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

Monika | Doki Doki Literature Club

[myliteratureclub]

((Top level will go below! Possible mix of open or closed depending on how the loops go! You can contact me at sekoshi if you want a closed prompt!))

Closed to Hayner

[myliteratureclub]

[ A couple of loops going in, Monika's mood is getting worse. She's feeling really stressed from the constant restarting and desperately tries to not let the day be the same every time. The problem is that she's also starting to get exhausted from a lack of rest, and she's starting to reach a point of snapping at people.

At first glance passing by, it might seem like she's taking her frustrations on a certain student. The two are yelling at each other pretty loudly. It's almost embarrassing. ]

You're... you're just like him! Just get out of my way!

[ She shoves him when he gets up in her face, but he doesn't seem to be backing down. ]

[hijumpkick]

[These loops are getting a little confusing, but Hayner would like to think he's handling things okay. Compared to the horrors of Wonderland, this is much more preferable.]

[However, on one of those loops, he sees the aforementioned altercation. He's got no idea who they are, but he recognizes the bracer on the girl's wrist, signalling her being a Reclaimer, while the other guy... just seems to be giving her a hard time.]

[Frowning, he makes his way over.]

Hey! What's going on here??

[myliteratureclub]

[ They both look over at Hayner, the guy with a glare. ]

"Mind your own business! She started it anyway!"

[ Monika bristles immediately. ]

No I didn't! I bumped into you, and you started yelling at me!

"Only cause you were rude about it! I just want an apology!"

[hijumpkick]

[That's about enough for Hayner to hear. Not only is he wanting to help out a fellow Reclaimer, he also just really hates guys like this guy.]

[He steps forwad and gives the guy a rough shove to his shoulder.]

Hey, why don't you back off?? Didn't anyone ever tell you not to be a jerk to girls??

[myliteratureclub]

[ The guy stumbles back a bit, rubbing his shoulder. However he still won't back down for some reason. ]

"Hey I said stay out of it! What're you, some kind of white knight!?"

[ Monika scoffs behind Hayner. The irony of it all.. ]

[hijumpkick]

I've got more respect for girls than you do, and that's all that matters! You might act tough in front of a girl, so let's see how you handle someone your own size!

[He got into full on tavern brawls in a bar full of pirates. One lone guy is nothing.]

[myliteratureclub]

[ The boy takes a step back from Hayner out of fear. He glares to the side and jams his hands into his pockets. ]

"Whatever this is a waste of time anyway."

[ He stomps off without another word to them though he his grumbling under his breath.

Meanwhile Monika lets out a slow sigh of a relief, deflating at a little. She puts her hands over her heart; it feels like it could pop out at any moment. ]

Thanks so much... I'm terrible with conflict. You really saved me.

[hijumpkick]

[Hayner huffs as the guy stomps off, and he brings a hand up to his shoulder, moving his arm in a circle to loosen it up.]

Yeah, you'd better run. Jerk.

[It's said more to himself than to the guy storming off. He turns to the girl and offers her a smile.]

Hey, don't mention it! You were in trouble with that guy, I couldn't just not do something.

Closed to Shuichi

[myliteratureclub]

[ After the second loop, Monika meets up with Shuichi at 5:00 pm at the comfy pillow pile. She waves him down when she seeing him enter the room. She also pulls over a large bag of ingredients she's been collecting at the marketplace. ]

Nice to finally meet you! Do you think these are actually going to help you out?

[diffidentive]

[Shuichi looks a little nervous when he enters the inn promptly at 5:00, glancing around uncertainly and keeping a firm grip on the strap of the messenger bag around his shoulder. But some of those nerves seem to leave him when Monika waves him over. Oh good...that must be her. The person from the network, he's not too early or anything.]

[He moves across the room, coming to a stop next to the pillow pile though he doesn't sit down right away.]

N-Nice to meet you too. I'm Saihara Shuichi, by the way. [His voice is soft and slightly effeminate, and just the tiniest bit nervous at the moment. Probably because he's meeting someone new.] But um...yes, they will. I can't make potions without ingredients, after all.

[myliteratureclub]

[ An eyebrow raises when she notices how nervous the guy is. Is she being scary? She tries to smile it off. ]

Nice to meet you, Shuichi! I'm Monika. Go ahead and help yourself! I tried to grab you another round this loop. Oh and here-

[ Monika pops open her notebook and flips through a few pages. When she finds what she's looking for, she neatly rips it out and hands over to him. It's a similar drawing to the one on her network post. ]

I made you a copy of my map.

[diffidentive]

[He's just an anxious person by nature, don't worry. He'll relax a little with time.]

Ah! [He takes the map from her with a soft smile, looking it over before folding it twice and slipping it into his pocket.] Thank you. I think I'll finally have a look around the marketplace during the next loop...so far I've just been investigating the school. Making sure things really are exactly the same from loop to loop...

[After a moment's hesitation, he slips his bag from his shoulder and finally takes a seat on the pillows as well. He places the bag on the floor next to him, opens it, and after a moment of rummaging pulls out a small folding tray that was patently too long to have fit in the bag. He sets it up in front of him before reaching into the bag again and pulling out a notebook, a burner, and a number of cloth-wrapped objects that turn out to be a few beakers and a set of test tubes. All of these things he sets on top of the little tray, save for the notebook which he opens to a page in the middle and sets on the floor next to the tray.]

Okay...let's see about making that potion of fire resistance then. I tried looking it up in the Boarbumps library, but all I could find was a potion of resistance. I copied the instructions down anyway, though, they might be close enough for me to figure out the difference on my own...

[myliteratureclub]

If you want I can come with you next time too. I know what to say exactly to get the best price now.

[ She smiles when he finally sits down and watches him pull out the stuff from his bag. ]

Ooooh neat. Anything I can do to help?

[diffidentive]

Oh, do you? [He chuckles a little bit as he sets things up on the little table.] Is that something you figured out from looping?

[He reaches back into his bag and pulls out a small set of scales and a few tiny weights.]

And...if you could separate the ingredients for me, that would help. I'd ask you to help me measure them out but...I'm not sure exactly how much of everything I'm going to need yet.

[myliteratureclub]

Mmhmm that's right!

[ At least the loops are good for something... But anyway she scooches forward to help. ]

Sure I can do that! And don't worry, we should have plenty to start playing with for now. But if we happen to run out, we can grab more in a few hours.

[ She starts to sort what she's bought for him. ]

sorry about the wait...my tag motivation decided to just fly out the window and leave me for a week

[diffidentive]

[It's true, they do have their benefits. Shuichi is looking forward to all the study time they'll give him. But...at the same time, he's pretty sure they're all going to get sick of them real quick since everyone other than themselves seems to just keep repeating the same things over and over...]

[He nods.]

Another good thing about the loops, I suppose. But even so, I'll try not to waste what we have now. The ingredients themselves may keep replenishing, but our money won't, haha...

[He starts mixing some of the ingredients in a beaker before setting it on the burner and turning the flame on.]

Though...actually, [He looks over at Monika, a dawning look of realization on his face.] I do have something that can help with that. Bender-san made some yokan for me that makes you more persuasive...if you already know the right things to say to the merchants, I bet you could drive their prices even lower if you ate some before talking to them.

post-library shenanigans!!

[philoxenia]

[ It's after they've finished up with the library that Mira finally points to the notebook Monika's found. She's... pretty curious. And it feels a little strange to poke into someone's business, but also...

She's curious. ]

So... what is in there?

[myliteratureclub]

[ Monika glances up flipping the notebook closed and slides it over to Mira. ]

Honestly? Nothing really useful. Buuuut it does have a list of crushes in it.

[philoxenia]

[ Oh my. ]

Not notes for class? Oh wow...

[ A pause. ]

... I'm kind of curious.

[myliteratureclub]

Help yourself. I honestly only took a quick look until I realized what it was.

[ Every part of her screamed to read more... but she's trying to do this thing where she's being a better person. Trying is the key word. ]

[philoxenia]

Maybe, but... even if I'm curious--

[ She taps the cover of the notebook. ]

If I had a notebook of crushes, I wouldn't want anyone to look at it.

[myliteratureclub]

Yeah I was thinking that too. I'd be so embarrassed.

[ She looks down at it again. ]

But I also wonder... who's keeping track of this stuff? And why? For gossip?

[philoxenia]

Gossip, maybe... That, or...

[ .... ]

I almost don't want to say it, because it's such an unpleasant thought.

[myliteratureclub]

[ Monika tilts her head then puts her hand on the notebook again. ]

Soooo what should we do with it then?