Water at that depth isn’t quite as cold as I was hoping it would be when I wrote this page. A quick googling told me ocean water at 1000 meters would be about 34-36 degrees Fahrenheit, so 1-2 Centigrade. That probably varies a lot depending on where in the ocean you are, still the moonpool water is at least 30 degrees colder than the air in the vault. Not as much of a shock as I was hoping but then again, Sydney isn’t one to react to stimulus in a subdued manner. The first time a doctor bonked her knee with the rubber knee hammer thing, she kicked so hard she rolled backwards off the examination table. Not because she has super nerves or anything. Her leg scared her.

If I had a little more space on this page, I would have liked to include Valen walking behind Max on the first panel, which would have placed him under Sydney, and in the second panel, Max is looking behind her not only at Sydney’s path, but also Valen splattered in blood.

My art is steadily improving, as any skill does when you use it, but my consistency could still use a lot of work. 1st panel, Max looks fine, 2nd is fine but slightly off somehow, I think her eyes are slightly too far apart. I can live with that, but the 3rd panel, she looks like she’s 17 all of a sudden. Then in the next panel she’s back closer to the right age, but she looks more elfin than Germano-Scandinavian. Then panel 5 looks fine again. Well, it’s a skill like any other.

Another skill I need to work on is painting rocks. I won’t tell you how much time I spent on the backgrounds for this page, because it’s a little embarrassing. It didn’t help that the reference I used was lit from the top, and I needed it lit from the bottom, because that first panel is looking over the pit of spikes. I’m sure you’re thinking, “well, just flip it over, Dave.” Well, as it turns out, our brains are so used to seeing stuff lit from the top that it didn’t help. With no other reference like a root sticking out, which is itself casting a shadow, it can be surprisingly ambiguous. At least with the stupid picture I happened to pick. Check it out.

Double res version will be posted over at Patreon. $1 and up, but feel free to contribute as much as you like.