Durkon finds that his friends have been taken, and re-enters the city to get proper documentation.
Cast
- Durkon Thundershield ◀ ▶
- Mr. Scruffy ◀ ▶
- Brunchroom Barkeeper ◀
- A Bleedingham City Guard
- Nine Sodiers of the Empire of Blood
- A Traveler
- A Camel
Transcript
- Panel 1
Mr. Scruffy scratches at Durkon's door, "scratch! scratch!"
Durkon: Go'way, I'm meditatin'.
- Panel 2
Mr. Scruffy continues to seek Durkon's attention, "scratch! scratch! scratch! scratch! scratch! scratch! scratch! scratch! scratch! scratch!"
Durkon: Och, fine! Fine, ye blasted cat. I be done 'cept fer tha cantrips anyway.
- Panel 3
Durkon opens the door; Mr Scruffy enters
Mr. Scruffy: Meow!!
Mr. Scruffy: Meow!!
Mr. Scruffy: Meow!!
Mr. Scruffy: Meow!!
Durkon: Nay! Nay, I said "cantrip," na "catnip"! Get offa me!
- Panel 4
Mr. Scruffy has Durkon following him, downstairs.
Mr. Scruffy: Meow!!
Durkon: Where're ye goin'? Dinnae ye wanna use tha litter box?
Durkon: Where be tha halflin' on tha rare occasion when ye need 'im?
- Panel 5
Durkon sees Crystal's dagger and the wanted poster on the table and the mess in the room.
Durkon: ...
Durkon: Och, not AGAIN!
- Panel 6
Durkon: 'Scuse me, I was wonderin if'n ye knew—
Barkeeper: No, no, no! I'm not talking with you now!
Barkeeper: I can already barely afford the fine I got levied for lodging your friends.
- Panel 7
Durkon: But it be me friends tha I wanted ta ask ye aboot!
Barkeeper: Your friends got themselves arrested for not having entry papers, and if you know what's good for you, you'll make sure yours are in order before looking for them.
- Panel 8
Durkon: Wait 'ere. I gotto go back out o' tha city an' re-enter wit tha proper forms.
Durkon: Stone Shape.
Mr. Scruffy watches Durkon make a hole in the city wall with the spell.
- Panel 9
Durkon approaches a gate to Bleedingham.
Durkon: Hullo. This where I can get me papers ta enter?
Guard: Yup. Name?
Durkon: Durkon Thundershield.
Guard: Race?
Durkon: Dwarf.
Guard: Age?
Durkon: Fifty-five.
- Panel 10
Guard: Reason you're entering the city?
Durkon: Uh...well...
Durkon: Ultimately, I'm ere 'cause tha high priest o' Thor sent me onna mission ta learn aboot tha ways o' other races, 'specially humans.
Guard: I'll put down, "Religious pilgrim."
- Panel 11
Guard: How long do you think you'll be staying in the city?
Durkon: Och, geez... I dunno. I've got a lot o'things ta do already...
- Panel 12
Durkon: At least 'til tha end o' tha current plotline.
Guard: So, like, what? Twenty strips?
Durkon: Make it thirty. They always run long.
D&D Context
- Stone Shape is a 3rd level spell that lets the caster form an existing piece of stone into any shape that suits their purpose.
- Cantrips are 0th level spells cast by Arcane Spell Casters. This means that Durkon, as a Divine caster, doesn't actually cast cantrips—he casts orisons instead.
Trivia
- The Paper Chase is the name of a 1971 novel by John Jay Osborn, Jr., which inspired a 1973 film and a TV series of the same name. The phrase is also the title of at least two other novels, a memoir, a band, and numerous television episodes, so it is not an uncommon phrase.
- In panel 5, Durkon is annoyed the party has left him behind again, as they did in #72.
- In the same panel, Durkon finds Haley's bow and Crystal's knife which he gives to her off-panel when they reunite, as she has the Icy Burst bow again in #749, and produces the knife again in #853.
- Between this strip and #818, when the Order leaves Bleedingham, Durkon appears in exactly 20 strips, just as predicted by the guard in the final panel.
- This is the final appearance of the Brunchroom Barkeeper. He first appeared in #729.