pawnstorm | 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

[She buries, we'll say he...arrives on the scene shortly after she starts saying her prayers, having been stalled trying to catch a calf down the road and was in the process of taking the little one back to the closest village, and he ambles into the general area, about to call out something to the hero he sees over there and- oh. Oh.

...he considered just leaving. He found himself joining in with saying a prayer himself (a quick one, a dirty one, one under his breath) from afar, prepared to just leave as quietly as he had come. But that was when the calf started loudly mooing before he could shush her.

Moooooooo.]

...sorry. [He wasn't sure if he was apologizing for interrupting, for the fact that it seemed like Korra had done all of this work herself, or for the fact there was dead in the first place.]

[Korra is aware of Gaius before he says anything. She's always alert and sensing, it's the only way she's stayed alive. She isn't annoyed when she looks at him, though; she simply has a sad smile.]

It's fine, I was just finishing up. [She rubs her hands together briskly to get rid of any dirt and walks over.] Babies are like that, you know? They don't understand death. Maybe it's a good thing-- they help remind the rest of us that we've got work to do.

What do you think happened?

[The 'kid' gets a scratch behind the ear for her trouble. (And the worst part is that in a few days he'll end up fond enough of her that he'll try to, ah, take her insisting that she'd make a fine mount eventually. He might succeed.) He wants to say something interesting and useful.]

Dunno. [He's keenly aware that once upon a time he would've been a cause of something like this.]

Something big flew overhead and dumped a bunch of cows here. Breathed fire. Left. Could be a bunch of Noir brigands riding wyverns. [It should be noted that this is said in the same way one would say, "And a seagull shat on my car." Stating the obvious and the boring.] Your guess is as good as mine.

[Good job, Gaius. Very enlightening.]

Could be, but I'm not really sure. Noir isn't big on sneak attacks. They like to scream and shout about whatever they're doing, along with that whole cheesy evil laughter bit.

[She reaches out to pet the baby cow.]

Can wyverns act on their own?

'course. And I'm calling her Bubbles.

[That's the calf. Go right ahead. He's starting to be really tempted to, ah, borrow her for the team so all of the heroes can enjoy flavored milk.]

But, wyverns are...big, large, flying lizard things. Never really got up close in person with one but I figure they're like any other animal, like...pegasus. Can fly around with or without a rider. Eat things. Gotta come from somewhere.

[Bubbles the cow. Sure.]

I've honestly never heard of either, but it sounds like you have a better grasp of what lives here than I do. [She glances out over the charred landscape.] I bet the hunt for food made them push out of their usual territory.

What if we push 'em back?

[He wants to say, "That's stupid." Except it's not. It's like he does the no, no, no, okay, maybe, maybe, maybe.]

Could work. You ever did something like this before- uh...

[...]

Right. Gaius. [As in he's Gaius and there's a gesture which indicates that he's talking about him because otherwise that just sounds like he called her Gaius and no.]

[She gets it.]

Korra. Nice to meet you.

[She folds her arms.]

Dragon infestation? Not really. But I've had to negotiate with weird spirits and humans before.

[There is a pause.]

Pretty much the same thing. Only difference is that one's big, scaley, and flaps about a lot.

[Clever social commentary or just sarcasm? You decide.] So, how's this sound: we dig up somebody who can talk to the things and you say hey to them and get them to fly off?

intro ♚ may

2, holds hands sparkles at etc

FINALLY WE ARE DOING THE THING

This is like a total Destined Meeting right here.

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