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

twO

[justhief]

[Oh boy, as if this place was already dirty enough. Of course there has to be a pest problem.

And right towards him too. Lupin readies a canister of sleeping gas, just in case.]

Hold your breath!

[The glass shatters, and the gas hisses as it expands.]

[memoryslain]

[ Noir's more than familiar enough with chemical warfare to do as he's told, sucking in a large breath and tossing his carrier underhand behind the man with the bauble in hand, dropping to the ground to protect the dog from any shards of glass before scooping her right back up in the crook of one arm.

Gun in that hand, bat in the other, prepared to swing at any rodents leaping through the mist as he backs away carefully. No need to stir a draft and have the gas suck back after them. ]

[justhief]

[The swarm slows, and then slump over as the gas slowly takes effect. Best not to disturb them from their temporary but restful slumber for now.]

This place sure needs an exterminator. [Lupin turns his attention to Noir and his little carrier.]

You alright there?

[memoryslain]

[ Once he's backed up a few dozen steps and it seems a safe distance from the gas, he'll pull his scarf down from his nose and answer, bowing his head in a grateful little gesture. ]

It certainly does. I apologize for getting you involved; is there anything I can assist you with?

[ And he's dusting off the paws of his carrier, assessing himself after. No one's told him it's probably just a robot. ]

I'm fine. And yourself? Were you harmed?

[justhief]

It's fine, I came down here to see if anyone needed help. Guess I'll be needing rat poison.

[Lupin gives a smile at the carrier. They're cute, even for robots.]

Even so, something's off about these rats.

[memoryslain]

[ Another kind soul; he seems to be finding so many of them. It warms the little black hole that is where his heart should be!! Even if this man wasn't smiling at him, he'll return with one all the same. ]

Beside their size? I suppose they are tenaciously guarding what they believe is their territory.

[ He can't think the same of all the living creatures in this place as the Gaichuu back home; those were heartless creatures that would kill for no reason other than to fill a constantly sucking void. Gaichuu didn't reproduce, mate, eat, build homes— they didn't function as an animal or any living thing would. These were all just creatures trying to survive.

At the same time, he realizes they're vermin and this is the job they're being paid to do. ]

If I could help you in your travels, I'd like to repay your assistance. If only until we go our separate ways.

[ That's a rather roundabout way of saying he'll walk with you for a while, safety in numbers!! ]

[justhief]

[He'll be sure to fill up that little black hole with some good feels, thief's honour.]

If you don't mind, could you back me up while we investigate? I'm not much of a fighter myself.

[Nearly none of his weaponry is made to kill, a problem if he has to go down to exterminate them.]

This whole place feels strange. The mana concentration is oddly strong.

[memoryslain]

[ WHAT A GOOD PERSON. Noir's visibly pleased (and a bit relieved) when Lupin agrees to let him help out, nodding. ]

Of course; I appreciate the chance to repay you. I'm Noir, and this is Roda.

[ At the mention of this place feeling strange, though, he tilts his head and seems to consider it for a moment. And then he slowly inclines his head, closing his eyes. ]

Mm, it feels very similar to Heart, but only living things and items instilled with Heart by others should feel this way. I don't imagine a building is a receptor for one's feelings. Then again, I'm mot sure this mana functions the same way as what I have known before coming here.

[ After all, heart required spirit amber as a channel to function; this mana did not, something he demonstrates by furrowing his brows in effort and producing his own in the palm of his hand, swirling. He's beginning to get the hang of this, at least, shown when the mana partially solidifies into bullet shapes and he "loads" them into the gun at his hip with practiced ease. He knows guns if nothing else. ]

And the rats are very difficult to kill. In no small part because of this mana, I imagine.

[justhief]

[Lupin tips his hat in response and gives a bow.]

Arsene Lupin, graceful gentleman thief and humble hero of justice.

[Heart, a bit of an alien term to him. Would that be the equivalent of mana in terms of Noir's world? It would save a lengthy explanation at least.]

Magic isn't really a thing from my world, but you can think of it as a sort of energy. If Heart works the same way, you can think of it as such.

[He hoists up his walking stick, the blue gem at the top of it shining.]

My stick can drain the mana here. If all goes well, once the mana here is redistributed the rats here won't be so invincible any more.