In the meantime, if you’re still interested in following my work I’ve been working on Dungeon Grind, which has proven to be a much-needed change of, well, everything. Short-form, humour, relatively quick to make, it’s quite a different animal from Dark Places and has used different creative muscles. It does have kobolds in it, though, so I guess it’s not entirely dissimilar. That’s where I am at the moment, in any case.

Hope everyone’s having a fine and festive season – see you in the New Year!

Someone’s not had anyone to talk to for a hundred years, and it shows.

Jain is full of interesting tricks. Evan, meanwhile, is not entirely convinced.

A little bit of exposition for you, ladies and gentlemen.

Sorry, no page update this week; between work and a very busy (and enjoyable) weekend away there just weren’t enough hours in the week.

Next Wednesday for certain, though! Seriously.

A belated return!

Things will be in a slight state of flux for the next week or two – I’ve recently landed a part-time job at my FLGS, so there’ll be a period of adjustment while I balance that and the comic.

In the meantime it’s likely that I’ll be needed for more than part-time hours in the immediate future, so there may be some disruption in updates for the duration. My apologies in advance for that, but be certain that Dark Places will return once things settle down.

EDIT: Since interest has been expressed and print-on-demand makes things easy, the Bear With Me t-shirt has been added to the selection of eminently desirable merchandise in my my Zazzle store. It’s available in light and dark flavours.

Jain is going to have to do some really serious explaining one of these days.

Hark! Adventurers approach!

I only know what those door-within-a-door things are called because I specifically went to look it up. At first I thought it might be a “sally port”, but that proved not to be the case.

As an incidental point, I’ve added a handful of social media buttons to the comic posts – if you could +1, share, like, tweet or whatnot to spread the word I’d be very grateful.

Bish bash bosh, job done.

Young Nerrin’s priorities are all too clear.

So begins a new chapter. I aim to make it worth the wait.

High in the Plains of Gwethyas, travellers wandering from the King’s Road may encounter what looks to be a strange outcropping of rock, grown over with lichen and heather. Many such stones lie fallen and half-buried across the rolling landscape, but enough still stand to trace the outline of a massive circle fully ten leagues across.

No one knows who brought the stones to Gwethyas, only that they are incredibly old – ancient when the Fey Courts raised the rings and avenues of Kollmoor to serve as gates for their armies, long predating even the hilltop caer-tombs of Koghbrannow. That many of the stones are worn smooth by time and exposure only hints at their vast age, as no tool forged by man or dwarf can mark their surface. Despite this many of the stones still bear carvings of grimacing figures, hunched and threatening.

The hardy folk who graze horses and cattle on the plains shun the lands bounded by the “Gurnstones”, claiming it to be a blighted and unclean place. They refuse to take their herds within sight of the stones, as any animal straying into the forbidden region is abandoned, or even driven off should it attempt to return.

And now, the recriminations!

Think fast!

It’s not that Adar is irresistible to the ladies, more that his coinpurse is adequate for this particular lady.

Surprise! New comic page! With the return of Adar and Grakarr, as the gnoll has come to be called.

This is going to be a pretty short one, a vignette interlude kind of deal. It’s a little scene I’ve had bouncing around in my head for a while.

And this concludes the chapter. Thank you all very much for reading, and for the comments and encouragement along the way. It means a great deal to me.

If you’ve enjoyed this story and the others before it, you can support the comic by taking a look at the Dark Places store and buying a comic, minicomic or poster – or hit the “support” link in the sidebar to make a donation, gratefully received.

Thank you again.

This week’s page brought to you by internet searches for borscht, knitting and Green Men.