boardmaster: (Default)
BOARDMASTER ([personal profile] boardmaster) wrote in [community profile] pawnstorm2016-04-09 04:30 am

intro ♚ april

WELCOME TO GRAUPERA



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 CAPABLANCA & AIRY
As much as Blanc’s capital welcomes its Heroes, new arrivals such as yourself won’t have much time to settle. Get dressed and pick up your weapon and Carrier, because sometime in the afternoon, all floor nannies and Carriers will broadcast an announcement by Commander Lisbrand. She delivers a brief greeting to their new members, but gets straight to the point: they will be headed for Capablanca and the open sea beyond, in order to restore the fortress of Graupera for battle with Noir looming on the horizon. All new Heroes are expected to report to the Airy at the Caissa aeroport on the 8th along with their seniors.

On the morning of the 11th, Airy alights on Graupera, an island about two hours away from Capablanca by ferry. From here, you can either help the navy with Graupera repairs or assist in Verdoni’s investigations and head for Capablanca proper. Heroes will be staying in the (in)famous Hotel Caruana: they say you can check in anytime you like, but you can never truly leave. Nobody will quite meet your eyes or tell you what it means.

Wherever you are, the Airy will remain parked at Graupera.

TWO GRAUPERA, CAPABLANCA SEA FORT
What was once a heavily fortified island rests a ways off the coast of Capablanca; it looks a little too much like one of the thunderclouds slowly swarming on the horizon. Graupera has seen many battles and withstood the ebb and flow of wars. Formerly the city’s first line of defense until it was abandoned after the Reclamation, its dilapidated condition is the current bane of the Blanc navy. Blanc needs to bring it back to its former glory before it can face a single warship, much less Noir’s fleet of magical cannons. Blanc’s government has no doubt Heroes will do a fine job at returning the fortress to its former glory!

A ♙ The great stone and iron wall facing the wide open ocean has seen better days and is full of holes overgrown with stubborn clinging vines; cannonballs used a lifetime ago litter the grounds. The vines are extremely thick and may tangle the careless beyond hope of escape, not to mention filled with a pungent sap that will seep into your clothes and hair for days. It makes a great adhesive, though? Conveniently, parts of the wall are strewn across the floor, so at least some of the cannon holes can be repaired with enough improvisation, desperation and a bit of spit. The rest need new material provided by our helpful Heroes in Option C. Furthermore, the lingering damage from a previous attack and old age have turned the floorboards weak and unstable. The wood creaks ominously beneath the mass of even a single average-sized person, so watch your step.

B ♟ You might want to get your weapon before you descend into the dank depths beneath the castle. Once you make it down the steep, slippery stairs, you’ll be meeting the gigantic, hostile rats that infest the castle cellar from top to bottom. It looks like magical residue from long-ago battles has seeped into both the foundation and its inhabitants. The cellars have become a huge warren filled with strange mana currents, and sometimes flooded with water. If you're going to start an extermination campaign, you may want to recall the magical residue: chopping off a rat’s head and limbs will barely slow it down. It will keep going for hours unless you either lop off all its limbs or pierce its heart.

If you manage to make it all the way up into the castle’s two intact towers (the other two are half-collapsed), the uppermost levels are utterly covered in bird crap. You’ll be encountering the kings of this castle: the unusually large, grey-feathered sea birds that have taken up residence here. Albatrosses, gulls, pelicans, even sand pipers: they all share nesting and pooping space here. The feathers of each bird seem to have taken on stone-like properties not unlike the castle’s walls. They’re extremely ferocious and protective of their nests, which are filled with all kinds of things: twigs, shiny things, coin money, Option C’s supplies, feathers of all kinds, and some completely ordinary tools that seem too small for human hands, and much older than anything else in the place save for the walls. If you look closely, you might be able to see a few baby rats scattered in amongst the eggs and the peeping chicks. They’re being fed, too.

You’re meant to be moving the birds out of the place, but you might have enough trouble just moving their offal.

C ♙ Don’t feel like dealing with pest control? No problem! Blanc will need materials for rebuilding and other supplies for the coming battle! Everyone knows how important it is for the fortress to remain standing, so Heroes will be provided with gadgets and weaponry that should make it difficult for enemies to penetrate the walls yet again. Word has spread that the Heroes are transporting valuable goods, though, so you might have to fend off the occasional hopeful man or annoying mouse (rat) who wishes to borrow much-needed material.

Of course, all this rebuilding will be for naught if you are not prepared to defend the stronghold! Ammunition such as cannonballs, bullets and arrows needs to be transported to Graupera en masse, pronto. Equally important essentials include first aid supplies and enough non-perishable food and water to last a small army (you) a month or two. You wouldn’t want to have to scavenge for rat meat.

No one knows just how long this battle is going to last.

THREE Training
It’s time for you landlubbers to learn how to swim! Commander Lisbrand won’t be tolerating any sinking stones on her task force. The upcoming battle will be fought on the sea so your instructor, one of Blanc’s many fine captains (when she isn’t intoxicated), will make every single individual who hesitates at the sight of the open ocean walk the plank. She’ll even give you a helpful kick if necessary! Once that’s over, she will show you how to steer a ship. However, wandering eyes that land anywhere on the inebriated captain’s assets will be swiftly and spectacularly dealt a large bottle of the harbor’s best swill right where it hurts.

Blanc has also provided training dummies dressed suspiciously like prominent figures of the Othellian underworld. Now might be a good time to branch out and learn about your affinities. Heroes who have recently been promoted in Rank might want to set some time aside for getting used to their new abilities, too. Power and responsibility come hand in hand, after all!

INFO Welcome!
Welcome to Crosscheck's April intro log! For any further questions, please see the FAQ or reach us at the Contact Us page. Have fun!
showsnopiety: (I close my eyes)

[personal profile] showsnopiety 2016-04-17 07:18 am (UTC)(link)
I'm not joking.

[She peers at him, golden eyes on his duller brown. A knight, she didn't know what their specialties were but...it was a rank up. And it did not, she think, have the abilities of Kings, who were healers, which she knew directly from Sion being an annoying busy body.

Still. She made a small gesture, still a small, small pawn. She didn't know about the coming back from the dead deal either.]


If you're not used to using the rifles, that's one thing. But there's also a difference between a moving target and a motionless one.

[She made a small gesture.]

And it could make the difference between your life and the life of your allies.
tsyoon: (it's definitely not maybelline)

[personal profile] tsyoon 2016-04-17 08:03 am (UTC)(link)
[ It really is him. On the one hand, Yoon is really happy to see Kija and missed his friend. On the other hand, though... ]

Kija, could you... get off me... please?

[ He wheezes, wriggling beneath him and checking on his own carrier as Haneul squirms against his fingers, trying to get free of the pile. He ends up perching on Yoon's shoulder again, fluffing his feathers at Kija and the snake aggressively and making little hissing noises. ]
Edited (typos... forever......) 2016-04-17 08:04 (UTC)
houndumb: (033)

[personal profile] houndumb 2016-04-17 08:30 am (UTC)(link)
[This is what happens when you don't use your words, Setsuna. Certain wild animals misunderstand your intentions and promptly latch on to your ankles, and once they've had a taste of blood (or something) they're not going to let go. Besides, it's debatable whether the class will even start on time at this rate: the Captain sure seems to be settling in with the (probably warm) stash of alcohol she pulled out of her... assets... and doesn't seem interested in continuing her actual current lesson anytime soon.

One way or the other, it looks like they've become the lesson. Or the entertainment for the evening (we don't actually know what time it is right now, but hopefully they're not making Heroes swim in the rain at night; no promises, though).

Nora's not paying attention to any of that, though -- as soon as Setsuna retaliated, his focus snapped in and he grinned, baring all his teeth and demonic canines. The push doesn't actually move him very far -- he's way too good at planting his feet, honestly.]

So you are useful for something. I was starting to think I picked the dead fish of the lot. [Assuming he actually made any kind of informed choice in the first place. He settles into some kind of stance, though (it's probably messy, he's a brawler, not an artist); at the same time, something unsettled somewhere in him falls back into place. Despite all his yowling about swimming, this is his element.] You better not try an' run away again!

[He did let go at last?! Setsuna's eyespeak doesn't go very far, since Nora's way too busy just charging at him with a punch. Full frontal assault, sure, why not.]
Edited (what is happening to my typing) 2016-04-17 08:33 (UTC)
houndumb: (018)

1/2

[personal profile] houndumb 2016-04-17 08:49 am (UTC)(link)
[Try literally exploding from the inside. Nora (and Cerberus, but mostly Nora) really isn't the type to go down easy, in any sense, so it's just as well that nobody is trying to eat him around here. For now. Considering their generally annoying assignment and position in the world, though, it's probably temporary.

The more fool them.]

Hmph. I'm not excited, there's nothing exciting around here-- [This one's a blatant lie, and an easy one to see through; he's more jittery than a horse hopped up on caffeine, has been pacing like a large caged creature for most of the lesson; the only time he ever was still was when they set out on the ship, when he spent an unusual amount of time (for him) just staring out over the ship's side.]
houndumb: (080)

2/2

[personal profile] houndumb 2016-04-17 08:51 am (UTC)(link)
[But that's neither here nor there -- Sion's hair ruffle gets a low, indignant noise and Nora reaches to slap it away with what is probably a disproportionate amount of force.] What the hell're you doing! I'm not a dog, can everyone stop trying to pet me!!

I'm a Cerberus. [There's this odd little pause in the proceedings while he seems to be struggling with the answer.] I can see magic! Obviously.

[Or should be able to. Same diff.]
handle: virizion dns (we still have a chance to make it)

[personal profile] handle 2016-04-17 09:32 am (UTC)(link)
--Right!

[ He closes his eyes, taking in a breath. He can't help but be a little nervous, though he doesn't doubt the words of the person who told him what this sword was for.

And in one swift movement, he moves the weapon forward, concentrating his mana into hopefully healing the monkey's wounds. It's not enough to fully heal him, but it should help, at least.

He opens his eyes shortly after, looking to the stranger for a reaction. ]
handle: earthenring (Default)

[personal profile] handle 2016-04-17 09:35 am (UTC)(link)
I've never read about any place called Japan, though... Any land outside of Glenwood hasn't been named, either.

Though, any place that has boats definitely has to be somewhere amazing.
handle: virizion - dns (is finally lifting)

[personal profile] handle 2016-04-17 09:43 am (UTC)(link)
--Got it!

[ Once again, he'll try to do as told, moving his legs apart, and kicking near frantically. Well--it's helping, though he never thought he'd have to learn on his own lke this. ]
handle: virizion - dns (wishing on the brightest star)

[personal profile] handle 2016-04-17 09:45 am (UTC)(link)
Huh? Wait--!

[ Sorey wants to tell him that he doesn't have to do that because oh boy - does this seem dangerous! He'd rather be the one in the dangerous situation then this person! But, before he can do anything else, he's being pushed into the water.

Careful, Bolin. You have +1 one goofy brunette falling your way. ]
sediments: (bolin and cute faces!)

[personal profile] sediments 2016-04-17 10:23 am (UTC)(link)
[ Bolin's all smiles in the water, though he momentarily shocked when Sorey is pushed into the water, quickly swimming backwards to avoid having the brunette fall on him despite claiming that he would catch the younger boy. And he is!

He closes his eyes for a second, when Sorey crashes into the water with a splash before quickly swimming over to the other Hero, carefully winding his arms around Sorey's torso to keep the boy from both flailing unnecessarily, or drowning. They both end up floating rather peaceably in the water, with Bolin gently kicking them further away from the boat. ]


See? It's not too bad. [ The earthbender smiles. ] Are you okay?
facultative: (Default)

[personal profile] facultative 2016-04-17 10:37 am (UTC)(link)
[Anakin ducks, but the mechanical bird isn't content to just let Ema throw them and it flaps away right into his face. He swats at it with one hand before looking at her indignantly. He almost tells her he's happily married thank you very much, but bites his tongue at the last second.]

Me? What about you? You're the one who broke in here!
facultative: (Default)

[personal profile] facultative 2016-04-17 11:33 am (UTC)(link)
Don't they both lead to the same thing? [He leans against a training dummy, completely self assured.] If you want to work with me all you had to do was ask.
facultative: (Default)

[personal profile] facultative 2016-04-17 11:40 am (UTC)(link)
[Anakin wasn't going to wait to get pulled up and he's already climbing.]

What? I lost it in a fight, not from a disease.

[By the time he finishes his sentence he's already reached the end and instead of climbing over Gaius or waiting for him to move, he steadies himself against the floorboards before swinging the vine until he gets enough momentum to do a flip and land. This time it holds.]
facultative: (Default)

[personal profile] facultative 2016-04-17 11:44 am (UTC)(link)
[Hackles raised, he keeps a hand on the hilt of his sword and watches her circle.]

I'm a Jedi, aren't I? I don't fight Separatists because it's fun.

[Well sometimes it is, but that's not the main reason.]
flirtations: (pic#10192567)

[personal profile] flirtations 2016-04-17 11:48 am (UTC)(link)
Haneul is lucky I wasn't lying about the two berries.

[ He reaches into his pocket and retrieves the second, offering that one to Yoon's rat. Song makes a sound of protest at having her berry offered to someone else, but given that she isn't even a quarter of the way through her own, there's not much she can do.

He frowns. ]


It's true. It's been over a month since we arrived, and we haven't spotted Yona, Hak, or Zeno anywhere.
wingbottle: (pic#10083878)

[personal profile] wingbottle 2016-04-17 01:37 pm (UTC)(link)
Healing? Not really I'm not good at that sort of thing.

I can fight a little too!

[Not with a pointy sword of course.]
dorarara: (☮ 213)

One!

[personal profile] dorarara 2016-04-17 01:44 pm (UTC)(link)
[Josuke, meanwhile, is burying his nose in magic tomes. It seems that, despite a prior lack of experience, magic can be wielded by all Heroes, and after having witnessed the destruction that occurred when he first arrived, Josuke would feel more comfortable exercising an ability he had at home, but got stripped when he was brought here.

The ability to heal people.

That's why, for once, he's actually working pretty hard to understand mana and magic and how to properly wield it. Though honestly, he isn't getting very far. Studying just so exhausting and time consuming and ugh!!! SO. BREAK TIME.]


That's a lot'a books, dude. What're you researching?

[It's a rather idle question, but something that will hopefully steer him from this restlessness he's feeling.]
flawless_precision: (pic#10174189)

[personal profile] flawless_precision 2016-04-17 01:48 pm (UTC)(link)
[She tries to keep her reaction reigned in but there's still a curious tilt of her head at his words. Separatists. That definitely puts him too old to be Luke. This was before even the Empire had taken shape.]

[Jedi, though. She wants to crush his throat, but she resists. There is so much more at play here, with the time inconsistencies. She finishes her initial circle and turns towards the exit. She needs to think about this.]


It is a shame your order isn't very good at it. [Which is to say despite their efforts the Empire rose and dominated, and though they fell the First Order is going to flourish and succeed where the Empire could not. The Jedis - as powerful and magnificent as legends would have them - are all but one, now. No, not very good at all.]
dualitea: (at last; and this brief condescension)

[personal profile] dualitea 2016-04-17 01:50 pm (UTC)(link)
I apologize for not bringing this up before - I have not met you before, Lady Saber. We are not summoned here for a war.

[ That, he thinks, is the most important thing to establish right now. If they are both Heroes, it's important that they work together. ]

We are not the only Servants here, either. There is another Assassin here as well. Both of us served under the same Master.

[ Maybe that would ping Saber's memory? There are Servants that his Master has met but not summoned. She may be one of them. ]
Edited 2016-04-17 13:50 (UTC)
couldntpullthetrigger: (I don't want my feelings restrained)

[personal profile] couldntpullthetrigger 2016-04-17 02:44 pm (UTC)(link)
[Well, that's not good. They hadn't had the best introduction, but Yukari hated to think someone disliked her so immediately.]

Um... [Okay. Oh wait, how about that shell. Going to go and... pick it up to bring it back? She can play fetch like a dog, too!

Oh wait
] You... want your shell back?
accordance: all by <user name="feonixe"> (Default)

[personal profile] accordance 2016-04-17 02:57 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Maybe it's a good thing he doesn't know what anime is. ]

A pleasure. [ He's not from Earth, so he doesn't know she's a country. But he hasn't really seen her around, so he continues: ] I presume you have recently arrived? I have been here longer. If I can assist you with questions, please let me know.

[ He mainly means settling in, but well. ]
baka_jyanai: (do what now?)

[personal profile] baka_jyanai 2016-04-17 04:24 pm (UTC)(link)
H-hey! Wait up! -Cirno isn't going to let her get away, but something about her tone suggested it was less about losing a 'student' and more about not wanting to be alone...-
meanballerina: (Scope the Scene)

[personal profile] meanballerina 2016-04-17 04:48 pm (UTC)(link)
[A beautiful genius. Right. Natasha just arches an eyebrow at that, but comments no further.]

You might not have a choice.
meanballerina: (Dismantle Your Foes)

[personal profile] meanballerina 2016-04-17 04:49 pm (UTC)(link)
I bet they don't make a very good sound, though.
hoasen: (did I leave the cat in the oven...)

[personal profile] hoasen 2016-04-17 04:57 pm (UTC)(link)
[Exactly, totally don't question it. IT'S NOTHING BIZARRE AT ALL. But oh, look how happy Saber is!!

As for all of Saber's assumptions? They're all correct.]


Let's see...do you have a swimsuit ready?