pawnstorm | intro ♚ september

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intro ♚ september

WELCOME TO Grantebrycge

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 ♟ Video Killed The Radio Star

Rise and shine, Heroes. It seems that today is filled with good fortune as the morning is very uneventful, aside from the monthly arrival of new comrades. This is the perfect time to grab your weapon, Carrier and uniform and use your time to look around Caissa. While exploring or catching up on the latest gossip, you might blow past the delivery carriages outside of the Hall of Glory, but you certainly won’t be missing the steampunk televisions and vending machines which will be set up around noon time by your lovely maids and butlers! The TVs are placed in every single bedroom as well as leisure rooms so you can enjoy your daily fix of popular cooking show Inferno Kitchen, primetime Cheoksan drama Summer Cantata or the Gammonian hit series Sport of Crowns! The vending machines can be found in the hallways and contain snacks and drinks such as canned mackin’ cheese (or as Noirs like to call it, Lovekraft Supper), Pooky, Cpt. Pepperoni, Mountin' Do, or Eight Up. You are free to come up with your own TV show or vending machine food items.

Thierry Toussaint
My dearest Heroes! I hope today finds you well, and for once I bring good news! [ he laughs a little sheepishly. he’s dressed less formally than in previous somber declarations and his hair looks windblown, like he ran here ] As you well know, our recent victories and mostly importantly, a successful alliance with Gammon has brought no small amount of blessings: we have more resources, better manpower, and the invaluable help of our Gammonian colleagues not just in war, but also in advancing our civilization!

And so it is my pleasure to unveil our new and improved broadcast technology— [ a pause, where he winks ] —do I look clearer to you? It’s a little harder to tell from this end, I’m afraid. You’ll be able to receive better, brighter and more varied content from our country’s talented producers. Oh…

[ another, longer pause. teddy looks offscreen and then laughs ]

I’m not getting paid for this, I promise. I don’t need any other motivation to be excited for my country, do I? In addition to the television programs, we will be helping with the release of newly developed vending machine technology that brings fresh and healthy snacks to the streets of our capital, and hopefully, beyond. It would be nice to have one for my office.

I’ve mentioned our Gammonian friends, haven’t I? And I’ve saved the best for last: as a token of the friendship between our countries and all that we can do for each other, Gammon has assisted us in completing Platform 40— … 42 and 5/8ths, an instantaneous portal between our very own Caissa and Cochrane. I look forward to even more cultural and commercial exchange from all the way across the Rokirovka Ocean!

And ah, speaking of exchange—the Platform has been completed just in time for you, dear Heroes. Gammon has actually extended another invitation to you: as national and international icons and users of magic, they would like you to visit their school of magecraft, Pigeonsblood, in Grant— Grant… [ … ] You will be able to reach the school easily through the Platform!

Pigeonsblood’s Headmaster has assured me that you would be a great inspiration to their incoming class of aspiring mages; I urge you to take advantage of this opportunity. Gammon’s knowledge and mastery of magic, as you may have seen during your previous visits, is nothing to take lightly! And if you like what you see, I’m told Gammon would be happy to sponsor classes for Heroes at the school. I’m sure they want to keep the inspiration flowing, hm?

Thank you once again, all of you, for making such wonderful things possible. I’m sure your achievements will continue to open doors, both metaphorically and literally, for Blanc and for yourselves.

Meet up with your chums, old and new, and head over to Caissa’s train station. Once there, locating the Platform 42 and 5/8ths is an easy feat. There are two guards standing watch and they will stop curious civilians from sneaking past them. They will only let Heroes use the Platform and as such require proof of identification. A Hero’s uniform, rank badge or a passport identifying yourself as such should do the trick. As the platform functions as one of Gammon’s checkpoints, you will need to pay a small fee of 200 colle to pass. Should you be a new arrival, the Prime Minister will suddenly show up and pay the fee.

Where’s the portal, you might ask? Take a deep breath, walk through the wall between the guards and you’ll find yourself in Cochrane! Heroes might experience some sudden vertigo or a near insatiable hunger for pork. Very minor side effects vary from person to person.

In order to reach Grantebrycge, Heroes must travel from Cochrane to Friedgood and then a little ways further. They are free to make this journey by foot, mount or train. Directions to Grantebrycge are vague but you can’t miss the landmark of the Great Face Cliff, a monument depicting the faces of the towns’s founding members. Poobin and Cemron seem especially stern as they glare down at anyone who dares to visit.

TWO ♟ Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!

Upon entering Grantebrycge, Heroes will be immediately be ambushed by swarms of eager students from Pigeonsblood’s welcoming committee. This committee consists of upperclassmen from each of the Four Branches - Achroite, Prehnite, Bixbite, and Citrine, and they are dressed in uniforms in their Branch color (pictured here in the Bixbite red). Officially, they’re here to help you learn more about Pigeonsblood, give you a tour of the campus, and show you what each Branch can offer you so that you can make an educated decision about which to enroll in. Unofficially, they’re there to try to talk you into enrolling into their particular Branch and some will ramble on about how their Branch is the best while others fight amongst each other to try to get your attention.

Once the tour is finished, the committee will lead Heroes to the administration building. There, they’ll part with you to attend to other duties, leaving you with a reminder to head to the center plaza in an hour for the freshman orientation party. Heroes can enroll in classes if they so choose and have made a decision as to which Branch is the best for them. It’s recommended as it’s free, courtesy of Gammon. If they enroll in classes, they will receive their class schedule, a permit for a uniform, and a key to their dorm room. Head to the university shops later to have them take your measurements!

NOTE: The rooming and class schedule are up to player discretion. If there is an official mission the professors will allow an absence - Heroes can’t save the world if they’re worrying about their GPA, after all!

For those who choose to not enroll in Pigeonsblood, they can explore the campus some more, but either way make sure to head down to the central plaza before the party!

THREE ♟ The Part Where They Rope You in with Free Food

Stepping into the center plaza puts you in the middle of excited back-to-school buzz. Several event booths line the plaza, all eager to get your attention. Some will try to recruit you to their school club. Others are simply there to provide information, such as maps of the school and information about the Four Branches. Still others get even more specific, headed by banners marked “THE TOTAL IDIOT'S GUIDE TO A SUCCESSFUL ACADEMY LIFE” and “GUIDE TO HAPPINESS: HOW TO NOT DIE DURING EXAMS”. A few generous booths will provide you with free food like “Splotted Richard” or “Bangers and Mash” to fill your tummy, as well as school merchandise, such as Branch-specific pens, face paint, flyswatters, and other bits of merchandise.

If those don't get your attention, the freshmen running your way definitely will. They're beyond excited to see a Hero among their ranks, and approach you eagerly, yelling things such as, “Did you enroll? Let's do our best together!”, “You're my inspiration! I hope we're classmates!” and “Please let me know if you need a tutor! I wouldn't mind…” Thankfully, their enthusiasm is brought to a stop by the welcoming committee, who make their way to the center plaza and hush the excited freshmen. After a heartwarming speech about youth and school spirit, the committee flashes their new classmates a bright smile and finishes with: “And now, it's time for some fun!”

What do they mean by fun? The freshmen are more than eager to demonstrate! Aside from the fun offered at the various booths, there are many magic games to partake in. There's “Splash Tag,” where players must use water magic in lieu of touch to play tag, “Air Races,” in which racers use psionic, gravity, or wind magic to boost their movement, “Hot Potato,” in which the temperature of the potato is increased with each pass until it explodes on the loser, and Illusion-based Pictionary.

A few steps away from the commotion, near where the welcoming committee made their speech, is a tall bulletin board. Various flyers are posted here-- club announcements, dating ads, tutoring offers, and of course, Pigeonsblood help wanted ads.

INFO ♟ Welcome!

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

Remember to check out the uniform contest for ranked Heroes!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[She'll be something, all right. And look, she puffs up like a bird about to shake itself.]

Would I now?

[She murmurs the words, but she doesn't make a big deal out of it. She's fine with being a target to be lashed out at. It just won't help Mel in the end.]

All I'm hearing Meloria is that you're full of hot air.

[She makes a gesture with her hand.]

Come. Don't tell me that you can handle yourself-show me.

[It'll make her feel better, at least in theory if she manages to prove to herself that she has competence.]

[She's just promoted, she hasn't even tried casting a new spell yet, she only has the barest idea what bless and curse magic even do (leaving aside her general issues with spellcasting in the first place) and Caren is beckoning her to show that she can 'handle herself.']

[This is stupid, but she can't back down--her pride won't let her. She has to be strong--of course not the strongest--then you're a target--but enough to be able to handle herself. To keep up. Trying to cast a spell will just get her another dose of humble pie, though... Bluster, then. The eyepatch is getting pushed to the side, showing off her crystal eye so that she can catch the glint of the lighting in it just so. She stands up her full height, looking down at Caren.]

[Don't think about how something so quietly terrifying can be so short, Mel. It won't help.]

I'm sorry, what was that? I couldn't quite hear you--it sounded like 'please kick my ass, Meliora.' Now I know you can't be that crazy. You wanna try that again?

[Clearly this will get her to walk back the sick burns. Yes, good planning, Mel. At least she isn't letting whatever doubts she has show through the facade?]

[So that's what she hides under that eyepatch. How interesting. Idly, she wonders what that crystal eye can do-what it's supposed to do.

But Caren slowly smiles. Meloria may tower over her, but she's used to such things. Creep factor? Check. Menace? Check. She does not have to be big to be a terror.

So she laughs. It's a quiet sound that gains volume, until she cuts it off with the click of her teeth.]

Oh, who knows? I'm crazy enough. Go ahead. Try to hurt me. Try to kill me. If you can.

Show me what you can do, Meloria.

[Shit. Bluff called. She holds her arms up in front of her, then throws them out to her sides, willing her mana to move down into her palms. That part's easy. But... even as angry as she is, she can't bring herself to fling lightning at an ally. Healing's out too. She's hesitating for a second, mana focused in her hands. She can feel it itching, trying to do something--but what? Something new? Curses are supposed to be something she can do, so why not try a curse? But she needs to give it form, visualize something to send the curse off. Why not visualize her curse, then?]

You want to see what I can do? Then I'll burn an image of hell itself into your brain! [Meliora brings her hands together in a burst of mana as a swarm of etherial seasnakes fly from her fingertips, slithering through the air.]

Eingan's blessing!

[It's a low-level paralysis spell, with the power behind it that you'd expect from a two word incantation from a brand new king.]

[After all her posturing, she's just defaulted to trying to status effect a Rook--accidentally bull-rushing right up against their greatest strengths.]

[Oh, she's trying something. Caren doesn't do anything; instead, she waits. She's waiting for Meloria to do something, anything. She can take the hits; that's what her body was for. Even if they were getting some attention, she didn't see any problem with it. Let them watch.

She doesn't know what spell Meloria was thinking of, and the swarm had her tense for a few moments, waiting for it.

And she feels it wash over her. The wash of mana, and she...expects something to happen but nothing.

...was that a dud? Might have been a dud.

All right. She's going to start moving towards her, slowly and calmly.]

What was your intention with that spell?

"I want her to shut the hell up."

So, I guess it'd manifest as paralysis or something that'd take away your voice, 'iunno. [She backs up a step, putting her hands in front of her defensively as she channels more mana. Now that she has more, it feels more natural to her.]

I'll just throw a better one instead.

Ah, elegant.

[Paralysing spell, or something to ensure silence? It's hard to tell, but even without her voice, she would be a handful. Just one that would actually be kicking.

But Caren holds up a finger.]

You've forgotten something, if you didn't know. Do you know what my rank is?

You're a rook. You protect people. What's that got to do with aaaaaaaaaaaaah Metoth's tits you cannot be serious right now.

[Meliora knows enough about 'defense' and the idea of castle walls (and of course, her own luck) to get where this is going.]

You guys have some sort of bullshit defense against this stuff that I've conveniently gone without hearing of until just now. That's it, isn't it?

[She reaches out and....

Gently pats her on the arm.]

I can drink poison and not feel a thing. Potent poison. It's a great way to spy on people, when they think you should already be drunk.

[Nice try though.]

[She flinches back almost imperceptibly before she realizes that this is probably not a covert judo-flip coming to get her. Still, she's keeping her guard raised.]

So you can't get paralyzed, can't get poisoned, and you can just drink anyone under the table on top of it? How freaking overpowered are you? [But hey, she's back to being indignant like usual.]

Oh, a bit. It took a lot to actually kill me on the trains, and if it weren't for the smog, I'm certain I would have recovered well enough.

[You're talking to a tank Mel. A GD tank.]

So she's got the endurance of one of Eingan's children and then some, and there are things that can kill her.

Even the insurmountable obstacle has insurmountable obstacles. Great. No pressure, Mel. I'll just have to go at it even harder to make up the difference.

I can do that. I'll totally do that no problem! Red's my power color, right? [And thus, the internal monologue has made it external--but only so that she can properly snark at the entire situation to avoid dwelling on how screwed she is feeling right now.]

[She's listening, and she finds herself growing more and more amused as she listens in. And someone is feeling this is rather unfair, aren't they? Just a bit.

Caren did say to give her her best shot.]

I did tell you to be creative during your lesson. So, you have a Rook, who can take a lot of damage physically, very little if it has to do with my state...what are my weaknesses Meloria?

[She does have them. She naturally does. Otherwise, she'd just be unstoppable.]

Well... [The battlefield from before flashes through her mind in an instant.]

You've got a limited radius of what you can effectively target, and your weapon's better for traps than it is a direct confrontation. No clue on your second weapon yet, it may balance that out. Probably does. I'm involved. More to the point, I'm feeling decidedly un-physical, so I'd guess Rooks also give up having as much mana as a King in order to have that extra bulk. [Her analytical skills are top-notch, at least, and that's something she prides herself on.]

I've got more spells and maneuvers in me in a long term fight going to my advantage... and I'm willing to bet that my spells can reach further than yours. Both of which are weaknesses that do me a fat lot of good when you're within arm's reach of me, of course. As for maneuverability... We're basically a toss-up now. I've lost my Pawn speed boost, and you never had it as a Rook. Again, a good weakness to know... but useless when we're this close.

Edited 2016-09-12 05:42 (UTC)

[She listens quietly, folding her arms under her chest. And there, Meloria proves that she isn't a complete dunce, and has guessed, quite well that there's a reason why Rooks are as powerful as they are-in the right situation. Heck, even pawns can have power if they shuffle the deck in their favour.]

Well done. But there is something you should be aware of, at least as a general warning.

One, you have no idea if I know unarmed combat or not. And two, there are the various quirks, that each rank seems to have. Queens are a diverse lot and can be difficult to pin down, Bishops tend to be geared towards analysis, knights have something to give them a magical edge in physical combat...

So the question is-what do you think Rooks possess?

You're built to endure, and to ensure that everyone, will get where they want to go safely. [She remembered that introduction!]

So basically, you grab attention and hold on to it as hard as you can. The enemies come at you, and they hit you, and it does basically nothing--and everyone else mops them up while people like me keep you healthy.

Basically yes. And there are ways that Rook can grab attention, and can take down crowds.

So, with all that you know, how can you take me down?

By myself?

I'd have to figure out where you sleep, sneak in while you're asleep, and then incapacitate you while you're not able to defend yourself. Or else force the battle to remain at a range where you can't really take advantage of your natural difference in strength over me.

Basically, it's about staying out of your horrible instant death radius.

[She can't help it; she chuckles. She likes that, instant death radius. She also likes the idea of a kill zone, but she's not picky whatsoever.]

There you have it. Well done Meloria.

Obviously. When you're in a world full of magic knights, hellbeasts, and weird gods and all you've got is an eye that sees through stuff and can read magic signatures, you get really good at analyzing things or you get really, really dead.

[She folds her arms and looks away.]

I won't let myself wind up getting left behind again. Not by anyone.

Ah. So you're not quite the null that you professed to be.

[She thought not. She'd mentioned something about seeing with both eyes before.]

You're not going to be left behind Meloria. Don't be a moron.

I'm a null, but I can still use magic items. [She taps the crystal.] It used to be just a contact lens, but then I lost the eye and trying to use the lens with a crystal that holds mana... Well, it got absorbed, but about fifteen times harder to steal. S'why I was able to use the gun so quickly when I got here, too. There's just not a lot of craftsmen back home who can make the sort of stuff I can actually use, and it's not like I could use a healing potion to heal myself anyways, so it's easier to just say I can't use any of it.

[She then pauses at the second statement.]

I'm not being a moron. 'M being prudent. I don't trust any of you people any further'n I can throw you. We're all buddy buddy now, but sooner or later something'll happen and I'll get lost in the lurch again.

[She tilted her head, taking all of this information in. A contact lens, and then...well, it sounded as if she had been through some interesting times. But the gun use didn't surprise her as much as it should.]

And you didn't want to tell me something that would put you into a disadvantage, because you don't trust me.

[And all things considered, she shouldn't trust Caren. What good as she done for this woman?]

But you're still a moron when it comes to other people. Most of them are try hards and earnest and so good they would make you want to vomit.

If you were lost, it wouldn't be alone. Well, unless you were in a dungeon. But you always have a choice not to try, and lose out on the prizes.

Good job, you figured it out. [Meliora claps slowly, a sarcastic tint to it.]

Morons are no good either. The earnest sort that tries hard are great for making you want to gag... but they're the sort who always let you down.

Doesn't matter how earnest or how 'good' they are. Nothing lasts. Everyone leaves. Only person I can rely on is me.

You weren't that big of a puzzle.

[Harsh truth, at its finest.]

I have my doubts though. To me, you don't sound that reliable to yourself-you're only going to knock yourself onto your ass. What's the point of carrying you if you're going to moan about how you're so edgy, and no one is worthy of your trust?

You're already dead if that's all you think. Moron.

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