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.

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[At the first tremble, Luna's spell break as she loses her focus, which is something she'll be ashamed of later. There's no time for that now, though—afraid that the various shards might hurt the man (and his skin is in a bad enough condition already), she quickly shifts her body to cover him. It's just like it's done automatically on her part. It's a miracle that nothing too heavy fell down on their heads, really.

Shortly, they can hear that the dragon leaps in the sky, which is good news. However, it doesn't last long—]

P-Please go! I'll be fine! We'll be...fine...!

[She really tries to sound convincing, but her voice betrays her in the middle of the sentence.]

[ He's hesitating. He knows that she's right; he has to get out there and help the farmers before their lives and livelihoods are lost. But he's worried about her, especially now that the house is no longer stable around them.

But very clearly, he can hear a voice shout for help outside, and he knows that he has to go. ]

I'll be back as soon as I can.

[ A promise, and one more moment of uncertain hesitation before he's sprinting out of the house. It takes a minute to find a weapon that he can actually use, grabbing a hoe before activating his new weapon: the metal ball melting in between his palms to colour the veins of his forearms a dull grey, and suddenly the metal of the hoe is floating in accordance to his hands. From then on, he works swiftly; forming a spear out of the metal, and sending it flying toward the dragon's wings with a swing of his hands.

It manages to pierce the delicate wings, enough to send the beast sprawling toward the ground, but Bolin can barely inhale a sigh of relief when the impact of the dragon's heavy landing brings down the already unstable front portion of the house behind him.

Great. ]

Hey!!

[ But how much of his attention can he divert to the house, when the dragon is that much closer now, hissing and spitting fire. ]

[When the dust settles down after the collapse of the front of the house has collapsed, Luna and the injured man are left in the open, but they seem to be alright, more or less. Scared but alright.

Until they take notice of the dragon flouncing on the ground; it's difficult to tell whose scream is louder, honestly. The worst part is not only that they made their presence obvious to the beast, but also the fact that the man begins to flail nervously which causes him even more pain.

Without thinking much, Luna taps the gem on her bracelet ring making a sphere of light come out which eventually sinks in the man's body, making him fall asleep. Blaming herself that she hasn't done that much, much sooner, Luna quickly turns to Bolin.]

We'll be fine! [She truly hopes so.] Just look out for yourself!

[Then, worried that the rest of the building may be brought down in the heat of the battle, Luna lifts the limp body of the man up on her back and starts walking. She's rather slow and there's no way they'll get far like this, but as long as they can escape the fire, it should be alright.]

[ The situation is rapidly getting more dangerous, but somehow it only helps Bolin to make a decision that much more quickly. The best thing that he can do for Luna and the injured man right is to take care of the dragon; there's not going to be any safety for any of them until that's taken care of.

So that's what he's going to do.

The idea of killing the beast leaves him a little uneasy, but it can't be helped. Above them, the sky is darkening as the dragon spits streams of fire, and for now Bolin stays to the side, trying to avoid notice as he searches for a large enough piece of metal to be used as a weapon. He manages well enough, finding another farming tool, forming a disk out of its parts. He sends it flying toward the dragon, intending to slice its neck but—

He hesitates, misses, and then there's another shriek and burst of fire. The dragon is only getting rowdier, stomping the ground heavily, its tail trashing wildly. ]

[Although Luna can't afford to look back and definitely shouldn't be doing it, but she can't help it when the dragon is making so much ruckus. Bolin is nowhere in sight, which only makes her more worried than before. However, she misses the moment when the disk misses the dragon, but the shriek reaches her ears instead, making her turn her head in the dragon's direction again.]

I-I have to go back...

[On the other hand, she can't just leave the man here, not when he's sleeping. There's no telling whether he'll wake up soon or not as Luna hasn't had too many opportunities to see for herself how this spell works, not to mention practicing it. She can call herself lucky (well, partially, given the whole situation they're in) when she almost bumps into the people who hasn't evacuated yet.]

Please, find him a healer...or at least cool down his burns, I must go.

[Despite saying this and trying her best to sound calm, her hands are trembling a bit, revealing that she's scared. Nevertheless, Luna rushes back, trying to pinpoint his location and stay out of the dragon's field of vision at the same time.]

[ It's getting pretty hot. Bolin grits his teeth against the searing heat, having pulled his staff off his back to ward off the flames like he'd often seen Korra and Zaheer do. It's not as effective given that the fire is everywhere, but at least his clothes are only a little singed rather than burning right into his flesh.

They have no choice but to evacuate now, the farming village is all but lost as the flames spread, Bolin's chest tightening with guilt. Even without the fire, the smoke is starting to gather, suffocating anyone that chooses to remain.

He has to get rid of that dragon.

The metal disc rounds back with a movement of his hands, and it's almost anticlimactic, how quickly the earthbender sends it spinning back toward the dragon, slicing it clean against the neck this time, the beast collapsing with one last enraged shriek and Bolin takes a moment to grin in victory!

—Though it's short lived. The fire's still spreading around them, smoke only growing thicker until Bolin's lungs start to feel heavy, breath startlingly difficult to inhale now that his focus isn't squarely on the dragon, the tightness of his chest bringing him to his knees. Just a short break... ]

[When she finally arrives at the scene, Luna can witness the defeat of the dragon and its blood gushing from the fatal wound. While it calls for a celebration, they have to put it off for later, as she needs to find Bolin first. Thankfully, she has come running early enough to notice from which direction the metal disc was sent.

There's one slight problem, though. She hasn't even asked Bolin for his name, so it makes things a bit more complicated. But there's one solution:]

Mister Hero! Mister Hero, where are you?! Are you alright?!

[The smoke doesn't make finding him easier and neither does the fire, but she's running forward, hoping to find him as soon as possible.]

[ Luna's voice sounds a lot closer than he expected—he'd assumed that she was helping the injured farmer still. It gives him all the more reason not to linger; he can't put her in danger for looking for him.

Pushing himself back up, he brings one of his sleeves up to his mouth and nose to help filter out some of the smoke as he wanders toward the sound of her voice. When he spots her, he thinks for a moment about how the colour of her hair blends in with the fire, but quickly shoves the strange observation out of his mind to focus on the task at hand. ]

Hey! [ His voice is a little scratchy as he calls out. He doesn't know her name either, but it's not something that he really cares about as he reaches her, grabbing her hand. ] C'mon! We gotta go!

[Before she can come closer, Bolin is already by her side, tugging her along. Following his example, she puts up her sleeve to her mouth, even though she doesn't seem to have trouble breathing despite all this smoke surrounding them.

All of a sudden, the weather started to change but Luna only notices it when they're more or less safe from the fire which still keeps spreading out. In the meantime, it's gotten windy and...are those hailstones? Some of them melt due to the fire, but a few of them roll on the ground.]

I think there's no one else in the area...we can go and check on the people. But...are you alright?

[ Bolin coughs a little as their jog comes to a halt, but he offers Luna a thumbs up to indicate that he's fine. Once he manages to clear his lungs, he straightens up and heaves a sigh of relief.

His weapon melts out of his palms, reforming into a ball that he pockets as he looks around, brows furrowed. ]

You mean go back into the fire? [ He's noticed the change in weather as well, the dark clouds finally bringing some merciful precipitation down. It'll simmer the flames at least, but they're still quite impressive.

Bolin wants to make sure that everyone has cleared the danger area as well, but he's not sure how safe it would be to run back from where they'd come. ]

[Seeing a thumbs up is more than enough to make her feel relieved. It looked really bad for a moment, but it's over now.]

Ah, no...! [They both had enough fire for the time being.] I think everyone left the area before the dragon landed. Actually, I meant checking if the people who ran from here are alright. Unless you want to rest for a bit, I can go by myself...you really helped me a lot already.

What do you mean? [ He gives her a puzzled expression. ] I didn't do anything for you.

[ She's the one that had run into the fire for him! But that aside, she has a point, and they should probably make sure that no other dragon had appeared to harass the people while they were dealing with this one.

He nods. ]

I'll go with you though, the people probably still need help. We're going to have to figure out where they're going to get food and shelter when their farms have been wrecked like this too.

[Bolin...give yourself some credit, you've just slain a dragon...]

T-That's exactly what I wanted to hear, really. I doubt I could do all this all on my own. Thank you! But if you need a while to rest nonetheless, I'll wait.

[Well, they wouldn't be able to help anyone if they are too tired anyway.]

[ The earthbender shakes his head. ]

Don't worry about me, if I decide I need to sit down for a bit, I'll do it once we find the rest of the people.

[ He casts his gaze around them then, trying to figure out where they might've run off to, before just looking at the direction of footprints to gather the direction. ]

We shouldn't let them get too far anyway, it'll be hard to keep them together. Oh. [ He blinks. ] I'm Bolin, by the way.

O-Okay!

[She'll watch over him just in case, though; he has inhaled quite a bit of smoke, after all. Shortly after she notices the footprints as well.]

My name is Luna. Sorry, I should've introduced myself before, but there was simply no time...

[There's no reason to be embarrassed about it, but it doesn't stop her from blushing a bit.]

[ How cute! That she would be embarrassed. Bolin however, just smiles at her, not even noticing how late the introductions are. Sometimes you just have to fight some battles first. ]

Hey, nice to meet you. I'm Bolin! Thanks for helping me out with that guy earlier... I hope he made it out all right.

[ There are no bodies on the path up ahead, so he's just going to assume that the man wasn't left behind. ]

I asked some people to take care of him until we come back...they seemed to be rather kind, so I think they did just that.

[The fact that she considers most of the people (if not everyone) to be good, kind and helpful is another story. It's safe to assume that they listened to her because of her uniform rather than that, but she'd rather think that it was all because of how kindhearted they are.]

Umm...are all of the Heroes as brave as you?

[Her voice is even more serious than it was before.]

I guess my opinion doesn't matter much since I've just arrived here, but you did really well.

[ Are all of the Heroes as brave as you...

Heroes as brave as you...

brave as you...

Bolin stops for a second, staring at Luna in surprise before a smile slowly lights up his face, a happy blush settling over his cheeks. He's awestruck by the compliment, because it's so simple and genuine. It makes him feel good about himself, and his shoulders square up. ]

We all do what we have to do to help out. [ He gives a cheery look back to her. ] You were really brave too.

Edited (ah...) 2016-06-05 10:44 (UTC)

[It's difficult not to notice the blush, but it only makes Luna smile grow wider. Heroes are truly amazing...!]

Yes, but you didn't hesitate even for a second and just went ahead...I don't think everyone can do that, so it's...really admirable!

[She sounds ever so serious and has probably no idea what may be the consequences of what she's saying. Or maybe...

Maybe she does...]

[ It's not even that his face keeps the happy pink, but his shoulders rise up, a sparkle enters his eyes and Bolin might as well be on cloud nine. It's not every day that a pretty girl praises him like this, and had he inhaled some smoke? Bolin can't even tell, he's walking on air now. ]

Thanks! ⌒(o＾▽＾o)ノ

[ You probably made his day, Luna, because his chin is up and he's marching toward the poor people's whose homes have been destroyed with a spring in his step.

Appropriate. ]

[An emoji that transcends words...!

The change in his posture is impossible to miss. Appropriate or not (definitely not), Luna follows him, trying to hold her head up; is it a thing Heroes do after winning the battle? She has no idea. But maybe their smiles will actually cheer people up? Maybe...

They'll sure be busy with helping them out for a while, though.]

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intro ♚ may

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