Field Mission 3: Brushing the Sun, Part 1

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Are there really no bananas on board this thing? NAVIGATION 1. FIRST, YOU DRAW A CIRCLE Click here for the RNG thread! A. IT'S TIME TO GET TO WORK That certainly isn't to say that your previous efforts have not been hard work. But one half of this mission has been fine tuned, a logistical machine of well-oiled cogs, the creative efforts of a man who has so much to make up for. After the three-hour journey across the sky, you and the three other Reclaimers you boarded the glass orb with will be deposited right in the dead center of Maru, where the Bureau has set up a small camp for gathering, sorting, and sending off supplies. It's chilly, but not unbearably so. The air is thin, but up here, it's probably the cleanest you've breathed anywhere else in Faerun — new and old Reclaimers alike. Whatever goal you decide to work toward during your stay here, after a quick rundown of how supply gathering will work (it's pretty simple: You bring supplies, the unnamed Bureau members assigned to the base will send them off), you're turned loose to the gnarling wilds of the floating continent. Because, as the header says, it's time to get to work. And you most certainly haven't gone unnoticed. 2. USE YOUR PATH ACTIONS WISELY B. ROWDY RUMBLE Those of you who aren't quite combat ready might be getting something of an instant crash course in the art of a hostile encounter — though, perhaps in a bit of a lucky streak, goblins, like the pack of three of them that are leading the charge here, are, uh. Well, they're morons. But these particular three see a bunch of humanoids flying in on what are very clearly cursed globes, and they see a bunch of humanoids wandering the lands and attempting to cash in on their treasure. They were here first, you know! Even if they don't entirely understand why the mine they were here first in isn't exactly on the ground anymore. Or where exactly they are to begin with now. Or ... well, frankly, nothing about any of this makes any sense. Whether you're back at the base at the center of Maru, or whether you're out in the fields, toeing at the ground for hints of treasure underneath, you, and whoever you happen to be traveling with, will be approached by a rather bold trio. And whatever treasure you may have on your person? They're rather keen on taking it. What will you do? Fight? Try to reason with them? For those of you with the combat experience, there are, of course, much bigger fish to fry. Take a look at the YOLO's guide to monsters for a full list of the hostile critters you can challenge to a wrestle during your stay on Maru. C. NIGHTLY WHISPERINGS You've probably heard the rumors by now — the fact that nobody seems interested in going to the small lake and waterfall on Maru once nighttime rolls around. Seems pretty silly, right? Superstitious, even. It's a rather beautiful patch of the floating continent, and if your previous expeditions digging through the ground are any indicator, there's a wealth of valuable items to be had underneath the surface. Hubris might lead you to camping out near the water's edge, for just one evening. And sometime around midnight, provided that same hubris hasn't put you to sleep, the light of your campfire, or the light of the moon, suddenly extinguishes. It's like being wrapped up in a cloak of vantablack, in very nearly every single sense, not just sight. No rustling of leaves, no sound of the wind passing through every nook and cranny of the continent. No light. No nothing. If you decide to book it out of there, be careful, lest you accidentally wander into the lake, without a clear sense of where exactly the exit is. But if you choose to hold steady, after about an hour, the silence and darkness clears — and the scenery returns to normal, as if nothing happened. Something did happen, however. Whether you stayed there for just a moment, you sat through it, or you slept through it, if you were anywhere near the lake at midnight, you'll be subject to a nightly enchantment coming from an unknown source. You may pick one of the following: ○ The next time you are asked a question, whether it's what you had for dinner or whether you're all right, you will be magically forced to answer it truthfully. The effect wears off after one question. ○ When you speak, you'll hear yourself speaking normally. Everyone else will hear you either making an animal noise, or repeating a sentence you've said before, regardless of its relevance. That goes all the way back to your canon! The effect begins at sunrise, and lasts for three hours. ○ Whenever you try to leave, it feels as if your shoes are suddenly made with two tons of lead. You will not be able to move away normally. Someone's going to have to carry you out of there. ○ When the sun rises, you will be magically reduced to half your height. The effect lasts for five hours. 3. MINE CART MADNESS D. I'M ABOUT TO LOSE MY MINE, UP IN HERE, UP IN HERE. Eventually, you'll probably find yourself down in the mine's labyrinthine system of tunnels and networks that seem to sprawl out in nearly endless directions. Be careful when you turn corners, as there may be an Umber Hulk or a Basilisk waiting for you in the darkness, but as you look down, you do notice tracks that head in nearly every direction. Whoever had initially excavated this area was quite laborious and thorough with the pathing down in its deepest delves. One turn leans to another long corridor, and maybe another turn leads you back in a circle. Mining equipment can be found almost everywhere, left to rust and decay with the passage of time that could only indicate hundreds of years of being completely unbothered. You step forward, and look to see a path that carves out into four directions- straight, left, right, and back. And you quickly realize something doesn't feel right. That's true- as you begin to step forward and take a path, you find yourself back to where you started after walking for a little while. Turn back, and you might notice that you're in the exact place you just were as well. Maybe you brought some chalk with you, or maybe you managed to drop something here like a breadcrumb trail to tell you which way you've already headed. Or maybe you don't even notice it until you've been walking for hours, but you're stuck in a loop. Of those four directions, you'll notice something peculiar if you start to take notice. ○ One direction will always lead you back to where you started. ○ If you listen close enough, down one hall you'll be able to hear the sound of a coastline, weak waves echoing and crashing against the shore. Follow that sound and you'll come to the source of it: a large standing pool of water that sits absolutely still, no tide. You can swim to the bottom of it, not a problem. There doesn't seem to be anything there. But the walls are bio-luminescent, coated with weird fungi that you definitely don't want to eat. ○ When you look on the ground, you can always find baby fire beetles at the mouth to one of the spokes. Follow those markings long enough and you'll inexplicably be sent back to the mine's entrance. ○ One direction is completely nondescript, but unlike the first one that sends you to the beginning of the maze, you enter a new area that doesn't hold any of the signs that you were there previously. You can follow this lead for several iterations, and eventually come to a four-way that has no features noticeable whatsoever: no beetles, no sound of rushing water. But you head down one of them and you're back to where you started. E. I'LL FOLLOW BEHIND YOU ON RAINBOW ROAD. Mind boggling puzzles aside, you're welcome to explore the depths of the Lost Mine of Phandelver. One of the more ridiculous, albeit, fun adventures you can take is a mine cart ride through the mine down to the farthest reaches. It starts off relatively bumpy and doesn't seem to smooth out at any given point, but it's the closest thing you're going to get to a roller coaster ride down here in Faerun. Reaching the end is a matter of waiting the cruise- and you eventually come to a dead end. There's stuff you can mine down here as it empties out into a vast, damp cavern. Iron, several types of cheap gemstones, and rocks can be found pretty much anywhere. If you're looking to rebuild Vista Virs, this is a good place to start. If you're looking to make a little cash on the side, that's possible too. We're not here to judge your moral intentions. Getting back isn't as fun as it was coming down here, as you're pretty much stuck pushing the cart back to where it was if you want to take things out. Don't worry about the logistics too much; there always seems to be a cart available for you to descend, and oddly enough, it never feels like it's the same journey down and back twice in a row. F. BEEN HERE ALL NIGHT. BEEN HERE ALL DAY. There are a few notable places to explore while you're down in Phandelver: ○ An administrative office, complete with desks that haven't been touched in years. Several papers are still there, with dates that go far and wide back into the past. Touching them causes it to disintegrate into dust. For anyone who makes it down there, there is a lockbox to be found that can be opened by smashing it on the ground or attempting to unlock it with thieves' tools. While the contents are up to you to decide, nothing in there should be magical beyond a simple potion of healing, aged... several centuries. ○ An old room that seems to be barred from the inside, about an hour's walk past the mine entrance. Outside, you can find several skeleton carcasses of humanoid creatures that have long since died down here. If you try to make it into the room by force, you'll be greeted with a barracks that once housed the dwarves who worked down here. You get the sense that a battle happened in these parts, but beyond that, it's kind of hard to tell what went down. ○ A large quarry with a practically neolithic drill in the center of it. It hasn't seen use in quite some time, but be careful as the drop can be upwards of 100 feet. Another prime locale for mining, this area seems to house sturdier metals. Hence, the drill being necessary. Be careful, this is prime Umber Hulk territory. ○ Various storerooms that housed supplies for the workers of the cavern. You'll find wine and spirits down in the depths, and who wouldn't want to try some 300 year old whiskey? The climate down here is particularly perfect for keeping and storing these rare and fine vittles. Drink up, it's on us. ○ One peculiar room that when you enter, you feel a chill sort of feeling take over your body. There's a bed in here, with a storage chest at the base of it. Attempting to open it or touch it or even having an intention to steal/uncover what's inside will cause you to hear incredibly powerful and loud screaming in your head, enough to make you clutch your ears and take psychic damage from it. Hm. 4. WILDCARD The floating continent of Maru is your world to explore, and your story to write! You may use any of the prompts we've given you here, or you may come up with your own prompts — you can utilize any part of the setting provided in the OOC post. If you'd like the outcome of a particular thread randomized, or if you'd like to investigate a particular part of the setting, feel free to drop a note in the RNG thread and we'll set up a roll for you. As always, be amazing. You're two for two on reclaiming Grand Relics, and we can't wait to see what you do here. blurb code by photosynthesis

Comments

ii

[protegge]

[There are a lot of different kinds of Stands. Some of them look like people, with a few extra adornments. Some of them look like animals. Some of them look like late-90s laptops with extendable legs. It all just depends.]

[Mista would never claim to be an expert on Stands. He sure as hell knows one when he sees one, though — or at least he thinks he does.]

Holy shit!

[Too loud for the mines, too loud for trying to evade a basilisk, even as he tries to keep his voice down. He's very excited.]

I didn't know you had a Stand! You been holding out on me?

[petsthedog]

[Shinjiro has, in fact, been holding out on him. Shame he didn't go into certain details back during that initiation test, or Mista might know why. That said, he just seems confused by Mista's excitement. Not even because they're amidst a battle, just--]

--Eh? The hell's a Stand?

[Is that what they call Personas in Italy......]

[protegge]

[Yes. The well-known Italian word, Stand. Mista looks . . . hurt . . . sad boy. You've betrayed him.]

C'mon! You know what a Stand is if you've got one.

[This is dumb. He points at the horse thing.]

That! What's it called?

[petsthedog]

[Mista......why are you making that face at him.]

Him? That's my Persona. Castor.

[protegge]

[Because he wants you to share all your secrets with him :^( especially Stand secrets. You can't hold out on Stand secrets!!!]

Castor? Like, and Pollux? [Yes, that is the reference.]

[Curiously, Mista ducks his head to look at Castor from a different angle.]

It's pretty metal, man. Really cool. Way cooler th—

[Fwing.]

[Fwing fwing fwing fwing fwing.]

[Unable to contain their excitement any longer, all . . . six. Parts. Of Mista's Stand fly out, at Castor, zipping around him in delighted circles. Loudly. There they go, oh boy.]

[petsthedog]

[Shinji, meanwhile, is fairly alarmed by this! Not so much the pistols but the fact that Mista was interrupted, which suggests they came out on their own? Shinji, uh, has Anxiety about this for personal reasons, most of which involve what happens when a giant rage pony shaped "Stand" goes off on its own.]

...Did...did you do that?

[He means, did you want that to happen just then, but, he's having a bit of a strugglebus with words right now.]

[protegge]

[Even before Mista says anything, it's probably pretty obvious what the answer to Shinjiro's question is. Because even before Mista says anything, he groans, loud and put-upon but not actually mad. You know. The Mom Groan™?]

Come on, you little bastards, give the guy some space—

[Too late. The Pistols are flying around Castor at top speed, examining him and giving their opinions in loud high-pitched voices. Their opinions are generally things like: WOW! and YAHOO! and LOOK AT THE SPIKE, IT GOES RIGHT THROUGH! They are not polite, but they are enthusiastic.]

Jesus. What? [He blinks at Shinjiro, appearing confused by the question. Because he is confused by the question.] I mean, no, they did that. They wanted to check him out. And make a dramatic entrance, I fuckin' guess. Hey!

[This to the one with a 3 on its forehead, which is cackling and reaching out to touch Castor's hair(?).]

Don't fuckin' touch people's Stands, it's like you were born two minutes ago! They're like kids, I swear . . . They'll slap their hands down on lit stoves if you don't watch 'em.

[petsthedog]

[On a rational level, Shinjiro realizes their situations are different. Stands and Personas don't appear to be the same thing, and Mista isn't at any more perturbed by the Pistols flying around than Shinjiro would be at Aki pouring protein powder over something unreasonable, like ice cream.

Even so, he can't manage to match Mista's Exasperated Parent expression. His own more closely resembles something like the he wore way back during the initiation test, months ago.

Irrationally, his hands seem to tremor just slightly before he hastily shoves them in his pockets, and, irrationally, he can't get the faint, distant quality out of his voice when he answers--]

You--can't control them?

[Oddest of all, the undertone there sounds like he was going to say either before backing out at the last possible second.]

[protegge]

[To be fair, the Pistols are an anomaly among Stands. Mista doesn't know why, and he's long since lost the urge to find answers. They're just . . . his, that's all. His Pistols, with their distinct personalities and strong opinions and the need to eat, for some reason. His Pistols, who are very good at what they do and like to be told they're doing a good job.]

[Even other Stand users would be confused, even uncomfortable about the Pistols. Shinjiro's reaction isn't so different from Giorno's, and it's a hell of a lot kinder than Sheila's was initially. Still, he can tell something's not right by the look on Shinjiro's face, by the strange edge in his tone.]

. . . Nah. Most people with Stands have pretty good control over them, but I don't. Never have.

Why? You, too? [It's just a guess, but an educated one. He's got a creeping sense of deja vu, remembering the smell of ozone.]

cw: reference to past suicidal behavior

[petsthedog]

[He all but chokes at the question; Shinjiro's been keeping his reaction as tightly reined in as he can, because the last thing he needs to do is flip out in the mines and attract a fucking basilisk or some other beastie while he's compromised, but it shakes him. He's only told a few people about it, mostly under duress. It's not that he hides it, exactly, because he wants to keep people away when he needs Castor--it's unsafe, otherwise--but he hates talking about it. Every time he does, it's like sticking his fingers into scar tissue and ripping. He swallows hard, and his hands clench into fists in his pockets.]

Yeah. [A beat.] Sometimes.

[Technically, once. But he started taking the suppressants afterward, so it could never happen again. Not having them anymore freaks him out, as much as they were destroying his body while he was taking them, and it's only recently that he's been summoning Castor willingly without them again. He'd promised Qrow to make an effort, at least, and Vista Virs had driven home the importance of having more firepower for threats like sandworms. But that doesn't mean he isn't still petrified every time he pulls the trigger on his Evoker.]

S'why I said not to stand too close.

[protegge]

. . . Gotcha.

[He looks back at Castor, his gaze sharp and calculating. The Pistols slow in their circling and back up a bit, although not more than a few feet. As much as it's clear that Mista doesn't have control over them, it's equally obvious that there's some kind of emotional ripple effect. They might not feel exactly what Mista feels, but it trickles down in one way or another. The one with a 5 on its forehead backs up a little further than the rest; the one marked with a 3 backs up less, a fierce look on its face.]

Yeah, [he says after a moment, shoulders easing as he glances back to Shinjiro, leaving the Pistols to watch Castor for sudden movements.] They're independent, but they're intelligent. They can think for themselves, and they have some sense. Plus, on their own they can't do much. They need to work together and work with me to do damage.

Your Castor, he gets kinda feral though, it sounds like. [This is — not quite the shadow of Mista that Shinjiro saw once before. Closer, though. The business side of him. Calculating. Focused.]

[petsthedog]

[The pieces of Mista's Stand backing up does provide a fraction of relief, but his shoulders are still tense. Mista's Stand isn't dangerous on its own. It has to actively work with him. It should calm him down, but it doesn't, somehow. Maybe it's because the spotlight is on him, now.]

...Somethin' like that, yeah.

[He rubs at his neck, uncomfortable.]

Been tryin' to train with him lately, but I still dunno what's actually wrong with him. Or me.