balance_logs | Lunar Interlude 3

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Lunar Interlude 3

	What a mess.
	NAVIGATION

1. NEW RECLAIMERS

A. WELCOME WAGON

For the 14 of you who will be arriving today, the story is the same: though you may not remember it, there was a moment where you were living out your life, at home or wherever you were ... and then there was the moment the Hunger came. And amid the television static that is your memory of that moment, a hand reached out to you, beckoning your escape as the tendrils of darkness destroyed everything that ever existed about your world.

"Would you hurry this up, please? Your world no longer stands a chance. Come with me, we are the last bastions of hope for all universes everywhere. And we're going to need you."

And then, unceremoniously, you are dragged through the universal wringer and plopped down on the soft, though not quite cushioned, grass of the Moon Base Quad.

You're not alone, either. Along with the newest members of the Bureau, in a fashion probably not unlike this, there are people waiting here for you. People who wanted to see the heroes the Director has managed to bring in this time.

People who are excited to see what you're capable of.

You have a few minutes to talk with each other — or maybe lob a few questions at the impromptu welcoming committee, or any of the older Reclaimers who may happen to be nearby. But before long, you're whisked away to a different area of the Moon Base.

B. THE VOIDFISH

The 14 of you are quickly divided into three groups, and brought to the easternmost geodesic dome, to an elevator in a well maintained, but sparsely landscaped field. There's nothing particularly ominous feeling about the space — in fact, the two guards who greet you at the elevator entrance seem pleased with your arrival. You are, after all, one of the few chosen by the Director, the few who will reclaim what the Hunger has destroyed.

And in a few moments, you're about to find that out for yourself.

After a tightly packed elevator ride, your group is ushered out to a rather grand looking hall, banners of the Bureau of Balance adorn both sides of smooth metal walls. And inside the Voidfish's chamber stands a tank — impossibly tall, and soaked in a black ink that obscures whatever the tank may be holding.

You may notice a melody, someone playing the violin. It's a bard, on his third round of introducing Reclaimers to the Voidfish.

When he's finished, he pulls out a few pieces of paper — sheet music — opens a drawer at the bottom of the tank, drops the papers in, and shuts it.

And suddenly, it seems you've forgotten everything that may have been ironic about that melody.

If you seem alarmed, the bard takes notice of it.

"Yeah, man, like... don't think too hard about it, it's like that every time. I'm guessing you're here to be inoculated? Just a heads up, you might want to, like, seriously, hold your nose while you drink it down. It tastes wicked gross, man."

You sort of get the sense that he's said this speech once or twice in the past. It's well rehearsed, much like the stories you'd expect a bard to be able to recite.

"Anyway, I'm supposed to tell you that you have a choice. If you drink the black stuff, you'll be able to hear through the, uh... Huh, how do I describe it? Through the [TSHCSCHTSHCHSC] sound. You guys like, hear that? Anyway, it's all about knowledge or something. I don't know, I'm just here to, like, feed the thing. We call it the [TSCHHSCHSCH], by the way.

So, like. You get a choice. You can drink it and understand stuff, or not drink it and then hear that crackling noise all day every day. If I were you, I'd drink it. But, hey man, I'm not like, your dad or anything."

The bard takes five cups and draws liquid from a spigot connected directly to the basin of the large tank. Stormy, muddy looking ichor is drawn into them, one by one. He offers each of you a sip.

Drink it (he wasn't kidding about what it tasted like), and you're inoculated to the wisdom of the Voidfish. You try to remember the song this bard played a few moments ago and the melody, the meter, every octave, all come back to you. And if you think back to your arrival, some of the things you may have heard other people in the Quad say, that simply sounded like static, are suddenly clear. Bureau of Balance. Grand Relic. Reclaimers.

Yet you still can't remember the Hunger or what it had done to your world. And as you look back to the tank in front of you, the water has become clear. There's a jellyfish, as tall as a building, floating within. You look into the body of the creature and you can almost make out a beautiful, tiny universe floating within it.

2. THE TEST OF INITIATION

With your new knowledge on the Bureau of Balance and your purpose here in tow, you are led without hesitation to the Arena, where the final phase of your initiation into the Bureau will be held. You are partnered up, whether it is with someone you drank the ichor of the Voidfish with, or perhaps even a veteran Reclaimer, who either stopped by to help, or simply out of curiosity.

After the proctor confiscates your weapons for the test, the room you are placed in is stark white — it sort of gives off the vibe that it was supposed to do something other than look so sterile once upon a time, but for whatever reason, that function is lost. With a sound similar to an airlock, the door is shut behind you, and the outline disappears, the lines of the door frame magically filled in with the rest of the wall.

Your task here is to escape. You are provided with the following tools:

○ A small flatware set from the café. Two forks, two spoons, two butter knives
○ A popular Faerun children's toy: "It's Elementary, My Dear Brewer: Chemist Set for the Discerning Beginner." It's essentially a simple chemistry set.
○ An inflatable hammer that plays one progressive note of a jingle a lot of you probably hate by now with every hit.
○ A wooden toy sword.
○ A plate of spaghetti — hear us out, though. Thanks to a Reclaimer who came before you, and thanks to the robot that's making your food, it's the kind of spaghetti that grants you extra strength for an hour after eating.
○ A crowbar, with a note attached to it: "DO NOT USE CROWBAR."

Seriously, don't use the crowbar — the purpose of this test is to assess your ability to find a solution outside of the most obvious one. The purpose of this test is to determine if you are capable of resisting the call of a Grand Relic.

Use your wits. Use the path actions granted to you when you arrived. Use any ideas your partner has. But do not use the crowbar.

3. NEWBIES AND VETERANS, AROUND THE MOONBASE

A. I'M YOUR BIGGEST FAN

The Reclaimers were already sort of elevated to a certain level in the Bureau, as The Director's chosen few, the ones who were ultimately tasked with saving everyone, and the ones the rest of the Moon base is charged with assisting. And now that the Reclaimers have successfully brought home two Grand Relics, they're ... starting to become something of household names. Moon Base names?

The next time you wander into town — an old Reclaimer veteran or a brand new face — you may very well be accosted by a well-meaning, if curious admirer. And they have questions: Did you get to hold the Grand Relic? Is it true that you took out a sandworm by tricking it into tying itself in a knot? Can they see your weapon? Would you spar with them sometime? Maybe they're not quite this annoying. But still annoying.

You may need the assistance of another Reclaimer to escape from this wholesome new Adoring Fan of yours.

B. MALFUNCTION

Resting on the Moon Base is your time to catch up. Maybe there's someone you didn't spend a lot of time with in the Netheril. Maybe you're new, and you're still working on meeting as many of your fellow Reclaimers as possible.

Which is fair. These are the people you will have to cooperate with for the foreseeable future, so it's best that you get to know them as well as possible, right?

And then, one day, your Bracer buzzes with a message:

Hello!

Not all that curiously, the message appears to come from a username that you recognize. Whoever it is, it's another Reclaimer — one that you know well.

Much more curiously, the message is followed by an odd beeping, and a perhaps familiar two-toned sound of something shutting down. And when you try to message your friend back, you may find that:

For the next 24 hours, your bracer's translator feature is broken. You will not be able to understand Common — and when you speak, you won't be translated into Common. Have fun with that!

And yeah, that probably wasn't actually your friend messaging you. Add another mystery to your list of weird phenomena that needs addressing.

C. POWERING DOWN

This is meant to be a few weeks of rest while the rest of the Bureau prepares for your next mission. The Director, however, believes that this free time should be used to better oneself however they might see fit, and she certainly won't stop anybody who'd like to spend time in the areas they've visited previously — and any new Reclaimers who would like to learn a little more about Faerun.

Grab a pal and try these options, both on the Moon Base and beyond, on for size:

○ Stop Dying 101: Also known as Fatalistic Fauna, and Danger Sense to channel your inner barbarian. This is a class that was introduced after the first field mission that offers instruction on basic survival strategies when up against the more inhospitable areas of Faerun. The class is open to everyone, but if you have died at least once during the course of Balance, attendance is mandatory (Unless you're an old bird who was talked into teaching a class instead). Yes, that means you, Komaeda!

Curiously, the simulators for this class seem to be working just fine. Neither the Director nor the instructor are going to question it. The monster of the month you'll be facing is the Tarrasque (scaled down to size, but that doesn't make it any less terrifying) — are you cunning enough to escape the simulation? Or are you going to go against the point of the class and try to fight it?

○ Winding down room: A small room filled with the kotatsus brought back from Vista Virs, board games, books, and other quiet activities for one of the days where you're feeling a little more restful. At the front of the room, a keyboard and other instruments are waiting — unnamed Bureau members will offer a few quiet, soothing performances throughout the day, but you're welcome to play as well.

○ Visiting New New Aspen: You may have noticed that there's an enormous tree (You say Christmas, we say Candlenights) jutting out past the atmosphere, nearly touching the Moon Base itself. This was the site of the first field mission, and the tree stands as a monument to the Reclaimers first success in recapturing a Grand Relic. At the bottom of the tree, a peaceful town that cherishes the ornaments it makes sits. The mayor of New New Aspen, Matthew, will greet you warmly, and invite you to any number of ornament carving classes, or to dinner with his Aunt Laurel (She's a giant spider, by the way), or to even just spend some time with the giant cats that protect the town.

Perhaps worringly, though, the cat captain of the guard, Bread, is missing.

○ Visiting Vista Virs: A town in the middle of an unforgiving desert that was left completely destroyed. If you choose to return, expect to be put to work — you'll be gathering supplies, helping rebuild homes, or just comforting the Needlers, a race of catcus people who inhabited the town, who have lost everything.

D. THE MOON IS YOUR SPACE OYSTER (WILDCARD)

There are plenty of other locations around the Moon Base that you can explore at your own discretion. Feel free to refer to the Settings page for more ideas on what shenanigans you can get into.

Additionally, we'll be fielding Bender rolls again this month! If a food item was destroyed in a failed roll previously, you may roll to try to fix it. Bear in mind, of course, that you may make it worse.

Successful food rolls will stay in place at this time, and can be utilized how you like. Keep in mind that only one magical effect can be in place at a time.

blurb code by photosynthesis

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Oh! Isn't that...yeah, that's Roxas, isn't it? Over by all those books. Somehow, Dwyer's near the planar system section - probably because deities and somesuch brush up against the Astral Plane - and he spots the other boy engrossed in reading...not just reading though, but definitely researching.

Ah. As the kids say, #relatable.

Dwyer tucks his own selection for the day under his arm, a volume on dragonborn and a record of oral history regarding a couple of pantheons, and sits down nearby, cracking the first book open and sputtering a little as dust rises up. He was going to say something like, "Did you find anything interesting?" but no one has touched this particular tome in decads and gods it smells like musty something-or-other.]

[Roxas is engrossed enough that he doesn't necessarily notice Dwyer right away. Mostly he's just trying to make sense of what he's reading since it's a little over his head. Why isn't there a Planar Systems for Dummies book?

That thought gets put on hold though, as the dust tickles his nose and he sneezes.]

Where did you find that book?

Ah...sorry.

[He sniffs. Good Gods, would it kill anyone to dust in here? Don't make him do it, it'll take weeks and he won't stop until it's done.]

Um, a bit deeper in the stacks. I guess dragonborn don't like recording themselves too much.

It's alright.

[He'll just rub at his nose a bit.]

Dragonborn? Like Carey?

Or maybe this library just doesn't have a lot of books on them?

Yes, I suppose just like Carey.

[He hasn't talked to Carey, but her name's familiar enough around the moonbase for him to recognize it.]

They remind me of some of my family, actually.

[Carey, at the moment, is the one dragonborn Roxas knows. Until now it seems.]

Yeah?

You're not...scaly though.

[Turns out Fire Emblem dragonborn are a lot different from Faerunian dragonborn.]

No, neither is Mother or Kana. But they can turn into dragons.

[You learn something new every day!]

Really? That's kind of cool...so, can you turn into one?

I don't know.

[He shrugs casually.]

I never tried it before...it just never happened. And you need a special stone to do it without losing control of yourself. I don't think any of those exist here.

Like, a magic stone?

I know there's a bunch of different magic types now, but maybe there's some sort of similar thing? But I guess you wouldn't want to go berserk either...

Definitely not. I like the grass on the quad here too much to allow myself to wreck everything, even if it would be on accident.

[You like more than the grass, Dwyer, be nice.]

It's sort of magic. We just call them Dragonstones. I don't know where they come from, though...

[He pauses to think about it. Mother had said her stone came from Lady Azura...and then, when Kana joined the group, Lady Azura had given him a stone as well. Did she just have all these rare and powerful stones on her person?

Maybe it's a Valla thing.]

Just the grass? I'd be worried about the buildings to...

[But he can agree about the grass.]

But Dragonstones, huh? They sound cool...and if you had one, you could turn into a dragon?

Yes, well, those are important too. [But he just loves that grass.] It's not as simple as that. I've never done it before at all - I don't know if there's any precedent. Even if I had one, and it worked, there's no guarantee I could transform.

[Classes in Fire Emblem are very rigid, even if you know how to manipulate relationships enough to change them.]

Oh.

[Which brings up another question.]

So, is that why you're looking into the dragonborn here? To see the differences?

That's right. I'd like to know about them.

[He pauses, turns a page. Oh, this one is all words, okay. No fun diagrams.]

That, and I suppose I ought to know something about the dragons and dragon-people of this realm.

That might be a good idea, especially if we ever meet a dragon.

[Because, yeah, that's a thing they can do here. The only dragon he really knows of is Maleficent, and even then, only distantly.]

There's still so much I don't know about this place.

[Man, it is possible that they'll encounter some dragons, isn't it?]

You're not the only one...I feel like I'm just at the start of what I'm looking for, and then there's all the stuff besides that...it's probably impossible to totally know your own home to start with, but a whole different realm entirely is a lot to take in...

[Well, they're probably due for a dungeon or two as well.]

Yeah...but at least this world is just one world. So, it's a bit more focused.

[He spent a lot of his days going to many, which meant a lot of things to keep track of. Avoid the card soldiers, or the furniture, or the kids.]

Except when you add the whole planar system.

I guess those are other realms entirely, huh? But connected to this one.

[He really hadn't been able to make complete heads or tails of any planar information that came his way, so thinking of it in terms he understood was basically how Dwyer could rationalize it.]

Is that something that's even possible? Going to other realms from here? Besides how we got here to begin with...

Yeah. They're like, other dimensions but they're all part of the same world.

[He's still wrapping his head around it because it's big.]

But it should...the book I was reading said there were spells for it. At least the other planes.

I don't know if we can get back to our own worlds...or any others like that.

Probably not, no.

[It's said as flatly and as tiredly as Dwyer says anything, but also, there's a hint of sadness in there. He really doesn't like thinking about not being able to go home. This place is fine and nice, but he misses it.]

Still...I guess other planes could be interesting.

They sound pretty neat, from what I've read. Even if they're a bit wild. Like, all the elemental planes would be pretty weird to see.

I don't know about the Astral plane though.

[Based on his reading, he'd rather stay away from the Raven Queen for the time being.]

Oh yes, no, I wouldn't want to go there if I were alive. It's probably impossible for a living person to even survive there.

[All he can think about is all them ghosts coming out of the topaz...]

Yeah...it sounds like getting back is pretty tough, according to the book. The Raven Queen doesn't like it very much.

[The gods here sound a bit more intense than the gods on Olympus...but then Hades is the one he knows the most about and he's some fire but mostly smoke.]

And if Legion's still there...yeah, it wouldn't be good.

I'm guessing she's the one who rules that plane? What's she like?

[Share what you have learned, Roxas]

B - Study Buddies

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