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

Hajime Hinata | Dangan Ronpa 2

[ahogay]

1-A

[After freaking out about waking up in yet another new place, putting on his new uniform and going about the introductory tour, Hinata makes his way to the mail room to check out the letters and packages that he supposedly received. How can he even have mail when he literally just got here? How did anyone know he was going to be here? This just keeps getting weirder and weirder by the minute.

He sits down in the parlor with his pile of mail and slowly reads through each letter, his expression rather grim for someone who's going through heart-warming fanmail. Not only that, his face is slightly pale and his hands are clearly gripping the paper more tightly than is necessary. Eventually, he mutters to himself what he's been thinking since the tour.]

Me? A Hero? What a sick joke...

[He doesn't deserve any of this at all.]

1-B

[Once he's managed to clear his mind, Hinata notices that some of these letters seem to suggest that there's trouble lurking behind the scenes of this place. The fact that they took the time to ask a total newbie for help must mean that they're pretty desperate, but... what is he supposed to do about it? Hinata doesn't know anything about this place yet, and if there's going to be fighting involved then he has an incredibly high chance of failure. He doesn't know enough about the situation yet to make a decision for sure, though, so maybe he should ask around and see if anything else knows anything. He can handle that much, at least.

So, he approaches the closest person he can find, which just so happens to be you.]

Hey, did you get any vague letters about houses and markets being destroyed too?

2

[As Hinata cautiously explores a small village way south of Caissa, he stares in horror at the charred, smashed up buildings that surround him. This is the first time he's ever seen this kind of destruction... such despair... As he approaches one of the buildings, he doesn't pay enough attention to the ground and ends up tripping over something. He quickly lifts himself up and looks behind him to see what it was--]

Ugh!

[He can immediately feel his stomach sinking. It's a corpse. A corpse that's been so mutilated that it can't even be identified, but judging by the hair and clothes, it's most likely a woman. Hinata didn't think he'd ever be fazed by dead bodies again after his experience on Jabberwock Island, but the bodies he saw there were much fresher and could still easily be identified. This woman... her entire body is charred like the buildings, though her face got it so bad that it barely even looks like a face anymore, and her body's even been gutted like someone was eating her internal organs. To think that this thing was once a living, breathing person like him...

Hinata slowly climbs back to his feet, his face full of despair as he stares down at the body.]

This is... beyond brutal...!

[With this and the huge claw marks in the ground and on various trees, he just can't believe that humans could have caused this. Just who or what could have done something like this?]

2!

[hoasen]

[She was just a fair distance away, looking at the remains of the village. There was just...nothing left.

It was then she heard the voice that she immediately darts around what was left of a building, and sees him standing there.]

Yes...it seems so...unnatural.

[Even though this entire world is just unnatural. But to level a village!]

[ahogay]

[Hinata is a bit startled at the sudden voice, not expecting anyone else to be around here, but he relaxes when he sees her face. She doesn't look dangerous or anything, so he probably doesn't have anything to worry about.]

Yeah... Do you know of any creatures that could have done something like this?

[hoasen]

[She raises her hands to show she means no harm, before approaching him. His is definitely a new face. It's that time again though, so she guesses he's probably new.]

Nothing I have encountered before. [Well, she tries to think again.] There are large creatures, but not one that would raze down an entire village in such a way.

[ahogay]

[And Hinata guesses by the badge on her uniform that she's been here for quite a while. He doesn't know exactly what the badges mean yet, but he noticed that recent arrivals like him have the same badge as him, and people who've been here longer have different badges.]

Then it was probably a large group of them... or maybe even something that no one else has ever seen yet.

[That's a pretty scary thought.]

1-A

[herplaceinthesun]

Hey, you okay?

[He doesn't look okay, so it's more rhetorical than anything. Still, the look on his face reminds her of someone she knows, and she can't help but want to see the guy feel better.

Yes, she heard the muttering. Look at those ears, she can hear it all.]

You being a Hero bother you that much? Aisha's sure you'll do fine.

[ahogay]

I'm--

[As soon as he meets Aisha's gaze, whatever Hinata was about to say suddenly dies in his throat. She looks... familiar. Even the name Aisha is familiar to him.]

Wait a second, have we met before?

[He feels like he has. But how? He just got here... didn't he?]

[herplaceinthesun]

Maaaybe? I mean, I'm new here!

[This, like most of the things here, was weird. But it was oddly comforting, considering she thought she was here alone. Aisha could handle herself just fine, but there was nothing wrong with company, right?

Of course not.]

But it doesn't seem like you're a stranger.

[ahogay]

[This is super weird, but Hinata doesn't look as upset as he did a second ago, so there's that.]

Yeah, I am too, but... somehow I recognized you the moment I saw your face. Like, something in my brain just said, "That's Aisha." Do you know my name?

1-B

[medicament]

Y-Yes...!

[A bit startled that someone has approached her and asked a question, Luna answers a bit too loud. After she sighs, her voice goes back to normal, though.]

A whole village has been destroyed, but I'm not even sure what happened. It must be shock caused by a trauma...I mean, those people lost everything...

[ahogay]

[Oops, startling Luna was not what Hinata intended to do at all. He smiles apologetically at her.]

Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to startle you.

[And now to address the rest of what she said.]

That could be a possibility, but it's still kind of weird, don't you think? That not a single person was willing to include any details about what actually happened? I mean, they probably want us to do something about it or else they wouldn't have sent us these letters at all, but we don't even know what the cause of all this is.

[medicament]

It's fine, really.

[He knows he didn't mean to do that, it's just a bit overwhelming to her, everything is happening so fast and there are so many unfamiliar people around.]

That's true. Even if it's a mass shock or anything of the sort...someone would mention something, given the fact that they probably have seen the culprit.

[This is really weird.]

Even the smallest clue would help the heroes a lot...umm, I mean...us.

[The fact that they've become heroes all of a sudden is even weirder, but that's the problem she'd like to put aside and maybe come back to it later.]

Would it be possible that they don't know who or what did it by any chance?

[ahogay]

That's also possible, but... I guess the only way we'll be able to find out for sure is if we go investigate ourselves, whether that means actually going out to the towns or finding someone who received some concrete information.

[That doesn't seem very likely at the moment, though. But before he gets to field investigating, Hinata should really try to gather his bearings, familiarize himself with this city and the surrounding area -- that would make things a lot easier.]

Anyway, are you new here too? [She definitely has the demeanor of someone who isn't very familiar with her surroundings yet.]

1a.

[passtave]

[ Sakura is finishing with her letters and packages when she notices Hinata—

Wait, how does she know his name? She just arrived today... but no, she's so sure that his name is Hinata! They've definitely met before... she remembers him being very kind to her... but the details are fuzzy no matter how hard she tries to recall the memories. Was it all a hallucination? Or a dream? But...

He looks so gloomy. Even though she's probably crazy and made their whole meeting up in her head, she wants to make sure he's all right! He was really nice in her dream...

After a few moments of just... standing there... quietly fidgeting as she works up the courage to approach him, she finally walks towards him, her head down. ]

U-Um... are you all right?

[ahogay]

[Hinata is so consumed in his thoughts that he doesn't even notice Sakura's presence until she speaks up. It isn't long after he looks up at her that he has the same moment of deja vu -- he also remembers meeting this girl somewhere, but all he can remember is that she was really nervous about something and he cheered her up. But how could he have done that?]

Y-Yeah... um... we've met before, haven't we?

[passtave]

[ He... he remembers too! Her expression lights up, a shy smile spreading across her face as she tucks her entwined hands against her chest. She's so glad... she'd felt so alone, but maybe she has a friend here after all. ]

Y-Yes! I think so... [ Even though the details are still fuzzy, with the way he recognized her she's more sure than before. Even though... it's really hard to explain any of this. Isn't this their first day here? ] Y-Your name is... Hinata, right?

2

[sediments]

Hey, are you okay?

[ There's a hand settling carefully on Hinata's shoulder, and concerned green eyes peering at him.

Bolin had been touring the village as well, taking in the destruction all around them, not unlike Hinata. It had quieted the normally jubilant earthbender, and he couldn't find it in him to think of some way to distract from the gravity of the situation. (How disrespectful would that have been.)

It took him a good moment to settle his nerves; curb the despair threatening his senses, and figure out what he should do.

He'd resolved to look for survivors, despite how unlikely it would be given that this attack didn't appear particularly recent, when he'd come across Hinata, the young man looking on the verge of tears. ]

[ahogay]

[Fortunately, Hinata isn't going to cry. This is far from the worst despair he's ever felt, but still...

The hand on his shoulder quickly snaps him out of his thoughts and causes him to look up at the concerned man that it belongs to. Geez, he's been making a lot of people worry about him lately. He needs to get his shit together. Hinata offers the man a weak smile, though it doesn't quite extend to his eyes.]

I'll be fine. I was just thinking about how terrible this all is...

[Then his bright eyes scan the area once more, paying particular attention to all the claw marks.]

How could something like this happen?

[sediments]

I have no idea.

[ Bolin sounds genuinely puzzled as he says this, letting his head drop from Hinata's shoulder to have a look around again, though really it's the same state of ash and desolation that had greeted him at the beginning. It's possible that Noir had let loose some fire mages in the village. Fire and monsters, it looks like.

He turns back to the younger boy with a contemplative frown. ]

The country is at war, so... [ He rubs the back of his head. ] It doesn't look like the fields have been marched over by troops though. And it's weird that someone wouldn't claim credit.

1a

[tarotcards]

[ Souji should be used to the praise, gifts, and appreciation that the natives of this world shower him in, but he just can't seem to get used to it. It's too much for his tastes. He doesn't mind the usual compliment here and there, but to constantly be showered with it, it's a lot to take in. ]

[ He's grabbing his own mail when he notices Hinata, hands gripping the letter, and kind of making out what he mumbles. ]

The natives seem to really think of us as their heroes, regardless of what we do.

[ahogay]

[Hinata looks up at the other boy with a frown. So they really are set on this "Hero" thing, huh...]

But... how do they even know about me? I mean, I literally just woke up here about an hour ago and I already have all this mail. It doesn't make any sense.

[In fact, it's actually rather concerning.]

[tarotcards]

[ Ah, so he's someone new, huh? Well, Souji could understand his confusion. To suddenly wake up somewhere new and then get all this mail... ]

I'm not entirely sure, but perhaps they know in advance that we're coming. After all, our rooms are prepared with properly sized uniforms and had weapons already assigned to us.

[ Souji has been thinking about this, if you couldn't tell. ]

2

[encountered]

[ Ah, it's weird, seeing people younger than him horrified at the ravaged corpse right in front of them. But Laslow's familiar with that sight, horrifyingly so. While Nohr never had such experiences with gruesome deaths like these, Laslow is familiar with corpses with this kind of damage regardless. ]

...Well, we can rule out humans from the damage the corpse has taken at the very least, young sir.

[ahogay]

[Hinata would question how is it weird for younger people to be horrified by corpses, or anyone at all for that matter, but he is not a mind reader. He simply lets out a weary sigh, only glancing at the other boy for a moment before he focuses his gaze back on the body.]

Yeah, that's what I was thinking too. But what kind of monster can cause this much destruction?

[encountered]

...burnt corpse, large claw marks. Well, it could only be dragons, right?

[ Saying it in a slightly relaxed manner, Laslow just shrugged as he said that. He's quite familiar with what a dragon could do, in fact, he's a bit too familiar with it, due to some thing or the other, so. ]