Book 2 – Page 45

[nerf-dweller]

What I don't get is why he's swearing at the cape or whatever in the panel before last- what's going on there?

Because he's leaning on the cape against the table. The cap is trapped between Parson and the table. It can't move. So when he tried to boost himself up to the table in the next to last panel, he slid up the cape, in essence pulling it down and jerking his upper torso backwards. And probably sliding right back to the ground.

[the_tick_rules]

Yeah sitting on capes, or say really long cosplay wig hair, can be a problem when you try to move around.

[Surtt]

It seems to me Parson and Tramennis will take a natural liking to each other,
then form an alliance against Charly.

[Carne]

What's the deal with Sizemore's Nehru jacket? The only things that come to mind pop-culture-wise are Dr. No and Dr. Evil (especially with the way he arches his brow in panel 9), but neither seems like a good fit.

Jacket be damned, I'm just glad they found the man some decent pants at last.

[Xenon]

he will be in their base, killin their dudes. any week now >.>

[Kizmet]

Who is Parson about to eye book in the last image? Maybe he is just preparing for the parley? Mess with Charlie? Where are the Archons to support the assault through the portal?

Also... you know the portal is a weak point for every Kingdom. However, you have not created additional defenses, posted extra guards, traps, etc to protect your own portal. Warfare is about what you can do to your enemy, and what you can stop your enemy from doing to you (loosely paraphrasing from Ender's Game). Seems odd to leave your back door vulnerable to counter attack.

The real question is... who will die first: Stanley or Slately. With Parson out of GK soon, I am cheering for Stanley.

Philosoraptor for FAQ heir~!

[danhaas]

I was expecting a more subtle way to cross the distance between the portals, like a disguise or foolamancy. IIRC, the tunnel idea was considered and not taken very seriously at the forum, but hey we are not writing the story.

Maybe the MK casters will just be puzzled when Sizemore starts excavating the ground in front of GK portal, but when they see the tunnel coming out in front of SR portal, they shouldn't take long to understand what's happening.
Unless the casters there don't care much about ongoing battles and don't know that GK is fighting SR specifically. Or, more likely, they won't believe such a sneak attack is sane until they see an armored heavy warlord actually doing it.

I wouldn't be surprised if neutral casters followed Parson through the gate to stop him, unless sizemore shuts it or the portal has an Off switch on SR side.

[luxgladius]

Argh, this seems to be going on a lot of unproven assumptions. He's assuming that he can use another side's portal, most notably. That's not proven, is it? Given how unguarded the portals we've seen so far seem to be, that doesn't seem likely as a normally available opportunity to the unit of an enemy side. Also, as I've stated before, this seems like a short-sighted move with regard to relations with the Magic Kingdom. I hope I end up dazzled with his brilliance, but right now I'm just baffled.

[teratorn]

Sizemore using pants?

[danhaas]

If sizemore or maggie knew that he might not be able to go through, they would warn him. As seasoned master level casters, they should have an idea.
edit 1:

Actually, we know from canon that Maggie is not master-class, and pretty sure we either know from canon or it is extremely heavily implied that Sizemore is not master-class, either.

True, my bad.

Parson doesn't care much about MK, since GK can not buy scrolls or hire new casters already and an all out war is unlikely. Such a war is unlikely because we haven't yet seen any formal hierarchy in MK besides Janis. Sizemore, though, does care about his friends on MK and will have to be ordered to go along with such a plan.

[Ansan Gotti]

Also, as I've stated before, this seems like a short-sighted move with regard to relations with the Magic Kingdom. I hope I end up dazzled with his brilliance, but right now I'm just baffled.

Sometimes crisis management dictates that the short-sighted strategic move may be the only available tactical move. Not clear that's the case here, however.

If sizemore or maggie knew that he might not be able to go through, they would warn him. As seasoned master level casters, they should have an idea.

Actually, we know from canon that Maggie is not master-class, and pretty sure we either know from canon or it is extremely heavily implied that Sizemore is not master-class, either.

[danhaas]

And again Xin did a very nice work. Check the green portal glow reflecting on Parsons cape and armor. On panel 7, you can see the reflections of the portal and the lamp above it.

[joosy]

An update on a Monday? No, I couldn't be so lucky!!

Jetstone is following what they consider a very careful plan of action to minimize any potential losses. One of their caveats is that the GK forces maintain position over the garrison in range of the archers and the casters. Yes, the casters. I believe that means the Jetstone casters and most of the archers are now in the garrison as opposed to being over the city, the walls, and the tower. One of the issues Jetstone would have had: constantly redeploying their archers to where ever the enemy was or they thought they were hiding under foolamancy. They could potentially miss a well hidden Jack and company if they ran out of juice and arrows. Now they can remove foolamancy (initially) from the table, and line up their shots. Unfortunately that apparently falls (no pun intended) right into Parson's plan. It may also remove the casters from the towers (thus losing their bonus) but Jetstone apparently considers that an acceptable condition in order to 'guarantee' their success.

Reminds me of Die Hard (the original) where (spoiler alert!) the 'terrorists' deliberately use law enforcement's policies for dealing with such situations against them.. and they would have succeeded too if it weren't for that meddling John McClain. (end spoiler alert)

I am curious about the Eyebook. Could Parson be about to do a little misinformation to Charlie? Or is he just checking his 'rulebook' on Combat in the Magic Kingdom? Hopefully we will find out soon.

Cue several pages of bizarre speculation about what "erf.. crap, cape" means besides the obvious. Look for page long expositions on the subject written by folks who should be spending that energy on their real life English class assignments or remembering to take their meds.

[DevilDan]

The operative phrase is: "Boop is about to go down."

[gameboy1234]

Yes it is. The operative word however is "about." I predict at least 3-5 more pages before combat even starts.

[shneekeythelost]

It seems to me Parson and Tramennis will take a natural liking to each other,
then form an alliance against Charly.

Close...

Parson and Tramennis will take a natural liking for each other... just before Parson obliterates Jetstone... probably by assassinating the King, since Tramennis isn't officially the 'heir' just yet and thus the side doesn't have an Heir, then possibly recruiting Tramennis to work for him.

For some tin-foil speculation... Wanda ends up turning her coat over to FAQ after the destruction of Jetstone, and becomes the Borg Queen that everyone must stop. That's why Parson picks up Tramennis, who is a Barbarian at this point, because he's the only person with a decent Warlord Bonus who is available to work for Parson.

[BLANDCorporatio]

Cue several pages of bizarre speculation about what "erf.. crap, cape" means besides the obvious. Look for page long expositions on the subject written by folks who should be spending that energy on their real life English class assignments or remembering to take their meds.

Ah, the meds. I knew I forgot something today.

So anyways, it seems many people assume Trem and Parson will join forces and soon. Trem certainly seems eager to talk to the Hamsterlord, this might count as foreshadowing for an alliance. And yet, while Jetstone's royalty is going up to the tower, Parson is preparing to storm the portal room instead. Somehow I think Trem will not get a chance for a tete-a-tete with Parson just yet.

And I still think that of all Erfworlders seen thus far, Trem is the best, the only, good foil Parson has. It seems more fun to keep them on opposing sides. The questions then are what is Parson's plan, and how will Jetstone survive it.

Speculations on the plan- it seems to involve dropping stuff on the archers and casters, that much we knew. "Raining troops" in the courtyard perhaps, as others have suggested? There must be more to it than that, it seems a bit unwise to send troops at 1/3 chance of fall-survival straight into a place where the enemy has a strong presence already.

Speculations on survival- if all else fails, how far can some unit of Jetstone's run away?

[Dr Pepper]

Well looks as if i was weong. I really think that crossing the MK is too risky. And, like some others i also worry about the consequences of violating their neutrality. I really thought that Parson was looking for a way to go between portals directly to Jetstone. Adter all, they use Star Trek style teleportation, would should mean you can make it do anyting you want as long as you reconfigure, remodulate, rotate, or reverse the frequencies.

Otoh, the use of a tummel, beside keeping Jeannie, Spock, and Sagan from zapping Parson, also offers a small chance of deniability.

But otth (on the third hand), it also challenges Janis's commitment to her cause. I can just see her, sitting with her colleagues Jerry and Cass, getting the news. "Wait, when i said Erfworld needs to be broken, i didn't mean us as well!"

otfh i have faith in Rob that he will make it work.

[Dr Pepper]

I did. I was right.

I assumed they'd use Sizemore to move the Portal's anchored position, but a tunnel works.

And the close proximity of the flyers to the archers and casters at the garrison makes the "fall" slightly less of a risk, and better units to crush, croak and decrypt. Lucky indeed. Screening waves allows Wanda to be the last to fall.

I WAS RIGHT.

You were right. You win a copy of Erf: The Home Game.

[Welf von Ehrwald]

I'm getting a bad feeling for Parson. When he took over as CW, it looked like an easy battle: impossible odds in an unwinnable scenario. But the enemy acting according to Parson's plan? Parson even stating "we couldn't be that lucky"? Crap is about to hit the fan, and GK is screwed. Of course Jetstone is also screwed since Trem said "What's the worst that can happen". I get the feeling this will turn into a lose-lose scenario with both sides being defeated.