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

train.gif

[digophelia]

[ The creature on Alice's hand titters to her as she gently scratches it's head. The moment it descended on her shoulder, the moment Alice decided initially that she was going to like it. It wasn't a frightening creature, to her, it was darling and, actually, a creature of Wonderland, too. Granted, it would have been an enemy to Alice at one point, back in Queensland, though not now. Aside from the omega pendant around her neck, it was the only piece of Wonderland she had.

As frightening as this Cardiavion is, it's flinchy, hissing as it decides to hide underneath Alice's long dark hair as soon as they both hear that voice.

Alice was content being on her own and turns around, green eyes going wide in surprise. It's generally considered uncouth for a man to be this close in a lady's quarters, servant or not, and Alice doesn't take to kindly to it. The Cardiavion burrowing in her hair, frightened as it is, Alice slides off her perch- ]

What do you think you're doing?

[ Both genders sharing a space is a foreign concept. She treats him like an intruder. This small, slender girl is stronger than she looks and promptly storms over and shoves him out. ]

Leave!

[babbylon]

[First observation: that's one ugly... whatever it is. Second observation: was that a child? Gilgamesh was hardly prudish when it came to nudity but Alice may not be the only one now questioning his lack of attire. He sifts around for something, but before he can throw it on he finds himself accosted somehow.]

What...?

[She's... she's shoving him. This little girl's literally just pushing him out the door. He barely recovers from his shock quickly enough to step in again, incensed.]

Who gave you permission to touch me? Fall over and die!

[Gilgamesh shoves her right back! What a stirring conversation this has become.]

[digophelia]

I don't need permission.

[ The carrier is hissing behind Alice's hair, wings flapping wildly as if to add in to Alice's commentary. Unfortunately, she is prudish, and she's also very violent, wasting no time whatsoever to throw her fists.

That also includes the small girl hauling the back of her hand to slap him. ]

[babbylon]

[Gilgamesh slaps her back.

This could go on for a while.]

[digophelia]

[ It very well could, if it weren't for her carrier, swooping in, hissing even more. Alice opts to solve that by finally taking her foot, and kick him, hard, in the stomach to give her distance, nearly shrieking at him- ]

Don't touch me, you lecherous abomination!

[babbylon]

[Well, this was pretty much terrible. Made all the more so by the apparent fact he's lost a great deal of his stamina and now couldn't take a kick to the gut from an angry child without falling over himself. Which he does. Ungracefully.

Honestly he's not even mad so much as totally baffled that this was even happening at all. Not one of his finer moments, he muses from the floor.]

Toss me the uniform, at least.

[He thinks it was a uniform on his sheets. He hadn't gotten a good look at it before this crazy girl started wailing on him. Maybe she'll stop with a bit of negotiation.]

[digophelia]

[ Thankfully, Alice has somehow avoided getting a good look at him, allowing her long hair to fall in her face to cover it. The cardiavion flutters over to show Alice what's going on. ]

Thank you, at least someone has manners here.

[ Of course she prefers the company of this thing than this man. Without looking at him, she tosses it at his face. ]

[babbylon]

[Yeah, thanks for nothing, bitch.

Gilgamesh cautiously takes up residence in the corner and starts putting the uniform on. Granted, he was the one who started throwing things first, but that didn't grant her authority to go throwing around her fists. What an unruly young lady. Fall over and die really does sum up his feelings on the matter.]

First order of business: hit me and I will hit back. Do not put your hands upon me again lest you invoke my severe displeasure.

[Just in case she felt like starting another slap war, which he would win, but it deserved mentioning anyway.]

Second order of business: I've no idea who you are. I cannot be blamed for disorientation, making your overreactions embarrassing and unnecessary.

[Hypocrisy? What hypocrisy? ...at least the clothes were comfy.]

[digophelia]

I think if you're going to say anything about overreactions, you ought to follow your own advice.

[ She hasn't even dressed in her uniform yet. She stands there still in her bloodied apron, letting her carrier shuffle down her hand and perch on her arm. Her attention is on the creature, she doesn't look at him, except adds- ]

It's uncouth for a man to share a room with a woman who isn't his wife. What are you doing here?

[babbylon]

[Gilgamesh was not the sort to disturb easily, but now that he's gotten a good look at her a bloody apron does not seem at all appropriate attire for a young woman of stable sanity. Something's off about her that he can't quite place yet, though mostly he's just focused on remedying the naked situation.

In immediate retrospect, the naked situation may have been what set her off more than anything else, given her views on the uncouth. He snorts.]

I've had many wives. Perhaps we were wed and you forgot as much in a drunken stupor.

[Not helping, Gilgamesh. Trying again, more seriously now:]

I woke up in another world. I suspect it is the same for you given your state of surprise.

[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. ]