Strip 50: The Semi-Secret Origin of Elan & Nale
Nale, Elan, Elan's Mother, Mr. Jones, Durkon
<announcement text> The Order of the Stick Presents… The Semi-Secret Origin of Elan & Nale! (I mean, it’s not like you couldn’t have figured it out.)
Elan: Wow, this is exciting. I've never been in the first group before!
Nale: Well, Elan, I wanted the chance to talk to you. You know, the moment you opened that door, I thought to myself, “Why, here's a handsome fellow!” Ha ha ha! But seriously. I think there is a deeper relationship between us than any of which you are aware.
Elan: Are- are you hitting on me?
Nale: What?!?
Elan: Because, whatever you heard about what happened at Summer Camp—
Nale: No, no, Elan. Not like that. I meant that I think we might be brothers.
Elan: Oh. Cool, I never had a brother before. Are you sure?
Nale: No, but I thought we could compare stories of our childhoods and see if they match.
Elan: Ooo! Ooo! Me first!
<cutaway>
Elan: <voiceover> My Mommy raised me by herself. She's a barmaid, and the nicest, kindest person in the whole village. She told me that my Dad was a mean fighting guy who left her and me behind when he went off to battle.
Elan's Mother: <singing> Serve, serve, serve, serve refreshing adult beverages!
<cutaway>
Nale: <voiceover> Ah, see, now, my Father was a cold and ruthless general of a nigh-unstoppable army. He told me he had abandoned my good-two-shoes mother in some small backwards village.
<sign text> BABY ON BOARD
<cutback>
Elan: Aw man, those stories don't match at all!
<sfx> SMACK!
Elan: Wow, those stories match perfectly! I wonder why they split up, though.
<cutaway>
Mr. Jones: Your honor, my client is suing for divorce on the grounds of Irreconcilable Alignment Differences. He's Lawful Evil and his wife appears to be Chaotic Good.
<cutback>
Nale: I'm also unable to explain the apparent gulf in our mental faculties...
<cutaway>
Elan's Mother: Nale! Stop hitting your twin brother in his soft undeveloped baby skull!
<sfx> SMACK!
<cutback>
Durkon: Go fish.
Nale: ...And it certainly doesn't explain why they would never tell us about each other.
Elan: Oh, that I understand. See, by not telling us, it increases the potential dramatic tension should we ever encounter each other as adults. What? Oh, I'm a bard, that kind of stuff comes naturally.
Nale: A bard, huh? My father taught me that bards were underpowered.
Elan: Really? So what class are you?
Nale: I'm a multiclass fighter/rogue/sorcerer who specializes in enchantment spells.
Elan: And that never struck you as needlessly complicated?
Nale: Not until this moment, no.