V sends Elan to warn Durkon. Yukyuk, the latest in the proud tradition of Linear Guild kobolds, sneak attacks V. Blackwing charges Zz'dtri, only for Z to reveal his own familiar... Qarr.
Cast
- Haley Starshine (as statue and shrunk) ◀ ▶
- Elan ◀ ▶
- Vaarsuvius ◀ ▶
- Blackwing ◀ ▶
- Zz'dtri ◀ ▶
- Qarr ◀ ▶
- Yukyuk ▶
- Sir Scraggly ▶
Transcript
- Panel 1
Vaarsuvius falls to the ground, landing on his or her head, from Zz'dtri's lightning attack in the previous comic.
Vaarsuvius: Oof!
Elan: Are you OK? And can you turn Haley back? Did you prepare Stone to Soft Curvy Flesh today?
- Panel 2
Vaarsuvius: No, sadly, but Master Thundershield has Break Enchantment on his list for today, which will have a similar effect. You must go to him.
Elan: No! I’m not abandoning Haley again!
Vaarsuvius: Nor did I suggest that you should. Stand aside.
- Panel 3
Vaarsuvius: Shrink Item!
As Vaarsuvius reads the spell from a scroll, the petrified Haley is shrunk down to the size of a small figurine.
Vaarsuvius: When you find the dwarf, simply throw the figurine onto a firm surface to restore its normal size.
Elan: Thank you, V! But… I can’t abandon you, either.
- Panel 4
Vaarsuvius: You must, and not simply for Miss Starshine’s sake. Our cleric is alone, and does not know that the Linear Guild is afoot.
Vaarsuvius: There is a chance that if I hold this nefarious elf in check you will be able to warn him before either your wretched brother or his dark paramour can attack—
Vaarsuvius: —but only if you leave right now!
- Panel 5
Elan: Are you sure you’ll be OK, V?
Vaarsuvius: We do not have time for assurances! Quickened Haste!
Elan: ...Was that a spell or were you just telling me to go super-fast?
Vaarsuvius: GO!!
- Panel 6
Zz’dtri: Brave, facing me alone.
Vaarsuvius: Hardly. He will be of far greater efficacy in that capacity than he would ever be engaging you.
Vaarsuvius: I have learned many lessons since our previous duel, drow.
- Panel 7
Zz’dtri: Duel?
Zz'dtri: Who said I was alone?
Yukyuk rides in on Sir Scraggly, firing with both crossbows which land in V's back, "thunk! thunk!"
Vaarsuvius: Aaargh!!
Yukyuk: Yeeeeehah! Sneak attack!
Yukyuk Good job, Sir Scraggly!
Sir Scraggly: Grrrr!
- Panel 8
Vaarsuvius: A kobold. Of course.
Vaarsuvius: Stoneskin.
Vaarsuvius: As entrances go, I suppose I only prefer the eminiently[sic] predictable to the genuinely shocking. You are named Yakyak, I presume?
Yukyuk: Yukyuk, actually. What kind of a stupid name would “Yakyak” be, anyway?
- Panel 9
Blackwing: Oh yeah? Well, Vaarsuvius isn’t alone, either! I’m here, too! And I’m gonna fly up there and peck your Little Orphan Annie eyes out!
- Panel 10
Zz’dtri: Right, the familiar. Odd.
Zz’dtri: I have one, too, now.
- Panel 11
Qarr teleports in next to Blackwing with a "pop!"
Blackwing: *gasp!*
Qarr: Hey, how’s it going? I don’t think we’ve ever been formally introduced.
D&D Context
- The title, "Unfamiliar", plays on the Familiar, a mage's animal companion in D&D, as well as in folklore. Qarr had previously worked for Kubota and the IFCC, making his appearance as Zz'dtri's familar, unfamiliar.
- Stone to Soft Curvy Flesh is not a D&D spell, although Stone to Flesh is.
- Shrink Item is a 3rd level spell that shrinks a nonmagical item to 1/16th of its normal size, for one day/level, or until tossed onto a solid surface.
- Haste is a 3rd level spell that increases the speed of up to 1 creature/level. Hasted creatures can make two attacks per round and move at an additional 30 ft per round, among other bonuses.
- Stoneskin gives the caster damage reduction of 10 hp per attack, up to 150 hp over the course of the spell.
- Imps in 3.5e D&D do not have a natural teleport ability, though it has been established in this comic that they do. Though Qarr is also a sorcerer, it is unlikely that he is casting this as a spell, because his teleport ability differs from the spell in the particulars.
Trivia
- This is the first appearance of Yukyuk, the third kobold member of the Linear Guild.
- This is also the first appearance of Sir Scraggly, Yukyuk's animal companion.
- Since the Linear Guild's last encounter with the Order of the Stick, Belkar took an animal companion, Mr. Scruffy, and Blackwing starting appearing with Vaarsuvius much more consistently. So it is only fitting that the latest incarnation of the Linear Guild continue the "evil opposites" theme by Belkar's opposite having an animal companion who is a dog (the evil opposite of a cat), and the bat-winged Qarr as Zz'dtri's familiar as the evil opposite of V's raven.
- Sir Scraggly's existence is a callback to #140, where Belkar expressed his hope for a riding dog as "a fierce canine, barely domesticated, more wolf than dog", "its sharp teeth bared in a predatory snarl", all of which fits Sir Scraggly well.
- Zz'dtri says nine words in panel 10; this is longest speech in the entire comic.