Surprise! A new character appears to ruin Nolen’s break-in attempts. Just who is this guy and what’s he doing at the manor will be answered soon.

That’s it for chapter 1! Thank you for reading so far, it’s been a lot of work and a lot of fun finally getting to do this story. Everything I’ve learned during this chapter will be going to make the next one twice as awesome.

Speaking of which, keep your eyes peeled here for news on chapter 2’s start date. I should be announcing it as soon as I work out my schedule, which I need to split between this and commission work for a little while. Chapter 2 is quite a bit longer than 1, but has a ton going on which is really exciting.

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See you all soon!

And at long last, they have reached Mason Manor. If there ever were a house that could actually loom, it’d be this one.

30 pages! Whoo! I’m glad that it worked out with it being an appropriately dramatic page. That house did take quite a while to draw, though, let me tell you. Next week we’ll be at the end of chapter 1, which I am also very excited about.

I’ll be reopening my commissions for a brief time really soon, so keep an eye out for that if you’ve had a hankering for some personalized art. Or consider becoming a patron, and see special previews, in progress shots, and more!

See you all next week for the chapter’s end!

Aw Mariel, you tried. Maybe you’ll be funny next time. Doesn’t really help that Nolen’s not much for laughing.

Only two pages left in the chapter! And we just passed AE’s six month anniversary! It’s very exciting.

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Well, it’s springtime and it feels like winter still so I’m beginning to suspect it’ll never leave. Damn winter.

See you all next week!

That’s one way to open a locked gate, the most dramatic action oriented way possible. This page also introduces the trisword, the standard arm for the Venetroni. We’ll all get to see more of what it can do as we go along.

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See you all next week!

Okay, so neither one of them are really good at arguing with Martinson. He’s a stubborn cranky old man who demands to be part of the action. We’ll see if that becomes a problem down the line.

This page combined both of my nemeses for this chapter: boats and stairs. It thankfully did not turn out as difficult as I had originally thought.

We’re nearing the end of the chapter now! Only a few more pages to go.

Sometimes it’s just not worth arguing, huh, Mariel? Maybe when they’re on land and he can’t ram Nolen into you anymore.

And happy birthday to me! I am now 31 (or will be as I am writing this ahead of time) and partying like it’s 1999 with my favorite person and my family. Having this comic up and only interrupting one week for the holiday card is a huge difference for me than last year, one that I am incredibly proud of.

I’ll probably wax poetic more when the chapter’s done, so let’s just leave it at this.

Oooh, we’re learning a little bit about the world here, even if Mariel admits she’s no expert. I am feeling very impatient to show you all some of the really neat places around the world. There’s a ton to see!

In important news, I will be officially on vacation starting tomorrow for my birthday. This shouldn’t interfere with updates since I’m scheduling auto-updates today. I’ll make sure to check in and be sure it all updates properly, though.

I hope you all have a great week!

Mariel and Nolen are together again, and we’re on our way to Mason Manor at last! They’re still not that much closer to guessing what’s going on, but we’ll all find out soon enough. And why is South Kahl’mel important enough to mention? That’ll be revealed next week!

I hope everything is warm where you guys are, because it is ridiculously cold here. That said, I’m making some great progress, and motoring right onto the end of the chapter. I’m pretty excited!

See you all next week!

Nolen’s the kind of guy who would find research important and interesting, but he’s still not all that thrilled with this situation. I’m sure soon enough he’ll prefer dealing with overeager newspaper editors.

This page also concludes our scene! Next week our heroes will reunite and really get this show on the road.

In personal news, physically I’m managing a lot better now, so I’m trying to get ahead while the getting’s good. We’re getting close to the end of the chapter, and I’m very excited to get to that.

As always, if you’re digging the comic, please consider becoming a patron! For only $1 you’ll be able to see lots of sneak peeks for pages as I’m drawing them, which is super cool.

Stay awesome, everyone, and I’ll see you next week!

More newspapers! More history on Mason Island! More Nolen being uncomfortable! I can’t stop yelling!

*ahem* Sorry about that. Anyway, we’ve got one more page in this scene, and then we’ll be in the home stretch for the chapter so that’s exciting. I also had a lot of fun drawing the expressions with this page.

As always, for more sneak peeks, behind-the-scenes stuff, and more, consider becoming a patron over at my Patreon.

Let’s see if I can work a little faster and get the rest of this chapter done sooner rather than later. Here’s hoping! See you all next week! (Wow, I can’t believe it’s February already.)