Elan and Haley have snuck off, stealthily preparing for a jail break.
Cast
Transcript
- Panel 1
Haley (whispering): Ready?
Elan (whispering): Yup! I've got my elveny boots on and everything.
- Panel 2
The two are seen outside a picketed fence before a prison compound.
Haley (whispering): Follow me, then... just don't shout, "I got a 4!" like back in the first dungeon.
Elan (whispering): Hey, that was a long time ago.
- Panel 3
Elan (whispering): I think I've grown a lot since then.
Elan (whispering): This is really important and I understand that.
Elan (whispering): Plus, now we're involved in complex personal storylines instead of just cracking silly jokes.
- Panel 4
Elan cups his hand to his mouth, bellowing loudly.
Elan: BESIDES, I GOT A 9 THIS TIME!
Haley: *sigh*
Elan: YOU KNOW, BECAUSE THE BOOTS ADD FIVE!
- Panel 5
Two guards run to the sound of Elan's clumsy skill roll.
Guard #1: Halt! Identify yourself!
Elan: Uh oh, I don't even know that spell!
Haley: Don't you know who this is? This is General Tarquin's son, Elan.
- Panel 6
Haley: He's being put in charge of the prisons once this festival is over, so you better listen to him.
Elan: Haley, I don't want to work for—
Haley (whispering): Elan, shut up!
- Panel 7
The second guard, of fair skin, appears nervous. Elan maintains a cheesy smile in his bluff.
Guard #2: Oh crap—I think she's telling the truth!
Guard #1: It does look exactly like him...
Guard #1: But why would he be creeping around prison grounds at night?
- Panel 8
Elan loses his cool countenance, gets nervous.
Elan: Uh... Surprise inspection!
Haley: We're checking if conditions are safe for your older prisoners... particularly humans over 60 years old.
Haley: With fair skin. And possibly a beard.
Elan: Yeah!
- Panel 9
Guard #2: Oh, OK. Well, I think if you'll just follow us down this way, you'll see—
Guard #1: Wait a sec, I'm pretty sure I highlighted something about inspections in the manual...
The guard looks towards an open book in his hand.
Guard #1: Yeah, here it is.
- Panel 10
The book is seen, zoomed in, with a good deal of text clearly legible. Highlighted is a passage clearly relevant.
Tarquin's Tips
members of the
prison staff are
posted in the
lounge. Get to
know them!
Surprise Inspections
- We do not have surprise inspections. Ever.
- Especially not at night, when other guards have been called away to another event.
- The inspectors in front of you? They're intruders.
- Get them.
Sound in the Bushes
- Someone is throwing a rock to distract you
- Try looking in the opposite direction from where the sound originated
- If...
- Panel 11
Haley and Elan flee, the guards chasing after, scowling.
Elan: Man! Is having someone who points out all the cliches in all your plans always this annoying?
Haley: I love you, so I'm not going to answer that.
D&D Context
- Boots of Elvenkind grant a +5 competence bonus to Move Silently checks.
- Identify is a 1st level bard spell, though not one that Elan knows. It allows the properties of a magic item to be determined.
Trivia
- The title is a play on Neil Sedaka's #1 hit song from 1962, Breaking Up Is Hard to Do.
- In panel 2, the poster on the fence is the one advertising the games shown in #741.
- Elan yelled "I got a four" when attempting to move silently in #90, Consequences of a Failed Skill Check.
- This is the first appearance of the Arena Guards with Manual.