Cast[]
- Order of the Stick
- Order of the Scribble
- Sapphire Guard
- Sunny ◀ ▶
- Mimi ◀ ▶
- Minrah Shaleshoe ◀ ▶
- Blackwing ◀ ▶
- Mr. Scruffy ◀ ▶
- Bloodfeast the Extreme-inator ◀ ▶
- Calder (also as telepathic voice) ◀ ▶
Transcript[]
- Panel 1, Page 1
The panel shows Blackwing back in the room with the walkway, with Sunny in the background having hovered through the archway.
Blackwing: Oh, good news! I found Sunny!
Blackwing: They're up top, going into the big ominous archway.
- Panel 2, Page 1
The panel cuts back to the group in the hallway, showing Elan, Mr. Scruffy, Belkar, Serini, and Durkon.
Serini: What?? NO!
Durkon: What's wrong? What's in tha-
- Panel 3, Page 1
The panel shows the charmed Sunny hovering into the chamber beyond the archway.
Calder: (off-panel) (telepathically) Just a little further...
Calder: (off-panel) (telepathically) Bring that big beautiful eye of yours in to see me.
- Panel 4, Page 1
Serini leaves the hallway through the open secret door again, going back into the walkway room. Blackwing has flown down to her, while Durkon and Minrah can be seen behind Serini in the hallway.
Serini: Sunny! Get away from there this instant!!
- Panel 5, Page 1
The panel cuts back to the hallway again, showing Lien, O-Chul, Bloodfeast, Haley, Mr. Scruffy, Elan, Belkar, Durkon, Minrah, Roy, and Mimi. Haley, Roy, and Mimi are hurrying to the right. Durkon and Minrah are surrounded by blue fields as they cast spells on themselves.
Lien: Wait, what's going on?
O-Chul: I have no idea.
Elan: Feels kinda initiative-y, though, don't you think?
Durkon: Aye, better be safe. Bear's Endurance!
Minrah: Me too! I mean, Bear's Endurance!
Roy: Come on. We need to stick with her, no matter what she's running headfirst into.
- Panel 6, Page 1
Roy and Mimi leave the hallway as Serini has pulled out a wand and is engulfed by a yellow field as the wand takes effect.
Roy: Serini, wait! We need to stay-
- Panel 7, Page 1
Serini pops out of existance through the spell. POP!
- Panel 8, Page 1
The panel shows the party back in the walkway room, with Haley carrying Elan up and Vaarsuvius carrying Belkar up, with Belkar holding onto Mr. Scruffy and Bloodfeast in turn. Vaarsuvius is also carrying Roy up through one of the Bixby's Hand spells, while Mimi is turning into a ladder again while Durkon and Minrah hold onto her. In the background, O-Chul can be seen.
Minrah: No time to climb, Mimi! Just pull us up if you can!
- Panel 9, Page 1
Serini reappears on the walkway, still having the wand in her hand.
Calder: (off-panel) (telepathically) Oh, Serini! I didn't expect you to be so close at hand.
Calder: (off-panel) (telepathically) That will save me some effort.
- Panel 10, Page 1
The panel shows Sunny sending the anti-magic cone from their central eye diagonally down.
Calder: (off-panel) Ohhh that feels quite good. I have waited for this day since-
Calder: (off-panel) Well, I suppose there's no way of telling how long it's been. Time enough for you to have had quite the makeover, Serini.
- Panel 11, Page 1
The panel shows Haley, Elan, Roy, and Serini going through the archway, with Elan pointing to Sunny's lens on the floor while Roy and Serini look at something off-panel.
Elan: Look, Sunny's lens!
Roy: Serini, what is it? What's -
Roy: *gasp!*
Serini: Remember how I told you that when I started out, I wasn't using volunteers?
- Panel 1, Page 2
The panel shows the chamber beyond the archway, which is occupied by a red dragon in a stasis circle. Sunny covers part of the stasis circle with their anti-magic cone, presumably disabling the stasis, while Roy, Elan, Belkar, Serini, and Durkon stand before the dragon, with Haley and Vaarsuvius hovering in midair and Blackwing flying next to the elf.
Calder: Hmmm, more humanoids. I don't believe we've had the pleasure.
Calder: I am Calder.
Calder: I am going to torture and kill that halfling in spectacularly gruesome fashion, and what happens between us afterward will be largely up to you.
- Panel 2, Page 2
The panel shows Elan, Roy, and Serini, with all three looking up at Calder, who's off-panel.
Roy: Hey, look, I understand that you are upset - and reasonably so - but there's no need for this to turn into a fight.
Roy: I'm sure we can work out some sort of-
- Panel 3, Page 2
Calder looks down at the party as he breathes fire at them.
Calder: Insufficiently servile.
Calder: Try again if you live.
D&D Context[]
- Bear's Endurance adds a +4 enhancement bonus to constitution for 1 minute per caster level to the subject, which adds the usual benefits to hit points, Fortitude saves, Constitution checks, and so forth.
Trivia[]
- This is the first full appearance of Calder, who originally appears as a crayon drawing in strip 1257, Mental Block, and later as a telepathic voice in strip 1294, Entrance. He also appears in the February page of the 2015 OOTS calendar.
- Calder is the second red dragon shown in the webcomic, with the first one having been the Empress of Blood. He was first shown in Mental Block as a crayon drawing.
- Calder's name may be derived from the Latin word caldus, which means "hot", either directly or through the word “caldera”, which is a volcanic crater. Another possible origin for his name would be Alexander Calder, an artist who created an abstract sculpture named the “Flying Dragon”.
- This comic is the first to be published in 2024 and also the first two-page comic published in that year.