WoW Insider's Weekly Webcomic: Safe Passage
by Kelly Aarons 
Apr 5th 2011 at 9:00AM
Better and far more productive ideas are formed. There's nothing that will get your blood pumping faster than making high-risk plans based on the information of two young children!
Check out the full comic right here, and tune in next Tuesday morning for a new page. You can also see all the previous pages in the gallery below.
Filed under: WoW Insider's Weekly Comic
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
jealouspirate Apr 5th 2011 9:14AM
Okay, I've got to speak my piece here.
Why hasn't the Night Elf spoke to a single person about what happened? Why hasn't she even tried once to reason with the Alliance at the Fort? Told them that the Orc & Troll saved the children?
Why is it implied that if they don't act soon the prisoners will be executed? Is that how the Alliance treats PoWs, now?
I know that stories like villains, and that a prison break is probably more fun than "we solved it with our words", but this whole scenario just seems really off to me.
Synchronizor Apr 5th 2011 10:11AM
I think Enarrai has assumed, based on the Alliance's earlier treatment of the captives, that they are unlikely to accept any logical argument for the prisoner's release, and that trying to press the issue would only make breaking them out more difficult. Being a Night Elf, and viewing the Human race as Night Elves tend to do would reinforce this assumption.
As for why the Alliance are acting this way, their portrayal in this comic has so far been rather negative; a sentiment I've expressed on previous pages. I am waiting to see how things turn out, but so far, the comic has been heavily biased toward the Horde perspective of the state of the Kalimdor conflict.
Sinthar Apr 5th 2011 10:17AM
Probably written by a Hordie with the relevant bias. It would be better if they did put more realistic options, with unusual outcomes imo.
Amaxe Apr 5th 2011 10:23AM
I would have to agree. I know that Kelly has said she comes from a Horde perspective, but there is a difference between having a preference for who you want the heroes to be and making the others turn out to be totally evil or blindly intolerant.
I think that the lack of Enarrai's attempts to appeal to the decency of the Alliance, and in general, a portrayal of the Alliance as hard and brutal compared to what we saw of the Horde in the beginning demonstrates a real threat of the story deteriorating into a one sided affair.
I hope I turn out to be wrong.
Tomatketchup Apr 5th 2011 10:46AM
They wouldn't listen to her in all probability. Did you ever see any night elves and draeneis at human camps in Northrend? Maybe one or two, but there wasn't many. The humans don't trust their Kalimdor allies all that much.
Al Apr 5th 2011 2:35PM
Because they found the Hordies near the base, the guards think they're spies.
So rather than a quiet word, the Nelf is going to break them out. That'll sure stop the Alliance thinking they're spies.
thebitterfig Apr 5th 2011 4:18PM
Well, let's think about how that would go over. "Oh, hello there Mr. Alliance Commander whom I've never met before today. Remember when I told you I rescued these kids? I was lying, and those two Horde spies were the ones who really saved them. I'm sure if you just let them go, they won't reveal to their superiors any information about our strategic position here." Yeah, that won't play well.
However, let's consider that it did work. That the alliance commander understood the situation and said "Today, and today only, we let them walk away. Without weapons." Well, then that's it. End of story. Doesn't matter if it's more realistic, or plausible, or whatnot. Kelly's telling a story here, and it just wouldn't be as dramatic if the easy solution worked out. Look all through the world of fiction, and there are plenty of situations like that, where something could work out calmly, but the nature of storytelling dictates that it doesn't.
icepyro Apr 6th 2011 3:44AM
I'm sorry I'm late, but where does it imply they are waiting to be executed? The Night Elf herself is quoted "Well, they're not dead yet... I would think they'll be held in prison". What this implies to me is that they were captured safely and not grievously injured. They are to be treated as PoWs and imprisoned.
What is implied to me, is that if the Night Elf doesn't act soon, the children will think she isn't on their side and take matters into their own hands. If she doesn't keep a rein on the children, people will think they are sympathizers or worse and they will all be locked up or exiled for the safety of the fort, which will make a prison break all the more difficult.
Oh, and I don't recall hearing that these Horde soldiers were captured under any flag of truce. Last time I looked, Fort Triumph was very much in the middle of a war. Even in today's society with our rights and protections for a PoW, they would not be treated any better or worse than they are now, and no reasonable military power under siege would simply let two soldiers go.
I'm not sure what you want to see happening, there are no words that can solve this situation before the children do something rash and take away any chance words even had.
gjulleen Apr 5th 2011 11:19AM
Remember Tirion Fordring and Eitrigg? Eitrigg saved Tirion's life, and essentially just wanted to be left alone to spend his last few years after losing his entire family. He was captured and sentenced to death, and sticking up for him almost had Tirion executed and resulted in his being excommunicated from the Silver Hand and "stripped of the Light."
I think that this story is neither Horde nor Alliance biased, but more taken from the perspective of the lower echelons of society. Maybe the brass that makes the policies would be happier to see black and white: Horde members are evil baby-eaters and Alliance are merciless killers. But for the common Night Elf, the Orc and the Troll, there are two children at stake and they are capable of setting aside the "larger picture" to see what's in front of them.
DeeJay Apr 10th 2011 5:38PM
I think you hit it dead on here. The story we're getting is one where we know both sides of everything. We know that the Alliance DID ravage Camp Taraujo and burn the settlement to the ground, killing innocents in the process. As far as the Horde knows, at this point, that's the end of the story. The Alliance killed women and children, and then started looting what was left, leaving the dead for scavengers. On the other hand we also know that this wasn't what was meant to happen, and that the commander in charge had tried to curtail his men. Furthermore, we know (lore wise) that there is a whole heck of a lot more going on for both sides than meets the eye. So what may seem as black and white. Horde Bad, Alliance Good; really when you get down to it is more to it than just that. We know, or at least we should know, that there are a ton of gray areas in the lore, and this is really bringing them to light. The elf here has had a proverbial slap in the face herself recently, when the Orc and Troll behaved nothing like what she expected. Instead of killing her and eating the kids (Trolls being cannibals and all) they did something that she wasn't prepared for. In this same sense, the story is quite deeper than some are giving it credit. Meaning that this story is showing things from the aspect of a lone elf and two kids, who don't know the whole story but only see what is laid out before them. They see two members of the opposing faction who went out of their way to help lost children get to safety, and now are being accused of something they didn't do. The elf knows that very likely anything she says will fall on deaf ears, since like she was only a few days prior, the commanders are likely to believe the stories that go bump in the night. Though I hate to use the analogy, a good one would be the way Allied soldiers thought of the Germans during WW2. Propaganda had told them that the Germans were all Nazis, all out to take over the world, all cold blooded killers. However over time, they came to learn that while some did fit the bill of what they were told; the general group of soldiers were really no different than themselves. Young men sent to fight for a war they may or may not have agreed with. In the same sense, you get that feeling here. This orc and Troll are honorable and good people, and while it may be true that some of the horde are horrible (peers at Sylvanas and the apothecaries) we do them no justice to stereotype them based on the actions of a few bad apples. The same can be said for the Alliance also.
In short, the story is much deeper than people are seeing, but if you took a moment to see things from the Elf, and even from the children's limited view, you could come to understand that it is not about making things "nice" for the Horde, as much as it is about telling a story from a point of view that doesn't know the end, and doesn't know all the details. Put yourself in the shoes of these kids, or the hooves of that adorable Draenei, and see things as SHE sees it.
Also, I see the look on the human girl and something tells me that she's got thoughts of revenge for that slap brewing.
Ktok Apr 11th 2011 8:02PM
*Thank you*! At least some people get it.
Slater Apr 5th 2011 12:57PM
Unfortunate that the Alliance are portrayed in such a black fashion. The story telling of this comic is on par with that of Avatar, which, to set the record straight, is an insult, not a compliment. The Villains are obviously such, the good guys are wise and justified in their every action and they even convince those who belong to the opposite side to defy their own people.
It's understandable that there is some bias, after all, it is almost impossible for a human to remain unbiased on practically any topic. However, the portrayal of the Alliance is shallow and rather unflattering. The Southern Barrens quest lines regarding the Alliance are some of the best storytelling that Blizzard has accomplished in Cataclysm, and to just wax over it all with the Orc blatantly stating that their actions in Taurajo were cruel and the Night Elf simply -accepting- that, despite every action being to the contrary, is frankly a little insulting.
Ktok Apr 11th 2011 7:55PM
I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that if the "bias" of the story fit your own bias, you wouldn't have a problem with it ;)
You're right. It's very hard for humans to not be biased... and I think you prove your own point admirably.
maclean37 Apr 5th 2011 2:46PM
Kelly IS a Hordee, she makes no bones about it, but yeah, I admit that the perspective bothers me a bit too, although in fairness, she DID mention Southshore and the atrocities committed by the Forsaken. I played through that the southern Barrens Alliance-side on the beta, and I remember the Alliance commander saying he didnt' want to take out Taurajo, but it was a potentially threatening presence and as a good military commander, he simply could not ignore the potential threat. He even designed his attack so that the civilians would have escape channels, he says so himself, and the whole thing carries a very, "I had to do this as a part of my command, and I'll have to accept the guilt on my soul" attitude about it. There is absolutely no mention of deliberately waiting for the warriors to be out, so I rather doubt that was planned, it just happened to be the time of attack.
Now, I will admit to being primarily Alliance, although I do have several Horde toons as well. It doesn't bother me in the least to point out that unlike that Alliance commander, I doubt the Forsaken have any regret about what they've done in Hillsbrad to the civilian population there, and I have no idea how Garrosh and the Horde leadership can be 100% unaware of it.
However, above all else, Kelly is a WONDERFUL artist and storyteller and in spite of the understandable bias, I do enjoy her work BUNCHES!
Jabadabadana Apr 5th 2011 4:18PM
So... the fact that an Alliance member is trying to help them means that all Alliance are evil, and this story is truly all Horde biased???
Also, play the game a bit, especially current era, low level, post-Cata zones. The Alliance in the Barrens are a nasty bunch, to the degree of reminding you that the Forsaken are just undead humans. (I personally wonder if this is based on the constant Crossroads raids over the years, but I'm not sure)
In addition, this story is not being told from the view of two Alliance members finding Horde children and trying to deliver them to the Crossroads, which, considering Ally hostility in the zone, might well end with similar treatment.
The entire game world is becoming as polarized as our real world political parties are. These characters are exceptions to the rules. (though trolls and night elves are among some of the nicer races.)
Synchronizor Apr 5th 2011 6:13PM
I'm sorry Jabadabadana, but I think you need to do a little more looking into what's happening in the Barrens and northern Kalimdor as a whole.
The current conflict in northern Kalimdor is a direct result of the aggressive and vicious invasion of the Horde, under Garrosh's leadership, into Night Elf territory. Garrosh has made it very clear that he believes that the whole continent should belong to the Orcs, and some of the actions those under his command have taken to achieve this goal are truly atrocious. Some of the highlights include the bombing of Thal'darah Grove, a peaceful druid training settlement, attacks on nonmilitary settlements like Silverwind Refuge and Raynewood Retreat, wasteful logging in Ashenvale, with Orc logging crews purposefully leaving fallen trees to rot unused on the ground in an attempt to anger the Night Elves, and prompting the previously non-combative Shatterspear tribe into attacking the Night Elves in Darkshore, pulling all their support back and leaving the tribe to get crushed by the Kaldorei counteroffensive.
The Alliance, on the other hand, are working in response to defend themselves and their allies. If you look into the Alliance questlines in the Southern Barrens, you'll discover that their only real interest in the zone is to establish supply lines to the struggling Night Elven forces farther north. In fact, in suppressing possible sources of Horde resistance, the Alliance military leadership has gone out of its way to try to spare civilians and reduce the permanent impact of the conflict on the land, in marked contrast to the Horde's approach.
Slater Apr 5th 2011 7:12PM
Sorry, Jabadabadana, but I don't see it. The only nasty actions taken by the Alliance in Southern Barrens are those taken by Twinbraid, which is a direct response to General Hawthorne and Twinbraid's son's murders by the Horde. The person who commissioned the attack on Camp T took every precaution to keep from killing civilians, going well out of his way to leave lines open in the attack to allow the civilians to flee.
Oh, and let's not forget your Orc commander who's wearing the head of a Worgen for a hat. The -Alliance- are a nasty bunch? Here's the links to said quest and NPC who is easily the most barbaric fellow in Southern Barrens. http://www.wowhead.com/quest=24956 http://www.wowhead.com/npc=38663
Dreyja Apr 5th 2011 4:21PM
I'm just waiting to see where it's going. I get bugged by how often in the game we have no option to act in a reasonable fashion. The fact that this is reflected in the comic is not an indictment of Kelly, at all. If anything I lay the blame on the rigidity of the faction system in the game.
I'm still reeling from the slap but I'm loving the story over-all. Let's relax and see where it goes. :)
icepyro Apr 6th 2011 4:21AM
I must be tired tonight. I reread the comic and tried to find the Alliance being shallow, being portrayed in a black fashion etc.
The closest I had was where the Orc explained what he heard about Camp Taurajo. As an Orc, I completely expect this version of the story. As someone who hasn't played Alliance, I must say that I had no idea what they did. This goes along well with the fact that the last panel of this comic shows that the Orc and Troll are in a cell and sitting nicely and not being tortured or anything.
It's little wonder the Night Elf accepts the story, or at least accepts that it could be construed to look this way. She knows these two are soldiers of their word and sympathizes with them for their loss just as she sympathizes with the Alliance about Southshore.
For all the complaints about her rolling with it, it's like all the complainers read that first comment here, then remembering Kelly plays mostly Horde, suddenly thinks she's biased and are just as caught up in the blame game.
If there is any urgency to break them free, it's likely due to realizing the children will try on their own if she doesn't help them. Better to break them out cleanly and quickly then be viewed as sympathizers or worse later. Words don't help DURING a war. The Alliance are not going to let them go free at this time. They likely have no intentions on killing them or anything, but that doesn't mean a sob story is going to let them fight later.
For all the conventions on ethical treatment of PoWs in our society, they would not be treated differently nor are they more likely to be let go. Even if everyone is convinced they are not spies, they are still PoWs because they are part of the opposing sides military force, prisoners, and the fort is taking part in a war.
So yeah. I'l probably be blasted by anyone else that stumbles by because I'm Horde biased or something, but it's worth it to at least open this thread for discussion and point out that I'm not seeing any unreasonable bias or actions given the setting is the same game we all play and not some fantasized hippy version.
Slater Apr 6th 2011 8:09AM
Granted, the Alliance aren't sitting there rubbing their hands, talking about how they wish they could just kill the things that are different colored, but they're still portrayed as the bad guys. While it's true, if you rise above the comic and look at the story as a whole, it's rather mild on it's bias, as it is relatively reasonable ways for a military to handle (I'm not sure if the Alliance does condone smacking prisoners across the faces with large blunt objects for laughing, as depicted in the comic).
The main grievance is, once again, the Alliance are portrayed as villains, to the degree that the main Alliance character of the comic has disavowed even working with them and is fairly fast to become comrades with the Horde characters and is willing to, at the drop of a hat, work to free them. I hate to make the comparison to Avatar again, but man, it's a pretty good example. Sure, the bad guys are a military outfit and yes, they're mostly just following orders and protocol, but you're still supposed to root against them, even when one of their number is committing treason to defy them.