Traditional sentence spoken by the detective at the 5-min-before-the-end mark in the (very old) French TV police procedural show “Les cinq dernières minutes”.
Oh! I just realized: Another way you’d kill a plant is by taking it out of the earth or cutting off its roots(the basement we saw it detach from in #61), and that’s exactly what animating it has done.
And once it’s in the pit, it’ll be out of the sun.
Ok, let`s give it a try: There are many referrals to movies (Brad Pit, Tim Burton). The Castle was being animated, so maybe an Animation Movie? Or an Anime?
Then: Fungus growing on bare rock- pointing at Penicillin? Penicillin kills bacteria, as well as heat, poison or dehydration. Bacterias are building bio-films, and film is another word for „movie“. Another word for bacteria then is „germs“.
Conclusion: All the enemies of the princess are trying to destroy a german movie in the making, probably an animated one. The reason is unclear, so it is a mystery movie. The castle is just going for a cliffhanger.
Elementary, my dear Poirot!
I think the film-based part of your theory may be off – both “germ/German” and “bacterial bio-film” are both stretching things, and the general idea of geographic features named after movie stars is long-established in the strip. However, you might be onto something with the idea of destroying an infection: fungal mold for penicillin, heating up for a fever, poison injection for medicine – remember Paracelsus, there are no poisons, just poisonous doses. The moat is still an odd one out for me, though; normally to fight infection you hydrate the patient, right?
Also, one of the ways mosquito-born diseases were combated back in the old days was by draining swamp lands to try and kill off said mosquito population.
Thank you for taking (kinda) seriously what was the ill-fated attempt to goofily express utter helplessness in comprehending what the f is going on! Certainly the film part was stretched, but the bacteria part no less: Penicillium chrysogenum doesn’t grow on bare rock, it needs a dead organism as substrate. Since the arc’s title is “Castle LIFE” – well, no cigar!
The castle isn’t just heading towards the ravine, but the forest; fall down ravine and burrow underneath, killing all roots. The forest being destroyed by the castle may very well be considered an act of war; humans vs elven tribes.
“You magically animated your castle and sent it to destroy itself on our borders in order to kill trees”…that is a very shaky casus belli indeed. There are far more believable schemes if that was the goal here.
If the castle dragged itself through the moat and it hadn’t been drained then… the lower levels would have been waterlogged. So they want them dry for some reason.
An amoeba. A micro-organism of some kind. Sure you’d want to “hydrate” the patient if he gets infected, but there IS no patient, just the “organism”. But, depending on the organism, tearing itself apart might only result in… making more (see also Star-fish).
Crazy thought. What if animating the castle was designed to draw out the deva to kill it. Bad guys know it is the big guns.
Another thought, the portal in the dungeons is one of the main things this whole arc is about. Maybe the moat around the portal and the castle with it’s wards above it were interfering with the portal.
At first, when reading this page, I wondered: “Why the two obviously most intelligent characters (a divinator cleric and the Cube who gets things done (I have no doubt he has all stats at at least 20)) are letting the wizard do all the deduction?”
Then I remembered that she also worked in the “police”, so she indeed might be more competent (I for sure know that, for example, a scientist does not always make for a good detective from the first hands)
I may be completely off, but following Presti’s musings, I’m thinking she deduced that the listed attempts were aimed at a living being, not a castle.
Meaning the castle was never “animated” as a golem… it was a living being from the start, and the attacks were aiming at finally making it move and retaliate.
As one of those people that either instantly understands some ultra obscure near nonsense connection or completely misses something about as obvious as the sunrise I’d like to thank the people in the comments for assuring me that I’m not the only one who hasn’t figured out the connections yet. lol
Destroying the castle ins’t the goal, moving it is the goal. It’s a bunch of layered red herrings and double bluffs.
I mean, destroying it probably serves the goal just as well, but I don’t think it’s a necessary part of the goal, just moving it.
Or rather, by moving it, moving the majority of it’s guardians with it for they’ll be guarding it once gets stopped. Where as if it’s destroyed, the “seat of government” (aka the Princess or her stand-in) would also have to move to a more secure location, thus also moving most of the powerful guardians…
(I know, I know, I figured this out on my third read through. But it is/was before the next story begins/began,)
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Destroy what? Don’t keep us in suspense!
I’m assuming pests/infestation. Eg. Fire, poison, drowning/suffocating (Or dehydrating).
A pit hanger!
A person?
Is there anything in the castle that might be important? A portal or artifact?
A living creature, which needs to drink water, is vulnerable to poison, can’t take too much heat, and can support and be affected by fungus.
If this is a roundabout way of trying to kill the “princess,” and or her staff, it seems like a convoluted method.
Ohhhh… wow. Excellent guess guy.
“Bon sang ! Mais c’est bien sûr !”
Traditional sentence spoken by the detective at the 5-min-before-the-end mark in the (very old) French TV police procedural show “Les cinq dernières minutes”.
Or, as Kronk would have put it: “Oh, yeah. It’s all coming together.”
…a vampire?
Poison doesn’t affect vampires.
But giant wooden stakes do
Giant wooden stakes affect most things. I was referring to the poison.
Angelissa’s doing good work there to keep this strip ending on only a metaphorical cliffhanger, rather than a literal one.
Pirates!
The land?
A plant?
You’re right the answers gotta be a plant.
So the castle… is a plant? I’m still confused.
You’re confused? Just as plant…
He’s still gotta plant a few more clues
Oh! I just realized: Another way you’d kill a plant is by taking it out of the earth or cutting off its roots(the basement we saw it detach from in #61), and that’s exactly what animating it has done.
And once it’s in the pit, it’ll be out of the sun.
Ok, let`s give it a try: There are many referrals to movies (Brad Pit, Tim Burton). The Castle was being animated, so maybe an Animation Movie? Or an Anime?
Then: Fungus growing on bare rock- pointing at Penicillin? Penicillin kills bacteria, as well as heat, poison or dehydration. Bacterias are building bio-films, and film is another word for „movie“. Another word for bacteria then is „germs“.
Conclusion: All the enemies of the princess are trying to destroy a german movie in the making, probably an animated one. The reason is unclear, so it is a mystery movie. The castle is just going for a cliffhanger.
Elementary, my dear Poirot!
I think the film-based part of your theory may be off – both “germ/German” and “bacterial bio-film” are both stretching things, and the general idea of geographic features named after movie stars is long-established in the strip. However, you might be onto something with the idea of destroying an infection: fungal mold for penicillin, heating up for a fever, poison injection for medicine – remember Paracelsus, there are no poisons, just poisonous doses. The moat is still an odd one out for me, though; normally to fight infection you hydrate the patient, right?
Infection is my guess, too.
“The moat is still an odd one out for me, though; normally to fight infection you hydrate the patient, right?”
You drain the bladder, abscesses, etc. (Also, medieval surgeons would bleed the patient.)
Also, one of the ways mosquito-born diseases were combated back in the old days was by draining swamp lands to try and kill off said mosquito population.
Bacteria would live in moist places. But you wouldn’t drain liquid after they’re already there, the same way you wouldn’t dry rotten meat.
Thank you for taking (kinda) seriously what was the ill-fated attempt to goofily express utter helplessness in comprehending what the f is going on! Certainly the film part was stretched, but the bacteria part no less: Penicillium chrysogenum doesn’t grow on bare rock, it needs a dead organism as substrate. Since the arc’s title is “Castle LIFE” – well, no cigar!
You know, the title page was long enough that I had completely forgotten what is now a painfully obvious pun on the arc’s events.
I may be off, but what if some people want the fugus-people dead?
So they’re not so much helping the good guys, as taking care of a bigger threat?
And so, they wanted the castle mobile to destroy them in the chasm.
The only way I rationalize it is that fungus needs dark, damp places to grow. So heat and destroying the castle would ruin it being able to thrive.
Something that needs water.
Something susceptible to poison.
Something susceptible to getting too warm.
Something negatively affected by fungus.
…….
I’m lost.
Some type of plant creature? That matches all of the criteria, even the fungus one.
The castle isn’t just heading towards the ravine, but the forest; fall down ravine and burrow underneath, killing all roots. The forest being destroyed by the castle may very well be considered an act of war; humans vs elven tribes.
“You magically animated your castle and sent it to destroy itself on our borders in order to kill trees”…that is a very shaky casus belli indeed. There are far more believable schemes if that was the goal here.
If the castle dragged itself through the moat and it hadn’t been drained then… the lower levels would have been waterlogged. So they want them dry for some reason.
An amoeba. A micro-organism of some kind. Sure you’d want to “hydrate” the patient if he gets infected, but there IS no patient, just the “organism”. But, depending on the organism, tearing itself apart might only result in… making more (see also Star-fish).
I’m going to spend the whole week obsessing over guessing at where this is going. Kind of like after a D&D session sometimes.
Some sort of abyssal monster lifestyle?
Is the castle now looking for a damp cave?
I’m sorry Castle, your Princess is in another dungeon!
Crazy thought. What if animating the castle was designed to draw out the deva to kill it. Bad guys know it is the big guns.
Another thought, the portal in the dungeons is one of the main things this whole arc is about. Maybe the moat around the portal and the castle with it’s wards above it were interfering with the portal.
The omen on page #10 would be unlucky if the deva was the target.
But the spear DOES go through, and I like the idea of the castle running away from the real target!
Yes! <3
At first, when reading this page, I wondered: “Why the two obviously most intelligent characters (a divinator cleric and the Cube who gets things done (I have no doubt he has all stats at at least 20)) are letting the wizard do all the deduction?”
Then I remembered that she also worked in the “police”, so she indeed might be more competent (I for sure know that, for example, a scientist does not always make for a good detective from the first hands)
*Scientist investigating a murder* We need more data. Somebody kill a few more people. And a control group.
I may be completely off, but following Presti’s musings, I’m thinking she deduced that the listed attempts were aimed at a living being, not a castle.
Meaning the castle was never “animated” as a golem… it was a living being from the start, and the attacks were aiming at finally making it move and retaliate.
Is the castle a giant mimic?
“Ok hear me out! We should disguise ourselves as an large unassuming castle…”
The Viscount was spraying the golem dust all over the castle walls before he left.
What if you conjured up some gibbons to help out Bigguns?
As one of those people that either instantly understands some ultra obscure near nonsense connection or completely misses something about as obvious as the sunrise I’d like to thank the people in the comments for assuring me that I’m not the only one who hasn’t figured out the connections yet. lol
Destroying the castle ins’t the goal, moving it is the goal. It’s a bunch of layered red herrings and double bluffs.
I mean, destroying it probably serves the goal just as well, but I don’t think it’s a necessary part of the goal, just moving it.
Or rather, by moving it, moving the majority of it’s guardians with it for they’ll be guarding it once gets stopped. Where as if it’s destroyed, the “seat of government” (aka the Princess or her stand-in) would also have to move to a more secure location, thus also moving most of the powerful guardians…
(I know, I know, I figured this out on my third read through. But it is/was before the next story begins/began,)