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

[ryuji]

C'mon, you got this like feathery ass pillow and you ain't even gonna share it with anybody.

[He looks like he could probably pass out standing up, so if his brain shuts down for a few seconds that's probably where he's at. Although, to be honest, maybe someone wouldn't even notice the difference?]

Dude, do you see these eyebags?

My eyebags' got eyebags.

Ryuji Sakamoto is fallin' apart right in front of ya.

[The yawn he gives out as he shows he entire mouth, not enough energy to cover it up as he does it, is probably indicative of where he's at right now.]

[noblegarnet]

[Ferran has to resist the urge to yawn himself. That is a powerful amount of tired.]

Alright, alright. I guess we can't have that.

[He scoots, pulling his familiar with him so she doesn't have to move herself, and the feathery pillow ends up closer to the middle of the bed. Her wings twitch in an aggravated way, but her eyes stay closed. She will not be disturbed into moving after all the work she's done. Now there is a perfectly reasonable amount of space for Ryuji to collapse on.]

You haven't been keeping track of time, huh.

[ryuji]

[That's a frustrating point to make, and while Ferran is absolutely correct in his assumptions, that doesn't really mean that Ryuji is the most understanding when someone calls him out on his own lack of foresight. With a frustrated stare, he almost sort of... pouts? at him and shakes his head.]

That's gotta be a joke right? I mean, like, how the hell do you even keep track of time when it's just gonna reset on you anyway?

[Simple and understated, like a premium fall fashion.

Ryuji unceremoniously flops himself into the space that's created for him, and it would be remiss to assume that he's not grateful, because he definitely is, but his capacity for any emotion other than one leading down the path of pugilism is pretty limited right now.]

It's gettin' kinda old though, I'll tell ya that.

[noblegarnet]

[His eyelids were already lowered by virtue of being tired, but please imagine the exasperation added in. To Ferran, a fan of science fiction and constant note-taker, it barely seems like a problem. Even though he's certainly capable of overworking himself or having a sleepless night, he knows he works best when he's gotten rest—so he makes schedules for himself.]

You keep track of it because it's seven hours each time. Just mark the resets on yourself somewhere, and sleep every couple of marks.

[He closes his eyes, sighing and shoving his face against feathers. Ryuji's not wrong about that. His enthusiasm for appearing friendly to the locals is beginning to wane, for one.]

Yeah. There's just... a lot of leads to follow.

[ryuji]

Whaa...

[This is an ideal concept to consider. The novelty of it had completely escaped him. He lost track after 4. That was about what he could keep in his brain bowl all at once, and since then, things have been getting kind of fuzzy.

And then, as if trying to find something to mark his arm with, he comes up short and thinks to himself that he'll just---]

Screw it, I'll do it next cycle.

[Which must be really weird to hear for anyone that's not currently undergoing an actual knowledge of time resetting, but there's also this somewhat nihilistic feeling creeping in of... well what the fuck does it matter anyway? They're not going to remember what these two tired guys are saying in number 8. Or 9, or whatever this is.]

Alright. I'll bite. Whatcha figure out so far? Maybe I'll use your voice as a lullaby or somethin'.

[noblegarnet]

[Note to self: pack Ryuji a box lunch and make sure he doesn't get lost. Ferran's had a similar lack of caring about discussing some of their mission, though; as long as they aren't charging head first into breaking the law or yelling it out in the middle of the square, none of the locals minus their target are going to think much of it.

A Mage Hand tosses a pen over Agate, onto Ryuji's side of the bed. Ferran is not looking to see if it hit him.]

Adriel and Erinne hate each other. The thing in the chasm is terrifying. Rainer's been in power for four years, plus however long this has been happening. That mirror is a portal to something. [And the most important lesson he learned:] The 3 o'clock professor should be fired.

[ha ha. get it.]

[ryuji]

[Holy shit? Listen, if you feed this kid, he might never possibly leave Ferran alone. That might not be a bad thing, but Ryuji has a keen lack of respect for anything even remotely regarding personal space- evident by the situation that they're currently in.

But he could get down with that logic. If you're being obvious about what's going on, someone will eventually find out. Someone who might or might not be behind all of this. It's not the worst thing in the world to have someone's attention like that-- it makes it a tad easier to force them to show their hand early.

Nevertheless, Ryuji's not a man for thinking, even less so when he's zonked out as badly as he is now. He laughs when the pen lands squarely up against him. He knows he deserves it, but getting rise out of someone he likes is definitely always a welcome feeling.]

Shit, that chasm is like, the pits.

[... IT'S NOT EVEN INTENTIONALLY PUNNED.

He's just giftedly dumb.]

I dove right into it once. Can't give it a like or a subscribe.

3 o'clo--- .... d-dude!? Forreal?

[noblegarnet]

[The next time Ferran gets a hold of a kitchen, prepare to be fed, Ryuji. Or hell, just the next time he goes to the marketplace and buys some street food or whatever.]

Yeah, it is.

["A like or a subscribe"?? God Ryuji you're so embarrassing.

He has no idea what the reaction is about, though. That pun was not intentional on his part, it's just the easiest way to say it!]

Huh? What do you mean "for real"?

[ryuji]

That was just.

[He has to close his eyes when he says it. It's awful, it's The Worst. Ferran that wasn't even remotely funny, man, what the hell!]

I think some conflagrations are in order, man. You just hit meTunes' top 20 chart for shittiest usages of words. If I hold a pillow over your head and end this cycle early, you still gonna be my friend after or nah?

[Honestly, though, he probably doesn't have the energy to follow through with that threat. He's below the E-line on the gas tank.]

[noblegarnet]

[He's not trying to be funny, come on dude!!]

I'm going to lean hard on the "nah" for that one. And can we not have more fire? That's kind of what I'm trying to avoid.

[... you know, does Ryuji even know what conflagration means? He hopes so.]

You can't even talk about shittiest word usage when you say likes and subscribes like some kind of twelve year old who just found the internet. [Look! A whole swear. He flops his face down onto the pillow.] Give me a break...

[ryuji]

I'd say you're pretty safe. I only got lightning magic, and it's not extremely powerful or anything.

[He does, however, drop the subject. Despite everything, he knows when he's treading close to people becoming uncomfortable around him. Ryuji's not that bad at reading people, he just chose to, for so long, pretend he didn't care that he could.

But then it circles back on him, and it's all good. Some people would think that he likes being the subject of attention the way he eats it up, but more often than not, he makes an ass out of himself to make other people feel more comfortable.

All in all, he leans a bit toward his side- eventually where he'll end up for the next few hours until time resets. This is the sticks. Even that low-budget camp they all went to was way better than this.]

Ay, yo, it's me- ya boy. Ryuji. Comin' at you live from meTube.

[Twitch existed back in 2016, so we're safe with this reference, right?]

Don't knock it, dude. People back home make actual bucketloads of money streamin' themselves. I don't think I'm entertainin' enough to pull it off.

[noblegarnet]

[The camp may not have ended with them dying dozens of times, but the amenities and civilization make up for it enough, in Ferran's opinion. He did not enjoy camping. He will not enjoy camping again for a long time.

He lets out a disgruntled noise. Twitch also existed in 2014, so it's definitely a safe reference.]

At this rate I'm going to be the one suffocating you with a pillow, and I won't even care if we're friends afterwards.

[He's not actually that annoyed; it's just the kind of banter Ryuji encourages. He's the exasperated straight man to bounce goofy jokes off of, in the way that he's encouraging to shy types and a cautious voice for the more energetic.]

... lightning is pretty cool.

[ryuji]

[Ryuji only ever really knew Tokyo; his family was too poor to do vacations, and as such, the most nature he ever really saw was on school trips, or when they had their class trip to Hawaii. That said, coming to Faerun, it's made him appreciate the idea of an expansive world without major borders. He feels a sort of idyllic romance behind it all, despite the dangers and the fact that they've spent the last year of their lives, collectively, stopping the world from ending at so many points in time.

Wrought with smiles, he looks over at Ferran, both tiny eyebrows furrowing upward for a second, and then relaxing. And then, as if conceding, adds-]

I'd forgive you.

[It's somewhat somber considering everything else that's been said over the last 5 minutes of conversation, but he's an honest guy and speaks bluntly enough to get the message across.

Like, don't actually kill him, of course. But if it ever ended up happening that way, well, there's probably a valid reason.

But the morphing qualities of Ferran who is, many things to many people, reminds him of Akira, and that fits a certain puzzle-sized emptiness in his heart that he's missed for almost 2 years. Which is weird- considering he's met so many of them from all their adjacent alternative realities and timelines. But none of them were his Akira if that makes sense. Not that anyone could be. He's technically gone. Just like how Ryuji is gone from the other's timeline too.

But that's another story for another less sleepy time. He didn't come from his own home world straight into Faerun. There was another stop along the way-- a pretty awful one, at that.]

Lightning? Yeah. It's all about intense energy that comes and goes. There in one minute, and then after it connects, it's gone. I dunno what that says about me as a person or anythin' but. That's the magic that was associated to my Persona and it's stuck with me throughout its evolutions.

[noblegarnet]

[Ferran sighs a little and turns a slight smile to Ryuji, somewhere between embarrassed and grateful. He just had to go and make it real, huh? It's easy for that kind of statement to have an effect on him right now, when he's been wrestling so hard with what kind of person he is, if he's a good friend, whether he should have friends. Wonderland brought out a lot of issues he thought he'd left back home.]

That's a pretty sappy thing to say.

[It's not a criticism at all. Just a gentle jab to offset some of his own embarrassment.]

It suits you. It happens all at once, but even when it's gone it leaves a mark you can't just forget.

[ryuji]

[He thinks he's the type to not show how deeply effected he is by getting someone's approval, but here he is, all warm and fuzzy on the inside from a sigh and a smile, and he matches Ferran's with his own unevenly spread mug. He didn't intend to have a real talk when he nearly busted the guy out of his own bed, but it ends up feeling right; healing in a sort of nice way. Wonderland's fucked a lot of things up for a lot of people, there's no doubt about it. But they all have each other, can make each other's lives better, and that right there? That's a religion Ryuji can subscribe to.

Years ago, he'd probably sit there and shrug it off, deflecting the comment and giving a false sense of bravado, but he's given up on that a long time ago, and instead just accepts it.]

Heh. Yeah, sure. You ain't wrong, dude.

[Oh?

Ferran's just about made it even cornier. Ryuji feels a moment of fluster, cheeks feeling warm, as he exhales in his own level of exasperation.]

Man... you just had to go 'n say something like that, huh?

[And with a small addition-]

Thanks, man.

[noblegarnet]

[Ferran chuckles, his feelings-based revenge a success.]

Turnabout's fair play.

[Wonderland may have brought out some of the worst in him in a lot of ways, but Faerun, being part of the Bureau—it's helped him get closer to the person he was, before everything went to hell. Maybe that purpose he clung so hard to back home was ripped out of his hands, but... maybe it should have been. Maybe that was what he needed, so he couldn't cling to the past anymore.

Sure, there are some unpleasant parts of himself that he's discovered recently, but the friends he's made here, Ryuji the first of them, have helped him to start over. He doesn't just have to be the antagonist, or the hero. He can be complicated, and his friends will stay with him anyway. That means a lot, however it all ends up.

Agate, a sleepy spectator to the boys' nonsense, ruffles Ryuji's hair with a wing. Whether that was her decision based on her protective connection to her master, or Ferran's own, the world may never know.]

Yeah, you too. Get some sleep. We can grab lunch the next time around or something.