pawnstorm | intro ♚ november

intro ♚ november

WELCOME TO BLANC

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.

ONE ♟ Noir Roulette

Not long after your arrival, Heroic Task Force Commander Fleur de Lisbrand with her shiny new metal legs issues an order on video via mechanical pigeon and Carrier.

Commander Lisbrand
Soldiers! If you have time to gawk, you have time to walk. There’s a Noir intruder at the White Rose! Move!

When you arrive at the entrance, a large crystal projection activates, displaying a familiar flag in the background...

	Princess Katya Ah, how nostalgic. Zdravstvujtye, Blanc. I hope you haven’t forgotten about me, Heroes. Hmm? Lord Verdoni isn’t here... Well, that’s fine. I see many tasty morsels before me already. [ licks her lips ] Virgins are the most delicious, but I could settle for some of you. Did you like my present last month? Ooh, it’s so cute when you ache and cough and fall to your knees! Your Prime Minister would be, too, if it weren’t for his knight in shining armor. [ SIGHS and grumbles ] That blasted pair of breasts on legs… Well, I have the cure [ playfully tosses a vial in her hands ] and I’d have let you have it, too, but it isn’t free. Here’s my price: in the next two hours, all you have to do is kill every. Blanc. In. Sight♥ It’s so cheap, right? [ chuckles ]
	Commander Lisbrand It’s a bluff! Don’t fall for it!
	Princess Katya Oh? Is that how you see me, Commander Lisbrand? I’m glad you think I’m smart enough to lie. At least I’m not the one who made the wrong call last Rosa.
	Commander Lisbrand [ grits her teeth and snorts ] With all due respect, Your Highness, I see someone who’s had more men than medication, as if she’s overcompensating for something. Her chest, perhaps?
	Princess Katya SILENCE, YOU DAMN COW! [ her anger soon turns into smug confidence ] Have it your way. Golems! Kill the Prime Minister, but leave that Lisbrand alive. [ darkly ] I’ll deal with her myself. Personally, I don’t expect to win… but it’ll be interesting to watch, yes? [ as she cackles, the crystal projection shatters ]
	Commander Lisbrand Temperamental and touched in the head... I can see why Secretary Verdoni defected. Soldiers, protect the Prime Minister at all costs!

As Heroes new and old rush into the city hall to fulfill their duty, they are faced with clusters of mana crystal golems. Crystal joints clinking as the marble floor cracks under their weight, they lunge at everyone and everything unfortunate enough to be in their reach! Watch out, the golems can break fixtures and furniture to navigate the hall and fling the pieces at Heroes and fleeing civilians alike. Mana draining abilities prove the most effective on them!

For this battle, the Heroes won’t be fighting alone, as Blanc’s army soon joins the fray. Together, they must exterminate all golems before one of them smashes the Prime Minister into paste!

After the last of Noir’s golems go down, Lisbrand gets a message on her Carrier, a mechanical hummingbird.

Commander Lisbrand
[ to her Carrier: ] Understood.

[ to the Heroes: ] The Prime Minister is safe and the threat has been contained, but we’ve yet to uncover who planted that crystal projection. We’ll handle the investigation from here. Secretary Verdoni has ordered the Heroic Task Force to assemble at the Hall of Glory as soon as possible.

[ ... ]

Are you all going to stand there or do I need to use my gun?

TWO ♟ Neverending

After the decor has suffered and the threat has been contained, Blanc and its Heroes can focus on other domestic matters. It’s been a few weeks since the incident at Merilorn Forest, but doctors have yet to find a cure for the Caruana Virus. Report to the Hall of Glory and you’ll encounter a bat snacking on an eclair.

No. It’s Blanc’s resident vampire, Secretary Alexandre Verdoni.

Secretary Verdoni
[ quickly transforms back into a person, as if being a fatty in bat form was something embarrassing ]

… I see we have some new arrivals. Preemptive Noir attack aside, I’m surprised Commander Lisbrand hasn’t used her gun. [ sighs ] I never thought I’d say this, but I rather miss it.

[ hesitates before giving his bitten eclair to the nearest Hero ]

Anyway, I’ll make this brief. The Caruana Virus is a disease that rots its victims and gives them an insatiable appetite for mana, which they prefer to consume from the flesh of the living. The virus can be transmitted via contaminated food and beverage and mana exchange with infected individuals.

Blanc is in collaboration with Gammon to find a cure and progress is right on schedule. We have developed an elixir prototype, and while we’ve tested its effects in the lab, we’ve yet to see it in proper action.

That’s where you come in. Locals have a chance of dying while you Heroes—as we’ve observed—do not. Thus, we’ll need infected volunteers from your ranks. Test the elixirs and report any defects to Pigeonsblood.

The rest of you, deliver the caravans of approved elixirs to Petrosian. Rosa knows they need all the help they can get.

While the journey to Petrosian may seem easy at first, the nights will prove that it is anything but. Cunning wildlife like wolves, foxes and mischievous sentient vines wish to steal caravan supplies for fun if not sustenance. Guard your goods or they’ll be gone in the morning. Bandits will hassle the caravans during the day. The prototype would fetch a hefty sum on the black market, so who are they to resist?

For infected Heroes, testing the cure for the virus will be an ordeal. Defective elixirs will yield a variety of side effects. One might make your face the changing colors of the Petrosian River, while another might make you cringe uncontrollably from reliving your dark past. The prototypes that do work, however, are only a tad stronger than chroma algae elixirs. Either way, the results must be written down in great detail and sent to Pigeonsblood.

THREE ♟ Goodnight Petrosian

At Petrosian’s gates, you’re greeted by familiar faces from last month’s incident: Eric Caruana, the mayor of Capablanca’s son, and his butler, Charles Gerald.

	Eric Heroes! I heard what happened at the capital. That… was… so… AWESOME! [ jumps up and fistpumps ] The TVs are working now, so I got to see you all live! I saw you with your [ sword swinging noises ] and you with your [ magic spell noises ]...! Anyway, thank you so much for all your hard work! That princess is evil incarnate... I hope you guys show her what for someday. The mayor of Petrosian’s busy tending to the sick right now. We don’t have the cure for the virus yet, but everyone’s safe with their families now. [ frowns ] The incident in Merilorn was a diversion. We suffered major losses in Capablanca due to the Noir attack on our shores… [ a reassuring smile ] But don’t worry. Both Petrosian and Capablanca are doing their best to slowly but surely stand up again.
	Charles [ approaches the group 15 minutes late with Suncolle ] Mayor Pierre Caruana of Capablanca will be rewarding you for your aid soon. In the meantime, we’ve arranged for your rooming at the Check Inn for the next few days. The mayor of Petrosian says you’ll be helping us today as well. Eric, your frappucino.
	Eric [ looks between Charles and the Heroes as he sips on his drink. fidgets. ] Y-you’ve gotten bolder lately...
	Charles Ahaha, I’m only doing my job. [ quietly ] The main event will happen tonight.
	Eric [ RED ALL OVER ] Wha—!?
	Charles The Heroes will be putting on a show for us, after all! [ lol ]

The forlorn faces, drawn and exhausted, of infected citizens greet the Heroes when they arrive at St. Genevieve’s Hospital, where Heroes are tasked to lift their spirits! As the only ones authorized to use magic, Heroes must cheer the patients up by performing the ancient healing ritual of mahnzye, in which a pair of costumed mages take turns verbally berating each other in a humorous manner while standing inside a magic circle. After a few successful exchanges, color and smiles will certainly be found on everyone’s faces, so put on your best costume and give it your all! Be careful not to turn it into a real fight, or you might get kicked out of the building.

After a day’s work, Heroes will be greeted by an elaborate buffet in the Check Inn’s dining area, ready to fill Heroes with food like vampire steaks (actually just really good beef), witch-shaped sandwiches, white chocolate ghosts and pumpkin punch. The inn didn’t skimp on decorations, either: spider webs can be found in every corner and candles and clockwork bats rest on top of almost every available surface.

The quality of the food and cute decorations make up for the fact that the eerily moon-themed inn, especially the innkeepers, smell like wet dog. What’s up with that? The mystery reveals itself the moment Petrosians witness a large, flaming bird in the night sky. As the bird passes over the city, the innkeepers and most of their staff begin to earn wolf ears and glowing burns across their skin. They’re werewolves, they confess, and the creature that flew overhead must have had a strong holy aura...

The bird seems to be heading east. Heroes, treat the werewolves and repay their kindness while you can. It looks like your work is far from over!

INFO ♟ Welcome!

Welcome to Crosscheck's November intro log! Please remember to read the Arrival Info! For any further questions, please see the FAQ or reach us at the Contact Us page. Have fun!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ She could turn away and pretend she didn't see it. She even debated it, too. She couldn't say her last encounter with the other white-haired woman was a pleasant one, but.

As tall as she is, she can take long strides, so she moves in rather quickly. Cruel to be kind is her odd approach with others she may feel slightly aggravated or uncomfortable with. Wordlessly, she's able to pull Caren up (she's light enough, too, even with her strength currently that of a human), rest her on her lap. But that gentleness won't last long. ]

Was it worth it?

[ She wears an apathetic expression on her face, wearing her white robes, Regina can only look down at her and see how the rest of this progresses.

She's not going to show that she feels bad for her. ]

[She wouldn't have minded if she had walked away. Wouldn't have held it against her; she did not expected to be helped. Was surprised when she was, even, held so carefully in the woman's grip.]

It's....

[Sweat trickles off of her, and she makes a noiseless gasp. It hurts. Her back arches, her form going taut, before she slumps, bumping against Regina's chest.]

Better me. Then someone else.

[ A part of her would call Caren ridiculous, that there will always be plagues and illnesses that took the lives of others and the cycle of life would go on. That is if she didn't remember what lead up to so many of the Heroes here being infected. What bothered her the most was to see so many of these people displaced, how their homes were scorched and the people taken by Noir. How much of that resonated with her and her past, it swayed her to actually take up arms for strangers and led them out of the forest to safety, the small number she could help.

She could agree, but she would not say a word of it. A hand came to rest on the top of her forehead, gentle, mean to be soothing. It is, unfortunately, the only form of comfort she can give her; whatever ails her, she can't really reach a conclusion, not without more study and more knowledge of what Blanc's plants have to offer. Such is the roll of a druid, one of many -- or what should be. She will remain nothing but gentle, steady hands adjusting Caren when she does come to fall against her chest. ]

I will not have you get up quite yet. Give yourself time to see if it passes.

[There are those. And Caren did not want to get infected in the first place, knowing that it would be a pain to handle. But...but. There were so many people displaced, and Caren knows that this cure-even with all of the pain-is something she can record and survive, unlike normal people.

Not like Eric and the people they failed.

It still hurt though. But she could survive a little pain.]

I suppose that would be the smart thing to do.

[Her voice is faint, and she realizes that if she stands up too soon, she could collapse or do something to make a fool of herself. Not pleasant. Her forehead still feels damp with pain ridden sweat.]

Good. If you didn't, I'd give you a real reason to be hurting.

[ Just because, you know, she is concerned. For the meantime, that means she can't move, either, and a part of her regrets that choice. Showing any concern like this made her look vulnerable, she felt. But back to the scene around them, she was already looking for someone to berate, letting someone drink an elixir like this that caused them this much pain. ]

Where is the elixir?

[ Best to confesgate that soon, if anything. ]

Promises, promises Regina.

[She'd smile if she was inclined to. But it feels as if she's a kitten in Regina's lap. She's not going to get cuddled, is she? Then she might have to yowl.

Maybe not yowl but express her unhappiness. Loudly.]

Back with the others. But I can point out the bottle, if you want.

[ The story would be much different if she had a man in her lap, not a woman. It's a druid's duty to be not only council but also a healer. And she is following her teacher's mindset to the best of her ability: he would not want the bottle out, so she should act the same way. ]

You certainly wouldn't be doing anyone else any favors collapsing.

[ But there is a sympathetic part of her that still continues to rest gentle hands on Caren. Even now, she has the option of getting up, letting Caren's head drop cruelly to the ground. She doesn't, she'll wait a few more minutes. ]

There's other solutions, I'm sure, than drinking this.

[The man might have been teased a lot more. But in any case, Caren is...slowly recovering. Recovering less then she would like, but she had forgotten how it felt to be in so much pain.

You wouldn't think she would, and yet...here she was. There was still a part of her that wanted to stand, but her legs still felt too shaky.]

I didn't realize that it would...cause such a reaction. I'm not sure what the cure would be.

I'm not sure how else to check.

[Because...heroes are less likely to die, and even if they did, they came back. It's not as if there are mana rats that are subject for testing. Or at least not that she knows about.

...she's going to get so mad if there are rats and mice they could have done this on instead.]

How can you trust any of them?

[ Did they know what they were doing? She understood that those who volunteered to try the elixirs did so out of their good will. They were good people, they wanted to help Yet, as she sat there with Caren, the dark look on her face and how she watched others with the elixir with such heavy scrutiny...

She didn't really believe in the absolute of those who brought the drinks, if only for how much it made Caren so ill. ]

I'm sure there's other alternatives, ones that don't make others suffer more as a result.

[ She drew her only eye down to Caren, stifling her anger, wearing a neutral expression. ]

How do you fare now?

You can't.

[It's a simple, matter of fact thing. They can't. They couldn't be certain that one of the potions are not poisons. Or something that could torture someone.

So...let her, rather then someone else pay the price.]

Maybe there is. But there's no way we can know until it's tired. I...

[She takes in a deep breath. She's a Rook, not a child. She can do this.]

I can stand.

[She thinks. She's by no means certain.]

Healing isn't meant to cause more suffering.

[ Given the way Regina usually presented herself, the statement could be considered odd. And yet, she continued, softening as she lamented in her thoughts. ]

There has been enough suffering from both the people who live in this land and by heroes. Even one suffering, who thinks that it's better for themselves to suffer so that others won't, is enough. There's always alternatives.

[ To say that she had strong opinions on the whole situation was putting it mildly. Beyond Enprise, she saw enough of it, already. Whether it was sickness or war, the compassionate part of her wanted to stop it from progressing. But life is not made of easy compromises.

Her hands leave Caren's shoulders, allowing her to get back on her feet. ]

By all means.

It's better if I'm suffering. At least I partially enjoy the experience.

[Which is more or less true, even if her voice is tart. What an interesting view from an interesting woman who did not consider herself human.

But what she knew of her was little. Purposely, perhaps.

Still, Caren forced herself onto her feet, wincing from the pull on her side. That, she thought, was going to cramp for awhile. She wanted to be sick, as if that would relieve some of the pain.

But she forced herself to stand, even as her legs trembled.]

Don't be idiotic.

[ The wincing and shaking won't go unnoticed from the much taller woman, who immediately reaches to steady Caren in place. If she was so insistent to stand, she'll allow that much, but not without any sort of aid. With no care to personal space, Caren was held against her side, Regina's hand around her waist ]

At least be able to stand if you're going to say that.

[She wasn't sure how she felt about this. Disgruntled? Disgruntled felt like the emotion she was going for. Or sheer annoyance. She huffs quietly, and she tries to start taking a few bambi steps away from her protector.

It might look worse then it sounds.]

I can stand perfectly well.

[She says it calmly. Through semi clenched teeth. Who's stubborn? Not Caren.]

[ Who is going to be mean about this? Regina.

Who also tried to be nice about this? Also Regina. Without much of a word, she promptly shoves Caren to the ground and then adds. ]

Then by all means, let's see you do it. Don't say I didn't warn you.

[Regina tried.

She really did.

But this means that Caren is down with her ass in the air and her face against the floor. Ow.

All right. Fine. Caren slaps her hands against the ground, and gamely tries to pull herself up to her feet. She's determined. She's very determined! But she looks pathetic. Especially because she falls again. And again.]

[ It's tough love, but it's something that she does to prove a point that there's nothing wrong with a little assistance and to wait for that pain to pass by.

She does do this out of the goodness out of her heart. Sort of. Rather than swoop in and help Caren up, Regina stands beside her, making a point to have her feet very visible to Caren.

She will make good on her word. ]

Go one, if you can stand, let's see it. If not, well-

[ But she's still a cruel woman. ]

Then there's no shame in accepting help from another, even if it means accepting it for a short while.

[Yeah, tough love. Caren is used to tough love, tbh or just...plain tough. But she's wondering if Regina is enjoying seeing her struggle. At least Caren was able to ensure that her face didn't smack onto the ground.

She is tempted to bite Regina's feet though, like a savage.]

Of course. Though I would hate to be a burden for someone else.

[She's not going to ask. She might give up eventually.]

[ It isn't as if she takes any joy from seeing Caren flop on the ground or in pain. It almost reminds her of her mother, in her worst moments, where she was so ill and ravaged by her own traumas that she couldn't leave her bed when she was very young. Since then, it's left an impression on her and despite her promises to be crueler to Caren, she doesn't.

She waits. ]

What makes you a burden to others is floundering like this. You're more of a burden when others try to aid you in feeling better and refusing the aid of another. Is it better like this, to crawl on your stomach? Or do you want to stand on your feet? Even if with the aid of another at least you're standing. I would advise you to think about that.

...is this the part where you walk away so I may see the errors of my ways?

[She knows this. SHe's gone through some of this, she's certain. But...well. She's going to keep trying until her arms and legs give out, completely exhausted.]

Ensure that I am to learn the error of my ways, and trust others to always want to do the right thing? That you want to do right by me?

Of course I want to stand on my feet.

I don't intend on walking away.

[ She isn't that mean, but she hopes she realizes by now that she can't stand on her feet without aid. Regina kneels back down, she helps Caren off of her feet by pulling her back up. And while it's demeaning, she's sure, to be picked up like a child- ]

But I don't intend on seeing you stumble, not until you're able to walk fully on your own. I suggest you accept it.

[She would have been fine if she'd been that mean. Caren makes a noise in her throat, but she doesn't bite. Even if it is tempting to do such a thing to the taller woman.]

Accept that I can't do anything about the situation.

[Sounds familiar.]

Very well.

Accept that your situation is temporary.

[ Regina feels the need to stress this, especially. ]

Lose an eye, let it heal, and then get back up and fight. What's so terrible about the time that you need to heal?

It's not that I need to heal. I'm used to that.

It's that I must take time to heal when I could be doing something else.

There will always be things in your way to prevent you from getting back on your feet.

[ She isn't sure whether to be annoyed or pity Caren. Maybe both. At the very least, her grip isn't tight where she's smothering her, only encouraging Caren to use her as support. ]

You'll find other ways to make up for that time.

intro ♚ november

2-I

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