Jeftichew the Carniemancer would presumably be the Dog-Faced Man, and the pictures of him do indeed show him wearing a uniform like that, but he had hair all over his face (including on his nose and such), not just a beard.
Whoa - another new strip up and things in the Magic Kingdom are getting perilous.
So that probably is Jeftichew, which begs the question… is there another Side in action we’re not aware of? Bea asked that they not work for non-Royals, so he shouldn’t be working directly for Charlie… And seems unlikely it’s Transylvito or Faq or Jetstone. He’s got a scroll, which doesn’t seem like something a just-turfed to the Magic Kingdom would have. Yet he knew to be waiting for Parson, which implies Charlie’s involvement. Puzzling.
He’s also apparently willing to ignore the taboos against casters using portals militarily. Which goes against all the other casters we know of, and would seem to be especially alien to any royal-type traditionalist mindset
Could it be a move from the Great Minds?
Did the other caster come in on a portal, too? Or was he just standing in the MK, waiting by the portal for Parson to come through? If the latter, he may be trying to prevent the militarization.
I think the Great Minds were coming in force to prevent any Casters from interfering with Parson. This guy (Jeftichew) seems intent on some interference – I don’t think he’s running up on Parson to hand off that scroll; he’s probably going to cast it on Parson.
Poor Zhopa; Stanley almost got his name right, and now he’s hosed.
It is Jefftichew. And I have no idea what he wants. I’m thinking revenge, but why stop to talk?
I have great love for the phrase “I am not buying any candy to support your marching band.”
New text update.
Good update but damn, this comic is dragging. I’m not sure if we need any more plot turns at this point.
Yeah, nothing has happened since… sheesh, I dunno.
Something happen already!
As with some other webcomics (cf. Order of the Stick), Erfworld is paced with the trade paperback in mind. Therefore, the individual updates online seem maddeningly slow and switching back and forth to create faux cliffhangers.
The text updates make this even worse, since they’re no part of the trade storyline. Makes them seem like filler, and makes the pacing seem even more glacial.
I dunno, I thought this line was “something happening:”
Whoa. From a narrative point of view, the answer obviously has to be “no”, because if Parson leaves, then the story ends, and this would be a terrible place for it. But on the other hand, it’s hard to see an in-story justification for Parson to refuse, and narratively, if he does refuse now, this is probably the only chance he’s ever going to get.
I suppose this could all just be a bluff, and the spell that Jojo’s carrying isn’t what he claims. His patter could just be a ruse to get Parson to lower his guard. And Parson might realize that (whether it’s actually true or not), and refuse on that grounds. But that wouldn’t be very satisfying, either.
Alternately, I suppose Parson could just take the scroll (with Jojo willing or not, I’m not sure), to have one of his own casters use it at a more convenient time. I’m not sure how that would play out.
On the other hand, is Parson really that keen to “get back” to his crappy job and apartment? Life on Earth is infinitely duller than life of Erf, and Parson’s smart enough to realize that.
A bluff? But carnies are known for their trustworthiness…
Even if he doesn’t take the scroll he at least now has the knowledge that such a spell is possible (assuming Jojo isn’t lying) and could be recreated later.
We also get some info on his staff (unless we knew what it did already and I’ve forgotten).
I was trying to remember who Parson was talking about in the first panel. You know why I couldn’t remember who he spoke to “this morning”? Because “this morning” was last August.
This is turning out to be a very long day indeed.
Artemis vs. Sylvia.
Vs. Fate.