pawnstorm | intro ♚ may

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intro ♚ may

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[One]
[Namazuo doesn't seem to be too fazed by all the tokens of appreciation he's gotten, especially since a lot of it seems to be candy. He munches on it happily while reading the letters, apparently not really absorbing what's actually written in them. Though when reading the 15-page letter, he does look a little confused.] Well, it's nice that he built that house for her...but what does that have to do with us?

[And then he becomes distracted by candy.] This is all so good! I wish someone had sent dango, too...

[Two]
[Namazuo, however, is fazed by the fire. Very much fazed.

He doesn't deal well with fire. It takes him back to that fateful time at Osaka Castle, when everything around him and Ichigo was burning. That was really all he could remember of that night, since the burns he'd sustained caused him to lose some memories, but the few memories he has are enough to frighten him.

There's no trace of the happy-go-lucky Namazuo here. Especially when he sees the fruit cows, and how the surviving ones crowd around their dead companions. Namazuo doesn't speak or move as he watches them--he can't do anything except tremble and barely manage to stand upright. In any other situation he'd try to help as much as he could, but that doesn't seem to be happening with him right now.]

Edited 2016-05-10 01:49 (UTC)

( While she isn't able to get clear look of the letter in entirety, she is able to get through the most important part of the letter... Which is not important at all. Everything seems to be about his wife? )

Um... He probably want us to know about his love for her? Or maybe there's something that Haruna misses about it.

( Although when she notices the sweets and how Namazuo seems to be completely busy in devouring them- )

Ah, is it okay for us to eat them?

( Because she got a lot with those candies herself. )

Hmm...it's nice that he loves her, at least. [Love makes the world go around, or so they say.]

If they're for us, then it's probably okay! They're tokens of appreciation, after all.

( At least that's one thing they can agree on. )

T-Then please allow Haruna to savor it herself!

( Taking those candy bags that were meant for herself aaaand NOM.

Mmm delish. )

Yes, yes, permission granted~ [Namazuo waves his hand airily as though he's letting her eat her own candy, though he's obviously joking around.]

( DON'T MIND HER IF SHE DO, NAMAZUO. )

So... ( MUNCH MUNCH. ) Do you get anything else beside the candies, if Haruna may know?

Nothing else, aside from the letters...what about you?

[Jiroutachi is not bothered by the fire or the destruction. These are things that he's seen before but when he sees Namazuo, he doesn't bother with being silly. Even he knows that there is a time and a place for it and this little sword doesn't need that right now. Besides, he knows of the wakizashi's history rather well and knows that this is not a good place for him.

Moving into his line of vision, he uses his large body to cut the sword off from the sight of everything around them. There's a gentle smile on his face as he rests his hand on his head.]

Nama-kun. I think it's time for us to go.

Jirou-san...? [The way Jiroutachi blocks the view of the fire from Namazuo seems to be working a little, since he's slowly becoming aware of the bigger sword's presence. He can still hear the crackling of the flames and the shouting in the distance, but at least he can't see as much.] Go where? Everything's burning...

Well, we want to make sure we're not in the way for the people running around helping. So I think we should go where we can help out anyone injured which will probably not be right here. [See? He can logic if he's motivated. He gives his head a little rub.] What do you think?

O-okay... [A small part of him wants to stay here and do what he can to ease the chaos, but the fire around them is just too much for him to bear.]

There are lots of people here to help out with the fire. We should go somewhere else to help out with those that will end up there. That's where they'll really need the attention. [Lowering his hand from his head, he holds it in front of his face in an offer for him to hold it.] Ready?

...yeah. [Namazuo shakily takes Jirou's hand, trying to ignore the fire around them. He's not sure how much help he can be in the state he's in...]

Namazuo Toushirou | Touken Ranbu | OTA

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