Roy decides to get some mounts for the adventure but Belkar wants something extra.
Cast
- Roy Greenhilt ◀ ▶
- Belkar Bitterleaf ◀ ▶
- Elan's Horse ▶
- Vaarsuvius' Horse ▶
- Durkon's Pony ▶
- Belkar's Riding Dog ▶
- A Stableboy
Transcript
- Panel 1
Roy and Belkar walk through the town near Redmountain Hills.
Roy: Wooden Forest is a long way from here, so we'll need to buy mounts.
Belkar: You say this almost as if you expect me to care.
- Panel 2
They approach a stable with the sign, "Discount Horses".
Stableboy: Hello there!
Roy: Hey. We need 4 horses and 2 ponies.
Belkar: Ponies?
- Panel 3
Stableboy: Certainly! Back in a jiffy.
Belkar: Which losers get stuck with the ponies?
Roy: Durkon and you.
- Panel 4
Belkar: Excuse me? A pony?!? Do I look like an 11-year-old girl to you? Do I have pink ribbons in my hair of which I'm unaware?
- Panel 5
Belkar: Careful examination will reveal that I'm an adult male!
Roy: Yeah, I'll pass on that.
- Panel 6
Belkar: Get a pony for Beardy McBeerstein if you want, but there's no freakin' way I'm riding a pony. I'd rather walk.
Roy: Sigh.
- Panel 7
Stableboy: Here you go.
Roy: Change of plans. Do you have anything else for... "vertically challenged" adventurers?
Stableboy: Well, we do have a riding dog.
- Panel 8
Belkar: Riding dog! Now see, THAT'S pretty cool.
Roy: Oh?
Belkar: Yeah. A fierce canine, barely domesticated, more wolf than dog!
- Panel 9
Belkar: Imagine me riding on the back of such a powerful beast, its sharp teeth bared in a predatory snarl.
Belkar: The smell of blood will drive it into a frenzy as it attacks foes in a whirlwind of fangs and claws!
- Panel 10
Belkar: Hell yeah, I'll take the riding dog. Let's unleash the fury!
- Panel 11
Belkar is riding on a dachshund.
D&D Context
- On foot, the party could travel 24 miles a day, were it not for Belkar and Durkon, who can only cover 16 miles per day.
- Mounted on horses the party could travel 32 miles per day (mounted).
- Ponies can only travel 24 miles per day (mounted).
- A riding dog can keep up with the pony at 24 miles per day, while carrying Belkar. So actually, the humans and V could walk and not slow down Durkon and Belkar on their mounts, though the mounts do allow them to carry more supplies.
Trivia
- Belkar will wait some time to "unleash the fury":
- When Belkar sees Hinjo's paladin mount, Argent, in #432, he complains "So HE gets to unleash the fury, and I get a firggin' wiener dog???"
- #868, Unleash The Fury features Belkar riding a Hell Hound for a short time, though not as he imagines in this strip.
- This is the first appearance for the party's mounts: Elan's Horse, Vaarsuvius' Horse, Durkon's Pony, and Belkar's Riding Dog.
- My Little Pony is an entertainment franchise owned by Hasbro and launched in 1982. The franchise is primarily marketed to girls, and began with toy ponies with long colorful manes and tails.