Chapter 15, Page 26
July 17th, 2017Pieter faces off with a Morantine recruitment party that doesn’t want to take no for an answer. Pieter’s something of a pacifist and wants nothing to do with this. Willem and Pieter share a look, as you can see when you vote for Snow by Night on Top Web Comics!
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I enjoy that women get to be the villains, too. Military life brings out the worst in everyone.
Also, I love the look on Pietre’s face; it’s not anger, kinda incredulous maybe, but it seems to say “Wow, what’re you even trying, bro?”
I just find it ironic that she’s saying not to put trust in a piece of paper when she’s shoving one in his face.
I cannot believe that Pieter doesn’t want to join the Morantine in their glorious mission to liberate the New World from Saronne oppresssion.
These Morantines have an atrocious accent. It’s “monsieur”!
HA! None of the proofreaders caught that. I’ll fix it with tomorrow’s update. Thanks!
Pieter has the upper-hand regardless here: he’s not much use dead, and killing him just removes any chance of recruiting him later. If she’s stupid enough to shoot him, her superior would rip her to shreds later. (Not to mention I suspect an alchemic laboratory is on par with gunpowder stores for “places you don’t want to shoot guns in”.)
I also find it funny General Sayre’s “gunboat diplomacy” bit him in the ass here. A day or two of scouting, or even having a spy gather info in the town’s taverns, could’ve revealed Pieter’s residence before he drafted the treaty. But noooo, he had to capture the town as swiftly as possible.
Of course, the fact it took General Sayre three months to a learn a world-renowned alchemist was on his doorstop bodes ill for his competence.
I suspect that General Sayre went upriver. It is whoever he left behind to be the military governor (note that that was someone he didn’t need in a siege and invasion) who took weeks to discover Pietr’s presence.
Regardless, I’m hoping this incident subtly hints at a flaw in Sayre’s strategizing.
Yes, she is. Being a world-renowned alchemist has its advantages.
You are correct about Sayre! We’ll see him again in Chapter 17 when he faces off with Marguerite at Fort Belfoi. In the meantime, Sayre left a governor to run Zollhaven. And that office which as you point out wasn’t someone he needed in a siege or invasion. Also, it would be reasonable to assume that the Kleefish directors made no effort to point out Pieter’s existence to the Morantine.
Killing him also removes any chance of the OTHER side recruiting him later, but I don’t think they see such risk currently, so yes, if she kills him she would be likely transferred to first line.
Well, that’s one way to make sure people you draft totally defect or go AWOL. :I
Look up the term “press gang” from 1700s England. The Morantine Officer is being polite.
Okay! I did just that! :) Thanks for the search term!
I read the wikipedia page, (or skimmed it, since I have limited time at work) and it seems most of the “bad” stuff came in the forms of riots or political dissent later on as people resisted these drafts more and more. I only saw a few instances of violence being used before that by the press gangs listed in the article, but of course, it’s wikipedia.
The big one I see is the one wherein a press gang fired into a crowd and killed four during a riot where people were banding together to resist their draft efforts, but that seems to be the only one; everything else is referred to as “occasional” acts of violence, but mostly on the side of the resistance instead. I think I will need to search a little more in-depth to find more accounts of press gang behavior, because now I’m interested!
Nice shout-out to John Locke in Panel 3! (Is there a Locke equivalent in Corthis?)
Thank you! And absolutely there should be a Locke equivalent. Maybe his name is “James Keye?”
That’s two in, what, two days? Pieter’s making a habit of facing down angry women who could kill him in a heartbeat.
Poor officer. Definitely between a rock and a hard place.
It’s been longer than 2 days. Team Snow-by-Night met Willem and Pieter on Blossom 17th (Blossom = May). It’s now Sunblaze (July) 4th. So a little under two months.
July 4th, eh? Good day for defying military occupiers in red coats.
Does she have a revolver? That pistol reads more like a Colt than a flintlock, which would be an interesting change in technology.
It’s a flintlock pistol. Colts are way beyond anything available in this era.
Dang, this guy got guts…
Compared with an angry manitou, the Lieutenant is barely a warming out.
Brave man…hopefully restrained officer.