As I recall, medieval castles were effective *until* there were ballistic weapons.  They worked fine against bows and arrows, and could (if well fortified) stand a good long time against catapults, but canon could be fired long distances, and could put holes in the walls.

A zap stick (or in our world, a stun gun) can be quite an effective weapon against unarmed civilians.  Pain or incapacitation is a great motivator for obedience.  Of course, in a war situation the effectiveness may be diminished by the motivation and numbers of the enemy, as well as presence of their own weapons. 

Joe, do you remember if any of the morph have discovered ballistic weapons?  I don't recall any.  Once they come on the scene, the balance of power becomes skewed very quickly.

Differentiating characters of the same species can be tricky.  The most obvious way to differentiate them is by clothing.  Another way is to boost some secondary characteristics, like a broader shoulders, shorter legs, a fuller ruff.  Coloration can help too, in a subtle way.  Notice that besides Rif and Rhene having gender differences, Rhene has more extended dark points.  Rif has a broader head and smaller eyes.

 They don't know that Rif and Sandy were in the cabin together.  Rif never got out the window, so his captors didn't think to look there.  The rope is on the far side of the ship, not visible from the dock.  And if you'll remember, the crew is not too bright. (Recall the debacle at the sheep village).  Perhaps, given a lot of time, someone might think to look over the far back corner of the ship for someone hanging by a rope, but they had only enough time to look in the obvious places.  Only a few minutes have elapsed since Rif was found in the cabin.

One of the reasons the tied rope in panel 4 was so subtle was to make it hidden enough for the captain not to notice.  Unfortunately, once the comic was reduced in size to fit online, it was hard for even the readers to see.

Even if Sandy was telling the truth, it would probably look like he stole it.  He disappeared with it after Rufi gave it to him.

Rufi would have a special interest in finding him, as the Captain had entrusted the sextant to HIM.  I'm sure Rufi did not escape punishment when the sextant disappeared.

Finding of human artifacts truly does change the course of morph natural technological development, though there are parallels in human history.  One example is the introduction of Chinese gunpowder into Western Europe (not to mention Indo-Arabic mathematics and such).  Many old sciences have been rediscovered multiple times in history, though there's never been a hidden cache of artifacts discovered so far that equals the level of discovery the morphs have made.

I don't think modern weapons have been banned (yet), though I do believe that the morph carry a natural aversion to using the new technology for harm at this point (except the few seen so far).  Unfortunately, as in human history, this can pave the way for a few unscrupulous types to take over.

Fortunately, it was easy to fix.

Last time Sandy threw something valuable away, Rif was pretty upset too.  I think there is a pattern here.

Rif's real clever.  Unfortunately, wiisdom does not seem to be his strong suite.  On the other hand, prudence makes for a less interesting tale.

Thanks.  We appreciate the compliment.

Who was in charge at the village may remain murky.  There may have been boar tracks too, but Rhene was more interested in finding Rif, so the fox tracks stood out.  It is possible that Elrik stood outside the village while Mokk was conducting business.  However, Elrik the White Fox is a devious one.  He may have been more involved than he reveals.

Are you assuming "that damned lackey" is Rufi?  I do believe he is still out there pursuing Sandy.  It seems that the Captain is referring to an inept crew member connected with the disaster at sheepstown.

Welcome aboard.  We look forward to hearing your comments.

She didn't exactly send Rhene.  Elara may not have expected Rhene to go.  If she knew, she should have mentioned to Rhene that the village had a shady reputation, if indeed it did.  (That is not clear yet.)  Of course, she should have warned Rhene about Prince, too.  But she didn't.  Maybe such things don't concern Elara.

Check a few strips back, mid-October.  Rif knows something that Rhene doesn't.