Core Event: Day 259 [open]

[bastionpc]

Who: NPCs and you!
Open: Open
When: Day 259
Where: Starting in the Bastion, and continuing on the Skyway
What: A Core has been spotted! And....another Core? What is this?!
Format: action
Warnings: none

Starters are in the individual threads within the post. Important threads will be linked here.

IMPORTANT LINKS:

Start of the event

Continuing on

important metaplot things

Boss fight!

Comments

Start of event

[bastionpc]

[As usual, Nathaniel calls for a meeting around the Monument. This time, though, he seems a bit troubled.]

Okay, so things are a bit different this time. Usually we find just one Core at a time, so we can go gunning for it pretty easily. But this time, it's not just one. It's two.

Now I don't think I have to explain how big this is. Finding just one is rare, so getting two at once would be amazing. The problem is, they're really far apart from each other. Pretty much on opposite sides of the Skyway from each other, actually.

I'd recommend going for them one at a time, but there's no guarantee that the second one will still be there by the time we get the first one back here. And with how monsters swarm once a Core is picked up, it won't be easy to go back out there for the second one. Our other open is to split into two groups and go for both at the same time, but I can't really recommend that. We're so few in number already- and even fewer, if you just count the people who can go out on the Skyway safely- and dividing our forces means one or both groups could get overwhelmed by monsters.

So, it's risk going for both, or try going for one at a time and hope the second one is still there later. Ultimately it's your choice, since I gotta stay here in the Bastion anyway, but please consider the options before making a decision.

((OOC: this thread will be open until 1 AM EST (about six hours from now). The choice will be left to an IC vote, whichever option gets the most votes is what we'll be going with.))

[freedom_engineer]

[Yep, there's Colin, as usual for these sorts of things...]

"The fox that chases two rabbits will catch neither."

Or perhaps more importantly...

"Divide and conquer."

That latter one is advice for soldiers and strike teams, NOT advice for us. A force that's been split has much less chance of success than a united group.

What are the areas we're looking at for these cores?

[windgod]

But...is there really no way we can divide ourselves in a way that getting both is doable?

[Ippo had heard Nathaniel explain the situation and had thought on it...it sounded difficult, yeah, but it couldn't be impossible.]

We might not have a lot of people who can go...but most of who we do have are pretty powerful. If we can find the right balance, it might be possible I think!

[twinked_witch]

Ippo's right, I think.

[Megaera thought for a second.]

We've got wizards, technologists, martial artists... Lots of different techniques. Two balanced parties mixing the different capabilities should be capable of confronting this.

An alternative strategy would be to send almost everyone to one core. I know that I can head out towards the other, and as long as I'm only accounting for myself, I can use one of my spells to get back to the Bastion quickly if the second is beyond my personal ability to attain - or move over to rejoin the group who has successfully retrieved the first, at which point we'd have an advantage pursuing the second full-force.

Those two strategies just crop up off the top of my head.

[notduchess]

On the other hand, the creatures around the cores have been a pain in the previous runs.
While magic is generally very helpful, the limitations the Bastion places on us tends to make a higher chance of not having any when you need it. I rather have strength of numbers - even if it means going slower. [ It would also mean that they have a higher chance or protecting anyone who gets hurt.

Duke slowly shakes their head. ]

I'm sorry, but I really don't like your second plan. Its far too easy for people to die out on the Skyway, even when they head out in pairs. And that didn't have a core involved.

The most I'd be willing to split is when we are closer to the bastion with the core - either a smaller, faster group moving toward the second when the first is so close, and the slower larger group can make it, or the smaller group rushing it into the Bastion.

[windgod]

Hmm...that's true, but wouldn't a larger group have it's own problems? I mean...the skyway isn't very...spacious. And it's a lot easier for a big group to be spotted, so that might just cause even more problems than splitting up.

[Not that he had a problem with everyone going for one core...but any chance to minimize the risks was worth looking into.]

CONTINUING

[bastionpc]

[After much deliberation, it was eventually decided that everyone would go for one Core at a time, to maximize their chances of succeeding and coming back alive. At Nathaniel's suggestion, they also went for the closer and safer of the two locations, the idea being that if they got the easy stuff done quick then they might be able to make it to the second location.

For now, the party will arrive at their location: Cinderbrick Fort. Formerly a part of Caelondia, this is the home of the Marshalls, the law-enforcers. They don't make the rules, but they make sure that everyone follows them, and everything in Cinderbrick Fort is reminiscent of that. Buildings here are built for utility, not beauty, and the majority of the buildings in the area are related to law enforcement: offices for the Marshalls, courthouses, shops for buying bail bonds and arranging lawyers, and so forth. And in the center of it all is one large prison. In the months since the Calamity, this area has degraded to the point where there is an eerie sense of emptiness, and any little sound echoes through the streets and buildings. That patter of feet might be a mouse, or it might be a monster instead.

With several locations to search, where will you be looking while searching for the Core?]

Marshalls offices

[notduchess]

Duke sort of doubts that there would be a core found inside an office, but also remembers talk of a large shard found inside an office of sorts when they were worrying about the Bastion falling.

On the other hand, there could be vaguely useful things in here too. The knight makes sure to let someone know that's where they're going to search before heading carefully over.

Re: Marshalls offices

[twinked_witch]

Megaera had chosen to follow duke, presumably thinking of similar ideas. Books, art, writing tools... And, of course, Shards, if they were lucky.

Initially, she was quiet, but as they entered one office, she spoke. "I wonder which world this was from," she asked aloud. "Certainly, what is here is nice, but it does not seem to be magical. Maybe grab some gold for old times' sake, but..."

[notduchess]

"Aside from when we found a whole lot of places all in a row - that's were the pokemon house came from - I've thought that most these places are the Bastion's world. At least, Nathaniel seems to know the names."

Possibly weapons, maybe something like armor. Maybe an interesting note indicating where a core could be found - of course, Duke can't read the local languages but that's besides the point.

[twinked_witch]

"Makes sense," Megaera observed, grabbing some things that looked interesting and sticking them in her backpack.

"All the same world... Just a matter of locality, perhaps? Though how people from so many different worlds wound up here..."

[notachickenhawk]

[Tobias wheels overhead, keeping an eye and an ear out for anything that might be moving that isn't the group. He's not the most comfortable with going inside, but if something starts heading towards them he wants the group to get as much warning as they can.]

[bastionpc]

[Tobias thinks like Zahi, then.

Zahi is staying out in the open, somewhere between the offices and the jail, to be within shouting range of everyone he possibly can. His spear is hefted up on one shoulder, and when he sees Tobias fly overhead, he'll give him a friendly wave.]

Jail

[freedom_engineer]

To Colin there's only one place in this whole fort worth checking out, and that's the jail.

There's guard houses for weaponry, there's prisoner workshops where he can salvage equipment, and most importantly, there's likely to be a storage center for prisoners' possessions and anything interesting that may have been found by labor teams. If any of the prisoners had been sent to work in the mines, there's good odds that there might be a core.

It also doesn't hurt that Colin knows how solidly built most prisons are. If they need to hide from anything, the walls and sectioned off areas of the prison will be immensely useful.

There's also the possibility of automated defenses, but he knows to scan for those. And scan he does. He does NOT want to be caught with his pants down in an area where people were likely sent to rot...

[windgod]

[Ippo kept close to Colin's side during their trip through the fort, trusting his friends intuition and technology to guide them safely through any traps or defenses that might be left active. The eerie silence of the place was enough to put him well on edge, so he was thankful for the familiar company.]

This place is pretty big...I'm kinda glad we all went as a group, searching this place with only a few people would have been a nightmare.

[daughterofursa]

[The huge prison strikes Zuko as the most likely place to find anything, which is why she came. She's less concerned with sticking close, because she doesn't anticipate traps within a prison, and she trusts her ears to warn her of the presence of anything else that might be alive in there. So far it... just sounds pretty empty.]

I wonder what happened to the prisoners.

[If any of them survived the Calamity... It's a depressing thought. It makes her think of Mai.]

[freedom_engineer]

I imagine that a lot of the dust we've been seeing is probably the scattered remains. It kinda surprises me to ever see intact statues...

[He grins over at Ippo, and he nods.]

The place is huge, but there's only a few places that are logically worth checking. We just need to find the storage facilities. Or a guard hut with a map of the prison.

Shops

[coffeewithmysugar]

[The prison just flat out gave her the creeps so Edea took to searching the shops that circled it. Perhaps someone had used cores as currency much like the shards they exchanged at the Monument. It was a bit of a logical stretch but it worked for her.]

[dragonsorcsandwolves]

[Rob probably shouldn't even be here, considering he's almost certainly the least competent fighter among those who came by a long shot, but he is and he's being as cautious and logical as possible about this, making sure to stick with someone else at all times. He's got a sword at the ready, an empty backpack for loot, empty cargo pockets in his shorts for shards, and even a light source in case they have a repeat of the mines. He figures he might as well try and bring back as much useful stuff as possible, so he's keeping an eye out for anything interesting and if he stumbles across the Core so much the better.

Bail bonds and lawyers weren't exactly what he was hoping these shops were for, but they had to have something useful, right?]

[kuma_killer]

[Takamura had chosen to remain quiet during the initial meeting simply because the whole thing was still all new to him. He figured that these Cores they were talking about were a big deal since it demanded everyone's attention. When the group arrived at their destination and began splitting up to search, Takamura hung back a bit before finally heading towards the shop. It had the fewest people so he figured they'd be the ones most likely to need him should things go poorly.]

Are all Core jobs like this so boring?

[bastionpc]

[The one thing that the shops are not lacking in is money. Lots lots and lots of money.

Well, paper money. Money that is mostly useless, since the world ended and all. There are shards around, though! Mostly in things like flashlights and such, and small packs of them kept as backups. But they are there and can be gotten.

In addition, the one grocery store nearby is full of rotted food. Enjoy the smell!

But there are plenty of nooks and crannies to search for things too, so take your pick: a fancy-looking law office, a small park-ish area, or a three-story apartment building-looking-building.]

Courthouses

[emissaries]

Now that they were starting to split up, the Emissary found herself in the awkward position of not being really acquainted with any of the others who'd come along, so when it came time to pick groups, well...

At any rate, there was one direction that nobody seemed to have gone yet, so she decided she'd check out the courthouse area. "If anyone else doesn't have a group, you're welcome to come with me," she'd said, while the general dispersal was still going on; but if there weren't any takers, she'd be fine on her own, of course. It wasn't as if she'd never done this sort of thing before.

[doctor_dragoon]

As the groups split up a familiar figure stepped forward. Yukio cut a rather different figure in his Skyway ensemble, his slacks and button-down covered with a long, black coat. Between the severe lines of the jacket and the bits of silver ornamentation here and there it's a pretty military look, and the guns at his back added to the effect. A bit odd for the resident doctor, but what can you do? He was still smiling at least, offering the Emissary a polite nod.

"I'll come with you."

[bastionpc]

The courthouses on their own are nothing out of the ordinary. They look like the standard courthouses that might be found on Earth. However, Courtroom 1 has several piles of ashes all on the benches and such, as well as mounds of papers on the desks. Clearly a trial was going on before the Calamity happened.

But more interestingly, there is also a large blood stain on the floor in the middle of the courtroom.

What do you do?

[emissaries]

The overall design of the courthouse was similar enough that Aradia recognized it for what it was, at least. She led the way inside, keeping an eye peeled for squatters, but they were fortunate enough to find the courtroom without incident.

The large, dark stain was the first thing to catch her attention. "Doctor, look at this," she said, moving to kneel beside it. (How fresh was it, and what color?)