Line #10 Headscratchers/Krull


1	* So, according to the prophecy their son will rule the universe. But they just killed The Beast, an evil monster trying to take over the universe. So... their son finished the job that The Beast started? Wouldn't that make him just as evil as The Beast was?
2	** Presumably, their son was going to do it in a more peaceful way. The narration certainly implies that his rule will be a good thing.
3	*** Also, galaxy, not universe. Hey, it's a difference of I don't know how many trillions of times the same amount of space!
4	*** Indeed, there's no need to assume that "rule" automatically includes "... with an iron fist". It's a fantasy movie, good kings who rule nobly and justly are behind every third happy ending.
5	*** Yes, but how is he going to '''become''' a galactic ruler in the first place? Are we supposed to believe that, wherever he goes, everyone will immediately acknowledge him as their promised leader and submit to his rule without question?
6	* Geese, sure. Pigs, sure. But why would Ergo apparently carry around a spell that would turn people into ''tigers'', which would, if it actually worked, put him in a far ''worse'' situation than originally?
7	** Yeah, he tried to use the first two as a ForcedTransformation before they backfired, but consider this: You're a traveling wizard, and a local lord wants to hire you to defend against X threat. Just zap some of his soldiers into tigers and let them loose on your enemy. Likewise, Ergo might hire some locals to defend himself and zap them into tigers. It might also be he's an errant disciple who only learned to cast spells on himself (and so they always backfire when cast on others). In which case it made perfect sense to have the Tiger spell for self defense. Now, if he'd been cleverer (a dangerous thing for the likes of him) he could try to zap the middle guy in an enemy group into a tiger, and loudly shout ''"Now my new beast-slave, devour your former companions!"'' The rest of the group could be so scared and panicky, and the transformed bandit so freaked out and unable to talk, that a fight would likely break out and hopefully reducing their numbers. It would at the least cause enough of a diversion for him to run/fly away.
8	** Ergo apparently only has the ability to transform himself: whether he doesn't realize that early on or just tries to bluff people is a little unclear. In any case, he can apparently use the same spell to achieve any particular form he chooses.
9	* How did the Heroes hope to find the Black Fortress? It moves every dawn to a new, unknown, location. The Seer will tell them where it will be the next dawn, but then they will have less than a day to reach it before it moves again. I imagine the conversation to go something like this: ''Seer: "Tomorrow the Black Fortress will be in the Fire Swamp". Hero: "That's nearly at the other side of the world! It will take weeks to get there." Seer: "Well, maybe we will have better luck when trying again tomorrow."'' Did they hope that with enough tries the Fortress will be in range sooner or later? Apparently they never actually thought about this, because when they '''do''' find out where the Black Fortress will be at the next dawn (just a mere 1000 miles away, [[SarcasmMode lucky them]]), they suddenly realise they will need fast transportation in the form of the Fire Mares.
10	** One imagines that the initial plan was to just wait until it shows up close enough to attack. But since they lost their seer, they decided on a one-time, hail-Mary shot. If it was too far to reach, then they were SOL.
11	* OK, the Beast had one of his Changelings infiltrate the group and try to get groiny with Colwyn. And the Beast was able to monitor this exchange. So he must have at least some idea of where they are. Namely, within walking distance of the Widow of the Web, a seer of such power that she could, ''in literally 2 seconds'', pierce his wards and see where the Black Fortress was going to go. So... why not send it to the sea that day? He only needs to outwit them for one day, since the Widow of the Web is kind of a one-time thing. The best answer for this is that he's ignorant of her existence (which might also explain the "in literally 2 seconds" thing).
12	** Keep in mind, appealing to the Widow for knowledge is a suicide gambit at best; Ynyr nearly dies just getting to her, and she has to intervene to keep the spider at bay. Even though she favors Ynyr when they reconcile, she can only keep the spider at bay by sacrificing both of their lives - she as a target for the spider, he by literally holding the sands of his life in his hand. Most appellants to the Widow are just killed outright. Ynyr expires after imparting the revelation to Colwyn, and the spider destroys the web (or possibly is destroyed along with the web) after allowing Ynyr to escape. Or possibly because Ynyr's forgiveness breaks the Widow's curse. Or maybe the spider destroys the web in a rage. ANYWAYS, with that high of a penalty for even trying, the beast may have estimated that the party wouldn't be able to take advantage of the Widow's powers, so he was safe.
13	** Or the Beast ''did'' realize the Widow might discern the Fortress's next location, so he deliberately had it moved 1000 leagues away from where they were. He just didn't know that fire mares existed, were in the area, and could get the party there anyway.
14	** Fire mares can gallop in midair, so moving the Fortress to the sea wouldn't stop the heroes from getting there. At most, it would mean them dropping onto the roof instead of entering via the ground-level door.
15	* The ''real'' question is, why didn't the Beast simply move his headquarters ''back into space'' once he'd had Lyssa brought on board as a captive? There's nothing in the prophecy that suggests the "girl of ancient name" '''has''' to be on her homeworld when she chooses her king, after all.
16	* If fire mares are fast enough to travel a thousand leagues in a day, why the heck did they all dawdle around at normal-horse speed when a bunch of humans were trying to capture them?
17	** The area they caught them in seemed fairly narrow- maybe they only travel that fast in wide open areas for obvious reasons. As for why they decided to go that way, I couldn't tell you.
18	*** Even fire-mares retreat when startled.
19	* Why did the party bring Titch into the Black Fortress with them? They knew it'd be incredibly dangerous inside, the boy is unarmed and powerless to defend himself, and the Seer is dead so there's no one for him to guide. So why not let the kid ride one of the fire mares back home to Colwyn's or Lyssa's kingdom and await their return? It's got to be safer than subjecting him to more shrieking monster guards and deathtraps.
20	** Titch may have volunteered; he's used to taking care of camp, and in many medieval-ish settings, "adulthood" is much earlier than ours.
21	* The party just lost one member to an evil shapechanger in the Beast's service. Immediately thereafter, a puppy inexplicably appears along the trail and whines charmingly for affection. Colwyn's query about Ergo implies that the sorcerer hadn't warned any of the others what he was planning, so why didn't they all instantly react with: "Yikes, another changeling infiltrator! Kill it kill it kill it!"
22	** It didn't occur to the crew that a malevolent shapeshifter could turn into a dog instead of a copy of a person.
23	* Why on earth were the human knights and soldiers so ineffective against the Slayers? They're not harder to kill than the average human, since a piercing wound to the head or chest seems to do the trick every time. They do have ranged energy weapons, but they have a single shot (which being generous, appears to be as lethal as a modern firearm) before they have to flip their weapons around and rely on them as a short spear. They have no shields and their armor doesn't seem to be at all special, so a force of well-trained armored soldiers with spears, pikes and shields utilizing defensive tactics should be able to hold them off.
24	** The soldiers weren't expecting to have to fight in the middle of the narrow corridors of the castle, since they had numerous guards posted. The lasers may have been single-shot, but they were useful for picking off the guards before any kind of warning could be sounded, causing the party guests to be caught largely by surprise.

Context Headscratchers / Krull