Field Mission 4: Etude in Blue, Part 2

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The Sea of Faith was once, too, at the full, and round earth’s shore lay like the folds of a bright girdle furled. But now I only hear its melancholy, long, withdrawing roar, retreating, to the breath of the night-wind, down the vast edges drear and naked shingles of the world. Ah, love, let us be true to one another! for the world, which seems to lie before us like a land of dreams, so various, so beautiful, so new, hath really neither joy, nor love, nor light, nor certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain; and we are here as on a darkling plain swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight, where ignorant armies clash by night. NAVIGATION 1. THE FINAL RESULTS And so it goes, the story of a Grand Relic destroyed, not in the chamber of the Director's design, where its energies are kept from expanding ever outward, but out in the world where it's allowed to roam free and unchecked. Lucretia stands on the deck of the SS Codfather when it happens- currently held with a staff in her hand and repelling pirates back with blasts of eldritch magic to quell the invading forces of a mindless legion- and looks up to the sky. The look of dread on her face is palpable, and thankful that there aren't any Reclaimers on board, she breaks character in a way that restores a piece of her humanity. A look of despair, of loss, of fear... something that she had to rid herself of in the year she spent in isolation, the year she became Madame Director. As the fighting dies in the blink of an eye, she looks up to the heavens as a sword of light pierces through the sky. This is an ominous portent. Way down in the underwater mines, a group of Reclaimers can't make hide nor hair of the fighting that's going on above the water. They're busy trying to deactivate the poison that's seeping itself like a deathly teabag into the Sea of Fallen Stars. They have friends with them, dear ones that they've made along the way for better or worse circumstance, and ones from the Bureau of Balance to help purify the cursed energy source. The balance of aether in the area becomes unstable from a device stolen? or maybe, commandeered, from the Auction House as it tips ever so precariously in the direction of critical mass. Silvanus, called upon from his celestial throne, envelops the core in a brilliant bubble of light and uses the forces of wind to slow everything to a screeching halt within, the clerics trying their damnedest to contain what's about to happen next. Karsus, now inhabited by the Mother of Magic Herself, Mystra, works to conceal and undo the threat that tugs through the fabric of her delicately crafted weave. He demands the Reclaimers leave- a tidal wave is coming. The archmage, a demigod by his own stupidity, and the goddess contain the area, but not without cost. Before that, a young prodigy inside the halls of Lyrabar's palace takes forth a violin and resonates the frequency that throws the Grand Relic's control off kilter. She's stood up valiantly as H.R.H. Irene Loire had lost her nerves in attempting to do so herself, but soon joins in the rhapsody of sound that bursts through the open windows of the castle. Fighting outside reaches a fever pitch as other Reclaimers are begged to turn their Bracer's voice function on, to keep that resonance alive long enough to stop the city's invasion. The tides of which are proving too much a struggle to bear. But they make their resolve known, they just need to hold out for... That light. Ferryn lies motionless on the floor. The fight is over- and Irene has to pick up the pieces of her city. Her people look to her in the upcoming days. Blame is not something she cares to place- it's a magical item of immense power gone completely too far on the side of misuse, but there's the question of what to do with a city filled with pirates, backstabbers, and ordinary people who were just at the wrong place at the right time. As Ferryn is brought to her court the day after, he bears scars that will last with him for the rest of his life. The hardest part about being a ruler is actually ruling, as it turns out. You see, Ferryn was always like a little brother to her. She loved him- or the man he was before he ran off and presumably got himself killed. She understands why he did what he did, now, but there are consequences for actions that begin even with the best of intentions. Official reports will state that Ferryn died on his ship, at the hand of adventurers who saved Lyrabar. But as she banishes him away from Lyrabar for as long as he draws breath, she feels a heaviness in her heart that... before all this, would have trouble owning up to. And life goes on. Ferryn returns to Wunderbar, never to be seen or heard of again in the context of humans. Fabio and him have a lot to talk about. What an idiot he is, the merman thinks, smiling to himself as his love rests and recuperates. What a rash, thoughtless, idiot. But in the end, you do what you need to do for love's sake. That much he understands. Irene understands it too as she prepares for the aftermath. Lucretia, from the SS Codfather, turns her attention back to the present. We're going to need some new plans of action. 2. THE REMAINS A. A CITY UNDER SEIGE As Bureau operatives move ahead, plans in place and missions in mind, the rest of you have a city to try to protect — you've got a ship with a very silly name to keep clear of bad actors and intruders. And man, are there a lot of them. Your fellow Reclaimers gave it their best effort, but the radios weren't enough to repel the sheer number of those who fell under the effects of the Soul Blade — and they have called on you to help contain the chaos. This is where we hope that all the training you've done up until now has been enough — as you draw your weapon, a near endless crowd of agitators, the vast majority of them without grasp of their own souls, slip through the alleyways and past the buildings like water sloshing down the lower decks of all the ships you've been sailing this past month. This is the deadliest city you've ever been in — and now, with the buildings aflame and the curse of a horde of near zombies directly in your path, it's about to get even moreso. B. AN EERIE CALM, AN AFTERMATH And then, regardless of how well you fared during the fighting earlier, without warning, somewhere out on the horizon, far away in the ocean you've been sailing the past month, a bright blast of light suddenly rockets toward the sky, tearing past the clouds to the heavens. And just like that, every single pirate stops — and so does the fighting. They rock on their feet briefly, like they might topple over, then right themselves, their souls, for the first time in months, finally under their own control. The Soul Blade has been destroyed. There's an utter, eerie silence in the city, aside from the crackling of flames. People are wandering around in something of a stupor, injured, or trying to assist the injured or dead. Families who have been separated by loved ones captured by the Soul Blade reunite — joyous cries match the pace of the tortured ones. The guards who had been trapped under the spell, the best the palace had the offer, immediately get to work to undo what they have wronged. Anyone who poses an immediate threat — the criminals who got swept up along with the rest of them — are thrown in jail. There's an air of uncertainty of what to do with those who have reclaimed control over their spirits. The people of Lyrabar understand that they were possessed by some terrible force, and that it was somehow the pirate lord Ferryn's doing — but their crimes, the damage done, can't go unacknowledged. They need direction — and thankfully, they once again have a princess to turn to. If you happen to be in the marketplace this particular evening, you'll find something of an impromptu banquet. With order quickly restoring itself in her castle, she's ordered her staff to serve a meal to the people of Lyrabar who are left. It's nothing particularly special: breads, soups, what freshly caught fish they were able to manage on short notice. But it's probably the best food you've had since the pirates first took over the city. And if you wait long enough, you'll see Irene, too. Clean, dressed in a summery, ornate garment, she stands by the entrance to the banquet, violin lifted to her chin, a way she commonly connects with her people. The piece she plays is slower, more melancholic, but speaks to the direction she intends to guide her city. Through the notes, her message is clear: We will move slowly. We will rebuild. We will get this right. Nobody can place quite why there are tears streaming down her face, but it's understandable. C. PIECES OF HOME And then, among the slowly growing crowds, an artisan approaches you. "You there," they say, lifting a bony hand to point at your bracer. They don't understand the significance of the bracer, and it's not like you could explain it anyway. But there's something they do understand: The moment you people with the bracers arrived in this city, the place started changing. The fabric of Lyrabar's reality, the peaceful facade, started dissolving. Regardless of how it started, they saw you fighting. They saw the way you tried to restore order. This artisan has been around the world once or twice, you see, and they've learned around the years that in the event of a disaster, it was always important, a helpful reminder, to look for the people who were running in to help. They've got nothing left of their business now — and nothing left to do but thank, or perhaps commemorate, a bunch of people who still tried. Have a rummage through their cart. You can take one item of your choosing at no charge — and perhaps curiously, you might find that the item you pull out looks strangely, exactly like something from home. But before you can ask them, the artisan turns, and they're gone. A few limitations about the item you receive here: ○ It can't be magical in any way. An item that has been completely depowered is fine. ○ It has to be handheld, or something you can easily carry. ○ It can't be anything too technologically advanced — as much as we wish a random artisan in Lyrabar would be able to give you your laptop or iPhone or something similar, unfortunately, those are no dice. ○ If it's clothes, a full outfit instead of a single article of clothing is fine. D. PACKING UP AND GOING HOME Some of you are probably pretty keen on getting the hell out of this city — that's entirely fair, this place has been pretty rough on the entire Bureau, and Lucretia isn't about to stop anybody who needs to just. Get back home. This is kind of a wildcard deal! You can use any aspect of the Moon Base setting to guide your prompts, whether it's sitting out in the quad trying to sort out your feelings on this last mission, or whether it's distracting yourself with a game or any other variety of simulator the base has on offer. Here are a few points to note, though: ○ Speaking of the Quad, you might remember that the Reclaimers successfully de-angered and transplanted the Whomping Willow from Maru to a clearing toward the back of the Quad. Before, only druids who had Speak With Plants were able to chat with it — but now, someone's fitted it with a strange sort of magical printer that will print out advice for any problem you might have. It's particularly good at dispensing love advice. ○ The magical paintbrushes that refill on paint have been left in one of the recreation rooms in the Quad for your use. Instead of painting in a color to reflect a problem you might be facing, though, it'll change to whatever color you want it to. ○ Bender the friendly foodbot is malfunctioning — sorry about that friends, Lucas hasn't had a chance to fix him. From now until the next Interlude log, if you ask him for something, he will give you exactly what you asked for. No funny business here. You're also free to stay in Lyrabar for a week or two to help clean up — though, actually, if your name is former pirate Dave Strider, staying behind for a week is an order from Lucretia. Think of it as a learning experience. Eventually, with the news that Irene is restoring order to the city, the people and the merchants start drifting back in. The marketplace starts to feel a little bit more lively. You've lost the Soul Blade, but when it comes to keeping the oceans safe from pirates and pollution, and when it comes to slowly rebuilding a vital artery of Faerun's economy, you've done well. If you'd like, you can visit the mermaids as well. Fabio will ask for privacy however. That's enough confirmation as any that both he and Ferryn are safe.