Welcome to the saga of the working-class adventurer! Enjoy the complete story with new annotations daily!
Shaderunners
Alex Assan, Lin Darrow
A ragtag band of bootleggers open a speakeasy for bottled colour in the greyscale city of Ironwell.
Hemlock
Josceline Fenton
A witch accidentally marries a monster, and now she and her familiar has to navigate life around her monstrous husband and her even more terrifying in-laws.
No End
Erli, Kromi
A queer romance about people attempting to build lives in a cold, post-apocalyptic world ravaged by hordes of undead.
Dumbing of Age
David M Willis
Joyce has been homeschooled her entire life until now, when she's suddenly a freshman in college! Things don't go well.
All Known Alternatives
Karolina 'Kajotko' Jankiewicz
Akane has only one way to get back home: collect the 42 keys to parallel worlds. Eri and Ben are just trying to get through the summer before university. When a magical key turns up in an old spare set, all three are forced to change their plans and fast.
Paint the Town Red
Windy, Winter Jay Kiakas
Winona runs a werewolf shelter with partner in crime, Odile in the Gothic city of Merlot. One day they take in an injured vampire, and soon unravels many of the dark secrets of Merlot.
“It has one weakness, it’s tail pipe. You must take this potato…”
“You Know they disproved the potato-in-the-tail-pipe in Myth Busters.”
“… Well, we’re boned.”
‘Today, we’re looking at the myth that the gods of Arkerra are immortal.’
‘This is a particularly dangerous experiment, so we’ve brought in the most qualified destructive testing expert we could find.’
Thinking about it, I have a feeling this will result in the death of the Gnome adventuring team and the triumph (for now) of Taro. It seems like the stakes getting raised higher by such would be appropriate at this point in the story.
It’s better for Taro if at least some of the “assassins” escape justice. It’ll be easier to justify a war against the Gnomes, if his family’s “murderers” get away.
and then we see Ardaic, double cross Taro, dying in the line of duty to Gastonia. he’s reminding me a lot of Nazgrel at this point, loyal to his country even at the cost of his honor, he knows that his leader is a dick and going to be the downfall of the nation/faction he loves, but he’s too afraid to stand up to them, and (like Nazgrel in the Siege of Orggrimarr) its going to get him killed….
at least till the next expansion and he gets ressurected as an ultra-powerful Death Knight or something similar….
No need for that. After all, he’s a paladin, and that means he’s nearly impervious to damage, but also unable to do (much) damage.
…
Uh oh. I forgot about the pala patch.
By the way Adriac is not the Silver Centurion that we know and hate for killing Brunhilde and enslaving the orcs. We saw both of them in the same panel in chapter 29. Maybe crusaders for Gastonia are trained to manifest that specific suit of armor.
Two things about this. One, the fact that Ardaic was seen in the same panel as another Centurion doesn’t mean the latter was the one who killed Brunhilde – it’s entirely plausible that Ardaic did that and the other Centurion was uninvolved. Two, the panel in question leaves things a bit up in the air – the background color’s different and no other characters besides Ardaic and Centurion are in the shot. It’s possible that panel took place in his head.
It most likely was not in his head. During that battle Ardaic was inside the fort, and got his arm snapped by Auragu protecting Syr’nj. We were shown the Silver Centurion fighting on the frontlines outside the fort.
Actually… I’d say it’s more likely that Ardaic *is* the Silver Centurion we see kill Brunhilde. The Centurion fighting Brunhilde used conjured glowy weapons like Ardaic is now, while the one who led the battle against the world’s rebellion only used a simple sword.
Bandit’s being foolish. They don’t have to take down the pursuit, just delay it long enough for the plans to escape. As soon as she’s out of sight, the rest can scatter. Her sticking around means the fight must continue and actually increases the odds of one of her friends getting seriously injured. Plus, it’s keeping both copies of the plans where Ardaic can potentially recover both of them. True, one’s not got good picture quality, but it’s better than nothing.
The others wouldn’t be able to outrun a mounted warrior, and Bandit would need a pretty significant lead to be out of danger. Either way, the other gnomes need to fight for a not-insignificant amount of time or risk somebody being run down by a charging energy-horse.
Go Team Gnome!
Also, you should know better than that, alt-text. Bandit is the only non-expendable character.
They’re not expendable.
They’re dependable.
Are you implying they’re incontinent?
No, they’re ON a continent.
They’re in a Continental?
They seem perfectly competent to me.
What’s this about consonants?
I dunno, but I’d like to buy a vowel.
All of this doesn’t make any sentence!
You’re saying there’s sentience here?
They’ll get a life sentence for this assault!
If this nonsense does not cease immediately I will punish you all and show gnomercy while I do it.
show-gnome mercy? I was unaware that Vaudevillian gnomes had a particular brand of forgiveness.
Derp? is just being overly dramatic. They are opposed to gnome-sense and how it keeps building.
Building? What building? They’ve gone outside the city already.
Wait, who’s sitting? Everyone I can see is standing and fighting.
Many gnomes died to get us these Steam Star plans. Now if only this thing had any weaknesses and it wasn’t all in vain. Oh well…
“It has one weakness, it’s tail pipe. You must take this potato…”
“You Know they disproved the potato-in-the-tail-pipe in Myth Busters.”
“… Well, we’re boned.”
‘Today, we’re looking at the myth that the gods of Arkerra are immortal.’
‘This is a particularly dangerous experiment, so we’ve brought in the most qualified destructive testing expert we could find.’
‘Sup bitches, Akerfeldt in the house.’
Damn, I forgot how cool Tobia’s spells look.
When your spells look that good, you can wear whatever goofy mask you want to.
Ardaic’s pretty far from the manor; looks like he’s stumbled into gnome-man’s-land.
He’s definitely in a little trouble, there.
I’m sure he’ll get the upper hand in this fight shortly.
Really? ‘Cause he looks stumped now.
He just needs to get in gear, and show some brass.
I don’t know, it seems like a pretty tall order to expect from him.
Yeah, I think he’s going to come up short.
Welp! He isn’t standing tall in the saddle now.
They surely knocked him off his high horse.
The upper hand is his problem. He’s above delivering low blows.
everyone knows that in MMO’s defeats are only setbacks…..
Silver Centurion’s missing a tag there.
He cut it off – it was chafing him.
He’ll have to arrest himself, now.
Technically so is Ardaic’s tag, I guess! Fixed.
Bandit, don’t you go and forget the inverse ninja law.
The law of conservation of gnomejutsu?
Don’t die, Gnome Adventuring Team! :-( Don’t die!
THE EXPENDA-GNOMES!
“Aww, everyone gets to be expendable but me…”
Thinking about it, I have a feeling this will result in the death of the Gnome adventuring team and the triumph (for now) of Taro. It seems like the stakes getting raised higher by such would be appropriate at this point in the story.
It’s better for Taro if at least some of the “assassins” escape justice. It’ll be easier to justify a war against the Gnomes, if his family’s “murderers” get away.
and then we see Ardaic, double cross Taro, dying in the line of duty to Gastonia. he’s reminding me a lot of Nazgrel at this point, loyal to his country even at the cost of his honor, he knows that his leader is a dick and going to be the downfall of the nation/faction he loves, but he’s too afraid to stand up to them, and (like Nazgrel in the Siege of Orggrimarr) its going to get him killed….
at least till the next expansion and he gets ressurected as an ultra-powerful Death Knight or something similar….
aw…fuck me….HR as my avatar? and Sepia-world HR at that….(please tell me its not foreshadowing).
What will be the fate of these intrepid gnomish adventurers? The suspense is killing me. Gnome-more!
No need for that. After all, he’s a paladin, and that means he’s nearly impervious to damage, but also unable to do (much) damage.
…
Uh oh. I forgot about the pala patch.
The apron was obviously the most expandable of them all. Good job, apron. We will remember your sacrifice !
Anyone else getting flashabacks to Dial M for Monkey and Justice Friends from the left part of that last panel?
By the way Adriac is not the Silver Centurion that we know and hate for killing Brunhilde and enslaving the orcs. We saw both of them in the same panel in chapter 29. Maybe crusaders for Gastonia are trained to manifest that specific suit of armor.
Two things about this. One, the fact that Ardaic was seen in the same panel as another Centurion doesn’t mean the latter was the one who killed Brunhilde – it’s entirely plausible that Ardaic did that and the other Centurion was uninvolved. Two, the panel in question leaves things a bit up in the air – the background color’s different and no other characters besides Ardaic and Centurion are in the shot. It’s possible that panel took place in his head.
It most likely was not in his head. During that battle Ardaic was inside the fort, and got his arm snapped by Auragu protecting Syr’nj. We were shown the Silver Centurion fighting on the frontlines outside the fort.
That doesn’t contradict your first point, mind.
Actually… I’d say it’s more likely that Ardaic *is* the Silver Centurion we see kill Brunhilde. The Centurion fighting Brunhilde used conjured glowy weapons like Ardaic is now, while the one who led the battle against the world’s rebellion only used a simple sword.
Survives a meteor hammer to the face…Dat’s some pretty good armor.
Overkill Paladin. It’s a prestige class.
It’s hard to believe that Ardaic didn’t lose face when the old ball and chain caught him riding hard on some bright, young filly.
Bandit’s being foolish. They don’t have to take down the pursuit, just delay it long enough for the plans to escape. As soon as she’s out of sight, the rest can scatter. Her sticking around means the fight must continue and actually increases the odds of one of her friends getting seriously injured. Plus, it’s keeping both copies of the plans where Ardaic can potentially recover both of them. True, one’s not got good picture quality, but it’s better than nothing.
That’s our little impulse decision rogue.
The others wouldn’t be able to outrun a mounted warrior, and Bandit would need a pretty significant lead to be out of danger. Either way, the other gnomes need to fight for a not-insignificant amount of time or risk somebody being run down by a charging energy-horse.
No mmorpg-player worth her salt can resist a good bossfight.
Waaaaaaait now- that Wizard’s mask… do I sense a Banjo-Kazooie reference?
Ardaic continues to play mindless puppet. I don’t think he will reconsider.
I think he will die like this.
TO THE FACE!!!!!!!