promittere: (Default)
lunae calamitas mods ([personal profile] promittere) wrote in [community profile] lunaecalamitas2024-04-18 11:41 pm

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...
dadsandals: (yama53)

[personal profile] dadsandals 2024-04-23 11:47 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Oh. That went a lot better than he thought it would. ]

Wow. You actually managed.

[ Yamato....... ]

Huh, it looks and feels like nothing happened, actually. Good work.

[ The burning part sucked, but hey, he can't complain! ]
annihilator: (➤ 14)

[personal profile] annihilator 2024-04-23 11:54 pm (UTC)(link)
Almost as good at my own healin'!

[Well, his regeneration is usually pretty great, obviously that's not always the case.]

Alright, you ready to see if we can find some more of those bastards?
dadsandals: (yama50)

[personal profile] dadsandals 2024-04-24 12:17 am (UTC)(link)
Yep. That's why we're here, isn't it?

[ Okay, Yamato, stay strong and keep going... He's not quite at his limit, far from it, but he's certainly more tired that Malice is. ]

Lead the way.
annihilator: (➤ 38)

[personal profile] annihilator 2024-04-24 12:20 am (UTC)(link)
[Off we go! We were lucky to find only one of the shadows on its own, because as we're approaching the moat, there are certainly more of them... Keep your eyes open, or we may end up surrounded!

Right now, there's three of them in front of us, though they haven't quite noticed us yet. Malice gestures in that direction, then summons another firebolt to his fingertips. With a grin, he launches it at the ground - when it hits, it bursts upwards in a (small) fiery explosion. That catches the attention of the three shadows, of course, and while they aren't exactly happy about being set on fire, they aren't wiped out yet either.]
dadsandals: (yama55)

[personal profile] dadsandals 2024-04-24 12:25 am (UTC)(link)
[ Looks like they've got no choice but to take on three at once. Yamato follows right behind Malice, and he raises his hand to send something small but rather effective out towards them: A smokescreen. It forms little clouds in the air, right by their heads in hopes that the smoke will distract them.

Then, since there's that and the fact they're on fire, Yamato will send out one more spell: A series of three darkbolts (lol). One for each of them!
]
annihilator: (➤ 02)

[personal profile] annihilator 2024-04-24 12:43 am (UTC)(link)
[Good thing you set up the smokescreen, because that blinds the three shadows and leaves them confused. Their tendrils are sent out in our general direction, but they're easy to dodge since the shadows have no idea where we are. Better yet, the darkbolts hit their marks! One of the shadows goes down from the damage, one of them tries to break through the smoke and head toward us, and the third... well, it seems to melt into the ground, blending into the shadows and vanishing - assuming you don't stop it, anyway.

Malice is already on the move toward the one emerging from the smoke - he's channeling magic through his clawed arm now and— shockingly, his arm takes very well to the sudden crackle of lighting searing through it, and Malice sinks those claws straight through the shadow. This time - with the addition of the lightning magic - the shadow is obviously injured, and disappears without a trace.]


Hah! Easy!

[HE'S SO PROUD OF HIMSELF HE GOT A NAT 20]
dadsandals: (yama38)

[personal profile] dadsandals 2024-04-24 12:49 am (UTC)(link)
[ Jesus, Malice. Yamato is stunned at his own prowess, but Malice is something else. He watches as the vampire kills the shadow with his claw, and for a moment, he's just Man Standing. ]

...Sheesh...

[ Malice really wasn't kidding when he said he was strong, huh. ]

You really didn't need me to accompany you.
annihilator: (➤ 14)

[personal profile] annihilator 2024-04-24 12:51 am (UTC)(link)
[reduced to man standing....]

C'mon now, it's good practice, yeah? 'Sides, figured it'd be better to have someone experienced with combat workin' with you for your first fight!

[But also yeah, he wasn't expecting the nat 20. Anyway...]

We're gonna be runnin' into more of 'em up ahead. You still good to go?
dadsandals: (yama16)

[personal profile] dadsandals 2024-04-24 12:53 am (UTC)(link)
Yeah, I guess that's true.

[ He still feels pretty helpless, but at least he's doing something? ]

I'm fine for more. Come on, let's get moving.

[ He sees a few more shadowy figures lurking in the distance. There's more trouble... ]
annihilator: (➤ 97)

[personal profile] annihilator 2024-04-24 12:56 am (UTC)(link)
[Yep, we've got more of them, Malice is already getting ready to cast again, but look out!! The one shadow from last time that escaped suddenly emerges from the shadow, coming right toward us from the side!]
dadsandals: (yama54)

[personal profile] dadsandals 2024-04-24 12:59 am (UTC)(link)
[ Yamato gets caught off-guard and gets whacked with a tendril (4) once again. Truly, he needs more awareness of his surroundings...

But despite that, he manages to latch onto the tendril (13) and he tries a different technique: He explodes it instead, and it ends up dispersing into a puff of black smoke. It's a very small explosion but it's enough to incapacitate it.

You're up, Malice!
]
annihilator: (➤ 92)

[personal profile] annihilator 2024-04-24 01:04 am (UTC)(link)
[Malice notices the shadow a bit too late - he's already casting a larger spell, so when he tries to change it and redirect mid-cast, the end result is some sort of horrid backfire. The fire flares against his fingers and he yelps, quickly shaking his hand out and using magic to douse that fire. Thankfully he manages that much, though his fingers have been left with a pretty nasty burn.

That's what happens when you play with fire!!! Good job on your nat 1, Malice. Perfectly balanced, as all things should be.]
dadsandals: (yama46)

[personal profile] dadsandals 2024-04-24 01:09 am (UTC)(link)
[ Oh, fuck. He sees that and his eyes widen, and he feels panic start to set in. ]

Malice...you moron-

[ Shit, this is bad. Yamato spins around and starts casting another smokescreen, which does just an okay job of serving as a distraction while he throws a weaker spell at the shadow. He sends a small ball of dark energy at it, and it does end up hitting the shadow, but it's far from dead.

He turns towards Malice, concerned.
]

I can handle this one!
annihilator: (➤ 35)

[personal profile] annihilator 2024-04-24 01:15 am (UTC)(link)
Gimme a second, I'll be fine—

[Sure enough, his regeneration is covering most of the issues. Those burns are going to take a little longer to properly heal, but he's shaking his hand out again after a moment and flexing his fingers.]

'Sides, I've got this!

[He's not totally defenseless, and he once again imbues his prosthetic arm with lightning, shooting it out on its chain to try to pierce the shadow. It works - the arm catches the shadow and when Malice pulls it back, it returns easily.]
dadsandals: (yama38)

[personal profile] dadsandals 2024-04-24 01:17 am (UTC)(link)
[ Aaaand there he goes again. Geez, this guy is unstoppable, isn't he? Yamato watches as the shadow fades, and he turns to Malice, exasperated. ]

You're going to give me a heart attack at this rate.

[ HE'S JUST A GUY, MAN. ]
annihilator: (➤ 40)

[personal profile] annihilator 2024-04-24 01:35 am (UTC)(link)
Aww c'mon, I've had worse.

[I MEAN...... YEAH BUT..........]

Anyway, don't get distracted while castin', that one hurt.
dadsandals: (yama54)

[personal profile] dadsandals 2024-04-24 01:42 am (UTC)(link)
I can see that.

[ Dude...

Anyway, they fight off more shadows until Yamato starts feeling worse for wear. He's mostly healed up by now, but he looks at Malice with some bags under his eyes.
]

Are we still going...?
annihilator: (➤ 12)

[personal profile] annihilator 2024-04-24 01:47 am (UTC)(link)
[Malice is starting to feel it too, and we've taken out a pretty good chunk of them on our own. Seems like it's time to take a break.]

Nah. We don't wanna wear ourselves out completely, right? Better to stop while we're ahead than pushin' too hard an' riskin' ourselves.
dadsandals: (yama24)

[personal profile] dadsandals 2024-04-24 03:11 am (UTC)(link)
Yeah, that's a good idea. Thanks...

[ He exhales, relieved by this decision, and he clamps a hand down onto Malice's shoulder. ]

Good work.
annihilator: (➤ 67)

[personal profile] annihilator 2024-04-24 03:16 am (UTC)(link)
[He gently elbows Yamato in the ribs, mindful of his strength this time.]

You too, would'a been in trouble there without ya! Thanks for comin' along with me.
dadsandals: (yama1)

[personal profile] dadsandals 2024-04-24 03:25 am (UTC)(link)
I'm just glad I was able to help out.

[ Given his circumstances and all. ]

You wanna start heading back?
annihilator: (➤ 58)

[personal profile] annihilator 2024-04-24 05:55 am (UTC)(link)
Yeah, sounds good. You gonna hold up alright 'til we get back?

[After all, they've both probably got their fair share of bruises and the like after that fight. And unlike Malice, humans don't regenerate quickly.]
dadsandals: (yama47)

[personal profile] dadsandals 2024-04-24 06:14 am (UTC)(link)
Yeah, I'll be alright-

[ He says this as he steps the wrong way, and a jolt of pain shoots up through his leg. Ouch. ]

...mostly.
annihilator: (➤ 77)

[personal profile] annihilator 2024-04-24 06:22 am (UTC)(link)
[Give Yamato A Look...]

Yeah, we're far enough out that we should be fine, but we're takin' a look at that first. Lemme see it.
dadsandals: (yama56)

[personal profile] dadsandals 2024-04-24 06:23 am (UTC)(link)
It's probably nothing...

[ But from what Malice can see, Yamato's ankle is looking swollen! Not in a way that indicates a break, but certainly some kind of injury. Maybe a sprain. ]

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