Why would Girard be hanging around his Gate?

[Larkspur]

Roy's big plan is to forewarn the guardian of the Girard's Gate about Xykon, because the party is too weak to beat Xykon themselves.

Well and good, except... Girard is an illusionist. So the Gate is probably guarded on site by illusions. Not a specific guardian being like Celia; illusions Girard cast a while ago and then left there to guard the Gate. Non-sentient illusions that cannot be warned about horrifically evil liches.

This, it seems to me, would make the guardian of Girard's Gate Girard. So why on Earth are they looking for the Gate rather than Girard??? Are they expecting Girard to be sitting around in the desert watching his illusions? This strikes me as extremely unlikely.

If you're protecting something by hiding it, the last thing you want to do is attract attention to it by hovering over it. Girard is probably long gone. What use is it for them to unmask the Gate? I doubt it's got his business card taped to the arch...

[BRC]

Roy's big plan is to forewarn the guardian of the Girard's Gate about Xykon, because the party is too weak to beat Xykon themselves.

Well and good, except... Girard is an illusionist. So the Gate is probably guarded on site by illusions. Not a specific guardian being like Celia; illusions Girard cast a while ago and then left there to guard the Gate. Non-sentient illusions that cannot be warned about horrifically evil liches.

This, it seems to me, would make the guardian of Girard's Gate Girard. So why on Earth are they looking for the Gate rather than Girard??? Are they expecting Girard to be sitting around in the desert watching his illusions? This strikes me as extremely unlikely.

If you're protecting something by hiding it, the last thing you want to do is attract attention to it by hovering over it. Girard is probably long gone. What use is it for them to unmask the Gate? I doubt it's got his business card taped to the arch...

I think the assumption is that Girard is still hanging around protecting his gate personally the same way Soon, Dorukan and Lireal were.

[Berserk Monk]

It's the Gate that Roy was gonna head to next so Nale probably knows the most about it. Not to mention Nale kinda hate the Order so he'll also probably be heading their to kill them all. Also, the final Gate (Kraagor's) is gonna be the climax of the series so it'll probably be a showdown between the Order and Team Evil.

[Green Bean]

Even if he isn't personally there, he'd certainly have alarms set up to let him know if someone's near the gates. Especially after the fates of three of the others.

[theinsulabot]

so far that the oots know about, we are 2 for 2 for the guardian's still being around the gate, and even if they dont find him, if they get a chance to scout the dungeon, its possible they could catch xykon and RC in an epic level trap, at which point taking down xykon may become possible for the order without girard's help

[Gamerlord]

Lets say you are holding a Macguffin and charged with protecting it, wouldn't you protect it?

[SaintRidley]

If he's guarding the gate, he'll have hidden himself with it to maintain his illusions and, as he researches new illusions, to apply the new ones as well.

[Larkspur]

It's going to be incredibly boring for him to hang around, though.

Lirian just lived near her Gate, so guarding it in person wasn't a hardship- she was with her people. Ditto for Soon, plus he was dead, so he had nothing better to do. Dorukan's defenses depended on him physically being there, but he's a wizard so being trapped in some isolated dungeon is kind of par for the career, and even then he sabotaged his own defenses so he could get some nookie.

On the other hand, Girard and Serini had systems that would work just as well in their absence. I could see maybe coming back to update the spells whenever he gained a level, and alarms are certainly a possibility, but it seems optimistic to assume Girard became a desert hermit just to guard his rift 24/7.

Also, the thing about illusions... once you find the Gate, the game is up. It's not clear that Girard's spellcasting presence could help any.

[Skorj]

Lets say you are holding a Macguffin and charged with protecting it, wouldn't you protect it?

If I were an illusionist charged with protecting a Macguffin, I would certainly have it known that I was protecting it, hiding it in the middle of a desert surrounded by miles of illusions treacherous and subtle.

Meanwhile the actual Macguffin would be in a bucket in the back room of a fishmongers shop in Hackensack.

[drengnikrafe]

Meanwhile the actual Macguffin would be in a bucket in the back room of a fishmongers shop in Hackensack.

If I had to store my Macguffin in a bucket, I would probably put it at the end of time, next to an old man.

[SaintRidley]

If I were an illusionist charged with protecting a Macguffin, I would certainly have it known that I was protecting it, hiding it in the middle of a desert surrounded by miles of illusions treacherous and subtle.

Meanwhile the actual Macguffin would be in a bucket in the back room of a fishmongers shop in Hackensack.

In this case, the Macguffin isn't something terribly movable.

[Green Bean]

Also, the thing about illusions... once you find the Gate, the game is up. It's not clear that Girard's spellcasting presence could help any.

Not really. Just because you disbelieve one set of illusions doesn't make you any less vulnerable to the next set he casts. And that's not even getting into Shadow Conjurations, which are partially real, the non-Illusion spells he's bound to have picked up, and whatever epic-level items he carries around.

[Mikeavelli]

If I had to store my Macguffin in a bucket, I would probably put it at the end of time, next to an old man.

I see what you did there

[Brendan]

He would at some point need to come back to renew all of his spells. epic spells would be tough to permanancy. although it could just be another of the illusion's features.

[Tackyhillbillu]

If I had to store my Macguffin in a bucket, I would probably put it at the end of time, next to an old man.

Oh Chrono Trigger. You will never stop being awesome.

[Morquard]

Well you see, just because he's an Illusionist doesn't mean he can only cast illusions.
He's a wizard specialised in the illusion school, thats it.

He still has access to the divination school for example as well, so I guess he can set up all kinds of nifty monitoring spells that notify him the moment someone gets without 20 miles of the gate. Or talks about the gate. Or behaves suspicious or whatever.
If he hasn't banned Conjuration he'll also have teleport.

So I see no problem of him not behing here by now, even if he wasn't there yesterday.

Especially since he knows 3 gates have already fallen, so he'd be extremely wary of anything happening to his.
He might even have cast some divinations himself like the Azure City mages did, and found out what happened to the others. If that means he things the OOTS is responsible or he knows about Xykon is another thing :)

[EmperorSarda]

I think it is more likely for Girard to have some sort of warning system that lets him know what's up. I doubt he lives there. No food or water for one thing.

And for another, why not just let a whole mountain of sand bury the gate?

[DBJack]

No food or water for one thing.

He's a wizard, I think he can get food somehow.




And for another, why not just let a whole mountain of sand bury the gate?

Sands are always shifting, and there are records of where the rift was, which is how Roy found it.

If you are a powerful illusionist, and you are in charge of defending a gate that's keeping the world from being destroyed, laziness isn't really an option.

[Berserk Monk]

He can best protect it by being around it. All it takes is an invisibility and silence spell and he's virtually unnoticeable.

[rewinn]

I think it is more likely for Girard to have some sort of warning system that lets him know what's up. I doubt he lives there. No food or water for one thing.

And for another, why not just let a whole mountain of sand bury the gate?
Digging through a mountain of sand is not that difficult for a party with monster summoning, and victuals aren't a problem if you have a cleric.

But a mountain of sand with Explosive Runes on every grain, hmmmm......

[sihnfahl]

But a mountain of sand with Explosive Runes on every grain, hmmmm......
My thought is that it's like having a lot of non-magical secret doors in a complex, with only one having a treasure.

Behind every secret door is a string of traps, illusions and physical barriers designed to keep you going forward, believing there's something to protect at the end. Sure, you take a lot of wounds, have your summons dispatched, and you have a horrible time getting through it, but the reward must lie at the end of the secret door you found.

And, when you finally disarm that final trap on the chest, you pop it open and find a massive bomb.

[DBear]

I still think Girard is long since dead. The only member of the Scribble that hasn't been killed or probably died of old age is Serini.