I have one word for you:
FLAN
And * that* is why I’m always oh-so-very careful not to scroll further down the page until I have to. Glancing at those last panels early would have weakened the punchline – but being able to snicker at what I knew was coming once I read the words “Ring of True Seeing”? Awesome.
Tarquin also provides an interesting contrast with Xykon. Both are clearly intelligent but Tarquin uses wisdom to achieve his goals. Xykon, on the other hand, is NOT truly wise and covers that with raw power.
I think the interesting comparison is Tarquin and Shojo. One’s good and one’s evil. But because they use similar means to achieve their opposing ends, they end up acting the same.
So, why would Tarquin [del]lie[/del] mislead them?
Or did he not know Nale was there until he walked into the room?
Tarquin probably wants to kill Nale himself. Having Elan do it would be OK, but not anyone else in the group.
Not necessarily. He knows they’re on a quest to save the world, but he doesn’t necessarily know any details of how they’re going to do that, or what threat they’re saving it from. He might know, of course: He knows an awful lot, after all. But he doesn’t need to know.
I do wonder, though, why he didn’t grab ahold of Nale before he tipped his hand (or rather, finger).
[QUOTE=Chronos;14548830
I do wonder, though, why he didn’t grab ahold of Nale before he tipped his hand (or rather, finger).[/QUOTE]
He probably wanted to see that expression on Nale’s face.
Nale doesn’t look like he’s in any better shape than when we last saw him. Given that he was on the wrong end of a Harm spell last time does that mean he still only has 1HP?
Presumably so. Which means that it should be really, really easy for Malack and Tarquin to incapacitate him right now. Or kill him, of course, though I doubt Malack will want it to be that quick. I expect that Malack has a couple dozen slow, painful deaths planned for Nale (raising him after each one, until he reaches the point where raising is impossible).
Which does lead one to wonder, how is Nale going to get out of this one? It would go against all dramatic rules for him to die irrevokably this far before the climax of the story, and without any of the protagonists even present.
Do you mean the climax of the overall story? Cause it’s definitely looking like this book is going to feature the resolution of the subplot with the Linear Guild.
Speculating here, but I assume Tarquin planned ahead and has a squad of guards surrounding the area. Because from what we’ve seen, Tarquin always plans ahead.
Is Shojo good? Heck, as far as I remember, the only information that we have is that he’s not Lawful. Which is a contrast to Tarquin in itself, actually.
Because it was more dramatic this way, and while Tarquin can be pragmatic, he’s willing to put a good scene ahead of a good plan.
I think the comparison between Tarquin and Shojo is pretty interesting. Both pretend to be more oblivious than they really are, for one thing. And Shojo (who I seem to recall was confirmed as Chaotic Good, but I could be wrong) impeded the Order’s quest for the greater good, while Tarquin (who is Lawful Evil) aided the Order’s quest for his own personal gain.
Disagree – some version of the LG should probably last until (near) the end of the main story. Which may mean that Nale is ground into sheep dip with mustard sauce very soon, but then much later Sabine (maybe in exchange for favors to the Three Fiends) resurrects him 200 strips or so from now.
Shojo’s alignment was mentioned in 410.
No, it ends now. This is the Order’s third encounter with the LG. The rules of drama require that it be the last; otherwise, it’ll just get repetitious.
UNLESS they come back unexpectedly 10-100x stronger! By surprise! Threatening the Tarquin! The Snarl! and Even Time Itself! Bwahahahaha! Seriously, of course the LG can come back, or at least Nale and Sabine can. As long as it’s Unexpected! And Epic! Ha! This totally fits the ROD. Because I said so. 
Even more seriously, I’ll bet you US $1 that it doesn’t end now.
Perhaps Tarquin will “have a use” for Nale - something that’ll keep him around (alive or undead) for later, but be unpleasant enough that even Malack will go along with it.
He’s slightly less beat-up. So maybe he had a small healing potion or two on hand.
Not that an extra five or ten hp is going to do him all that great, given the mess he’s in.