Cosmic Irony, or, How Miko Saved the Universe (spoilers)

[Megalomaniac2]

By murdering Lord Shojo and losing her paladinhood, Miko has inadvertently done a great thing for everyone, everywhere. Remember, Xykon let her escape so he could scry on her location when she'd at the Gate, thereby allowing him to easily locate the key to ultimate power.

But because she wasted Shojo, MIKO ISN'T A PALADIN ANYMORE. And while she still knows the location of the Gate, I'm guessing that people who killed the ruler of the city aren't going to be allowed to defend it. She's going to be nowhere near the thing when Xykon attacks! Which means that Ol' Bony will have no clue where it is.

So Miko's paranoia, murder, and Fall, along with Shojo's death, were all for the good... Azure City itself is still almost certainly screwed, but Xykon's plan to gain ultimate power has been laid at nines precisely by Miko's acts. When the Gods removed Miko's powers, they weren't just punishing her, they were covering their butts from Xykon and the Snarl at the same time. Crafty deities...

[Green Bean]

By murdering Lord Shojo and losing her paladinhood, Miko has inadvertently done a great thing for everyone, everywhere. Remember, Xykon let her escape so he could scry on her location when she'd at the Gate, thereby allowing him to easily locate the key to ultimate power.

But because she wasted Shojo, MIKO ISN'T A PALADIN ANYMORE. And while she still knows the location of the Gate, I'm guessing that people who killed the ruler of the city aren't going to be allowed to defend it. She's going to be nowhere near the thing when Xykon attacks! Which means that Ol' Bony will have no clue where it is.

So Miko's paranoia, murder, and Fall, along with Shojo's death, were all for the good... Azure City itself is still almost certainly screwed, but Xykon's plan to gain ultimate power has been laid at nines precisely by Miko's acts. When the Gods removed Miko's powers, they weren't just punishing her, they were covering their butts from Xykon and the Snarl at the same time. Crafty deities...

I don't think so...

Hinjo said he was at the Gate when he ran into :miko:, meaning :xykon: already knows the Gate's location.

[headwarpage]

I thought Hinjo was at the gates to the city, overseeing the repairs, not at the Gate. "Up a level, down a level," comes to mind.

[Megalomaniac2]

Yeah, he definitely meant the Gate to the City.

[Haruki-kun]

............You're looking too much into it...........

[Duke of URL]

:miko: (contrite) Oh dear gods... what have I done???
:belkar: (explains in delighted detail exactly what she has done)
:miko: *sigh* yes... but what I mean is... how can I atone for what I have done?
:roy: I don't think we have much choice... you will need to guard the Gate while we try to hold off Xykon and his army.

[Erk]

I really doubt that. It's pretty silly to send Miko to guard the gate when they are not even sure if they can trust her at all now.

[yougi]

:mitd: But anyways, back to that gate I hear so much about.

[Demented]

That might actually work. Though, ransacking the city and scouring the palace for a hidden Gate is just as fun, it just takes a little longer.

Though, if the Gate is in the prison, Miko will have led Xykon there regardless.

[Alfryd]

But because she wasted Shojo, MIKO ISN'T A PALADIN ANYMORE. And while she still knows the location of the Gate, I'm guessing that people who killed the ruler of the city aren't going to be allowed to defend it. She's going to be nowhere near the thing when Xykon attacks! Which means that Ol' Bony will have no clue where it is.That's quite plausible. However, I imagine the plot may demand otherwise.

Hinjo said he was at the Gate...He was at the gate, not Gate. I think that just refers to the castle entrance.

:miko: (contrite) Oh dear gods... what have I done???
:belkar: (explains in delighted detail exactly what she has done)
:miko: *sigh* yes... but what I mean is... how can I atone for what I have done?
:roy: I don't think we have much choice... you will need to guard the Gate while we try to hold off Xykon and his army.That's also quite plausible.

It's pretty silly to send Miko to guard the gate when they are not even sure if they can trust her at all now.Depends. If Xykon's army shows up very shortly they may need every able-bodied warrior they can find. Feats or not, +15 BAB counts for a quite fair bit.

Though, ransacking the city and scouring the palace for a hidden Gate is just as fun, it just takes a little longer.Yes, I was wondering exactly why Xykon was anxious to have this gate-location scheme in place. Perhaps he's hoping to use the army as a distraction while he teleports to the gate location and unleashes the snarl, thus ensuring victory. Though, given he seemed perfectly confident of conquering 8 nations without any such backup, that seems unlikely. Perhaps he's just looking to save time, and avoid another Dungeon of Durokan scenario. Whole place locked up tight, plenty of goblin minions, and a band of plucky adventurers manage to screw things up, largely by blind luck, but as a Lich you learn you can never be too careful.

[BardicLasher]

:miko: (contrite) Oh dear gods... what have I done???
:belkar: (explains in delighted detail exactly what she has done)
:miko: *sigh* yes... but what I mean is... how can I atone for what I have done?
:roy: I don't think we have much choice... you will need to guard the Gate while we try to hold off Xykon and his army.

Hopefully, if that's how she feels, she'll be too much of a CRYING MESS to help.

[Alfryd]

Hopefully, if that's how she feels, she'll be too much of a CRYING MESS to help.
Somehow, Miko in sudden tears doesn't seem to fit. Maybe later.

[Setra]

Somehow, Miko in sudden tears doesn't seem to fit. Maybe later.

Maybe not Sudden, but if she suddenly cried out "Nooooo" then looked to the Gods, and to Shojo, then to Hinjo, who declares her a traitor...

I could see her shed tears.

[Erk]

she cries out "nooo" and the decorations around the room all shake ominously and her voice sounds different behind the new mask....

[Duke of URL]

Just a quick note... my "contrite Miko" scenario is not actually a prediction I'm making; it's just a mechanism to point out a flaw in the OP's logic.

[Kaazmodan]

:miko:(contrite) Oh dear gods... what have I done???
:belkar: (explains in delighted detail exactly what she has done)
:miko: *sigh* yes... but what I mean is... how can I atone for what I have done?
:roy: I don't think we have much choice... you will need to guard the Gate while we try to hold off Xykon and his army.

I think this will be more possible (but by actually posting this I am making it impossible, as the everknowing Giant will always find a way to twist it another 360 degrees)

:miko:(contrite) Oh dear gods... what have I done???
:belkar: (explains in delighted detail exactly what she has done)
:miko: *sigh* yes... but what I mean is... how can I atone for what I have done?
:belkar: Here's some blue spray paint. Go out in front of Xykons army and challenge him for a duel. Your death will give us the needed 12 seconds for us to finally defend Azure city. GO!

[Miko exits stage right]

:roy: that was a little evil belkar

:belkar: so? she killed my idol? She deserves death!....

:roy:....

:belkar: NOOOOO!!!! I didn't get her kidneys!.... well, I still have some time to get the horse... cya Roy

[Thomar_of_Uointer]

:miko: (contrite) Oh dear gods... what have I done???
:belkar: (explains in delighted detail exactly what she has done)
:miko: *sigh* yes... but what I mean is... how can I atone for what I have done?
:roy: I don't think we have much choice... you will need to guard the Gate while we try to hold off Xykon and his army.

Yeah, that's what I thought. Looks like trouble...

[dragongirl13]

You can scry on someone even when they have gained levels or lost class abilities. And the gate is located RIGHT ABOVE THE CASTLE, specifically RIGHT ABOVE THE THRONE ROOM!!!!!

Am I the only one who payed attention to the Crayons of Time comic with the pictures of all the gates?

[Angela Christine]

You can scry on someone even when they have gained levels or lost class abilities. And the gate is located RIGHT ABOVE THE CASTLE, specifically RIGHT ABOVE THE THRONE ROOM!!!!!

Am I the only one who payed attention to the Crayons of Time comic with the pictures of all the gates?


In 276 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0276.html) it sort of looks like the Azure City rift is floating in the air over the city, and there's nothing that says rifts in reality have to be at ground level, but I assumed that the drawing was just being vague so we wouldn't know exactly where it was.


If the rift was floating over the city, how did they seal it or hide it? Ok, the sealing could have been done with flying spells, but concealing it would be difficult. The gates built to seal the rifts are physical frames, you would see it. They could build a tower to surround and conceal the gate, but we don't see any suspiciously tall towers (or any floating gates) in any of the outdoor shots of the city we've seen.


Hmm, was the castle built before or after the rift was found and sealed? I assumed that the gate was somewhere inside the castle, for safety, but it looks like the city and castle already existed which would make it an amazing coincidence if the rift just happened to be directly above the castle. It's a small picture and a weird perspective, I don't think we can tell from 276 where the rift was. It might not even be -in- Azure City, it might just be near it, since they each took the gate nearest their homelands.

[Duke of URL]

Perhaps the reason everything in the city is blue is to camouflage the Gate?

[Copacetic]

I really don't think the gates just floating up there. It was propally a way to show the city and hte gate in the same tiny space

[Mr Teufel]

Hmm. The castle in 260 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0260.html) is well above the level of the city, high on a hill.