I think I know where Haley is taking Elan...

[Katana_Geldar]

...and it's NOT to bust Roy out of jail.

I think she's going to confront Tarquin, as why would she get her bow out so soon if she was going to bust Roy out?

[Dancing_Fox]

I don't think so.

Tarquin is not the type of threat that she would race up to face with so much emotion after a quick exchange with Elan.

More likely that type of reaction to "Your Dad is here in this kingdom!"

She's also more level headed than to rush into a fight with Tarquin, in particular if Elan mentioned being so comprehensively defeated.

She has her two high powered allies standing right there - I think that she would have tried to have get them away on a plausible excuse, or at least looked at them to see if she could discreetly attract their attention.

But no - a straight runner it was.

Admittedly, we don't know how long that conversation took, given that the others appeared to be having a really long chat by the way the topics kept changing. But it was short enough for her to start shocked and stay angry.

[Porthos]

as why would she get her bow out so soon if she was going to bust Roy out?

I don't exactly think that the guards would let her in, honored guest of Tarquin or no, if they thought she was going to "bust Roy out". :smallsmile:

Personally, I think it is a tad more likely that she is going to bust her father out. Or at the very least try to see him.

[LuPuWei]

Perhaps she's gonna try to rescue the slaves by shooting at them. +5 Icy Blast and whatnot...

[Swordpriest]

Well, analyzing Elan and Haley's little pantomime to figure out what seems logical --

Frame 1. Elan is just running up, possibly with a "Haley! Haley!"

Frame 2. Elan's starting a garbled explanation, Haley tells him to calm down and tell her what happened.

Frame 3. Elan tells her about most of what happened with his dad.

Frame 4. Elan tells her about the slaves being burned alive. Hence the look of rage.

Frame 5. Something else Elan says shocks and surprises her. Obviously, it isn't the slaves, because she was probably already mad about that in Frame 4. That pretty much eliminates everything except this being Tyrinaria, where her dad is being kept prisoner. This frame, and the one before it, are the key pieces of evidence.

Frame 6. Haley rushes off. If the Haley expressions in 4 and 5 had been reversed, then there would have been a chance she was going after Tarquin or the slaves. But because of the exact ordering of those expressions, it looks like she's going for her dad to me.

[Dr.Epic]

Why would she confront Tarquin? To kill him? Killing a general in his own nation not a good idea. Other than that, I don't think she can reason with the guy.


Perhaps she's gonna try to rescue the slaves by shooting at them. +5 Icy Blast and whatnot...

Bows do not have a 10 mile range.

[KillItWithFire]

Two places we could be going:
1. To confront Tarquin (which honestly I think the chances of a pardon for his daughter-in-laws father are good)

2. The gladiatorial pits to spring Ian and hey, Roy and the Belkster while you're at it.

Seeing as Tarquin is still quite willing to help the Order and that he obviously has strong feelings for those he considers family, and has no personal vendetta against Ian I think 1 is the better option (without violence mind you) Haley will probably pick option 2 as that seems more direct and more roguish. Probably a stupid idea if you get caught and I think that would be considered "rocking the boat" but hey, what ya gonna do?

[Gray Mage]

Why would she confront Tarquin? To kill him? Killing a general in his own nation not a good idea. Other than that, I don't think she can reason with the guy.


If she kept her cool, I think she actually could. I mean, Tarquin and his friend were the ones that asked for ransom after all, no reason why they wouldn't accept it now, not considering him letting him go because he's his son's father-in-law. Of course I doubt that is going through Haley's mind right now.

[Swordpriest]

T

Seeing as Tarquin is still quite willing to help the Order and that he obviously has strong feelings for those he considers family, and has no personal vendetta against Ian I think 1 is the better option

I'm not so sure about that. He just went through considerable efforts to make Elan into a deadly enemy because that's the way he thinks the story between them should go for maximum drama and eternal fame.

He won't do anything to harm Elan, and I doubt he'll harm Haley (but wouldn't discount it entirely). However, I can easily see him finding out about Ian and having him executed immediately to increase the drama and opposition between father and son.

I mean, he had thirty people burned alive just to force Elan to oppose him like the hero should. After that, I sure as heck wouldn't tell him that my girlfriend's father is in his power, if I were Elan. :smalleek: Tarquin is a mental loose cannon who's probably willing to do practically anything nasty that will cast Elan even more firmly as the avenging hero.

Heck, there's probably a trope about killing the hero's (or hero's girlfriend's) aged parents so that they can come back later for revenge.

If Tarquin was just a regular tyrant, I'd agree with you. But he's a tyrant trying to make a real-life passion play, so to speak, with him and Elan as the stars. If delivering Ian Starshine's head to Haley on a bed of parsley would make the story more melodramatic, he'd do it in a second.

[Jay R]

"oh, no -- we won't be guests here any longer, and we're about to lose that wonderful four-poster bed! Quick -- one last time!"

Haley got her priorities (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0417.html)in order long ago.

[Swordpriest]

"oh, no -- we won't be guests here any longer, and we're about to lose that wonderful four-poster bed! Quick -- one last time!"

Haley got her priorities (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0417.html)in order long ago.

Now that is alarmingly plausible. :smalleek: :smallbiggrin:

[cho_j]

"oh, no -- we won't be guests here any longer, and we're about to lose that wonderful four-poster bed! Quick -- one last time!"

Haley got her priorities (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0417.html)in order long ago.

Thank you for the wonderful laugh, Jay! I've had a very long day, and this is one of my favorite comedy theories on these forums. Count me among its silly supporters. :D

[random11]

I don't think so.

Tarquin is not the type of threat that she would race up to face with so much emotion after a quick exchange with Elan.

More likely that type of reaction to "Your Dad is here in this kingdom!"

She's also more level headed than to rush into a fight with Tarquin, in particular if Elan mentioned being so comprehensively defeated.

She has her two high powered allies standing right there - I think that she would have tried to have get them away on a plausible excuse, or at least looked at them to see if she could discreetly attract their attention.

But no - a straight runner it was.

Admittedly, we don't know how long that conversation took, given that the others appeared to be having a really long chat by the way the topics kept changing. But it was short enough for her to start shocked and stay angry.



Elan knows that Tarquin is evil, he knows that Tarquin killed the escaped slaves and he knows that Tarquin is responsible for Haley's father imprisonment.
But he doesn't know that her father is in the same kingdom, since it was done in a different kingdom, and certainly not that he is kept in the same prison with Roy and Belkar.

Haley has no reason to guess that he is kept here, the only thing changed is that she knows for sure who is responsible and who should have the answers. So my guess is that her next move is to somehow gather the information about her father's current location, either by stealth or by force.

[Raging Gene Ray]

But he doesn't know that her father is in the same kingdom, since it was done in a different kingdom, and certainly not that he is kept in the same prison with Roy and Belkar.

Haley has no reason to guess that he is kept here.

Well, Elan and Haley can still derive information from what they do know. They could guess that it is likely or possible that her father is there. They could assume that because Roy and Belkar got thrown into the arena, that happens to all prisoners, including Haley's dad. Plot hooks are not always spelled out. Sometimes you have to go on hunches, rumors, and tentative connections that will turn out to be 100% reliable due to the power of plot surrounding the PCs.

[random11]

Well, Elan and Haley can still derive information from what they do know. They could guess that it is likely or possible that her father is there. They could assume that because Roy and Belkar got thrown into the arena, that happens to all prisoners, including Haley's dad. Plot hooks are not always spelled out. Sometimes you have to go on hunches, rumors, and tentative connections that will turn out to be 100% reliable due to the power of plot surrounding the PCs.

I doubt if there is just a single arena in the kingdom. More likely it's a common method in all the cities (or at least the major ones), and in all the conquered lands.
Also, the entire point of Tarquin's plan is that the "head of operation" kingdom constantly change. So if I had to guess, I'd go for the area that was the heart of the operation when Haley's father ransom arrived from, and start looking there.

The only one who knows for sure (unless he simply forgot, which is reasonable) is Tarquin, or some sort of records he uses.

Of course, it is possible that Elan will suggest looking in the current city's arena because of the laws of story-telling...

[Yendor]

"This was Tyrinaria, Elan. (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0759.html) Bleedingham was named Terrorburg, and was the capital of Tyrinaria."

[Swordpriest]

"This was Tyrinaria, Elan. (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0759.html) Bleedingham was named Terrorburg, and was the capital of Tyrinaria."

On top of which, from Elan's reaction to that statement, he knows that Haley's dad is a prisoner here because of that information.