Roy seeks an audience with Lord Shojo.
Cast[]
- Roy Greenhilt ◀ ▶
- Belkar Bitterleaf ◀ ▶
- Haley Starshine ◀ ▶
- Elan ◀ ▶
- Mr. Scruffy ◀ ▶
- Hinjo ◀ ▶
- O-Chul ▶
- Lord Shojo ◀ ▶
- A Couple of Azure City Soldiers
Transcript[]
- Panel 1
Roy, Belkar, Haley and Elan arrive at the castle. Belkar is disguised as a paladin.
Hinjo: Morning!
Roy: Hey, Hinjo.
Hinjo: What brings you to the castle today? I didn't even know you were still in town.
Roy: Here to see your uncle.
- Panel 2
Hinjo: Ah, of course. This would be about what's been going on with your imprisoned friend, Belkar, right?
Roy: Uh...maybe. Why, what's going on with him?
- Panel 3
Hinjo: The guards tell me he's been on a hunger strike.
Hinjo: He hasn't eaten one bite since we locked him up three weeks ago.
- Panel 4
Prison guard: Please, just eat something.
Illusory Belkar: Forceful assertion of open resentment towards authority.
Prison guard: Help me help you!
Illusory Belkar: Please view accompanying hand gesture.
- Panel 5
Belkar: That Belkar. As stubborn as he is stone cold sexy.
Roy glares at Belkar.
Hinjo: Uh, right. Anyway, if you could find time to talk to him, that would be great. He may be a prisoner, but we don't want him to starve.
- Panel 6
Hinjo: Anyway, have fun, I'm needed out by the front gate to the city. Some jackass pirate buzzed the walls and took out three catapults last night.
Elan: I'm sure whoever it was had a really good reason and is really, really sorry.
- Panel 7
Roy approaches the entrance to the throne room where O-Chul and a guard stand.
Roy: Hey, we're here to see Lord Shojo. We're his 10 o'clock.
O-Chul: I'm sorry, Lord Shojo is not to be disturbed right now.
- Panel 8
Roy: But we have an appointment! Check the list.
Belkar: Look under "Order of the Stick and mysterious cloaked stranger who is totally NOT a halfling on stilts."
- Panel 9
O-Chul: Be that as it may, Lord Shojo is unavailable.
O-Chul: There is an unexpected situation that requires his immediate attention, and a difficult decision that needs to be made.
O-Chul: He requested that all visitors be turned away until the current emergency has been resolved.
- Panel 10
Roy: What sort of emergency? Could we help?
O-Chul: I assume whatever it is to be of critical importance and dire urgency if he is—
- Panel 11
From the next room
Lord Shojo (off-panel): Now come on, Mr. Scruffy, you need to choose. Do you want yummy chicken liver, or a scrumptious tuna feast?
Mr. Scruffy (off-panel): Meow.
Lord Shojo (off-panel): Tuna, it is.
O-Chul: *sigh*
- Panel 12
O-Chul: Crisis averted.
O-Chul: You may enter.
Roy: We've never met before, and yet I feel an odd spiritual kinship...
Trivia[]
- The permanent illusion of Belkar created by Eugene Greenhilt has been lingering in the Azure City prison since #295.
- In Panel 6, Hino references when the Mechane bombed the walls in "Death From Above" while bringing Elan and Thog to Azure City.
- This is the first appearance of O-Chul, the stalwart paladin. Wrecan decreed that he is NOT "Fellow Medium-Sized Paladin" (from #290, #298, and #303) in this forum post.