The Linear Guild's purposes become all too clear.
Cast[]
- The Order of the Stick
- The Linear Guild
- Hordes of 1st edition monsters
Transcript[]
- Panel 1
Durkon: Thor's beard! Nale just stabbed Elan! Hang on, I'm comin' ta heal ya!
- Panel 2
Hilgya Firehelm: Sorry about this. I really do like you.
Durkon: Sorry 'bout what?
Sabine begins to reveal her true form behind Durkon's back
- Panel 3
Hilgya: This.
Sabine energy drains Durkon
Durkon: GAAH!
- Panel 4
Roy: Huh?? I don't—What's going on??
Nale: Really, Roy, I thought it was fairly self-explanatory.
Nale: We're betraying you. Zz'dtri?
- Panel 5
Zz'dtri: Wall of Ice.
Belkar: OK, this blows! We're trapped!
Roy's sword hits the ice with a useless "clink!"
- Panel 6
Nale: Xykon hired me to kill you, unaware that the Talisman for which I searched lay in his dungeon. I knew we needed someone of "pure heart" to use the Sigils, so I figured, "Why not use the schmucks first?"
- Panel 7
Nale: Of course I'm Lawful Evil, so I see no reason not to honor my contract with Xykon and kill you.
Zz'dtri: Fly.
Roy hits the Wall of Ice with a "thunk!"
- Panel 8
Nale: Plus, it will be the perfect test for the Talisman.
Nale: ATTACK, MY OUTDATED LEGIONS!!
- Panel 9
Belkar: Ha! Dumbass, you forgot about the rune thingies! They can't touch us up here!
- Panel 10
Nale: Thog?
Thog cleaves though the edge of the platform and the protective runes
Thog: oopsie.
- Panel 11
The Linear Guild begins to fly off.
Nale: Soon, the ice will melt or the monsters will overwhelm the wall, and that will be the end of the Order of the Stick! Farewell!
- Panel 12
Sabine: What a great evil mastermind speech, baby.
Nale: I worked on it all night!
D&D Context[]
- Sabine is a Succubus and her embrace/touch gives negative levels.
- Wall of Ice is a mid-level Wizard spell that creates a difficult-to-break-through ice wall.
- Fly is a low-level utility spell that allows a person to fly. It can be granted to another creature through touch, which would explain why Thog can fly in the last panel.
Trivia[]
- In the last panel, Thog is not actually grasping Nale's ankle. Comic 59 reinforces the idea that he has been buffed by the Fly spell cast by Zz'dtri.
- The strip's title could be a reference to "Curse your sudden, but inevitable, betrayal".