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

[avantguard]

[ There's a small pause and then Asuna feels a wan smile spread across her face. Since she's alone, this is probably a nice way to look at it. For the most part though, it's still a creature she's not used to.

But it's cute so she keeps it around. ]

Oh. [ She understands maybe a second too late. She wants to try sending a message to each other. Maybe... it would be beneficial to learn. She's already been stuck here a full day. She's already attempted to find normal means of communication with no luck. Still, the look she shoots her Carrier is a little anxious.

But then she offers Astrid a small nod. ] Okay. I don't mind.

[ She has no idea how to do it. But, ] First, we... probably need each other's names, don't we? I'm Asuna Yuuki.

[ Her head bows politely. She doesn't need her full name but HABITS. ]

[brawlhalla]

That...makes sense. [ Astrid's plan amounts to "Star, send a message to whoever", so a name would help. Her plan is admittedly not very detailed, but she's not Hiccup and this isn't a battle.

She's better with battles. ]

I'm Astrid Hofferson. [ The head-bow isn't a viking thing, but Astrid copies Asuna a little uncertainly, before straightening up and putting her hands on her hips. ]

You can just call me Astrid, though.

[avantguard]

[ If it's anything like sending a letter she's used to, names are important.

Asuna's next smile is a little more relaxed and genuine, recognizing that the both of them aren't so different from each other and are just trying to deal with this the best they can. Maybe Astrid is handling is a little better since she's a viking.

Asuna is just a schoolgirl, help. ]

You can call me Asuna, then. And this is... um.

[ She looks down at the white rabbit and suddenly thinks of a name. ]

This is Mochi.

[brawlhalla]

[ Whenever Astrid picks up on Asuna not knowing how to fight (she...automatically assumes everyone has had at least some training) she can Help With That. For now, though, she smiles back at the slight relaxation, and the name. ]

Nice to meet you both. I already introduced you to Starsharp, but - [ She shrugs her shoulder again, and the dragon chitters, looking down at Mochi properly this time. ]

So - the best way to do this is hopefully just to ask, right? [ If nothing happens and she looks stupid, at least only one person and two carriers will be around to witness the atrocity. ] Star - I want you to send a message to Asuna, please. With the...vi...video thing?

[ Astrid stumbles over the word, having to remember it. She gets a look of "you mean this person right here?" but the dragon promptly turns her head to focus on Astrid. ]

...What are you - oh! Uh. Okay, I don't know what to say. Hi?

[ Should something be happening? She turns back to Asuna with a little shrug. ]

[avantguard]

[ Since Astrid stumbles over a word as simple as "video" she puts a few pieces together. Earlier she had mentioned she was a viking. While at first she had been unsure about how true, or possible, that was she gets the feeling she wasn't lying.

After Astrid's random 'Hi', her hand lifts to cover her mouth so she doesn't see her almost laughing. It's not like she would do any better but the struggle is real. She clears her throat, being serious again. She wasn't laughing. ]

When you're finished, I imagine you can probably just tell Star to send it as is and I'll get the message.

[brawlhalla]

[ LOOK...

Okay no at least only One Person (and two carriers) are witnessing her struggle doing this for the first time. Truly, doing this for the entire network to see would have been Much Worse. ]

That...that should do it, Star, just send it. [ She still wants to die a little, though. UGH. Being undignified is terrible how does Hiccup stand it???

That seems to be enough for Star to go on, although bouncing the mana stream to Mochi who is...right there, is child's play and this is dumb. ASTRID, WHY ARE YOU MAKING HER DO SOMETHING SO DUMB. ]

[avantguard]

[ The silver lining to this is Asuna has just been crying and sad and angry so the light hearted moment is something she'll never forget.

Asuna won't make fun of her. It's not like she would, or will, do much better. And Mochi lets her know that she has a message. For the sake of preserving Astrid's dignity, she doesn't play it. Just knowing she receiving it is enough. ]

My turn, right? [ She bends down to Mochi's level and thanks to Astrid, her attempt is much smoother after all. ]

Mochi, I'd like you to send a video message to Astrid. [ A PAUSE. ]

Hello to you, too. [ She couldn't help herself... ] Please, send.

[ Mochi is just having fun with this because Asuna has not had her WORK AT ALL. HAVE A NEW MESSAGE, STAR. Asuna stands after gathering her newly-named rabbit into her arms and waits. ]

[brawlhalla]

[ There's a snort at Asuna's light teasing reply - was it meant to be? - but Astrid relaxes a little more, smiling even as she crosses her arms. It seems like that's her default body language rather than indicating tensing up or getting angry. ]

All that leaves is... [ Star indicating she has a message. Now to see what the hell a "video" is. "Audio" had at least sort of made sense to her, so she'd deliberately picked the one she was most "what the fuck" about. It seemed the best way to go about clearing things up. ]

Star, give me the message. [ LET'S...LET'S SEE WHAT HAPPENS, HERE. Astrid may or may not be shooting her dragon carrier a seriously wary look - which is shattered when her eyes widen as Star's eyes project Asuna's image, hanging there in the air and speaking the words she'd just said to Mochi.

Hello to you, too. Star's mouth opens to send out the sound, and it's all very...

it's all very what the fuck, to be frank. But it strikes up a tangentially familiar chord as Astrid reaches out to wave a hand through the image. ]

It's - it's not exactly like it, but the dragon's eye... [ Like Star is the lens, only the images aren't still frame writing and drawings that can be seen through dragon fire. It's a moving image, too perfect to be drawn. ] Great Odin's beard!

[avantguard]

[ Well, THE HOLOGRAMS are definitely interesting but she's not that surprised by it. She comes from a point in time where technology is pretty advanced. In fact, the reason she thought she was here was because she was trying out a virtual reality thing. A video game about swords.

One she's stuck in now, she thinks. ]

Great what?

[ Asuna repeats, confused. It's not that amazing but then again VIKING. She can guess that this is pretty new. Astrid had kind of struggled with the act of just sending a video. Not that it's a bad thing. ]

Um, but it looks like communicating really is possible with our Car-- er, with Star and Mochi. I really don't understand this world.

[ VIDEO GAMES ARE SO WEIRD. ]