With their leader down, Tarquin pulls the Linear Guild back with the help of some 1st edition lore.
Cast[]
Transcript[]
- Panel 1
Nale: OK, SCREW THIS! DIMENSION DOOR!
The spell fails, "fizzle!"
Belkar: WHAT ABOUT THE DAMN MANSION WHORES?
- Panel 2
Belkar stabs Nale.
Belkar: GEEZ, YOUR OLD LADY'S ONLY BEEN GONE FOR 18 SECONDS!
Belkar: KEEP IT IN YOUR PANTS UNTIL AFTER THE BATTLE.
Nale: Nnnnnh!
- Panel 3
Tarquin: Hmmm, Nale stopped trying to hear himself speak. He must have been knocked out.
- Panel 4
Nale lies unconscious on the floor. Belkar performs a jumping attack.
Belkar: ELAN, IS IT COOL IF I KILL YOUR BROTHER WHAT CAN'T HEAR YOUR ANSWER SORRY!
- Panel 5
Tarquin blocks Belkar's coup de grace by throwing Soul-Muncher at him, "whumwhumwhumwhumKTHUNK!"
- Panel 6
Tarquin picks up Nale.
Tarquin: It seems that for once, your tactical insight was right on the money.
Tarquin: The smoke may be clearing, but retreat is our best option.
- Panel 7
Belkar: HELLO, ROY? I THINK THEY'RE GETTING AWAY!
Durkon: Och, stop shoutin'! I've got a splittin' headache!
- Panel 8
Tarquin carries Nale over to Zz'dtri and Kilkil.
Tarquin: Luckily for us, I'm well-versed in Drow sign language.
Tarquin: You're too young to remember, but it was quite the fad in its day—right after all that arcana was first unearthed.
- Panel 9
Tarquin (signing): Get us out of here.
Tarquin (signing): Bring my accountant.
Tarquin: You couldn't swing a bec de corbin without hitting a curvy dark elf maiden back then.
Tarquin: They were completely unbalanced—in all the best ways!
- Panel 10
Roy: Durkon! They're going to teleport! Can you lock them down?
Durkon: Nay, lad—V usually has tha spell.
Roy: Then charge, and don't stop 'til your hammer hits drow!
- Panel 11
Tarquin: This one time, I thought I was using the hand sign for "drinking fountain," but it turned out I was actually asking if I could—
Tarquin: Well, suffice to say that it ended up as a fine evening for everyone.
Zz'tri touches Kilkil and Tarquin who is still carrying Nale.
Zz'dtri: Teleport.
- Panel 12
The Linear Guild disappears with a "POP!" just before the charging Roy can reach them.
D&D Context[]
- Gary Gygax's 1985 AD&D (1st edition) Unearthed Arcana included an extensive section on the nomenclature of pole arms (most of which had been previously published in Dragon magazine). A bec de corbin is a type of polearm, a two-handed martial weapon. The supplement also introduced Dark Elves (Drow) as a playable character race (previously they had only been evil NPCs). Thus Tarquin's quip about bec de corbins and dark elves was a reference to this expansion of the rules.
- Teleport is a 5th level spell which allows instantaneous travel over arbitrary distances within the same plane of existence with some chance of error in arriving where intended.
Trivia[]
- This is chronologically the last appearance of Soul-Muncher, Tarquin's intelligent magical axe. It will appear only once more in a flashback in #864. Tarquin's decision to use it as a ranged weapon to save Nale leads to its loss. (though he appeared in a bonus strip)