The crew is aboard the Mechane and ready to leave, but Tarquin and Laurin arrive via wormhole to continue the fight on deck. Laurin and Vaarsuvius prepare for a Caster fight.
Cast[]
- The Order of the Stick
- Roy Greenhilt ◀ ▶
- Haley Starshine ◀ ▶
- Elan ◀ ▶
- Belkar Bitterleaf ◀ ▶
- Durkon Thundershield (as vampire) ◀ ▶
- Vaarsuvius ◀ ▶
- Blackwing ◀ ▶
- Mr. Scruffy ◀ ▶
- "Durkon" ◀ ▶
- The Vector Legion
- "Durkon" ◀ ▶
- The Crew of the Mechane
- Bandana Secundus ◀ ▶
- Mechane Crewman with Eyepatch and Pegleg ◀ ▶
- A Mechane Crewman
- Bloodfeast the Extreme-inator (as lizard) ◀ ▶
Transcript[]
- Panel 1, Page 1
On the deck of the Mechane, Bandana steers the airship while Elan looks over the side.
Elan: OK, we've got him! Get us the heck out of here!
Bandana Secundus: Getting the heck out of here, aye aye!
Bandana: Aft propellers to full!
- Panel 2, Page 1
Elan: Bandana, is there a place where my friend can meditate for new spells?
"Durkon": Somewhere dark an' secluded'd be nice.
Bandana: Uh... we have a storeroom below deck.
Roy: Do you have any healing potions in it?
Mechane Crewman with Eyepatch and Pegleg: Plenty. Come on, I'll show you.
- Panel 3, Page 1
Elan: I guess someone should probably pull Julio up, too.
Bandana: Yeah, his upper body strength isn't what it was when my dad used to fly this ship.
Mechane Crewman: We're on it, B.
- Panel 4, Page 1
Haley: Elan, honey, I'm so proud of you! Your secret plan totally worked, and you didn't let your father define you on his terms!
Elan: Thanks! I was really worried it wasn't going to come together, but—
- Panel 5, Page 1
Tarquin and Laurin walk on deck via a Wormhole that Laurin opened.
Tarquin: I have had quite enough of this, young man!
He stabs Haley in the back with his dagger.
Elan: *gasp!*
- Panel 1, Page 2
Tarquin: Defending Greenhilt was misguided but understandable—but then you go and hide behind that washed up buffoon?
Tarquin: Trying to steer the whole story in another direction?
Tarquin: Unacceptable!
Haley reaches for something in her Bag of Holding.
- Panel 2, Page 2
Haley: Sneak Attack.
Haley stabs Tarquin in the back with Crystal's dagger. "SHTRLK!"
Tarquin: NNnrgh!!
- Panel 3, Page 2
Tarquin turns around, grabs Haley's left arm and snaps it in two, "CRACKK!"
- Panel 4, Page 2
Haley falls backwards.
Haley: My arm...!
Elan: OK! OK, I'll fight you! Just don't hurt Haley!
Tarquin: I'm sorry, Elan, it's too late for that.
- Panel 5, Page 2
Tarquin: It has become clear to me that the only way you will accept your proper role is for me to utterly crush you here and now.
Tarquin: So I am going to murder your lowlife girlfriend, burn this ship and everyone on it to ash, and chop off your hand.
- Panel 6, Page 2
Tarquin: BECAUSE THAT IS HOW THESE THINGS ARE DONE!
Tarquin sunder's Elan's +3 keen rapier with his dagger, "SNAP!", slashing his face as well and driving him to the deck.
- Panel 7, Page 2
Tarquin: And when you are off brooding and healing for our inevitable final duel, I want you to remember one thing:
Tarquin: That you forced me to do this.
Tarquin: Just like Nale did.
- Panel 8, Page 2
A huge pink Bugsby's Forceful Hand comes flying out of nowhere, palm-first into Tarquin's face, "WUMP!" Tarquin drops his dagger.
- Panel 9, Page 2
Vaarsuvius: Apologies.
Vaarsuvius: I was looking for signs of pursuit and did not notice we had taken on stowaways.
- Panel 10, Page 2
The Hand pushes Tarquin up against the rail of the airship.
- Panel 11, Page 2
Laurin disintegrates the Bugsby's Hand, "ZZZZAP!!". Tarquin is still hanging on to the ship by the rail.
- Panel 12, Page 2
Blackwing: Ooooooo! Caster fight! Caster fight!
Vaarsuvius: Shush.
Blackwing: (casterfight!)
D&D Context[]
- Vaarsuvius is casting a parody of Bigby's Forceful Hand, 6th level spell which creates a giant hand which interposes itself between the caster and a target, and pushes that target back.
- Laurin is using Psionic Disintegrate, a 6th level power which cost 11 power points to destroy the Bugsby's Hand spell.
Trivia[]
- Elan received his +3 keen rapier from Julio in #392. This is the second rapier has had broken, the first by Belkar in #17, and his third rapier over all. He will receive Julio's Chaos Sabre in #943, though he apparently still has his rapier from #28.
- Tarquin says he will chop off Elan's hand in page 2, panel 6, just like Darth Vader does to Luke Skywalker in The Empire Strikes Back. This is one of several references to Star Wars that Tarquin has made, starting in #723.
- In the Blood Runs in the Family book, Blackwing's last line "(casterfight!)" is changed to "(caster fight!)", with a space.