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

D

[feytality]

[ yeah, maya's seen the mirror, herself --- two of the three people she loves the most are here, but it's still startling to see pearl looking back at her, smiling and bouncing. such a trick might have worked on maya a couple of months ago, but thanks to wonderland she'll never be swayed by something like that again, no matter how much the thought of pearl being dead makes her heart ache. ]

[ ... too bad some of the newer recruits can't say the same. she sees super cool android lady crumpled on the floor, and immediately takes action. ]

[ the first thing she does is physically put herself between the mirror and 2b's vision, wedging herself in if she has to. she's very small but determined!! ]

[ then she reaches her hand out. ]

Hey... c'mon, this isn't a great place to hang out. Let's go look at something else, okay?

[ she hopes 2b's super visor doesn't just let her stare through maya and whoever she sees in the mirror. ]

[conciliant]

[Eyes shut tight, 2B feels something come between her and 9S, and her first instinct is to destroy whatever it is that's put itself there. To seize her sword on the ground beside her and drive its blade through until it breaks the glass on the other side. It's there, it's within her reach.

But the feeling of a warm hand reaching out, and an even warmer voice stops her just as her arm extends. It's like static at first, and unfamiliar. It takes a moment for her memory banks to come back online, and she catches the tail end of what's being said to her, but it's enough for her to recognize the voice... and to encourage her to look up from the ground.

Her tears cling to her eyes, stuck behind her visor, and it distorts Maya's face in her vision, but it's better than not having anything there at all.]

No.

[2B shakes her head stubbornly, and her voice is firm.]

I can't leave.

[Her body won't let her.]

[feytality]

[ she gets it. she had the same thing, in wonderland, and before phoenix showed up, seeing his face in a mirror..... it was hard, to pull away. ]

[ and that's why she's stubborn, now. she's firm, too. ]

It's not real. [ she doesn't know who 2b is seeing, but it bears saying regardless. ] It's just going to hurt more if you do this.

[ her hand remains outstretched, ready to pull 2b up. or, well.... not pull her up, she's too heavy for maya to physically pull to her feet. ]

[ it's the thought that counts, though, right? ]

Come on... please? For me?

[conciliant]

[The words strike her hard and 2B is forced to look at Maya then, and the hand that's reaching for her. She looks between it and the mirror, then back and forth one more time before she takes it in her own, the touch hot even through her gloves.

But she won't use it to pull herself or both of them up. She just holds on for dear life in a gentler grip, careful not to crush Maya's hand.]

... Where are we going to go?

[Is there anywhere for her to go?]

[feytality]

[ despite 2B's valiant attempts to be gentle, maya herself tries to pull her up..... and tries.... and tries..... ]

Oooh, this is gonna be harder than I thought...

[ at least she's not calling 2b heavy. girls are sensitive about that kind of thing. ]

Anywhere you want to go. Can you eat? If not... we can go shopping, or to the shrines, or the inn... or just to see the forest. I can get us there in two seconds. Just pick a place.

[ anywhere but this mirror. ]

[conciliant]

[She knows better than to think that Maya's intention is to hurt her, but each word she lists off is a punch to the gut, only reminding her of the things that she either had done with him or wished they could. Their missions took them to all kinds of places – shrines, abandoned inns and complexes where humans used to live, and the forest. She had even promised that... Ah.

Feeling Maya's attempts to get her to stand, 2B peels herself away from the mirror at last. This poor girl had come all the way out here and is trying her best, and the last thing she should be doing is ignoring her. She should be grateful for her help. The humans have been nothing but kind to her since she arrived, which is why she finally budges.]

Maya...

[Once they're both fully upright, 2B removes her visor and runs the back of her hand across her eyes in a very childlike way, sniffling loudly and trying to fend off more sobs. Through bloodshot eyes, she tries to smile at Maya.]

Can we... go window shopping?

[feytality]

[ she's absolutely not trying to hurt 2b. more the opposite, really. but her smile doesn't falter even though she notices her words might have done more harm than good. hanging out with mista has made her very touchy feely, so a part of her wants to actually just reach up and wipe 2b's tears herself, but offers her hand to 2b again to take. ]

Just pick the store and we're there in a second.

[ literally, because Maya can teleport them there. ]

[conciliant]

[2B takes Maya's offered hand between both of hers, holding it there in her warm, gloved palm for a moment as she gathers her composure.

Emotions are prohibited, she reminds herself, then again and again for good measure. Even here, where no one has done anything to warrant her coldness, 2B doesn't want to let anyone see her like this... Things may change in the future, after all, and she may have to say goodbye to them, too. Being distant makes that easier. So, she raises her chin up.]

9S, he...

[She falters a bit. She shouldn't be thinking about him at a time like this, but this is important to her.]

He said that humans would often go shopping for t-shirts... we were going to when the war was over...

[feytality]

[ maya puts her other hand on top of 2b's holding hers and just lets them stay like that. it seems to be helping, even if just a little. ]

Is that your important person? Who you see in the mirror?

[ maybe she shouldn't ask, but she's never been great about the brain to filter thing. ]

You know... I've never been shopping for tshirts..... so maybe it can be a first for both of us.... and we'll buy lots of shirts to give him when you see him again!

[ maya you fool there's no more app rounds ]

[conciliant]

[Before 2B gives an answer, she peers up at the mirror again. She has no beating heart, sure, but she feels something coiling in her chest all the same, that she quickly swallows down.]

Yes.

[But the news that Maya's never been shopping for t-shirts either seems to surprise 2B. So many of the humans she's met here have been so full of knowledge about their world and how it works that she would have expected that something as simple as shopping for shirts would be a common thing... but guess she's still learning!]

I'm not really sure where to start...

[feytality]

[ it happens when you grow up in a cult. ]

... I understand how you feel. My important person made me wait a long time before he showed up. I really missed him. But then, there he was. So... maybe yours will come too, and he's just taking his time catching up to you 'cause you're so fast and cool.

[ sweet summer maya. ]

Well, we can just go look and see what catches your eye! And maybe your special visor will let you scope out the best deals. [ clearly, what her special visor is for. sales. ] Let's just have fun with it.

[conciliant]

My visor can't do that.

[So straightforward. Sorry for ruining the fun, Maya! Though, she supposes that it would be a very valuable chipset in a situation where she has to buy a large assortment of toothbrushes for the humans. That would have been handy to have...

The way that Maya talks about "having fun" reminds her so much of the boy in the mirror that it makes her sniffle again, gently this time. 2B is always so serious, isn't she? That's what he would tell her.]

Have fun with it.

[She says it as if it's such a foreign thing to her to be saying. Which it is.]

I would like that a lot.

[feytality]

You should think about upgrading it, then. For our very important shopping missions to come.

[ it's very important, okay, 2b!!! she gives her hand a little squeeze at the sniffle, her smile never wavering. well, there's no sense hanging out here anymore ]

Well, I'll teleport us right into the middle of the action! Ready to get started?

[ this is going to be a messy teleport. ]

[conciliant]

[If only she could upgrade here... unfortunately, all of the different chipsets didn't come along for the ride!

Though, what Maya says next gives 2B pause.]

Um, teleport?

[What... does that entail???]