you opened your eyes, spreading it wide

[promittere]

THIRD QUARTER ALLEGRO

While our newly-arrived wizards have been settling in, learning their magic, and getting to know one another, the sage and their mentor have been busy with a different kind of work behind the scenes—bureaucratic work. It hasn't been particularly exciting, but it has paid off.

Because now, the world is ready to receive them.

Put on your finest clothes, because Granvelle Castle invites you to a welcome ball in your honor.

Didn't bring any fine clothes with you? No need to worry—specially chosen tailors from Central Capital have been commissioned to take care of you, and they will be visiting the manor to get you gussied up in the fashion of your choice for the day (by this, we mean feel free to pick whatever fancy clothes you want for the ball).

As the sun sets on the designated day, all the residents of the manor make their way to the castle. Granvelle Castle stands proud in Central Capital, its lights a beacon in the darkening city, and its doors open to outsiders for the first time in weeks. Upon arrival they're greeted by brightly lit halls, welcoming staff, and a grand ballroom, windows flung open to let in the spring breeze and pale moonlight. Everyone and everything seems determined to make this a cheerful affair, despite the underlying sense of dread and tension.

Live music fills the air, played the greatest musicians in the world. There are some larger ensembles, solo acts; some pieces are of more traditional folk dances, while some are slower, and some are upbeat and avant-garde. Regardless, the floor is open for dancing—grab a buddy and dance the night away!

Lining one wall is a long banquet table, filled with plenty of food and drink, both alcoholic and non to sate the new arrivals. The hors d'oeuvres and small plates comprise an array of delicacies from around the world, with everything from savory lobster bites to the sweetest portions of tres leches you have ever tasted. It seems someone has also put in a specific request for Japanese food—a part of the banquet table has been set aside specifically for Japanese dishes, and this includes small portions of ramen. There also seems to be a plate on the far end of the table filled with lovingly stacked pieces of charcoal... Is that meant to be food?

You aren't the only ones in attendance tonight. Representatives and dignitaries from around the world are also present—they have quite a lot to say about the unusual situation, and they are most curious about these otherworldly individuals tasked with fending off the moon under their national banners. The most dignitaries are from Central, West, and East, while there do seem to be a few representatives from the less populated North and South. Those from Central, West, and South in general seem to be the most social, while the rest are more reserved. There are also a few of the castle staff that seem (begrudgingly) willing to speak with the new wizards. Most are here to chat and mingle—lend them an ear, you may learn something new...

For those tired of socializing, the ballroom opens out onto a breezy, spacious balcony. It looks out over the main thoroughfare leading to the main castle entrance, and the nighttime lights of the Central capital twinkle in the near distance. For those that would rather take a breather, there is a small patio table and a couple of chairs. Despite the waxing moon in the sky, it is a very nice evening.

If you would like to have a chat with an NPC, then please respond to this comment. NPCs will be assigned randomly if no preference is given. While everyone has something valuable to say, they're not giving potentially sensitive info out for free—let's hope your diplomatic skills are up to snuff. We're doing our best to give everyone meaningful conversations, so please bear with us!

JOB BOARD

Rejuvenation. Thanks to your Southern friends' hard work, the South has been saved from a potentially devastating crop failure, and these fledgling towns can continue to grow as they're meant to! Give them a pat on the back and a round of applause.

But the South is not without its scars. While the root cause has been taken care of, the damage has been done. A town's wheat field has been partially destroyed—help them tear out the blackened, dead wheat, till and fertilize the soil, and replant what can be replanted. The City of Clouds, the most prosperous of the Southern settlements, have also offered extra tools, hands, and seeds to help set the town back on the path to recovery. Transport these supplies to the town. Let's hope your broom skills are up to snuff too, because it's a long ride.

Shadows in the night. The residents of the Central capital have recently been reporting eerie sightings after sundown: shadowy figures lurking in corners, the constant feeling of being watched, and, in some extreme cases, these shadowy figures attacking when traveling alone at night. Many reports seem to indicate an odd concentration of these creepy figures lurking around the Granvelle Castle moat, as though trying to find a way into the castle. Residents are understandably frightened and unnerved and cannot go about their nightly business—beat back what shadows you find and make the streets safer for the Central capital residents.

While physical attacks don't seem to do much against them, they dissipate rather easily under magic. Try not to wear yourself to the bone, though—there are a lot of them.

Escorting nobility. The Eastern Blanchett noble family have called an important meeting, inviting nobles and others of import from across the Eastern Country. However, their castle lies beyond Sherwood Forest, a very large, dense, and deep wood—while a fine natural defense for the Blanchett family, it's a bit of trouble for those looking to visit. While the Blanchett's own forest guard is absent, it is your job to safely escort these nobles to the Blanchett abode, and back out. But be careful: lurking in the shadows amongst the trees are all sorts of territorial predators like bears and wolves, not to mention the magical beasts that sneak up on unsuspecting prey. You may come across a brigand or bandit or two, since the forest is a near perfect hiding place for illegal activity. And please—try not to get lost.

Typical of any Easterner, the nobles are reluctant to make much small talk and are a bit suspicious of the new wizards, but they are otherwise pleasant and will generally comply with most requests.

WANDERER TASKS

Can you go a week without ruining food or the pots and pans? Stop being so wasteful and learn how to cook or stop trying.

Learn how to use magic to repair things. Again, if you're going to keep ruining the kitchen at least learn how to put it back together.

TATARA ACTIVITIES

I need milk. I'm trying to perfect latte foam art, but I haven't really gotten the hang of it yet... I used up all the milk (oops, sorry!), so I need more. Actually, could you grab me other kinds of milk while you're at it? I want to experiment! I'm sure other markets in the farther reaches of the world will have weirder milk... Please!

We should start a veggie garden! Or an herb garden? Doesn't matter! I found a nice sunny patch of grass in the training forest—we could dig up that spot, right? Help me get it set up! I need people to dig, and till... Oh! We need seeds to plant, too! Please and thank you~

OOC NOTES

🌙 Welcome to your second event post! Get out your snazzy outfits. It's time to party.
🌙 As you grow into your magic, your character might start realizing they can differentiate between everyone's magic. Everyone has a unique signature, and you may be able to start sensing who cast what, where. Someone put a magical seal on the kitchen door? Smells like Shinjiro's magic. Akira had some of Solomon's sugar? You can sense that, too!
🌙 As you start getting past the basics, your character might realize they have a much easier time with certain kinds of magic over others. For North, this will be offensive and attack spells; for East, this will be intricate seals and curses; for West, this will be manipulative magic like illusions and transformation; for South, this will be healing, purification, and protection. Central? A little bit of everything. Read up on your country if you need a refresher!
🌙 It's been peaceful at home in the manor thus far, hasn't it? Do you think that will last?
🌙 Your OOC plotting post is here! Remember to keep all wider plotting contained to the OOC post, since not everyone checks plurk or discord frequently.
🌙 Our next group to go on their mission is Central. Be ready, heroes...

» NAVIGATION

Comments

...?

[jokey]

YOU’LL NEVER SEE IT COMING

[How’s everyone doing on this day? Enjoying the ball? Making friends with some politicians? Good. Be happy that your day is going much, much better than Akira’s.

Akira saunters into the ballroom casually late and spends a bit of time chatting up the big boys before moving on to dancing and mingling with friends. Rather, dancing and mingling was the plan. Akira doesn’t quite make it that far.

Hopefully you aren’t holding a drink when Akira stumbles into you, his apology delayed and his vision swimming, but he’ll insist that he’s fine. Don’t worry about him! He just needs some fresh air. But before he can get as far as the door, Akira collapses face first onto the ballroom floor.

He’s pale, hands shaking as he frees one from beneath his weight to write out something in what appears to be blood. He doesn’t get to finish his scrawl before his body ceases to move and his head lolls onto the tile, motionless. Akira Kurusu is dead.]

( Akira’s lifeless (?) body will be carted away by the staff quickly enough, so if you want to investigate the crime scene, feel free! I’ll be responding to investigation questions from his account. HAVE FUN )

Re: ...?

[dyingtohealyou]

[Hey quick question why is everyone fucking dying now.]

What the-

[He'll hurry over to take a look - can he check Akira's pulse at his neck real quick before he's taken away?]

[jokey]

[He sure can't! The staff are in a rush to take Akira away. Alas...]

[dyingtohealyou]

[Why the fuck is the staff so efficient at carting away bodies...

Okay, well. He's started sensing magic stuff, if he focuses and incants, can he sense any magical residue in the air...?]

[lighthaus]

[ a dead body...

something he absolutely hasn't seen before nope.

khun will raise an eyebrow as this all happens, but he knows they have a group of medics healers in this group so. this "blood", if he crouches down next to it, does it still look like blood up close? ]

[jokey]

[It still looks like bright red blood, yup! However, from this distance, Khun might notice that the "blood" has a mildly acidic, vaguely pungent scent to it. Hmm.]

[lighthaus]

[ mildly acidic and vaguely pungent...

is it a match for wine or vinegar? here's where i also say he's from a modern canon for scent matching.

while he's thinking about if he recognizes this smell, he'll draw the marking in a notebook he's taken to carrying around. ]

[impacter]

[Deeply engaged with the Northern representatives, Solomon turns around only as the body hits the ground. Akira...?]

A moment, please-- [Said to the reps as he briskly walks over to join the others.

Except, well, there goes the body. Hello????????

He'll take a look at that liquid, less where it is and more if it was trailing anywhere specific. Is there any path of blood spatter to follow?]

...Did anyone see anything? What happened?

[jokey]

[The tip of Akira's finger is stained red and was, as some people saw after he collapsed, what he was using to write on the tile before his soul shuffled off this mortal plane. Unfortunately, the blood trail begun and ended on the tip of Akira's finger. Evidently, all he was trying to do was write that dying message.]

[impacter]

[sir did you die from a papercut

how's the crowd looking? anything besides general alarm?]

[dyingtohealyou]

[After doing some investigation,]

Can I talk to you for a second?

[His smile is ice cold.]

[impacter]

Mm?

[He's still glancing over the crowd, starting slightly at Ahito's approach.]

Yes, of course. Did you find something?

[dadsandals]

Ah! Funny you'd ask that, actually.

[ Dude....... ]

It looked like Akira was trying to write your name before he collapsed.

[impacter]

[??

Ah, okay, if he walks in this other direction...]

Japanese, right?

[revengier]

[ Well, alright then!! He doesn't know what else to do other than to investigate the scene of the crime once Akira has been carted away, so that's exactly what he gets to work doing!

After giving a cursory look over at the blood(?), he realizes that he can't read it whatsoever, so he picks up some of that strange substance on his finger in a way that won't disturb whatever Akira was writing.

And he's just gonna lick it, nbd. ]

[jokey]

[Atta boy, Kurapika! In addition to that sharp vinegar taste, there's some combination of herbs and spices in Akira's delicious blood. Oh, and it tastes like tomatoes as well.]

[revengier]

Tomatoes...? Is this some kind of pasta sauce—

[ Kurapika frowns, cutting his own musings short as he clutches at his stomach. Why is he nauseous?

Ugh...

He looks around for anything else he can examine, shaking his head in an attempt to clear it of the sudden fogginess that has begun to occupy his brain. ]

[dadsandals]

[ He can read that message. Hm. HM.

Yamato's just gonna check for any additional evidence. Footprints, fingerprints, what have you. Is he shaking? He's probably shaking. Akira looked pretty dead there! ]

[jokey]

[All the evidence has been found! What'll you do now, Yamato? Don't keep that message to yourself. The people deserve to know who the killer is, don't they?]

[dadsandals]

[ WHY HIM SPECIFICALLY...but alright.

where the fuck is solomon ]

[shadowkin]

[Cid perks up at the commotion and the death, blink-blinking as everything goes down. He is very much out of the fray and is also not carrying any drinks, but he is munching on a nice finger sandwich or whatever.

Appearing late with toast in his mouth: accomplished. He hasn't really accomplished anything else, but since everyone else is busy with the body or whatever, he'll just glance over the crime scene........

And then he sees the markings written in red. Why does that look suspiciously like katakana? Why does it say-- Ah.]

I understand now.

[--is what he mutters under his breath. It definitely spells SOLO, which must mean that Akira intends to take this journey alone, whatever state he's in. As a side character and someone who definitely can't speak or read Japanese at all, the best Cid can do is see him off.

He deposits the other half of the sandwich by where the body was, as an offering. So long, spice cowboy.]

[fallingsand]

[ excuse him what the ever-loving heck—— ]

H-hey, don't just leave with him!

[ Welp, that's Bruno immediately in a panic, but at least it's a panic that spurs him to chase after the staff carting Akira's body off. He's not even sure if he can do anything about this but "run after them" is the only plan he can think of here. ]

[jokey]

[The staff won't try to shoo Bruno away, at least, carrying Akira away to a private room in the castle. They won't allow Bruno to enter, but if he sticks around, they'll emerge about ten to fifteen minutes later with Akira in tow, still carrying his maybe-dead-maybe-not body.

If Bruno continues to follow them, he'll find that they've brought Akira back to the manor and put him in his room. Hmm!]

[foresightis2020]

[ ...

Jing Yuan blinks slowly, and his expression doesn't change. Well, he watches Akira's body be carried off, just like that.

Some people (who are like him) just respond with surprise in different ways. So, first, anything else of interest besides the thing scrawled in blood?? ]

[jokey]

[Nope, not in particular! Unless Jing Yuan wants to repeat Kurapika's mistake and lick up that "blood," the mystery here has been more or less solved. Catch him next time he does something stupid and almost dies.]