Book 2 – Page 61

[boegiboe]

I have no doubt in my mind that the George Harrison-looking dude is Jeftichew. With that name, he was going to be fairly hairy and have a carnival outfit of some kind, but he wasn't going to actually look like real-life Jeftichew.

So, he's trying to stop GK, and I like the suggestion that he's after Wanda specifically.

But, as I've said before, Sizemore is the one who's going to get it. Jeftichew's assassination attempt, directed at whomsoever it may be, will end up croaking Sizemore. And something will happen such that Wanda can't decrypt him.

[Muzzafar]

How much does Jeftichew (?) know, exactly?

Unaroyal casters were sent to the Magic Kingdom. We can suppose that before doing that Queen Bea shared with them at least some of the information that she learned from Princess Cruz and conveyed to Don King. Which probably includes Wanda, Arkenpliers, decrypted, etc. It is very unlikely that Bea knew anything about Parson. So Jeftichew would not know too - unless Charlie tipped him. (Charlie being one of the few persons in Erfworld not sided with GK and knowing about Parson.)

[Zeku]

Not much is happening again, so I have a question for you.

Did Parson make a childish mistake by majorly stirring up things at the MK, with no real benefit in mind?
Does he care that much about his new philosophy of endangering himself?
Does he secretly wish to shatter Erf, like the MTTA? Was this encoded in the spell that summoned him, which is why he was originally gluttonous? A ravenous consumer of pristine realities?
Does he want to make Erf more like the world he came from?
Does he want to put an end to war by breaking Erf?

[Smoker]

It might just be that Jeftichew was kicking around Portal Park when he happened to see Sizemore. Having an interest in Gobwin Knob, he lingered long enough to figure out that something was going to happen within the MK, and so took his position behind the Portal and waited.

Him being there doesn't require Charlie or the Great Minds to have fed him information.

The other thing is that scroll, which is not what it appears to be. Jeftichew is trying to catch up to Parson because what he is actually holding is his resume, and promises to a dead Queen be damned.

[Masennus]

Janis comes across as incredibly stupid to me in this update.

"We want to help you! It is ok for Parson to use the MK as his personal transit service. No big!"
"Holy anus monkeys batman! He can't take a CASTER! Eldritch abominations using the MK as a staging ground changes nothing. A caster is the end of the world!"

Really?

If it is only Parson it is ok?

But for some reason taking a caster along is the end of the world as we know it?

Herp to the Derp.

[mortissimus]

My first thought was 'What if that's Charlie?"

...but I don't really think it is at all, because why would Charlie risk himself ever?

Becaused he/she/it is bored.

Cue Charlie-speculations.

[Swodaems]

Janis' reaction makes me think that this is not the first time she has been faced with the decision of what to do when faced with someone ordering a caster into an enemy portal. I would not be at all surprised to find out that Janis earlier organized "Grassroot Campaigns"* among the florists with the precise goal of stopping any caster from doing what Parson is doing.

(For those of you who don't get the pun, I am suggesting that Janis used to gather up groups of florists and have them tie attacking casters to the ground with plantlife.)

[Dark Matter]

...his target is likely to be Wanda, not Stanley. And we know where Wanda is, right? That's right where Parson is heading to.

If his target were Wanda then there'd be no point in waiting by the GN gate and even less in using the tunnel. Wanda isn't in GN and never uses the gates any more, presumably that's well known. This is a caster, he could walk over to the Jetstone portal quite openly, him using the tunnel just makes him a target.

He was waiting for someone, that someone pretty much has to be Parson (Sizemore is already there, everyone else either doesn't or can't use the gates).
He looks pretty hostile, and the only hostile person who (presumably) knew Parson was coming was Charlie.

Considering he's not lugging around a massive Dish and isn't surrounded by dozens of bodyguards, it being Charlie is very unlikely. Similarly following Parson (a warlord) into a tunnel (which Sizemore is actively controlling) seems like a very high risk activity for Charlie to inflict on himself when he could just pay someone else to do so.

Edit: Oh, and the tunnel is probably a surprise and not part of any plan. Parson issued those orders in person.

[Masennus]

Janis' reaction makes me think that this is not the first time she has been faced with the decision of what to do when faced with someone ordering a caster into an enemy portal.

This just makes her blindness to Parson even worse. What in the Erf makes her miss the similarity with what Parson is doing?

[A Predictamancer]

Not much is happening again, so I have a question for you.

Did Parson make a childish mistake by majorly stirring up things at the MK, with no real benefit in mind?
Does he care that much about his new philosophy of endangering himself?
Does he secretly wish to shatter Erf, like the MTTA? Was this encoded in the spell that summoned him, which is why he was originally gluttonous? A ravenous consumer of pristine realities?
Does he want to make Erf more like the world he came from?
Does he want to put an end to war by breaking Erf?

Yes.

Jeftichew will certainly be someone's undoing. Even I know not who. But he's there for Wanda, not Parson. Charlie wants Parson alive.

[Zeku]

She's a hippiemancer, she's having a NIMBY attack, that's all. Peace on Erf is one thing, but war in her own glade is another. It adds to her character development, and makes the MTTA seem a little more sinister.

[Emmerson Grant]

I'm thinking Ol' George is there to capture Parson. Perhaps that's a Hold Parson scroll?

[Smoker]

I'm thinking Ol' George is there to capture Parson. Perhaps that's a Hold Parson scroll?

5 points

[Gathrun]

However George/Jeffichew knew enough to be near GK's portal, wouldn't it be likely he knew the ultimate destination of the Jetstone portal? Why would he have to follow him through the tunnel, unless it was to do something to Parson while out of sight? Capture? Enchant? Teleport?

[Phrozt]

Maggie didn't set Parson up... did she?

http://www.erfworld.com/2011/04/book-2- ... 3-page-58/

The last few panels imply that Parson knows that there's a mob there... but that's not necessarily the case if Maggie's trying to set him up... that could just be something the reader assumes.

[Jinren]

However George/Jeffichew knew enough to be near GK's portal, wouldn't it be likely he knew the ultimate destination of the Jetstone portal? Why would he have to follow him through the tunnel, unless it was to do something to Parson while out of sight? Capture? Enchant? Teleport?

It takes him straight to Wanda (since it's as good a chance as any other that she'll be waiting for Parson), guarantees he'll only be attacking through the portal after the MK's neutrality is broken (depending upon whether you interpret Parson's action by itself as doing that), and hides him just as well as Parson from anyone else who would get suspicious at seeing him move intently towards Jetstone.

[Urf]

Wanda as the target has legs and teeth. It's the weak spot where all of GK could crumble, and it brings Jillian back into the story.

[name lips]

Only the GMTTA knew for certain Parson was going to make a run through the Magic Kingdom.

But we have had plenty of HINTS that Charlie also knows something of Parson's plans. He warned Jillian that Parson had a way to win the fight in Spacerock, which means he must have been eavesdropping on Maggie's thinkagram.

But the notches in the g-string were subtle AND coded. Coded because Maggie knew Charlie might notice them. Only somebody who deliberately plucked her string would get the message, and only if that person knew the code could they decipher it. And remember that in-world, that message was sent maybe 10 minutes ago.

It's possible Charlie intercepted this message and decoded it and then sent a minion/ally to wait for Parson. I personally consider this a low possibility. After all, even the GMTTA barely got to the Park in time, and they decoded the message instantly. It seems unlikely to me that Charlie could have intercepted the message, decoded it, contacted his ally, and gotten him in place at the Park so quickly.

Which means to me that the GMTTA must be behind this mystery caster. Which means either he's there to help Parson... or else there's some sort of trickery or betrayal going on.

[MOD]

I'm wondering what spell is in the scroll. Perhaps it's a changeamancy or weirdomancy spell to remove Parson's special, whatever it may be. Thus keeping him trapped in the magic kingdom.

[Smoker]

However George/Jeffichew knew enough to be near GK's portal, wouldn't it be likely he knew the ultimate destination of the Jetstone portal? Why would he have to follow him through the tunnel, unless it was to do something to Parson while out of sight? Capture? Enchant? Teleport?

It takes him straight to Wanda (since it's as good a chance as any other that she'll be waiting for Parson), guarantees he'll only be attacking through the portal after the MK's neutrality is broken (depending upon whether you interpret Parson's action by itself as doing that), and hides him just as well as Parson from anyone else who would get suspicious at seeing him move intently towards Jetstone.

There's no real way to know that there is a tunnel, unless he figured it out by watching Sizemore. But remember not even Janis realised what was going on until the end, and she was literally standing on top of it.

Plus, if he did realise that Sizemore was making a tunnel to Spacerock, he didn't need to use it. One caster going to work for a side under seige is perfectly beleivable. If there was any concern about Jeftichew breaking the MK's neutrality by attacking Wanda, then all he has to do is contact Slately and offer to work for 1 Shmucker. (Really IMO Jetstone should be razing every city they have and hiring as many Casters as possible.)

Now if Jeftichew didn't know that Wanda was at Spacerock, and that was indeed who he was after, then he might decide to follow whoever came out the Portal, but really he cant be certain that that's where Parson is going now. For all he knows, Parson is heading down a tunnel to take him directly to the Glade of the Hippymancers or something.

So I dont really see any motivation for chasing Parson other than catching Parson.

Although depending on who he actually is, his intentions could be anything from bodyguard to assassin.