Field Mission 4, Etude in Blue, Part One

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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. Back to top 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. Back to top 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. Back to top blurb code by photosynthesis

Comments

[vandymion]

I-I admit I am not sure. I suppose I assumed if one of the other Reclaimers had, they would have notified the rest of us ...

Is "Warlock" the name of the path of someone who can speak to spirits?

[eudaimonikos]

Seems to be. I'm not one myself...but I know that kid who got handcuffed to a death god. Spiritually.

[Or something? His nine-dimensional vision is way on the fritz.]

[vandymion]

[ Her eyes widen. ]

Is he ... still with us? That is to say, can he ... he's not lost in the Astral World ... ?

[eudaimonikos]

Nah, he's back on the boat. Got thrown out a window yesterday!

[In a bar...presumably not this one, though, this window looks fine]

[vandymion]

O--oh.

[ Well that wasn't the answer she was expecting. She looks back down at her hands, a little frustrated that she was so far off. ]

I see. That ... that is well. But the death god ... will it not consume him eventually?

[eudaimonikos]

...will it?

[Michael wasn't under that impression at all, but heck if he knows how warlocking works.]

[vandymion]

I was taught by my teacher that if one communes too closely with the spirits, it may become impossible to separate one's will ...

[ She frowns. ]

I have seen her nearly get lost to the thrall before. But I do not know what happens if no one is there to bring them back to the mortal plane.

[eudaimonikos]

...huh.

[See, this is why they don't let humans randomly wander into the afterlife! Although Michael doesn't really think that would happen. Anyway.]

Well, nobody else sounded all that concerned about it. Maybe the gods here work differently.

[vandymion]

I ... I suppose that could be the case ...

[ Since, you know, almost everything is different here besides that ... ]

I certainly hope it is, anyways.

[eudaimonikos]

Probably is. We didn't have gods like this at all, where I'm from. Even if we did, giving magical powers to humans is completely insane.

[vandymion]

...

[ She works her mouth for a moment, deciding what a witch is supposed to say to that. ]

W-why do you say that?

[eudaimonikos]

We can't even use powers on Earth. It's a total dead zone. Plus, they're really not supposed to know about things like...

[Me. Us.]

...that. It's dangerous.

[vandymion]

[ ... She stares, unblinking, for a moment. ]

You speak as though ... you are not human yourself.

[eudaimonikos]

Yeah.

[Michael eats a handful of peanuts off the bar.]

[vandymion]

[ ... She leans back ever-so-slightly. ]

Would it ... Pardon my manners, but ...

[ He just looks so ... human? ]

What does that ... what does that make you?

[eudaimonikos]

I'm a demon.

[He's started to get some negative responses to that, but...well, he's told enough people already that he couldn't keep up a lie about it. And Eleanor would think that was weird.]

[vandymion]

[ She can't help but let a very tiny-- ]

W-what?

[ -- out of her mouth. That was the answer she was least hoping for here -- well, an angel might have been worse, but ... ]

You ... But you ...

[ You can almost see the math equations floating around her head as she tries to work this one out. He'd said something about wanting to help people these days, but the blind fear and panic running through her system makes it hard to know how to begin to weigh that against all that she knows demons are capable of. ]

[eudaimonikos]

[The morality question definitely comes up when he tells people this, but usually it's "but you look like a person!" first. So Michael answers that one.]

Most of us will take on human forms. Makes things easier.

[vandymion]

[ That just kind of sounds like luring innocent people into a false sense of security to her, rather than something borne out of any sort of compassion or understanding of the reaction he might garner amongst humans. The fact that she had no idea until this moment makes her feel sick. It would have been so easy to tell if Guts or Casca were here, but no. She's alone.

She tries to steady herself, keep calm in the face of what she's sure is danger now. It's not wise to just try and kill him, not when she doesn't have the others here, and knows nothing of what he could be capable of. Things are different here, she remembers Sayori saying, but believing that was going to take some time.

She wants to hide. She wants to get under the blankets and never come back out again. But ...

After a moment of staring in horror, she reaches protectively for the whip at her hip -- not daring to draw it, but knowing that it's there is something of a security blanket -- and speaks again. ]

What does it make easier, pray tell?

[eudaimonikos]

[She's. Not wrong.

Michael's gaze flicks down to the movement, and he frowns. This was such a nice conversation until he had to say that. But even if he doesn't deserve that reaction right at this moment, which he doesn't think he does, he certainly has in the past. She's not wrong.]

Interacting with humans. We largely exist in dimensions you can't perceive.

[And that's sort of a lie of omission - "interacting" is more like "torturing". He feels sort of guilty about it, but also he would love to not get hit with a whip.]

[vandymion]

I can perceive them. I have been able to ever since I met one of your sacrifices.

[ She says this sharply; a rather striking contrast to the more quiet and shy person who he'd been conversing with just a moment ago. Sorry Michael, but being hunted by ravenous demons every night for months at a time tends to make you just an teensy bit biased against them ... ]

Is your talk of helping the people of this town as much of a fabrication as your appearance, then? Perhaps you simply wish to play with your food before you eat it.

[eudaimonikos]

[As conscious as he is of his own past sins, Michael can't help but bristle at the accusation. It's not wrong, it's not, but isn't he trying the best he can? Whoever he wants to be, he can't stop being what he is.]

My kind don't deal in sacrifices. That's all human superstition, in my dimension.

[That sounds way too nice, honestly, but it's true. They don't have anything to do with living humans, no matter what the humans themselves like to say.]

Why would I walk around telling people what I am if I were going to do something like that? Especially another Reclaimer.

[vandymion]

[ Farnese is still having a lot of trouble grasping the concept of the rules don't work that way everywhere, and so it's much easier for her to pass that first one off as a lie. ]

Superstition? I have seen with my own eyes the way demons hunt those called the Branded. You dare to call that false?

[ And as for as that last part ... ]

Perhaps you believe that ... [ As it comes out of her mouth, she shivers a little. ] ... th-that no one would be able to stop you should you choose to do what you will. [ It doesn't make sense that he was chosen as a Reclaimer if he's really out to murder people. Somewhere, deep down, she knows that. But ... prejudices are not so easily swayed. ]

[eudaimonikos]

I don't even know what a Branded is. I'm not from your world.

[He's enunciating very clearly now, already irritated despite trying to remind himself not to be. There was a time he'd get upset because people didn't find him intimidating enough; how the turns table.]

And I'm not doing anything. I am literally sitting in a pirate tavern drinking water. [Not that he really attaches any moral weight to drinking alcohol, but. How much more vanilla can he get?]

[vandymion]

[ Yeah, well--! She doesn't have any way to argue with that. She works her jaw for a moment trying to decide what to do, before finally: ]

Then surely you will have no objections to being monitored.

[ Now that she knows what he is, she can't in good conscience just let the guy walk away to go do whatever he wants. Which is surely going to be some nefarious thing. Definitely. ]