Annotated 14-13
So do you think Mich and Franz worked this “Thermascope” routine out in advance in case anyone ever came to them with evidence of their crimes, or are they just THAT good at improv?
Note that the professors have no problem disclosing the fact that they’re working on war-weapons to the Peacemakers as long as they’re out of “the public eye.” It’d be nice to say that gnome culture would never stand for such things, but it’s more like they’re not ready for it yet. Cultural values shift, for good and for ill.
We never followed up on exactly how that horn got into the hands of the World’s Rebellion. Mich and Franz do seem way too comfortable labeling them “the Savage Races” (even extending that label to Gravedust!) to be super chummy with them. But money talks, goblins have lots of it, and the only real loyalty these two have is to whatever increases their status.
Actually I think there improv was terrible. In panel 1 they confess that it was designed in their workshop. But by panel 3, they claim that they’re going to divine it’s source. Seems like they were just lucky the Peacekeepers didn’t see through their fast talk in enough time
There’s also the matter that when Franz misunderstood Frigg’s idiom, he almost betrayed the fact that they sell the weaponry they make to the highest bidder.
I don’t think he misunderstood her. He was just extending the metaphor.
Increases their research funding and materials stocks, perhaps more like it?
Underhanded dealings don’t increase prestige, but they can provide other benefits.