INTRO ♚ FEBRUARY

[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.

ONE ♟ Settling In

Welcome to Blanc! You wake up on one of the beds inside the Hall of Glory. You might still be feeling a little light-headed, but sudden dimensional travel will do that to a body. You could have sworn visions of a fantastic world flashed before your eyes not long ago: monsters, magic, and a mission to save the world. You can't quite recall much beyond the basics, but could this be it?

Save your questions for later! The room nannies are quick to urge Heroes into their uniforms (with their beaks if necessary) and to point them to the pick-up locations for their Blanc-issued Weapons and Carriers. Hopefully, nobody but the pigeon’s watching you change. On the other hand, maybe you're the type to turn every roommate into a new friend before you even step foot outside the room.

As you make your way down the halls, you might notice strangely familiar faces around you. But don’t linger too long to chat—the people in charge of the armory and the menagerie have gone through many Heroes before you, and still have many more to go after you. NPCs need meal breaks, too! If you don’t make a decision in time, the random Weapons and/or Carriers they pick for you can be just a little odd.

And if you’re hungry? No matter how rich you were in your homeworld, you’re penniless now until you earn some colle. Thankfully, the Hall of Glory provides free meals to Heroes and those associated with them! Sunday’s breakfast and lunch are bananalicious and seafood pasta. A friendly visiting scholar may have a word of advice for you: “Beware the dining hall on Mondays.”

But you’ll barely have time for lunch before guards come and round you up. “For the parade,” is the only reason they’ll give you.

TWO ♟ Welcome Celebrations

Trumpets sound, cymbals clang and the crowd roars as the parade gets underway! What’s all the fuss about? Well, you Heroes were sent by the gods to save Blanc, right? Of course they’d celebrate! Smiling and waving at the citizens of Caissa from your uniquely crafted float might be a chore, but hey, they love you. Are you really going to let them down, or lose the spotlight to the fellow Heroes sharing your float?

The reception after the Prime Minister’s speech is like some kind of idol session, with Caissa citizens coming up to shake hands and welcome the Heroes warmly. Some are even asking for autographs!

There’s a lot of things to do in festive and lively Caissa, even late into the night under a light fall of snow. Sparrow Town is all lit up, ready for another festival next week.

While some shops are closed for the holiday, others have buffet tables or are giving out free samples to the Heroes. The food stalls here are way better than the bizarre cafeteria menu at the Hall of Glory! Why waste the opportunity to finally gorge on real food? The shop owners have done their best to impress, showing off their local cuisines proudly along the city streets: from the local hamburger joint to the exotic L'adderan curries, you'll find a little of everything to whet your palate. Your growling stomach will likely thank you for the food. … Oh, wait. That wasn’t you? You think the fish sandwich on your plate just sang? Nonsense. That just means you had a marvelous piece of fish bread. Please remember to visit them again sometime when you have the colle, okay?

Various stalls with games and activities have also been set up. Maybe you can impress the crowd by nailing an apple with an arrow or by sacrificing your friend(s) at the water tanks! An unusual Go-style stall offers something like fish scooping, but be careful: touching the fish with your bare hands will leave you feeling funny… Wow, you’ve never seen that color before! But whatever it takes to impress the children, right?

Said children might try and get you to dance in the falling snow. Better not mess up, though, because everyone in Caissa seems to be watching.

THREE ♟ The Day After

Hopefully, you didn’t sleep too late after yesterday’s celebrations! Or maybe you slept badly, since it felt like something was watching you…

The free breakfast that awaits you at the dining hall is… something special. Please enjoy it to your heart’s content! Remember: no food fights, and leave no leftovers! Nothing will save you from the chef’s disapproving mustache swirl if you do!

If you want to make money (to get away from Monday’s Horrors), there are now jobs up for taking at the Hall of Glory and the Poisoned Pawn! If there’s nothing to your taste, check back again every so often. Something new might pop up!

Heroes not in the mood to be errand-runners (it’s understandable, you’re Heroes after all!) can hang out in the parlor, read in the library, or express yourself in one of the Hall’s many studios or other rooms.

If lying back and taking it slow isn’t your thing, you could train or spar! Being summoned to a new world takes a toll on the body, and some Heroes have lost abilities familiar to them. Besides, it’ll take a while to get used to your weapons. Some of them might even be disobedient, backfiring at worst and unresponsive at best. Try not to hit your fellow Heroes (including yourself), or you’ll either have to find enough Heroes to cast weak healing spells or carry the wounded to the infirmary. While the snow has been cleared overnight, it’s still very cold!

INFO ♟ Welcome!

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Comments

[digophelia]

I don't drink.

[ She still has herself turned from him, but now thanks to her previous experiences with similar lines, she's scanning the room for a weapon. She's bit, scratched, kicked, and punched orderlies hard enough to where they wouldn't touch her. Often. She finds herself dreading to be back in a situation like that again. Being in the same room with a man with a lack of undress is already alarming.

What he says nearly has her flying off in a fit of rage. She'd never say she had no plans to be a wife or thought she'd be considered enough for it. Poor girl, she instantly moves further away, and begins to rummage.

She's not changing around him, too, and throws the uniform over her shoulders (and is eternally grateful for the skirt option) and plans to storm off shortly. ]

That doesn't answer my question. I'm not sharing a space with a man, especially a man who can't curb is tongue.

[ Where the hell was her knife? Or any knife for that matter. ]

[babbylon]

Then get out.

[That sure seemed like a simple enough solution. Gilgamesh makes no attempt to actively upset her again, but he does walk into her space without fear—he'd been pretty clear with ground rules so if she tries another attack she can only blame herself for what happens next.

That being said, he doesn't linger, either, moving back to his bed instead.]

You are not chained to these quarters, as far as I'm aware. Nor will anyone force you to abide my presence.

[She's so lean, he notes. It's actually a bit bothersome. When had she eaten last? Was she some form of slave girl? He wonders.]

[digophelia]

I intend to.

[ Her carrier hops along her shoulder, hissing and flapping it's wings wildly, as if to add "YEAH! THAT'S RIGHT!". She has no sentimental attachment to this room, other than furiously patting her apron's pocket, wrapping her hands around her sister's key.

Thank goodness.

It's the only thing she has of her family now, nothing else left. Who thought this was a good idea to put her in a room with a man? The last few moments of that man's life-

Well, needless to say, it makes Alice more cagey and hostile. ]

You can have it as far as I'm concerned, I'd rather sleep in a hallway than here, especially if a man fancies women like they're gold coins than actual beings.

[babbylon]

You're far too woeful to be worth anything more than a few pieces of copper.

[Gold, after all, was a precious resource. This girl looked ready to blow away in the slightest gust of wind, or wither from the slightest bit of sun. Not someone he'd spend the evening with, so at least she doesn't have to worry after any of his more intimate advances. He's definitively not interested.

He goes as far as to shoo her off with a wave of his hand, kicking back like he's king of the castle. He may as well be.]

Weep quietly, if you must. Outside. It disturbs my rest otherwise.

[digophelia]

[ That, at least, gets a scoff from Alice, who barely glances. She almost lets out a sarcastic laugh, after so long she's been devoid of actually laughing. But she would, if she could. ]

Weep? Does it look like I'm the type?

[ She's cried before, several times, and likely almost cried here. Her tears even filled up that small room after falling the rabbit hole, but that's besides the point. It's her way to subtly point out the fact that she is still very much almost covered in blood. Red bits of it splashed on her apron, still fresh after her encounter in Moorsgate Station.

She didn't have to say it verbally, but the hint was there, she wouldn't hesitate to inflict harm on another. ]

Heaven forbid if anyone disturb your rest, maybe a nap would do you some good before you have another temper tantrum. What an overgrown child you are.

[ She is fully aware of the fact that her attire is childish, she looks younger than she is, and she is, well, small. Still, there's a need for her to add that in. ]

[babbylon]

And what does that make you? Some slave girl running her mouth?

[Gilgamesh finds this conversation fast taking a turn for the annoying, but like Alice, he refuses to back down when challenged. He's just as stubborn and perhaps even more childish, asserting himself in the arrogant manner that he does, insisting that he's right.

This was going to be a very long and very painful stay for the both of them at this rate.]

For gods' sake, you look as though you've been beaten upon arrival. If that's not your "type", then tell me, what is it?

[He's not actively trying to be cruel. But if she wanted to be treated a certain way, she would have to set the tone, or else risk Gilgamesh bullying his way past that too.]

[digophelia]

It means I'll cut your fingers off if you touch me again.

[ She didn't want to go into a long explanation of what she's done. She's done a lot of things, but hardly got beaten herself. There's barely a bruise on her, not a single cut. The blood on her apron was merely from self-defense and vengeance. She's sure that even a bit of Bumby's blood is on her apron -- even small bits of blood on her cheek. Back to her carrier, Alice extends a hand, getting it to step up on her arm, so that it can nestle in a crook of her arm. ]

Come on, little one, at least you have better manners, don't you?

[ It's odd, she's more gentle and delicate with this creature, after violently thrashing this man. Alice taps the creature gently with a finger, almost cooing at it. ]

You can explore with me, yes? Let's go find out with what's going on.

[ She'll just... ignore the flapping and squawking of the nanny bird behind her. ]