Contractual obligation

[Madmoonie]

And on a side note: I predict the use of term "cute little forest animal" in future.

No, no, no. Its gonna be either "Awww....that is the cutest thing...." or....

DIE, FOUL RODENT!

[MikeVanPelt]

What I wonder about is how Quentyn is going to find the artifacts in the human lands if he doesn't speak their language ...

One thing I've wondered for a while is just how obviously physically different the Rac Conans are from ordinary raccoons. We haven't seen them do so, but can they walk on all fours? And, are there "ordinary raccoons" in the human world, and if so, are raccoons considered "suspect" because of the Rac Conans, or are raccoons otherwise hunted?

Depending on the answers to these questions, there's a possibility of moving around in the human world without attracting attention.

And on a side note: I predict the use of term "cute little forest animal" in future.

Just before getting lux-blasted...

(Speaking of which, in the absence of lux fonts and ley lines, they're likely to be running short of lux most of the time.)

[Calbeck]

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

[Tbolt]

So, Quentyn needs to pick up his forefather's task? Interesting. This has so much buried ugly in it.

I wonder if elder Quentyn was able to recover any of the lost artifacts before whatever it was that prevented him from returning took him?

[NON SEQUITOR]

Next on Rac-Aldo! The Lost Treasure of Quentyn of Ridgedale!

* cut to scene of a cheesily dressed rac-conan wearing a hairpiece *

Here we are in this mysterious chamber where my friend's cat believes that we have the lost artifacts of Quentyn of Ridgedale! Soon we will open this sealed concrete chamber from decades past and learn its secrets!


* 45 minutes of wild speculation, commercials, and just plain BS later... *


"And now" -grunt- "with the attistance" -grunt- "of the Lux-o-matic" -grunt- "Mark III Tongs of Extraction" -grunt- "The moment of trith has arrived!"

* The wall crumbles and the body of an overweight human topples out. A name tag on the front of the human's clothing reads: Hoffa *

"Awwww, fewmets! Nothing to see here! I'm never going to find anything important at this rate!" -sniff- "Ewwww... That's it, let's get outta here!"

* Turns to leave and is squashed by a loose boulder falling from the ceiling *

"Boss, shouldn't you be yelling cut right now?"

"Nah, keep filming, we'll put this one on the Christmas reel as well..."

[/NON SEQUITOR]

One other possibilty, rather slim, it this is a ploy to get current Quentyn out of the hair of some high up ne'er do wells, there may have never been a load of artifacts to recover. The original Quentyn may have also been sent on a wild goose chase to eliminate him as well. Doubtful, but possible.

If there are artifacts to be recovered this could also be doubly ugly. Assuming they were purchased by humans legitimately we could be talking about third generation family heirlooms now. That will take a lot of wit and cunning to bring back, especially, if one does not want to give to the world at large that rac-conans are thieving little critters.

Wow, this has a LOT of story potential!

[LoneWolf23k]

What I wonder about is how Quentyn is going to find the artifacts in the human lands if he doesn't speak their language(I don't remember so if the rac'conan and human language is the same ignore the rest of this this paragraph). It's doable without language skills but if he could ask around for clues things might fare better. Does poor Quentyn have to go through a crash course in human language before leaving or are they just going to give him a rac'conan/human dictionary and tell him to wing it or maybe they take the easiest way and send a translator along with him? Or hopefully the basics of human language was an optional course in school which Quentyn took.

And on a side note: I predict the use of term "cute little forest animal" in future.

Ah, but you forget, the sojourner faith was originally introduced by a human.. which means the Rac'conans know at least one human language.. ...at least I think they would..

[SolidusRaccoon]

This would have made an awesome radio serial.

[Richter B.]

if they take anyone i hope they take the swamp girl too
since she can cover alot of ground with that tallent of hers....
basiclly she would be there radar on the artifacts....
and oggy too would be cool also...
kind'a like a mascot.
well he would have to contend with squidge on that one...

and as mike said fen too.
and what bard wouldn't want to make a song about
as big as crossing the human world.

Kes maybe for her skills in building artifacts she would
also know how to store and saftly move them...
incase some are dangerous.

and also as said that shotgun gaurd cause
he's the rac with the gun.


also the frog mage too cause they might need
a guy who know good spells and he
most likely has a knowlage of plants and stuff....
or at least he looks like he would??

[Shyal_malkes]

just my luck to have been puking sick yesterday


not to be against the grain but I really don't see Quentyn (current) as having many enemies that would cinsider him worth the trouble.

think about it, the gragum (at least their chief) considers him a powerfull person who helped to clean out a 'liar' from among their midst.
as for the rat-king incident, it was caused (as Ralph pointed out) due to an accident of the cieling falling down onto it's cage and breaking it open (though I still say the doctor did it) any desciples still left aren't going to blame quentyn for the discovery of the lab without also crediting him for keeping it both relatively intact and for keeping sanctuary city alive.
as for the gang/expansionist plot? all his gang enemies are scared of him or don't know who he is (or don't know he was involved, I'm talking about the redcaps who saw him in 'royal' attire) and the expansionists are going to be more concerned with mulharny and co then with quentyn, I mean quentyn's doings in that from their point of view could have easily been chalked up to dumb luck (though a look from the inside shows a little more then just that at work)

I think these events are occurring because (as was mentioned at that library) recently there has been a revival of interest in the topic. that revival will cause a relooking at old legends and stories until someone eventually discovers a problem or something that 'looks' like a problem.

kinda like how Maxgoof here got confused, it wasn't because he was looking for something to be confused about (I assume) but because he found something that didn't quite seem correct due to a renewed interrest in the topic at the time.

*heave* *pant*

I realy shouldn't talk so much so soon after being sick

ps. oggy as the mascot?, remember how TOTQ got started and who the 'mascot' was gonna end up being?

[Sariah]

Could this be why the questor museum had only replicas? The originals were in the shipment that got misrouted?

Heh, probably. But we know why Quentyn of Ridgedale's sword was a replica, he took the real Snakefang with him.

[Straw]

Ah, but you forget, the sojourner faith was originally introduced by a human.. which means the Rac'conans know at least one human language.. ...at least I think they would..

Nope I didn't forget. :p They know at least one human language(possibly) but do rac'conan use that since I'm quite sure that they have a language of their own? Main point being has our young hero ever learned human language.

[Maxgoof]

Another idea, while Quentyn is away, the gang raids Freeman downs. That would suck. That or he gets back to find that the guild has already taken back their land.

Well, then he organizes the local rac cona on his return to rout the scoundrels, and, as the leader of the scoundrels is leaving, his snivelling assistant stabs him in the back.

Quentyn then plants the seeds that were given to him by a kindly human on his journey, and scatters the dirt that was given him by the same, and the whole village becomes lush and green again, and the seed grows into a beautiful Mallorn Tree, and...

What? Why are you looking at me like that?

[Maxgoof]

Could this be why the questor museum had only replicas? The originals were in the shipment that got misrouted?

Heh, probably. But we know why Quentyn of Ridgedale's sword was a replica, he took the real Snakefang with him.

Oh, wouldn't that be sad? In his travels, Quentyn finds the real snakefang...and hears a story of how it was acquired.

[Maxgoof]

Actually, the reason for bringing this up has little to do with Quentyn and everything to do with politics. In other words, certain parties in power wanted to eliminate Freeman Downs entirely because certain representatives other than Quentyn represented an opposing obstacle to their quest for power.

Quentyn is thought of as nothing more than an archaic curiosity. The thought that he might take up and attempt to complete the contract never entered their cute fuzzy little heads.

Even when he does, they will see it as nothing more than a short delay and an unfortunate and futile sacrifice. Once he is missing long enough to be declared dead, they will do exactly that.

Which means that Quentyn will have to come back before that time limit with at least *one* artifact in hand.

Which one? Well, while it is not on the manifest.....I would say Snakefang.

[Bengaley]

Personally, I don't think it would be all that hard to find out what happened to most of the artifacts.

(I have only read the comic, don't own the CDs, so bear with me.)

From what it sounds like in the comic, is that the reason trade was cut off was due to a civil war among the humans starting up. Magical devices don't have to be weapons to be used as weapons - whether on the battlefeild, or on the home-front.

I imagine that quite a few of these 'artifacts' were fought over repeatedly throughout the wars, and most of those destroyed in the fighting - with plenty of legends and stories about it, too.

Those that would be left would be in two catagories: Being considered the 'secret ability' or 'hidden power' of one of the human polities, or in a museum or private collection.

I'm guessing that the majority in the latter catagory would be among the 'useless' artifacts, or the damaged remains of 'em. The former would be among the legends of those polities, and would be easy to account for. In THIS, would be Snakefang.

That's my guess, at least. I doubt that these artifacts would be scattered to the winds.

Speaking of that, I wonder if the shipment of artifacts to the trading post WAS accidental?

[Catherine_Puce]

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.

[Acolyte]

Ah, but you forget, the sojourner faith was originally introduced by a human.. which means the Rac'conans know at least one human language.. ...at least I think they would..

Not necessarily. It would be the job of the missionary to translate the message into the local language, not the other way around.

The reason there will be a commonly understood language is that there used to be trade between the two peoples until a few hundred years ago. Dialects may have drifted, but they should still be mutually comprehensible.

One thing I've wondered for a while is just how obviously physically different the Rac Conans are from ordinary raccoons. We haven't seen them do so, but can they walk on all fours? And, are there "ordinary raccoons" in the human world, and if so, are raccoons considered "suspect" because of the Rac Conans, or are raccoons otherwise hunted?

Looks like they have bigger ears, shorter snouts, and larger heads unless that's just Ralph's style. But they'd need larger heads anyway, to hold the larger brains they'd naturally have as a sentient species. RL raccoons can stand on their hind legs easily, but I've never seen one walk that way. So a Rac Conan can probably stand on all fours if necessary, but probably cannot walk very easily like that. They have fewer teeth as Ralph draws them. Edit: And I shouldn't have forgotten opposable thumbs, which RL raccoons don't quite have yet.

(Note that Ralph's raccoons in other contexts don't look exactly like Rac Conans.)

(I know all this because my wife feeds the local raccoons and we get a half-dozen on the porch every night. I know she shouldn't. It began when they started showing up for the leftover cat food we put out for the outdoor cats -- they're not feral, they just like to avoid the wild child in the house and don't come in while he's awake. Then the raccoons figured out somehow where the food came from. When they put their paws up on the window and give my wife this look she finds it impossible to resist. Even more so when it's a momma with her kits.)

Suspect or not, let's just hope the humans aren't at the stage where they think raccoons make nifty hats.

[Shyal_malkes]

Another idea, while Quentyn is away, the gang raids Freeman downs. That would suck. That or he gets back to find that the guild has already taken back their land.

Well, then he organizes the local rac cona on his return to rout the scoundrels, and, as the leader of the scoundrels is leaving, his snivelling assistant stabs him in the back.

Quentyn then plants the seeds that were given to him by a kindly human on his journey, and scatters the dirt that was given him by the same, and the whole village becomes lush and green again, and the seed grows into a beautiful Mallorn Tree, and...

What? Why are you looking at me like that?

the funny part is that my little brother earlier this morning put 'The Return of The King' into the DVD player. but wouldn't it be more of a friendly elf lady?

[Squirrelly61104]

maxgoof:

Oh, wouldn't that be sad? In his travels, Quentyn finds the real snakefang...and hears a story of how it was acquired.

Young Rac-Conan Quentyn meets on his quest:

What, this old sword? It belonged to my grandfather. He said the place he used to live was getting too quiet for him, so he headed out here looking for other Rac-conans. Heck, if you want you can ask him yourself. He usually spends his afternoons with his friends down at the inn, where he keeps all that wierd junk he accumulated.

[Bengaley]

Something I forgot to add, last post -

What was that obscure law that Quenty used to grab the spot for his lemona-er, Questor stand? 'Nobody was using it, so I claimed it'?

I think that it would apply to the Village, now =D That would be one loophole.

And another point - two, really.

1. Who owned the land that Quent of Ridgedale was getting as part of the contract?

2. Who was the person giving the contract?

[JakeWasHere]

maxgoof:

Oh, wouldn't that be sad? In his travels, Quentyn finds the real snakefang...and hears a story of how it was acquired.

Young Rac-Conan Quentyn meets on his quest:

What, this old sword? It belonged to my grandfather. He said the place he used to live was getting too quiet for him, so he headed out here looking for other Rac-conans. Heck, if you want you can ask him yourself. He usually spends his afternoons with his friends down at the inn, where he keeps all that wierd junk he accumulated.

Knowing what I know about human beings, if QoR really WERE still out there, I think he might have lost some of his, how shall I say, idealism about the world. Some of the things humans do to each other would be enough to make even the most hardened and stalwart Rac Conan doubt his faith in Yeshu.

Suppose QoFD meets QoR - and finds that after so long among the humans, the great Quentyn of Ridgedale has been reduced to nihilism... "The horror, the horror! - Exterminate all the brutes!"