Field Mission 6: A Day in Thay, Part 2

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This is actually the nightmare scenario. NAVIGATION 1. TIME CASCADES FORWARD Over the last month, the Reclaimers have been trying to investigate and uncover the odd and peculiar power that the Lamp of Unwinding has. You've all come to a town secluded intentionally by the mountains and snow that cover the region of Thay, and have met the best and brightest witch and wizard students the world has to offer. But this town, as you've come to learn, was in a state that can only be defined by the goddess of fate herself- as "time sick." The same set of hours, looped, every single day for the past several years. You met the Council of Thay: Rainer, Casariel, Gromph and Onerion. They run the affairs of town and are deeply invested in the school's success, each holding several professorial positions to help mold the great thinkers of tomorrow. Each had their own set of personal problems to face, and a long history of deeply troubled pasts. Rainer, the great-granddaughter of the first Headmaster of Boarbumps, had to live up to the expectations her lineage offered. Casariel, a woman who intentionally wormed her way into the school grounds to further her sinister plans, had to weight the conflict of her every day life that she had built and reconcile them with her mission goal. Gromph, an archmagus who summoned demons into the world, sought redemption for the horrible atrocities he committed in the Underdark. And Onerion, an Aasimar who had lost his wings at some point, clung to order and regulation to make sense of a world that once shunned him from existence. It was relatively quickly discovered that Rainer was the one with the Lamp of Unwinding, the events of which were fated once by the unfortunately all-knowing wizard Karsus. It had been handed down to her through generations past, with the sole intent of ensuring that, when the time came, the Reclaimers would come to town and stop something grave from happening. Casariel waged a war, fueled on by centuries of hatred and contempt, and made her way to the Wellspring of Magic, deep below the city of Thay. There, she worked her dark powers to twist the intention of the Source of Magic, binding herself to it as a failsafe should anything come to pass that proved... difficulty in her goal. See, Casariel is an ancient being from a lost civilization that wants to see the world burn. Her kind had seen the face of the Hunger, and had worked to bring it ever closer to this plane of existence. Casariel's job was to wave the carrot stick in front of its mouth, to be the harbinger of the Apocalypse and ensure revenge for everyone that had done her wrong. Which presented an interesting conundrum. Rainer, knowing Casariel was tied to the Wellspring of Magic, was forced to make a choice between letting magic die or letting her go through with her plan to welcome the end of days. An optimist, and someone who poured her heart into the town of Thay, the students she watched over in her career as Headmistress and eventually Regent of the High Council, she believed a middle path to exist. The Reclaimers, with the aid of several godly blessings, went down to Wellspring of Magic to end this conflict once and for all. Upon arriving, they prepared to battle with an ancient black dragon who had been put there to protect the Wellspring, now under the thrall of the callous Casariel. And from here, everything cascaded downward. The relic was destroyed in the skrimish, the dragon escaped to an unknown fate, and as it turned out, the only way to defeat Casariel was to end her life. And with it, comes the eventual reckoning event that Rainer worked so hard to stop. The death of all magic in Faerun. Where do we pick up the pieces? How do we fight against The Hunger without the ability to do so? The Reclaimers head home with a lot on their minds, despondent over the conclusion of this mission. But all is not lost. Yes, it's a setback, but the Bureau of Balance will have to be more resilient than ever to the threat that they face. The threat of this world and every world after depends on them, and now- more than ever, they need each other. Because the Hunger's here. And it's slowly eating away the Celestial plane. 2. TIME AFTER TIME A. THIS SEEMS SPOOKY You may remember the band of skeletons Rainer has been using as a cleanup crew for Thay — and you may remember that around 6 p.m. every loop, on the dot, they all suddenly froze in place. For those of you who are outside, as your fellow Reclaimers attempt to put an end to the Lamp of Unwinding's influence, the first signs that the bubble you've all been trapped in is on the brink of popping suddenly lurch back to life. Indeed, these once helpful bones, not quite so much under Rainer's necromancy now as they are utterly consumed by it turn hostile, mimicking the movements of a master underground, fighting with everything in their power. Thay's surface dissolves into chaos once again. It's up to you to return the skeletons to a rest they once enjoyed. B. LURCHING FORWARD And then, just like that, Thay breaks through to 8 p.m. and beyond, the first time it's reached these particular nighttime moments in nearly a decade. But you see, that's actually a problem in itself. With the Lamp of Unwinding destroyed, with at least some of Rainer's goals accomplished, replaced with an even worse outcome, within the boundaries of the town exists an anomaly in the flow of time that Istus is finally able to frog, and stitch back together properly. You Reclaimers, who are something of an anomaly yourselves, enough so that the gods themselves have reached to you, nudged you forward in your attempts to destroy the Hunger, will be able to watch, unaffected, as a time bubble corrects itself to the tune of about six or seven years, in real-time. In a single split second, the town of Thay, and the inhabitants who were trapped inside from the beginning, age six to seven years. Trees sprout from nothing. Stone buildings, meticulously maintained, suddenly lean, on the verge of crumbling, as if they'd been abandoned for a decade. An overgrown field of flowers bloom where a tidy row of shrines once stood. Residents find themselves suddenly seven years older, inexplicably. The Lamp of Unwinding has long been considered one of the most dangerous Grand Relics in the set. These are the consequences, this is what has to happen, to correct the damage that messing with the flow of time itself has done. C. CLEANUP The Lamp of Unwinding has been destroyed. Casariel is dead. The dragon she was trying to control escaped, ultimately sparing the town of Thay from destruction — at least dragon destruction. But considering the price you all paid for it, it's difficult to call any of this a success. In the moments after Thay is returned to the correct point in time, the Bureau of Balance — they were, you're now learning, camping a few leagues away, waiting for the time bubble to finally burst — immediately move in. Lucretia, Dr. Tank and several assistants are among the travel party, here to tend to the wounded and offer counsel to the Red Mages, to assess their next steps. Thay has lived, but it has lost the magic, quite literally, that so heavily defined it. Without anything to study, and several years of living to make up for, the students of Boarbumps begin to pack their things and leave. The air is tense. A sense of foreboding looms in the atmosphere itself, as the implications of what's just happened sink in. Nobody immediately blames you for this, of course, but as the hours move forward as intended, Thay's way of life grinds to a halt. There will be a lot of soul-searching to be done in the months and years ahead. It will not be easy. And then there's you. Without healing magic to patch yourself up instantly, some of you may not be fit to travel for a day or two. The usual orbs that zip you back and forth between locations around Faerun have ceased to function, but those of you desperate to leave immediately will find carriages to take you home, under bright blue skies that don't seem to even realize what's happened on the surface. Time always moves forward. Regardless of when you depart Thay, you will eventually. D. WELCOME HOME ...? New New Aspen, as you may recall, sits directly below the Moon Base. Next to it stands a tree. A Candlenights tree where, an entire year ago, the Reclaimers' very first mission took place — a Candlenights tree that had been, through the magic of the Space Mittens Grand Relic, grown to absolutely outrageous proportions, stretching almost to the Moon Base itself. And, uh. Weirdly. That giant tree is still there, giant and festive as ever. That's not what the residents of New New Aspen find weird, however. What's actually weird is the entire freaking Moon Base that appears to have gently-but-not-so-gently landed in the expansive field next to town. The loss of magic was enough to knock the base ever so slightly out of orbit, and, well, it went in a logical direction. As you settle down, you can hear the panicked yelling of a certain completely panicking scientist who may or may not be named Lucas, and the laughter of his technomancer pal, who may or may not go by Miss Zarves: "I can't believe I had to do that — I can't believe I did that!!!" "Dude, you landed that better than a gymnastics meet!" At least some things never change. Reclaimers, welcome home. The base is intact and will keep you safe now and through the next Interlude. 3. OOC We've seen and heard some voiced concerns about what to do with magic no longer an option currently. While we understand that this plot event has created a major difficulty for many characters, we want to take a moment and- first of all, thank you for bearing with us. As this DWRP is highly experimental, we knew that there would be two possible outcomes to this mission. We've prepared for both, and want to assure you that the gears are in place to lead us to end game conditions. With any epic story, there's bound to be hills and valleys that come up in the plot along the way. While this dramatically does change the landscape of the game in the immediate, please rest assured that we have planned out where things are heading. Over the past year we've all written something spectacular together, and this particular point is no different. We honestly think that the upcoming mission and what's in store for you all will be something truly memorable. Remember, this game has always been founded on the idea that character choices and IC mechanics will shape the world and the direction the plot is heading in. And we're seeing that take shape right now, as we speak. Those of you who have characters that run on magical energy to sustain themselves will still be able to participate- we've baked in something that we plan to share with those individuals in the upcoming few days. Those of you who are worried that your characters will be useless or face severe CR regression from here on out, fear not. The current state of the world is not permanent, nor is it intended to last through to end game. We will get there. And you're all going to be amazing. A few very important things we want to note here: ○ Your path actions, abilities and magic items are not gone. To pull back the curtain slightly, and without giving away upcoming plot details, you will be able to use them normally again for the next field mission. One of the major objectives of which will be to return magic to Faerun. These are pretty dire circumstances! But Lucretia seems confident that this will be fixed, and she will happily sit down with and reassure anybody who needs it. ○ To that end, if you participated in the CTA, you can roll for a new gacha item. It just will not function until the next mission. ○ Everything in the Moon Base is intact. That includes simulutions — they are not magic-based, but built on very advanced technology. The only exception at this point are the magic effects of Bender's food. ○ The people of New New Aspen will welcome you into their fold once again, and we will include a few prompts with them in the Interlude. They are not nearly as reliant on magic as the rest of Faerun might be — and they're kind of used to all the weird things you tend to bring with you at this point. Additionally, we will be accepting re-apps for previously dropped characters who would like to join us for the final mission/game ending! More details on that soon. blurb code by photosynthesis

Comments

[wrightingwrongs]

[c. the ballad of the steel samurai]

[It's over. With all the trials and tribulations everyone shared, down in the depths below. With everything changing. With the wounded, and those who are somewhere between dead and not. And the remnants of a total, disastrous failure. As Thay snaps forward - and the neglect and wear shows, Phoenix stands there, holding the partly-metaphorical, partly-literal hand that struck midnight.

For those that may have met the proclaimed defense attorney, you may be used to a certain levity and optimism that comes from him - even if it's occasionally couched in a veil of witty exasperation. But here, in those quiet moments as Thay snaps back into the flow of time, as others more capable tend to those who have taken the worst of it, Phoenix has managed to slink off to look at the now-crumbling town.

If you find him, there's no levity, no small smile on his face, not even a hint of a self-disparaging monologue. Just a man staring at the sky - or is it the clock tower? - and back down at himself. Clearly trying to come to terms with what he had to do.]


[d. the fragrance of black coffee]

[As everyone makes it home, as the reclaimers start to piece back together what little semblance of normality they might have had in the moon base. It may still be hard to find the man who believes himself responsible for the death of Faerun's magic.

You can find him eventually, in some soft corner of Bender's, nursing... well.

A coffee. The steam rising off it as he looks into it. Seems he's less of a shooter and more of a sipper. It's clear that he's lost in his thoughts - and perhaps a bit more than that.

Regardless, if he sees you approach him, he clearly isn't making any signs of it.]


[e. wildcard]

[For anything not covered here!]

the fragrance of black coffee

[philoxenia]

[ Phoenix is definitely someone she wants to seek out. Honestly, things don't seem quite right still. She'd just gotten somewhat used to magic, and now-- now, there's nothing. It's like her entire world's been tilted slightly, and she can't quite find her footing. Maybe it's because, when it comes down to it, she's always been able to feel some kind of power.

And now-- well. There's nothing. It's unsettling, and she hasn't exactly been able to sleep well, but... She does what she hopes she does best: Keep going, check on the people she cares about and who she knows need support. So-- here they are. Mira is wandering, more than anything, and she just stumbles upon Phoenix.

Quietly, she calls out, ]

Phoenix? May I join you?

[wrightingwrongs]

[Phoenix looks up from contemplating the coffee that has him there - his eyes locking with Mira. The response is a little too soft, and perhaps more than a little weary - Phoenix clearly hasn't been sleeping well since he's come back to base, and it probably doesn't have anything to do with the coffee in his hands.]

Hey Mira. Sure.

[He nods and motions to a chair opposite the table he's sitting, more than willing to wait for her to open conversation.]

[philoxenia]

[ She notices--but then again, she hasn't been sleeping well, either. Phoenix is in similar company, there. Regardless, she takes a seat across from him, giving him a quiet smile. ]

How are you doing?

[ There's a certain weight behind her words, but whether he picks up on it or not... Well, she's worried. ]

[doubledsofjustice]

[Between Mia and Maya and Phoenix, the Feys aren't actually all that touchy, comparatively. Perhaps it's because Kurain wasn't too much the place for hugs and comfort. There is solace in touch, though, something Mia has at least shared with her sister. It can say more than words sometimes.

So when Mia approaches Phoenix, she places a hand on his back near his shoulder, giving that shoulder the smallest squeeze. She doesn't say anything at first.

Were this a case, she'd have something to offer. Some kind of silver lining, some way this could be viewed as hopeful. But she has no way to predict anything that could happen here, and she never has. Mia could never have seen this coming, all-knowing as she may have seemed back home. Now she feels like she has no answers-- and what could anyone truly say?]

Nick.

[Is what. She just calls his name, tired and soft and quiet.]

[wrightingwrongs]

[The touch on the shoulder pulls him out of his seemingly shell-shocked state. His head doesn't turn - not immediately. Something about Phoenix's movements seem so slow, right now - a slowness that is entirely at odds with Phoenix as a person. Just as slowly, a hand reaches up to hold onto the one Mia's put on his shoulder. Trembling. His voice isn't much better, when he finds it.]

Hey, Mia. [It wavers, quuetly. It sounds...light, but fragile. Weak. Like the wind could pick up and snatch him right out from under Mia's hand. To a lot of people, he sounds like a completely different person. But Mia will remember vividly a Phoenix Wright who wasn't confident. Who wore his whole heart on his sleeve, and didn't know how to hide it when it broke.

A Phoenix who Mia hadn't seen in five years, before coming to the Bureau.

Even still, the voice sounds... bright. Like it's trying to search for the right words to make the situation lighter. To ease the burden on both of them. Mia can practically see him trying to hold fast to that optimism.

If he can't smile, how can he expect anyone else to?]

[doubledsofjustice]

[Mia squeezes Phoenix's shoulder underneath his hand, leaning her temple against his shoulder, too. It isn't exactly a hug, but the sentiment of one is there.

She doesn't have to ask to know, anyway; she could feel it, just before their new connection was severed. It almost felt empty to be apart from him and Maya in that way, now, but Mia doesn't need the oath to know just how Phoenix is feeling right now.

"The only time a lawyer can cry is when it's all over."

Diego's voice rings in her mind, and right now it stings. When will it be over? Will they make it until then? She's not so sure anymore, but she has to stay strong for Maya and Phoenix.]

You're thinking of what to say now, aren't you?

[she asks gently.]

You don't have to say anything.

coffee

[noblegarnet]

[A young man in a hoodie joins Phoenix at the table with a cup of dark tea, content for the moment to drink in silence. He's seen the distant look in the man's eye. He was watching through the mirror they used as a portal as they tried so hard to find some other method of dealing with Casariel. And he saw the lance hit its target, even if he couldn't watch for much longer than that.

Ferran hasn't killed anyone, himself, at least not yet; killing monsters is difficult enough with something as distant and impersonal as magic, and knowing you've taken the life of something that had its own memories, thoughts and feelings... well.

Eventually, he speaks, his tone sympathetic:]

You did what had to be done.

Re: coffee

[wrightingwrongs]

[Phoenix doesn't show any objections to Ferran sitting with him, looking up at him as he sits. He takes a sip of his coffee, staring into it as he lowers it, before speaking up.]

That's what everyone tells me. [And they're right. He knows. He knows that if he hadn't done it, something worse would have happened. The voice is quiet. Contemplative.]

It's a little hard getting it to stick.

thank you for not objecting, he likes his hearing.

[noblegarnet]

[Ferran offers him a tired smile.]

We're all our own worst critic. [The smile fades, leaving concern.] I... know it probably won't be easy. But we're all in this together, right? You don't have to carry it alone.

[He looks down to his tea for a moment, then takes a slow sip.]

I'm sure you've had people thank you, but... I want to, as well. And I say that as someone who's only ever used magic here.

[So if there's anyone who "should" be mad about it, he's definitely on the list.]

Ballad

[unrecovered]

[By this time, everyone knows what happened in the cave. Broad strokes, for the most part, but also a few very important details. Relevant here: who struck the killing blow on Casariel.]

[Killing, like many things, gets easier with practice. Killing, like many things, is incredibly goddamn difficult the first time around. Killing, like very few things, will tear a hole in your soul if you're not prepared for the ramifications.]

[From what Wash knows, Phoenix is a lot of things. He's pretty sure killer isn't on that list.]

[So he goes looking for Phoenix, and after a while, he finds him, looking up at...the sky? The clock? And back down at...the ground, or himself. He's processing. Judging from the look on his face, he's also completely shell-shocked.]

[That's...honestly not a surprise.]

[Wash stands next to him and gives the silence a few more moments to settle before speaking.]

Thank you.

[wrightingwrongs]

[The thing about being somewhere quiet to try and gather your thoughts is that its at least easy to tell when someone is coming up on you. So it doesn't come as a surprise when Wash speaks up. And there's a long moment where he has to find his voice.

A rarity for Nick, to be sure.]

Don't know if I earned the thanks. She was still in there sonewhere. At the end. [There were glimpses. How she spared Adriel. How she seemed to become distracted once Rainer had been put in danger.] We just. Ran out of time.

[He's not facing Wash, still looking up. But he doesn't seem to mind Wash getting closer to continue the conversation.]

[unrecovered]

That doesn't mean you could have reached her.

[It's calm, with an undertone of steel. Wash may know a thing or two about this.]

She made her decision. From the sounds of it, she was planning on bringing the Hunger down on this whole dimension. It would have killed everything.

You saved a lot of lives by ending hers, and sometimes that's the choice that you have to make. You did what needed to be done. So, thank you.

c

[mccreehaw]

[ There's the sound of spurs jingling as McCree comes to stand beside Phoenix. He looks up at the clock tower too and doesn't say anything until he reaches inside his shirt pocket. ]

Mind if I smoke?

Re: c

[wrightingwrongs]

McCree?

[Phoenix kind of snaps out of it a bit. He wasn't one of the voices he was expecting to here, but, well-]

Go ahead. I was just taking some time to myself.

[mccreehaw]

Thanks.

[ He lights up and flicks the lid of his lighter closed. ]

Hell of a day, huh?

[ He may be referring to the entirety of the mission, since it took place over just one day. ]

d

[eudaimonikos]

[Michael is usually awake at odd hours, in and out of Bender's randomly throughout the day. Today's no different.

He doesn't really know this guy. Spoken to him once, maybe twice; he's pretty sure the Feys know him somehow. But he has heard that this is the guy who killed Casariel. Which is, when you get right down to it, sort of cool? In an awful way! An awful, probably non-human way.

(Hitting someone with a lance is always gonna be a little cool though.)

Anyway. He doesn't bother to ask before taking a seat across from Phoenix.]

You know, where I'm from, we would drink antimatter instead of coffee. I liked the pumpkin spice flavor, everyone always said that was "basic"...

[wrightingwrongs]

A...Antimatter??

[Phoenix is obviously a bit startled by Michael inviting himself to his table. But while he's never actually been that upset over people getting into his space unprompted, if Michael was hoping to disarm him by way of a phrase that would cause Phoenix to completely double-take. Well, he's successful.]

I-I'm pretty sure antimatter wouldn't agree with me. Even pumpkin spice flavor.

[eudaimonikos]

[Michael chuckles.]

Oh, no. You'd implode. 

[.....]

So how are you doing?

d

[whippings]

( Franziska von Karma does not do well with being ignored. That being said, she makes a small concession, given everything that has happened, and does not whip him to attract his attention. In fact, her trusty weapon stays holstered at her side as she snaps her fingers in front of his face and says: )

Why are you sitting in the corner like a wounded pup?

( For the better or the worse, Franziska's not known for her people skills. )

Re: d

[wrightingwrongs]

F-Franziska!

[He's still a bit startled, and perhaps more surprised she hasn't broken out the whip as he looks at her, snapping out of his doldrums - if only temporarily.]

Sorry, I'm just thinking about what happened in Thay. [He knows better than to at least try and bluff why he's licking his wounds, so to speak, to Franziska. He does break eye contract with her to look back down at his mug.] It's all I've been able to think about, lately.

[whippings]

( Satisfied that he has, at the very least, answered her question, she folds her arms across her chest and arches an eyebrow. )

So, you're brooding.

( A scoff. )

Honestly, what is there to dwell upon?

c.......for cee

[hxppythxughts]

[Sayori's footsteps shuffle far heavier than they have any right to for such a small girl as she approaches Phoenix. And she shuffles up right next to him, reaches out to set a hand on his arm gently in echo of reaching for him as the day reset.

She doesn't know him very well, but Mia and Maya love him, and he's been very kind to her, and he just had to do something that no one should have ever had to do. And knowing what happened to Sans, there's a gaping, ragged hole in her heart, and the only way she only knows how to stave the bleeding is to do what she can for the pain of others.

Her head turns and tilts as she looks up at him, her frown somber and heavy empathy in her eyes.] ...I'm sorry.

Re: c.......for cee

[wrightingwrongs]

[The touch brings him back to when she had to reach for him during reset - the nausea plain on her face, her own pain fresh. And for a brief moment, Phoenix can see that - and see him reaching out to help her without hesitation, before he forces a weak smile on hie face.]

Hey, Sayori. Wasn't expecting to see you here. [Part of him really was trying to isolate. To hide and deal with his emotional wounds on his own. But, well, that's not gotten him very far when people are looking for him.]

...Thanks. I could use the reassurance, right about now.

c

[feytality]

[ phoenix killed someone. even if it was in defense of others -- the only way he'd ever do such a thing, that would have landed him the death penalty back home. she can't imagine what he's feeling. maya herself has managed to get by without even really hurting anyone -- even in this situation, she isn't sure if she would have strength to do what phoenix did. (but maybe she should, if he means he doesn't have to suffer like this?) it must weight heavily on him. in fact, she's sure it does -- phoenix has always been an open book, and she it's crystal clear he's despondent and non responsive. she can't let this stand. ]

[ she approaches, too quietly for him to hear her, and then ..... ]

YOOOOOOOO, NIIIIIIIIIIICK!

[ okay subtlety is out. ]