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As it was specified, the questor of Ridgedale was hired by the Guild of Archivists. Therefore the land belonged to the Guild.

But how long has it been, is what I want to know....please?

Madmoonie wrote:But how long has it been, is what I want to know....please?

I second that.

Madmoonie wrote:But how long has it been, is what I want to know....please?

We're more or less told already, although I'm sure Ralph might have something to say if I'm too far off.

Quentyn I's old journal was said to have been in the post office for "decades" and to be over a hundred years old. From the current strip we know that all this happened "At the turn of the last century."

If it was very much over 100, you wouldn't count the time in decades anymore.

Furthermore, "at the turn of the last century" is kind of an odd way to put it -- unless you're in a chronological situation similar to our present one, where the century just turned again and for most of us "the turn of the century" has always meant 1900 -- when now it means 2000. We sometimes say "turn of the last century", using a habitual phrase with just a slight change. So they're probably not very far into their current century.

All told, I don't think this can have been more than 125 YBP, perhaps less. Of course, there may be other time clues elsewhere that I've missed that indicate something else.

Just had a thought (sorry if someone else had it all ready) what if its not Q they're trying to get rid of? We've already seen that Gilder is knee deep in polotics, other than being a rich SoB, do we know what sort of position he might hold politically?

Catherine_Puce wrote:

Calbeck wrote:HA! I knew it! Someone went looking up technicalities...no Freeman Downs, no Questor of Freeman Downs, ne ce pas?

Ahem...pardon my French. -:D

First, it's "N'est-ce pas?". Second, Bureaucracy is based on technicalities and if you want my opinion, Rac'coonan society is become a kind of bureaucracy. If a old contract and a clerk mistake can build a destroy a village. I think that this is more lawyer that people with heart that rule the place.

Meilleur chance la prochaine fois pour ton français.

S.P.P.

C'est ainsi.
Möglicherweise sollte er Deutsches anstatt sprechen?

RHJunior wrote:As it was specified, the questor of Ridgedale was hired by the Guild of Archivists. Therefore the land belonged to the Guild.

And now its just a matter of figuring out why the Guild of Archivists could care less about destroying the Village of Freeman Downs...

Or perhaps... Mmm. The Archivist Guild would be a good home for a Disciple of Rosad or two.

I doubt that there's anything valueable on the land, or else it wouldn't have been sold, so its not like anything is hidden. (Of course, Ralph has been known to surprise us.)

Unless... Someone was working to destroy the Questors. QoR was the last Questor of Note, so they gave him a mission that seems, in retrospect and from my nice comfy chair (Actually, its not very comfy. Its several years old, I ought to replace it), impossible. At the very least, he'd be out of the equation for a long time.

...and this is the first I heard of QoR having kits... It doesn't sound quite like he was married, his possessions devolving onto his daughter... There's a sidestory there, in of itself.

--==|Edit|==--

Shoot! I forgot!

I'm just going to take a shot in the dark here and say the Sojourner Church has become a power, or at least something that can't be squashed, in the human lands. Part of the arc (Should Quenty go to fulfill the contract) would probably involve seeking sanctuary within a church, with a human priest following the Lord's desire to defend all that follow him.

It'd make sense that maybe one such human has also encountered the white stag. And while not 'chosen', per se, has been choosen to help out Quenty. ...or Quenty meets up with a HUMAN Questor, who has been sent out to track down those screwy artifacts from all those years ago...

On a FINAL note (I swear!), here's this to consider:

Quentyn of Ridgedale could be refered to as Quentyn, or QoR.
Quentyn of Freeman Downs could be refered to as Quenty, or QoFD.

Heck, I'm still wondering how Quentyn could ever retrieve any of those artifacts... They've been legally sold and bought, and in the posession of various humans for several generations. "This goblet belonged to my great-great-grandfather! You can't have it!"

I hope Quentyn brings a lot of very valuable lux-enhanced trade goods. That would help.

I think we should keep in mind that no one has come out and told Quentyn to go anywhere yet. I think it's highly likely, but we all know that Ralph likes to lead us in the wrong direction.

Sariah wrote:I think we should keep in mind that no one has come out and told Quentyn to go anywhere yet. I think it's highly likely, but we all know that Ralph likes to lead us in the wrong direction.

You do have a point, nonetheless, I can'-

Was about to say that I can't think of another way out, but I just did. Quenty signs another contract with the Archivests to do something and get the similar reward - the land in question.

In that case, it definatly sounds like a trap for Quenty.

UncleMonty wrote: I hope Quentyn brings a lot of very valuable lux-enhanced trade goods. That would help.

Ha! That's where Kes comes in. Find out what kind of lux enhancement would be considered valuable enough to persuade the humans to part with those artifacts.

Bengaley wrote:Or perhaps... Mmm. The Archivist Guild would be a good home for a Disciple of Rosad or two.

Or a member of the expansionist party. In fact, that might fit rather well really....

Trump wrote:

Bengaley wrote:Or perhaps... Mmm. The Archivist Guild would be a good home for a Disciple of Rosad or two.

Or a member of the expansionist party. In fact, that might fit rather well really....

Both would, now that I think about it.

Hellfire, what a way to break open the barriers, eh? Send a kid out to do something, then start making a ruckus and send someone else out. Break the isolation for love of the kit.

...nevermind said kit was chosen by Yeshu to become a Questor (As was Quentyn of Ridgedale, now that I think about it...)...

I dunno, but the a form of Christanity that really appealed to me was the Church of Humanity Unchained, as practiced by the Graysons in the Honor Harrington series. Specifically, the part about the Test.

Personally, I don't believe that any society, any society with an open mind as opposed to a closed one, can exist in a vacuum - especially when they know that there's something other than a void out there. Eventually, that Mistwall is going to come down.

But Rac Coona society, due to the apparent longevity of inviduals, would be one inherintly conservative and semi-resistant to change. However, things are going to get... interesting soon enough, as the number of kits don't seem to be slowing down...

--==|Edit|==--

Erf, forgot to mention. If the rate of expansion of the population due to procreation exceeds that of the contraction due to death, then you're going to have a society that comes appart at the seams within a few generations, in a closed environment, due to crowding.

Eventually, that Mistwall will have to come down, just to allow some room for breathing.

So who is behind this plot?

It could be the expansionist behind this. They want Quentyn sent out and return with tales of how brutal and nasty humans are; or not return at all (revenge for getting in the way of the last plot?). Either result giving them an argument to take they land they feel is needed.

It could also be the Free-Traders however. It is there turn to hatch a plot. They want someone (Quentyn may not be the first choice, public opinion of him isn't all that high but they will take who they can get) sent out to establish some contact with the humans.

It could also be the "rulers"(council, elders, who ever is at the top of hierarchy). They just want information before deciding if they should open trade back up or try to annex some of the humans' land.

I doubt the Archivist's Guild is behind this. They are probably pawns pushed into action by greed. They either get the lost shipment back or tracks of land with upgrades (back rent???).

This does look like a lose-lose situation for Gilder however. If either the Expansionists or the Free-traders win, new resources (metals) would come in lowering the value of his stockpile of wealth. Not sending people out could cost him his land.

One last thought, Nessie with her ability "ken" items from a long ways away would be invaluable help in hunting down the artifacts. We just need to figure out a way to get her out of arms of her mother.

My understanding is that a situation vaguely analogous to this has come up in RL. The Nazis stole a lot of art, which ended up in private hands after the War. Now they have been tracked down in the hands of descendants, collectors, museums etc. which obtained them legitimately.
BTW, love the expression on the Rac's face in the second panel!
PS It is my understanding that it is c. 2002 by now in the Quentynverse, so this happened just over a hundred years ago.

Gvassar wrote:This does look like a lose-lose situation for Gilder however.

It also sheds new light on his conversation with his wife -- he was worried that the existance of a questor of Freeman Downs was a threat to the villiage itself. Maybe he knew about this little legal bomb, and was worried about anything that might get lots of people thinking "Questor ... Freeman Downs... Wasn't there something about that?"

If so, he should have been doing something useful on his end. Maybe he has been; maybe that'll be revealed in the next strip.

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Chaser617 wrote:Just had a thought (sorry if someone else had it all ready) what if its not Q they're trying to get rid of? We've already seen that Gilder is knee deep in polotics, other than being a rich SoB, do we know what sort of position he might hold politically?

Hmm, for all we know this could have nothing to do with politics. Take the second panel of the April 4 strip, replaced the shock 'oh shit' look with a shifty/greedy narrowing of the eyes. This could be just some Rac'conan deciding he can make a quick buck by using the courts to screw some people over. The Seven Village's Kelo Case.

OTOH would the repossession include improvements made to the land, and buildings on it?

Sariah wrote:I think we should keep in mind that no one has come out and told Quentyn to go anywhere yet. I think it's highly likely, but we all know that Ralph likes to lead us in the wrong direction.

I don't think that anyone will tell Quentyn to go anywhere. More like this:

Lawyer: So, I'm afraid that you will all have to surrender your property back to the guild and live elsewhere.

Quentyn: WAIT!! Didn't you say"the Questor of Freeman Downs" has to complete this mission?

Lawyer: Of course! That's who the contract was with.

Quentyn: In fact, you even said "Quentyn, Questor of Freeman Downs", correct?

Lawyer: Have you not been listening?

Quentyn: Well, *I* am Quentyn, Questor of Freeman Downs, and you can't take back the village until I fail to fulfill the contract!

[...unWARP!]

Good evening.


Or, someone wants all of the land of Freeman Downs because someone has discovered an UNTAPPED METAL VEIN DIRECTLY UNDER IT???

That could be it.


¡Zacatepóngolas!

Until next time, remember:

I

AM

THE

J.A.M. (a.k.a. Numbuh i: "Just because I'm imaginary doesn't mean I don't exist")

Good evening.

[WARP!!!]

Tom Mazanec wrote:My understanding is that a situation vaguely analogous to this has come up in RL. The Nazis stole a lot of art, which ended up in private hands after the War. Now they have been tracked down in the hands of descendants, collectors, museums etc. which obtained them legitimately.

Not really analogous. The difference is that the Nazis stole the art in the first place, and it often ended up in private hands because it was looted from some Nazi cache. So that means they were stolen twice -- albeit the second time from illegitimate owners. Anyone who bought the art from the looters might have bought it in good faith for their own parts, but the sellers didn't really have the right to sell.

Mind you, this is a purely 20th century idea of who owns war booty. Prior to WWII, if you could snatch it, it's yours. (Otherwise there are even now significant amounts of treasure that would have to change hands.) Losing your stuff was just something that happened to the losing side.

What we have here is instead a misdirected shipment, which is a different legal kettle of fish entirely. In the US, if you receive a shipment addressed to you that you did not contract for, even if it was so addressed in error, it legally belongs to you whether you pay for it or not.