Annotated 30-34
I’m not sure if Phil and I forgot to include any evidence of the Corruptor Beast’s exit on our way in and were covering our asses, or if we had always intended this reversal, but it sure looks like we planned it, so let’s all say we definitely did.
This subplot is more of an organic part of the chapter than it looked at first, and even than it looked when this page was published. The Cultists and the Champions have so far been entirely separate issues for our heroes, but after this, their narrative threads will start colliding in more and more obvious ways.
At this point, of course, it’s unclear just what this hole is and what entering it would do. Some thought that Sundar, E-Merl, and Gravedust might just go a-sauntering into downtown Irvine, which would’ve been a fun buddy comedy (and maybe feasible, as they’re mostly human-looking) but was not the kind of world-crossing we wanted to do. E-Merl would’ve gotten them into a magic act, though, and they would’ve made pretty good scratch by street-performer standards, though not in a currency they could bring home. (“Why are this town’s ralds so flat and papery?”)
Tune in tomorrow for a fresh slew of guest strips. And the end of Shakespeare’s Trump Act III is here, and this update’s got wildly irresponsible amounts of sex and violence!
Ooof, that’s some pretty harrowing foreshadowing, Ashok.
Hm. I remembered Gravedust firing one of his special arrows at the corrupter beast and being horrified by the result, but I didn’t remember until now that exactly what would happen was spelled out to him in advance.
It would have worked a bit better if the hole was behind a corner or something. Sure Sundar has only one eye, but for him, a veteran mercenary, to miss a thing like that…
He could be getting old, but damn…
It looks like it is somewhat behind a corner from where he was coming from so maybe that explains it
Agreed. When they entered the cave, Sundar was also the one tripping over a corpse although it had been clearly visible several panels earlier, within direct line of sight. This scene is even weirder because it seems as if none of our protagonists had noticed the hole in the wall before. Or maybe they did but carefully avoided telling Sundar or the reader, to the point not asking Ashok’s ghost about it, just so they could surprise them later?
I really think they the hole should not have been visible from Ashok’s position, but they should have discovered it after Ashok told them, and they proceeded a little further into the cave before actually seeing it. So maybe if Ashok he had walked them into the main hall, with Sundar trailing behind a bit because he’s busy with his monologue?