intro ♚ april

[boardmaster]

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!

Comments

[showsnopiety]

[Oh hey, she's down. That was easy. She stumbles, but ends up easily on her feet without much trouble. She watches him back off and hisses like he's a snake rather then a dog.

Heh. Oh. This is going to be fun.]

It's not dirty at all. You haven't seen the least of what I can do, puppy.

[She starts walking towards him, an amused glint in her eye.]

By the way? It's not hag. It's master. But I will also accept mistress.

[houndumb]

[Well. He does have snake in his makeup. They're just not usually as much in evidence.

Quite unlike a snake, though, his eyes are far from flat and he's about the furthest thing from coldblooded: you can see pretty much every single thought and emotion scrawled large in child's handwriting all over his face. And just at the moment? You can spot the exact moment his temper overwhelms his wariness.

Partly because he also shoots up from behind his cover and actually takes two steps back towards her, head down and body angled like he's thinking about charging.]

Like hell! I've had enough of masters to last ten lifetimes! Demon lifetimes! [It'll be a little harder for her to approach him this time -- he's genuinely on his guard now.] If you're looking for some kind of demon toy to play with, go look somewhere else!

[showsnopiety]

[He's all passion, this one. Him, making a decision in cold blood? She can hardly picture it. But oh, his dander is up, and this is going to be fun. He's easy to push one way or the other.

And he's acting like a bull now too. Toro toro~]

Demon lifetimes? No. hardly.

[She chuckles, still walking his way. ]

I don't need a toy, but it certainly would be a benefit. What's your name?

[houndumb]

[Hotblooded decisions 25/7 and a barrel full of split-second mood swings from angry to more angry to vaguely irritated, that's him. If you waved a red flag and told him not to charge at it, he'd probably tear it and run a 15-mile marathon with the remains. Or something.

Good thing the uniform is blue-themed...?

Mismatched eyes watch her every move with absolute suspicion; Nora doesn't back away this time, but he does start circling to the side to keep her at a distance.]

Well, you're not gonna find a benefit here, either! [Their eyes are probably locked at this point, and his narrow further. Yeah, he is probably only just now registering the color of her eyes, good job.] You're talkin' to Cerberus, the greatest demon in all the worlds! If you don't even know that, there's no hope for you.

[showsnopiety]

[Angry, more angry and sulky; the many moods of Nora. Maybe it was a good thing that the uniforms were blue...but her shawl is red. Whoops.

Amused, she allows the circling, still letting herself move closer all the while. Now his mismatched eyes see hers. Golden eyes mean something to him. Oh, it's going to be fun when he meets Sion, if that's the case.]

I'm already getting the benefits. Cerberus; hound of Hades, Greek God of the Underworld, also known as the realm of Hades. Child of Echidna and Typhon, the mother and father of monsters in the Greek mythology, from the time of Gods.

[She slowly smiles.]

Does that suffice, or do our worlds differ so much that it means nothing to you...gatekeeper?

[houndumb]

I don't know what you're getting out of this, but I don't like it.

[The greatest demon in the worlds, ladies and gentlemen. Or something.

The shawl is certainly eyecatching considering the blandness of all her other colors, but just now he's much more focused on other things: widening the circle so she doesn't get close enough to grab, or headbutt, or do anything else untoward, and being vaguely irritated by those golden eyes.

His meeting with Sion is going absolutely swimmingly, of course.

The longer she goes on about Cerberus, though, the blanker his expression gets. In fact, it goes through a bit of a range before finally settling on almost-sulky. Yep.]

Yeah, yeah, know-it-all, I don't have a mother or father! Especially not those! Just 'cause you know a bunch of names that don't exist isn't gonna get you anywhere. [Hmph.] Humans have such stupid ideas about demons.

[You're a human, right, just checking. Super subtly.]

[showsnopiety]

You're not supposed to.

[Now he can be certain, that he is dealing with a terrible human being. Or something of that sort. She keeps walking with him in the slow circle, certain that at one point or another, he'll trap himself. Or he'll accidentally fall into the water. Either would be funny, really.]

Humans have all sorts of ideas about humans. It doesn't help that humans, by their nature, are limited. But then, [She makes a small gesture with her hand,] so are demons.

[He did confirm one thing for certain. Their worlds were very different.]

I'm not calling you Cerebus for the record. It's too big for the likes of you.

[houndumb]

[His expression just keeps souring further the more she talks, and the more they keep walking in stupid exposition circles. God, they're literally doing the Kotomine exposition circle shit, how did this happen to him. For the moment, the ship deck is wide enough that he isn't backed into a corner yet, but he's focused enough on the verbal sparring that he's not watching his surroundings properly.

It's always a fault of his, not planning ahead -- living much too much in the moment.]

Sure, demons are limited! But humans are more limited. [It's less petulant than it once would have been, slightly less derogatory; shockingly, and against his will, he's learned a few things about humans. But not this one.] Me, though, I'm better than both. You've got no hope against me!

[Does he still think this is an actual fight....... well, maybe it is. In some sense.]

An' I never told you to call me Cerberus. They also call me Nora!

[Yes, his name is literally Stray, good job, demon army.]

[showsnopiety]

[Yup, they're totally doing the Kotomine exposition circle shit AND GUESS WHO STARTED IT. NOT. HER. She's watching where she's going, but she always has. No one else would ever do it for her.

Another gesture with her hand.]

Agree that both have their limits, neither superior than the other?

[She's rather calm about it, though she is mildly surprised as to...well, how almost matter of fact about it he is.]

Still...[She pauses. Her eyes widen briefly, and she starts laughing.]

Nora? You really are a cur!

[Yup, she studied Japanese well enough to know. Also, this is freaking hysterical, don't mind her.]

[houndumb]

[Excuse, she totally started it with her weird face-touching and things?? Nora backs up another step when she gestures, skittish, and his heel strikes a barrel this time; he starts to look down, freezes. That would give her an opening, so actually, have him literally hopping onto the barrel this time.

They do say get to higher ground, though who knows how well that applies here, or how deeply he's thinking into this when he's busy grinding his teeth at the girl still trying to back him into a corner. Of course, he could just move out of the circle entirely, but.]

Who would agree with that?! [HISSSss he looks more like a cat crouched on the barrel at this point, and he only puffs up more when she starts laughing because not this shit again.] STOP LAUGHING! There's nothing wrong with my name! And if there was it's the stupid Dark Liege Army's fault, so--

[If he had anything at hand besides more barrels he'd be throwing it at her. Actually, from the way he's shifting on his barrel, he may be considering the barrels, too.]

And quit calling me a dog!!

[Perhaps what's most impressive is that he knows what a cur is...]

[showsnopiety]

[Face touching isn't perverted FYI. And Nora, the would be cat dog, ends up crouching on a barrel as if he's a cat. Weirdo. He could stop circling, but of course, he doesn't agree to that. Mostly because he can.

Dumb dog.]

It's called agreeing to disagree.

[He's considering throwing barrels. She can't have that. Even if he has figured out (or was told) what a cur is, that doesn't mean she'll allow him to throw things like a monkey.]

And does that mean nothing is your fault? Idiot mutt.

[Those words were meant to distract, not just insult. She's breaking the circle now with a burst of speed, to get close enough and...oh, remember that red cloth she'd been holding?

She's snapping her wrist so she can wrap the end of it around his neck. And yank.]

1/2

[houndumb]

[IT IS WHEN SHE'S THE ONE DOING IT. And look, if you're in the middle of a fight (Nora-vision), you're not supposed to suddenly start badtouching your opponent?! He will forever disagree with this strategy it's almost as bad as the time a girl started bawling on him when he won, only slightly less terrifying because he grew up with somebody who liked to mess with him like this.

Kind of.

The things you expect from Satan you wouldn't usually expect from a human, of all things.]

Why would I agree to anything you say?? [Some would say Nora needs to learn the art of concession, but he doesn't know the meaning of the word. That is to say, he stays in the circle and the argument because he can, but also because he chooses to. A minute difference, but it's there.] And I'd like to see whoever chose their own name when they were born, 'cause--

2/2

[houndumb]

[--annnnd he cuts himself off, because reflexes and sudden charges and trying to evade her... cloth? What the hell? He's already at a disadvantage since he has no idea what to expect, but her unorthodox weapon makes him flounder, too, just a little, and that's enough.]

GAAHHHKKK-- WHAT--

[Inability to breathe, he did not miss you whatsoever. Well, he definitely falls off his barrel at this rate, and then starts wrestling with the cloth(?). Somehow, in the midst of this, he still manages to bite out threats:]

I'M-- GOING-- TO-- MAKE-- YOU...!!

[showsnopiety]

Make me....what, exactly?

[Fish pup: CAUGHT. He's wrestling with the cloth, which is fine. She doesn't have to run now. Just jog right up at him and...

Ever so gently place her foot in the middle of Nora's forehead to press him down onto the ground. If he resists too much, she'll give him a good hard choke.]

You lost Nora. Accept it gracefully. Or....

[She smirks down at him, both hands on his 'leash' now.]

Did you want me to neuter you? Snip snip.

[houndumb]

MAKE... YOOoouuu...!!

[He's still wriggling like an eel with the cloth which is inexplicably tough to deal with; not that that would deter Nora from fighting it like a true opponent, setting his actually decent strength but also his teeth to it. Yes, he's probably gnawing on your weapon like a true canine as a last resort by the time you get there.

The foot to the head makes him snarl even around a mouthful of cloth and her ridiculously hard heel and hell, even if he's choked he can still resume struggling after a moment of flailing. You don't get used to having the fight choked out of you, really, ever, but you see it coming enough to know all the shit you'd like to do to the perpetrator once it's over.

For now, have him beating his fists furiously against her foot, I guess. It might hurt some, depending on how thick her shoes are. He probably still doesn't have the breath to talk, but he's recovered enough to glare and there isn't a single ounce of surrender in it.]

[showsnopiety]

Looks like I'm the one making you squirm like a worm.

[It's really funny. He's thrashing around like a dog refusing a leash, or an alligator rolling to dislodge someone. She doesn't know if the weapon can be harmed, but she doesn't think so. At least not by much.

At the moment though she's doing pretty well. He's punching her boot, which is actually rather thick. It would have been different if she was ready for battle; she likes to wear thinner shoes for that.

But she'll cut off his air for about ten, twenty seconds, whatever it takes for him to stop punching her foot before she lets up enough for him to breathe, and speak.]

Finished?

[She says it pleasantly enough. It's like they're having tea or something.]

that icon is so pleasant-looking Caren pls

[houndumb]

[OK but how much do you like drool on your weapon..... You'll probably want to wash this out. In the ocean or something. (Actually, Nora doesn't know where this shit's been either but that doesn't prevent him from putting it in his mouth like a true disaster child.)

Once it's obvious smacking her on the boot isn't doing much good that does subside regardless of choking (which only stops him temporarily so far, this is the wrong type of thing to be trained for) -- it's too bad he can't reach higher to get through the boot problem. Then his eyes start flicking this way and that, obviously looking for another solution. More tenacious than the bulldog he was emulating just now, and about as subtle.]

... I'm never finished -- and I'm not a worm...!

[Regardless of how hoarse it is, it's obvious backing down still isn't in the plans. Before she can resume her choking, though, he yanks pointedly on the shawl. He's not done!!]

But what the hell do you want, anyway?!

it's so hard to make her so cheerful

[showsnopiety]

[Nah she usually has to wash it, at least once a day. Once she started getting popular as a hero or something, she would easily accept a sponsorship for some sort of laundry soap. Just don't make her sew tacky ads onto it and she'll do the commercials.

Not that she's thinking about soap. Mostly she's enjoying how good he looks, under her boot. It's almost unfair, to be honest. The contrast of white hair against black leather...really a bit of blood and she would have taken a photograph.

Her boot slides down. Down his face, his neck, skimming over his collarbones to rest itself against his chest.]

What do I want.

[Her voice is quiet, almost pensive, as she considers this. A small smile touches her mouth.]

You. Just you.

we all gotta get our jollies somewhere

[houndumb]

[It'll probably need more than one wash by the time they get to dungeons, or possibly if she intends to keep using it as a leash-slash-muzzle. A truly versatile weapon, both on and off the battlefield... Though Nora probably wouldn't appreciate it even if it wasn't being used to choke him down to size. Seriously, what kind of weapon even is this.

Regardless of his beef with it, it holds fast and is surprisingly sturdy even under his gnashing teeth; he growls a little when Caren does her thing, partly a warning and partly for lack of any other way to react. He would be backing up if he had room; he has a squirmy, uncomfortable feeling that this is not what you do with boots, in a fight or otherwise.]

Well... [and now there's a bit of maneuvering going on here, where Nora pivots and scrunches up slightly to set his heels against Caren's single boot that's resting on the ground; this happens all in a flash, albeit not really sneakily, and then he's grabbed a length of the shawl in both hands and yanked -- hoping to catch her by surprise and throw her off-balance] I already said you can't have me!

yup

[showsnopiety]

[Oh yeah, she's going to be cleaning this thing like every day. Especially since Nora and others are likely to drooled over it, and she'll get all over blood and guts. Even if she didn't mind the stains, she would mind the reek of it.

But really, she's enjoying herself with Nora right up to the point he throws her off balance.

There's a flicker of surprise, and down she goes. Right on top of the dog.

Welp.]

[houndumb]

Oof!

[Well, that was... just as planned and also really not as planned, because the extent of Nora's strategizing only went as far as getting Caren off her high horse -- the problem is that he's kind of under the horse. He still hasn't let go of the shawl, so they've ended up in kind of a tangle here.

This is a nice mess. Their audience is probably laughing their asses off at this point, because surprise: they still have one.]

Ugh... [not that Nora cares all that much, beyond aforementioned unhorsing and maximum returned humiliation; he has the gall to smirk despite everything, too] That's what you get! Now will you get off before I kick you off!

[Update: he's still holding on to the shawl. Or tangled in it, same diff.]

[showsnopiety]

[Sort of, kind of not as planned. But whoo, this is not the first time she has been tripped and fell on top of someone. But hey, they have close contact! Does this could as mana exchange? Who knows!

But Caren straightens up, grabs the end of her shawl and stares down at him. After she clamps onto Nora with her thighs of course.]

Nora, Nora...you'd get so much further if you knew how to say the word please.

[She tsks him, smiling at him ever so gently. He's smirking but...this boy. He's going to get strangled in a second.]

[houndumb]

[It totally counts as mana exchange. So enjoy your Grail mud, I guess; I assume there's some kind of semi-pleasant burning(?!) in exchange -- even if she'd felt like rainbows and roast beef, though, it wouldn't have placated Nora much... He's a brick wall like that.

Speaking of brick walls, though...]

Please, please... You're all the same! I'm never going to say it.

[Strangled or unfortunately bondaged, one of the two, since considerably more than his neck is wrapped up in the shawl at this point. Also, he's still smirking, even if he's also trying to wriggle away from her thighs because he is not the horse here, Caren?? And also her mana trying to turn him into a hotdog.

His assertion, though, is all steel no matter what's on top of him or what's coming. If he didn't give in to the dreaded please in a life-or-death situation, he's not going to give in to it in a... he's not sure what situation this is, but whatever.]

[showsnopiety]

[Mmm Grail mud also he was feeling fantastic to her; who knew what he thought she felt like. But who needed drugs when there was mana exchange? WHOO.

Good times, good times.

Little wonder that her eyes were all golden glitter and her eyes were looking a little...well...happy in the creepiest way. But first things first.]

Are you so certain Nora? You say that, and that just sounds like a challenge. Every time.

[The words were all but purred out since someone was loving giving out her Silent Hill vibe. Where were the alarms? He needed some alarmed since she was going to just.

Lean down on top of him so she could freak him out-and grab more slack of the shawl to bind his hands.]

[houndumb]

[He knows way too many people who get exponentially creepier the happier they are, and also the golden eyes still kind of piss him off in an obscure, abstract way that he only notices because it adds to his general state of displeasure with the world but particularly the girl currently plastered on him.

In other words, even if there were alarms, they've been ringing for enough years that they've either run out of battery or any usefulness whatsoever.

He does do his best to lean back once she leans in, though, just in case she goes for another headbutt -- because that's clearly the atmosphere here.]

That's because it is a challenge. [he didn't think that one through, but does he ever] But you should just give up now!!

[Well, now they've both got ahold of the shawl, so when she tries to bind his hands, he tries to turn it back around on her and this tangle just keeps getting bigger.]