Durkon thanks Belkar for giving him the insight he needed to defeat Greg, and Belkar takes a halfling baby step toward empathy.
Cast 
Edit
- The Order of the Stick:
- Roy Greenhilt ◀ ▶
- Haley Starshine ◀ ▶
- Elan ◀ ▶
- Belkar Bitterleaf ◀ ▶
- Vaarsuvius ◀ ▶
- Durkon Thundershield (also as vampire) ◀ ▶
- Mr. Scruffy ◀ ▶
- Blackwing ◀ ▶
- Hilgya Firehelm ◀ ▶
- Kudzu ◀ ▶
- Minrah ◀ ▶
Transcript Edit
- Panel 1
Haley (whispering): So she's just following us now?
Roy (whispering): I guess. If she starts some, she'll get some. Otherwise, it's Durkon's call, since that's his kid strapped to her.
Durkon: Belkar, b'fore we get thar, I wanted ta talk ta ye aboot sumthin'.
Belkar: Sorry, I'm a hard pass on marriage too.
Durkon: Dinnae flatter yerself, yer like me fourth choice just in the party.
Belkar: Heh.
- Panel 2
Durkon: I need ta thank ye fer helpin' me break free o' tha vampire.
Belkar: Oh, don't get mushy, I stabbed a boss monster, it happens.
Durkon: Tha's na wha I meant.
- Panel 3
Flashback to the Mechane.
Durkon (inset): Back on tha ship, ye told me—ye told tha vampire tha people dinnae change overnight.
Durkon (inset): Tha it's gradual an' hard ta spot, until one day, ye tip o'er tha edge an' now yer different.
- Panel 4
Cut back to Firmament.
Durkon: Wha I realized was, aye, tha's how normal people work, who live thar whole lives in order.
Durkon: But tha vampire were just skimmin' scenes from me life willy-nilly an' na seein' all tha connections.
Durkon: B'cause I already knew whar tha tippin' moments in me life were, I could feed 'im a series o' memories to get ta tha tip-oe'r witout time fer gradual adjustment.
- Panel 5
Belkar: I absolutely did not understand any of what you said, and I'm not sure if it's just because I'm out of practice with the accent.
Durkon: I gotta remember ta thank Elan, too. Us clerics normally only get taught ta recite myths, na craft narratives.
- Panel 6
Durkon: Anyway, tha point is tha it worked. It made tha vampire feel wha I needed 'im ta feel.
Durkon: Ev'ryone always talks aboot tha seductive power o' Evil, but I think Good's just as slippery a slope.
Durkon: Doin' good—sometimes even jsut seein' other people do good—feels good. Tha feelin' gets ta ye ev'ntually.
- Panel 7
Durkon: Sometimes I think tha only reason more evil folks dinnae succomb ta it is tha it feels bad ta realize how bad ye've been!
Durkon: Most'd rather pretend ta nev'r feel nuthin' than experience tha pain.
- Panel 8
Belkar: So...
Belkar: ...those people are cowards, then.
Belkar: Right?
Durkon: Huh?
- Panel 9
Belkar: Those weak posers can't handle intense hardcore introspection.
Durkon: Och! Aye, aye, they dinnae haf tha guts ta face tha mirror!
- Panel 10
beat
- Panel 11
Belkar: Sorry I hit you in the face with a palm tree that one time.
Durkon: Ultimate extreme apology accept'd.
D&D Context Edit
- Vaarsuvius in the first panel is carrying Minrah's body using one of the Bugsby's/Bixby's Hand spells. It may be a custom variant, or could possibly be Interposing Hand (interposing vertically), or Grasping Hand. In D&D rules not in the SRD, the spells are named after the archmage Bigby, a character created by D&D co-creator Gary Gygax. The name is trademarked and owned by Wizards of the Coast, so even Gygax couldn't use the name after his exit from TSR in the mid-80's.
Trivia Edit
- Belkar's comment in Panel 1 is a joke in response to Hilgya's reaction to Durkon's proposal in "Enough Diamonds Already".
- In Panel 2, Belkar refers to the fact that he finished 'Greg' off in "A Heartfelt Moment".
- Panel 3 is a flashback to #957, "Takes One to Know One", although the exact image shown in this strip does not appear in that one. It is a new image which zooms out the field of view of panel 7 from #957.
- In the last panel, Belkar is referring to his actions in #682, "Plus, He Probably Spits, Too".
