I really like your style and i have a story that might be about 30-40 pages (im not entirely sure and it really depends on the execution of the pages) .... I'll try to be brief yet detailed.
My story is about a circus performer who was adopted by the circus master at a young age. He grew up in the circus so the other performers are his family in his eyes. The circus travels around different countries to perform. (the world takes place in an alternate dimension that's kind of medivalish where magic exists. There are about 6-9 kingdoms (haven't decided yet...will kind of depend on how the map turns out) that are relatively close together). there's one land baron in one of the kingdoms who wants the circus to stay since they are a popular circus and people would travel from all over to visit. By doing so it would boost the economy of his lands (as well as his own pockets). the circus master politely declines and the circus leaves. the baron, in a fit of rage, hires mercenaries to destroy the circus.
the story would open when the mercenaries are attacking and the adopted performer would be trying to find his father (the circus master). He would find the circus master injured and dying, and the man, in an attempt to turn his son away from revenge, would remind him that he's adopted (kind of the whole 'we're not even kin so you don't have any ties to me' thing). there would be a flashback of the circus master buying the freedom of the young boy who had been a slave until then. That would only serve to strengthen his desire for revenge, since he had memories of being a slave and felt that he owed everything to the generous, caring man who was killed by a greedy land baron (the boy would be between 19-24 and was about 5 or 6 when he was adopted). Once the mercenaries leave, the boy would wonder around the destruction for a while, looking for other survivors. He'd find 6 or 7 of them and they'd spend some time taking care of the dead. then they'd all agree to go after the baron, since all of them owed one thing or another to the circus master and the others who didn't survive. The story would end either with them standing on a bluff that overlooks the land baron's castle or them leaving the site of the graves to head to the land baron's castle.
Each of the survivors would have some skill that makes them formidable fighters or assassins. the boy's act is a dancing thing (I legit had a dream of this scene...he wears a scarlet outfit and his 4 other backup dancers wear midnight blue (that's if there's color, anyways) so he's agile and in great physical shape. the circus master had also taught him self defense so that he couldn't be captured by slavers again if he ever left the circus. One of the others might be the strongman (since what circus doesn't have one?) who might not be that great of a fighter but his strength and endurance would make up for it. there might be one of those swordmasters who does tricks with blades (like swallowing them...that guy). there might be an acrobat who could easily adapt their skills to be an assassin. I kind of left the other survivors open so that the artist would have a little say in the characters as well since i know a good number of artists out there like that kind of tie with the story so that it doesn't feel as much like a job.
The readers would find out about the land baron and his connection to the whole thing while the survivors are debating on whether to go after him or not
