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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!

[personal profile] rememberher 2016-04-20 05:49 am (UTC)(link)
[ She pauses, then tilts her head, laughing a bit awkwardly. ]

I suppose you're right.

[ Whoops. Haha. At least Ema seemed to loosen up at least a little bit, so in some respects Lux's mission had been accomplished. She may not have gotten a smile in return, but honestly she would take what she can get. ]

Luxanna Crownguard, but most people call me Lux. It's nice to meet you.

[personal profile] theskyenceguy 2016-04-21 02:00 am (UTC)(link)
[sometimes, just getting Ema to relax was just as good as getting a smile from her. smiles were rare!! saved for very important people and very important things. like science]

Hmmm. . . likewise, I suppose.

[she supposes. that's so rude. at any rate, it was time for a subject change]

Hey, did you get stuck with a really weird "weapon?" I picked up a theodolite since it was the most scientific thing I could find in that pile, but I'm not really sure how one is supposed to fight with it.

[personal profile] rememberher 2016-04-22 06:20 pm (UTC)(link)
[ You supposed? Oh well, she'll have to take it. Not everyone was a positive ray of sunshine like she was, after all. ]

A... excuse me?

[ Her smile falls as her brain processes what was asked. What in the world was a theodolite? Her brows furrowing, Lux slowly shook her head. ]

No, I have a staff...

[personal profile] theskyenceguy 2016-04-23 04:18 pm (UTC)(link)
[. . . oh]

[well]

[maybe Lux was far smarter about choosing her weapon than Ema was]


Staves are good for. . . [. . .] Hitting people on the head with?

[herp]

I guess maybe I should've chosen something more intuitive.

[personal profile] rememberher 2016-04-25 01:57 am (UTC)(link)
Good for—

[ Lux pauses for a few seconds, her face frozen in a somewhat neutral expression

Before bursting into laughter. She doubles over with it, holding her knees. ]


Hitting people? Really? Did you really think I would—

[ Oh no her stomach it hurts. She straightens a bit, wiping away a tear. She needed that. ]

No, no, it's for casting spells. Hitting people. Oh, if my brother heard that someone said that...
Edited 2016-04-25 01:58 (UTC)

[personal profile] theskyenceguy 2016-04-26 01:11 am (UTC)(link)
[what! what's so funny! Ema can't help the way her cheeks suddenly turn red in embarrassment. if only she had something she could throw at Lux's forehead. . .]

[she imagines doing it instead. the Snackoo, flying through the air, colliding with a satisfying ka-tonk]


What?! What's so funny? You can't seriously mean "spells," as in "magic spells," can you? There's no such thing.

[oh boy you've found yourself a woman of science, Lux]

[personal profile] rememberher 2016-04-27 07:14 am (UTC)(link)
[ But magic and science can be best buddies, didn't you know that? She loves science!

Wiping away a tear, Lux gives the other girl a whimsical smile. ]


That is what I mean, yes. You don't believe me?

[ Someone who didn't believe in magic? Well that was just silly. ]

[personal profile] theskyenceguy 2016-05-03 01:22 am (UTC)(link)
Of course not.

[she says firmly, crossing her arms over her torso as she does so]

I'm a woman of science. Science is what rules the universe! Why would I believe in something so whimsical as magic?