Field Mission 3: Brushing the Sun, Part 2

[balancemod]

I couldn't be more proud of you all. NAVIGATION 1. THE UNRAVELING (CTA RESULTS) A. EVERYONE GET THE HELL OFF THIS CRAZY THING With the Bureau quickly packing up and getting the hell out of dodge, four Reclaimers — Kaede, Komaeda, Minato and Lion — made an honest attempt to evacuate the dwarves and goblins still on board. They were mildly successful in drawing half of all the goblins into their fold, but the dwarves were much more resistant. Ultimately, only five agreed to leave behind their precious forge. Bread and Barry were also handily convinced that it was time to leave. Their chosen method here included a lot of falling with style. With a little help from Lion, a breeze is whipped up to give the trip down a bit more wind resistance. Even though they didn't convince as many as they would like to leave, this is still a very large logistical effort — you may help pass out treats to help evacuees float down. You may wrangle up any stragglers that wander too far away from the group. Ultimately though, everyone who agreed to evacuate, as well as the Reclaimers who are helping, will be able to safely make it to the ground. Except for one. Upon ensuring that Good Girl Cocoa makes it down safe, Minato will find that there are no more magic treats to help him safely evacuate, too. And when Maru perishes, so does he. Additionally, Barry does go down with the evacuation group, but by the time Maru crashes to the ground, he's no where to be found, and presumed dead. This also means that very nearly every dwarf and goblin who refused to evacuate also perished. B. A CHAT WITH A TIRED SPIRIT, AND AN UNRAVELING Akira, Zelda, Maya and Sayori are assigned to try to take on the Whomping Willow so they can reach the forge it's guarding. With an insanely good hit from one of Zelda's Light Arrows, the tree is stunned — and with the unfortunate curse of sentience that drives it, it is humbled by the raw power, and elects to speak to the group. The Whomping Willow is several thousand years old, and so, so tired of this enchantment. After revealing the wisdom of the Beastmaster class, Maya is able to disenchant it, effectively reducing it to a simple willow tree once again — and with the help of a few Persona users, they are able to successfully transplant it to a small alcove in the Quad of the Moon Base. What does this mean for Reclaimers? Well, you now have some very comfortable shade to relax under. You have a monument to your successes. If you happen to know a druid with Speak with Plants, it'll also dispense some of the wisdom it's accumulated over the millennia in the form of advice. Meanwhile, Sans and McCree, with an easy entrance to the forge, make quick work of unraveling the yarn, setting the dwarves trapped there free, and successfully convincing them to leave the forge behind for their own safety. And as they continue to make this mission look outrageously easy, they manage to unravel the yarn without causing damage to themselves and the forge. It's done so well, in fact, that the falling apart of Maru is less of an explosion, and more of a controlled, structured demolition. It's actually quite a spectacular sight, for those of you on the ground to witness it. Like a ship slowly descending to the earth and breaking apart some 100 feet above it, it feels as if the entire planet shakes upon impact. Debris is sent flying in all directions — later reports that make it to the Director's desk indicate that mining equipment was found some 20 miles away from the impact site. Unfortunately, another Reclaimer is lost in the unraveling of Maru. McCree perishes while trying to escape — but he dies a hero. C. ON THE GROUND Two teams — Franziska and Wash, and Akechi and Ryuji — are sent out to try to locate the yarn and, being as buff as they are, try to clear out as many surviving monsters as they can. Along the way, Akechi manages to steal a priceless weapon off of Hethi, the guardian spirit of the paper mountain that once stood on Maru. Also along the way, Akechi says some really cute social link rank-up shit to Ryuji, which in turn causes his Persona to turn into a bear. Later on, Franziska manages to convince Hethi to move to the Netheril, effectively becoming Vista Virs' new guardian. She's so convincing, in fact, that Hethi sees this as a divine intervention, and Wash and Franziska are both incorporated into the mysterious guardian's origin fable as divine advisers. Both groups also find survivors of the fall, and safely evacuate them to Phandalin. While Ryuji and Akechi manage to blast through entire hordes of monsters with little injury, Wash and Franziska are not quite so lucky. Nobody perishes, but the both of them will probably need some assistance. Finally, with the help of Cocoa and her nose, Akechi and Ryuji are able to locate the yarn, and a recovery team from the Bureau retrieves and delivers it straight to the Director's hands. Congratulations, Reclaimers. Your third mission was a smashing success. 2. THE BEFOREMATH AND THE AFTERMATH D. EVERY NOW AND THEN I FALL APART You're only as good as your backup, as they say. And the Reclaimers who are not currently attempting to fetch a wayward overpowered ball of yarn are going to have a lot on their plates, before Maru comes crashing down in spectacular fashion. That plate does not include Maru itself. Every hour that passes that you do not escape on your own, the ground's stability grows more precarious. You can feel it shifting underneath your feet, like it's straining, trying to contract into itself. In the distance, an ominous rumbling. The land is literally cracking apart, and you do not want to be on board when it finally tumbles down to the ground. ○ Convincing those who could be convinced to evacuate was no easy feat, but for those of you on board with immediately helping, there's a shortage of hands on deck to move people as quickly as possible. ○ Much like how the wildlife scatters for cover when a thunderstorm hits, the fauna of Maru are aware that a disaster is looming. To that end, nearly every single creature that has settled inside the mines have started pouring out into the open, making an already unstable ground a little ... crowded. Bring your best weapon and your best spells to this fight — you're going to need both. E. THAT'S UNFORTUNATE Once you're on the ground, if you choose to dig among the rubble yourself, you may find any last resources that the impact site may have slapped to the surface. They're very small, but gems and diamonds are your highest prize here. The forge, however, was destroyed on impact, shooting a massive burst of magical energy straight into the sky, before it dissipates. Should you happen to find yourself anywhere near the remains of the forge, however, one of the following may happen: ○ You will be turned into an animal of your choosing for two hours. ○ Any remains nearby may suddenly be reanimated, again, for two hours, until the magical energy disappears. Enjoy your goblin zombie apocalypse. ○ A curse might follow you home — think things like tripping over your feet constantly, or not being able to sleep properly, or hell, accidentally passing along the curse to anyone you touch. Dr. Tank back at medbay on the Moon Base can remove this one for you. F. THE TOWN OF PHANDALIN The aftermath of Maru's collapse can be viewed from Phandalin, a nearby prospecting town that is now host to a host of floating island evacuees. Well, a whole lot of dust can be viewed, anyway. For those of you who arrived here with said evacuees, or simply evacuated here yourself, consider yourselves put on something of a mandatory two-day vacation. The orbs back to the Moon Base just can't seem to get past the dust choking the air directly above the town. Phandalin is on the small side, and inhabited mostly by prospectors looking for valuable resources deep within the nearby mountains. To say that this is the biggest influx of visitors they've ever had is an unfathomable understatement — and while they are hardly a settlement built for tourism, they're more than willing to take your coin. Or any remnants of Maru you happen to have on hand. Now is your time to rest. Gather your bearings. Or, work more, if that's more your speed. ○ A small group of dwarves need to figure out where to go next, after all. Will you help them find a place to stay in town? Or will you help gear them up so they can set out on their own, once the dust (literally) settles? The blacksmith in town can't make anything new on such short notice — but he does have plenty of tools and weapons for sale. ○ Should you make your way to Stonehill Inn to escape the dust, you may find a Kenku in a corner, ignored by the other patrons as much as he's minding his own business, mug at the table in front of him. And should you decide to engage with him, he'll lean forward, closer, voice so husky it could pull a sled. "Oi, you're one of those visitors, ain't ya? You know what happened. With all the dust." There isn't a particularly discernible tone or expression here. If anything, he sounds on the brink of a personal revelation. "You've seen it then, right? My house. Where the hell's all my stuff?" (Some of you already know who this is — it's Jingler, the owner of the shack on Maru that is now part of a heap of sod and brand new landscape not too far from Phandalin. He is a completely pilotable NPC, meaning you are free to use him how you like for your threads. All you need to know is, he's a bard, that shack held all of his most valuable treasures, and Garfield owes him a lot of money. He won't say for what, though.) ○ Finally, not too far from the town square stands a fortune telling machine. It goes largely ignored by the regulars passing by, and if you happen to ask, it's because of one of the following reasons: It's a waste of money to begin with, or it's a waste of money because it keeps spitting out the same fortune. Pop a single gold coin in the machine, and it'll print out your fortune. It's true that it seems to be running on repeat, though, because you're guaranteed to get one of the following two fortunes: Disaster has invited itself to your doorstep. Or, Mild fortune bears down on you like the sun. Another thing that's guaranteed: Whatever fortune you receive will have to manifest in some form. That's rather unfortunate for the ... more unfortunate ones. G. A REPRIEVE IN THE ORCHARDS An old half-elf by the name of Daran Edermath tends to an orchard just on the edge of town. It's a bit of a locally hidden gem for Phandalin- the old, retired adventurer turned vintner keeps the trees well nourished and tended to all year long. It's spring time here in Faerun, and naturally, there should the crowns of budding apple blossoms coming up and ready to take shape. But wandering in here, you'll notice that they've developed into beautiful looking, ripe apples. Daran is one of the oldest living people in Phandalin and while he hasn't been around long enough to know what happened to the Lost Mine of Phandelver, he does seem to wear a sort of smile when he hears about it. See, in his youth, he snuck down there with only an apple for rations to his name. He doesn't know how he stumbled upon it, or even how he really made it past the monstrosities that lie in there. But Edermath farms remembers. Those apples that are perfectly colored and perfectly ready to eat? They're all the result of that one apple he dipped into the forge. Must be about 100 years ago. The sweet scent of cider, sauces, and butters fills the air in almost every direction. It's a time to relax and enjoy the days before returning to base, and he's more than willing to trade a few silver pieces for a bucket of the stuff. For those of you with a little more adventurous taste buds, Daran offers you to try an apple from a tree that grows many different colored fruits. He'll explain that there's a little bit of magic in those too, but nothing that'll hurt you. Give it a try, see what happens! These will last up to 24 hours. ○ Red - your senses elevate far beyond what a normal human should be able to accomplish. You can hear, see, smell, and touch better than you ever have before. Take a walk out into Phandalin after the dust settles. The color and the scent of the flowers should be amazing. ○ Green - you become incredibly pensive, seeing insightful things about your life that you haven't noticed before. You recall past events with a crystal clear level of understanding, to the level of being able to close your eyes and remember details that are minute- like the sound in a memory you forgot, or the way the breeze felt on a particular day. ○ Yellow - you feel lethargic. Enough to probably take a nap wherever you're currently standing. It's not a bad thing, but if you've been feeling really stressed lately or pushed yourself in battle quite a bit, waking up is going to feel about as refreshing as humanly possible. ○ Blue - you become incredibly confident with yourself. Things that might have scared you to say or do in the past feel like small anthills compared to the mountains they once were. You speak your truth when you want to, you fear nothing and become closer to your true self. ○ Pink - you're hit with a wave of affection. You're all about hugs and hand-holding and being close to people you care about. It provides a sort of blissful state that makes you want to be around other people. Eventually, though, the dust will clear, and with the jutted earth and remains of Maru in the horizon, you'll board the orbs and return to the Moon Base. Because a true rest after this mission is waiting you back home. You could say it's going to be quite the retreat. 2. OOC NOTE Congratulations on successfully reclaiming the third Grand Relic! We hope you enjoyed exploring, and ultimately unraveling, Maru. For people new to the game, you may notice that there isn't an RNG thread. CTA logs generally do not have one, just to give us mods a bit more time to work on the interlude, and the next field mission. You can check out our calendar to see what's coming up next! The TDM will be posted Monday, April 29. Reserves open Wednesday, May 2 and applications open Saturday, May 5. blurb code by photosynthesis

Comments

[ribticklers]

[Sans taps out a message to Qrow, letting him know to expect some dwarves, and then continues the untangling process. Luckily, it's a lot easier when you cheat and cut instead.]

This place is falling to pieces. Better get out of here before the rope decides to grab onto you again. [That would be really annoying to deal with. Luckily, these dwarves seem a bit more willing to leave, possibly because having been tied up for who knows how long makes you a little more worried about surviving.]

[mccreehaw]

[ McCree gets enough of the yarn pulled loose to have the dwarf get one arm free. Now they can help speed up the process of getting the rest of themselves untangled. ]

Yeah, it's already trying to snap back into place. Here; lift your leg out. I'll hold this down.

[ The dwarf manages to climb out and McCree nods towards the exit. ]

Get outta here! There's a fella with a flying broom waiting to carry us outta danger.

[ribticklers]

[Sans moves on to the next dwarf. At least there aren't a ton of them down here.] How'd you guys even get down here, anyway? Thought there was a tree in the way. [The tree is probably why there's only four, actually.]

[mccreehaw]

[ As he asks that, McCee focuses on getting to the next dwarf. It's a little harder when you can't teleport, and he has to take care not to end up like the dwarves did. But he makes it over to the next and starts going through the same process again, trying to get their arm free first so they can help. ]

Yeah, we've been looking for you guys all over. Shoulda told people where you were going. If the whole damn island wasn't breaking apart, you probably would've starved down here.

[ribticklers]

[With casual-looking but careful snips and some tugging, Sans frees another dwarf. Then he joins McCree to help with the last one.]

If I see you guys down on the ground later, I'll sell you some cinnamon rolls. They're good. [It's never not time to make a profit.]

[mccreehaw]

[ McCree doesn't comment on the rolls, but it does make his lips twitch with a smile. Seeing how these guys owe Sans and McCree their lives, the very least they can do is buy some cinnamon rolls. ]

Yeah, and you can buy me a drink if we end up somewhere with a bar.

[ With the last of the yarn cut away, the dwarf books it out of there, keeping it a secret whether or not he'll be indulging in rolls or creating a tab for McCree later.

With that out of the way, McCree straightens back up and looks to the forge before letting out a whistle. ]

As soon as we cut all that off, it's gonna have the ends snapping around like crazy, isn't it? All that tension released.

[ribticklers]

[Sans nods. He doesn't like it. One stray bit of yarn hitting Sans just hard enough means death for him, after all. But nobody knows that except him, and if he does it right, nobody ever has to know. The water from his canteen floats lazily through the air as he soaks the bits they're not going to be setting on fire, because the last thing they need is everything whipping around while also on fire.]

Hope you're good at dodging.

[mccreehaw]

You could say I've done it a time or two.

[ Or you could look at the random bit of metal armor he wears over his knee because he's always ready to combat roll out of a situation. Or into one, as the case may be.

He takes out his lighter and flicks it open. ]

Okay. You cut. I'll burn.

[ He draws in a breath, knowing this could go very wrong, very quickly. And even if they don't get smacked to hell by the yarn, they still have to come back out and escape before they crash. ]

Ready when you are.

[ribticklers]

[Sans takes a mental account of how he's doing, magic-wise. He can feel the haste spells still working, and the water that didn't get used to pre-soak the ropes returns to him. He drops it in his canteen again, but leaves the canteen open for quick access. Okay. He spins his shears around ridiculously, like a gunslinger might spin a gun around.]

Let's make it quick so I can go take a nap.

[And, assuming there's no last-minute objections, Sans makes the first cut.]

[mccreehaw]

Sounds like a plan.

[ And he'd say more, but the first cut around the forge is made and the yarn whips around like an out of control fire hose. McCree ducks from its thrashing and lights up the yarn within reach. It'll burn to the wet parts and the flames will hopefully die out. Hopefully. ]

Hoo boy, it's kicking off now.

[ The yarn burns as perfectly as if they'd scripted this, and he moves to the next section to do the same. ]

[ribticklers]

[Sans twists out of the way mid-teleport as he meets McCree at the next section. He pulls his arm up out of the way to dodge another bit of yarn whipping around.]

Hope the yarn ain't too mad at us. [Sans cuts and pulls--burning hands is enough to let him grab the yarn no matter how hot it is. He's keeping an eye on the forge, too, but it's been behaving so far.] Wonder how the forge'll handle the fall.

[He's not about to worry about carrying it out with them.]

[mccreehaw]

[ McCree jerks back to avoid a whip shot coming for his midsection before trying to cover Sans' back as he grabs at the ropes to pull them away. ]

Don't rightly know how magical stuff handles dropping through the ground and falling through the air.

[ The forge sounds like an amazing invention in theory, but if it's between the people here and the forge, he's choosing the people. Let the forge drop and see what happens to it afterward, once they're all safe. ]

At least it's breaking easy and not reforming yet.

[ribticklers]

[Sans pauses barely half a second to re-cast haste on the two of them as it wears off. He doesn't even have to look away from what he's doing.]

They can't say we're not givin' everybody the easiest fall possible. [Look at them, doing all this work. Sans ducks some stray yarn and cuts a few more pieces.] Forge's almost free.

[mccreehaw]

[ McCree still can't believe the Reclaimers figured this all out, but here they are releasing everything before it all snaps and makes the situation worse. It's pretty amazing detective work, and probably due to a bit of luck as well.

He moves to burn the last few strands he can see, holding the lighter steady until it catches the flame and he clicks the lighter shut, pocketing it. ]

That should be it, unless there's a bit still hiding out somewhere.

[ But already the ground is rumbling beneath their feet. He dodges the snapping yarn and pushes his hat tighter onto his head. ]

Think that's our sign to get the hell out of Dodge.

[ribticklers]

[Sans watches the last bits burn away from the forge. He's relieved the forge doesn't explode or anything. Sans can feel the ground breaking up under his feet. Looks like they're done here.]

Hope those dwarves didn't give Qrow too much trouble.

[And Sans vanishes. He can't make the jump to the bubble in one go--he has to get out into the open first. So he reappears an instant later in the open doorway out of here.

He might be trying to watch out to make sure McCree gets out of there okay, too.]

[mccreehaw]

[ What the...? Oh, right. Teleportation. McCree follows, continuing to dodge the yarn as he goes. At one point he has to jump over a piece that looks like it's doing jump rope, but he goes as fast as he can.

Just get outside. Just get to the broom. It's what he keeps repeating in his head as the doorway gets larger the closer he gets. ]

I'm right behind you! Get going!

[ribticklers]

Got it. [Again Sans vanishes. He has to stop over on the broom--Qrow gets a casual little "hey" as Sans appears and disappears again--but other than that, he's inside their transportation now. Not that he leaves yet. Instead, he keeps an eye on where McCree should appear, web spells at the ready.]

[mccreehaw]

[ By the time Sans makes it out, Maru is falling. It's a slow descent thanks to their efforts, but the land is still shaking and splits appear as the island falls down. And McCree does come out from the tunnel, but he doesn't move forward. He can't. Just as his foot steps out onto the grass, there's a cracking sound. The ground beneath him entirely gives way, and with his arms flailing to find purchase on solid land that just isn't there, he slips through before he can even make a sound.

He falls so fast towards Faerun that the rush of blood makes him black out and he thankfully isn't conscious as he impacts the ground. ]

[ribticklers]

[It's uniquely awful seeing it happen in haste-induced slow motion and still not being able to do anything about it. Sans send his spells flying, but no matter how fast he piles web on top of web, he can't beat terminal velocity, especially with debris obstructing his line of sight.

Well. He has to give up on it soon enough. The tips of his fingers are tingling from using magic at such a rapid pace, but he can already feel that sense of inevitability settling on him. He should have expected something like this. Damn.]

[feytality]

[ well, there's one person here who's not quite ready to give up on mccree. after clearing a path for for the two of them, she'd lingered to make sure the tree got evacuated, and, well, here she is. just in time to see the ground give way beneath mccree. it's very sad anime. or disney. ]

Jesse!

[ there's the anime scream, followed by maya running off and actually jumping after him. she's not thinking. she's usually pretty good at survival, but seeing mccree fall -- not much longer after she saw him got turned to stone -- overrides every single rational thought in her head, and all she can think about is saving him. ]

[ there she goes. ]

[ribticklers]

[Later, Sans might be glad Maya screamed first. Right now, there's just alarm as she screams and jumps off of Maru like she thinks she's going to sprout wings. Sans works his magic automatically. There's already a long string of web from where Sans was trying to catch McCree, so he has an immediate anchoring point as he coils the web around Maya.

Because he doesn't really trust himself, he doesn't move to her location until he's sure she's not still falling.]

What d'you think you're doing? [He's trying to keep his composure, but that question is still the first thing out of his mouth as he hangs onto the web himself.]

[feytality]

[ she's caught like a fly in a .... web..... and like a fly, she's struggling futilely against it and trying to get out, twisting around to try to see if she can even see McCree-- if she can, she can teleport after him. sadly, he's long gone. ]

Let me go! I need to catch him! Please--- he's falling!

[ he noticed, maya. ]

[ribticklers]

You won't make it in time. [Sans is still trying to be at least sort of gentle about this. This isn't a good time for Maya to be stubborn.] We've gotta go back to the car.

[The car-in-a-bubble. You know, the thing that's not crumbling to pieces.]

[feytality]

No! I can't leave without him! I can-- I can use Misty Step! I just need to--

[ she's twisted herself up worse in the web with all her struggling like an idiot, so she can't even see down right now-- her hair's partially in her face. but, maybe she just needs to look anywhere, and keep teleporting? ]

[ a great plan that won't backfire. ]

Jesseeeee!

[ribticklers]

[The lights in Sans's eyes go out--in that moment, looking at him is a reminder that he's a skeleton, and his eye sockets are pitch black holes into an empty skull. His voice, when he speaks, echoes around eerily like it's rattling around against his bones.]

There's nothing you can do. We need to leave.