. His tail looks a little buried in the statue in the first panel so maybe he has some stone walking magic too, for all those cramped room he can’t turn around in.
What I find odd is that up to this point in the story everything has been from Alexander’s point of view there has been no real like outside story things. I think I may be wrong on that.
I think a rather large part of it is how much Scott respects our input and opinions… perhaps to a fault sometimes, as I think he’s had a tendency to beat himself up a little too much striving for perfection. Major props to Scott for being an excellent storyteller who has sparked my imagination in many ways… thanks!
It’s a bracelet or a wrist ornament of some kind, actually. Your point remains intriguing regardless of what the object is 😀 Succession is always a tricky thing, especially in a world where we know so little about how THEIR particular rulers are chosen. How did succession occur prior to Arthur? How did Arthur claim the throne of Dreamland, and from whom? Those are questions that – while not critical to the Dreamland Chronicles as they currently stand – would be very interesting to have answers to.
The scene has briefly left Alex behind before. Sometimes it is the best way to make sure the story provides enough information to the readers.
When the King of the Mer-people talked to Nastajia alone.
http://thedreamlandchronicles.com/the-dreamland-chronicles/chapter-06/page-393/
When Dan talked to Nicole while they waited for him to fall asleep.
http://thedreamlandchronicles.com/the-dreamland-chronicles/todays-dreamland-chronicles-665/
thanks tekserver and im starting school after labor day and coming back from vacation on labor day 🙁
In the first panel it kinda looks like Nic’s tail protrudes into the stone work or that he is appearing from the entrance that isn’t there and is still clipped by the illusion. Am I just seeing things?
Could be worse; I’ve already been back to school all week! (College classes; different schedule and all that … )
Anyway, I hope you’re enjoying your vacation, and I hope you get time to join us here periodically during your busy school schedule (but not till your homework is done, of course!)
😉