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!

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

Comments

[harassing]

[ He lets Setsuna set the pace. It’s not like he’s in a hurry to be somewhere, anyway. And Shinya would have been glad to know how acute Setsuna’s observations were, even while faced with whatever strange, worrying fever was coursing through him. ]

Shinya Hiiragi. But don’t worry-- I won’t be offended if you forget, in your current state.

[quaria]

[ There... really is something nostalgic with the way this person talks to him. But he tries not to think about it. It's not fair to any of them, and he didn't want to become that weak. No, he's not weak at all. He's no longer a child... So instead, he lets his eyes wander, hoping to distract himself from those thoughts. ]

... Shinya Hiiragi.

[ He repeats it, committing it to memory. It seems that he's determined not to forget. And he definitely won't. This feeling is something not new to him at least, as he felt this way when he met that person's younger brother... They never will be the same person. No one can ever replace that person. ]

[harassing]

[ It isn't too long before they finally reach the facility, and once they do, Shinya decides to do most of the talking, so that Setsuna can focus on maintaining his balance and whatnot. He stops the attendant, nodding his head towards Setsuna. ]

Ah, hello. My hero friend here, Setsuna F. Seiei... isn't feeling so great. Would you mind letting him rest here for a bit and looking at his vitals?

[ "Hero" being the key word that gets the other man to pay attention, and with a nod, they're being led to one of the empty areas. Shinya isn't quite sure he trusts the medicine here, given the timezone they seemed to have stepped into, so "checking his vitals" might not be such a viable strategy, but whatever they can give to help him would be appreciated.

He helps Setsuna onto the bed. ]

Here we go. That wasn't so bad.

[quaria]

[ Perhaps it's due to the softness and overall comfortable sensation of the cool sheets underneath him, but the moment Setsuna is seated on the bed, he could feel the dizzy spell finally hit him. He was originally going to say that he's fine with plain headache medicine, but now he can't even refute and say that.

Pushing himself at this point would be a bad idea. Setsuna knows that if he wants to get things done later, then he needs to stay put and recover. Even for just a little while, it's better than being stubborn and risk his productivity further. So once he feels his vision spinning, he proceeds to lie down.

He closes his eyes for the moment, hoping the sensation would pass. Eventually, he reopens them and tries to look over to Shinya's direction. ]

... I will be fine here. I do not wish to trouble you further.

[harassing]

You think you can get rid of me so easy, huh?

[ Unfortunately for Setsuna's pride, Shinya has already taken a seat by the bedside. It's a comfy chair, and there is even a nice stack of magazines to keep him occupied, should it come to that. As if he can sense his master's resolution to stay, Byakko jumps on the second chair, curling up to make himself comfortable.

Honestly, he normally isn't so charitable, especially not with total strangers, but Setsuna's been kind so far, and it's not like there's pressing business to attend to. ]

It's fine. Rest easy, now.

i'm sorry, i lost my icon keywords so the earlier tags are ruined ;;

[quaria]

Ah— n, no.

[ Setsuna wanted to say that isn't it... He keeps looking over at Shinya with concern, knowing that he's taking this person's time more than necessary. But he doesn't seem to mind, despite the fact they've only met today. He really is a kind person... Just like—

He sighs to himself. How can he avoid thinking about this, it's difficult when that kindness is too familiar to him. Perhaps added conversation will help him... That way, hopefully he can get to know this young man more. It's an attempt to set everything apart like he did to that person. Get to know him, and forget such childish feelings. ]

Um... [ First things first, he needs to think about a topic... ] You have quite a carrier, there...

[ ... ... It's a start, at least. ]