balance_logs | 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

Where would...

[That gives him pause. Where would he want to go? Dwyer's never been able to just go someplace because he wanted to, not really. It requires a little thought.]

...I'd love to see...some port towns. Really big trading ports. It would be really amazing to see what sort of things you can buy there.

That would be pretty cool! I...I've never really seen any ships before, or been on them.

They're pretty nice where I'm from. The towns, at least. Boats...well, you're very limited to what's on the boat and how long you'll be on the sea, so there's some risk to sailing.

[And also, sometimes, fearsome magic users from the Ice Tribe can manage to freeze a portion of the ocean. But uh, we're not going to scare Roxas with that.]

Now that I'm thinking about it...it's kind of a shame we couldn't see Cyrkensia in all its glory when we visited.

Cyrkensia?

[It's probably a mangled pronounciation, but he's never heard of it before.]

All of that still sounds pretty cool though.

Yeah, more or less.

[He's not going to judge.]

When we arrived, it was all a shambles. Which is a shame, it's supposed to be really nice.

That, doesn't sound good though. Was it attacked or something?

[He's seen a few worlds like that.]

It was.

[He hesitates after that. Not once has Dwyer breathed a word about Valla, for fear of its curse reaching into this other world, but...how had his mother described it to Lord Xander and Lord Ryoma on that day?]

As strange as it may sound, it was...being destroyed by invisible forces.

[Roxas cocks his head, but considering what he's dealt with, an invisible enemy doesn't sound that farfetched.]

Invisible? Really?

Like an invisible army? Or something else...

Invisible army.

[He can, at least, confirm that much.]

I mean...if you looked really close, you could see...sort of a ripple in the air that was like the shape of a person. Like, if you were looking at them as they were standing at the bottom of a lake. [Which...well, with the after-effects of his mother's more potent strikes, might make some sense.] And there was a slight purple glow around them, too. But for the most part, totally invisible.

They must have been tough to fight, though. Especially if they can destroy a city.

A bit. But we weren't really the kind of folks to give up so easily as a group, and there were a lot of us.

[How his mother managed to corral such an army is still a mystery to Dwyer, though he saw most of it happen with his own eyes.]

That battle was tricky, too. We had to avoid Hoshidan and Nohrian forces at the same time...so we ended up barricading pathways with rubble to keep them away from us and each other. And then we could only get a few people over to the invisible forces at a time. I think their commander was across a river in the town, so only people partnered with someone on a pegasus or wyvern could get across...

That does sound really tough, even with a bunch of people.

Usually I was just working on my own, or with one other person.

Huh...I suppose that could work for smaller missions. [He's no stranger to being paired up with someone to fight with, but to go out against a force all on their own...kind of a terrifying prospect, really.] But if you were on your own, you'd have to make sure you had curatives on you, right? Just in case you needed them.

[Tell him you weren't going out there without ~~vulnary~~ potions]

Yeah, of course. I always made sure I was prepared.

[Someone would yell at him otherwise, moogles included.]

Sometimes it meant using the bargain bin potions but you do what you have to.

Yeah, that's understandable.

[Sometimes you have to hold onto someone else's 2/3rds used vulnary because there's not enough money to afford better potions for everyone and that's just life]

[Moogles are cutthroat businessmogs. They only look cute on the outside.]

It helped that I had cure spells to, but they didn't carry over here.

Spells for curing...? Not a stave?

[I mean he assumes it's a similar process but even so]

Nope...just regular spells. There's Cure, but the stronger forms are Cura and Curaga.

I guess Donald uses a staff though...

[Now that he thinks about it. Granted, he only has Sora's memories to go off of.]

I didn't know they came in spell form.

[Man it would've helped so much if spellcasters could also heal via their tomes, just make everyone a healer, his job would be so much easier]

That's rather useful.

It can be, but it also takes a lot of power to use it.

[It can deplete your MP bar real fast if you're not careful.]

I guess it's similar to the magic here, but still different. There's a lot to wrap your head around.

[Man in Fire Emblem you just do the thing, and at least in Fates you don't have a limited amount of uses for spellbooks...

...You do with a staff, though, which is balls.]

There really is...

And I'm not even a magic using class.

[Not yet anyway.]

...It's alright, I guess. Magic stuff. The combative stuff I'm still getting used to.

I can help with that, if you need it. It's...kinda my thing.

Lunar Interlude 3

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