pawnstorm | 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!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I don't know much about healing magic yet, but I do actually know what I'm doing. The mundane way.

[ Seriously, no need to look so suspicious... ]

If you're hurt, I can help. Of course, it's not like I'll force you.

[ though isn't it actually kinda his fault ]

[Caren, of all things, scowls and squints at him. People with their empathy and reaching out...they're so weird. But she forces herself to relax, her expression returning to its usual neutral state. Her gaze cool, pensive.]

I'm used to injury.

[It's just usually her body's fault, not someone else's. But she slowly extends her hand.]

Yoon. Will you use this? It's an opportunity. Maybe a healing spell will be more familiar, and assist in your focus.

[ Yoon blinks, surprised-- then hesitates. She's not wrong, but... ]

I don't know anything, not really. I don't actually know any healing spells. I don't know what could go wrong if I messed up.

It's irresponsible to experiment on you like this.

[ Seriously don't encourage that sort of behavior!! ]

It would be irresponsible if I did not intend to bear the consequences, for good or for ill. I also have a high pain tolerance.

Not to mention doing this...you're more likely to succeed because you value healing. Other people doing better. It's something you can visualize, more than something you've never experienced before.

Correct?

[She's very rational about this you should praise her!]

That's right... [ Yoon agrees slowly, cautious. ]

I am familiar with more... mundane methods of tending wounds and such. But I barely know the first thing about magic.

You have to tell me if something feels weird, okay? [ It sounds like an order, so insistent. He stares into her eyes expectantly. ]

Of course. I'll tell you if you're going too far.

[She lifts her hand-the injured one, which is starting to discolor-as if in promise.]

Otherwise you wouldn't learn anything.

[ Yoon reaches out gently to catch her hand, turning it over in his to get a better look at the injury-- that really shouldn't be there. How sensitive is she? ]

Okay. Then I'll try it.

[ She's right. He does want to learn, and trying is the best way. He needs to be able to get a feel for it. But he'll be careful, too... ]

I should focus-not-focus like before, right?

[ He holds her hand in both of his carefully, closing his eyes. Deep breaths. Some people gesture or say special words, but he doesn't know what to do... He tries to get his mind to go blank and feel, stop fretting and let instinct guide him. It's difficult. He keeps wanting to overthink it. ]

Right. Find the words that belong to you. What do you think of, when you want a person whole? Visualize it. You're using this to make me better.

[He's a thinker. And while this may help with some situations, it won't help him here. She could almost see the thoughts churning inside his head.

Really, at this point, she's doing this so he'll feel better. She doesn't think she'll really feel a difference, and at some point, Sion will bother her again, like he always does.

But it's the act and the attempt that counts.]

[ Words? Yoon thinks, trying to visualize it. All he thinks of immediately though is ointments and bandages and the methods he's used to, helping his friends, patching up Ik-Soo for all those years... ]

All I think of is that I want to help them. [ he mumbles, still frustrated. His thumbs rub her fingers gently, taking in the feel of her skin, where the injury is. Even with his eyes closed, somehow, he can tell. There's something, tingling and twitching beneath his own fingertips. He can feel the tingle and the focus from before solidifying. ]

That's good. You want to help them. You want to help your friends.

And right now, you want to help me.

[It's something he can focus on, and use. It's a powerful emotion, and such things can shape the world around him. Or at least shape his mana into what he wants. Desire, for Yoon, may be the key.]

Mm.

[ He grunts in acknowledgement, not breaking focus to speak. No words come out, but the rubbing helps him focus, the way his fingers curl around hers and he focuses his breathing to the beat of the energy he feels.

It's not much, but maybe she'll actually feel a tingle of warmth. Maybe the pain has lessened. ]

[It's a little. And it might even be enough. It's more than she expected, and her fingers move in her surprise. ]

It...seems to be getting better.

[It's not an instant, or total but...he did well for his first try?]

Really?

[ Yoon opens his eyes, surprised and pleased... and breaks his focus, which means whatever vague spell he's managed to weave together disintegrates. Whoops.

Still. He feels a little excited. ]

I felt it too. Like something warm under my skin.

[Oh, and it's gone. Whoops.]

That was the mana. That's...quite impressive Yoon. You're making good progress.

intro ♚ april

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