part six, page nine

Jesus God, Broah is fast.

Something to consider re: this fight…

Alric has two pistols. As far as I can tell, he has only emptied ONE of them. He has one bullet left.

I hope he trained more with those than he did with swords. Broah is big and strong and fast (and mute? I think?) but even a primitive firearm is more than capable of turning his head into a pink mist.

I’d like to note; either the Caliphate guard is shit, or Jandal was an idiot. There is a very good reason that, historically, many Kings and other rulers did not allow anyone to be armed in their presence except for their personal bodyguards.

Now, Dalakhra is a high-ranking noble, above being frisked without cause, so him getting in with the knife is understandable. But Alric has a pair of wicked axes and a couple pistols. Broah has his giant fucking sword. Neither of them should have been allowed into even a casual audience with the Caliph without being politely but firmly disarmed, precisely because of shit like this.

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I’m beginning to wonder if Broah is 100% human.

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I’d like to note; either the Caliphate guard is shit, or Jandal was an idiot. There is a very good reason that, historically, many Kings and other rulers did not allow anyone to be armed in their presence except for their personal bodyguards.

Now, Dalakhra is a high-ranking noble, above being frisked without cause, so him getting in with the knife is understandable. But Alric has a pair of wicked axes and a couple pistols. Broah has his giant fucking sword. Neither of them should have been allowed into even a casual audience with the Caliph without being politely but firmly disarmed, precisely because of shit like this.

One would point out that a political wizard like Jandal (and he is such, which will become more clear as we progress) generally knows to the bone who is a danger and who isn’t, and Alric and Broah being allowed to carry their weapons in aren’t what killed him, so he probably judged quite accurately if they posed a danger to him.

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The word ‘generally’ is doing a lot of work there, MGK. Unless he planned to die on Dalakhra’s knife (a possibility!), he made at least ONE mistake when it came to assessing danger.

There’s something to be said for being cautious for the sake of being cautious. Disarming people entering the Caliph’s presence should be SOP for his guard (you cannot possibly tell me Jandal is the first Caliph to die this way) unless specifically ordered otherwise, and he should be very reluctant to give that order.

This conversation/fight would be playing out much differently, if it were playing out at all, had Kahal, Fezay, and Rayana been the only armed people in that room.

Well, and Dalakhra, I guess.

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It’s entirely possible that the Caliph simply mistrusted everyone equally, particularly the guy he condemned to slavery and that guy’s best friend. In that situation, you would probably want armed people in the room who would be certain to take the opposing side should those two choose to attack.

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Barring his own death being part of some sort of master plan, it is hard as a reader to credit any great political skill to Jandal, given how this has played out. Especially given that his own poor judgement, in this regard, has not only cost his own life, but also left his family vulnerable.

On the other hand, if Jandal hops up in a moment as some sort of undead caliph or whatever, I’ll be a bit more convinced of his wizardry, political or otherwise.

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On the other hand, if Jandal hops up in a moment as some sort of undead caliph or whatever, I’ll be a bit more convinced of his wizardry, political or otherwise.

Given the lack of blood coming from his wound on the previous page, I definitely suspect he is a lich.

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