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So? What did you think of this week?
Pretty cool?
Next week. More of the same.
Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!
Scott
So? What did you think of this week?
Pretty cool?
Next week. More of the same.
Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!
Scott
Ha! Can’t blind a dwarf once it knows the truth!
“Verry dangerous over short distances!”
You tell him!
Now, where is that black arrow, I knew I stored it somewhere here…
Spoken like a true liberal, Nicodemus!
I can see it now… One of the wraithes will say to old Nic, “We have a plan…” And there goes the neighborhood! Incidently, where are the Elves? Did I miss them in the dim and darkened crowd? What say do they have to these proceedings on a dark and dreary night? An ill wind blows, my friends… And ill wind blows…
I’ve absolutely loved this week! Thanks as always for such a great comic!
The lighting in those first two panels is exceptionally well done. I love how Nic seems to just lean out of the shadows.
Very good question. Just where are the elves… or the mer people, or the fairies, or the rock giants…
I get the feeling that Nick only gathered those he thought could help further his cause, and he just found out he was wrong about the dwarves… Tried some flattery, to keep them in, but it didn’t work… Looks like they weren’t in his back pocket after all… and that’s going to cost them a lot, for now, they know too much…
That’s actually a good question: where are the elves, or all the others (centaurs, merepeople…)?
This is interesting because Dwarves are apparently known to be fiercely faithful. So they are the last guys you would try to involve in treason – if you really plan treason, you would try to convince others and let the others discuss (seemingly not seriously) with the dwarves first.
The fact that this meeting is with the Dwarves shows that Nick is actually trying again to be fair – He really thinks something MUST be done to protect dreamland, and I guess many agrees he is right (and that Arthur actually DOES think more of Camelot than of Dreamland in this situation). Based on this, He invites the Nightmare people and the Dwarves (the most inflexible “Dreamland” people) to see what could be ironed out and get the opinions of the “extremes” – thinking that other people will follow suite if those two agrees.
The Dwarves over-react massively – being faithful is usually being a bit dumb as well, you need to switch out your brain to follow blindly somebody without allowing criticism*. And now Nick is in a tough corner, probably the Dwarves will inform the King…
My read of it is:
* Arthur is behaving NOT for the best interest of Dreamland
* Nick, perhaps not very smartly, tried to warn him and to explain
* Arthur still ignores
* Nick want to discuss with the parties to see what can be done
* Dwarves however don’t even want to discuss the issue
(guess for future)
* Nick risks being denounced by dwarves and/or Arthur tries to move forward briskly, because the attack in Camelot (thus proving again he thinks primarily of Camelot)
* Nick is forced into rush action for the good of dreamland.
* The rush action is for the good, but is actually of course “bad”, like killing somebody to protect another.
* Dreamland peoples are pissed off
* Nick takes drastic actions, incl. new deals with Nightmare for support, to “calm down”
* And there comes the Tyran…
— my 2c
*) At least they should pretend to be interested to gain the info about the treason and being able to help the King better if they think it’s treason. So leaving is anyway not the smartest option here, UNLESS you think it is actually NOT seriously planning treason and you think a statement like leaving the room will change the opinion of Nick…
Things are building up quite nicely. It seems we’ll soon find out how Nicodemus usurps the throne of Dreamland. Not to mention some idea of how both Daniel and Alexander fit into the picture. I have a feeling that they are descendants of King Arthur for one thing.
And needless to say… Wonderful story!
Just to precise my thoughts on faithful = dumb
If I do something wrong, I certainly hope that my friends will tell me that I am wrong, even if that pisses me off at first. And if I keep being wrong. I hope my true friends will turn their back at me and say “I won’t be part of this wrong thing. But my door is always open to you when you come back to your senses”.
Somebody that finally always follow me is NOT a true friend, even if it may be the guy that make you the least angry.
I do believe that Merlin was correct about Nicodemus: he’s willing to commit treason at the drop of a claw. His sympathies are with Nightmare which is why the dwarves turned on their heels and chose to have nothing to do with the direction things are going. Yes, it may be useful to stick around and hear Nicodemus out if only to warn Arthur but to stand around and hear someone out is tantamount to acknowleding that their idea may have merit–which the dwarves clearly do not believe. Ol’ Nic is hedging his bets: if Arthur can’t be persuaded, he’ll have to be dealt with even though, it’s worth remembering, Arhur has demonstrated absolutely NO ability to do anything close to following through with his goal beyond moving a piece of paper between Dreamland and the waking world. Paper isn’t people nor is it anything close to them; that Nic wants to use the movement of a document as an excuse for “protective” treason is more indicative of someone looking for an excuse than someone seeking an alternative to extreme measures.
hmmm… it’s been a while since I read the beginning of the comic, but I seem to remember that the dwarves were kind of antagonistic (or do I remember wrong?). wonder how that came, then…
Great week scott. Have a good and well rested weekend.
Dwarf: “…the dwarves of Hilmdel shall not participate in such talk of subterfuge and treachery.”
Nicodemus: “Then it is time to see the violence inherent in the system.”
Man! This has been a great week! 😀 I’ve read up to here in 4 day (3 if you count only continuously reading and waiting for this episode). I so wish that I could have a look at what happens next. I can’t wait to have a book in me hands! Keep up the good work. 😀
Nice little “Yes – But” speech from Nicodemus.
GREAT STUFF ….. KEEP IT COMING !!!!!
You asked yesterday if the Wraiths seemed familiar. Did you ever read CJ CherryH’s Channur series? They remind me of the Kiff.
YEAH DWARVES!!!
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sorry, that should have read:
YEAH DWARVES!!! (high fives computer monitor)
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(leaves to buy new computer montitor)
golly but i wish there were an edit comment function T_T
Agreed. If only that were so… Maybe also a delete button for the creators of the post, on the off chance that they do a double post? Any way, I have to agree with you on how awesome this week has been.
Thank you all!
Regarding the Dwarves…
They were asked along because they (like the others gathered this night) aren’t in favor of Humans in Dreamland.
This is also why Elves, Centaurs, Mer-People, Fairies, etc were NOT invited.
They weren’t sympathetic to Nicodemus’ views.
Unfortunately for Nick….the Dwarves’ loyalty to the throne supersedes their dislike for Humans in general.
oooOOOOOOOooo… NOW the Dwarves reactions to Alex earlier in the story make some bit of sense, including their decision to aid Alex and Staj in their escape… And old Nic making an error in judgement… Why… It makes him seem almost… human… Still and all, with only the wraithes to deal with, things get much more sinister…
Hmm, the dwarves are leaving, right?
Why does it look like the speaker and the blue-dressed dwarf at the rear have faces in the back of their heads…????? Bottom panel.
I respectfully disagree. Sycophant = dumb, but faithful does not necessarily equal sycophant.
I suspect that the dwarves would not hesitant a bit to tell Arthur they thought he was being an idiot – to his face. It’s all the plotting behind his back that they disapprove of.
😉
(P.S. Don’t forget to VOTE!)
Probably because their hair hanging down in back and their beards hanging down in front make very similar contours …
😉
Well said!
Yeah, that’s a defense strategy! You don’t know if they’re coming or going! LOL!
Good ole dwarves. But I am concerned that they now know too much. And they’re leaving kinda bunched together… I mean one good cone of fire… HURRY THROUGH THE DOOR, GUYS!!
But you’re forgetting that Nic’s already admitted he doesn’t want any more humans in Dreamland and he’s all but said he resents being ruled by one in the first place. I think he’s just using the treaty with the nightmare realm (and the good of Dreamland as a whole) as a cover for his own motives.
Yep, I’ve got to agree – I want an edit button. 😛
That kind of goes back to why humans are ruling here in the first place.
From the looks of it, they gain some pretty powerful physical and magical abilities when they’re there, especially as adults. It doesn’t seem like Nick resents that a human is in charge all that much, but he seems to be worried about bringing more powerful adult humans into the realm, especially when the impression he gets from Arthur is that they want to attack peaceful, utopian places (such as Camelot) for nothing more than the simple reason that they exist.
Arthur isn’t talking about bringing in a few of his trusted associates; he wants to bring those very aggressors into the realm. To let them know of Dreamland’s existence, and how to GET to it. His intentions are good, but extremely naïve.
I’m with TekServer on this one. A big part of loyalty is working for the interests of the one you ally to, here to the King. And working to preserve justice and a stable leadership. Nicodemus may have a point–a big point–but where he goes wrong is when he looks for underhanded and evil allies, and what he’s willing to do to “win” by stopping Arthur.
A comment regarding the fragility of leadership. Nic has been an advisor to the kings of Dreamland for centuries. He has explained that he has seen kings come and go. Some good/competent, some bad/incompetent. Humans may realize (understand), after a few years as advisors, the true power of their position, and end up taking advantage said power.
Nicodemus, after countless centuries of practice, has probably managed to maintain a level of influence and power over the kings of the past, but with headstrong Arthur, he now feels as if his influence and power wanes.
Know that in the history of the US, sometimes the power was not held in the hands of the “leaders” but their closest advisors (who would be pulling the strings), or even alternate individuals/organizations.
All conflicts are demonstrations of power, the shift (sometimes desired shift) of power, or the affirmation of power.
Wife says, “Get off your soapbox!!”
Exactlly. You make a good point Iacavin. But this is loyalty we are talking about, not blind faith. I’m sure that the dwarves, if they don’t get killed first, would probably go talk to Arthur to figure out just why he wants to bring humans to Dreamland. If they disagree, they would definately tell him off, I mean these are dwarves we’re talking about here. Stubborn, loyal, easily angered, battle rage, the least likely of all the Dreamland races to let some silly king bully them around. Until Arthur starts doing that and trying to hurt the Dreamlanders (or unwittingly doing so), I think it’s pretty safe to say that the dwarves are in the right.
yay again for dwarves ^^ and I’m surprised they confer with the Nightmare Realm creatures.
Actually, that would simply be a very politically savvy move…if he gets the dwarves on his side, Nic can then convince everyone else that he’s doing the right thing.
Dwarves are AWESOME.
Please, there are children reading this…