Haley and Belkar return to the headquarters of the Resistance and execute a scheme to release Thanh from Tsukiko's Domination.
Cast
- Roy Greenhilt ◀ ▶
- Haley Starshine ◀ ▶
- Belkar Bitterleaf ◀ ▶ (also as Shojo ◀ ▶)
- Mr. Scruffy ◀ ▶
- Redcloak (on a banner) ◀ ▶
- Ho Thanh (dominated) ◀ ▶
- Niu ◀ ▶
- Female Resistance Cleric ▶
- Male Resistance Cleric ▶
- Four Azure City Soldiers
- Seven Azurite Freed Slaves
Transcript
- Panel 1, Page 1
A large cavern with multiple passages and ladders to higher passages. A large banner with Redcloaks face crossed out hangs on the wall. Soldiers stand guard while the freed slaves stand around. Haley arrives with the cart.
Male Cleric: Welcome back! You've done it again, Haley. The people of Azure City are in your debt.
Haley: Cool. I accept Visa and MasterCard.
- Panel 2, Page 1
Female Cleric: Oh! You've been injured!
Male Cleric: Cure Moderate Wounds!
Female Cleric: Cure Moderate Wounds!
Male Cleric: Cure Moderate Wounds!
Haley: Thanks, guys.
- Panel 3, Page 1
Haley: But we've got bigger problems than a few scratches. Thanh here has been Dominated by Tsukiko.
- Panel 4, Page 1
Female Cleric: Really? He hardly seems the sort to be into that type of—
Haley: Not that kind of dominated.
Female Cleric: Oh.
- Panel 5, Page 1
Female Cleric: Haley, if we had access to 3rd-level spells like Dispel Magic, our food shortages would be easily fixable.
Male Cleric: We might have a scroll in the pile we salvaged from the temple though...
Haley: No... if you do, save it. I just go another idea that might work.
Belkar: Yeah... kick that string's ass, Mr. Scruffy.
- Panel 6, Page 1
A short time later
- Panel 7, Page 1
Belkar (dressed as Lord Shojo): I feel ridiculous. How is this supposed to help?
Haley: I'll explain later.
Haley: OK, wake him up and then back off a good distance.
Male Cleric: Cure Light Wounds!
- Panel 1, Page 2
Haley: Hey, Thanh! Look! It's your master, Lord Shojo!
Belkar: What?!?!
Haley (whispering): Play along.
Ho Thanh: Must... attack...
- Panel 2, Page 2
Belkar: Uh, yes! It's me, Lord Shojo!
Belkar: Mr. Scruffy says don't attack me. It would be wrong.
Belkar: Did I mention that I have no weapons and am easily pushing 80 years old?
Thanh: Must... attack...
- Panel 3, Page 2
Haley (whispering): Geez, could you at least TRY to sound a little more like him?
Belkar (whispering): Why don't we get the party bard to do it?
Belkar (whispering): Oh, right, he sailed away from your overly-critical fat ass.
- Panel 4, Page 2
Belkar: Uh... strike me down and I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine!
Thanh: Must... attack...
Thanh: ...but...Lord Shojo...
- Panel 5, Page 2
Thanh: NO!!
Thanh: No, I cannot! To strike down my liege would violate everything I believe!
Thanh reverses his katana.
Thanh: I should take my own life for even considering such an act.
- Panel 6, Page 2
Haley: Whoa, whoa, whoa! No need for that, it's just Belkar. The spell's all gone now.
Thanh: Yes... I feel my head clearing...
Male priest: Here, this way, Thanh. You need rest.
Thanh: Where did my shoes go?
- Panel 7, Page 2
Belkar: I have absolutely no idea what just happened here...
Haley: It's easy. We used a loophole to break Tsukiko's enchantment.
- Panel 8, Page 2
Haley: Magic domination can be broken if the order given is against the subject's true nature right?
Haley: And what's the one act that we know—through direct empirical evidence—can cause a paladin to be stripped of his powers?
Haley: Killing their defenseless liege lord!
- Panel 9, Page 2
Haley: So it stood to reason that as such, doing so would be against Thanh's true nature, and he would get a new saving throw.
Haley: I'm just glad having the real Mr. Scruffy gave you such a good circumstance bonus to your Disguise check to look like him.
- Panel 10, Page 2
Belkar: I was BAIT?? What if he didn't buy it? Or worse, what if he did but it turned out he was "Miko 2: Electric Bugaloo" and did the deed anyway?!?
Belkar: I could have been killed!
Haley: Yeah, I though of that...
- Panel 11, Page 2
Haley: But then I realized that you just proved that there's plenty of room on the cart for your corpse.
Haley: So I tried it anyway.
- Panel 12, Page 2
Belkar: Ha ha, very funny, Haley. But I know that you wouldn't let me get killed to save some NPC paladin, just because he's loyal and trustworthy and honest and—
Belkar: ...
Belkar: Ah, crap.
D&D Context
- The priests use three Cure Moderate Wounds spells which heal 2d8+1/level HP to heal Haley because they are too low-level to use the more effective Cure Serious (3d8+1/level), Cure Critical Wounds (4d8+1/level), or Heal (10 HP/level) spells. This also serves to establish why Roy has not been raised, as the clerics would have to be ninth-level at lowest to manage this, rather than at most fourth.
- The male cleric also used a Cure Light Wounds.
- Dominate Person lasts 1 day/level, which for Tsukiko is probably at least 11 days. Dispel magic is a 3rd level spell that can end the effect. Dominated persons forced to perform an action against their nature get a new saving throw (at +2) to cast off the effect.
- Miko Miyazaki lost her paladin status due to killing Lord Shojo in #407.
- Create Food and Water is also a 3rd-level spell, requiring a 5th-level character to cast it.
Trivia
- This is the first appearance of the Resistance Clerics.
- The hairstyle of the male priest is reminiscent of the chonmage worn by samurai during the Edo period.
- The BDSM gag from #521 is continued here by the female priest.
- Belkar (as Shojo) references Obi-Wan Kenobi from Star Wars Episode IV when he says to Darth Vader, "If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine."
- Thanh loses his shoes to a wight between #516 and #517, which delivers on the joke about "walk a mile in their shoes." Belkar notices their absence in #522.
- Belkar makes reference to the 1984 sequel Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo.