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Guilded Age
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Welcome to the saga of the working-class adventurer! Enjoy the complete story with new annotations daily!
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This comic is about a robot powered by bees, but it's also about the kind of people who think filling a robot with bees is a good idea, and why they're wrong.
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Countdown to Countdown
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Iris Black is a self-proclaimed inventor with the curious ability to bring his drawings to life, and yearns to find a space where he can use his powers freely.
Seemingly not much of a choice. I don’t really see her saying no here. Plus, considering they need her even though she’s quite vocal about disapproval with things, it gives me hope that she may actually get more pull in doing things on a bit more straight of a moral compass.
The Savage Races do, however, have a beef with humans and their allies, and a scenario where Gastonian adventurers decide to make a separate peace with the Savage Races and stand aside while Gastonia gets conquered seems extremely unlikely.
At this point I think we’re moving past holding the “idiot ball” and into “oh this? This isn’t ACTUALLY an idiot ball, it’s a ‘make you talk more’ stick”.
Syr’Nj has never been this dumb before, no, not even when she was in the depths of ByronWhining. I suspect Something be Up.
I concur, even with all that’s happened with Byron and the others, Syr’Nj has always been good at assessing the situation and putting thought in to her actions.
Of course, she could just be letting them provide enough rope to hang themselves.
BTW, we have 6 people in the room: Syr, Bedard, Jarvis, Canegham, Iwatani, Myamoto. And the cover page shows an “all-for-one, one-for-all” hand tower with only 5 hands. I could research their sleeves, but I’m feeling lazy. Who’s hand is missing from the stack?
Grand Marshall Jarvis… has made a mistake. He thinks that Syr’Nj has coldly and usefully gotten over the death of her husband, when in fact she is merely waiting to see whether Gravedust can pull off another miracle. Interesting.
It usually ends with either the players and/or the DM in tears. The players because their characters are all dead and the DM because his carefully crafted campaign has fallen apart around his head.
I had a DM do that to us, something like 30 minutes in. Then he let us start our real campaign in whatever the Forgotten Realms after world is (can’t remember). It was a nice little plot twist.
Ardaic would find a third option for sure. But if I had to pick one word to describe Syr’Nj, it would be “idealist.” I imagine she’ll take door number two.
I feel like the grand marshal of the Gastonian army is a dangerous person to go toe-to-toe with. Not sure who’d win, but it would be a hell of a fight.
Also, there’s a 97% chance that His Grace Iwatani has mastered the cultists’ dark magic.
Also, you do NOT want to see what Bedard is hiding behind his glasses.
She’s not just “a” wood elf. She’s THE wood elf.
And given what sort of uncontrolled foliage happens when her sister *AHEM-AHEMS*, it might be interesting to see what Syr’Nj is capable of when she really decides to accept her birthright.
Except, y’know, fuelled by will and rage instead of sexy times.
I don’t think those fellows in that room are as ready as they think they are.
I see a man who is unhappy with his role in the empire.
Caneghem has stopped Azunantia for the conspiracy before. But then again, he probably found the man repugnant. I think he sympathizes with Syr’nj here but not enough to stick his neck out for her.
He’s just remembering the time when they had to “spell it all out” for him, years ago.
And having to spell something out for a spell caster? That’s just embarrassing.
I think Caneghem is hoping Syr’Nj will not choose this moment to be a martyr; I think he has some designs of his own and would prefer another elvish ally.
Caneghem is totally facepalming.
That’s not a “Damnit Syr’Nj”, that’s a “Jarvis you dumb cluck, she’s playing you like a violin….”.
I think Caneghem might be seizing his chance to join Team Not-A-Dink.
At least, that is what I HOPE is going down here.
Unless Syr’Nj has a recording device hidden somewhere on her and all of Gastonia is listening to the villain self exposition, then I think it’s going to be more subtle than that. Politicians are slick – nothing sticks to them, and Jarvis is apparently the politicianiest of them all.
This is just my opinion, but to me it looks like he basically hates everyone in the room. Caneghem hates Gastonia, the Sky Elves are far from pleased at having to form an alliance, and to Caneghem’s ears, Jarvis’ monologue is typical of what he despises about the empire.
They’ve figured out a way to guarantee her cooperation, whatever way that may be. They literally NEED her willing participation in the council. Without that, their mighty Gastonian Empire will crumble very quickly, and they know this all too well. They even snubbed what is basically their only source of lumber that doesn’t come from Syr’Nj. She is now an integral part of their economy, whether she realizes it or not. Jarvis makes his threat of becoming a “problem”, which is straight-up bluff. If anything happened to her, almost all wood elves would turn against Gastonia, causing even more chaos than just aforementioned economy-crumbling. They are not taking a single chance here. They aren’t misjudging anything. They know exactly what they’re doing, and exactly what they’re doing is going to work flawlessly.
Also, despite her growing more and more irrationally emotional of late, I like to think that Syr’Nj is still an intellectual. I’m sure that she will actually figure out what’s going on.
No, the offer is legit. If she resigns and takes her wood with her, they have a real problem. The wood elves might also have a problem, but the war is not going wonderfully right now. Losing a major resource would be tough at any point, but they can’t intimidate the wood elves right now they way they could have a few years ago.
Caneghem is dreading what happens next either way. Hope Jarvis wants a happy, little, well fertilized tree growing behind him at all times for the rest of his life.
As long as she says “Yes,” and then works against them behind the scenes, all will be well. It’s a question of whether or not she’s smart enough to choose the smart solution.
Unless we are all underestimating her, and she’s got a hidden option that will be revealed next week…
I could see that, but presumably she would be dead before exiting the room. So she would be wiser to pay lip service and then work behind the scenes like Jim said.
That’s definitely a valid course of action, but they aren’t exactly newborn babes in regards to “behind the scenes”. I’d imagine they will be keeping an eye on her regardless of what she decides, and maybe even more so if she says “Yes” to the offer. After all, keep your friends close…
In panel 3, did Grand Marshall Jarvis actually sigh, or did he just say “sigh” out loud? I think more the latter: it would be hard to sigh punctuation, and he seems the type to sarcastically say it in a patronising manner.
You woodn’t want to be a problem, right? Particularly not a knotty problem. I axe you again, will you join us? You don’t want us to have to uproot your people, right?
What I find most worrying is Caneghem’s reaction. He must have received the same speech and offer some time ago and it looks like he’s none too happy with how that’s turned out, but can’t figure out how to get free. I’m guessing that there’s going to be a stick along with the carrot that Jarvis is offering.
Maybe Ardaic is not privy to all the deceptions and machinations of the heads of houses . . . and maybe Jarvis has a few secrets. If there’s one guy that doesn’t blab, its Jarvis.
Up until a few comics ago, I thought the Guildies, especially Syrn’j, *knew* they were being played by the council, and were just not aware of just how *much* they were being played. It’s politics; you put up with a certain amount of crap from your bosses because you know you’re an asset they can’t afford to lose… or was that exactly what Syr was doing until they essentially captured all her pieces in this grand, weird chess game?
Seemingly not much of a choice. I don’t really see her saying no here. Plus, considering they need her even though she’s quite vocal about disapproval with things, it gives me hope that she may actually get more pull in doing things on a bit more straight of a moral compass.
Not much a choice if one views things rationally, no.
The key word, however, is “if.”
Yeah, adventurers often take the (more catastrophic) third option!
No, tactical geniuses take the unlisted third option. Adventurers take the second option. The “yes, let’s be a problem” option.
and if she takes option 2, Gastonia will have more of a problem than her. The savage races have no beef with the adventurers per se
The Savage Races do, however, have a beef with humans and their allies, and a scenario where Gastonian adventurers decide to make a separate peace with the Savage Races and stand aside while Gastonia gets conquered seems extremely unlikely.
Mmm…beef. Now I’m hungry. Thanks a lot.
Ah, but see, this second option is “a problem we’ll have to solve” (permanently).
Adventures go with “A problem you CAN’T solve”
Next page: She says no.
Syr’Nj has been holding the Idiot Ball for this entire chapter, I don’t really see her dropping it here.
You have a point.
At this point I think we’re moving past holding the “idiot ball” and into “oh this? This isn’t ACTUALLY an idiot ball, it’s a ‘make you talk more’ stick”.
Syr’Nj has never been this dumb before, no, not even when she was in the depths of ByronWhining. I suspect Something be Up.
I concur, even with all that’s happened with Byron and the others, Syr’Nj has always been good at assessing the situation and putting thought in to her actions.
Of course, she could just be letting them provide enough rope to hang themselves.
“Oh, did I mention? This is all being broadcast via sky elf portals.”
I think i’m with HR on this one, ‘cuz CogDAMN do i hate NPC’s right now >.<
“You can either be part of the solution…or part of a solution. Bring in the acid cauldron!”
I’f you’re not part of the solution you’re part of the precipitate!
+1
+2
Well, long as they have a dental plan. Or scheme, perhaps even a plot.
If they had land sharks, the plan could just be to have land sharks. Shark-scales are basically teeth.
You’re aware that sharks aren’t scaled, right?
(Also, Hammerhead isn’t scaled right.)
Actually sharks are scaled, just like any fish. Though the scales are small and sharp. Quite unpleasant to touch, really.
Does Lisa need braces though?
HA
When in Rome…
…you deal with the Italians, capiche? Hey yo, Don Jarvo, Caneghalloni. Make ‘er an offer she can’t refuse, eh?
BTW, we have 6 people in the room: Syr, Bedard, Jarvis, Canegham, Iwatani, Myamoto. And the cover page shows an “all-for-one, one-for-all” hand tower with only 5 hands. I could research their sleeves, but I’m feeling lazy. Who’s hand is missing from the stack?
The missing hand is Syr’nj’s.
Kill them all! Carve some replacements! Run the puppet government from the inside with a puppet conspiracy!
Grand Marshall Jarvis… has made a mistake. He thinks that Syr’Nj has coldly and usefully gotten over the death of her husband, when in fact she is merely waiting to see whether Gravedust can pull off another miracle. Interesting.
If DMing has taught me anything, it’s that there are always more than two choices.
Specifically, there is also option C, D, E, F, H, G, Z, M, Q, QQ, P, 6, epsilon, and brussels sprout.
Seriously, Jarvis. Don’t try to railroad the PCs. That shit never goes well.
It usually ends with either the players and/or the DM in tears. The players because their characters are all dead and the DM because his carefully crafted campaign has fallen apart around his head.
Rocks fall, everybody dies.
I had a DM do that to us, something like 30 minutes in. Then he let us start our real campaign in whatever the Forgotten Realms after world is (can’t remember). It was a nice little plot twist.
Ardaic would find a third option for sure. But if I had to pick one word to describe Syr’Nj, it would be “idealist.” I imagine she’ll take door number two.
Door ‘number two’ is aptly named, in this case.
One word: Frigg.
An offer she can’t refuse. Someone called it. Don’t know who.
I’m now really curious about how dangerous Syr’Nj is (being an adventurer and all) compared to everyone else in the room.
She could take everyone except Caneghem, I expect. Caneghem has shown the ability to stop someone with a wave of his hand.
I feel like the grand marshal of the Gastonian army is a dangerous person to go toe-to-toe with. Not sure who’d win, but it would be a hell of a fight.
Also, there’s a 97% chance that His Grace Iwatani has mastered the cultists’ dark magic.
Also, you do NOT want to see what Bedard is hiding behind his glasses.
Laser beams?
A second, smaller set of glasses.
His eyes are really bad.
She’s not just “a” wood elf. She’s THE wood elf.
And given what sort of uncontrolled foliage happens when her sister *AHEM-AHEMS*, it might be interesting to see what Syr’Nj is capable of when she really decides to accept her birthright.
Except, y’know, fuelled by will and rage instead of sexy times.
I don’t think those fellows in that room are as ready as they think they are.
good point. and they already sent all the guards out of the room. Maybe Canehegm is just getting his exit spell ready.
Syr’nj isn’t explicitly a druid. She’s the gadgeeter science lady.
Panel 5 Caneghem is thinking ‘Maybe I should call in the guy with the mop and bucket right now, to save time.’
Agree. Jarvis has made a mistake in judging Syrin’J by his own standards.
He’s made what he thinks is a compelling offer, but it isn’t going to work, because the offer isn’t compelling to Syrn’J.
I could see her going along for however long she thinks she needs, but this is the end of the “privy council”.
I see a man who is unhappy with his role in the empire.
Caneghem has stopped Azunantia for the conspiracy before. But then again, he probably found the man repugnant. I think he sympathizes with Syr’nj here but not enough to stick his neck out for her.
He’s just remembering the time when they had to “spell it all out” for him, years ago.
And having to spell something out for a spell caster? That’s just embarrassing.
I think Caneghem is hoping Syr’Nj will not choose this moment to be a martyr; I think he has some designs of his own and would prefer another elvish ally.
Caneghem is totally facepalming.
That’s not a “Damnit Syr’Nj”, that’s a “Jarvis you dumb cluck, she’s playing you like a violin….”.
I think Caneghem might be seizing his chance to join Team Not-A-Dink.
At least, that is what I HOPE is going down here.
Unless Syr’Nj has a recording device hidden somewhere on her and all of Gastonia is listening to the villain self exposition, then I think it’s going to be more subtle than that. Politicians are slick – nothing sticks to them, and Jarvis is apparently the politicianiest of them all.
I can see this going either way. I have to say, I’m really enjoying this arc!
If this meeting doesn’t end in bloodshed, I thin Caneghem is going to have some pointed words for Jarvis.
I don’t know, Caneghem looks defeated rather than angered or disgusted as before. It like the all powerful wizard is totally powerless.
Defeated sounds about right.
I’m imagining he’s remembering when he was in this situation, and he’s ashamed of the choices he made. He’s too invested to rock the boat now, though.
That look on Caneghem’s face…
Yeah. It looks like he’s trying to cover his face in shame. But what is he ashamed of?
It looks more like his mental litany is, “Shut up. Shut up. Shut up.” At least that’s what I get from it.
And I think it looks like he’s watching a horror movie and is preparing to cover his eyes when things get really scary.
This is just my opinion, but to me it looks like he basically hates everyone in the room. Caneghem hates Gastonia, the Sky Elves are far from pleased at having to form an alliance, and to Caneghem’s ears, Jarvis’ monologue is typical of what he despises about the empire.
They’ve figured out a way to guarantee her cooperation, whatever way that may be. They literally NEED her willing participation in the council. Without that, their mighty Gastonian Empire will crumble very quickly, and they know this all too well. They even snubbed what is basically their only source of lumber that doesn’t come from Syr’Nj. She is now an integral part of their economy, whether she realizes it or not. Jarvis makes his threat of becoming a “problem”, which is straight-up bluff. If anything happened to her, almost all wood elves would turn against Gastonia, causing even more chaos than just aforementioned economy-crumbling. They are not taking a single chance here. They aren’t misjudging anything. They know exactly what they’re doing, and exactly what they’re doing is going to work flawlessly.
Also, despite her growing more and more irrationally emotional of late, I like to think that Syr’Nj is still an intellectual. I’m sure that she will actually figure out what’s going on.
Oh, shit. They’re trying to get her to resign. Three down, and she’s the last one they need gone.
No, the offer is legit. If she resigns and takes her wood with her, they have a real problem. The wood elves might also have a problem, but the war is not going wonderfully right now. Losing a major resource would be tough at any point, but they can’t intimidate the wood elves right now they way they could have a few years ago.
I hate to spell it out but we are e,v,i,look you can see where I am going with this.
Caneghem is dreading what happens next either way. Hope Jarvis wants a happy, little, well fertilized tree growing behind him at all times for the rest of his life.
As long as she says “Yes,” and then works against them behind the scenes, all will be well. It’s a question of whether or not she’s smart enough to choose the smart solution.
Unless we are all underestimating her, and she’s got a hidden option that will be revealed next week…
She is going to turn the Wood Elves from Alliance to Horde.
I could see that, but presumably she would be dead before exiting the room. So she would be wiser to pay lip service and then work behind the scenes like Jim said.
I think Syr’Nj might be a little done with compromising her principles.
That’s definitely a valid course of action, but they aren’t exactly newborn babes in regards to “behind the scenes”. I’d imagine they will be keeping an eye on her regardless of what she decides, and maybe even more so if she says “Yes” to the offer. After all, keep your friends close…
In panel 3, did Grand Marshall Jarvis actually sigh, or did he just say “sigh” out loud? I think more the latter: it would be hard to sigh punctuation, and he seems the type to sarcastically say it in a patronising manner.
You woodn’t want to be a problem, right? Particularly not a knotty problem. I axe you again, will you join us? You don’t want us to have to uproot your people, right?
Uhh, Jarvis, you just said you couldn’t afford to lose her. You basically gave her the all clear to say no in a highly cliched manner.
He also said that they would kill her if she says no.
The Peacemakers don’t have a good track record with ‘staying dead.’
Dome…empty space…so…cool…
(The perspective in panel four is amazeballs, guys, and I may be geeking out over it a little too much eeeeeeeeee…….)
True. It’s really nice art in panel 4.
~~~~~Sending Elven Telephathic Messages~~~~~~
Oh my gosh, what if that’s actually what he’s doing? Casting a spell to talk to Syr while Jarvis rambles on.
I would love it if that were the case
He’s probably just thinking “Dammit Syr, don’t look at me, don’t talk to me, I’m not on your side”
What I find most worrying is Caneghem’s reaction. He must have received the same speech and offer some time ago and it looks like he’s none too happy with how that’s turned out, but can’t figure out how to get free. I’m guessing that there’s going to be a stick along with the carrot that Jarvis is offering.
I still don’t understand why Jarvis was cut out of the loop.
Ardaic, I mean.
Ardaic has been working with the Peacekeepers and the Adventurers for quite some time; maybe Jarvis is worried about Ardaic’s loyalties.
Maybe Ardaic is not privy to all the deceptions and machinations of the heads of houses . . . and maybe Jarvis has a few secrets. If there’s one guy that doesn’t blab, its Jarvis.
Caneghem over there like, “would an invisibility spell be too conspicuous?”
The inner circle is in trouble now.
Why? Why did you just say “sigh”? Who does that?
Very sarcastic people.
Up until a few comics ago, I thought the Guildies, especially Syrn’j, *knew* they were being played by the council, and were just not aware of just how *much* they were being played. It’s politics; you put up with a certain amount of crap from your bosses because you know you’re an asset they can’t afford to lose… or was that exactly what Syr was doing until they essentially captured all her pieces in this grand, weird chess game?
RESTART FIGHTOPIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!