intro ♚ june

[boardmaster]

WELCOME TO Lasker

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.

ONE ♟ Caissa: Cut to the Chase

Rise and shine, Heroes! Some of you are naked, some of you have no idea where you are, but all of you should be listening to the new announcement from the Prime Minister that your trusty household pigeon is blasting right across the room.

Thierry Toussaint Good morning, my dear Heroes. I hope you are all well rested. I must ask for another favor: a very important guest from Gammon will be visiting us, and he will pass through Lasker in two weeks. His name is Ryder; quite a charming man, I’m sure you’ll enjoy his company. I will be staying here to prepare for his arrival, so I would like a few of you to escort him to Caissa. You will be rewarded handsomely. Oh, and if you get to Lasker early, could you please get me a few Double Duo booster packs? It’s a very popular card game. One day, if Secretary Verdoni spares some time in my schedule, I would love to play it with you!

You will also spot a new note on the Hall of Glory bulletin board, signed with an emblem veteran Heroes will recognize as a Noir lightning ward. Newcomers may have to ask around, or give in to their curiosity whenever their peers or seniors in the Heroic business run off to investigate! This will likely be a team effort. Meanwhile, it looks like Black Lightning picked up the Gresserian fondness for riddles: her first clue reads:

Jenny and Walt like their bratwurst, but Katyusha will be having them for breakfast. Buy some from the market for her, will you?
All those very specific names are probably important, but how? Why is Katyusha so attached to bratwurst? Just how many markets will you have to go through for this hypothetical pork meal? Find out on the next episode of Lasker & Order! Should you work this one out, you will find the second clue pinned under a string of pork bratwurst with a knife of Noir craftsmanship, on the wooden door of a certain butcher shop:

History repeats itself. Get a refresher downtown.
There is a certain wall in a murky alleyway downtown plastered full of old posters, dirty and worn; these date from when our Heroes failed to protect Palamède, the site of Noir’s first act of war against Blanc. Heroes were quite unpopular at the time! A single unmarred poster hangs near the end of the alleyway, preserved in a new frame. How unusual! Behind the frame lies the third clue:

Some say I’m faster than a speeding train. Are you?
To the train station! Stuck on a sign is a newspaper clipping in Chernovian.

Escaped convicts executed
By IVANA MANTOLOV     VALLARIA XTH 2016

Eight escaped convicts were executed on the spot as they attempted to cross the Empire’s borders into Gris yesterday. They were later confirmed to be members of the group of twenty-nine convicts who went missing after the riot at the Chernov Penitentiary Ward two days prior. Authorities are still looking for the remaining twenty-one.

Found on the back of this clipping is Black Lightning’s last message scrawled in black ink: See you there. But where? Just lift your eyes:

TO LASKER
➵
Once you return to your quarters at the Hall of Glory in the evening, the Prime Minister will have another announcement.

Thierry Toussaint I have concerning news. Ryder is in danger, and I need you to go to Lasker to do a preemptive investigation before his arrival. Our… contact requests your presence. As they say in Noir, you do not find her. She finds you. Be careful. There are many uncertainties in this mission, and I would like to send you with more backup, but she said to bring only yourselves. Be as discreet as possible; we do not want to cause an incident.

What do those clues even mean? Maybe you can help.

TWO ♟ Lasker

Black Lightning Miss me? … Ah, you brought new face. Cute. [ chuckle ] Blanc never runs out of blessing, huh? You know Double Duo? [ she reaches into her cleavage for a card with a matagot on it ] Game with monster cards. [ and behind the monster card, she reveals another. wait, is that your face? ] Now, Hero cards. New shipments are coming in. Watch the arena.

Before you can ask, Black Lightning disappears in a flash, dropping both the matagot and Hero cards as a parting gift. For some of you, the mention of shipments sends shivers down your spine. Heroes who’ve been around longer will remember the involvement of Noir shipments in the attack on Palamède. Needless to say, hurrying to the Double Duo arena is the best course of action for now.

Lasker is often dubbed the Double Duo capital of the world, and you’ll find no better evidence of that grand claim than its jam-packed arena. Excited chatter fills the air as throngs of Double Duo enthusiasts fill the seats, making no attempt to keep their voices down. You can hear them talk about how they’re looking forward to the new Hero cards’ release.

All questions concerning Hero cards, shipments, or even Black Lightning will unhelpfully point you towards Heroes the Gathering, a popular hobby shop. There isn’t any other shop quite like it: with its vast collection of Hero-related goods on display, from holographic sticker sets to limited edition figurines of your favorite Queen, it could almost rival some of Caissa’s latest shopping haunts for the completeness of its selection. Look at your literal mugshot on a cutely-shaped mug! See one of your latest party members inexplicably wearing a maid costume on that fan! Just don’t let your crush catch you buying their body pillow. From what the staff and regular customers will tell you, it looks like Hero cards will be super rare—with the price range to match.

There are posters plastered all over the walls, revealing the release date of those new Hero cards: COMING SOON... 20TH ROSA. The striking contrast of its black, white, and red scheme make it pop against the busy, vivid colors of the shop. Most notable is the blood red moon behind the text, looming in the distance. Those shivers are back, aren’t they? Maybe the staff does know something.

“I hear D’Amore’s shipping them,” a young shop worker sporting twintails and a poorly made Hero uniform cosplay informs you.

“Don’t you mean Rambaldi?”

“The dead can’t do business, honey.”

“No, they’re already selling them in Sokrovich!” an avid collector chimes in.

“Shipments? Aren’t they coming in by caravan?”

Answers continue to vary as you ask in and around the shop. You might have to scour every inch of Lasker and its surrounding fields at this rate. Or buy merchandise. What else is there to do?

THREE ♟ Card Shark

You’ve already combed through all the areas by teatime. No matter what information you’ve managed to scrounge, you can’t shake the feeling that you’re being led on a wild goose chase. However, your luck will change if you manage to stumble upon the carriages holding the shipments of Hero cards. Be prepared to face some resistance.

As it turns out, there are assassins lying in wait to ambush Heroes along the back roads. Noir is here! Any feeling of dread you had? Completely justified. Well-hidden mages launch spells from a distance and soldiers armed to the teeth await around every corner. Remain vigilant: Noir forces have set up booby traps that range from simple spikes that prick your feet to complex contraptions that can kill entire mobs. Most peculiar is their method of attack: with their enchanted cards, they hypnotise your allies AND imbue them with sundry card effects*, forcing you to fight each other. The hypnotized party will be completely under their spell, so find a way to knock some sense back into them. Otherwise, you may have to take more drastic measures. Et tu, Brute?

*Card effects may include bonuses to weapons (such as elemental attacks) or magical spells (such as status effects). You may even find yourself with mild body horror or other disastrous effects. This includes dramatic, optional changes in outfit or hairstyle or other aspects of appearance, etc. All effects are TEMPORARY and will vanish within an hour after hypnosis is removed, or if the affected party is killed in action.

After weathering ambushes from Noir, Heroes will discover a source of the shipments. You may come up with your own minor location: be it an obscure warehouse, an abandoned mansion at the city outskirts, a crypt in a local cemetery, a cellar beneath an ice cream shop, a trapdoor beneath a rich widow’s bed, and more! Noir security on the shipments is bristling and they are not happy to see you. They will aggressively resist arrest, so bring them back dead or alive! Captured Noir forces will disappear thanks to a special enchanted card before interrogation can begin, but they leave behind what searching the bodies of those slain will also yield: the card, which bears the symbol of a black rose and has lost its enchanted properties, and written information on the back of said card about other shipments scattered throughout Lasker. It doesn’t specify any locations, though. An amateur detective’s work is never done!

As for the shipment you secured, you better take care of those cards before they come back to bite you later! Sending parts of the shipment back to Caissa may prove worthwhile, but making a bonfire out of the entire thing might just be the brighter idea. You decide.

INFO ♟ Welcome!

Welcome to Crosscheck's June intro log! For any further questions, please see the FAQ or reach us at the Contact Us page. Have fun!

Comments

c

[soulshift]

Advice?

[ Irisviel giggles slightly. Her own carrier - a white dove with a flower crown is sitting perched on the white ushanka styled cap on her head. It coos at Rin, before flying off somewhere. ]

I think sometimes people tend to overthink everything here... sometimes the simplest solutions work the best.

[ This girl looked rather young, she notes. Maybe she hasn't had much experience of combat? ]

[defenceless]

[that's anything but the truth, when she's started her own holy grail war already... but rin doesn't look much like a battle-hardened woman, staring in wonder at the beautiful dove as it flies away. it suits its owner.

and that's the other piece occupying her attention—she couldn't have told it from a distance, but this woman unmistakably calls a certain label to mind: einzbern. how is a homunculus surviving without magic?]

Well, I can't deny that has a lot of truth to it. Why waste your time on anything but what guarantees you success?

[soulshift]

Ah, that sounds familiar somehow...

[ She couldn't help but feel that there were some magi with that philosophy going into the Fourth Grail War. Not like she was a fan of it, but it wasn't her place to make any particular judgement considering how Kiritsugu wanted to win the war. Irisviel continues to smile however, as her own carrier flies back with a red poppy in its mouth. ]

Myrtledove, what do you have there?

[ she says softly to the bird, which immediately proceeds to attempt to offer the flower to Rin. ]

[defenceless]

[it's not a surprising perspective for a magus to have. rin thinks nothing of her comment; in fact, her thoughts are overwhelmingly consumed by the white dove when the carrier returns with the present of a poppy for her. she opens her hand, ready to gently receive the gift.]

Ah... thank you?

[(of course, rin's misbehaving carrier is busy prancing around in the background, forgetting its first bird prize in favor of licking the air.)]

[soulshift]

[ There's a gentle laugh from Irisviel as Myrtledove flies and rests on her hat again with a contented coo. It's pleased with itself and Irisviel gives Rin a warm smile. ]

It likes flowers and it likes giving them to people. But it's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Irisviel von Einzbern.

[defenceless]

[exactly as she'd assumed.

inwardly, rin's mental musings screech to a halt, but there's no sign of her shock on her face or in how she smoothly accepts the poppy, sending a sweet smile back at both irisviel and up at myrtledove before she pockets the bloom carefully in her uniform.]

Mmm, the pleasure's all mine. I am [she's sort of imagining her family name may be familiar as well, and bracing for it—] Rin Tohsaka.

[soulshift]

Tohsaka?

[ The name surprises her, a little. So she was from that magus family, huh? Irisviel has many encounters with alternate timelines to know that she may or may not be from the family she knows, but didn't Kiritsugu mention that Tokiomi had a family? Was she related to him? ]

Would you know a Tokiomi Tohsaka?

[ asks Irisviel with a kindly expression, not intending any judgement. ]

[defenceless]

[it's the same for irisviel. there was no reason to suppose she's a member of more recent einzberns until the woman herself states her father's name is known to her. that must make her the one involved in the fourth holy grail war.]

Yes. He's... my father.

[hopefully, irisviel shared no involvement in his tragic death. she doesn't want to take out enemies so soon...]

[soulshift]

[ Tokiomi did have a daughter. A daughter that he left behind thanks to the Holy Grail War. There was no doubt that if she was from a mage family, she would have been to be a magus from an early age. Which means that she's someone to be taken seriously.

Would Illya be around Rin's age now?

Would she see Illya again?

It's a bit too much to hope for at the minute. ]

llya...

[ She says, involuntarily. But Irisviel gathers herself up despite her slip up. ]

It's a pleasure to meet you Rin Tohsaka. I bear no hostility towards your family in the slightest despite having fought with your father previously. In a new world, I believe that it would be amiss of the lives previously lost to not try and cooperate with one another.

[defenceless]

[illya. rin knows that name. ever so slightly, unseen, her teeth grit together and she remembers the rage and sadness at witnessing that young girl's disgraced corpse.

they all have tragedies. rin's is that she was raised from a young age to succeed her father, but a formal, complete education as your family's heir is a little hard to come by when he dies before you turn 10.

irisviel is nice enough. her carrier is impeccable, too. but she's a magus, so—]

With all due respect, Miss Irisviel von Einzbern, I can't very well trust you without knowing the nature of your involvement in the War. Particularly, it wouldn't be very smart of me to make nice with a woman who may have been involved in my father's death.

[rin says that, bringing her hands together neatly at her waist. it's any other conversation for how polite she is, but this caution is part of her life.]

If you have nothing to regret or truly wish to make amends, it shouldn't be hard to tell me what I want to know.

[soulshift]

[ Irisviel is silent for a minute, before nodding her head and beginning to explain.]

Your father and I were in negotiations to form alliance to deal with Rider and Berserker. While we did not form an alliance, he consented to a truce until the defeat of those Servants upon my conditions.

[ She felt proud of herself as she thought she was finally able to protect Kiritsugu, but at the same time, she knew that these events would mark the end of her life. ]

One of those conditions was Kirei Kotomine leaving Japan and having no further involvement with the Holy Grail War. Tokiomi consented. Kirei Kotomine would leave the country. However...

[ Irisviel looks down, looking at her hands with a downcast expression. She sighs with all the heaviness in the world and in that moment, she felt more like the Vessel for the Grail than Irisviel von Einzbern. But for Rin Tohsaka's sake, she continued. She looked the girl straight in the eye. ]

I was kidnapped by Kirei Kotomine, who had been manipulating Berserker and his master, Kariya Matou.

[ She hated that room that he had brought her to in Fuyuki City Hall. She hated Kirei Kotomine more than she had hated anyone in her entire life. ]

He was obsessed with my husband. He asked me what my husband would wish from the Grail if he were the victor.

[ Irisviel's voice becomes more uncertain, wavering despite her best efforts. ]

The answer displeased him... so he considered it fit to kill me...

[ She wasn't sure what had happened after that, for it was all dreams of black ichor and homunculus failures in that space that was her merging with the Grail. ]

I do not know what happened to your father. But I believe something happened between him and that priest before I was kidnapped.

[defenceless]

[this may be yet another instance, for rin, of requesting something and being unprepared for what she receives. she'd like to think she's strong, resilient, and heartless as the best magi are; unfortunately, she's young. in the wake of irisviel's struggling, she unconsciously steps forward. gone is the sterile facade she would put up in front of an enemy.

rin isn't dumb enough not to realize she'll regret asking. in hearing about a grail war beyond her grail war, though, one common factor, one man, has never changed. kirei.]

You believe Kirei Kotomine was my father's murderer...?

[despite herself, it checks out. she had always suspected it, hadn't she?

how pitiful.]

[soulshift]

[ Irisviel is silent for a long moment. Myrtledove flaps its wings and coos in a comforting manner, sensing its owner's sadness. ]

My apologies, Miss Tohsaka.

[ The poor child. She can imagine all the anger and upset that would be in her to know about her father's murderer's identity. Irisviel can only imagine how Illya would feel if she found out that Irisviel was killed by that loathsome priest after making designs on her father. As much as she wants to protect these innocent souls of the world, there are some people who are just out to sully it all. ]

I appreciate that it is difficult to take but judging from his behaviour, I would not rule it out.

[ Subconsciously, she puts a hand to her throat and rubs her neck. Once before, Kirei Kotomine's hands were there and strangling her to death. It was a hard sensation to be completely rid of. ]

[defenceless]

[to say she's angry and upset would feel like an understatement to rin, but it's as if the rage hits her delayed, so much more sharp now that it's really set in. she bows her head. she squeezes her eyes shut. her hands close into fists and she's silent, trembling.

she damns kirei to any hell that will take him.]

[soulshift]

[ Rin's rage and anger is palpable from the way she's standing, her head bowed and eyes shut as if trying to process everything.

Of course it would be too much. Irisviel knows what magus families have to go through. Her father would have taught her and passed the family magecraft to her. To have that taken away from such a young age would have been devastating.

The impulse that wells within her is to embrace Rin, so she approaches to wrap her in a warm embrace. Because this girl really needed someone who would offer her some modicum of comfort. It was the least Irisviel could do in this situation. ]

[defenceless]

[she's not supposed to show her emotions, as a magus, either. rin fails at this, too.

her plan was to make it impossible to comfort her. any weakness she has exposed would be stamped out quickly, especially in front of irisviel. but her reaction is a little too obvious, and lasts too long, so her arms are able to ensnare her. rin's head perks up, embarrassed at the gesture. her resentment fades.

still, irisviel is warm, soft, motherly.

she can't remember the last time her own mother hugged her like this.]

M-Miss von Einzbern!

[she has to insist the homunculus doesn't trouble herself. right? her father and her husband were sworn opponents.]

[soulshift]

Shh...

[ says Irisviel as she holds Rin closer to her. Irisviel is reminded of the people she had comforted in this position - first Kiritsugu. Illya. Maiya. Saber. Hakuno. Maki. Now Rin. Her warmth was all that she could offer them, but it was enough to soothe them. ]

My dying thoughts were of my husband and my daughter. I think my daughter would be about your age now.

[ What was left unsaid was that she had an idea of Rin's rage and anger. Illya would have been in the exact same position - she lost her mother and father to the Fourth Grail War. Not to mention to Kotomine Kirei at that. But she was a magus and would have been brought up as one, in that terribly lonely existence. ]

Ms Tohsaka - no, Rin. If I cannot assuage you, then I couldn't bear to face Illya if she ever were to come back to me.

[ A tear rolls down her face, despite herself. ]

[defenceless]

[it lands on the shoulder of rin's uniform, and despite how small the pinprick of moisture is, it draws compassion from her. she's an awkward, motionless weight in irisviel's arms that's squeezed as the older woman will hug her. but eventually—gingerly—rin brings up her hands to place them against her elbows.]

Miss von Einzbern...

[what should she do? she can't refuse this. it would be impossibly rude to just push her away. if irisviel upholds her as some kind of replacement for illya, how can she abandon her without disrespecting the small body she buried? it's more than that, of course. irisviel is emotional and wise in a way rin isn't, yet. she's perfect. her logic checks out. no one could beat down a determined mother who fights for her child. rin would be the same sort of mother.

what should she say?

at a loss, rin tries to reassure her, in a very tender voice.]

—Miss von Einzbern. It's fine. I've grown up since then, and it's been many years.

[then and there, she decides she won't tell her illya has died. what monster would?]

Save up your hugs for your daughter, when she also arrives as a Hero.

[soulshift]

Please, call me Irisviel.

[ It takes a moment for Irisviel to really pull herself back together, but she finally releases Rin from that embrace. Slowly. She's not sure whether the hug was for herself or for Rin by that point, because Irisviel was still unused to the torrent of emotions that occasionally came from her. Having only lived for a grand total of ten years, there was still much of the emotional spectrum that she had to experience. ]

You're such a strong girl... but you don't have to keep it all bottled in.

[ Myrtledove flutters back, the carrier resting on Irisviel's shoulder this time now that they had some distance between them. The bird gives a gentle melodic coo in agreement. ]

Please, come to me if you need anything.

[defenceless]

Irisviel, if you insist.

[it feels clumsy on her tongue to say it, and it likely sounds as much. rin is already thinking that she'll never seek her out, that she'll always keep what needs to be held in firmly screwed tight with a lid. to let irisviel suddenly become a personal part of her life isn't wise—even if the woman means well, this makes no sense and she would be another liability.

for now, she answers, breathing in with her freedom from the hug and meeting irisviel's ruby eyes with a sweet, but at best subdued, smile.]

Okay, Irisviel. I'll be sure to do that.

[she won't.

irisviel may have to continue to look after her from afar and insert herself into her struggles, perhaps.]