Roy begins to realize that his opponent is not Thog. He goes in to unmask his helmeted adversary, only to find that Tarquin is really committed to a joke.
Cast
Transcript
- Panel 1
Tarquin, impersonating Thog, viciously attacks Belkar and Roy with Soul-Muncher, "SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!"
Roy: OK, we can—Nnnngh!—take this.
Roy: Elan, keep playing. Belkar, let's pour on the damage before someone heals him.
Elan: I think it's too late for that, Roy! Look—
Elan plays his lute, "♪♪♪"
- Panel 2
Tarquin's wounds begin to regenerate, "heal! heal! heal!"
Elan (inset): —he's already started healing himself!
Tarquin: thog regenerationating! hooray for magic items!
- Panel 3
Elan continues to play his lute, "♪♪♪"
Elan: How much new stuff did Thog come up with in two days??
Belkar: Gee, yeah. I wonder where he learned that thing where he used a found arrow as a stabbing weapon—
Belkar: —Roy.
Roy: Not from me. Because that's not Thog.
- Panel 4
Roy: In the arena, Thog was pretty much all offense. This guy has been fighting defensively the whole time.
Roy: Plus he leads with the other foot, he resisted Durkon's enchantment, and I think he used a second-person pronoun.
Roy: I don't know who he is, but he's not Thog.
- Panel 5
Elan strums, "♪"
Elan: But…then who—? And why would he pretend—?
Roy: I intend to find out.
- Panel 6
Roy and Tarquin cross weapons.
Tarquin: talky-man come back for more!
Roy: Can it! It's grating enough having to listen to that crap from the real Thog!
- Panel 7
Tarquin: but thog is real thog!
Roy: No, you're not. And I intend to prove it—
Roy reaches for Tarquin's helmet...
- Panel 8
...and pulls it off.
Roy: —NOW!
- Panel 9
Under his helmet, Tarquin wears a balaclava-style mask. Above the hole for his eyes, the mask reads "Nope!"
- Panel 10
Tarquin gives Roy an upswing strike with Soul-Muncher. "KTHNK!"
- Panel 11
Tarquin: Totally worth wearing a mask under my helmet for two days.
Tarquin catches his helmet. "catch!"
Elan: Oh man! I should have known knowing something would never work out!
Elan strums the lute, "♪♪"
D&D Context
- Elan's music allows him to Inspire Courage in Roy and Belkar.
Trivia
- Roy uses an arrow as a stabbing weapon on the real Thog in #798.
- Tarquin-as-Thog did indeed use a second-person pronoun in the previous strip by asking Elan, "Aren't you going to do anything?"