Erfworld 144 The Battle for Gobwin Knob, Page 131

[Decius]

Treachery during a peace conference? Parson may be a protaganist, but he's no hero.

That one scene, by itself, has made me decide not to buy the graphic novel when it comes out. Although I will wait to see if the situation changes.

Respectfully,

Brian P.

So, where does Parson ever say "I am going to surrender"? Charlie, having received no notification that Parson is going to surrender, tells Ansom to parley with Bogroll at the tower. Bogroll, disguised as Parson, makes no move to parley, but attacks as soon as his veil is broken.

Don't confuse "I need a truce so that I can surrender" and "Tell Ansom that I'll be up on the tower parapet in a few minutes to surrender" with "I offer a truce" or "I will be up on the tower parapet to surrender."

Either Charlie misrepresented what he was told (Told Ansom "Parson will be at the tower to surrender") or Ansom got arrogant and misunderstood what Charlie said (Took "Parson asked me to tell you that he would be up on the tower parapet to surrender" to mean "Parson said he would be up on the tower parapet to surrender".

In the second case, Charlie was relaying honest intelligence: Parson did indeed tell him that. Charlie clearly understood that it was a trap, and relayed the raw intelligence to Ansom. "Parson said to tell you..." Ansom, with the same raw data, comes to a different conclusion. Charlie, being hired by Ansom, does not dispute his conclusion, as open dissent could lead to the fragmentation of the RCC.

This is a shining application of The Art of War: Let the enemy's complacency cause them to accept a simple ruse at fake value. Up until the tunnel attack failed, Ansom was certain of victory; offering him what appeared to be a way to win at a lower cost made him commit to a tunnel-only attack. After taking major losses due to delaying, Ansom personally leads the attack on the walls, and is seriously injured: At this point, Ansom is expecting further stratagems from Parson, and would not fall for a trap.

Three additional tactics are employed against him: The fighting retreat, Sizemore and his golems, and Wanda's dance-fighting. Ansom has no counter to the first two. He just takes the losses and continues to fight. The dance-fighting would have defeated him, but he used his limited resources to develop a counter. Now, certain once again of victory, Ansom thinks that Parson is finally out of tricks.

If Ansom was expecting another trick, the ruse would not have worked; Ansom would have said "Come out into the courtyard and surrender." or "Charlie's archons will accept your surrender on my behalf."

EDIT: Also, nice fanservice, frame 12.