balance_logs | Field Mission 4, Etude in Blue, Part One

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Field Mission 4, Etude in Blue, Part One

	You're not leaving until you've got this shanty memorized
	NAVIGATION

Click here for the RNG thread!

1. ETUDE IN BLUE: WELCOME TO THE SEA OF FALLEN STARS

A. A WATERY LANDING

You'll be going down from the Moon Base via glass spheres, shot by the flight technician staff member Avi. As usual, each capsule can hold up to 4 people, although it does get increasingly uncomfortable the more people are crammed together. You're shot down to the planet in the most horrifying way possible, seeing the landscape violently change quickly and without remorse or guilt towards your possible motion sickness or uneasy feeling. The landing this time, is a canonball. All along the middle of the Sea of Fallen Stars, blips of orbs will be falling straight down into the water. From the Moon Base, Lucretia watches on as the majority of you land. It's quite a spectacle to see the splashes from this high up.

And once you're there, you're... kind of up a creek without a paddle. Without a propulsion or engine system to move your orb forward, you don't have a lot of choices here. If you're lucky, you might find a mercantile ship out in between voyages. If you're extremely unlucky, you're going to have to swim... or maybe you can pop the sphere hatch open and find something to paddle with. Be careful of the sharks? Definitely be careful of the sharks. Your destination? Lyrabar.

2. THE LAP OF LUXURY, THE DANGERS OF LYRABAR

B. THE CITY OF MERCHANTS' DREAMS

Let's get something out of the way first: Lyrabar is a gorgeous city — and when you step off the S.S. Codfather and onto the docks about a hundred yards from the edge of the city proper, you'll be treated to a clear view of the entire skyline: Ornate, twisting towers of marble, stone buildings and finely crafted wooden structures form the city into a neat semicircle, with the marketplace at its epicenter. At the far end of the city stands a castle, a nearly glittering, extravagant structure, a maze of hallways and towers that seems to be stretching high toward the other planes of existence themselves.

Lyrabar is on an entirely new level compared to Vista Virs, New Aspen, or even the comforts of the Moon Base itself. This is by far the most luxurious corner of Faerun that you've encountered yet — even the standard-level rooms you might find in an inn around Lyrabar are well maintained, the sheets are clean, and the food is delicious. The food, though! Pretty much anything you can think of is on the menu somewhere, and, no offense to an enduring and malfunctioning robot back on the base, but his cuisine chops can't even compare to what's on offer in Lyrabar.

If only the people of Lyrabar were nicer. Weren't so suspicious of anyone new who passes through those gates. There is a lot of gold passing through the city gates, after all.

And the pirates who are slowly overrunning the city are well aware of that.

C. THE HOBBY HORSE

A lot of you strong archetype Reclaimers, and even the ones who aren't, will probably eventually find your way to The Hobby Horse, a tavern that is absolutely just a tavern, if a bit more crude compared to the other watering holes nearby and around Lyrabar, and absolutely not a place where pirates higher up on the pecking order go for a bit of Jabba-the-Hut-lair entertainment. Of course it isn't. That would be silly!

In any case, maybe you've signed the waiver, paid your 20 GP, and had a go at The Death Cave — essentially a long hallway, leading from one ring to the next, with waves of aggressive monsters brought in from the ocean and beyond for you to fight through. And for some of you, those of you who have played a hand in reclaiming three Grand Relics at this point ... honestly, The Death Cave might seem a little too easy.

The man taking your payments and signed waivers, a man who goes only by Old Numbers, a gruff, bearded old fart who seems to be more battle scar than human, seems to have a solution for that. He leans forward over the counter, eyeing you near suspiciously.

"Oi ... if it's an actual challenge yer lookin' for, Old Numbers can whip you up somethin' more ... randomized. Y'seen those Sea Quartz around town, right? Those rainbow lookin' stars that the fancier folk keep grindin' up into shampoo. Bring me three of those, and I'll give you a fight worth yer chops."

True to his word, you pay Old Numbers three SQ, he'll have you sign another waiver (essentially, you're going to have to name a next of kin — someone who's fit and willing to drag your corpse out of The Death Cave, because Old Numbers here sure as hell isn't going to do it), then he'll draw a random placard from a stack of three and affix it next to the entrance of The Death Cave. The excited energy in the crowd is palpable. Now the real battling betting begins.

Your goal here isn't to defeat all the enemies: It's simply to make it to the final exit.

Here's what the placards mean (As a further warning, these are highly dangerous encounters! You signed a second waiver for a very good reason.):

○ Sword: In the final room of The Death Cave, you will be pitted against a swordsman who seems to have been taken in by some sort of Faerun equivalent of malevolent corruption — and boy, is he having the time of his life. He is extremely fast, his blade is freshly sharpened, and he will not hesitate to strike down anyone who was unfortunate enough to roll him, while laughing about it. He does have what you might consider an ultimate attack: Gathering up energy into his blade, he swings it, channeling said energy into one devastating plume of magic shot directly toward you. You're going to want to find a way to avoid it.

○ Bow and arrow: As you make your way through The Death Cave, you'll be pursued by the, uh. Boss of this round, a ranger whose accuracy with her bow and arrow is unrivaled. Assuming you make it to the final room without being arrow'd, you'll have to face her head-on, too. She is nimble, and now that you've reached the end, she is much less keen on missing. To make it past her, you will want to disarm her — which means closing the gap between the two of you as much as possible, to force a melee.

Wand: Woe to the Reclaimer who manages to roll the magic user course. When you step inside, you'll find that the entire cave is flooded at about knee height, meaning unless you can figure out a way across it, you'll be fighting while wading.

The Caster — sorry, I mean Wizard — at the end of the line specializes in ice and electric elemental spells. Have fun with that!

D. IN WHICH LITERALLY EVERYONE WANTS YOUR COIN

For those of you who have gold burning a hole in your pocket, the shopping available in Lyrabar is near endless. The marketplace, located at the center of the city, seems to sprawl on forever, with stalls, storefronts and eateries that seemingly cater to every fancy, whether it's fashion or weaponry. If it's souvenirs you're looking to take home, the most popular items are necklaces made out of those ever popular Sea Quartz, that are being used at The Hobby Horse and ground up into shampoo, and very sarcastic postcards: Think, "I visited Lyrabar and all I got was this crappily printed postcard" sort of sarcastic.

Generally, though, as long as the item is not magical, and as long as the tech is not more advanced than what you'd find on the Moon Base, you can probably find it at the Marketplace. If you're not sure about an idea, feel free to ask right here!

Some other things of note about what you'll find while shopping:

○ There are a lot of pickpockets. Maybe you shouldn't actually have a hole in your pockets. Even with the people of Lyrabar as distrusting of each other, and of you, as they are, those looking to pilfer a little extra cash off an unsuspecting visitor will find no shortage of targets. Perhaps you're one of them. Perhaps you're the sort willing to start a brawl in the middle of the Marketplace to get your most valued possessions back. Maybe, if you look close enough, you'll see that many have the same insignia branded on their arm. It seems, if you'd like to join in with, or infiltrate a pirate crew, this band of kleptos might be a good place to start off.

○ The Auction House is located on one of the far corners of the Marketplace. It's large, marble and a bit chilly inside, and the biddings start at around 6 p.m. each night, but it seems there's something ... a bit strange about the auctions themselves. That is to say, you'll have a seat one evening, and about halfway through selling off half of the evening's inventory, you'll watch them bring out the next item: like a pearl, or a particularly large and beautiful clamshell — nice enough trinkets, but nothing at all compared to the other goods that have hit the auction block so far.

And why are they starting the bidding at 1,000 GP? And why are the people around you actually enthusiastically going with it? Man, they can't be that blatant, can they?

E. JUSTICE

Maybe by this point you've had something valuable snatched from you, or you can't quite figure out how nobody's put a stop to some very clear money laundering happening at the Auction House, and you feel the need to serve up some serious justice to the pirates out there who have done you wrong. Who runs the justice joint around here, anyway?

That inquiry will lead you straight to the royal guard — the captain of which is going to groan in exhaustion/annoyance at you questions, or even your bid to help out. You think he hasn't heard that story before? The second a silver-tongued charlatan charms their way into the ranks of the royal guard, they're looking the other way while their visiting pirate friends rob the rest of us blind. He's got no time for this. If you want to truly help, you are going to have to prove it first.

And so, with that, you will find yourself immediately thrown into an undercover operation, one the captain doesn't mind doling out, because at the end of the day he loses nothing from it except for a few disguises. That's right: you'll be given a disguise, whether it's a smelly pile of peasant rags or, if he's feeling less charitable with his budget, a pair of these (look, it's not like he actually cares about your safety here), and a piece of paper with one or two names on it. Your mission? Bring these suspects back to the captain without causing a scene. Or, well, go ahead and cause a scene. He has little shits to give, remember?

Pull this off, though, and consider a private audience with the one member of the royal family who still keeps an audience nowadays, Princess Irene, secured.

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3. OUT ON THE OPEN SEA

F. CONGRATULATIONS, YOU'RE THE NEW OWNER OF A YACHT

Whether you've had your fill of luxury, bar fights, enforcing the long arm of the law in town, or just gorging out on incredibly tasty food, eventually you'll recall that Lucretia had actually sent you down here with a purpose. She asked everyone to find a way to obtain a ship- one that isn't the S.S. Codfather (thank you very much, Sans!)- as the investigation into the Grand Relic can only get so far within the streets of Lyrabar. To that end, there are a number of options and opportunities for you to obtain such a vessel.

○ Steal it. This is how pirating works in a place like this. You find something, you take it, and you put a nice new flag on it to make it yours. Of course, there are some complications with that. Get caught, and you're going straight to nautical prison- don't pass the Hobby Horse, don't collect $200. But the docks district of this port town is known to be rather quiet at night, when the merchant fleets are out swindling cash at the bar, drinking themselves blind, or maybe just settling home with their family after an honest day's work. There are hired guards keeping watch, but it shouldn't be that difficult to incapacitate them. When they wake up in the morning, they'll assume what it always is around here. Someone forgot to pay the red tithe.

○ Buy it. There's always the option of offering something in exchange for a rowboat. Maybe you've come across a bountifully magical item that you want to dispose of at the auction house, or maybe there's a collector out there who's willing to make a fair trade. Renting them doesn't seem to be that much an issue either; transport around the region is always done by boat. Just know that you're going to have to put a down payment and collateral down. You also... run the risk of running into some unscrupulous merchants who are working with the pirates on the down low. Be careful not to get swindled out of everything you own, only to walk up to a tiny rowboat.

○ Mutineer it. You could find some work on boats, but it's mainly hard labor. You'll be loading the ship up for transport, and taking a trip across the Sea of Fallen stars to destinations at other major port cities. You might not need to know that some of these ships are exchanging some rather questionable goods to get the hint that there's a fair share misconduct going on around the sea. Time to throw the captain overboard and take command of your own dreamliner.

○ Other. Well, depending on how crafty you are, there are a number of ways to get a hold of a boat. These were just some guiding ideas, but we think you'll find a way. You always do.

G. 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA

There's some adventuring to do out in the open sea, and treasures both vast and mighty. It's not entirely uncommon to find islands dotted along the landscape, and those are particularly good for docking and getting a sense of what's gone down around here since Captain Ferryn's taken command of the high seas. You might've gotten the sense that loose lips really do sink ships- that evidence is coming up pretty bill in your search for actual piracy going on around here. The good captain is incredibly skillful at both deception and infiltration, and with the Soul Blade helping him, there's almost nothing stopping him from completely dominating the entire sea and crowning himself the new royal in town. Mum's the word around these parts, so you're going to have to do some exploration. Pop some of those shrimp chips and head down to explore the underwater depths of the seabed.

There are an unbelievable amount of ships that have been wrecked and forgotten under the violent chops of the aquatic basin. With a few hours' search, you're incredibly likely to find one, waiting for you to go down and pluck whatever's down there. Be careful, however, since The Drowned are fiercely protective of their death locales. Fight through them and live to the tell the tale, and you'll come back graciously rewarded.

Many of the ships seem to have crates still on them- all with the official royal seal of Lyrabar stamped plainly on their lid. When popped open, you'll notice there's an abundance of sea quartz- the gems that are used to constantly provide a source of energy to the town. Hard to tell why pirates wouldn't be interested in that, when the trade is absurdly lucrative.

You'll also find areas where ships aren't present. Instead, you might come across entire fields of sea quartz. But in their current state, they're pretty useless and look like the trinkets you might have found on the streets of Lyrabar. Devoid of any magical energies, they lay deep on the ocean floor, a nuisance and an eyesore to nature. You'll also notice that natural enemies like sharks and Sahuagin steer clear of these areas, for better or for worse.

Good luck down there, and make sure you have a buddy system set up. Getting a glass sphere down into the water is near impossible, but Dr. Tank is on board the S.S. Codfather for emergencies.

H. NOBODY KNOWS THE TROUBLES I'VE SEEN

Know that the sea is not calm in temperament or safety. There are things to be weary of at every step of the way, and it's best to ensure that you have a good, seasoned crew to man your boat in order to keep you passing through safe waters. While you're out there, though, danger truly does lurk around every corner.

Pirates, for one, are particularly good at various ways of warfare. Many of them don't even look or appear to be like the ones you might have heard of in stories or experienced elsewhere. Some even fly under the banner of Lyrabar, cruising safely without notice by anyone that would be wise to what they're up to. Sail out for too long without a purpose or linger in an area too long, and a ship will approach, lining up side by side with you. They'll tell you that they're part of the Royal Navy, and hell, they might even be wearing the garb of the official uniformed ranks, and when they announce they're here for usual inspection, they'll request to board your ship. Protocol, you see, because of the rampant acts of piracy out in the open waters. Refusing might make you look more suspicious, but letting them on board as inspectors and tax adjudicators can be equally dangerous. Some of them are legit, and some of them will look to take command of your ship and leave you out in the ocean to drown. You're going to have to be cunning to figure out which one is which.

Storms rage all over the Sea of Fallen Stars. With the encroachment of the warmer months ahead, the weather itself battles for its rightful claim to the area. The signs of a storm coming are easy enough to spot, and they're frequent. Some will last 2-3 days and make travel nearly impossible. Getting out of the water is an important step in keeping your crew safe; and spending a night on an island or in a grotto is always better than running the risk of joining the armies of The Drowned below.

Maelstroms are an equal threat of immense dread. If you happen to see a swirling vortex of water, start heading in the opposite direction immediately. There's a certain magnetic pull that they have, and once you've been caught in the outer rings, it's going to take a lot of teamwork to get yourselves out. Good thing you've had a month to build upon that, or else you might be toast. For those of you who are highly less fortunate, you'll notice yourselves getting sucked in, closer, and closer. You can look over the epicenter and- good god, is that a tentacle!? What is that thing!?

The Prespuran Triangle also poses a major issue while traveling across the sea. Legend has it that if you sail too close to its navigable coordinates, your ship will vanish and you'll never be heard from again. It might seem like a wives' tale, but it's absolutely true. Come too close to it and you'll notice your compass begin to spin out like there's no tomorrow. Continue inward, and, well. You'll see something, alright. It's a tower that stretches into the sky, tall and unwavering. And also, completely impregnable and without doors. You're going to have to get yourself out of there somehow, and for your sake, let's hope you know the exact coordinates you came in through or else... you mind wind up on a completely different side of the world.

Last but not least, the pirates aren't the only ones looking to hop aboard your newly crowned baby. Don't forget about the Sahuagins, either. They seem to attack only during the dead of night, when the moon is ripe and full in the sky. They bring with them charming magics and are particularly good at getting people to willfully walk over the edge themselves, without even drawing a blade.

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4. OOC

This is your story to write, and your setting to play with! Anything on the OOC post is fair game, and if there's something you'd like to try, please don't hesitate to let us know on the RNG thread.

But most importantly, Reclaimers, be amazing.

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blurb code by photosynthesis

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

a. alms, alms

[ How they finally got to Lyrabar is unimportant- what matters is they're here now, in a place that is honestly the closest thing to civilisation since they got here. There's just something about being in a bustling coastal city that sets their heart at ease. Maybe it's the sea air, or the sound of seagulls, or any number of things.

It's a pity, then, that the city isn't as happy to see them as they are to see it. Which means the first order of business is changing that impression with some good ol' hard work.

So if you happen down by the docks of Lyrabar, more likely then not you'll see Lion sitting in the open in full Cleric attire (minus the cloak, for once), next to a handwritten sign that proudly offers "Free healing and fresh water, on request*". If they recognise you as a fellow Reclaimer, they'll drop their voice to a whisper once you get in within earshot. ]

Please play along. I don't want to scare anyone off. [ Then, switching back to their usual polite tone- ] Oh, hello. How may I help you?

[ Strangely, their umbrella is nowhere to be seen. And it's the kind of bright, sunny day where the shade would be nice, too. Weird.

"*Limited supply of fresh water per day. Sorry." ]

b. look at this stuff, isn't it neat

[ It was inevitable that, eventually, Lion would be let loose in Lyrabar's lovely market. There's only so much time one person can spend trying to heal the poor and downtrod. Especially when there's... not that many in a town like this? Hm. Either way, under normal circumstances this wouldn't be anything worth worrying about - the Reclaimers are only paid so much, after all, and they've got an additional expense in the form of "the fantasy genre does not encourage the use of Guns" to stop them from indulging their nature as a spoiled brat.

But unfortunately for everyone, and especially Lion's purse, this is a Pirate Town. Which means this is going to be a mess.

It's not hard to spot them darting around the marketplace, dressed in their fancy suit from home, eyeing pretty much anything and everything on display. Maybe you'd like to step in and stop them from doing something they'd regret? Or something else, at any rate - they've already fallen for the shampoo. ]

To blend in, or to get something nice...? Who knows if they'd let us come here again.

[ Alternatively, you might find them being surprisingly bitter at the auction house, because they know exactly what's going on here and they hate it? They hate it. ]

They- it can't be that blatant, can it? Surely someone would have noticed by now...

c. poor unfortunate souls (cw: bad life choices - limited to two, please.)

[ And now for something awful.

At the end of the week, one might notice Lion's absence from their spot by the shoreline, despite being pretty much glued to it from noon onwards for the entirety of their stay in Lyrabar. Asking around turns up nothing. The locals either don't care or merely shrug, saying they probably found something better to do. What kind of lunatic heals people for free in a town like this? Honestly.

However, should you stumble into the Hobby Horse like the intrepid adventurer you are - whether to challenge the Cave, or start a brawl or whatever, the narrative won't judge your hobbies - you'd spot something that absolutely should not be happening.

Namely, Lion actually existing inside a bar. Without spontaneously combusting. Hell, they're even sitting down and having a conversation. Wait, no, they spotted you- ]

Ah, hello! [ They sound a bit too chipper. That's... probably not good, is it. ] Fancy seeing you in a place like this.

d. wildcard

[ y'all know the drill! if none of these work for you, hit me up at plurk and we'll figure something out. and, as always, my permissions post is over here ]

[ Extra prompt for Nighttime Skulduggery to go here once I get some ideas 👀 ]

[ The last week’s been eventful for Alex, to say the least. He’s successfully infiltrated a pirate ship, retrieved some important-looking blueprints, and adequately learned the potential problems of relying on a spell with the word distrust in its name! Only a fool would return to the Hobby Horse after stumbling away with a concussion and a dislocated shoulder, but well, no one’s ever accused Alex of being not-a-fool.

He doesn’t know Lion very well? Really it’s just the one awkward meeting and a few brief run-ins, upon which he swiftly avoided the...young man? Wait maybe not— you know what, not important. The point is they aren’t someone Alex is in the mood to seek out. But something about this sight is...strange, and Alex takes note of strange things. Gotta trust your gut if you’re always in danger of dying, after all. So, he lingers in eyesight longer than he really intends to, and there’s we are, spotted. ]

Uhhh. [ Articulate, as usual. ]It’s a...good place to get information? What’s- what’re you doing around here?

[ Oh hey, it's.... uh. It's this guy! They totally remember this guy. Yup. Completely.

No, really, they do. It takes them a moment to place the voice, partially because they never really saw his face clearly after the whole potato-sack debacle, and partially because they are, to put it nicely, somewhat trashed, but eventually it clicks. Riiiiight, the kid with the burns. Nice to see he stuck around.

Lion's erstwhile conversation partner, meanwhile, takes the opportunity to quietly slide out of the immediate vicinity while they're distracted. Lucky bastard. ]

It is, isn't it? That's what I was doing too, talking to people, like- oh, he left. [ What a spoilsport. ] Like that fellow. It seemed like a better idea then sitting on the docks doing- doing nothing.

[ Case in point, they've actually written stuff down! It's all completely trivial, and probably won't make a lick of sense when they re-read it tomorrow, but it's the thought that counts. ]

But I'm not having much luck. They're all like... that.

[ Well, It's this guy! is definitely how Alex would prefer to be recognized. A nice, normal life, nothing too special... The ideal.

But, right now they're in a fantasy tavern, so, nothing normal. The fact that someone's sneaking away seems to be unfortunate foreshadowing of how his day's about to go, but as long as he doesn't accidentally spark another bar fight... ]

Well, I can't- I can't completely blame them, you only really come to a bar to do one thing, right?

[ Except it's a little...crowded. And loud. And Alex is here talking, not drinking, and it's a little hard to hear? So he edges forward, until he's up at the bar itself. ]

You must've got something, if you're...still here? [ They look pretty settled in, after all. ]

[ Unfortunately, nobody gets to be normal in Faerun. Even the people for whom "normal" is a defining character trait.

While they can't make any promises about any bar fights, they can clear some space for Alex to sit down - they nudge their book and cup of Something aside, though the pen they had lying around threatens to escape in the process. ]

Well, technically you can go to a bar for multiple reasons- a place to sleep, and I think they also sell food here? And there is that bizarre combat thing in the basement, for those who enjoy risking their li- um, their live...lihoods for practically no reward.

[ A nearby patron chokes on his drink overhearing that, because what the fuck, don't talk about Fight Club out loud!! Lion completely ignores him. ]

I've, ah, only really overheard rumours so far. And gossip, a lot of gossip. There's apparently been a dramatic increase in brawls in here since we arrived. [ Lion. Lion he meant the drink. ]

[ L- Lion, no, he was-- you know what it's...okay.

What Alex takes special interest in that little slip of the tongue, and his eyebrows knit together for a moment in thought. That's...the kind of slip he's intimately familiar with, the kind that's settled into his bones.

Alex, without looking away from Lion, waves the bartender over. As he anticipated, Faerun is like Paris in that drinking age is a suggestion or non-existent. ] Yeah, uh...whatever's on tap.

[ He passes some gold across, and the bartender bustles away. ] Have you tried it? The [ vague sword gestures ] you know, the fantasy Fight Club?

[ That same nearby patron has only just recovered from choking, and this guy is just saying it, just SAYING IT. What a fucking asshole! ]

I really fucking haven't, seems a bit too...you know, dangerous.

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[locked sneakprompt]

c gimme that sweet death trauma

trauma what trauma there's no trauma here

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dunks on b, first part

get out!! menace!!

<3?

<3!

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A!

i feel that edit reason in my soul

bless u

it's right up there next to "shit, my icon" for top edit reasons

i feel extremely called out by that one too

c it's a bar

this surely won't be awful at all

yes this is going to be fine

absolutely nobody will trip over anybody else's trauma flag in here

a

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b. look at this stuff, isn't it neat