Field Mission 6: A Day in Thay, Part 1

[balancemod]

oh man best of luck out there dudes NAVIGATION Click here for the RNG thread! Ready or not, rested or not, it's time to get moving, Reclaimers. You've got a very, very long day ahead of you. And another one. And another one. And, you get the joke. Early Friday morning, with the Director there to see them off, the Reclaimers load up into the Bureau's transportation orbs for the sixth time since this whole ordeal began, and make their way to about a mile or two outside of Thay. It's important to try to stick to the story, at least — that you're all visitors from a faraway school, here to spend some time with the students and faculty of Boarbumps. As much as Lucretia would have liked to join you, she can't. None of the other leading members of the Bureau of Balance can. Whoever enters Thay, after all, is entering a bubble, after all. A time trap. Nobody will be able to leave until the Relic, the Lamp of Undoing, is either retrieved or destroyed. Someone needs to be able to continue if you all can't. 1. SEVEN O'CLOCK ALREADY As we noted in the OOC post, prompts on this log will be a quick few sentences of specific things happening during each hour. It's expected that Reclaimers will be seeing all of these events multiple times! So feel free to play with them as you see fit. If you're not sure if something you want to do would warrant a roll, please ask us in the RNG thread. ○ The Reclaimers have arrived in Thay, much to the curiosity of the highly intelligent, occasionally highly ... suspicious ... residents. Nevertheless, they recognize you as visiting, esteemed students, and, though perhaps still suspicious, welcome you into their fold. Also, as a note: Every time the relic is used, time is reset to this moment. ○ Boarbumps Academy for the Magically Inclined opens its doors to the Reclaimers. This is your first opening to explore the school — afternoon classes begin in an hour. ○ Rainer Arunsun, The Regent of Thay and Highest of the Hermetic Order of Red Wizards, can be seen watching the new arrivals by the entrance to the Red Keep. It's difficult to discern any emotion on her face. Shortly before 1 p.m., she retreats back inside. ○ Afternoon classes at Boarbumps begin, starting with a lecture on the magical circuits of the common toad. If you happen to sit in on this one, as a visitor from another school, you may be asked to assist in the dissection. You will be heckled by the rest of the class as deemed fit. ○ Erinne and Adriel can be seen within the hallways of Boarbumps arguing in a very heated manner. Some... less than choice words are exchanged between the two before one, or both of them take their wands out and begin throwing magic missiles at each other. No one knows why the fight starts, but the two have had bad blood before, and this isn't the first quarrel to happen at Boarbumps between them. A staff member arrives on the scene and is accidentally paralyzed by a misfire. ○ The town proper, surrounding the Red Keep, is open for a farmer's market. A bountiful harvest of goods are on display, but in particular, Thay is known for its amazing quality of medicinal herbs and magical reagants, many of which are rare without travel to the area. The merchants typically shoo students off, unless they have a hall pass provided to them by the faculty to retrieve something of import for class. ○ The second afternoon class at Boarbumps begins. Are you three or four time loops in and in desperate need of a nap? This class, The History of Boarbumps, is for you. You will be treated to a long and droning lecture about how the students attending during Boarbumps' very first semester banded together to stop a particularly plucky troll. Which you'd think would be an interesting tale. It is not. ○ Someone's enchanted several books at the library to begin rattling and shaking from the shelves themselves. All over the racks, spines pop out from their homes and fall to the ground, magically lift up and return to some other, non-Dewey decimal approved locale. Other books begin dancing — yes, you've read this correctly — dancing on the tables. Leon would be going into cardiac arrest at the moment, but it looks like someone's playing a prank in here. Again. This librarian looks far less tilted by this. It must be a somewhat normal afternoon for her. ○ Over in the center of town, music, a single violin playing a mournful tune, begins to play. It's unclear where exactly it's coming from. ○ The third and final afternoon class at Boarbumps — Fighting with Fire — begins. The professor, known to be slightly more unorthodox in her teaching methods, will recruit any Reclaimer who happens to be there to defend themselves from the students' incoming fireball spells. The potency of the fireballs themselves range from the tickle of a candle, to that one time you ate a ghost pepper, to one particularly fiery spell that might actually hurt you. ○ There's a scream in the girls' bathroom on the 3rd floor of Boarbumps. Anyone who enters realizes, very quickly, that no one is actually in there. Apparently, this particular lavatory is haunted. ○ Szass Astrosz dips class to go visit the local shrines within the town of Thay. He's been known to skip class before, so his departure from the halls of Boarbumps is rather nondescript. He spends time there praying quietly to his god. ○ There's a slight catastrophe over in the Town Square. That is to say, a giant spider seems to have escaped from Boarbumps and is terrorizing the vendors, to everyone's surprise. Subdue or dispatch it, it's up to you. ○ There's a scheduled council meeting to take place within the Red Keep, a usual weekly affair where Rainer, Casariel, Onerion, Gromph, and the rest meet to discuss matters of the town. Today's is canceled, as Gromph is called out to take care of the arachnid chaos currently convening around the Town Square. ○ Someone places a standing mirror around the corner of Boarbumps. If you happen to stand in front of it, it doesn't show your reflection — rather, it shows the person that you desire most. The mirror is gone by 5 p.m. ○ Cleanup of whatever damage the spider did is underway. In the meantime, the faculty of Boarbumps and the Hermetic Order of Red Wizards invite the Reclaimers to a small dinner in one of the public meeting rooms at the Red Keep. Every member of the Red Wizards are present, aside from Onerion Wyvernspur and Brian Darling. ○ The shops around the town of Thay begin to close for the evening. People are somewhere between annoyed and blase — the spider escaping was new enough, but weird Magic Things are, as you can imagine, pretty commonplace. ○ Over at The Sleepy Willow, cozy, fluffy pillows are arranged on the floor around a large fireplace. The owners will also serve you dinner, if you decide to skip the meal at The Red Keep. This may be one of the only peaceful moments you have to study everything that you've learned thus far. ○ No matter where you are in Thay, you'll feel the ground rumble underneath your feet. The residents largely pass it off as an earthquake, but will note that they have become much more frequent lately. ○ Towards the latter half of the hour, the rumbling within the school grounds causes several of the animal cages used in Onerion's Wondrous Beasts class to come unfastened as they begin to escape. Shortly thereafter, various beasts of all shapes and sizes are set free and begin running for freedom. None of them seem intent on hurting students, but they look to make an exit out of town in the quickest way possible. ○ Droves of the skeletal undead that are used around town seem to freeze in place, no longer retaining their animation. Whatever they're holding currently falls to the floor. Whatever task they're working on comes to a halt. No one understands why that is, but even the best necromancers around town can't seem to wake them back up. ○ With a sudden loud roar, the ground of the town square suddenly begins to split. People, shops, and everything else begin to drop into the chasm, despite the Red Wizards, and everyone else's, attempts to save them. ○ In the last split second you remember, if you happen to look down in the chasm, you'll notice a pair of bright, glowing eyes. Whatever exactly is down there begins to claw its way to the surface. ○ And then, just as suddenly, your vision turns white, and you're briefly overtaken by dizziness. When the haze clears, you are standing at the entrance to Thay. The sun hangs directly overhead in the sky. You have returned to 12 p.m. 2. OOC: A SPECIAL SHOUTOUT You are welcome to keep track of how your character experiences these time loops as much or as little as you're comfortable with — we'll also be tracking what you all are doing! Our Minato player Kel came up with some extremely snazzy coding if you would like to track how each loop plays out for your character more closely. Thank you, Kel! Of course, this is completely optional. Keep up with as much as you'd like, have fun as you see fit, and we hope you enjoy this mission! blurb code by photosynthesis

Comments

[seasaltkeys]

[ A - School - early loops; before his breakdown ]

[The most experience that Roxas has with school comes from the Academy on the Moon Base. He's got memories, sure, from Sora and the Digital Twilight town, but his actual academic experience is probably not that robust all things considered. And that's not bringing the magic part into the mix.

Needless to say, as much as Roxas knows that he's supposed to be looking for the relic, he's also kind of been swept up in the excitement of it all.

He's in the middle of the hallway in his uniform looking at a piece of paper and holding some books.]

Uh, sorry, do you know where this classroom is?

[ B - Shrines; After meeting with Onerion ]

[Roxas is staring at one of the altars, unsure if he should touch it to wipe away the dust or not. Gods, admittedly, are a little outside of his usual purview, despite his researching. (And that's been pretty narrow as he tries to understand this whole Paladin thing.)]

Do these symbols mean anything to you? Because I don't have a clue.

[ C - Sleepy Willow; several loops in ]

[Roxas has commandeered a couple of the blankets and pillows and set himself up in a corner of the inn. Hopefully in a place that won't attract unwanted attention and set off another fight.

He knows what's going to happen shortly, so mostly he's just using the time to get his thoughts in order and come up with a plan for the next loop. Trying to deal with the animals doesn't help matters he's learned.

It doesn't make things any more easier though.]

[ D - Wildcard ]

[OoC; Open to any and all shenanigans.]

Additional prompts

[seasaltkeys]

[Post-Dragon Upgrade]

[It's mind-blowing, to say the least.

He'd gone in on a simple suggestion, figuring it could be maybe be helpful but not actually expecting anything. Roxas didn't know anything about gods, beyond that they were mysterious beings in the sky that he didn't have a lot do deal with. He barely understood Hearts.

It was earnestness and a poem and a thumbs up and the next thing he knows he's gone through a literal trial by fire and emerged a Paladin. He keeps going back to the way the Keyblade has changed, a keychain that is once again, entirely unique to him. Never mind the armour or the shield, which are both still registering for him.

He finds himself a quiet spot in the loop after, to think about this, and to practice. He's never fought with armour on, after all. And the shield will be new to, since he mostly dual wields. But if this is the help he's been given, he's going to want to be ready.

But mostly he just ends up lying on the ground looking up at the sky, thinking.]

Am I even doing any of this Paladin stuff right?

[hxppythxughts]

[A quiet spot never remains quiet for very long! Especially when someone else is also looking to practice to prepare for the duty that has fallen upon them.]

Well, Bahamut seemed to think so!

[She answers after overhearing, and without preamble plops herself on the ground next to where Roxas is flopped. She has the Oathbow and two quivers of arrows with her—one set of normal arrows, and then the quiver gifted to her by Bahamut. She sets the bow aside as she sits down.]

[seasaltkeys]

[Roxas looks over when Sayori sits down, and moves to sit up a bit. He's still getting used to doing all of this in armour, since it is new to him. (Though in a vaguely familiar way that he doesn't really want to think about. There's a weird sense of emptiness).]

I'm still kind of surprised by that. I mean...I only really learned about him when we got here.

[Though technically that's been...a while now? Thanks to the loops.]

It just kind of happened so fast.

[hxppythxughts]

[She leans back on her hands as Roxas sits up, looking up into the clouds as if they might hold an explanation for this funny twist of fate.] Yeah, me too.

But... Y'know, if he's really super ancient and powerful, maybe he knew about us already even though we didn't know about him!

[Not like it'd be the first time someone—or something had been watching her like that.]

B

[ryuji]

[Lost deep in contemplation for a moment, Ryuji narrows his eyes and starts piecing together something, like he's reading out loud, really putting his best effort into it, before hitting his Eureka moment.]

It says "Pay the guy standing next to you 10 gold."

[It's a little early in the loops for sacrilege, isn't it?]

[seasaltkeys]

[Roxas has been focusing hard enough that he's almost distracted enough to believe him. But only almost.]

Wai---hey! I don't think it says that.

[He might have been reaching for his gold.]

[ryuji]

[He was so close to getting ahead an extra 10g that it's hard to hide the brimming, rambunctious smile creeping its way up his face.]

How do you know? I'm pretty sure that's what it says down there, dude.

[Pretending to think about it for a second---]

Oh, yeah, I got a word mixed up. It definitely says to give that 100 gold.

[Where's a god when you need one to smite down a rain of lightning bolts to a heathen like Ryuji?]

[seasaltkeys]

[Roxas is skeptical.]

So, why give it to someone else instead of to the shrine? Aren't offerings supposed to be a thing?

[Not that he can claim to know a whole lot about this. It's a little out of his depth.]

B

[feytality]

.... Not really. I can ask Will later, he might know.

[ but she's been poking around he shrine herself -- praying to it, investigating. she hasn't found too much. ]

I wonder if anyone keeps this place tidy...

[seasaltkeys]

It might be good to copy them down, just in case.

[If there's anything to write with. He'll be checking his bag.]

Seems like most of them are clean, just some dust. Probably depends on who worships here.

[feytality]

One sec....

[ maya uses her bracers to take pictures! it's a good thing she figured out the basics of technology. ]

And who they worship. I wonder if any gods were planning on intervening with this whole..... reset business.

[seasaltkeys]

[That's a smart idea. He really should learn to do that.]

If they could, wouldn't they have done something by now though?

I mean, they're gods, right?

C

[conciliant]

[2B is also looking for a quiet spot, and between the dim light and her lack of awareness at the moment, it's hard to see where she's going. Not that she's paying that much attention to it in the first place; her mind is too preoccupied with what she keeps seeing in the mirror.

So, when she finds what she assumes is a quiet place to sit (again), she slumps down on a set of pillows that are already conveniently placed, and accidentally sits right next to Roxas, the weight of her enough to turn their shared pillow into a teeter totter and lifting him several inches off the ground.

Sorry...]

[seasaltkeys]

[There's a small noise of surprise as Roxas suddenly finds himself a little higher than he was, and having been in thought it definitely knocks him out of that. He's not entirely sure what to say about that though, that won't come off as being too impolite.]

Woah!

[conciliant]

[Nothing will ever be as impolite as Dave's "are you made of steel beams" question, and 2B thinks nothing of it. Of course she's heavy, she's made of circuits and strong metal pieces made to withstand just about anything!

To her surprise, there's that noise from beside her, and 2B snaps out of her own thoughts to peek over at this poor, unfortunate soul.]

Oh, Roxas.

[Somewhere, deep down, she's happy to see him, even if her voice and expression don't convey any of that.]

Are you okay?

[seasaltkeys]

Y-yeah, I'm fine. That...I didn't really expect that.

[He's mostly recovered now. And not sure what else to say.]

Sorry. I should have been paying more attention.

B

[mycrosstobear]

[Wolfwood shakes his head. He's looked into a few things about the gods of Faerun, but-] If there's anything I'd recognize, it's too worn away.

[seasaltkeys]

Yeah, a lot of these seem to be really not used.

It really doesn't help.

[He should have brought a guide or something. Gods are definitely a new subject area for him.]

[mycrosstobear]

Well, whoever's causing the problems here probably isn't calling on a god. [Probably. But (mostly) ruling something out is a kind of help.

Wolfwood uses a sleeve to wipe the dust off the altar. The "gods" here, as far as he's concerned, aren't actually divine, but there's no reason not to be respectful.]

[seasaltkeys]

Seems to be avoiding them entirely.

[With how much dust there is, but he's poking around at a few of the more used temples.]

Somehow I don't think combining the gods with the relics is a good idea.

A

[antiqueclasp]

[Fortunately, Flayn is at least somewhat in her element in this place— Roxas looking a bit lost in the middle in the corridor is enough to get her attention, but when he addresses her, she smiles and quickly moves to his side to get a better look at the paper in his hands.]

Let's see... I think I passed this one earlier! The school is fairly maze-like, but I would be happy to help you find your way.

[The Reclaimers are meant to help one another, aren't they?]

[seasaltkeys]

[Okay, good. Help has arrived and Roxas will gladly hold it out to her so she can get a better look.]

Thanks. I feel like I've been going in circles non-stop.

[In more ways than one.]

[antiqueclasp]

Is is rather a lot to take in, is it not?

[He has her deepest sympathies. She briefly studies the paper before him before giving a single nod of confirmation.]

Right! If we continue on down this corridor, I believe there is a moving staircase we'll need to convince to take us to the right wing.

[seasaltkeys]

Yeah. I mean, the building I could probably get after a while, but the classes are also kinda new.

I've never really been to school before.

[He could handle the Castle that Never Was pretty easily, but a lot of this is new knowledge to take in. He's a little overwhelmed.]

Wait...moving staircase?