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...
fallingsand: (57;)

[personal profile] fallingsand 2024-04-20 06:27 pm (UTC)(link)
WE CAN DANCE IF WE (DON'T) WANT TO
[ It took quite a bit of coaxing to convince Bruno to go along with the whole ball thing — and feel free to claim to be part of that coaxing, it would have been a team effort — especially after returning from such a tiring adventure in the South Country. Similarly difficult would have been making him stand still for measurements and fittings and inevitably dressing up in something fancy. It's weird. He can't bring his ruana. It's like having to leave a safety blanket at home.

In any case, likely surprising no one who's spent any amount of time with Bruno thus far, he tends to pick a corner with a little plate of food and watch the happenings going on across the ballroom floor, and when he thinks no one is looking...?

He'll give a quick, almost shifty look around before sneaking a bit of that food into his tailcoat's pocket. What has he got in there?
]
REJUVENATION
Wow, that did not work well at all.

[ Given the chance to return to the South, Bruno's scurried off there as soon as possible. It feels like home and not only because of the spirits being so welcoming here. He's set up next to the Southern tower rather than the town itself, working on a project there. Why he would do that instead of working on it directly in the village becomes apparent to anyone with eyes, actually.

He's set up several raised beds of local soil, all contained by wooden boards nailed together to avoid any bleed-over to the ground itself. One will look perfectly normal to both magical and non-magical senses; no plants have yet grown there. The second will feel distinctly like Bruno's magic, gentle yet sad, only there's something... wrong, very wrong.

The plants in the second one are blackened and withering, and that's the one Bruno is fretting over.
]

What the heck happened? I thought we purified that thing!
A REPAIRING WE WILL GO
[ When Bruno isn't busy with helping the South, he's back in the manor and has yet again staked out a spot in the library. Before him are an array of broken items. There's a broken glass, a ruined pan, a lute with snapped strings, and a series of old and rusty gardening tools. Some of these are from the kitchen here, others picked up from the garbage around the city... when no one was looking... in the night... because he's Bruno, of course, he would rummage through trash, just not when anyone could spot him.

He's doing as the Wanderer wanted and for good reason, too. This worked when he was healing someone so why not other things, too?
]

Su futuro espera.

[ He murmurs his incantation quietly, holding a hand over one of the rusty hoes, and he focuses, brow furrowing and lips set into a tight, thin line. The rust slowly begins to recede, bit by bit, until it vanishes completely, leaving behind shiny metal and an unworn handle, good as new.

Bruno leans back in his chair with a big smile on his face.
]

Man, I think I was meant for fixing stuff like this. I should open a repair shop or something.
Edited 2024-04-20 18:29 (UTC)
dadsandals: (yama29)

repairing

[personal profile] dadsandals 2024-04-20 06:32 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Yamato happens to be passing by the library when he hears the murmurs of an incantation. He can't help himself – he peeks inside to see the source, and sees the shine on the hoe glisten. It looks new. Then there's a mention of fixing something, and he easily puts two and two together.

Yamato approaches and gets a better glance at it.
]

Ah, you made it brand new again, didn't you? It looks really good. That sort of magic'll be really handy around here.

[ stares at the kitchen. ]

Wanderer's going to be pleased.
impacter: (040)

Re: NPC CONVERSATIONS

[personal profile] impacter 2024-04-20 06:34 pm (UTC)(link)
[Time to mingle with the politicians~

North and Central preference, but I'll leave it up to RNG and/or whatever mods think will be funnier.]
impacter: (075)

[personal profile] impacter 2024-04-20 08:05 pm (UTC)(link)
[He has his eyes tracing the crowd, seeing who is even willing to meet the eyes of the fledgling wizards. So to pass over the bold, the curious, the confident and the judgmental, and only finding the North in the more submissive parts of the crowd...

Hm.

His expression stays as it always does, calm and pleasant and polite but not quite reaching his eyes.]


I am. [Quiet, confident, light.]

Who do I have the pleasure of speaking to?
impacter: (061)

[personal profile] impacter 2024-04-20 08:51 pm (UTC)(link)
[Mm.]

It's good to meet you, Henry.

[At the question, his mouth thins slightly, but he doesn't nod. There are many people in this room within a political climate that is unfamiliar. He would rather approach this carefully.]

I haven't met anyone by that name, I'm afraid.

Are you worried about his absence?
shadowkin: (Default)

[personal profile] shadowkin 2024-04-20 09:57 pm (UTC)(link)
[He's actually more interested in the castle staff than anything else?? Let him be Staff Member A??? But he'd also poke at Western and Northern delegations, because why not.]
impacter: (084)

[personal profile] impacter 2024-04-20 10:39 pm (UTC)(link)
[Good thing he made sure to read up on the North's basic situation while he could...]

It sounds like a valid concern. The North isn't exactly a forgiving place.

I imagine the last few weeks must have been quite the struggle. That you still made it here shows resilience, you know.

[What a question, though. Tatara and Dhor haven't exactly mentioned what the plan is for the North specifically yet. If power is the concern, maybe that was by design?

How to respond to this...

...]


If the North chose us as its representatives, then I'd say that speaks for itself.

Do you believe you'll be abandoned?
shadowkin: (002)

[personal profile] shadowkin 2024-04-20 10:47 pm (UTC)(link)
Just wondering about all this and the castle... hasn't it been closed for forever? Must've been an awful big job getting it cleaned up for all this.

[Castles always get so dank and dusty if they aren't used for a while.

Or maybe there were secret parties going on the whole time, you never know. It's a pretty nice castle, he's taking notes for if he ever needs a set piece in the future.]
dyingtohealyou: ([Smile] Since before today)

[personal profile] dyingtohealyou 2024-04-20 11:00 pm (UTC)(link)
[WIZARD PROM]

[He's here! And he's looking pretty slick in his outfit no less, not that he seems to have any interest in dancing or even wearing the damned coat properly.

No, he'll be occupying himself with the food first and foremost, sampling a little bit of everything with a clearly pleased expression. And, once he's had enough to eat, he'll go hang out on the balcony, leaning up against the rail with his arms atop it.
]

Guess there's some perks, at least...

[Tasks]

[I would prefer an even spread if possible on tasks but if one that's already been grabbed really speaks to you that's fine too!!]

[Tasks - Rejuvenation]

[Summoning his broom comes easily to him now; he doesn't even need to say his incantation before it shows up at his side.]

Sounds like it's going to be a long ride... [And, to the other sage's wizard who's clearly here for the same job:]

Shall we take off at the same time?

[Better than a boring solo flight.]

[Tasks - Shadows in the Night]

[Northern country wizards are supposed to excel at offensive magic - it's time to put that to the test. So, he flies out under the cover of night, alighting on a rooftop so he has better visibility on potential targets.]

Now, what do we have here...?

[Care to join him?]

[Tasks - Escorting Nobility]

[Honestly just going to hang out sidesaddle on his broom as they accompany the caravan of extremely rich and important people. He does not look the part of a dignified guard for this group at all, but they're not paying him for appearances, now are they?

His pistol is holstered as ever at his side, and a small bag contains additional ammunition, just in case.
]

There's some things that are constants in all worlds, aren't there?

[While he largely looks bored, he is in fact keeping a sharp gaze on their surroundings, ears pricked for any suspicious sounds.]

[Tasks - Learn how to Cook]

[To his credit, he's picked up a book of recipes and some ingredients, and can be found in the kitchen with an apron and everything.

This does not stop him from looking somewhat lost when it comes to the actual act of, you know, cooking.
]

...What's the difference between boiling and parboiling?

[Hello????]

[Tasks - Repair]

[He's... actually just hanging out in the courtyard with a broken stick, floating the pieces in the air as he tries to figure out the next steps.]

You'd have to fuse the two pieces, I guess? ...Might end up shorter if any of the fragments were lost, though.

[Hm. We're starting out simple here, but that's the best way to dissect the process from. Maybe later he can find some secondhand items for cheap to repair, too.]

[Practice]

[It's a bit annoying, but he's gone and acquired some chalk to keep on his person which he can be found making use of in order to trace some very basic magic circles for now.]

Never would've imagined using her specialty, but...

[That said, once the circle's done it makes it much easier to set a chair with a broken leg on it down, activate the circle, and watch the pieces fuse themselves back into place. Once it's done, he settles back with a satisfied look.]

Well, what do you know. It actually works.

[Wildcard]

[Hit me up on my plotting post and let's figure something out!]
shadowkin: (003)

[personal profile] shadowkin 2024-04-20 11:09 pm (UTC)(link)
Hmmm, so this is still where they do their government stuff... Pretty sure this is the first time any of us have met the governing staff or leaders or--

[--or, well, whatever they are. Cid does know how to recognize nobility and how they hold themselves when they're considered important (or self-important), but there's fewer indications here that he recognizes. Should I assume the noble delegations are clad in their national colors or some other regalia?

He watches the maid look down. Wow, it must be tough working for the higher-ups around here. Hopefully she gets a good salary or something.]

I guess they'd be busy with The Incident, though. [he puts the appropriate amount of emphasis!] Was it really that big a deal? I haven't seen much about it or the aftereffects...
troublereduction: (day82)

Rejuvenation

[personal profile] troublereduction 2024-04-20 11:23 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Day's watching this experiment and frowning as he sees what's going on with the second bed of plants. ]

...Maybe this means the rock does stuff to whatever magic's added to it.

[ Which is different from when they purified it, he thinks. ]
impacter: (104)

[personal profile] impacter 2024-04-20 11:26 pm (UTC)(link)
[The most powerful wizard in the world...

Calmly, precisely:]


I have no intention to take that life away from you.

[And then, with a little more bite.]

I would, however, like to know what these other wizards are threatening to do to you.
jokey: (pic#14562329)

[personal profile] jokey 2024-04-21 12:04 am (UTC)(link)
[Akira gets along so well with politicians and I trust the mods implicitly. Of course Akira's going to reach out for a chat. What could go wrong?]
jokey: (0165)

...?

[personal profile] jokey 2024-04-21 12:57 am (UTC)(link)
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 )
dyingtohealyou: ([Fear] or world peace)

Re: ...?

[personal profile] dyingtohealyou 2024-04-21 01:01 am (UTC)(link)
[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?]