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

[snyaiper]

[He lets out a short laugh, partly at Sayori comparing his experience to someone from the 1300s but mostly at the idea of someone from that long ago trying to acclimate to all this.]

It was all deeply disorienting at first, but I had seen a telephone being used before, so I had at least some concept to work off of. I’d heard of film, too, though I hadn’t seen one myself. I can’t imagine how she would have reconciled this technology with her experience.

[He regards the picture again, before musing;]
You must be glad that so many of your friends were brought here.

[hxppythxughts]

[Was that a laugh? Weird! But rewarding, in a way, such that her little smile grows a bit wider. Laughing is good for you and Ogata probably needs normal things like laughter.

Which makes this thread of conversation a bit difficult, because a lot of the situation surrounding her and her friends is nothing to laugh about. At least her smile hides the quick calculations firing off in her brain, weighing how much can be said and what words those things should be said with.

Wow, this balancing act is a lot more exhausting now that there are people who know the truth of it.] Yeah, I'm really happy to see them again! But... I know this stuff is kinda scary since none of us knew how to fight or anything.

And, uh... [There's a small sigh as her gaze lingers on Yuri's face in the photograph.] We're all from different times of the same world. So we all know different things and it's been kind of weird.

[Yeah, that's a safe enough way to say it without getting into, uh, Everything.]

[snyaiper]

[The smiling is still!!! So weird!!! But it makes him a little bit less uncomfortable because he supposes it's fine.... if she's supposed to be his friend? It's fine and maybe, maybe he doesn't hate it.

Ogata watches her as she talks, but he's really not perceptive enough when it comes to people to notice anything off. Still, he can follow her line of reasoning. It would bother him more, probably, if he hadn't already been made aware of people somehow coming from different times, thanks to Phoenix. The terrifying threat of possibility for the dead to show back up, here. He can imagine people having different spans of knowledge of events would be a problem, too.

He wants to think a gaggle of teenage girls didn't belong in a situation like this. But after meeting Asirpa he's really not sure what estimation to make of what young girls are capable of. Still, Sayori expressed worry about it, so;]

Do you ever wish they hadn't shown up at all?
[That's defnitely a question you COULD ask.... just.... maybe shouldn't.]

[hxppythxughts]

[That...sure is a question!

And maybe it shouldn't be asked, but it is something that has existed at the corners of Sayori's mind in the abstract, a doubt that she couldn't—or wouldn't—put words to. You can't answer a question if it's never asked!

Looks like she has to answer it now, though. And she does think it over. Maybe...maybe for one awful moment, when she first saw Monika and it brought her back to that hell in Wonderland, the nightmare of existence and the knowledge she shouldn't have—maybe then, there was a part of her that selfishly wished she didn't have to confront Monika.

But she's had some time. Some space. A lot of opportunities to think, and talk, and write. While the instinctive fear still lingers, and the unfamiliar knot of anger is difficult to untangle well enough to direct it all in the proper places, Sayori has found room in her heart for the profound sadness that Monika's situation elicits. Life as a Reclaimer has been challenging in ways that she never could have imagined, but despite that... Sayori has made a good life here, away from the confines of the game. Her friends deserve that shot at happiness too. Even Monika.

In some ways, especially Monika.

After a long, heavy moment of silence, Sayori shakes her head in the negative.] Even if it's complicated right now, I think they could be really happy here.

[snyaiper]

[Ogata's gaze is on her through that whole heavy silence, and it continues to bear down on her after she answers as he considers her. One of the benefits of talking to Ogata over text is that you avoid those dark eyes of his. Giving little away and asking so much, like some sort of horrible, feline black hole.

It's a sort of answer he's not surprised to hear from Sayori. Bastion of kindness she purports to be. And really, he does believe her kindness. To a point.]

That's not the question I asked. I didn't ask what you think about them and their thoughts. I asked if you, yourself, at any point, even for one moment, ever wished they hadn't come here.
[He's pressing entirely because she hesitated to give her answer.]

[hxppythxughts]

[God, she's already balancing so many things about this interaction and he's just given her at least three more plates to spin on top of that. It's not entirely that she doesn't want to say the rest; it's true that admitting to her aversion to Monika feels awful, but it's not like that part is a well kept secret. The difficult part is that if she says yes, she may have to explain that something happened between her and Monika. And if she says that then it could lead to a whole lot of things that she frankly doesn't think Ogata is equipped to deal with.

Ah, the pinch of her fingers at the corners of the photograph has tightened a bit. She forces herself to relax her grip and slips her hands into her pockets, one of them taking the photo with it.

If Ogata already thinks she's lying, then that's what he'll think regardless of how she continues. And he's not very trusting, for good reason, so she's sure there's nothing special about her in this interaction—but there's still a sick, sour note of vindication as she scuffs the toe of her shoe against the ground. She knew eventually that someone would see her for the lie that she is. It feels about as awful as she expected.

The boy gazes at her from within the mirror, and she lifts her head and meets his eyes with a certain...emptiness. It's not the same as Ogata's, not like a black hole. There's an exhausted quality to it, like the hole of a grave that someone forgot to stop digging.

Her voice is quiet. Sad, perhaps.] Just once.

Not for very long.

[snyaiper]

[Ogata watches all her movements as she thinks, seemingly impassive though he's carefully following it with his eyes. This discomfort. Stowing the photo and the dead stare at the mirror. Now, he's really got no idea what any of this means, but he's sure taking it all in.

But when she finally answers, he seems to... relax? Like some of the tension the mirror put into his shoulders fades away. As if her answer is what he wanted to hear. He cracks the faintest of smiles, even.]

You act like it's so horrible to admit something like that. If you're just positive and selfless all the time it feels fake.
[A lie for being negative? Nah. To Ogata, she seems more real than ever.]

... If you hadn't selfishly insisted I taught you how to dance we probably wouldn't be standing here talking now.
[That's arguably a case to not be selfish, from some people's perspective.]

[hxppythxughts]

[Luckily for Sayori, he can't see the way her fists tighten in her pockets at it feels fake. Of course it does. She is fake. An act upon an act, a programmed smile pasted over a sad backstory, loaded into a character file with the simple click of a mouse.

Her gaze falls, her head bowing slightly as she regards the bottom of the mirror's frame. He seems pleased, but she can't really parse why. He's hard to read even when she's not all caught up in her own head.

Surely he hasn't figured it out, right?

She laughs in a small, wry breath, her instinctual defense mechanism for processing ugly feelings. There's very little evident upset in her words, which is jarring against the actual content of them.] Yeah, and if you hadn't taught me even though I'm not useful for anything.

[snyaiper]

[Ogata frowns minutely at that. He understands the concern. People don't do something unless they gain something from it. It's important to have some sort of utility, otherwise, no one's going to give you the time of day. But... that's not quite right, is it? So he's been told anyway. Sometimes people do things they don't gain anything from if they're... kind? He supposes.

Still, he's not one to lie or gloss over things. So he's blunt.]

Mm. I taught you because it seemed like the quickest way to get you to leave me alone. You were very insistent.
[Honestly. He half wonders if even back then she'd sense something about him that made her want to not leave him alone. Maybe she was just stubborn. It's hard to say. In any case;]

I don't see how anyone could call someone like you useless, though.
[He could just say "you're not useless" but that's far too direct a nice thing to say.]

[hxppythxughts]

[There were definitely quicker ways to get her to leave him alone, which she knows now because he shot Alex in the head for a frankly minor slight, but that's not an argument she has the energy for. And even if she did, she's well distracted from it by his next words.

She lifts her bowed head to look at him, eyebrows furrowed and the corners of her mouth turned down slightly in uncertainty. Ogata is a pretty pragmatic person. And, at least according to him, he's never done or said anything just to be nice. (Sayori is pretty sure that's not true, but she does believe he doesn't make a habit of doing that.)

So he probably wouldn't say that if he didn't actually believe it, but...] Really?

[It seems pretty obvious to her!!]

[snyaiper]

Really. You can heal, can’t you? That’s a useful skill.
[Well that’s definitely very.... pragmatic of him. It’s not like she’s the only one who can heal, though. There’s Dr Tank but then plenty of other people on the team who can use some sort of healing magic. That’s probably not enough. To solve whatever sort of... moment of crisis she’s having, here. He’s really not equipped for this. He can’t even handle seeing a version of his parents that care about him. That’s something normal for most people, isn’t it?

Hold on. Why does it even matter? Why should he care if Sayori is upset? It’s not like it affects him in any way. He doesn’t have any sort of incentive to keep her happy. It’s not necessary for the mission. It’s certainly not his job to make her feel better.

He still wants to, though. He frowns as this realization, glaring over at the mirror. He sees his mother.

Ah, that’s it. It’s because he cares about Sayori now.]

... And besides... you’re my friend.
[He says this, softly, without looking at her, hand carding over his hair. As if it’s a secret for someone else but the only person to hear it is her.]

[hxppythxughts]

[It's true that she can heal. Better now, since taking her Wizard path. But she doesn't have much time to think on that, to discard her own contributions because there are better healers.

Because he says she's his friend. Because apparently she really did win that argument, but that's not really the surprising part. She's noticed how he's acted since then—talking about her on the network, joining her sometimes when she sits down for a snack. Like he said, killing someone is one thing (for him), but those smaller gestures speak more of enjoying her company.

It's just surprising to hear him admit it. And admit it...for her sake. Yeah. That's the weird part.

She blinks a few times like she's still trying to absorb it, and then an embarrassed smile crosses her face as she looks away too. She scuffs the toe of her shoe on the ground again, this time in a bashful way. Crazy reality check; she must really be a downer right now if Ogata is having to say something nice to her.] Yeah, sorry. You're right.

Thanks.

[snyaiper]

[He did, he said something nice for her sake. And it seems like it worked? Well, that's quite enough. He can only tolerate so much of this friendship nonsense at a time, and he can't just turn around and be mean. That means it's time for him to leave.

He thinks about what she said a minute before, when she'd reached out to touch him without thinking. When something upsetting happens, I think it's nice to be touched. That was what she'd said. After a pause where he simply stares, he reaches out and... pats her on the head???]

Don't thank me. It feels weird. [Ogata, please.]

[hxppythxughts]

[She's a sentient computer program ripped out of her game and pretending to be a student at a wizard school stuck in a time loop and threatened by a dragon, and yet somehow the head pat is the weirdest thing that's happened to her today.

She blinks owlishly a few times as she registers it. Slowly, stupidly, lifts her own hand to set it atop her head in that spot, like maybe she imagined it??? But no, she totally saw the reflection of the motion in the mirror out of the corner of her eye, so...

After a moment, her smile brightens.] Ehehe~ Okay, okay. [And her hand falls away from her head, but it lands instead on his shoulder as she starts to guide them away in a gentle motion.] C'mon, let's get away from this dumb mirror and get a snack or something!

[snyaiper]

[God, it's still so weird, receiving that sort of smile. Ogata does his strange little reflexive hair smoothing. He glances back at the mirror for a moment. At those strange mirror parents that don't have any business existing, even as an image.

But he can ignore it, for now. He can look at Sayori instead. Expressing a rather similar sentiment, except she's real. She's put her hand on his shoulder, guiding him away. In some ways, it's just as impossible. Or it should be, anyway. And he feels that destructive urge in his gut. That same urge Yuusaku's smile brought out in him. But it's weighed down by the sad expression she had only a minute ago. Sayori wasn't blithely oblivious. She was smiling despite all her worries.

It's almost scary, in a way. She's stronger than she looks, in a way Ogata can't even begin to match. So he nods, and lets her lead him away.]

Aah. Lead the way.