lunaecalamitas | you opened your eyes, spreading it wide

you opened your eyes, spreading it wide

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

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I hope so.

[ He actually doesn't mind Akira that much, so it'd be a real shame if he died for real...

But Kurapika leans closer to get a good look at Khun's copy of the scribble, frowning as he looks at it. ]

Hm. Seems to be in a language I don't know. Hopefully someone else around here can actually read it.

[ he is himself so he's exchanged pleasantries with him as he has with everyone else (i do not have this energy have mercy), but beyond that he really doesn't know him well. ]

Most likely. Though considering he wrote something, assuming he wakes up, he'll have a finger to point either way.

[ though he doesn't really like making assumptions like that if he can help it, so hmm. ]

Do you think the poison could have been magical in nature?

Probably. Most of our place in this world seems to revolve around magic.

[ ... ]

Though, you never know. Maybe someone has read up on poisonous plants.

[ And sure, Akira is annoying, but is he annoying enough to try and kill? That thought makes Kurapika frown in thought. ]

Or they haven't done any reading and picked some random herbs that happened to be poisonous.

..if that's what it turns out to be, Aragaki is really having a difficult week.

[ are the cooks here actually that bad.

if it might be magical in nature after all, that does give him an idea. ]

You up for moving around yet? I want to check something.

[ Kurapika assumes that might be the guy he's seen in the kitchen a few times the past couple of weeks, but he hasn't met him just yet. Not formally, anyway. ]

I should be.

[ He lets go of the railing and motions for Khun to follow... and then immediately stumbles over his own feet. ]

[ ...yeah that's about half of what he expected tbh. khun's quick on his feet, wrapping an arm around kurapika's waist to steady him. he's perhaps surprisingly sturdy and will offer his shoulder too if needed. ]

If I didn't know better, I'd say this was a ploy to get me to carry you.

[ That sturdiness is unexpected, though really Kurapika should have known—Khun mentioned that fighting was an important part of his life, it's no surprise that he's probably done a decent amount of strength training. Despite his current clumsiness, Kurapika is a lot more solidly built than his slight frame would suggest.

He briefly considers leaning on Khun a little more because his legs really don't feel like cooperating with his body right now, but that comment immediately has him deciding not to. ]

Good thing you know better.

[ he winks of course.

khun's not surprised that kurapika's in shape; hunters need to be after all. in his case, support classes really don't tend to be, but. he has his reasons and enjoys being an outlier. ]

If anyone asks, you're too drunk to walk straight. The last thing we need is more disruptions at the ball.

[ he'll start to lead them back to the scene of the Red Sauce Incident, making sure to accommodate for Kurapika's current state. ]

I want to check if there are any traces of magic at the scene.

[ His frown deepens. ]

Twisting my ankle would be a better excuse.

[ But fine. He'll play along, he guesses!! At least he doesn't protest as Khun walks them back towards the scene of the crime. ]

I can't focus well enough to try and detect any traces, so it's all up to you.

[ Though he has a feeling Khun has no problem with that. ]

There's free flowing liquor here, it's an easier sell. Unless you want someone to fawn all over you?

[ he doubts that, and his tone says as much. ]

Tracing magic is similar enough to what I do as a light bearer, I've got it covered.

[ He doesn't, thanks, and he'll be applying selective hearing to that question and pretending it never came out of Khun's mouth. ]

Then go right ahead.

[ He'll wait here patiently (and somewhat nauseously). ]

[ taking that as a win with a smile to match. he'll make sure kurapika is sturdy enough before he heads back onto the dance floor to take a look at the "blood" again. it doesn't take him too long to return, assuming his place at the other wizard's side to get them moving again. his expression is pleasant and gentle.

this isn't a conversation he wants to have in public, just in case. ]

Now let's get you some rest, hm?

[ While Khun is busy with that, Kurapika utters his incantation and heals himself once more, the fogginess in his head finally disappearing in full. ]

There should be somewhere to sit nearby.

[ He'll trust Khun to find it. ]

That is what sitting rooms are for and I'm sure this castle has plenty of them.

[ kurapika's trust is well placed, cause khun definitely scoped out the rooms in their peripherary throughout the night. it doesn't take him long at all to escort him into one, shutting the door behind them with a click.

there's a chaise that kurapika can sit on, but khun opts for the desk like he owns the place. ]

[ now that they're alone, his smile drops as does his overly friendly demeanor. he gets right to the point. ]

Solomon's magic, or at least traces of it. It's still likely that he's a terrible cook, but if there's more to it than that, he wouldn't be the first Northern wizard who's more than he puts on.

[ He's about to make some kind of comment about Khun's attitude sitting on furniture like that as he eases himself onto the chaise, finally feeling some sense of normalcy now that he's reclining just a bit, but he loses that thought the moment Khun's demeanor changes. ]

That could go for most of the people here, don't you think? Including yourself.

[ Including Kurapika. ]

If he's as bad a cook as you say, I wouldn't be surprised if he tried to use magic to enhance his food and failed.

You've seen this already. Don't tell me you forgot all about future library get together.

[ there's a little inflection here, though it doesn't last long. he crosses his legs. ]

But that wasn't entirely what I meant. Robin would kill someone without thinking twice about it.

[ ask him how he knows about that or just how casual that drop was, it's fine. ]

I don't know Solomon well enough to say if it's the same for him.

It might or might not be.

[ Hell, Kurapika wouldn't have trouble killing if he needed to for the sake of his goals, so the fact that Robin would isn't anything that worries him. It's why he regards Khun coolly, comfortable on his chair. ]

But I think purposefully killing a member in our group, all of which we need to get home, would be a bad move.

I've seen people do stupider things.

[ but he sighs, resting both hands on the desk and looking up at the ceiling.

(he figured kurapika would which is the reason why he said as much. the vibes he gets from Robin are similar but a different shade. ) ]

It is easier just to think he's an idiot and not accept any food in his presence.

[ His lips quirk up at that. ]

Maybe he should be banned from the kitchen entirely. We'll know for sure if he's actively trying to hurt anyone then, rather than just an accident.

We could do that but someone would have to police it. I can tip Aragaki off since he's in there a lot, but that would be a lot of effort to try to protect everyone.

[ he rolls his head to the side, gaze shifting to kurapika. ]

Unless you plan to call Solomon out?

[ He shakes his head. ]

Ahito is passing along the message, and I trust him to do it well enough.

[ Letting out a sigh, he raises a brow. ]

But if you want to as well, by all means.

I already said that's not worth the effort. I don't do things unless they're worth it.

[ kurapika gets a look back that implies he should have known this already. ]

Almost sounds lazy.

[ But he's right—Kurapika expected this. He can't help his shitty joke, though. ]

That's a better angle than trying to guilt me. [ a not quite chuckle. ]

But the answers the same either way, I'm just not a good person.

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