balance_logs | Field Mission 3: Brushing the Sun, Part 1

	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

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[he pauses briefly, sidetracked for the moment from agreeing with a bird who makes a VERY good point, because Ryuji went and said something that Old Man Dave doesn't immediately parse, seeing as his own timeline of internet jokes went the way of the dodo in 2009.]

Dude ... are you memeing at me? I kinda get the feeling you just went and dropped a meme bomb on my lap.

[is that from one of them vines he keeps hearing so much about??? god, you should have just rolled with it Dave, now you really sound your cosmic age.]

But, yeah, you don't gotta worry — I've always got an eye out for you. I mean, I don't really think you're actually worried about that, though. That's ... kinda the basis of the oath, right?

[the two gears on both their wrists probably wouldn't be working at all if there wasn't some level of deep understanding there. an understanding that there isn't anything that would ever stop Dave from throwing down for Ryuji, if he needs it.]

I got a shield thingy installed before we got shot out here, though. Remind me to use it next time something tries to take out either of our junk, and before I completely whiff sending said something into orbit.

I am deadass meme'ing at you, dude.

[Without memes, he will die.

What was life like before the internet? Ryuji Sakamoto doesn't want to know. How many times did he scour meTube for something interesting to put on, just to ignore actually doing his homework or... maybe de-Ryujifying the funk out of his room.

But that's besides the point. Dave is an old soul. He comes from an antiquated era, long before the advent of Kermit Palpatine or Arthur's fist. Ryuji will stick by him regardless. And from the looks of it, Dave's still pretty firm in the reciprocating side of events on that, too.]

Ain't it kinda weird to refer to gainin' new powers as installing? Uh, anyway. Yeah, to like... all that shit you just said right there. Especially the junk part. If anything happened to your dick I'm pretty sure I'd go straight nuclear on someone. Like, laser outta my eyes kinda thing.

[He accentuates the laser eye comment by making pew-pew sounds and highlighting it with finger eyeguns.]

It's the crown jewels, man. Gotta keep that thing in deep level lock down.

[Dave will just file that one away in the OMMDB. Old Man Meme Database. someday, he'll learn about all the Obama memes he missed out on, and the compilation page will be the top page for the rest of eternity.]

I dunno what you're talking about, I've never said a single weird thing in my life.

[........................]

[he moves on without actually addressing that thing he just said.]

How would you refer to it, then? Leveling up? Hitting a new rung on the echeladder? [what.]

I'm definitely registering flattered at your concern over the state of my dick, though. Uh. You're still cool even after a goblin punch, right?

[there is no way to ask that without just point blank firing the shot. look, all dicks currently involved in this conversation are extremely important.]

That sentence right there? The one you just said? I think that's the most normal thing you've ever said in the... shit, year? I've known you, dude.

[Out of the host of stuff that crops straight from Dave's mouth, Ryuji's expanded vocabulary and the penchant for absurdity has just grown to meteoric size.]

I dunn--- what the hell?

[Dave, you were doing so well there for a second before you mentioned a word that Ryuji is almost sure doesn't actually exist. Echeladder.]

You want me to ask him?

[Ryuji pulls at the waistband of his kick ass barbarian skirt, and checks. The theatrics cause a little bit of discomfort, still phantom pain of being kicked in the nads fresh on the surface of his mind.]

Dude, you good down there? [Ryuji...] He says he's fine. In the future, though, he's askin' me to tell you not to testes his patience.

[YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH.]

What? Echeladder is a perfectly normal word on my old Earth, don't gimme that look.

[yeah, he knew where that mild confusion was going. but, it has been a year, hasn't it? shit. he's already barreling toward hitting 18 and all the dead society rites of passage for adulthood that come with it.]

[Dave, though, is only thinking about how he wants a thumb wrestling rematch. and then, it is very obvious where his line of sight eventually ends up.]

[and then, uh...]

[....... uhhh.]

[Dave loves this guy, doesn't he? yeah ... yeah, he absolutely does.]

I mean, as long as he's not gonna sack me over whatever I apparently did.

[NO!!!!!!!!!!!]

[All in all, he legitimately didn't even know he had a particular look when Dave said something that wasn't quite right with his own evidence of the world, but it probably looks like a cross between smelling a dirty shoe and then being sentimental over whether or not he should throw the shoe out despite having a ton of good times in those kickers.

Yeah, that's how he looks at Dave. Probably.

Exhibitionist extraordinaire, he doesn't mind Dave carefully eyeballing the lift to his waistline. He's acting a bit coquettishly with a side of what-he-thinks-is-subtle goading. It's good that Dave loves him, because god knows who else would.]

Heh.

[He's so proud of that, he can't even call him out on it.]

Nadurally.

[Ryuji can't help himself much, either.]

[there's absolutely nothing wrong with anything Ryuji's doing here; if he's got the goods, even if a goblin just punched them ten minutes ago, then he's also got all the right in the world to remind his boyfriend about them.]

[and said boyfriend is pulled back to reality following an even worse pun than the ones both of them trotted out not even two seconds ago. he thinks on that for a spell. chews on his lip in the deepest, most important of thoughts.]

[clears his throat.]

Dick joke.

[this is just how their flirting has evolved over time, and it's absolutely awful.]

Field Mission 3: Brushing the Sun, Part 1

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