Book 2 – Page 23

[Neko]

...she won't be doing the dirty work for anyone else anymore.

Maybe that's the insight she had - she's not a mercenary anymore, so she doesn't have to take anyone else's orders of when to fight and who to fight, she picks her own battles.

Brilliant!

[Dr Pepper]

/set metaphor_mix = guava_jelly

Impressive, let me just whip up a batch of cornbread.

I've asserted for awhile now my suspicions about the nature of these 2 answers and it would be foolish to change horses in midstream....
minus all the the potential turnees already stricken - poor dear Wanda.... didn't swing at the third strike because she thought it was the second, but there are no more second chances now..... my smuckers are still on the same number until the ball stops rolling and BINGO! 4 aces!
Ansom is the easy answer, IMHO too easy. Tramennis? or Haggar? IMHO not relevant enough yet.... It would have to be a very clever plan.. one of Charlie's plans.... it would have to bring the story around into itself, like a comet coming back in for a close approach to the sun.

Missed one. That should have been "like a comet returning to the scene of the crime".

Using some sort of fancy dancy teleport, Charlie the wizard brings that max stack of superheavies Jillian just put together - backed by a goodly supply of archons - in a massive push against the one could safely assume lightly defended and unprepared Gobwin Knob. That fills the bill with both feet. How many of GK's archons are out scouting mountain hexes? How many dragons are posted on the fast travel system connecting the front? What's really left defending GK itself, right now, this turn? The second question you might wonder? Well, Charlie does have a real affection for Parson's watch....

Somehow, i don't believe you can restore a unit's move once it's been zeroed for that sequence of turns. So that plan would not work with Ansom or Ossomer. And even if turning Trem would also turn his army, it doesn't have any fliers so it couldn't reach GK in one turn.

But thatnks for the jam, *slurp*.

[arborman]

How far, exactly, is she planning on turning a unit?

And, crazy question, can Parson be turned?

[Danetrix]

Still waiting for Parson to try to cut a deal with Haggar's crew.

And this turning of Ansom might not give his current philosophy a "reset". Even turned, he was still "popped again"
Even if it did get a reset, he would be so disgusted with what he was now, he'd probably croak himelf, provided he even kept existing after the turn.

[Ninjaguineapig]

Duncan is awesome. That expression he has: Priceless. I think he's Erfworld's Mace Windu.

[Flyer]

Missed one. That should have been "like a comet returning to the scene of the crime".

nice - i'll have to turn up the speed on the mixmaster next time...

Using some sort of fancy dancy teleport, Charlie the wizard brings that max stack of superheavies Jillian just put together - backed by a goodly supply of archons - in a massive push against the one could safely assume lightly defended and unprepared Gobwin Knob. That fills the bill with both feet. How many of GK's archons are out scouting mountain hexes? How many dragons are posted on the fast travel system connecting the front? What's really left defending GK itself, right now, this turn? The second question you might wonder? Well, Charlie does have a real affection for Parson's watch....

Somehow, i don't believe you can restore a unit's move once it's been zeroed for that sequence of turns. So that plan would not work with Ansom or Ossomer. And even if turning Trem would also turn his army, it doesn't have any fliers so it couldn't reach GK in one turn.

But thatnks for the jam, *slurp*.[/quote]

slight misread - I was talking about my suspicisioness that the Faq staq, after leaving Spacerock is going after Gobwin Knob as the next stage of Charlie's plan and speculating that GK doesn't have much defense up at the moment to defend itself - but glad you liked! (next time try the english muffin, slightly toasted)


/edit fixed formatting

[Evil Jedi]

Like why would Jack turn later, as opposed to now.

He's been given two very good opportunities. And each time he's pretty much burnt the bridge with a refusal (Jillian didn't hear that ask-again-later thing, no-one but Jack and us did). What's he waiting for? You get the feeling that if he wanted to turn he would have already.

Speculation:
Maybe Jack knows he is second choice in this affair and he is waiting for the moment Jillian will only ask him (instead of first Wanda, then him and after that, possibly Ansom). Maybe.

It's really hard to figure out why Jack has such loyalty to Gobwin Knob. I can't imagine he likes Stanley very much, and he must prefer Jillian over Wanda (looking at that memory of Jack's). Personally I think it could have something to do with Parson. Parson was the first person to call Jack by his name after the link was broken, and I think Jack recognizes Parson as an important person in Erfworld. They both see the world in a unique way, and they must appreciate each other for that. Jack is definitely impressed with Parson's talent for leading a battle.

Or maybe Lawd is right, and Jack doesn't want to go back to Jillian unless she can feel something more for him.

[Nargrakhan]

Jack is definitely impressed with Parson's talent for leading a battle.

EVERYONE who is in the know on Erfworld, is either impressed or fearful (sometimes both) of Parson's talent for war... except the Tool...

[Joe Falco]

I've thought that one possible reason Jack stays with Gobwin Knob is that he too had a meeting with old FAQ's predictamancer and received a prophesy as Wanda did. There's nothing to suggest this is the case, but as long as we're all grabbing straws here, one or two more crazy guesses couldn't hurt.

[Flyer]

How far, exactly, is she planning on turning a unit?

And, crazy question, can Parson be turned?

One way or the other I think we're about to find out - then again, he might have turned a long time ago if Charlie had made him a better offer......

[Gathrun]

I think Jack's decision to stay has to at least be rooted in some sort of pragmatism.

To leave, he'd have to fly past both Wanda and Ossimer. I don't think you just let a masterclass foolimancer walk away to join the other side. Jillian doesn't really want to attack Wanda right now either. She's got other plans.

Jack might just be thinking that he'd not make it that far.

[Ninjaguineapig]

Jack's kinda friendly with Parson, and maybe he sees something in the Tool we don't? Also, Foolamancy may not be aligned to Fate, but what if Jack knows his Fate is tied to GK?

[Ehbobo]

Just throwing it out there, Stanley seems friendlier with Jack than anybody else on his side except Book 1 Wanda.

[HandofShadows]

EVERYONE who is in the know on Erfworld, is either impressed or fearful (sometimes both) of Parson's talent for war... except the Tool...

No. Stanley is quite aware of Parson's abilities. It's why he removed Parosn from Chief Warlord and keeps him close in GK. Stanley is scared of Parson.

[ftl]

Just throwing it out there, Stanley seems friendlier with Jack than anybody else on his side except Book 1 Wanda.

Jack did save his life at the pass. Stanley was grateful for that, but he hadn't been excessively friendly with Jack before then. So that doesn't explain the loyalty, I think - Jack was already strangely loyal when that happened.

[Lawd]

Just something out of context of the ongoing discussion at this moment, but still something I had noticed (didn't really knew where to post it):

In Macbeth (like, the Scottish play), after Macbeth kills (Spoiler alert! ) king Duncan, he goes to Scone to be crowned. Scone castle is the place where Scottish kings are crowned (perhaps with a laurel created by three witches, or as some would say, a tri-link ), so at one time Duncan was at Scone.
Coincidence or just one more of Erfworld's many references wrapped up in an allusion insinuated by some connected source?

[Menas]

EVERYONE who is in the know on Erfworld, is either impressed or fearful (sometimes both) of Parson's talent for war... except the Tool...

No. Stanley is quite aware of Parson's abilities. It's why he removed Parosn from Chief Warlord and keeps him close in GK. Stanley is scared of Parson.

This statement appears to be based completely on supposition. Stanley has never admitted anything indicating that he is aware of or respects any of Parson's abilities. On the contrary, most of Parson's suggestions are met with disdain from Stanley.

Not only does Stanley not appreciate Parson's advice himself, he doesn't appear to understand why anyone else on his side would want Parson's advice either, other than perhaps because Parson happens to be the de facto Chief Warlord for the time being. A case in point being when Wanda kept asking Parson for advice, after which Stanley asked Parson why Wanda was asking him for advice anyway. Along with that time when Stanley told Parson not to try to take credit for the battle that was going on, because Ansom was the one calling the shots (these events were pretty closely linked, chronologically, iirc).

The only time I can think of when Stanley took Parson's advice and seemed to be happy about receiving it was when Parson suggested a way to get 2-3 dwagons tamed every turn, when Stanley was uneasy because Wanda was getting units faster than he was. But this was completely in-line with what Stanley wanted to do to begin with, Parson was just giving him a good way to do it. Stanley doesn't appear to be a big fan of unsolicited advice, which would indicate that he would resent Parson a lot, and is unlikely to respect any of his abilities whether it makes sense or not. Then again, Stanley doesn't appear to be a big fan of reason either.

[Ansan Gotti]

This statement appears to be based completely on supposition. Stanley has never admitted anything indicating that he is aware of or respects any of Parson's abilities. On the contrary, most of Parson's suggestions are met with disdain from Stanley.

Based on the first few summer updates, the implication seemed quite clear to me that the Tool was EXTREMELY wary of Parson, and knows he is "special." So although it might not be canon or explicitly stated, I think it's a stretch for you to say the previous poster's comment is "based completely on supposition."

[build6]

Based on the first few summer updates, the implication seemed quite clear to me that the Tool was EXTREMELY wary of Parson, and knows he is "special."

there was that bit about how Stanley was mystified why Parson didn't do something AND didn't automatically disband, right?

anyways - I'm actually thinking this incident re: Wanda is good for her. She's now discovered that even she, even now, can be "surprised". Previously it'd just been one inexorable march towards inevitable victory, no? I mean, yes, they had to pay attention to the odds for particular matchups, etc., but, short of putting insufficient resources into any particular task, there'd be nothing for her to watch out for and nothing for her to expect except ... boredom.

[Konaa]

If Jillian is attempting to turn Ansom, which I think there is a 95% chance of her attempting to do, then it would appear that no matter the circumstances, Parson and Ansom are destined (or rather, Fated) to be enemies. Parson isn't just an enemy to Ansom, remember- he's a nemesis, someone who represents everything he despises, even with his now anti-Royal views. Those two seem to have a Fate of opposition to each other, which is good- they make excellent rivals, each being a clear opposite to the other.

As for my opinion that Jillian is going for the A-man- look, she's in love with him, he's nearby but still "at a range", he's high level, which fits with what she said, and she's headed back his way. She doesn't even know Tramennis that well, I doubt she'd want to take him when she could just as easily try to take his brother. I really don't see any other possibility.

And for people who think she wants to turn Parson- does she even know he exists? Does anyone outside of GK and Charlscomm know he exists? I don't just mean knowing his name- does anyone outside of GK and Charlscomm know EXACTLY who he is?

Further than that, what can a Warlord with almost no combat ability a million miles away, right next to GK's RULER (who's packing that VERY threatening hammer) do?