pawnstorm | intro ♚ may

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intro ♚ may

WELCOME TO Caissa

We’ve all had those dreams: you wake up on a table, to blurry, ominous images and the certainty that you are absolutely buck-naked in a room full of strangers. This is not quite it.

Instead, you come awake to the sun on your face. The soft burble of water nearby. The hustle and bustle of a busy street and the faint, fortifying smell of bread. You open your eyes and there’s no one there at your bedside, but there is what appears to be the end of the world happening just beyond your window.

There’s a crack in the world across the sky, the “sun” is the totally unnatural light spilling from that crack straight into your eyes, and someone’s left a neatly pressed and folded uniform at the foot of the bed that isn’t yours. Somewhere in the room, there’s a strange clatter like beads, the click of claws on the floor.

Something’s in here with you.

Also, you are naked.

WARNING: Contains death and related graphic descriptions.

ONE ♟ P.S. I Love You

It's a perfectly ordinary morning in Caissa. Enprise’s two suns peer over the horizon and smack into your face through the large bay window. At half past six in the morning, the floor nanny’s built-in alarm goes off and plays Prime Minister Teddy’s hit song Love Me Like Your Doughnuts. Once everyone in their rooms is up and awake, this mechanical pigeon announces that letters and small packages have been delivered to every Hero’s personal box in the mailroom. Yes, even you, Naked Newcomer! These letters are from the Heroes’ many fans all over Blanc. No matter who you are, there are small tokens of appreciation attached to the letters: these may include candies shaped like stars, chocolates with a surprise gooey center, or even a can of rainbow beans for those not fond of sweets.

Letters for veteran Heroes are full of praise and gratitude for the success of the naval battle at Graupera. New Heroes receive mail that express support towards their future endeavors as the Blanc military’s most formidable task force. That’s not all the letters contain, however; the citizens also plead for our Heroes’ help with new problems that have arisen in the fields surrounding Caissa. However, the details the letters provide are scant and vague. The fans seem more concerned with recent damage caused by some unknown entity. There is a 15-page narrative of how a man built this beautiful house for his lovely, sweet wife who did nothing wrong, but nothing about why the house is in shambles now. A market on the outskirts of Caissa lost 30,000 colle’s worth of food, but the writer neglects to explain what happened to the food. All you know is that this person stayed up all week taking inventory and now it has gone to waste.

Sharing letters with each other might give you a clue on where to start your investigations and figure out which areas were hit the hardest. Or you can talk about how cute your adoring fans are. One way or another, you’ll have to get tongues wagging to make any progress. Unfortunately, Blanc isn’t going to save itself and from the sound of it, this problem is bigger than expected...

TWO ♟ Distant Howling

After pooling information, the new objective is clear: to investigate the damages. The vast, vibrant fields around Caissa seem a good place to start. They are mostly empty, but here or there you will see some people from nearby smaller villages and farms. The villagers will admit to having seen threatening shadows move over the fields and having heard harsh, high-pitched howling. They are willing to point Heroes toward possible shadow sightings, but are otherwise reluctant to act as guides. They are simple townsfolk who wish to return to their quiet lifestyle.

You may come up with small settlements (e.g. villages, farms, inns, taverns, etc.) as they are considered minor locations.

Heroes will soon discover that some of the smaller villages have been burned down entirely. The smell of ash and charred wood is thick in the air, though some buildings are also smashed as as though by something large and heavy. Nearby trees which haven’t been uprooted or knocked over are scorched and their blackened branches crackle ominously in the breeze. There are large marks dug deep into the ground and—is that a cow? Heroes will find tagged fruit cows scattered everywhere, scared, confused and mooing sadly next to their dead fruit cow friends. Fruit cows are usually found in Gresser, how strange...

A couple of days’ worth of exploration may help you realize that whatever is terrorizing Blanc doesn’t only devour hapless animals. While trying to navigate the numerous backcountry roads and farmlands, Heroes may stumble upon some gruesome clues: a charred limb—or what’s left of it; teeth, half-eaten ribcages, melted jewelry, and other smaller bits; the less fortunate may actually trip over a corpse staring unseeingly into the sky. It has been gutted, half-roasted, and seems to have lain in the sun for some time; and if someone is brave enough to roll the body onto its stomach, they may discover claw marks on its back. The victim must have tried to flee from something.

The amount of damage grows the more our Heroes travel south. What could be awaiting them?

THREE ♟ Breath of Fire

Let’s put the clues together. Fire? Check. Claw marks? Check. Large shadows seemingly from something flying overhead? Check and check. Congratulations, Blanc, you are suffering from a dragon plague.

It will take several days for the Heroes to locate the source of the rumors. The dragons seem to have taken up residence in the hilly area near Caissa, where the slopes grow steeper and then drop suddenly off into cliffs. The beasts are quite willing to greet guests warmly: there’s nothing like a burst of dragonfire and a deafening screech to brighten your day.

The only warning you’ll get before they launch themselves into the air and at Heroes is the sound of trees bursting beneath their claws. Beware: a single swipe can cause some serious damage and their fire breath, fast, frequent and garnished with the occasional, boiling hot drop of saliva, is nothing you want to stick around for. The dragons cannot be reasoned with, nor can they be tamed. A queen’s Charm magic WILL NOT work. Should someone try and reach out with their senses to see if the dragons are somehow hurting, they will only feel something alien and terrible.

Heroes aren't the only ones suffering under the dragons’ claws, unfortunately. Scattered around the area are a few small and isolated farms, and the animals and the farmers are easy prey and unlikely to flee in time. Heroes will want to intervene before the dragons can devour and destroy. If they are too late, they will need to provide support. Put out fires, heal the injured, catch panicked cows before they become pot roast! The dragons might be coming around for another attack, so it would be a good time to test barriers and other damage control skills.

To make matters worse, Blanc’s weather has decided that now is the perfect time for a hailstorm. It’s barely anything at first, beginning with small kernels the size of corn here and there to wet the grass and ruin your footing. Then it becomes much larger and greater in number. Dragons are not exempt from this hailhole: large enough pieces may rip holes in their wings! Heroes may want to use this to their advantage; additionally, casting ice and wind spells will suddenly become a lot easier, and the dragons will struggle to navigate in the stormy weather, forcing them to land more often. Better get up on that dragon’s back!

In the end, survivors of the dragon horde let out one last, collective shriek before they turn southward. The battle has been won, but the war is just beginning: the dragons have only been chased away. Their nest seems to be elsewhere and that is a worrying prospect. Dragons aren’t native to Blanc, which can only mean one thing…

Meanwhile, a new job opening has appeared at Gresser. At least you finally know what to do with all those fruit cows.

INFO ♟ Welcome!

Welcome to Crosscheck's May intro log! For any further questions, please see the FAQ or reach us at the Contact Us page. Have fun!

Also by request, here are some Player Endorsements that may be of interest!

Heaven's Feel: Looking for something else to do? In the mood for more light-hearted mingling? Check out Heaven’s Feel, Caissa’s first heroic matchmaking service! Opening week is going on now.

Training Notice: This training notice is located on the bulletin board. You might want to take a look.

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[There's nothing like it. Naruto has seen a lot of things in his admittedly young years, but he's struggling to come up with a comparison in the wake of what feels like endless shock. He's had only a few days to get used to this strange new world and the rules that come with it- the way his body feels and his inability to access something as fundamental as his own chakra- and even then, most of his time has been spent on figuring out what the hell had happened to the place when he got here. People attacked, cows everywhere, creepy shadows.

And in the middle of these revelations, there's a cute girl shooting arrows into a giant dragon and pulling it out of the sky. Somewhere along the line Naruto's mouth opened, and he has yet to shut it.

The creature's body pulls chunks of earth up when it lands, scraping into grass and stone alike and Naruto goes skittering off to the side to stay out of its range. The screams are nearly deafening and it takes a moment for him to realize that aren't all coming from the one in front of them and instead are a chorus of black smudges along the horizon.

Shit.]

You've... You've got more a'those, right?

[She's not exactly killed it by this point, more... disabled it. In fact, that seems to be about the limit of what she can do at the moment, but at least the dragon is grounded, blinded, and reluctant to use its fire, which is a start.

She also seems to have aid, which is something she thinks she needs. The question, though, as muffled as it is over the roar of the hail smashing into the ground, pulls her attention.] More of what? Arrows? This bow doesn't run out.

[And she'll likely need it, if the dragons approaching are any indication.]

Hey, can you hit this thing any harder? The best I can do is keep shooting it in the eyes and mouth, but none of that seems to be killing it!

[He'll take disabled over flying through the air and blasting fire at them all. Or picking them up off the field and dropping them, or eating them, or- whatever they've been doing. He really doesn't want to know. He'd seen enough in the days before this.

Naruto's head lifts, turning up towards the sky as if he might find the person responsible for dumping apocalyptic hail on them, and coming up empty his attention returns to the shrieking monster between them. He's not sure he can hit hard enough to make a difference, and he's not sure how much the dragon's scales will protect it- but like hell he's going to just stand around while she does all the work. Short knife in hand Naruto offers her something that looks like it's trying to be a serious salute, but comes off a little jaunty.]

Leave it to me!

[Leave it to him to... try and slit it's throat, apparently. He makes a wide circle, covering ground quickly as he heads towards the creature's back.] I gotta climb on. Make sure it's still mad at you, okay?

[She has, too; it's why she's adamant about bringing these things down. And it's a lot easier to kill a creature than another person, so this is something she can do.

... Even if the dragon is bleeding everywhere, the hail and rain wash it away.

Luckily, it seems whatever this other Hero can do... well, he's doing, and she's glad to see it, because she almost regrets not bringing her other bow.] I can do that! Things seem to hate me for whatever reason, so...

[They do. It's something she's noticed, between the cows and other creatures. Maybe it has something to do with being a King? Whatever the case is, the dragon flails blindly, and Yukari keeps shooting, pegging it from the same direction to keep its attention toward her, then moving so she doesn't get hit.

Hopefully, this'll work.]

[Between her rank as a King and his own as a Pawn, Naruto generates absolutely none of the creature's notice- something that catches him a little off guard given that he's literally climbing up its body. He uses the creature's scales as handholds, but in the absence of chakra and with the deluge of water and blood, it's slower going than he'd like. Precariously balanced high on the dragon's neck, he doesn't bother bringing his knife around the front of it's throat- the beast is too wide for him to navigate easily and he'll almost certainly forfeit his footing.

Naruto's jaw clenches, a momentary hesitation, and then the blade comes down. He can't afford to debate it when they've already been attacked and more than that- he isn't the one that'll pay the price. That girl is the one it's after.

It takes almost all of his weight but there, on a shout, Naruto gets the knife between the notches of its spine and pushes- severing the connection from brain to body. Unable to support itself any longer the dragon's body crumples, taking Naruto along for the ride.]

[The dragon is still a massive creature, and there's really only so much 'shoot a few times and then reposition' she can do before it starts to be able to track her down - possibly by scent if nothing else, so at some point she starts mumbling] Hurry up hurry up hurry up hurry up [to herself as she runs.

Luckily, it doesn't take forever, and just when she thinks the dragon's about to catch up to her...

... It collapses, splattering her legs in mud as she squawks and backs away from it, suddenly.

Well, that's good. She stands, stunned that actually worked for a moment, before... oh wait.] H-hey! Are you alright? [She can't see exactly where he landed, but hopefully it wasn't... like... under the dragon.

She can heal otherwise?] It didn't land on you, did it?

[The dragon's landing has missed him by mere inches, but the length of the fall was no easy thing either. Naruto had dropped like a rock, lost from sight in the spray of blood and upended dirt, and it takes him a moment to pick his way out of the mess. His cloak had protected him from any serious harm but man his head hurts.

He's rubbing the back of it with one hand when he sees her again, pausing long enough to climb over the dragon's neck the way one might step over a garden wall. The majority of his fancy new uniform is now soaked with gore and he knows there's no helping that but-] Yeah yeah, I'm alright'attebayo. This stuff just really smells.

[She looks mostly in one piece, if a little dirtier than he remembers. Still, he wants to be sure.] You're okay too, right? That took longer than I thought it would.

[He's alr-what? Oh. Speech quirk. Blink.] ... Yeah... blood tends to do that. Ugh, it's such a mess, too. [She pulls a face, obviously a little nauseous at the sight.]

I'm alright, as long as I don't have to look at the aftermath, there. Lemme know... if any of that blood on ya is yours and I can help ya get patched up. And, I'm fine... I'm pretty good at running when I need to be.

But hurry up before its buddies show up. We might be in for a bigger fight than just one.

[He has a couple of nicks and scratches, but it's nothing worth reporting. Even without his body's ability to heal, he's still a shinobi- if he hadn't been looking for them, he probably wouldn't have noticed in the first place.

At her recommendation though, Naruto's attention jerks abruptly back to the sky. She's right, they'll need to regroup and find some help. Trying to stick this fight out without backup is just going to get them killed.]

Let's go, I'll follow you!

[She nods. Alright, that's good; he's unharmed, and they need backup, so she doesn't seem to waste any time heading back where she's seen other Heroes. It's time for... something of a tactical retreat. Even if she's sure the dragons are going to be following them.] If we can't find anyone, then we'll just have to... figure something out, I think. My mana's still good, but is yours?

[He doesn't consider it a retreat so much as a regrouping, but Naruto has always been quick to take his cues from the people around him. He's had years to learn how to trust the judgement of others and knows how to recognize when he needs to make his own decisions and when he's being given good advice. She barely looks winded at all, and he doesn't have to ask to see that she knows what she's doing.]

My, mana?

[Which is to say he's gotten the same rundown as any other newcomer, but understanding how it applies- what it feels like in his body as the levels fluctuated- is still mostly trial and error. He does feel pretty tired, but he's used to pushing through it. The fall, he remembers. If she hadn't mentioned it, Naruto's sure he would just run himself to empty again.]

Ano... [This is the weird part. It shouldn't be weird, it's just a normal thing here, but. But. They're strangers???? Naruto reaches out with a beat of hesitancy, hand dangling between them even as they keep pace- waiting for her own.]

[It's... a blessing and a curse. She hates fighting, but she's got experience at it, so she might as well use it for some good. And it's even better when she doesn't have to carry the fight with that experience, even if she doesn't mind if it'll keep someone safe.

... Except, why is he hesitating.

And why is his hand sort of motioning toward her?]

What are-

Oh!

[That's... that's a thing.]

... Lemme guess... you're kinda low?

[Anything to delay actually touching him. If he thinks he's awkward about this...]

[He's hesitating because he's painfully shy. It was one thing when Bolin had done it because he'd literally saved Naruto's life- there hadn't been time to hesitate or get weird, it had to be done- and then by the time he started paying attention it was already making him feel better. Somehow... this is so much worse.

Naruto is cooperative by nature, attentive to the needs and goals of his friends even if he sometimes lacks the tact necessary to talk about them. He's not used to outright asking for things, especially from someone he doesn't really know- so when she hesitates, he abruptly brings his hand back down. He doesn't actually know how low he is because he hasn't had enough practice. He's just a little sore, it's probably fine, and besides- he knows that look. Naruto waves it off with a bright smile.]

It's okay it's okay! I'm not that low anyway, so I can keep going!

Let's hurry and catch up with everybody else!

... Right. Don't like. Pass out on the way up there, though. I don't think I can carry you.

[So much faith. Okay, okay, but she at least would help out if it came down to a matter of needing to in order to keep them both alive. Survival takes a definite amount of precedence, here, she's just...

... Not really into physical closeness with people she doesn't know. Crazy, but, well, let's not get into the long story for the 'why'.]

But I think we did a great job! You're definitely used to fighting, too, then, huh?

[No... No pressure... He's still not entirely sure what he needs to be monitoring and how mana feels inside him, but that's a lesson that'll take time to sink in. Her question has him smiling, and despite the fact that they're relative strangers- Naruto is quick to accept her as an ally.]

Yeah yeah, I'm a first class shinobi! [The reminder of home is welcome, but it isn't the closest thing on his mind. He might have climbed up a dragon, but it doesn't escape his notice that she'd done all the heavy lifting in that fight. If anything's worth celebrating, it's that.] But what about you huh? You really knew what you were doing with that thing! I still haven't figured any of this magic stuff out.

A shinobi? [Somehow, she doesn't judge the whole. Ninja thing. She's been here just long enough that maybe she just thinks he's from an older time period.]

... I've been here for a little bit, but honestly... I think it's this bow. I couldn't hit the broad side of a barn with it earlier in the fight - even shots I knew would be on-target kept missing, but then suddenly it was hitting parts of the dragon I wasn't even aiming for... but I guess it was working.

... So I dunno. [She's just stubborn in the face of danger.] I guess I've always been more afraid of things I can't see, anyway. Dragons aren't the weirdest thing I've fought.

Then that's one of those special weapons, right? [He's still trying to wrap his head around it- not the concept, but the execution. The majority of his understanding has come from personal experience and Naruto knows there's much much more to it than just what he's seen. A bow that could find its targets, even if the person using it couldn't- there's no comparison for something like that in his world.

His head shakes.] What is the weirdest thing you've fought? Somethin' here?

Yeah. It's my second one, in fact... I guess when you get 'promoted' or whatever, you can get a new one. At first I thought it was totally useless, cuz when I was just firing at targets, it wasn't hitting anything, even at ranges I should've been able to hit 'em real easy... but... [She shrugs.] I'll take it, I guess. If it's good at finding weak spots. [That's why it's a Hyperion Bow!

Though, the topic turns from her weapon to the Shadows, and... how does one explain Shadows?] No, uh... we have some really weird monsters back at home. I'd explain 'em, but... ya kinda have to see 'em. I think the big... oozing-heart looking one was probably the weirdest, so far. [But, being the Lovers Arcana Shadow, and the one that started the whole Love Hotel Incident... the most satisfying to bring down.]

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intro ♚ may

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