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The Order runs into a little trouble with knowing about how to ride and receive their answer from an unexpected source.

Cast[]

Transcript[]

Panel 1

Roy leads Vaarsuvius' horse to the rest of the party.
Haley: Horses? Uh, Roy, I'm a rogue. I don't know how to ride a horse.
Vaarsuvius: Nor do I, Miss Starshine, but I am certain the skilled Sir Greenhilt can instruct us.

Panel 2

Roy: Well, um, actually... I really only have 1 skill rank in Ride.
Haley: You're kidding!! Didn't you go to graduate school for this kind of thing?

Panel 3

Roy: I fulfilled my Animal Husbandry credit requirement with two semesters of Goat Herding.
Haley: Goat herding?
Roy: What? It seemed like an easy "A".

Panel 4

Haley: Well, this is just great. You know enough to get by, but you can't teach us.
Roy: How was I supposed to know you couldn't ride at all?
Elan (off-panel): Don't worry.

Panel 5

Elan mounts his horse.
Elan: To get started, just put your left foot in the stirrup and swing your right foot over. Make sure to hold on to the pommel while you do, 'cause you could slip otherwise.

Panel 6

Beat. Haley, mouth agape, and V stare at Elan..

Panel 7

Elan: What?
Elan: Do I have something on my face?
Haley: You... you KNOW something!

Panel 8

Elan: What, how to ride a horse? Of course, of course! My first job as a bard was as herald to a mighty knight.
Elan: We used to ride everywhere together.

Panel 9

Haley: But isn't Ride a cross-class skill for you?
Elan: My mommy always used to say that cross-class learning was the key to a rich and fulfilling life.

Panel 10

Vaarsuvius: Well, in that case I defer to your superior expertise, Elan.
Haley: Gotta love a man on a noble steed.
Elan: To Wooden Forest!
Durkon: Lead on, laddie!
They ride off.

Panel 11

Roy and Belkar remain.
Roy: Elan knows more than me... It's like everything is backwards... up is down, white is black...
Roy: The whole foundation of my universe is collapsing!

Panel 12

Belkar: Are you feeling OK? I'm really worried about you.
Roy: GAAAH!

Panel 13

Belkar: Gotcha. Sucker.
Roy: And yet, I find it oddly comforting.

D&D Context[]

  • Ride is a skill that represents the ability to ride on mounts.
  • Cross-class skills are harder to improve than class skills. For a Bard, like Elan, Ride is a cross-class skill.

Trivia[]

  • Elan's "What, how to ride a horse? Of course, of course!" in panel 8 is a reference to the theme song of the 1961 TV show Mister Ed, which opens with: "A horse is a horse, of course, of course...".
  • This is the first appearance of Whisper, Haley's horse, who will be named in the next comic.
  • Elan's first job was in the service of Sir Francois.

External Links[]

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