And, here it is! My first real Inktober I’ll be posting this month - apologies to everyone for the delay! I’ve been doing these throughout the month, but for a host of reasons, I haven’t quite had the time to post them or come up with interesting descriptions - but hey, better late than never I suppose, haha!

This first one was loads of fun to work on, and probably my favorite of the bunch so far! All of the art I’ve done this way ties into the heavily homebrewed fat and furry themed DND campaign I’ve been running for a good long while now (so if you’re part of that campaign, beware of spoilers!)

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Captain Jamison grinned as his ship drew closer to the previously unmarked island chain, his snout wrinkling as it was assailed by the aggressive aroma that he sought - a smell like that of apricots, seaweed, and most importantly, - fish. He had never smelled it so strongly before, even when he was gutting one of the rare creatures with his own hook. Paltry pirates and poachers dealt in simple fare, like whale oil - but he was after something far, far more enticing. Seadrake blubber was worth more than it’s weight in gold to the right buyer - and he knew plenty of folk who’d be interested in it...

His luck shinned when he and his crew managed to capture that squealer. The coward was nice n’ plump, with a belly that sagged past his knees - a perfect candidate for harvesting. But then, just when he and his men were getting ready to skewer the unfortunate fish, his begging and pleading caught the captain’s attention. In exchange for his life, he said that he’d lead the captain to the largest cache of blubber that he’d ever lay eyes on. The captain’s eyes lit up - he must be offering up one of the fabled cities of the seadrakes! If he was telling the truth, these creatures would be ripe for the taking...

Captain Jamison mercifully agreed - of course, even if it existed, the coward would be butchered nonetheless. Such is the fate of any who are foolish enough to trust pirates...

Captain Jamison’s nose told him that his new navigator had told the truth! Captain Jamison blinked a few times - was something moving in the darkness? The old wolf shook his head - the grog must be getting to him, because he could’ve sworn that he saw the distant hills shifting, ever so carefully...

By the time the captain realized that it was no trick of the light, it was far too late... for this was no fish they could fry. Captain and crew stood awestruck and horrified, as the behemoth rose from the gloom, with a sagging stomach that looked like it spanned for miles, and eyes that looked as large as frigates. As it stood up to its full height, it looked as though it reached the stars themselves...

Captain Jamison said a quick prayer to the gods he’d rejected for so very long - but he knew no god could save him or his men now...