Girl Genius XXV: It needs work! BUT THE CONCEPT IS SOUND!

[Fyraltari]

Krosp is making some big assumptions here. She could have been captured for one.

It's a little like a WWI trench warfare narrative. Major Jones might come back to the line and find out the Corporal Froofram bit the dust in the last artillery bombardment. Sure, Froofram might have been like a son to him. He could be mad. It could lead him to the pits of despair, heights of anguish, or anything in-between. But surprised?

The thing is in WWI narratives (and you know the real deal) people weren't just in constant danger of dying. people constantly died. Our motly band of heroes however has a ridiculously high survival rate. It kind of lower expectations of them dying. Plus his facial expression in the last panel reads less as surprise and more as shock/grief to me.

Plus, Smoke Knight. I can imagine Tarvek conceiving a fight Violetta couldn't win, but something capable of preventing her from running away under stealth if she was outmatched? His family practically mythologizes the skill of their pet assassins, and she's the best of them he's ever known. It's not just the loss of his best friend for who knows how long, but specifically the overthrow of a facet of his worldview he's never really had challenged (leaving aside the assorted smoke knights who the protagonists have defeated).

Wouldn't that be Veilchen or Martellus' assassin from the dirigble? Violetta isn't that good a Smoke Knight even if she does not give herself enough credit.