Comic Transcript: Chapter 1, Page 3
Overview & Visual Setting
A six-panel watercolor comic set inside a cluttered, grand academic office. An administrator—the Lord Provost—is interrupted by an assistant with news that official inspectors have arrived, prompting an intimidating visit from uniformed officers.
Panel 1
Caption Box (Top Left):
Meanwhile…
Visual Description: A wide shot of an ornate library office filled with bookshelves, statues, and papers strewn across the floor. An assistant in an orange blazer stands near a large wooden desk where an older man with round glasses—the Lord Provost—is sitting.
Panel 2
Visual Description: Close-up inside the office. The assistant in the orange blazer speaks while standing over the desk. The Lord Provost holds a hand to his temple with a stressed expression.
Assistant:
“Lord Provost, the inspectors from the Council for Regional Accreditation and Propriety are here.”
Lord Provost:
“Oh, sweet Saint Apophänie. Already?”
Panel 3
Visual Description: A group of five uniformed officials stands outside in the hallway, seen through an open doorway labeled PROVOST. Lead officers wear elaborate military-style hats with feathers and sashes, while junior officers stand behind them in blue caps. A circular inset panel zooms in on the Lord Provost’s anxious face as he speaks.
Lord Provost:
“I suppose I don’t have any choice. You’d better send them in….”
Panel 4
Visual Description: Close-up of the lead inspector, Captain Duco, wearing a heavily decorated military uniform with a large feathered hat, gold epaulets, a colorful sash, and glasses.
Captain Duco:
“Lord Provost…”
Panel 5
Visual Description: Medium close-up of the Lord Provost sitting in a high-backed red chair, sweating nervously and looking up in shock as the delegation enters his office.
Lord Provost:
“Captain Duco. Has it been five years already? I could have sworn we still had a year…”