Roy remembers everything about his sword, and he's not happy.
Cast
- The Order of the Stick
- Eugene Greenhilt (as mortal) ◀ ▶
- Sara Greenhilt (as mortal) ▶
- Eric Greenhilt (as mortal) ▶
- Xykon ◀ ▶
- Redcloak ◀ ▶
- The Monster in the Darkness ◀ ▶
- Two Demon-Roaches ◀ ▶
- Two Ogre Zombies
Transcript
- Panel 1
Wide view of the battle, Durkon and Belkar are getting ready to take on the zombie ogres while Redcloak is backing them. Haley and Elan are under the effects of the Symbol of Pain. Xykon faces Roy who looks at his broken sword. V stands paralyzed with Demon Cockroaches on his or her head.
Haley: Ow! Ow! Ow!
Elan: Ow! Ow!
- Panel 2
Durkon: Turn Undead!
Redcloak: Bolster Undead!
Belkar: Stab Undead!
- Panel 3
Belkar: This sucks! Zombies aren't nearly as satisfying to eviscerate. They don't even scream for mercy.
Durkon: Aye, we be in dire straits f'sure, lad.
Belkar: And what the hell is Roy doing? He's just standing there.
- Panel 4
Roy looks at his shattered sword, crestfallen.
- Panel 5
Flashback to Roy as an infant in his mother's arms. Baby Roy reaches for the Greenhilt Sword which rests in a bracket above the mantle.
Sara Greenhilt: Don't touch, honey. that's your great-grandfather's sword.
- Panel 6
Cut back to Roy who continues looking at the shattered sword.
- Panel 7
Flashback to Roy as a child. Roy fights a plush pink dragon. Eric Greenhilt peeks out from behind his mother's chair. The Greenhilt Sword remains above the mantle.
Sara: —and then your grandpa took the family's ancestral sword and THWACK! He chopped off the dragon's head.
Young Roy: Yay! Thwack! Thwack!
- Panel 8
Cut back to Roy who continues looking at the shattered sword.
- Panel 9
Flashback to Roy's teenage years. Roy holds the Greenhilt Sword. Sara stands next to him, and his packed bags. Eugene stands next to his alchemical experiments.
Teenage Roy: Dad, I'm not GOING to the University! Don't you see our family has a rich heritage as warriors?
Teenage Roy: Our family was named after this sword, and I am taking it with me to Fighter College!
Eugene: Bah! You'll be back to cantrips within a week.
- Panel 10
Roy gets angry.
D&D Context
- Turn Undead and Bolster Undead are Cleric abilities. Good-aligned Clerics destroy or rout undead, while evil-aligned Clerics can counter the effects of turning in advance with Bolster Undead.
- Stab Undead is not an actual D&D ability. Belkar is just shouting the phrase while making a normal attack.
- Cantrips are 0-level spells, which can be cast at will.
Trivia
- This is the first appearance of Sara Greenhilt.
- This is the first appearance of Eric Greenhilt, though his name is not given until #497, with the backstory coming just before that.
- The title, is a play on the line from the theme song to the 1973 film The Way We Were, starring Robert Redford and Barbara Streisand, "Memories, like the corners of my mind..."