Warlands Banished Knights #3

Previous Links: #1 | #2

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Investment Talk: Like issue #1 I would say this is more of an art and story buy. It also does not have an official digital version that I am aware of and probably had an even lower print run. But the demand for the series is not super high. So unless someone manages to revive the property, not much financial growth here short of resellers finding it for change in a shop and patiently awaiting a sell on eBay at a markup.

The story so far: Belmiro and Rosala recruited Greyson to help attack the vampire lord Tessan's keep. Their goal is to gain his power and stay the madness affecting vampires since Malagen's death. The group made it to the meeting point and there was a start of some infighting at the end of the last issue.

The fight picks up some. Greyson fully aware he and Rosala cannot take them all but does not care. He also kind of realizes that Rosala was by his side this time, not hidden with Belmiro. So she was not anticipating this potential betrayal.

I expected Belmiro to break things up because I thought he was in charge. But it turns out there is another running things. Raithe shows up and stops the brawl with a single word. We find out that Raithe is very powerful and may have even challenged Malagen eventually had he still been around. So he and Belmiro have planned this attack together.

As they begin their infiltration of Tessan's keep, they come to a fork. Raithe asks Belmiro which way and the betrayal begins! The lackeys start dropping like flies as Belmiro disappears. The rest start to flee from this new unknown attacker.

We learn shortly after that this is Tessan's guardian. Much the same way Shrogram was Malagen's guardian. If she has near the power of Shrogram, the group is in some real trouble. If you are wondering, check out my Warlands volume 1 reviews. The guardian catches up to Raithe, Greyson, and the others and the fight doesn't seem to be going well.

They get a bit lucky and the guardian falls into a pit while Rosala and Greyson manage to veer off into some Catacombs.

Their luck runs out pretty quick though as they run into the other vampires that still want them dead. No Raithe to stop this time, no common goal either.

But then luck returns, sort of, as the guardian catches up and kills the attackers.

Before the fight with the guardian heats up again, Greyson manages to cut off one of her limbs and an explosions sends her down another hole.

Raithe and Varrus catch up with Rosala and Greyson and they run into a gleeful Belmiro. He is surprised they made it this far but then reveals himself to be Tessan using a glamor.

This would explain why Belmiro never paid much mind to Tessan's abilities to counter their plan. Because it was his plan all along! Presumably this was all done to lure out Raithe and take out his competition. Tessan was always shown to be highly intelligent and strategic.

That brings us to the end of issue three. Lots of action in this one. Fickle vampires attacking each other despite being in danger. Ultra powerful guardian. And Tessan's trickery revealed. Can the group overcome the differences and defeat the vampire lord?

Only one issue remains, so unless things in on a cliffhanger, we'll get the final showdown and a conclusion in issue four.

Also of note, this is the first issue that was published by Dreamwave Productions, not Image. Dreamwave is the studio that did the rest of the comics but started publishing under Image. Then Pat and Roger Lee started their own publisher and essentially went fully solo in Canada. Sadly this didn't go too well but still, worth mentioning.

To Be Continued!

Also, this is my day 3 for the CTP 30 day challenge!!