I fear he might be in on it. I remember the beginning of the chapter had all those hands gripped together. One of the sleeves looked like Caneghem’s, but then again Pardo looked like he was among the group and now he is out. And at no time did I see any hand or sleeve that resembled Reynolds. It is possible that Caneghem is going along with whatever the Houses have planned just so he can extricate the sky elves from the situation and let everything on the surface burn.
It’s also possible that Ardaic and Canegham are playing a long game here. The way the cultist thing is being portrayed, those who supported the adventurer’s guild, including Ardaic, have taken a big hit, which means they’re going to have to accept that the houses are going to have their way for a bit. By collaborating, they may be able to survive until they have an opportunity to strike back – and in the meantime, Reynolds taking a “leave of absence” is taking one of their less politically astute allies out of the firing line. If Reynolds is absent but still technically a council member, he may not be perceived as a threat, but has the opportunity to be brought back in when his vote will really matter.
Excellent analysis! I hope this is what is really in motion, and not something more sinister. I’d be quite annoyed if all of the hints at cooperative behavior by Ardaic were a ploy. He’s in too key a position for the heroes of this story to end up being some sort of shadowy cultist leader.
Whether intentional or not, this is setting up Reynolds to be evicted from the Big Brother house Hall of Houses, for neglecting his Head of House duties.
Maybe Ardaic is setting him up, in this way, so that if the other Heads want to kick Reynolds out, they’ll have a good excuse that doesn’t require the wanton destruction of a town and its inhabitants.
Could I see him betraying Gastonia to save the sky elves? Yeah, but sky elves allied themselves with humans for a reason: operation human shield. He needs Gastonia.
And he’d prefer that Gastonia to not be full of end-of-the-world cultists, that’s not his end-game.
“C’mon you apes, do you want to live forever?”
“Funny you should say that…”
Pardo wasn’t among them though. Hands were Iwatana, Bedard, Miyamoto, Caneghem and ??. (Not sure about the bottom one, but pretty sure it wasn’t Pardo.)
I believe the hands were, from the top left, Iwatani, Bedard, Persson, Caneghem, and Ardaic. Which means either Jarvis is out as well, or they’re all formally pledging themselves to Jarvis.
Oh, wait, that probably IS Miyamoto, not Persson. I keep forgetting about Miyamoto because his character seems to consist of little more than showing up, being arrogant, classist and not-so-subtly racist, then fading away.
Ardaic. Love him when he’s in battle, or helping Syr. Hate him the last 2 pages. Has good and evil in him … just like pols today (and all of us). I have to watch him closely to see if I need to cheer or boo him. It’s cool to have a comic filled with characters like this … kind of like real life. If real life had elves, gnomes and one eyed de-rezzing monsters.
If this is evil intentions, it might not be Ardiac’s, not directly. But he’s a man who will follow orders. Unless the heads went full cultist evil, like “Now stab this bag full of innocent babies with this sword!”, he’s not going to think about how much he likes those orders when he carries them out. Might say something to the right somebody on the side if he started having real doubts, but you wouldn’t see him refuse.
I do actually hope they kick Syr’Nj off, now that you mention it. Not because she doesn’t deserve her place, but because the story is more interesting that way.
On first read, I was going for something like the first hypothesis. The council is slowly ejecting all moderate and non-human members.
But I keep asking myself, why is the Elf council member going along, providing Ardaic with transportation (and reciprocally, I guess – why is Ardaic doing all of this political stuff with Caneghem as an eyewitness?).
Well generally bad news is assigned to a couple of people to make sure its delivered. Caneghem helping Ardaic is because they are being tasked by the council. The reason those two are looked at is war and Transportation. I didn’t think that either of them are houses per say but they are on the council because of what their respective jobs entail.
Although I’m sure this is fascinating, I tend to tune out the politics. It’s too hard to follow on a page by page basis. I’m sure if I had a trade or went on a splurge and read them all sequentially I would be more interested. For now, it’s a bit complex to follow on a piece by piece basis.
One of the most frequent pieces of feedback we receive from readers is “I prefer to read Guilded Age in large chunks,” so we often write to that end while trying our best to maintain day-to-day excitement.
I had some respect for Ardaic…he wasn’t quite as much of a doucher as most of the heads. But now? He’s seeming to smell more and more of vinegar every day.
Discussion (49) ¬
This will go well for Reynolds!
Will Caneghem get an idea of what’s really happening here? Seems he could help Reynolds throw a wrench in some things.
I fear he might be in on it. I remember the beginning of the chapter had all those hands gripped together. One of the sleeves looked like Caneghem’s, but then again Pardo looked like he was among the group and now he is out. And at no time did I see any hand or sleeve that resembled Reynolds. It is possible that Caneghem is going along with whatever the Houses have planned just so he can extricate the sky elves from the situation and let everything on the surface burn.
It’s also possible that Ardaic and Canegham are playing a long game here. The way the cultist thing is being portrayed, those who supported the adventurer’s guild, including Ardaic, have taken a big hit, which means they’re going to have to accept that the houses are going to have their way for a bit. By collaborating, they may be able to survive until they have an opportunity to strike back – and in the meantime, Reynolds taking a “leave of absence” is taking one of their less politically astute allies out of the firing line. If Reynolds is absent but still technically a council member, he may not be perceived as a threat, but has the opportunity to be brought back in when his vote will really matter.
Excellent analysis! I hope this is what is really in motion, and not something more sinister. I’d be quite annoyed if all of the hints at cooperative behavior by Ardaic were a ploy. He’s in too key a position for the heroes of this story to end up being some sort of shadowy cultist leader.
Agreed. This would be ever so much better than the alternative.
Whether intentional or not, this is setting up Reynolds to be evicted from the
Big Brother houseHall of Houses, for neglecting his Head of House duties.Maybe Ardaic is setting him up, in this way, so that if the other Heads want to kick Reynolds out, they’ll have a good excuse that doesn’t require the wanton destruction of a town and its inhabitants.
Caneghem is too humorless to be corrupt.
Could I see him betraying Gastonia to save the sky elves? Yeah, but sky elves allied themselves with humans for a reason: operation human shield. He needs Gastonia.
And he’d prefer that Gastonia to not be full of end-of-the-world cultists, that’s not his end-game.
“C’mon you apes, do you want to live forever?”
“Funny you should say that…”
Pardo wasn’t among them though. Hands were Iwatana, Bedard, Miyamoto, Caneghem and ??. (Not sure about the bottom one, but pretty sure it wasn’t Pardo.)
I believe the hands were, from the top left, Iwatani, Bedard, Persson, Caneghem, and Ardaic. Which means either Jarvis is out as well, or they’re all formally pledging themselves to Jarvis.
Oh, wait, that probably IS Miyamoto, not Persson. I keep forgetting about Miyamoto because his character seems to consist of little more than showing up, being arrogant, classist and not-so-subtly racist, then fading away.
Wow, someone’s really making a power play. … Business as usual, I guess.
Or, perhaps more than one.
Ye, I wonder who will be in the heads-up.. I’ll put my money on a wild card (cause I like to bet with good multipliers), mr Bedard :D:D
Well, this is just all going swimmingly.
I’d say it’s all going portally, actually.
Is there any reason that Dean Reynolds can’t employ a stand-in for Head of House duties? Isn’t that sort of what Ardaic is?
They may have a tiny suggestion as to his choice of stand-ins.
Is that supposed to be a joke about gnomish stature? Rude.
Indeed, that sort of humor is beneath us.
we need to cut this line of thinking off at the knees…
I object. I think I’m getting short shrift here.
Suggestion? Sure. Control? No.
For those that watched Babylon 5 the thing to say to your stand in is, “don’t give away the home world.”
Oh and btw my VCR clock needs to be set.
What, it’s not blinking *12:00* anymore? I thought that WAS the right setting.
It is right…Twice a day, at least.
Ardaic. Love him when he’s in battle, or helping Syr. Hate him the last 2 pages. Has good and evil in him … just like pols today (and all of us). I have to watch him closely to see if I need to cheer or boo him. It’s cool to have a comic filled with characters like this … kind of like real life. If real life had elves, gnomes and one eyed de-rezzing monsters.
If this is evil intentions, it might not be Ardiac’s, not directly. But he’s a man who will follow orders. Unless the heads went full cultist evil, like “Now stab this bag full of innocent babies with this sword!”, he’s not going to think about how much he likes those orders when he carries them out. Might say something to the right somebody on the side if he started having real doubts, but you wouldn’t see him refuse.
… at this rate, who will be left in the council?
…the individuals orchestrating the obvious power play to take over the council?
I do actually hope they kick Syr’Nj off, now that you mention it. Not because she doesn’t deserve her place, but because the story is more interesting that way.
They need the lumber. Kicking her off is unlikely. Making sure she’s too busy to attend the important meetings is far more likely.
Caneghem’s portal have a chilly breeze. This detail can’t just be fluff, can it?
Well, it does imply that those two met often enough for reynolds to know Caneghem’s portal that well.
…plus the two do have a cold demeanor.
I love the inset of the two gnomish criminals. They look like Speed Racer villains!
So, steadily removing all support that the Adventurer’s Guild had in the Council, for one reason or another?
Or pulling a potential ally out of the crossfire?
On first read, I was going for something like the first hypothesis. The council is slowly ejecting all moderate and non-human members.
But I keep asking myself, why is the Elf council member going along, providing Ardaic with transportation (and reciprocally, I guess – why is Ardaic doing all of this political stuff with Caneghem as an eyewitness?).
Well generally bad news is assigned to a couple of people to make sure its delivered. Caneghem helping Ardaic is because they are being tasked by the council. The reason those two are looked at is war and Transportation. I didn’t think that either of them are houses per say but they are on the council because of what their respective jobs entail.
Caneghem is head of Magic just as Dean Reynolds is the head of Science.
Not sure what Syr’nj’s tittle is, but maybe NOW its lumber.
I have no idea, and I’m loving it. ^_^
I kinda want Caneghem to like blindside everyone and actually turn out to be the best “good guy” ever.
I am in favor of this theory
Although I’m sure this is fascinating, I tend to tune out the politics. It’s too hard to follow on a page by page basis. I’m sure if I had a trade or went on a splurge and read them all sequentially I would be more interested. For now, it’s a bit complex to follow on a piece by piece basis.
One of the most frequent pieces of feedback we receive from readers is “I prefer to read Guilded Age in large chunks,” so we often write to that end while trying our best to maintain day-to-day excitement.
Then don’t read on a page-by-page basis. Archive-crawl exclusively.
I had some respect for Ardaic…he wasn’t quite as much of a doucher as most of the heads. But now? He’s seeming to smell more and more of vinegar every day.