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

Akito/Agito Wanijima | Air Gear

[sky_sharkling]

One

[Well, of all the things they were expecting, this was probably not high on the list. At least waking up in a bed was alright, but with nothing on and no eyepatch? Problem.

At least there's the uniform nearby, which he'll be getting changed into quite quickly. And apparently there's also...mail. Huh. The 'adoring fans' are sort of creepy, considering he's new, but the apparent issue...that's unusual. Akito figures he may as well find out what's going on, if they're supposedly going to be doing something about it, and thankfully his other is alright with letting this, because with no eyepatch to block control, this is going to get confusing fast.

With two of them though, walking and reading at the same time isn't that hard. Anyone who notices the teen might quickly realise mis-matched eyes seem to be not entirely focused on the same place, left scanning the pages while right keeps an eye on where they're going. It makes for blurry vision at times, but sometimes one had to deal]

Two

[Fruit cows. This world is strange.

That doesn't stop Akito though. Aside from examining some of the weirdness around, including the burned and clawed remnants of some of the creature's friends, he's gently patting one of the few beasts he's found alive in this area, one of the hardest hit he's seen so far. It follows him as he explores the remains of the town uneasily]

Sssh, it's okay. Once Agito says we're done, I'll find somewhere that you can hide from...whatever it is causing this, okay? You'll be alright. [He hopes. Whatever is causing this damage is nasty. Is there anywhere that's safe, when they seem to be relatively close to the source of all this?]

Three

...fucking dragons. Really? [Three guesses who is not ready to deal with this.

'Agito, maybe...instead of dealing with the dragons, we could help the town?'

His other half's words make his roll his eye. Only Akito] Going anywhere near those fucking things is a stupid idea, especially with the weak excuse for AT these things are. [He glances at the weapon he's been given, so similar yet not. Mana...he's barely learned to work them since they got here.

Interrupt the apparent one-sided conversation? Or drag him off to help anyway]

One

[stonefree]

[At this point, all Jolyne wanted to do was figure out a way to get out of here and fast. Sure, there might be a war going on and while she didn't mind helping people out, she had other plans in mind.

When she got a letters from her adoring fans, she immediately raised an eyebrow here and there. Whoever wrote this letter sure was vague, weren't they? And with little to no information, she had no choice but to ask around. As soon as she put some clothes, one of the first thing she did was to look around for anyone who might have gotten the same letter she did!

So when she spotted someone nearby, she decided to strike up a conversation!] Hey there! You know anything about what's going on? Because I sure don't!

One

[sky_sharkling]

Ah? [He looks up at the voice, mismatched pupils focusing on the woman. Not someone he recognises, but then...he should probably get used to that]

Not really, no...aside from there's a lot of damage going on no one seems to know about. [A brief glance at one of the letters he'd been reading before looking back at her] I only just got here too, so it's all really confusing right now. [He's apologetic and sort of sheepish. He'd like to help, really, but he's not entirely sure how to]

[stonefree]

[As soon as she got a better look at the boy, she had to raise an eyebrow. It wasn't everyday she got to see someone with mismatched pupils. But then again, this was the least bizarre thing she had ever seen]

You're telling me, the least they could have done was explain some stuff. And especially when we just got here!

Seems kind of rude.

[sky_sharkling]

[He giggles at that, deciding he liked this woman]

Well, we're supposed to be heroes or something here, I believe. So maybe they thought we wouldn't need the explanation? [It seems silly even to him, but then sometimes people were silly

3?!

[hoasen]

[He looks...familiar. But she's not sure if she mention that when there are dragons all around.]

Come on! Let's go help the town then!

[Whoever he's talking to.]

[sky_shark]

[One-sided conversation interrupted! Commence glaring. Except oh hey she's...sort of familiar. In a way. He can't place where exactly but there's definitely recognition of some sort he's going to have to think on.

'Please?'

Now there's two people nagging at him. Agito can't win] Fuck. Fine. I don't see how it'll help with the beasts still around, but whatever.

[hoasen]

[She remembers that glare, but it wasn't directed to her last time. Or at least...what a strange feeling, thinking it's so familiar.

Hmm.]

The others can handle the beasts for now. We can back them up after we try to stop the fires and send the injured to the healers.

... [She can't believe she's about to say this but--] And...herd the cows.

[sky_shark]

[People, ugh. He hates dealing with people, but at the same time like hell is he letting Akito out in this situation. It's way too dangerous]

Probably better to leave the dumb cows out where they are, the dragons might go after them instead of the people. [He's examining the town now. Getting people to healing and managing the fires...that makes sense at least. He sighs and moves to start heading down there]

Who the hell are you anyway? I feel like I know you. [He shouldn't, but then that's happening a lot for some reason. He doesn't like it]

two

[quaria]

[ A veteran Hero wearing a Knight badge can be seen among the others investigating the area. Eventually, Setsuna parts from them and wanders nearby. He appears to be a keen one, observing with studious eyes as he glances left and right — sizing up the details around him, lack of expression present. Once he hears a cow's forlorn "moo," he redirects his gaze to the source where a new Hero seems to be.

Setsuna approaches then, not right away realizing familiarity. But once he's close enough, the sensation fills him and he wonders if he's seen another dream lately. He doesn't remember much, but he can certainly say he's seen this boy's face somewhere before. Either way, that doesn't matter for now. They have a duty to fulfill, so he kicks the thought to the back of his mind.

As a greeting, he quietly nods once before speaking. ]

It is no longer safe here. [ For those fruit cows, he means. ] I will assist you to relocate them.

[sky_sharkling]

[He notices the other approaching and has that deja vu feeling again. It's sort of weird how often that's coming up lately. Like they've been meeting people but don't remember, which is weird because usually Akito has an excellent memory.

But he'll worry about that later, nodding in both greeting and agreement] Thank-you. I don't know this place well enough to know where to go, so it's appreciated. [He smiles, happy to have the help. The fruit cow gets another pat as Akito casts one last look around the area] There's so much damage here...

[quaria]

Yes, although I am not certain of what happened either.

[ It's easy to take guesses, but that's what they'll ever be until they find more evidence and have them validated by the truth. Ever since the first batch of Heroes arrived in this world, this isn't the first time Caissa was attacked like this; but this is the first time they've witnessed such a large scale attack. Setsuna isn't sure what to think yet.

It could be another attack from Noir, however Blanc didn't receive a formal declaration of attack from them... Or even if it did, no statement was released to either the Heroes or the public yet. It's either the Heroes find out themselves or Blanc eventually tells them what's going on... Time will tell, so Setsuna remains patient.

It's good to focus on what they can do for the meantime. ]

I am however aware that fruit cows like these are native to the town of Gresser. But from here, it will take at least two days to arrive there... For now, what we can do is transport it to the nearest unaffected village and have the locals care for it.

[sky_sharkling]

Something bad. Very bad. [And that's all that really matters right now. There's a bad thing, and people are going to be needed to stop it. He just wishes he could do more]

Gresser... [He memorises the name for later] Yeah, that makes sense. The further away from the dangerous areas the better, for now. No point making that kind of journey with only one survivor either. [He's young, but smart. Akito hums, wondering just how many of the creatures did manage to survive]

one!

[dualized]

[Having become an incredibly early riser, Marie found herself awake before her new roommate. It was a surprise at first-- the only other who'd stayed had been here with her since her arrival. So this was the first time she'd awoken to see someone new sharing a room with them. Still... she happens to think it's nice to have a group of three again.

But it is early... So instead of waking him, she decides to leave him sleep for now. He'll have enough to worry about when he does get up later. And with Minato still here, she knows he'll be in good hands. The idea was just to make a quick stop for breakfast. Of course... on her way, she was instructed to pay a visit to the mail room to collect some things. What a surprise those things were. She came to the mail room only to be handed a pile of letters and a small package.

When Akito arrives, Marie's just finished going through the thoughtful if not overly... affectionate... letters. She looks up and smiles.]

Oh... are you learning where everything is? [She has no idea he's here for mail as well--] Ah- I'm sorry. My name is Marie. Marie Parfacy. We weren't able to meet earlier, but I'm also one of the heroes sharing a room with you.

[sky_sharkling]

[He blinks in surprise at being addressed before smiling at her. While he'd been sort of confused for awhile about arriving here, he had noticed that there was multiple beds in the room that probably meant sharing space with other people. It was strange that it didn't seem to be gender restricted, but then Akito has never really minded that kind of thing. At least he was able to find the infirmary first and beg a new eyepatch off them. Marie might notice he's wearing it when he most definitely wasn't when sleeping before]

I got told to come here, since there's apparently mail for me? But that's okay, we're kind of a deep sleeper. I'm sort of surprised we woke up as early as we did. [He bows a little as he speaks next] It's nice to meet you, Marie-san. I'm Akito, Akito Wanijima. Hopefully I won't be too much of a bother to you. [The light is still smiling though, teasing himself more than anything]

[dualized]

So quickly...?

[There certainly was a great deal of mail very suddenly. And to even include someone who just arrived...]

Well it's nice to meet you Akito. I've been here a while now, so if you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask. I know it can be a lot to take in all at once. But I promise you'll be able to learn quickly. There are a lot of kind people here. [Even so, she can't help but keep thinking on the way he said 'we'. He could of course be referring to their other roommate as well, but it didn't sound that way. Maybe she was just overthinking things, but--] I'm sorry... this might seem like a strange question, but... you said we're a deep sleeper. Didn't you?

[sky_sharkling]

[He can only shrug at that. Apparently the people of this place just knew that there was new people to send stuff to]

Thank-you, I'll make sure to! There's a lot about this that I think is going to confuse me a bit. [Sheepish 'Kito is sheepish] Magic and stuff doesn't exist back home, so this is all sort of new...

[He thinks on that for a second before remembering that she'd picked up on the way he'd spoken] Ah yeah, I did. I share this body with my other half, Agito. [He lifts a hand to touch his eyepatch briefly with two fingers before letting it fall]

two

[showsnopiety]

[This was a strange place, all in all. But the fruit cows were the least of it. At least they were easy to handle. She had a cow following her, thanks to her feeding it some stray food that she had found-though giving it a push or a swat when it tried to chew on her hair.

What? Her hair might be white, but it was not a new form of hay. She was tempted to just have someone get rid of the thing, when she came across Akito and his cow.

Oh, look. Someone to pawn off a cow on. Caren wanders closer, her eyes taking Akito in.]

You're not planning to go south, are you? We just came from there.

[We being her and the cow. The tag might have said 'bessy' or 'merrybell' or something of that sort, but Caren did not bother to look. It was just called Cow to her.]

[sky_sharkling]

No, the damage seems to be increasing further south. [He glances over at the person approaching him, continuing to pet the cow who was following him around]

I figured for the ones that survived, taking them further north would be better. Somewhere they might be less likely to be attacked again, or where there was more people to watch them. [He shrugs a little helplessly] I'm new so I wasn't sure if there was somewhere exact to go...

[showsnopiety]

You've a point.

[Seems he knows himself. Though...she has to be truthful for this, even as her shoulders lift in a shrug.]

I'm not familiar with this area either. However...it may be best to just head off. Worse comes to worse, we may be able to get assistance from either the untouched villages. Or simply by relocating them to the capital and going from there,

One

[burnmydread]

[ Just as it so happens, Minato is on his way back to the room, so it's a little surprising when he sees someone else walking out of it. Not bad, necessarily, because who isn't allowed to have guests? Marie doesn't seem much the type and he knows his, ah, rendezvous have been decidedly out of the shared room.

What he does notice, though, is that this person has some of the letters he seen around. Which usually come with food. Is there candy attached? He's eaten all of his. ]

...Looking for something?

[ In his room or... ]

[sky_sharkling]

[If there was candy, it has been eaten, sorry Minato. Akito's a sweet-tooth, he loves his sugar. He blinks and glances up at the other-- and has to pause because huh. Blue hair, just like him. Neat]

Ah...kind of? Not anything specific, but we just got here so... [He shrugs, a little sheepish] Still learning where everything is and putting some things away.

[burnmydread]

[ Ah, a tragic day for this Protagonist, then. He always looks for a new opportunity to mooch off of someone else. Clearly not this boy.

Wait, just got here? Minato glances back to the room the other boy had just come out of. ]

...Is that your room, then?

one!

[tarotcards]

[ Souji tends to be aware of his surroundings at all times. He's a cautious person by nature and it has come to assist him greatly when he led a team back home. It has also proven to help him here as well, in a world where there's a constant war going on in the background, so it's definitely a positive trait that he holds. However, when you have a cat that just loves to sit on your head for some reason or another and puts their paws all over your face, it's hard to really tell where you're going... ]

Cream-san, hold on-- [ Aaaaand this is when he probably walks right into Akito, Cream-san nearly falling off his head. How wonderful... ] --I'm sorry.

[sky_sharkling]

Ah-- [Oh goodness that sure is a person and even though Akito tries to avoid the collision, he judges wrongly and gets bumped into anyway. He pinwheels before losing his balance completely and falling backwards onto his butt. He doesn't seem to mind though, smiling a little]

It's okay! I'm alright, and it looks like you have a handful there. [He giggles a little, looking at the cat. Silly kitty]