Porthos
2010-11-17, 02:39 PM
So I was thinking about Tarquin's Surprise (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0756.html) that is about to be revealed. It wasn't the unexpected meeting with Captain Amun-ora, as Tarquin repeats that the Surprise is about to be sprung (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0758.html). Now there has been a lot of speculation on just what it could be. But I'm not sure if this idea has been brought up or not:
The Surprise will be about Nale.
Nale with either be present on the rooftops (maybe as a prisoner?), or someone (maybe a member of the Linear Guild?) will be there with information about him.
Think about it and it makes perfect sense. Nale is still an Enemy of the State. So he can't be seen in public (or even in "regular" jails). We know that at some point, the Linear Guild is going to reenter the picture. So why not at a moment of Dramatic Importance? And there are other reasons as well, which I will get to in a moment.
Now to deal some objections. The number one objection is that Nale and Tarquin had a bit of a falling out. Well, there are any number of reasons why they might put aside mutual hostility for a temporary rapprochement. And the biggest I can think of is Control of the Entire World. :smallamused:
Now the second biggest objection is: Why would Nale (who doesn't play well with others) come crawling back to dear ol' dad for help. Well the short answer might be: He isn't. But Tarquin might have found out about Nale's presence on the Western Continent and this Surprise will be the reveal of that. On the other hand, maybe Nale's been convinced (Sabine?) to temporarily work with his dad toward a greater goal.
Nale's sudden entry into the story might explain how Tarquin is aware of Girard. We don't know how much Nale learned about the Gates when he was masquerading as Elan. But its probable that he learned about Girard.
And this brings me back around to reasons that I think that, at the very least, Tarquin is aware of Nale. Tarquin knows of Girard but is stalling for time. What if the reason he knows about Girard is that he learned it from/because of Nale? The exact line that might be important is, "My associates in the Prefecture have informed me-" And then he is cut off. What if that line was about the whereabouts of Nale?
Can anyone think of anything more Dramatically Important than that? Perhaps. But I think it fits.
Now there are a couple of different ways this might go. Broadly speaking, Tarquin could be working against Nale (which would mean that Tarquin is about to deliver news about Nale) or he could be working with Nale (which would mean Nale [or an associate] would be present).
Heck, it could turn out that it looks like Tarquin is working against Nale when in fact he is secretly working with him.
In the first case, we have already established in-story of the multitude of reasons why Tarquin would be working against Nale. So it wouldn't be much of a stretch to think that Tarquin is going to try to persuade Elan to stop whatever Nale is up to. In the second case... Well it's mostly down to the fact that I don't take anything that Tarquin says at face value. So it wouldn't surprise me at all to see some sort of temporary alliance (that both know will be eventually broken).
So I am not quite sure which way this will fall yet. Both situations set up some prisoner Possibilities. But I do think that the Surprise will be Nale Related somehow. It would explain why Tarquin didn't want Haley present (this is private family business) and why no one else is around.
The Surprise will be about Nale.
Nale with either be present on the rooftops (maybe as a prisoner?), or someone (maybe a member of the Linear Guild?) will be there with information about him.
Think about it and it makes perfect sense. Nale is still an Enemy of the State. So he can't be seen in public (or even in "regular" jails). We know that at some point, the Linear Guild is going to reenter the picture. So why not at a moment of Dramatic Importance? And there are other reasons as well, which I will get to in a moment.
Now to deal some objections. The number one objection is that Nale and Tarquin had a bit of a falling out. Well, there are any number of reasons why they might put aside mutual hostility for a temporary rapprochement. And the biggest I can think of is Control of the Entire World. :smallamused:
Now the second biggest objection is: Why would Nale (who doesn't play well with others) come crawling back to dear ol' dad for help. Well the short answer might be: He isn't. But Tarquin might have found out about Nale's presence on the Western Continent and this Surprise will be the reveal of that. On the other hand, maybe Nale's been convinced (Sabine?) to temporarily work with his dad toward a greater goal.
Nale's sudden entry into the story might explain how Tarquin is aware of Girard. We don't know how much Nale learned about the Gates when he was masquerading as Elan. But its probable that he learned about Girard.
And this brings me back around to reasons that I think that, at the very least, Tarquin is aware of Nale. Tarquin knows of Girard but is stalling for time. What if the reason he knows about Girard is that he learned it from/because of Nale? The exact line that might be important is, "My associates in the Prefecture have informed me-" And then he is cut off. What if that line was about the whereabouts of Nale?
Can anyone think of anything more Dramatically Important than that? Perhaps. But I think it fits.
Now there are a couple of different ways this might go. Broadly speaking, Tarquin could be working against Nale (which would mean that Tarquin is about to deliver news about Nale) or he could be working with Nale (which would mean Nale [or an associate] would be present).
Heck, it could turn out that it looks like Tarquin is working against Nale when in fact he is secretly working with him.
In the first case, we have already established in-story of the multitude of reasons why Tarquin would be working against Nale. So it wouldn't be much of a stretch to think that Tarquin is going to try to persuade Elan to stop whatever Nale is up to. In the second case... Well it's mostly down to the fact that I don't take anything that Tarquin says at face value. So it wouldn't surprise me at all to see some sort of temporary alliance (that both know will be eventually broken).
So I am not quite sure which way this will fall yet. Both situations set up some prisoner Possibilities. But I do think that the Surprise will be Nale Related somehow. It would explain why Tarquin didn't want Haley present (this is private family business) and why no one else is around.