OotS #6662 is up

[Dausuul]

Actually, Tsukiko's suggestion is pretty good one. Even if Xyklon finds himself regenerated inside a sea-monster, he's a Epic level sorceror. And unless there's a sea-creature version of some magic-eating monster that I'm not aware of, I think the only problem it will be is how much pressure will it be get out of wherever the heck it is.

Yeah, there's really not a lot of justification for not using the "kill yourself and regen" trick. Have Xykon dispel the cloister on himself, kill himself, and then Tsukiko and Redcloak can use divination magic to locate him and teleport him back. Then they know where the amulet is and can go fetch it.

It's mostly a plot thing, I'd say.

 

[Asmor]

That moment came more than 500 strips ago, when Xykon's body was destroyed and Redcloak had the phylactery in hand. He didn't do it.

Hmm, good point. Back when I first read that bit of the story, I hadn't yet read Start of Darkness. But in retrospect, that does seem rather odd to me.

My guess is that at that point Redcloak was still serving Xykon out of guilt as much as fear. Since then, Xykon's taken plenty of opportunities to lessen the impact of the guilt, so the only thing holding Redcloak back now is fear.

 

[Dausuul]

Hmm, good point. Back when I first read that bit of the story, I hadn't yet read Start of Darkness. But in retrospect, that does seem rather odd to me.

My guess is that at that point Redcloak was still serving Xykon out of guilt as much as fear. Since then, Xykon's taken plenty of opportunities to lessen the impact of the guilt, so the only thing holding Redcloak back now is fear.

What makes you think so? Redcloak's relationship with Xykon has never struck me as being based much on fear. Take this recent fight. Redcloak didn't just stand back and let Xykon and V duke it out; nor did he merely make a token effort so that Xykon wouldn't punish him for failing to help. On the contrary, he joined in the fray with his usual savvy and intelligence, shouting tactical advice to Xykon that may well have turned the tide. When he got back just now, he came running in, out of breath, and the first words out of his mouth were, "Xykon! Are you OK?"

In the past, Redcloak has been insolent and snarky to Xykon on many occasions. Of course he knows Xykon is a dangerous boss, and he takes that into consideration; but he's far too active a participant in Xykon's schemes to be held there by fear alone.

 

[ProfessorCirno]

I think some of you are downplaying just how fanatical Redcloak is to his plan.

While fear and guilt play a roll in his loyalty to Xykon, the major player is The Plan. Xykon knows that Redcloak knows that, should The Plan fail, then everything that he's done, and every sacrifice that any goblin has ever made, has all been worthless. To put it simple, The Plan is the all consuming thing in Redcloak's mind, and what drives him to continue following Xykon. It goes before everything else.

As I said earlier, I'm willing to bet that Xykon remembers quite well about Right-Eye, and he's forcing Redcloak to leave his eye out to remind him of just how much has gone into The Plan, and why he can't abandon it and go against Xykon's will.