intro ♚ may

[boardmaster]

WELCOME TO Caissa

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.

WARNING: Contains death and related graphic descriptions.

ONE ♟ P.S. I Love You

It's a perfectly ordinary morning in Caissa. Enprise’s two suns peer over the horizon and smack into your face through the large bay window. At half past six in the morning, the floor nanny’s built-in alarm goes off and plays Prime Minister Teddy’s hit song Love Me Like Your Doughnuts. Once everyone in their rooms is up and awake, this mechanical pigeon announces that letters and small packages have been delivered to every Hero’s personal box in the mailroom. Yes, even you, Naked Newcomer! These letters are from the Heroes’ many fans all over Blanc. No matter who you are, there are small tokens of appreciation attached to the letters: these may include candies shaped like stars, chocolates with a surprise gooey center, or even a can of rainbow beans for those not fond of sweets.

Letters for veteran Heroes are full of praise and gratitude for the success of the naval battle at Graupera. New Heroes receive mail that express support towards their future endeavors as the Blanc military’s most formidable task force. That’s not all the letters contain, however; the citizens also plead for our Heroes’ help with new problems that have arisen in the fields surrounding Caissa. However, the details the letters provide are scant and vague. The fans seem more concerned with recent damage caused by some unknown entity. There is a 15-page narrative of how a man built this beautiful house for his lovely, sweet wife who did nothing wrong, but nothing about why the house is in shambles now. A market on the outskirts of Caissa lost 30,000 colle’s worth of food, but the writer neglects to explain what happened to the food. All you know is that this person stayed up all week taking inventory and now it has gone to waste.

Sharing letters with each other might give you a clue on where to start your investigations and figure out which areas were hit the hardest. Or you can talk about how cute your adoring fans are. One way or another, you’ll have to get tongues wagging to make any progress. Unfortunately, Blanc isn’t going to save itself and from the sound of it, this problem is bigger than expected...

TWO ♟ Distant Howling

After pooling information, the new objective is clear: to investigate the damages. The vast, vibrant fields around Caissa seem a good place to start. They are mostly empty, but here or there you will see some people from nearby smaller villages and farms. The villagers will admit to having seen threatening shadows move over the fields and having heard harsh, high-pitched howling. They are willing to point Heroes toward possible shadow sightings, but are otherwise reluctant to act as guides. They are simple townsfolk who wish to return to their quiet lifestyle.

You may come up with small settlements (e.g. villages, farms, inns, taverns, etc.) as they are considered minor locations.

Heroes will soon discover that some of the smaller villages have been burned down entirely. The smell of ash and charred wood is thick in the air, though some buildings are also smashed as as though by something large and heavy. Nearby trees which haven’t been uprooted or knocked over are scorched and their blackened branches crackle ominously in the breeze. There are large marks dug deep into the ground and—is that a cow? Heroes will find tagged fruit cows scattered everywhere, scared, confused and mooing sadly next to their dead fruit cow friends. Fruit cows are usually found in Gresser, how strange...

A couple of days’ worth of exploration may help you realize that whatever is terrorizing Blanc doesn’t only devour hapless animals. While trying to navigate the numerous backcountry roads and farmlands, Heroes may stumble upon some gruesome clues: a charred limb—or what’s left of it; teeth, half-eaten ribcages, melted jewelry, and other smaller bits; the less fortunate may actually trip over a corpse staring unseeingly into the sky. It has been gutted, half-roasted, and seems to have lain in the sun for some time; and if someone is brave enough to roll the body onto its stomach, they may discover claw marks on its back. The victim must have tried to flee from something.

The amount of damage grows the more our Heroes travel south. What could be awaiting them?

THREE ♟ Breath of Fire

Let’s put the clues together. Fire? Check. Claw marks? Check. Large shadows seemingly from something flying overhead? Check and check. Congratulations, Blanc, you are suffering from a dragon plague.

It will take several days for the Heroes to locate the source of the rumors. The dragons seem to have taken up residence in the hilly area near Caissa, where the slopes grow steeper and then drop suddenly off into cliffs. The beasts are quite willing to greet guests warmly: there’s nothing like a burst of dragonfire and a deafening screech to brighten your day.

The only warning you’ll get before they launch themselves into the air and at Heroes is the sound of trees bursting beneath their claws. Beware: a single swipe can cause some serious damage and their fire breath, fast, frequent and garnished with the occasional, boiling hot drop of saliva, is nothing you want to stick around for. The dragons cannot be reasoned with, nor can they be tamed. A queen’s Charm magic WILL NOT work. Should someone try and reach out with their senses to see if the dragons are somehow hurting, they will only feel something alien and terrible.

Heroes aren't the only ones suffering under the dragons’ claws, unfortunately. Scattered around the area are a few small and isolated farms, and the animals and the farmers are easy prey and unlikely to flee in time. Heroes will want to intervene before the dragons can devour and destroy. If they are too late, they will need to provide support. Put out fires, heal the injured, catch panicked cows before they become pot roast! The dragons might be coming around for another attack, so it would be a good time to test barriers and other damage control skills.

To make matters worse, Blanc’s weather has decided that now is the perfect time for a hailstorm. It’s barely anything at first, beginning with small kernels the size of corn here and there to wet the grass and ruin your footing. Then it becomes much larger and greater in number. Dragons are not exempt from this hailhole: large enough pieces may rip holes in their wings! Heroes may want to use this to their advantage; additionally, casting ice and wind spells will suddenly become a lot easier, and the dragons will struggle to navigate in the stormy weather, forcing them to land more often. Better get up on that dragon’s back!

In the end, survivors of the dragon horde let out one last, collective shriek before they turn southward. The battle has been won, but the war is just beginning: the dragons have only been chased away. Their nest seems to be elsewhere and that is a worrying prospect. Dragons aren’t native to Blanc, which can only mean one thing…

Meanwhile, a new job opening has appeared at Gresser. At least you finally know what to do with all those fruit cows.

INFO ♟ Welcome!

Welcome to Crosscheck's May intro log! For any further questions, please see the FAQ or reach us at the Contact Us page. Have fun!

Also by request, here are some Player Endorsements that may be of interest!

Heaven's Feel: Looking for something else to do? In the mood for more light-hearted mingling? Check out Heaven’s Feel, Caissa’s first heroic matchmaking service! Opening week is going on now.

Training Notice: This training notice is located on the bulletin board. You might want to take a look.

Comments

Yukari Takeba | Persona 3

[couldntpullthetrigger]

[2]

[Death is not a new concept to Yukari. Hell, she's watched someone get murdered before; that doesn't make it easy, but it might make it a little less concerning to swallow. Blood drips from the walls during the Dark Hour, and the whole air reeks with the coppery tang of it.

However, none of that really compares to the devastation she walks into in the small town. It's different when the blood is coming from the mangled remains of humans, large animals, and other creatures littering the landscape.

So she steadfastly keeps her nose in the map and the approximately four or so letters she's been perusing ever since the sight started to make her sick to her stomach. So much so that she doesn't even see the person she bowls right into-] Ah! O-oh, sorry!

[3]

[Argus has had a bit of a tough time flying, but a sudden tailwind pushes the eagle past Yukari, and it blazes past with a screech of warning.

She doesn't need it, though. The looming shadows against the dark clouds are warning enough, and from within it bursts the massive form of a dragon.

The hail starts soon after that, and she can hear the dragon's snarls of pain from her position.

She raises her bow, and an arrow sparks to life in a pink-white blaze between her hands as she draws it. The first arrow flies wide, but with the buffeting winds, she's not exactly surprised. It's when the next three of four veer off course she gets a little frustrated.] Ugh, come on, wind, work with me! [She's never missed her wind affinity more than she does now. She misses being able to move it, push, pull, call it to bear at one or multiple points, and, when faced with even the most raging typhoon, she can stand firm against it. Now, she doesn't feel that affinity; she can't feel the lightness, the symbol of freedom, lifting her metaphorical wings.

Luckily, the dragon seems to be struggling against the wind and hail just as much, as the gales push it around in the air, and the icy stones rip holes through the membranes of its wings. It's still baring down, but slowly, and losing a lot of altitude, quickly. If she's lucky, she can make it crash, she just needs to... hit it... first...

But though she's trying to punch more holes in the wings, something else starts happening. Slowly, her arrows gain more and more on-target, until, eventually, one buries itself in the dragon's eye. It screams in pain, and plummets down the last bit of altitude until it crashes heavily into the ground. Yukari doesn't wait for it to move again, and looses arrows as fast as she can draw the bow, ignoring the ache in her fingers - all of which bury themselves in the dragon's head, even the last one which chases the whipping neck around until it lands true.

Blind, the dragon's maw opens, and the roar of dragon fire sounds. It looks like it's trying to sweep the whole area in flame, but just as soon as the mouth opens, another three or four arrows lodge themselves against the top of its jaw, into its throat, and as soon as the dragon fire hits the open wounds, it screams again, thrashing about, and the gout of flames stops prematurely, giving Yukari some time to move.

So a King may have just disabled a dragon, but it's still angry, and it's now willing to just start thrashing and randomly attacking everywhere.

What's more, there are more dragons en-route, obviously drawn by the anguished screams of the downed beast.

She's doing well!

But she's about to... end up in a bad situation.

Help her put down her first dragon?]

Two

[stonefree]

[Jolyne had definitely seen quite a few gruesome deaths during her short time in prison. However, that didn't stop her from feeling sick from the sight of it. From exploding bodies to seeing someone being ran over, she suddenly felt sick just from being reminded of it.

As she walked around the village, it was difficult to remain calm and cool. She could feel herself throwing up from how gross everything was. Still, she had to persist in search of whatever was creating such horrors?

Although, when she suddenly felt someone bumping into her?]

Don't worry about it! I didn't see you either, you don't have to apologize.

[couldntpullthetrigger]

[That's good! She sort of crumples the map back up, trying to wrangle the letters together so she can speak with the person she just bumped into properly.]

Okay. ... You um... here to help out with the attacks, too? [She motions to the letters she's collected, and her map.] Or just... on cleanup?

[stonefree]

You can say a little bit of both. I was curious what caused those attacks and decided to help out. I can't just stand around and do nothing, you know?

[She said with a sigh before looking back at the dead corpses lying around.

Suddenly, she felt whatever she just ate coming right back up to her throat.]

[couldntpullthetrigger]

Yeah, I agree with ya there. [Plus, she needed a chance to blow off a little steam because she's having a Boy Problem at the moment.]

Um... it's kind of a mess out here, did you find any more letters as to what's doin' this? We can try to find a place inside to look 'em over. It's hard to hold 'em against the map like this.

[stonefree]

I did but they all came to the same vague bullshit. It was something about how this strange and mysterious thing was out killing everything here.

[Then there was a pause] But something doesn't add up. If they are going out killing the life stocks, I wonder what's the point.

[couldntpullthetrigger]

Yeah, I don't think it's anything strange and mysterious. Like... it seems to be a large creature that flies. But the locals keep saying that there aren't any dragons around here, and have never been.

[Sigh.] So... I have hunches, but nothing I can make like... concrete. It has to be something big enough to pick up and carry a cow, though, and that's not exactly a small creature.

2

[long_live_the_queen]

Oof!

[Well look who it is.

Kaede had given up on trying to stay on this rented horse about the fourth time it had shied away from some ominous swirl of ash or a bit of charred cloth flapping in the breeze. So she was leading the splotchy black and white animal on foot, which it seemed fine with. The horse had started to lift its head and perk its ears towards the corner its current owner was about to turn around, but Kaede was entirely oblivious right up to the point where she crashed into someone else.

She might have been close to the same height, but Kaede was still significantly scrawnier than Yukari, even with the amount of training she had done.

So the impact completely topples her backwards and sends her horse scuttling back several steps with a startled snort, dragging her further off balance.

At least Kaede was too stunned at the moment to shout. And her horse doesn't run off, just stands there staring quizzically at its current owner being on the ground. Naoki barks once, a little worried, and fussily blusters up to make sure she was okay.]

[couldntpullthetrigger]

[Oh hey, look. Is she a Good Witch or a Bad Witch today? Time to find out.

Yukari starts as Kaede hits her and rebounds, grabbing the letters and her maps, trying not to drop anything... and just sort of ends up crinkling things further.

She's half expecting the horse to run, but it doesn't. The dog does, but the horse doesn't.

It might as Argus swoops in, though, staring down Kaede from a nearby tree.]

A-ah! Oh, hey, it's you! [One of the 'yous' at least.] Are you alright?

[long_live_the_queen]

[She growls something to herself as she starts sitting back up, rubbing at the side of her head with the hand that wasn't busy being slowly yanked backwards by the horse.]

The hell does it look like?

[Bad Witch, no muzzle, etc.

The horse does start when something moves in the periphery of its vision; it was so busy puzzling out why Kaede was on the ground that it didn't spot the eagle until its wings flashed open. With a snort, the animal started and whirled, tearing the reins out of Kaede's hand.]

Shit, wait!

[Nope, nope, scary thing over there and the horse wanted no part of it n o p e.]

[couldntpullthetrigger]

[Oh. Must be her Evil Alter Ego. Well, at least Yukari knows to go back on the moderately defensive, herself. She frowns a bit, ready to steel herself against whatever is coming her way, when the horse backs off.]

H-hey! [Well, chasing it is probably a bad idea, but she does jog forward a few steps - circling wide to not catch a horse-kick in the face, and tries to catch up to it.] Come on, come back! Don't run off!

[Lookit Yukari trying to do a Good Deed for Kaede. It's almost like she's a decent person most of the time.]

[long_live_the_queen]

[Kaede was! ...actually, quietly grateful.]

Come back here!

[She didn't get to her feet to chase after the horse nearly as gracefully, though, mostly scrambling through the dust and ash. Naoki backed up, yipping quietly, but didn't chase after the horse himself. Kaede already told him not to, after the stable owner warned her that the horses didn't like small canines too close to their feet.

The horse in question kept right on galloping off, though its panicked escape was relatively brief. It stopped after it had put some twenty feet between itself and the people chasing after it looking back to see if the scary thing was still there. The horse's ears had perked up a tiny bit, but its nostrils were still flaring and it kept fidgeting on its hooves.]

[couldntpullthetrigger]

[She doesn't want to chase it too far, and as soon as the horse starts slowing down, Yukari slows down with it, reaching out with a soothing hand.] Hey, calm down. It's okay. It's nothing. I think it was just a bird. Nothing that can hurt you.

[Somewhere in a nearby tree, Argus is having a hearty chuckle.]

Three

[drawmecute]

*Lola has mostly been trying to draw dragons off from, well, other people. She's bright and flashy and really quick on on her jumps to keep out of trouble. At least that's as far as her plan got. What she wouldn't give for someone else to draw their power on them. ...and then the two Dragons chasing her found a new target, one more interesting than a lowly pawn.*

I-I really should take my luck and run...

*Lola considered for a few moments and headed off in front of the Dragons. The wind and hale was messing with the dragons more than it was Lola. The advantage of being a projectile rather than a giant glider. She cut through the wind rather than catch it, and while it hurt her eyes she kept them open long enough to know how to land.*

*Lola came down on the downed Dragon's left wing, kicking off with a sickening crack as her boots landed on the dragon's wing, at the joint, and a burst of mana sent her flying back. But it meant an equal force definitely just broke one of the Dragon's wings. Lola rolled, somewhat awkwardly, as she came to the ground. Bruised and scraped but otherwise fine.*

I- I don't suppose you have a plan for two more dragons that are coming?

[couldntpullthetrigger]

... Um, no. I didn't think that far ahead.

[One badly injured dragon, still thrashing about, and a couple more buddies on the way.]

... Y-you don't have a projectile weapon, right?

[She's not the field commander. She is so not the Leader. She does noooot know how to do... this...] ... So maybe you can finish off that dragon, and I'll see what I can do about getting the other two at least outta the air?

[drawmecute]

Um, no, unless I count as a projectile.

*Lola had barely started learning how to punch and kick. She was only good at the thing she practiced constantly, her boots. She watched the Dragon thrash around, one wing broken so it wasn't flying off... but it wasn't exactly going to make this easy.*

O-okay... here goes.

*Lola put her boots to work trying to get near, but every time she got close the dragon lashed a limb out at her. Lola latched onto the dragon's unbroken wing on it's next pass.*

Use its own power against it...

[couldntpullthetrigger]

[She can, at the very least, keep picking at its health pool with her arrows. They seem to be trained on the dragon's eyes and mouth whenever she shoots them, so she keeps a steady stream coming - as much and as long as she can while her mana pool holds, but, luckily, she's come into a much, much larger one than before.]

See what you can do about getting between its scales. I think its weakness is probably in its throat?

[Even if the dragon doesn't seem to want to open its mouth anymore, after a few more arrows lodge into it.

If nothing else, the King makes a good threat magnet when the enemies can't attack them, Yukari thinks...]

[drawmecute]

*Lola is not working with a lot of mana, but she only really tosses it into one trick. One trick she's found surprisingly useful and fashionable. It does help that between her and this other girl, the other girl was keeping the Dragon's interest.*

Maybe I should have paid more attention in biology class...

*Lola used that attention to dive over the dragon's foreclaw and land on her hands feet up, handspring and a huge blast of mana from her boots right into the bottom of the thing's jaw, at the hinge. Meaning she missed the throat but maybe the thing has a glass jaw. Hopefully?*

Do we know where there are other heroes? Better armed ones?

[couldntpullthetrigger]

[Well, it seems to do something, and the dragon's head snaps to one direction at a horrible angle for a moment, which makes its feet falter, and its jaw apparently... get stuck.]

I... I don't know where they are! I think we just gotta do what we can...

Wait, wait, I got an idea.

Can you do that kick thing again? I'll see if I can lodge an arrow into its throat, and you can try to kick it hard, further in!?

three

[acknowledges]

[There's nothing like it. Naruto has seen a lot of things in his admittedly young years, but he's struggling to come up with a comparison in the wake of what feels like endless shock. He's had only a few days to get used to this strange new world and the rules that come with it- the way his body feels and his inability to access something as fundamental as his own chakra- and even then, most of his time has been spent on figuring out what the hell had happened to the place when he got here. People attacked, cows everywhere, creepy shadows.

And in the middle of these revelations, there's a cute girl shooting arrows into a giant dragon and pulling it out of the sky. Somewhere along the line Naruto's mouth opened, and he has yet to shut it.

The creature's body pulls chunks of earth up when it lands, scraping into grass and stone alike and Naruto goes skittering off to the side to stay out of its range. The screams are nearly deafening and it takes a moment for him to realize that aren't all coming from the one in front of them and instead are a chorus of black smudges along the horizon.

Shit.]

You've... You've got more a'those, right?

[couldntpullthetrigger]

[She's not exactly killed it by this point, more... disabled it. In fact, that seems to be about the limit of what she can do at the moment, but at least the dragon is grounded, blinded, and reluctant to use its fire, which is a start.

She also seems to have aid, which is something she thinks she needs. The question, though, as muffled as it is over the roar of the hail smashing into the ground, pulls her attention.] More of what? Arrows? This bow doesn't run out.

[And she'll likely need it, if the dragons approaching are any indication.]

Hey, can you hit this thing any harder? The best I can do is keep shooting it in the eyes and mouth, but none of that seems to be killing it!

[acknowledges]

[He'll take disabled over flying through the air and blasting fire at them all. Or picking them up off the field and dropping them, or eating them, or- whatever they've been doing. He really doesn't want to know. He'd seen enough in the days before this.

Naruto's head lifts, turning up towards the sky as if he might find the person responsible for dumping apocalyptic hail on them, and coming up empty his attention returns to the shrieking monster between them. He's not sure he can hit hard enough to make a difference, and he's not sure how much the dragon's scales will protect it- but like hell he's going to just stand around while she does all the work. Short knife in hand Naruto offers her something that looks like it's trying to be a serious salute, but comes off a little jaunty.]

Leave it to me!

[Leave it to him to... try and slit it's throat, apparently. He makes a wide circle, covering ground quickly as he heads towards the creature's back.] I gotta climb on. Make sure it's still mad at you, okay?

[couldntpullthetrigger]

[She has, too; it's why she's adamant about bringing these things down. And it's a lot easier to kill a creature than another person, so this is something she can do.

... Even if the dragon is bleeding everywhere, the hail and rain wash it away.

Luckily, it seems whatever this other Hero can do... well, he's doing, and she's glad to see it, because she almost regrets not bringing her other bow.] I can do that! Things seem to hate me for whatever reason, so...

[They do. It's something she's noticed, between the cows and other creatures. Maybe it has something to do with being a King? Whatever the case is, the dragon flails blindly, and Yukari keeps shooting, pegging it from the same direction to keep its attention toward her, then moving so she doesn't get hit.

Hopefully, this'll work.]

[acknowledges]

[Between her rank as a King and his own as a Pawn, Naruto generates absolutely none of the creature's notice- something that catches him a little off guard given that he's literally climbing up its body. He uses the creature's scales as handholds, but in the absence of chakra and with the deluge of water and blood, it's slower going than he'd like. Precariously balanced high on the dragon's neck, he doesn't bother bringing his knife around the front of it's throat- the beast is too wide for him to navigate easily and he'll almost certainly forfeit his footing.

Naruto's jaw clenches, a momentary hesitation, and then the blade comes down. He can't afford to debate it when they've already been attacked and more than that- he isn't the one that'll pay the price. That girl is the one it's after.

It takes almost all of his weight but there, on a shout, Naruto gets the knife between the notches of its spine and pushes- severing the connection from brain to body. Unable to support itself any longer the dragon's body crumples, taking Naruto along for the ride.]

[couldntpullthetrigger]

[The dragon is still a massive creature, and there's really only so much 'shoot a few times and then reposition' she can do before it starts to be able to track her down - possibly by scent if nothing else, so at some point she starts mumbling] Hurry up hurry up hurry up hurry up [to herself as she runs.

Luckily, it doesn't take forever, and just when she thinks the dragon's about to catch up to her...

... It collapses, splattering her legs in mud as she squawks and backs away from it, suddenly.

Well, that's good. She stands, stunned that actually worked for a moment, before... oh wait.] H-hey! Are you alright? [She can't see exactly where he landed, but hopefully it wasn't... like... under the dragon.

She can heal otherwise?] It didn't land on you, did it?