PDA

View Full Version : Stupid question about #673



littlebum2002
2014-12-16, 09:09 AM
Why is there a line of dots leaving Sandsedge in #673 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0673.html)? A quick read through of the relevant discussion thread didn't answer the question, unfortunately.

I assume they are people, but the line looks like it's miles long, stretching out far into the desert. Are there really that many people trying to enter Sandsedge? If so, why? I mean, sure it's a trading center, but the line looks like it has more people than the town does.

Keltest
2014-12-16, 09:24 AM
Refugees perhaps? The current political climate is going to be constantly displacing people.

DaggerPen
2014-12-16, 09:24 AM
I think it's a mix of incoming and outgoing caravans. Roy does say that this place is a major trading hub for the area.

Peelee
2014-12-16, 10:19 AM
I mean, sure it's a trading center, but the line looks like it has more people than the town does.

That's assuming we can see the entire town. Assume we can't, and suddenly it doesn't seem so daunting.

Keltest
2014-12-16, 10:48 AM
That's assuming we can see the entire town. Assume we can't, and suddenly it doesn't seem so daunting.

We almost definitely cant. Sandsedge is a port city, which means there would be a fairly large dock area, with important facilities like taverns for the sailors.

Peelee
2014-12-16, 11:06 AM
We almost definitely cant. Sandsedge is a port city, which means there would be a fairly large dock area, with important facilities like taverns for the sailors.

Oh, I know; I was just demonstrating a train of thought that could also apply to other situations. Teach a man to fish, and all that.

littlebum2002
2014-12-16, 11:10 AM
Regardless of the size of the city, a line stretching for miles out into the desert just to get in seems excessive and unlikely.

Are there ANY examples of such a thing? Not even in real life, but in other works of fiction? I don't think "incredibly long line waiting to enter a city" is something I've ever encountered before.



While we're here, another question: How did they get into Bleedingham without getting entry papers? Was this ever discussed?

Keltest
2014-12-16, 11:14 AM
Regardless of the size of the city, a line stretching for miles out into the desert just to get in seems excessive and unlikely.

Are there ANY examples of such a thing? Not even in real life, but in other works of fiction? I don't think "incredibly long line waiting to enter a city" is something I've ever encountered before.

What makes you think theyre waiting? They could just be marching in single file at normal walking speed. Or OUT single file, for that matter.



While we're here, another question: How did they get into Bleedingham without getting entry papers? Was this ever discussed?

"They" being the Order I presume? Durkon snuck out and got papers the normal way, Haley, Elan and V were made guests by Tarquin, and Roy and Belkar got busted for it, which is why the Arena bit happened. After that, they were "employed" by Tarquin and given papers.

Murk
2014-12-16, 11:18 AM
I think that, if trying to depict long caravans, those typical desert-things, a long long line is the most conventional way to do it.
Besides, this long line isn't that long. It seems very long because it's not a mass of people, but if I have to guess it like this, I'd say less than five thousand people. Those at the back end of the line will probably take another hour or two to reach the city. Five thousand people per two hours isn't that much for a trading hub.

About "similar things in fantasy", I don't know, but there are plenty of real world examples. All traffic jams on the peripheries of big cities are like this on rush hours. The dam to the Mont Saint Michel looks like this every day in the summer. I've seen castles in Bavaria and around the Loire which look like this. Heck, I've seen Apple Stores where the lines were longer :)

Gnoman
2014-12-16, 11:23 AM
I assumed that that wasn't people/caravans, but the tracks of people/caravans.

Rogar Demonblud
2014-12-16, 11:30 AM
While we're here, another question: How did they get into Bleedingham without getting entry papers? Was this ever discussed?

They Wind Walked into town instead of going through the front gate. I think it's actually mentioned in the comic.

littlebum2002
2014-12-16, 11:39 AM
I think that, if trying to depict long caravans, those typical desert-things, a long long line is the most conventional way to do it.
Besides, this long line isn't that long. It seems very long because it's not a mass of people, but if I have to guess it like this, I'd say less than five thousand people. Those at the back end of the line will probably take another hour or two to reach the city. Five thousand people per two hours isn't that much for a trading hub.

About "similar things in fantasy", I don't know, but there are plenty of real world examples. All traffic jams on the peripheries of big cities are like this on rush hours. The dam to the Mont Saint Michel looks like this every day in the summer. I've seen castles in Bavaria and around the Loire which look like this. Heck, I've seen Apple Stores where the lines were longer :)

OOOH, it's a caravan. That makes much more sense. Yes, that's probably what a caravan reaching the city WOULD look like.



They Wind Walked into town instead of going through the front gate. I think it's actually mentioned in the comic.

I thought I remembered that, too, I just can't seem to find it anywhere.

EDIT: Searching the wiki for "wind walk" found the appropriate transcript of 733 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0733.html)

Jaxzan Proditor
2014-12-16, 11:51 AM
I think that they are trails of people (either part of caravans or refugees) heading into and out of the city.

veti
2014-12-16, 10:21 PM
I see them as people headed into the city, not out of it.

A long queue to get in makes some sense, although why it should be a long straight line is - a bit weird. A steady stream of people leaving (and all heading in exactly the same direction) would be distinctly weirder.

DaggerPen
2014-12-16, 10:59 PM
Remember that for desert travel, traveling in long straight lines is the de facto formation. It allows a group to easily see if they're starting to go in circles, etc.

Porthos
2014-12-16, 11:30 PM
Doing some random looking (settled on Camel Caravans):

http://www.posterpal.com/_images/z654722.jpg
http://lcmt.topdesert.com/content/photos/travel-guide/photogenic-morocco/camel-caravans-in-the-sand/lowcost-morocco-travel-camel-caravans-in-the-sand0.jpg
http://calledoutdotcom.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/desert-caravan.jpg (Pic linked because it's too wide)

And so on.

So, sure, maybe slightly exaggerated for artisitic effect. But not by that much. Especially as I look about and see references to caravans that had 500 camels.

Lexible
2014-12-17, 12:31 AM
Are there ANY examples of such a thing? Not even in real life, but in other works of fiction? I don't think "incredibly long line waiting to enter a city" is something I've ever encountered before.

The gates of Taashban early in The Horse and His Boy by C. S. Lewis, where Shasta and Bree are waiting at or before dawn to enter the city's gates. There is further description of slow progress once in the city, as traffic in the narrow streets must frequently stop and cram to the side to make way for Persons of Importance.

Corneel
2014-12-17, 09:48 AM
Maybe they arrived at the same time as the semi-annual Salt Caravan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azalai).


At one time the caravan route from Timbuktu extended through Taoudenni to Taghaza, another salt-mining site, and on to the lands north of the Sahara on the Mediterranean Sea. Caravans with up to 10,000 camels carried gold and slaves north, returning with manufactured goods and salt from Taghaza and Taoudenni.


The Agadez-Bilma Taghlamt was historically a monopoly of the Tuareg, and successively the Kel Gress, Kel Owey and Kel Ayr confederations in particular. Many Tuareg traders owned the salt pits and date plantations in Kaouar, as well as holding bonded laborers there, and traveled the caravan to administer their property. The Tuareg Taghlamt, numbering 10,000 camels and stretching 25 km at the beginning of the colonial period, is led by the representative of the Amenokal (confederation leader), followed by each sub group.

littlebum2002
2014-12-17, 10:27 AM
Maybe they arrived at the same time as the semi-annual Salt Caravan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azalai).

10,000 camels?

https://i.imgflip.com/ff8fn.jpg

Holy Cow!!!!!!

colanderman
2014-12-17, 06:40 PM
I just assumed it's the road to/from Sandsedge. It's busy just like any highway to a major trading hub is busy.

(Why stick to a road in a desert? Sure beats getting lost.)