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

[buildyourworld]

That's correct.

[ He nods. As for the next question, it's better to demonstrate. ]

Affinity is something you will find out once you learned all the basic magic. Some people will naturally be better at certain elements and will be able to deal better damage with that element and has better defense against it.

[ And this is Tieria going through all the tier 1 magic for Yoon to see, fire and psionic being obviously his strength. ]

Weapon has their own ability and usually doesn't affect your magic skill whatsoever.

[tsyoon]

[ Yoon watches raptly, paying attention to the gestures or words the stranger uses, trying to figure out which ones he has an affinity for. It's not hard to tell, once he realizes. ]

Oh, okay. I think I get it. So it's best to focus on the basic magic skills first and worry about the weapon later.

[ Not that his weapon is much of a weapon. He'll have to figure that out later... ]

Thank you for demonstrating.

[buildyourworld]

[ All the formulas he used for spell casting probably sounds like jumbled garbage to Yoon, oops. ]

That, and learn to use a weapon. You need to build your stamina and endurance as well. When you're in the dungeon, there are enemies everywhere and you don't always get the chance to cast spells.

[ A nod. ]

Have you learned any yet?

[tsyoon]

That makes sense. It's like building strength and muscle. You won't be able to run very far or long if you don't practice-- right?

[ nodding to himself. ]

Oh-

No, I haven't had the chance.

I don't really understand the talk of dungeons either. Have you been in one?

[buildyourworld]

That's correct.

[ He likes this boy already, sensible and has a good head on his shoulders. Hopefully, he's a good learner because it would be a waste to lose someone like him to the enemies. ]

You should learn some. Healing and another spell or two for offensive measure to start off with.

[ As for dungeons... He frowns at the reminder of that smelly dirty dungeon they had to clear. ] Yes, we went to one last month. Not the kind of place I would visit voluntarily, all things considered.

[tsyoon]

Healing spells... [ That part is murmured to himself, thoughtful. He wants to learn. Something like that could go so far beyond what he knows of medicine, could supplement his knowledge in ways he never considered. And maybe other magic, too, things he can use to protect himself and his friends, to help them. Maybe he could learn to be a little stronger with all these new opportunities here. ]

I will. Thank you.

[ The confirmation that he wouldn't want to go into a dungeon makes him sigh a little though. Yoon wrinkles his nose but nods again, resigned. ]

I see...

If you don't mind me asking, how long have you been a Hero here?

[buildyourworld]

[ Tieria notices the interest in healing spell and finds himself agreeing with Yoon's choice. He doesn't appear to be suitable for battlefield, healing would probably be a better specification in all honesty. ]

Ask the Kings to teach you if it's healing spells you're interested in.

[ It's a good thing not going into the dungeon, really. You don't have to suffer the terrible air, worse monsters, and most of all, your uniform doesn't get soaked with so much filth and blood to an unrecognizable color. ]

This is my third month here. [ Which, if Yoon is to finds out, he's among the earliest batch of heroes to arrive. ]

[tsyoon]

Okay. [ a determined little nod. ] I will.

[ He looks surprised at the length of time, and a little worried. It seems like such a long time... ]

Guess that explains why you know so much. [ comparatively, at least. a small, almost nervous laugh.

It's only been a week for him, and already it feels too long. Months? The boy stifles a sigh and changes the subject, realizing belatedly: ]

Don't think I caught your name, by the way.

I'm Yoon.

[buildyourworld]

We have 3 Kings among our ranks, if you can't find them by the end of this week, come see me.

[ They will probably be here for many more months if Blanc's attitude is any measurement. ]

It wasn't this hectic when we first arrived. At least, we're not being drafted into war immediately. You'll learn soon enough.

[ He nods to the introduction, repeating Yoon's name once just to be sure he gets the pronunciation right. ]

Tieria Erde.