Anybody else get a instant flash of the video from this thread ? 
You see that look in his eye and the malevolent steam coming off his hands? He’s got some zappy payback in mind for our heroes.
I think it’s time for CitD to make his move.
Hmmmm . . .
Here’s a scenario : Xykon flies back to fry O-Chul and V - and they’re GONE; the CitD carried them off somewhere. Or is just hiding them in the Darkness. Xykon vows later vengeance and flies back to get the phylactory - which has already gone down one of the three tunnels, and he can’t tell which. “If I still had hair, I’d be tearing it out about now.”
Oh, that’s right, they’re paralyzed (or, at least O-Chul is). Hmmm…good plotting, Der Trihs– I like it. And we know for sure that CitD has lots of experience with moving around paralyzed characters.
By the way, I was doing some rereading the morning, and noticed something I must’ve skimmed past the first time. I wonder when this evil chalice will come into play?
I missed that myself.
Hrm. Although I thought it unlikely that Xykon would be taken out by the amulet falling into the rift, this resolution leaves me… vaguely dissatisfied.
Looks like they both are…if V hadn’t been affected, Xykon would have whacked him/her rather than just giving some villain monologue. 
However, hold person, unlike a lich’s paralyzing touch, allows the victim to attempt a new saving throw every round. And, as it’s a Will save, it’s probably a feasible save for both V and O-Chul to make, sooner or later.
But, I think it’d be funnier if CitD is dragging Mr. Stiffly and Ms. Stiffly out of harm’s way.
Hey, we know that Lich has a paralyzing touch. Why wasn’t V affected when Xykon was strangling him/her?
It’s a voluntary ability and Xykon hadn’t activated it.
Oh crap. V and O-Chul are so screwed if they are still standing there…
He wouldn’t be. He’d just suddenly lose his lifeline. As long as the phylactery exists, Xykon can just keep coming back no matter how many times he’s destroyed. Once it’s gone, the next time he’s destroyed, he’s gone for good. In video game terms, he’d lose his extra lives.
For that reason, destroying the phylactery is as important as destroying the lich, especially since he can’t make a new one. If V and O-Chul succeeded in destroying the phylactery, they could die satisfied knowing they’d make it easier for the Order to eventually win against Xykon.
Which, further, is why this turn of events is not a bad one for Xykon. Sure, he no longer has his security blanket close by, but even if the phylactery is in the depths of the ocean, Xykon can still resurrect from it. This is little more than an inconvenience for him right now.
Note where the phylactery bounced off of Redcloak’s statue.
The real kicker here is that third archway, the sewer-themed labyrinth. Remember, there’s a whole organized Resistance in the tunnels under the city, and they’ve surely incorporated the sewers into their tunnel network. Even without knowing that the amulet is Xykon’s phylactery, they’d probably want to destroy it just because it’s a holy symbol of the Dark One, and with enough persistence, they’re bound to figure out a way to do it eventually.
I still get goosebumps everytime i see that comic and the next few.
And the Anachronistic Sewage Plant could be full of all sorts of grindy machinery.
Another scenario; Xykon shows up for V and O-Chul, who are hidden/escaped. He searches for them, making one of his patented Evil Overlord speeches, stressing how they’ve accomplished nothing and he’ll go get the phylactery after ripping them to tiny bits. And intercut, panels where the phylactery drifts towards some big grinding thing. Then, CRUNCH and Xykon stops mid sentence with a “OH, DAMN” look.
Oh, I KNOW! While I was looking for that particular strip, I ended up re-reading the Battle for Azure City (mostly backwards, since the clues as to where the “Paralyzing Touch” strip were pointed to earlier than I started out) and I was reminded just how EPIC that particular set of strips was.
Well, I was searching my brain for another example to go with TPB; long story short plot almost always comes in a distant second to yuks in a Mel Brooks movie-but YF is the exception which proves the point I was trying to make.
Plus it was late at night, ok? :o
Lord of the Rings spoof coming up (err, “Lord of the Amulet”)…? Question is-who is the most unlikely person imaginable to end up finding it?
Thog.