Haley and Ismamu hide from Tsukiko and Black Squadron. Thanh, in true paladin fashion, does not retreat from the fight with the hobgoblins, leaving himself to be discovered by the wights, who engage.
Cast
- Haley Starshine ◀ ▶
- Belkar Bitterleaf ◀ ▶
- Ho Thanh ◀ ▶
- Isamu ◀ ▶
- Tsukiko ◀ ▶
- Four Wights of Black Squadron
- Hobgoblin Granary Browncloak ◀
Transcript
- Panel 1
Tsukiko examines the body of the slain browncloak hobgoblin spellcaster.
Tsukiko: Hmmm… this looks like Starshine’s work…
Tsukiko: The arrows match last week’s jailbreak.
- Panel 2
Haley and Isamu hide in a crate. Some of the crates are printed with shipping labels: "Gouda. Product of Cliffport. IMPORTED from GREYSKY CITY. FRAGILE. FRAGILE."
Tsukiko: Can you hear me, Haley? I’m coming for you, and this time, you won’t slip away into the darkness.
Haley (whispering): Tsukiko. Just what I was afraid of.
Haley (whispering): Did Niu make it to the tunnels with the prisoners?
Isamu (whispering): I think so. She was leading them straight there when I lost sight of her.
- Panel 3
Haley (whispering): Good. Tsukiko’s Spot check sucks, but even she couldn’t miss a mob of twenty-plus freed slaves.
Haley (whispering): So the rest of us just need to stay hidden until she passes by, then make a break for the tunnel.
- Panel 4
Haley (whispering): Wait—where’s Thanh?
Isamu (whispering): Don’t know. He hasn’t come back from the granary.
Haley (whispering): Damn it! I knew bringing him along was a mistake.
- Panel 5
Cut to Thanh, who is still fighting hobgoblins at the entrance to the granary. Two wights approach from behind a amphora of pineapples.
Ho Thanh: Consider this a partial downpayment on the full measure of righteous vengeance that was owned you!
Boot Wight: Check it out, buddy: I think we’ve found our insurgent.
Pineappled Wight: Nice.
- Panel 6
Boot Wight: I call dibs on his levels that are divisible by three!
Pineappled Wight: Aw, man! You always get the best ones. Fine, I call his levels divisible by four.
Boot Wight: I hope he’s not 12th level…
- Panel 7
Thanh: Back, undead minions! You won’t be draining anything today!
Thanh: TURN UNDEAD!
A blue light shines from Thanh's katana on Boot Wight. The other wight avoids the beam.
Boot Wight: Ahhh! The light! It stings in an uncomfortable manner!
- Panel 8
Boot Wight flees, turned, and blows his safety whistle as he passes two more wights, "tweet! tweet! tweet!"
- Panel 9
The two wights join the remaining wight and advance on Thanh.
Thanh: Very well, dark abominations, I suppose I shall pay the balance of my debt today.
Belkar (off-panel): Oh, wait, crap. This is my cue, isn’t it?
- Panel 10
A pineapple flies in from off-panel, striking the lead wight, "bonk!"
- Panel 11
Cut to Belkar perched atop the amphora of pineapples.
Belkar: Sorry, would have jumped in earlier, but you know how the old saying goes: “Don’t fire until you see the eyes of their wights.”
D&D Context
- Paladins Turn Undead as would a cleric of three levels lower. Thus Thanh must be at least 4th level to have turned the wight.
- Halflings have a +1 racial bonus on attack rolls with thrown weapons.
Trivia
- Haley hides in the box labeled, "Imported from Greysky City", which is in fact her home town.
- The box containing gouda from Cliffport is a reference to #463, where Elan posits that hobgoblins have an inordinate predilection for gouda cheese.
- This is Belkar's first appearance in Don't Split the Party, except for his likeness in the malev-o-meter during Roy's interview to get into the Celestial Realms in #489, Keepin' the Little Man Down.
- 12 is the first integer evenly divisible by both 3 and 4, which would confuse the wight's scheme for dividing the levels to be drained.
- "Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes" is the famous order given at the Battle of Bunker Hill, which Belkar adroitly turns around into a pun, hence the comic's title.
- This is the final appearance of Hobgoblin Granary Browncloak. He first appeared in #511.