Durkon and the vampire spirit "Durkon" both witness an important day in the past of young Durkon.
Cast[]
- Durkon Thundershield (also as spirit) ◀ ▶
- "Durkon" ◀ ▶
- Sigdi Thundershield ▶
- Dwarf Guardian with Gray Hair
- Dwarf Guardian with Red Hair
- Dwarf with Ladder
- Five Dwarves
Transcript[]
- Panel 1, Page 1
Outside the entrance to a dwarven city.
Durkon: Mama... wha? Wha's tha?
- Panel 2, Page 1
Sigdi: It's call'd tha sky, me li'l laddie.
Sigdi: It's whar bless'd Thor lives.
- Panel 3, Page 1
Sigdi: Yer granpappy brought me up ta see tha sky fer tha first time onna summer day like this.
Durkon: Wha's it fer?
Sigdi: Tha sky? It holds tha world down!
Sigdi: If'n thar weren't no sky, tha ground'd just up an' float away!
- Panel 4, Page 1
Durkon: An' wha're those fluffy things?
Sigdi: Clouds. Whar Thor keeps 'is water when 'e's na usin' it.
Durkon: An' tha really bright torch?
Sigdi: 's call'd tha sun. Sunna drives it 'cross tha sky each day.
- Panel 5, Page 1
Durkon: Mama... it's all so...
Durkon: ...pretty.
- Panel 1, Page 2
Sigdi: Yer pa loved ta stare at tha sky fer hours. 'E used ta say ta me—
'The stone ledge under a dwarf's ladder breaks, "CRACKK!"
Durkon: Mama!!
Dwarf with Ladder: Gaaaah!!
- Panel 2, Page 2
Sigdi: Stay put, laddie!
- Panel 3, Page 2
Sigdi grabs the dwarf by the hand as he falls off the cliff.
- Panel 4, Page 2
Sigdi: Dinnae leggo.
Dwarf with Ladder: Ahhhh! AHHH!
- Panel 5, Page 2
Sigdi: Di.
Sigdi: Nae
Sigdi: Le.
Sigdi: Go.
- Panel 6, Page 2
Guardian with Red Hair: We gotcha, Sarge!
Guardian with Red Hair: We're pullin' ye up.
Sigdi: Ooof!!
- Panel 7, Page 2
Guardian with Red Hair: Thor's nuts, tha were impressive!
Dwarf with Ladder: Ye saved me life, Sergeant!!
Sigdi: *huff!* *huff!* *huff!* *huff!*
Sigdi: Och, stop that. I dinnae do nuthin' no one else 'ere wouldnae've done.
Sigdi: I were jus' closer'n most.
- Panel 8, Page 2
Sigdi: Me son—whar's me—?
Durkon: 'Ere, Mama!
- Panel 9, Page 2
Sigdi: Let's go back unnerground, aye? Tha sky's pretty, sure, but ain't no place fer us dwarves.
Durkon: Aye, Mama!
- Panel 10, Page 2
Durkon watches the memory of his childhood from inside his own head, restrained by fleshy strands.
Durkon: C'n we haf grilled cheese fer lunch?
Sigdi: Aye, absolutely.
Durkon: I love ye, Mama.
Sigdi: I love ye, too, Durkon.
- Panel 11, Page 2
"Durkon": If I wasn't composed entirely of Negative Energy, I would yarf.
D&D Context[]
- In the D&D cosmology, the Negative Energy Plane is one of the eighteen Inner Planes. It is the source stagnation, entropy and the undead. As a vampire spirit, "Durkon" is directly composed of Negative Energy.
Trivia[]
- This is the first strip of Utterly Dwarfed, and with it comes an art upgrade. Among other changes, arms and legs are no longer just black stick figures, but have solid colors with black outlines. Also the text font in the speech bubbles has changed, and the art is generally more detailed, such as the grip of the Greenhilt sword. This is the second major art upgrade. The first happened at #198.
- This is the first appearance of "Durkon" in the spirit, as it were. Previously all appearances of "Durkon" have only been of him speaking through Durkon's body. Here he is very concretely a separate character.
- This is the first appearance of Sigdi Thundershield.
- This is the only appearance of the other three dwarves in Durkon's memory, the two dwarf Guardians and the dwarf with the ladder, who appear in multiple pages of this strip.
- This is the first time young Durkon is depicted.