Tarquin's Future Role

[Copperdragon]

Ok, they leave Tarquin behind now, go on to the last gate and do all the things this entails. Have they Tarquin left behind? I think not.

Tarquin now has a Rift in a desert he controls. A Rift of which we have to assume is the gateway to another world. What does Tarquin want most? Conquering and ruling worlds.
He is curious and methodical, ruthless as well. He'll send scouts through the Rift (using the old deal "You can get a medal if you are successful or your familiy gets a tight rope around their necks if you refuse"), who will report about the world and the means of transportation.

This leaves Tarquins role as showing up at the last gate/rift during the fight over the last gate.

[BaronOfHell]

It's cool to consider that the rifts are located neatly at the feet of:
Goblins & Team Evil - Foes
Desert Team - Foes
Elfs - prob. Allies
Dwarfes - prob. Allies

Finally at RMH where this grand tale began.

[Copperdragon]

Yes, I also think this observation holds a lot of water. We're either going to see a "several-sides-battle" at one place due to the connections working like portals of some sort a race to the New World, where each side tries to conquer as much as possible of the New World (which might already be inhabitated or not).

Tarquin aside, this could actually lead to the Grander Scheme.
The Gods have a big problem: They locked the New World in which means whatever is inside of it cannot get out, but they also cannot get in.
Imagine a whole world which is only under your (your pantheon's control) and you only have to guard like 5 entry points against the other gods.

If that world was under your control via your races which only worship you, you would be in an extreme position of power and had the only say about Creation (which is something the gods contest about, as we have seen with the first world).

The gods want the padlocks destroyed which the Order of the Scribble put there so they can start to fight over the New World via their own races.
It is interesting that a lot of the mortals involved also care about Conquest.
Xykon is nothing else but "I want to rule Empires and Worlds", which is also true for Tarquin. Redcloak does not want that, but wants his people to be free and the best way to ensure that would be a goblin-run empire or even a world.
We have no idea about the dwarves and elves, but even if we substract the elves, we still have the Azurites near the elven lands (and as such the elven Rift), which means there's a full faction wanting a new place to live (and the elves will help as that is going to get the Humans off their own doorstep, something they must know won't go well for the centuries to come once the Azurites took foot and start to expand their new city).

[Silverionmox]

The Order isn't going to go back to Tarquin's sandcastle (unless the Giant is fancying a scouring of the Shire-like epilogue), so if there's going to be any more Tarquin at all he'll have to come after the Order.

[Copperdragon]

The Order isn't going to go back to Tarquin's sandcastle (unless the Giant is fancying a scouring of the Shire-like epilogue), so if there's going to be any more Tarquin at all he'll have to come after the Order.

This is true and I agree. But no one says they go back to the sandcastle. Please re-read the thread.

tl;dr
Tarquin will either use the rifts to come to some sort of final battle (as everyone else) OR everyone meets in the New World.

[Gandariel]

the Order IS going to (eventually) solve (or try to solve) Tarquin's situation in some way.
So yeah, we'll see him again for sure. I'm pretty convinced that we'll see him too at the last gate, anyways.

[Gift Jeraff]

Hopefully he attacks the Order sometime before that. There are still 2 books to go. He can die in Book 6 so that the climax isn't cluttered by, IMHO, the most annoying character in the comic (along with V who I'll always have to endure).

[BlackDragonKing]

Well, if Tarquin stays consistent with the man we've observed, he will be aware it's in his best interest for Elan to go whup Xykon and then come back later; as he said, he has to absorb the rest of the desert and Elan needs to level up a lot. If Tarquin looks at this in the way he does right up until he found out Malack was dead, he'd realize he has everything to lose and nothing to gain by pursuing Elan into a plot that will make him compete with another bad guy. I would imagine Tarquin's going to lock down and get busy setting up for Elan's return, but be drawn into the plot in some other way, possibly as a result of studying the rift.

[Clistenes]

Yes, I also think this observation holds a lot of water. We're either going to see a "several-sides-battle" at one place due to the connections working like portals of some sort a race to the New World, where each side tries to conquer as much as possible of the New World (which might already be inhabitated or not).

Tarquin aside, this could actually lead to the Grander Scheme.
The Gods have a big problem: They locked the New World in which means whatever is inside of it cannot get out, but they also cannot get in.
Imagine a whole world which is only under your (your pantheon's control) and you only have to guard like 5 entry points against the other gods.

If that world was under your control via your races which only worship you, you would be in an extreme position of power and had the only say about Creation (which is something the gods contest about, as we have seen with the first world).

The gods want the padlocks destroyed which the Order of the Scribble put there so they can start to fight over the New World via their own races.
It is interesting that a lot of the mortals involved also care about Conquest.
Xykon is nothing else but "I want to rule Empires and Worlds", which is also true for Tarquin. Redcloak does not want that, but wants his people to be free and the best way to ensure that would be a goblin-run empire or even a world.
We have no idea about the dwarves and elves, but even if we substract the elves, we still have the Azurites near the elven lands (and as such the elven Rift), which means there's a full faction wanting a new place to live (and the elves will help as that is going to get the Humans off their own doorstep, something they must know won't go well for the centuries to come once the Azurites took foot and start to expand their new city).

You know, I have been thinking,...what if all of this is nothing but a long, complex, high stakes but ultimately friendly game of the gods, Dark One included?

What if the Dark One is no different to the other gods, and he sees his worshipers as pawns to throw agains the other gods' pawns? What if he isn't trying to change the rules of the game, but just playing it with the others, all of them sitting around a table while they eat snacks and pizza and drink coke?

What if the tale of the Snarl is a rotten lie that the gods created to motivate their worshippers, making them willing participants in the race?

The game would be about who controls the Gates:
If Redcloak completes the (useless) ritual, the Dark One wins the game and he gets to rise one of the stats of his goblins by two points and keep Azure City.
If the Order of the Stick and the Azure Paladins kill him and destroy his cloak, the "good" human gods win and the goblins of Azure City are slaughtered and the goblin race goes two steps back in numbers and power.
If all the Gates are destroyed, the game is a draw and starts again (they wipe the memories of all the witness and seek new new pawns who will rebuild the Gates).
If Redcloak is destroyed but his cloak not, the game goes on...

[Reddish Mage]

Hopefully he attacks the Order sometime before that. There are still 2 books to go. He can die in Book 6 so that the climax isn't cluttered by, IMHO, the most annoying character in the comic (along with V who I'll always have to endure).

I would note the Giant takes no end of steps to keep V out of play. So you can be consoled. I think Tarquin is more likely to become a new Nale (a mid-boss, a distraction) rather than competitor with Xykon or the IFCC.

[King of Nowhere]

dunno, it is certainly possible, but I like more the idea that we'll never see tarquin again, and that will be how he is defeated: by keeping him out of the story. he want to be the main villain, leaving his plot unresolved would be the greaest humiliation you could inflict to him

[Copperdragon]

You know, I have been thinking,...what if all of this is nothing but a long, complex, high stakes but ultimately friendly game of the gods, Dark One included?

What if the tale of the Snarl is a rotten lie that the gods created to motivate their worshippers, making them willing participants in the race?

The game would be about who controls the Gates:
If Redcloak completes the (useless) ritual, the Dark One wins the game and he gets to rise one of the stats of his goblins by two points and keep Azure City.
If the Order of the Stick and the Azure Paladins kill him and destroy his cloak, the "good" human gods win and the goblins of Azure City are slaughtered and the goblin race goes two steps back in numbers and power.
If all the Gates are destroyed, the game is a draw and starts again (they wipe the memories of all the witness and seek new new pawns who will rebuild the Gates).
If Redcloak is destroyed but his cloak not, the game goes on...

I think that is far to Meta-Gamy for this story. It'd all come down to "Ha, the gods are like players in a roleplaying game and the story in itself is about nothing at all!"
I highly doubt that.

Maybe the gods work together in some way or at least play along within their sets of rules, but I consider it very unlikely it's just a game to them. There's something at stake, even if we (and the characters) do not yet know what it is.
For Roy it is enough that "Xykon must be stopped!", he is bad enough just at being himself - everything else is just another reason why Xykon also must get stopped.

[David Argall]

Logically, we might never see Tarquin again. He has an empire to run, his allies are going to say "business first" and demand he stay there. The plot might pull him back in, but going off to chase down the party is just insane.

[Ghost Nappa]

Narratively speaking, Nale and Tarquin exchanged roles the moment Tarquin killed Nale.

One is a horrific monster that for some reason people still have moments they like him, and the other is an evil opposite family member who has literally nothing better to do than harass Elan.

It just so happened that, you know...the switch also involved murdering one of them.

[Ridureyu]

I would be very happy if Tarquin died due to some random unforseen - and ANTICLIMACTIC - circumstance, thus robbing him of any grand finale that he would have wanted.

If he gets a dramatic reappearance, he wins. Let's deny him the win.

[factotum]

Tarquin's future role is hopefully as a handsome corpse... :smallwink:

[ReaderAt2046]

My prediction is that Elan will send Tarquin a challenge to a climactic duel for the Empire, but when Tarquin shows up we get this exchange.

Tarquin: Elan! Glad to see you finally came around to my view. Shall we-

:elan: I didn't. Dismiss Veil.

:vaarsuvius: Maximized Fireball! *BOOM!!!*

:haley: SNEAK ATTACK! *twang-twang-twang-twang-twang*

:durkon: Flamestrike! *WHOOM!*

:roy: Charging greatsword blow! *Whack!*

:belkar: Rage charge attack! *Stab-Stab!*

[Mike Havran]

My prediction is that Elan will send Tarquin a challenge to a climactic duel for the Empire, but when Tarquin shows up we get this exchange.

Tarquin: Elan! Glad to see you finally came around to my view. Shall we-

:elan: I didn't. Dismiss Veil.

:vaarsuvius: Maximized Fireball! *BOOM!!!*

:haley: SNEAK ATTACK! *twang-twang-twang-twang-twang*

:durkon: Flamestrike! *WHOOM!*

:roy: Charging greatsword blow! *Whack!*

:belkar: Rage charge attack! *Stab-Stab!*
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g68/Cats_Are_Aliens/Banners/Tarquin.pngAARGHH! WHOA!...whew... now that is a nice attempt, son. The coordination was excellent. I'm so proud of you.

[jidasfire]

My hope is that Tarquin's role in the story is drawing to a close. Honestly, while he's an interesting character and it's been cool having him as the villain of this arc, I simply don't know what he would add to the grand finale. I would be perfectly happy to see all of the little people he's screwed over come back to haunt him at the end of this story, and leave him either dead, or, more likely, disgraced and broken. I am bad at guessing how these stories end and if I'm wrong, I'll be glad to say so, but I kinda think Tarquin would just be an extra wheel in an already rather subplot-filled final third of the series. So yeah, I hope this arc is the last time we focus heavily on Tarquin, since Elan, in his way, defeated his father, and that's enough for me.

[Maryring]

My hope is that Tarquin's immediate Future Role will be as a dagger, sword, rapier, arrow, spell and fang repository. Preferably with a lot of screams for pain and mercy.

[Pokonic]

Narratively speaking, Nale and Tarquin exchanged roles the moment Tarquin killed Nale.

One is a horrific monster that for some reason people still have moments they like him, and the other is an evil opposite family member who has literally nothing better to do than harass Elan.

It just so happened that, you know...the switch also involved murdering one of them.

Hilariously, 'a horrific monster that people still like for some reason' accurately describes a certain half-orc barbarians role in the story, and since the green guy has been out of the picture for a while it means that Tarquin is, in the end, has narrative traits from both Nale and Thog.:smallbiggrin:

[warrl]

Well, we're speculating that Laurin has lost the use of Wormhole due to Durkon level-draining her.

That means that, as far as we have seen, until she gets a Restoration she can only teleport herself and possibly only short distances at that. Psions *can* have a Restoration-equivalent power, but there's no particular reason to think Laurin actually has it. (Also no particular reason to think otherwise, but for the moment allow me to assume she doesn't.)

The army came out there expecting Laurin to be able to get them back home, and also expecting Malack to be there if they should happen to need a cleric. She can't get them home, and Malack isn't there.

How are they doing on supplies? Do they have enough to get Tarquin and Laurin home, marching across the desert? With or without the rest of the army?

Might Tarquin and his entire army (and possibly Laurin as well) just disappear in the desert, never to be seen again? The location of their final battle known to no one?*

In real-world terms, Tarquin is far enough from his army that even his ability to get back to them would be in doubt if he had to walk across the desert on a summer day without a water supply. Of course, high-level (or even level-3) D&D characters are hardier beings...

* That is, no one except:
-- Miron, Laurin - could be in big trouble if it became known that they were associated with Tarquin at this time, so they won't admit to being involved in any way.
-- The Order - would favor letting Tarquin die anonymously and ignominously, so they won't mention it. If they ever find out that Tarquin disappeared.
-- Julio and crew - probably would go along with Elan's request to keep their involvement quiet.

[King of Nowhere]

Well, we're speculating that Laurin has lost the use of Wormhole due to Durkon level-draining her.

That means that, as far as we have seen, until she gets a Restoration she can only teleport herself and possibly only short distances at that. Psions *can* have a Restoration-equivalent power, but there's no particular reason to think Laurin actually has it. (Also no particular reason to think otherwise, but for the moment allow me to assume she doesn't.)

The army came out there expecting Laurin to be able to get them back home, and also expecting Malack to be there if they should happen to need a cleric. She can't get them home, and Malack isn't there.

How are they doing on supplies? Do they have enough to get Tarquin and Laurin home, marching across the desert? With or without the rest of the army?

Might Tarquin and his entire army (and possibly Laurin as well) just disappear in the desert, never to be seen again? The location of their final battle known to no one?*

In real-world terms, Tarquin is far enough from his army that even his ability to get back to them would be in doubt if he had to walk across the desert on a summer day without a water supply. Of course, high-level (or even level-3) D&D characters are hardier beings...

* That is, no one except:
-- Miron, Laurin - could be in big trouble if it became known that they were associated with Tarquin at this time, so they won't admit to being involved in any way.
-- The Order - would favor letting Tarquin die anonymously and ignominously, so they won't mention it. If they ever find out that Tarquin disappeared.
-- Julio and crew - probably would go along with Elan's request to keep their involvement quiet.

intersting idea. tarquin should still have his ointment in the saddle, unless the pterodactyl was buried in the explosion.
if laurin is stuck without wormhole, she and tarquin, being high level, can probably go back to civilization. depending on how far they are from the nearest oasis, they may or may not be in time to save the army.
I'd say that the chances of them being stuck in the desert are rather small, as they are unlikely to be more than a day of travel from some village. however, it can happen, under some particularly unfavorable circumstances.

[Sniffnoy]

Well, the Order still has to go and rescue Ian (or at least presumably they do, anyway), and it's quite possible they could face Tarquin again after that, before they leave for the final gate.

[astralmeson]

Well, the Order still has to go and rescue Ian (or at least presumably they do, anyway), and it's quite possible they could face Tarquin again after that, before they leave for the final gate.

I dunno, I'm a fan of the "Tarquin failure by a random anti-climactic occurence" theory.

[Copperdragon]

I also prefer Tarquin to go out in a not-so-climatic way. I'm still a fan of Tarquin meeting Xykon and then getting shown the power of a real Villain that is operating on a Universe Scale. Tarquin might learn (after his death) that he should not have made it all about himself.

[Sniffnoy]

I dunno, I'm a fan of the "Tarquin failure by a random anti-climactic occurence" theory.

Well, if this happens, it would have to be after they've rescued Ian, because if the state is disrupted bounties might not still be valid, and other people might not be hunting him. Which means Tarquin would, at the least, have to appear again.

[Souhiro]

I think that Tarquin will be defeated by Elan, morphed into an Elanasaurus Rex.

It HAS to be. It MUST has to be!

[littlebum2002]

Yes, I also think this observation holds a lot of water.

Pun intended?

[Gift Jeraff]

I think that Tarquin will be defeated by Elan, morphed into an Elanasaurus Rex.

It HAS to be. It MUST has to be!

Tarquin must be slain by the pure and righteous Redcloak.

[HZ514]

I dunno, I'm a fan of the "Tarquin failure by a random anti-climactic occurence" theory.

While that would certainly be entertaining and please a good portion of posters who heavily dislike Tarquin...it would also leave behind a poignant gap in the narrative.

Malack killed and vampirified Durkon in one of the most heartwrenchingly impactful scenes of the entire comic. That moment pretty much defines Durkon's character arc to this point (and probably going forward). That sort of event creates a gravitational pull toward an eventual catharsis for Durkon and/or the other protagonists by defeating Malack.

Malack was never beaten by a protagonist, though. He died to Nale. The OotS has beaten Nale before, but not since Nale killed Malack. And they never will now, because he was promptly executed by his father. As a result, the catharsis quotient transferred from Malack to Nale to Tarquin, who owns it now. The party still didn't exactly beat him in these past strips, they just managed to escape.

If Tarquin dies to the equivalent of a random falling anvil, no one ever gets to avenge Durkon's greatest tragedy. The catharsis opportunity just...dissipates into nothingness, never realized or felt by characters or readers.

All that said, avenging Durkon's vampirification isn't the most important thing to the story and it's certainly within the Giant's writing style to give Tarquin that hilariously ignominious end. It would carry its own positive of being Tarquin's optimal, ultimate defeat and as a result, a huge victory for Elan. And a direct victory of that magnitude for Elan may well deserve priority over simple revenge which does nothing to really help Durkon's current situation anyway.

For what it's worth, my money would be on Tarquin getting put in his place by Xykon.

[Nilan8888]

For what it's worth, my money would be on Tarquin getting put in his place by Xykon.

Exactly. It may or may not be the thing that kills him, but the nature of Tarquin's character is really looking to get himself upended by Xykon. Or at the very least the two running into each other.

[Benthesquid]

I'm going to go with "Tarquin's future role consists of getting murdered in the next couple pages by a series of sneak attacks from every non-Haley rogue who he's wronged."

Laurin: So, that's over. I need to head back to the Empire of Sweat- I don't want to leave the cat in charge alone for too long.
Tarquin: Fine. Go collect the army- I'll be along as soon as I finish up a last monologue.
Laurin: *poof*
Tarquin: You can get away for now, Elan, but you can't fate your destiny. One day, you will be the son I-
Ian: Sneak attack!
Tarquin: Gah! I was in the middle of something. Although... killing Elan's sweetheart's father would be almost as good as his ment-
Geoff: Sneak attack!
Tarquin: And her adopted uncle, I guess? Sure what-
Ganjii: Sneak attack!
Tarquin: Oh come on, your role in this story was clearly over when you escaped, demonstrating my superior- wait, that didn't feel like a sneak attack.
Ganjii: Oh, it wasn't. I just said that so he could get behind you.
Ninja Lizard: Vengeance for Ambassador Gourntonk! Sneak attack!
Ninja Human: Vengeance for the Free City of Doom! Sneak attack!
Tarquin: That's it! I don't care how many of you there are, I have the levels and the magic items for all of you! This will just underline how big a threat I am. Now, before we start, any more surprises?
Sabine: ... Surprise. (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0120.html)

[ti'esar]

Malack killed and vampirified Durkon in one of the most heartwrenchingly impactful scenes of the entire comic. That moment pretty much defines Durkon's character arc to this point (and probably going forward). That sort of event creates a gravitational pull toward an eventual catharsis for Durkon and/or the other protagonists by defeating Malack.

Malack was never beaten by a protagonist, though. He died to Nale. The OotS has beaten Nale before, but not since Nale killed Malack. And they never will now, because he was promptly executed by his father. As a result, the catharsis quotient transferred from Malack to Nale to Tarquin, who owns it now. The party still didn't exactly beat him in these past strips, they just managed to escape.

If Tarquin dies to the equivalent of a random falling anvil, no one ever gets to avenge Durkon's greatest tragedy. The catharsis opportunity just...dissipates into nothingness, never realized or felt by characters or readers.

I'm not sure I agree with this line of reasoning, because I personally thought Nale ashing Malack was pretty seriously cathartic.

[Leolo]

I'm going to go with "Tarquin's future role consists of getting murdered in the next couple pages by a series of sneak attacks from every non-Haley rogue who he's wronged."

Laurin: So, that's over. I need to head back to the Empire of Sweat- I don't want to leave the cat in charge alone for too long.
Tarquin: Fine. Go collect the army- I'll be along as soon as I finish up a last monologue.
Laurin: *poof*
Tarquin: You can get away for now, Elan, but you can't fate your destiny. One day, you will be the son I-
Ian: Sneak attack!
Tarquin: Gah! I was in the middle of something. Although... killing Elan's sweetheart's father would be almost as good as his ment-
Geoff: Sneak attack!
Tarquin: And her adopted uncle, I guess? Sure what-
Ganjii: Sneak attack!
Tarquin: Oh come on, your role in this story was clearly over when you escaped, demonstrating my superior- wait, that didn't feel like a sneak attack.
Ganjii: Oh, it wasn't. I just said that so he could get behind you.
Ninja Lizard: Vengeance for Ambassador Gourntonk! Sneak attack!
Ninja Human: Vengeance for the Free City of Doom! Sneak attack!
Tarquin: That's it! I don't care how many of you there are, I have the levels and the magic items for all of you! This will just underline how big a threat I am. Now, before we start, any more surprises?
Sabine: ... Surprise. (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0120.html)

That sounds really nice, but how exactly are they sneaking next to the guy with true seeing when he is standing in a desert with no place to hide? Plus...until now Ians plans have always been foiled by someone. Maybe Geoff?

But the main point is: People spend to much time to find a way for tarquin to die without having him "win" to realize that he is only winning if you are playing the game his way. He only wins if someone cares for if he considers his end a win. If someone accepts his winning condition that is basically saying: "I already have won, regardless of what happens."

There is a perfectly appropriate way for tarquin to die. On a rooftop. Fighting against elan. In the rain and storm, in the most climatic way.

Speaking as his last words: "you have beaten me my son. I am so proud".

With Elan saying: "I don't care."

Because he should not care. The only thing that is important is to help the people tarquin is forcing under his control. Tarquin can be happy or sad about his end, but in the end: It does not matter, and he can only win if people think it would matter.

[Kish]

That sounds really nice, but how exactly are they sneaking next to the guy with true seeing when he is standing in a desert with no place to hide?
Lots of points in the Hide skill and a joke about how the DC for Hiding doesn't climb above a certain point even in a featureless desert?

(Fun fact: Despite what computer games like Baldur's Gate 2 make people think, in D&D True Seeing sees through magical concealment and does nothing against nonmagical stealth.)

[BaronOfHell]

[T] is only winning if you are playing the game his way. [..]

Because he should not care. The only thing that is important is to help the people tarquin is forcing under his control. Tarquin can be happy or sad about his end, but in the end: It does not matter, and he can only win if people think it would matter.

I've had similar thoughts, but this is a world where if enough people think you're cool enough, you might ascend.

[smuchmuch]

I think Tarquin has a date with Sabine in his near future.

Weakened, No more cleric around, definitively a 'result of his own actions', she's mad enough to be imprevious to his charm, still denies him to be further part of the main plot and ever interfering with the order and elan in particular. And that might be the overdue end of that.

I would also enjoy Xykon casualy burning him to a crisp but I really don't knoww if he'll be showing for kragor gate. Wait and see,I guess ?

[Ramien]

Lots of points in the Hide skill and a joke about how the DC for Hiding doesn't climb above a certain point even in a featureless desert?

(Fun fact: Despite what computer games like Baldur's Gate 2 make people think, in D&D True Seeing sees through magical concealment and does nothing against nonmagical stealth.)

It doesn't do squat against non-magical disguises either... Which is something a careful shapeshifter or illusionist can exploit.

[Leolo]

Lots of points in the Hide skill and a joke about how the DC for Hiding doesn't climb above a certain point even in a featureless desert?

(Fun fact: Despite what computer games like Baldur's Gate 2 make people think, in D&D True Seeing sees through magical concealment and does nothing against nonmagical stealth.)

You do need concealment to hide. So if they do not want to use fog or smoke (and that would be pretty obvious) they can not hide regardless of how many ranks they have.

Look at haley against the thieves. She has many ranks in hide, probably much more than ganjii or enor. But still needed concealment. And the main point of being a ninja is the ability to cast invisibility.

Something true seeing helps against.

Plus it is debatable if Ian has even a single skill point in hide. ^^

But the main point would be: How should those guys all arrive at the right time there? There are no reasons for this, there are even reasons why this should not be the case (like sabine is still unable to reach the mortal world)

It would not make for a good story, and be just a way to kill tarquin without allowing him his big climatic duell. And like with many other "Tarquin will die this way" theories there shouldn't be a reason to bother if he get's this.

He only wins if people care about his end.

[Mike Havran]

All that said, avenging Durkon's vampirification isn't the most important thing to the story and it's certainly within the Giant's writing style to give Tarquin that hilariously ignominious end. It would carry its own positive of being Tarquin's optimal, ultimate defeat and as a result, a huge victory for Elan. And a direct victory of that magnitude for Elan may well deserve priority over simple revenge which does nothing to really help Durkon's current situation anyway.It can't be a victory for Elan if he isn't involved at all.

[Benthesquid]

But the main point is: People spend to much time to find a way for tarquin to die without having him "win" to realize that he is only winning if you are playing the game his way. He only wins if someone cares for if he considers his end a win. If someone accepts his winning condition that is basically saying: "I already have won, regardless of what happens."


I don't care about Tarquin winning. I care about the themes that the Giant's been using Tarquin to explore. My reading is that those themes would be better served by Tarquin dying at the hands of people he's wronged and then cast aside as unimportant then in a climactic conflict with Elan.

[Leolo]

And isn't Elan one of those? I do believe that those guys and girls will have something to do with the general's end. But Elan is (regarding the Tarquin subplot) the main character, and those who lost the most because of tarquin.

Plus it makes for a better story if they don't simple step out of nowhere without explanation for their arrival.

[David Argall]

I think Tarquin has a date with Sabine in his near future.

Weakened, No more cleric around, definitively a 'result of his own actions', she's mad enough to be imprevious to his charm, still denies him to be further part of the main plot and ever interfering with the order and elan in particular. And that might be the overdue end of that.
As pointed out many times, Sabine is gone, unavailable, confined to quarters. imprisoned.... for the next 20 or so hours. She is also not even close to a match for him, weakened or not.



I would also enjoy Xykon casualy burning him to a crisp but I really don't knoww if he'll be showing for kragor gate. Wait and see,I guess ?
First we need to figure out a way for them to meet. Tarquin has been harping on business first, and he has the business of running the empire. He also may be lacking knowledge of where the party is going.

[johnbragg]

While that would certainly be entertaining and please a good portion of posters who heavily dislike Tarquin...it would also leave behind a poignant gap in the narrative.

Malack killed and vampirified Durkon in one of the most heartwrenchingly impactful scenes of the entire comic. That moment pretty much defines Durkon's character arc to this point (and probably going forward). That sort of event creates a gravitational pull toward an eventual catharsis for Durkon and/or the other protagonists by defeating Malack.

Malack was never beaten by a protagonist, though. He died to Nale. The OotS has beaten Nale before, but not since Nale killed Malack. And they never will now, because he was promptly executed by his father. As a result, the catharsis quotient transferred from Malack to Nale to Tarquin, who owns it now. The party still didn't exactly beat him in these past strips, they just managed to escape.

I don't put a ton of stock in this train of thought, but Durkula's first act as a free-willed vampire was to snap Nale's wizard's neck. Durkula wasn't that upset at Nale's escape, after seeing Nale kill D's vamp-sire. So I don't think Durkula bears a big grudge against Nale.