Squidge found the flaw

[Calbeck]

Unfortunately, for those who drew up the contract, the covenant covers only Quentyn of Ridgedale....AND HIS TITLED SUCCESSOR! One level only.

Which means that Quentyn can take up this quest, and, even if he fails....the village is safe!

Yep yep yep!

[Squirrelly61104]

Lawyers:

And we'd have gotten away with it too, if it weren't for that meddling kid and his bogeyman!

Squidge:

Ruh-oh!

I still think this is just a fairly naked land grab by someone who found a loophole in an old contract.
If I recall correctly, the archivists have a pretty solid lock on the mainstream news medium. Somebody in their group, I'm guessing mid-level hierarchy, figured that they could, if not grab everything, then intimidate the 'local-yokels' into paying through the nose to keep their own property.
By using a loophole in the the loophole, Quentyn is forcing the powers that be to play to his tune.
Given time, I bet the village elders could force a fight in courts where the judges aren't bought and paid for.

[Madmoonie]

I don't know.....maybe its just the paranoid nature in me, but land-grabbing seems like too simple a motive for me.

<--

-->

And what do you mean, I am being paranoid?!

[Sariah]

Of course since RH is keeping mum on this point I could be completely wrong.

Or it could mean you're completely right. We just don't know.

And motives could go either way as well. Just for the profit, getting rid of Quentyn and the profit, or something else all together?

[Nemean]

Rar! First post!

I've been following the comic (and some of the forums) for over a year now...

in fact, THIS http://npc.comicgenesis.com/d/20040606.html was the first comic of the strip I ever saw.

Needless to say, I spent four hours reading the backstrips and have reread the series several times since,

blah de blah de blah.

Anyway... if Quentyn I died outside the Mistwall, how did his sword Snakefang get back? http://npc.comicgenesis.com/d/20040810.html

It doesn't seem like something *I'd* leave behind if I were a doughty fighter, fearless slayer of monsters, intrepid explorer, master of stealth and magic, in short, the greatest Questor who ever lived.

But that's just me.

And, oh,

Don't feed Solidus. Feed me.

[Madmoonie]

Rar! First post!

I've been following the comic (and some of the forums) for over a year now...

in fact, THIS http://npc.comicgenesis.com/d/20040606.html was the first comic of the strip I ever saw.

Needless to say, I spent four hours reading the backstrips and have reread the series several times since,

blah de blah de blah.

Anyway... if Quentyn I died outside the Mistwall, how did his sword Snakefang get back? http://npc.comicgenesis.com/d/20040810.html

It doesn't seem like something *I'd* leave behind if I were a doughty fighter, fearless slayer of monsters, intrepid explorer, master of stealth and magic, in short, the greatest Questor who ever lived.

But that's just me.

And, oh,

Don't feed Solidus. Feed me.

That would be because thats a replica. Sorry, its a fake.

[Maxgoof]

it kinda figures that it'd be squidge that got Quentyn into trouble again. (and yes, I do believe that this mission will be trouble, wherever it leads)

Perhaps, but think of it from Quentyn's point of view.

He isn't thinking, "How can I succeed in this mission?"

He's thinking, "How can I save Freeman Downs?"

Now that he knows that the next Questor will not have the same problem, that it ends with him, he will gladly sacrifice his life.

He'll go on the quest assuming he'll die, and never see the Seven Villages again.

[MikeVanPelt]

Perhaps, but think of it from Quentyn's point of view.

He isn't thinking, "How can I succeed in this mission?"

He's thinking, "How can I save Freeman Downs?"

Now that he knows that the next Questor will not have the same problem, that it ends with him, he will gladly sacrifice his life.

He'll go on the quest assuming he'll die, and never see the Seven Villages again.

It occurs to me -- this could be a catastrophic public relations debacle for the Archivists Guild, and/or whoever's behind them. If Quentyn is able to get a statement published abroad to the effect of "The Archivists Guild and an unjust Adjudicator have conspired to destroy my villiage and make everyone in it homeless. The only way to save them is for me to go on this utterly impossible mission which killed the greatest Questor ever. And I'm going to do it."

I think the anger and contempt of the vast, vast majority of Rac Conans would be ... something I'd sure hate to be on the receiving end of.

[RHJunior]

Never underestimate the power of the press, the power of stupidity, or the power of the two in concordance.

Quentyn MIGHT be able to pull off a public relations coup. But that depends on him getting the word out first. Which he most certainly hasn't.

Look, lemme put it this way. The archivist guild has already hired lawyers--- these two are only the can-carriers, they most assuredly have more in the wings-- gone through the legal folderol to re-assert their claim, including going before an adjucator. They have gone to a great deal of trouble, and they not only have the upper hand, they have one hell of a head start.

Do you think they wouldn't already have their "public relations department" up and running already?

By the time those two lawyers spoke to Lady Rose, their counterparts in the Spin Doctor department had probably been at work for weeks--- preparing press releases, gladhanding politicians and uninformed community leaders, and more.

How would the counter-campaign go?

1) Imply repeatedly that the land was obtained by fraud. Insinuate that the Elders of the village were implicit in the fraud or coverup, or accessories after the fact.

2) "Reveal" that the status of Freeman Downs as a Village is a "technicality." Point out that Freeman downs is "really just a loosely thrown together handful of farms," that the population size fluctuates wildly, etc.

3) claim that their population being the appropriate size was a statistical fluke.

4) Accuse the founders of belonging to the opposing political party and claim the village was a product of Gerrymandering.

5) Pull the old Eminent Domain argument... blather about how the land could be put to better use.

6) Claim the land was GOING to be put to a better use, by the Archivist's guild....

7) Fabricate a story about how this fraud hurt someone's poor old granny... the poor dear somehow lost all her savings because of this sudden land grab.... the land was intended for collateral for a retirement plan, or something arcane and obtuse like that.

8) With certain groups, play to their jealousy. Imply that, while people living in the tumbledowns have to live in piled-up crackerboxes, these shysters swiped huge tracts of land (meant for a low-income housing project, surely!) for themselves. To the poor, imply that these farmers are "luxury farmers" (they do grow mostly fruits and melons, mind) who pander to the rich,


Throw all of the above into the mix, early on. Gossip papers, whisper campaigns, et cetera. have the village and the questor's names smeared in a dozen different ways.

[Sariah]

Rar! First post!

I've been following the comic (and some of the forums) for over a year now...

in fact, THIS http://npc.comicgenesis.com/d/20040606.html was the first comic of the strip I ever saw.

Needless to say, I spent four hours reading the backstrips and have reread the series several times since,

blah de blah de blah.

Anyway... if Quentyn I died outside the Mistwall, how did his sword Snakefang get back? http://npc.comicgenesis.com/d/20040810.html

It doesn't seem like something *I'd* leave behind if I were a doughty fighter, fearless slayer of monsters, intrepid explorer, master of stealth and magic, in short, the greatest Questor who ever lived.

But that's just me.

And, oh,

Don't feed Solidus. Feed me.

Weeee! First posts are awesome. Glad you already know about not feeding Solidus.

BTW, the first comic I saw was this one: http://npc.comicgenesis.com/d/20060113.html

I quickly got caught up.

So the press is pitting themselves against Freeman Downs? Any chance the "tea-rags" like the Fact and Opinion would be willing to help?

[Starcat5]

So the press is pitting themselves against Freeman Downs? Any chance the "tea-rags" like the Fact and Opinion would be willing to help?

So, go with the underground movement which the populer press ALREADY has under it's wheel, thus making the counter-arguement (or would it be 'Opening Arguement'?) seem less believable? No. While the F&O will no doubt cover this story, it's best to keep the issue in the legal court and let the guild eat crow, rather than get slaughtered in a "Trial by Media".

...which reminds me... Considering how little the news scripts have been making of Q's sucesses, and how they've overemphasized (And embellished to the point of needing retractions every other day) his failings... These leg-humping sons of hounddogs have been laying the groundwork for this sence day one, haven't they?

[TMLutas]

So the press is pitting themselves against Freeman Downs? Any chance the "tea-rags" like the Fact and Opinion would be willing to help?

So, go with the underground movement which the populer press ALREADY has under it's wheel, thus making the counter-arguement (or would it be 'Opening Arguement'?) seem less believable? No. While the F&O will no doubt cover this story, it's best to keep the issue in the legal court and let the guild eat crow, rather than get slaughtered in a "Trial by Media".

...which reminds me... Considering how little the news scripts have been making of Q's sucesses, and how they've overemphasized (And embellished to the point of needing retractions every other day) his failings... These leg-humping sons of hounddogs have been laying the groundwork for this sence day one, haven't they?

There's no reason at all that Q wouldn't do both the media route and the legal route simultaneously. That mistwall has to get pierced somehow and dollars to doughnuts says there's going to be a legal fight to get it done (unless it's all a big plot (TM) by the powers that be to get the mistwall down in the first place). At the same time, highlighting his story in the media means that it's much more likely that the mistwall will get opened when he wants to get back.

[Maxgoof]

The first Questor I saw was this one.

Yup. One of the founding readers. Been reading since before Goblin Hollow, since before Under The Lemon Tree.

[Wanderwolf]

<sigh> I'm sorry it takes a mind as twisted as mine to see this.

The land is meaningless. It's nothing but the stick and carrot in one. Other than driving Quentyn of Freeman Downs to take up the quest, it has neither value nor meaning to the Archivist's Guild. Besides, not all of the village is affected; it's not even a whole village-worth of land.

No, it's not the artifacts, either. Even if they're Luxcrafted to within an inch of their metaphorical lives, they're not powerful enough to threaten the Seven Villages, or they would've been heard of by now. Since humans can't perceive or manipulate Lux (as stated in Meanwhile I: Kestrel), they're unlikely to be able to use or identify any given artifact.

So if it isn't land, and it isn't wealth that drives the situation, what drives this sudden development from the Archivist's Guild?

Information. They want a Questor to go out and bring back information on the world outside the Mistwall. If the Questor doesn't come back, that's an answer as well. Right now, the Seven Villages are pushing the limits of their available arable land and resources. That's why the Expansionists and Free Traders are going at it. Something has to give.

If Quentyn comes back and says it's safe, the Free Traders will be backed by the Archivists. If he comes back and says it's unsafe, the Expansionists win. And if he doesn't come back at all, the Archivists stay sitting on that fence and hope to find someone else they can blackmail into doing the footwork.

The loophole, like the suit resolved in absentia, is all part of the plan. Place the Questor in a situation where he has to take up a seemingly impossible quest that involves the fear of Outside that all Rac Cona Daimh grow up with. To offer him the quest straightly would expose their hand... so blackmail him with the fate of his hometown.

This time, I have a strong feeling I'm right...

Yours wolfishly,

The having-a-bad-feeling-about-this,

Wanderer

[Maxgoof]

And what happens when the Adjudicators, the Artifactors, the lawyers, all tell Quentyn, forget it, it doesn't change anything?

Then one has to ask "Why would someone want to destroy Freeman Downs?"

[MikeVanPelt]

And what happens when the Adjudicators, the Artifactors, the lawyers, all tell Quentyn, forget it, it doesn't change anything?

Ah, but they can't, as near as I can see. Quentyn has the only vote on that. The terms of the contract specifically allow Quenyn of Ridgedale's sucessor to fulfill its terms by attempting to retrieve the artifacts. They just don't think our Quentyn has the guts to do it.

They obviously don't know him very well.

Or, as someone else speculated, they want to force someone to go out and do some recon.

[Atarlost]

The theory that seems most plausible to me (sorry, I don't remember whose it is originally) is that the target isn't Quentyn or the village, it's the village's representative to the council. This would be like handing Arizona to Mexico to get John McCain out of congress.

[MikeVanPelt]

The theory that seems most plausible to me (sorry, I don't remember whose it is originally) is that the target isn't Quentyn or the village, it's the village's representative to the council. This would be like handing Arizona to Mexico to get John McCain out of congress.

Interesting...

Has the village's representative to the council been mentioned before? I don't recall offhand.

[T.s.a.o]

waitaminute, no votes for bread? How can my families SSI prevent me from regesitering or voting? It didn't stop me registering into the Selective Service...

[EdBecerra]

Never underestimate the power of the press, the power of stupidity, or the power of the two in concordance.

True, RH.. but there's one question I have to ask you.

What's the position of the press where legal documention is concerned?

By that, I mean such legal documents that by law or custom must be posted in a newspaper or other public venue.

Usually, human law takes the position that, as long as it's a legal pronouncement (such as a notice of land confiscation due to back taxes or the like), newspapers HAVE to print it. They might get away with demanding a higher price, but by that same token, the person (or government) placing the notice can demand in return a larger font and more prominent position in the paper.

The Archivist's Guild could end up shooting themselves in the foot if such a legal tradition exists in the Rac'oonian world. If Quentyn 'disguises' his statement as a legal document of intent and they have to publish it... oh, they can spin it later, but Quentyn could smear them in such a way as to NEVER really come off. Newspapers depend on public trust. They lose that trust, they lose money.