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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!
hymnals: every time i hear you speak (it's like going to confession)

[personal profile] hymnals 2016-04-14 12:05 am (UTC)(link)
[ FROWN. ]

What do you mean by that?
showsnopiety: (it's like a little prayer)

[personal profile] showsnopiety 2016-04-14 12:06 am (UTC)(link)
I've claimed him.
hymnals: burning into the night (but i can see the fire's still alight)

[personal profile] hymnals 2016-04-14 12:11 am (UTC)(link)
[ Uh. ]

In what sense?
showsnopiety: (I'll take you there)

[personal profile] showsnopiety 2016-04-14 12:12 am (UTC)(link)
[And she. Smiles.]

How do you think?
hymnals: where we look for the future (this is the time this is the place)

[personal profile] hymnals 2016-04-14 12:14 am (UTC)(link)
Lady, if I knew, I obviously wouldn't be asking.

[ Are you a damn warlock, girl. ]
showsnopiety: (I can feel your power)

[personal profile] showsnopiety 2016-04-14 12:19 am (UTC)(link)
Caren.

[She swiftly corrects that since? She ain't no lady.]

Let's just say that he'll listen, or he won't enjoy the consequences.
hymnals: you can't tell me to regret (i'm not beat up by this yet)

[personal profile] hymnals 2016-04-20 03:49 am (UTC)(link)
All right, Caren. Are you saying you've pressed him into service, somehow?

[ A pause, and he adds-- ]

Adrasteius, by the way.
showsnopiety: (I'll take you there)

[personal profile] showsnopiety 2016-04-20 03:56 am (UTC)(link)
Yes. If he's being unruly, send him to me. I'll set him straight.

[She might threaten to neuter him again, but, well. It's a strange way to express affection for her pet.]

Adrasteius.

[She says the name carefully, memorizing it. For later. Just in case.]

Do you prefer your full name, or a nickname?
hymnals: mirroring your stare (i'm the face that you have to face)

[personal profile] hymnals 2016-04-20 04:03 am (UTC)(link)
[ He's gonna have to look into this.

His ears flick back, then forward again when she asks about his name. ]


I have no preference. Call me whatever you want.
showsnopiety: (I can feel your power)

[personal profile] showsnopiety 2016-04-20 04:19 am (UTC)(link)
[Caren welcomes him to. It'll be hilarious to her really.

But his invitation has her smirk.]


Even if it's something like Eilf?

hymnals: when everything's gone wrong somehow (oh superman where are you now)

[personal profile] hymnals 2016-04-20 04:21 am (UTC)(link)
I mean, whatever makes you happy.

[ He's had so many insults hurled at him in his life ... water off a duck. ]
showsnopiety: (When you call my name)

[personal profile] showsnopiety 2016-04-20 04:22 am (UTC)(link)
...you realize what it stands for? Elf I want to....all night long?

[It's not an insult Adra.]
hymnals: burning into the night (but i can see the fire's still alight)

[personal profile] hymnals 2016-04-20 04:24 am (UTC)(link)
[ The tips of his ears twitch, turning bright red. ]

What?

[ He'd have preferred something derogatory ... ]
showsnopiety: (In the midnight hour)

[personal profile] showsnopiety 2016-04-20 04:29 am (UTC)(link)
[Oh, his ears are turning red. That's cute. Her eyebrows slowly rose.]

Should I get more explicit? You are attractive. You seem interesting. It's enough.
hymnals: beating in time (can you feel this heart)

[personal profile] hymnals 2016-04-20 04:31 am (UTC)(link)
[ He coughs, clearing his throat. ]

I need to, ah ... greet the other new recruits. Yes. That needs to happen straight away.

[ HE'S STEPPING BACK. Ears red as cherries. ]

Lovely to meet you, Caren. Shorel'aran, and so forth.
Edited 2016-04-20 04:32 (UTC)
showsnopiety: (I'll take you there)

[personal profile] showsnopiety 2016-04-20 04:40 am (UTC)(link)
[She chuckles quietly. Oh. She's got him now.]

Shorel'aran.

[She raises her hand to offer him a finger wave. Oh, she has him now.]

Call me. Sweetness.