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⬣//BLOSSOMING FROM A GAP IN THE ASPHALT.
A new Root Town has been revealed: Naval Monte, a tiered city built upon a mountain jutting up from an endless expanse of ocean. These fortified walls house an innumerable number of NPCs who, unlike those which occupy other Root Towns, are quite a bit more advanced.
Those of you who spend entirely too much time logged in have no doubt noticed the set patterns the NPCs of Mac Anu and Lumina Cloth take to move from area to area. Their paths never change. Their dialog rarely diverges. Talking to a freshly painted wall would be more stimulating than conversing with your run of the mill NPC, but Naval Monte's are different.
They move in accordance with their own whims, seldom found in the same place twice. Some NPCs have entire families while others boast elaborate backstories and speak at length of their tales of bravery and triumphs over evil. While they won't accept your party invites, they may instead invite you to share a meal with their family and regale you with stories until you've had your fill.
Travel far enough into the depths of the city and you'll hear tales of a graveyard that sits within the core of the mountain, but the NPCs who guard this elusive site are defensive at best. Don't expect them to let you in, but given their advanced nature, you may be able to wheedle some valuable information out of them.
Be aware that there is a price to enter Naval Monte. After crossing the vast bridge leading right up to the mountain city, you'll be accosted by no less than a dozen eager vendors fighting to peddle their wares to you. Some are so desperate that they ask only for a single GP, and in exchange, they grant you passage to the city.
Ask them why they're so desperate to make a sale and they'll answer plainly: if you don't, the curse will persist.
Come Saturday morning, an email flagged as urgent pops up in your inbox.
To our beta team,
It has come to our attention that a number of our beta testers have failed to report previous underlying health conditions that may negatively impact their ability to perform their duties as intended.
In our ongoing efforts to monitor the health and safety of our beta testing team, all participants in Fragment's closed beta test will be required to complete a health screening before the date of September 16th in order to continue participating in the beta.
Beta participants will be matched with a health professional in their area and the fees for their screening and assessment waived. As such, it is necessary that you make an appointment with the medical professional assigned to you or select another from within our network.
No exceptions will be made for those who fail to submit their health assessments to CyberConnect's Health and Human Resources department. Termination from Fragment's beta testing program and applicable legal action will be taken in the event that you fail to participate in these necessary steps.
We take the health and safety of our beta testers very seriously. If you have any concerns, please contact us at cccorp.ccmail.com.
Thank you for your continued efforts,
CyberConnect Corporation of Japan.
Murmurs of an unusual NPC have begun to circulate within Naval Monte.
According to eye witnesses, one of the local residents has "gone rogue". According to them, a woman with dishwater eyes and hair messily pulled into a loose bun has been spotted going door to door begging to be let in.
"We need to go," she shouts, her eyes glossy with tears, her every word slurred. "We'll be safe there! We'll be free! We can't live like this anymore!"
From what you've heard, that woman has managed to break free from the confines of her native Root Town and has been seen running through the streets in Mac Anu, Lumina Cloth, and the nameless Root Town in the sky. You may have even come across her, accosted in the street and urged to listen to her increasingly erratic ramblings.
"I need you to take me there! Take me to him! His father left the key within him!"
Ultimately, nothing you say or do will influence the woman's behavior or calm her down. All you'll get for your troubles is an ill feeling in the pit of your gut, something that blooms from within you and spreads infinitely outwards. An infection you can't cure.
You won't realize that the infection has begun to spread and mutate until you see it blossoming all around you, your fellow testers complaining of an unidentifiable malaise. You'll know what afflicts you and everyone you've infected when it's far too late to do anything about it. Until this unfortunate "bug" is patched, you'll continue to get sicker and sicker. The progression of the illness is as follows:
Stage one: The complete inability to lie, but is that really a bad thing? We could all stand to be more honest and communicative.
Stage two: The loss of one of your key senses, but only one. Maybe it's your sense of smell. Your keen tongue. Your vision. Whatever it is, it's a vital part of you that won't return to you until you log off, but when you next log in, you may find that a different sense has gone missing instead.
Stage three: Disconnect from your real world body. You'll realize after several days have passed that you can no longer feel your real self as keenly as before. You may not realize you've slapped yourself in the face or knocked a tooth out on the edge of your desk until you log out for the day and witness the extent of the damage.
Final stage: Memory loss. Your head feels foggy. Concentrating becomes a struggle, your thoughts sluggishly crawling through your mind and and ultimately losing their way. In the final stages of the illness, you may forget to log out for days at a time and wake to find yourself passed out on the floor with your headset jostled loose, inadvertently freeing you from the game.
The "cure," aside from a timely patch, may hide somewhere within the game. Before your senses leave you, you'd better start asking around.
As many of you know, it isn't easy to get ahold of CyberConnect when you need them. Hien is, at best, completely useless. Pete isn't much better. It's for these reasons and more that players have been invited to a digital conference and encouraged to give a voice to the rising concerns within the beta testing community.
The conference is to be held, both ICly and OOCly, on September 23rd at 12PM EST. If you have any burning questions to ask the people who hold power and influence over the state of the game and what happens within it, you can't afford to complain about timezones. This is your opportunity to speak your mind and have those questions answered.
OOCly, the conference will begin on September 23rd at 12PM EST and end on October 7th at 12PM EST. During this time, your characters can ask whatever questions they'd like of CyberConnect corporate staff, bring up concerns, and provide insights on their beta testing experiences.
Participation is mandatory (ICly), so set your alarms and don't be late!
Hello, everyone! Sorry I was away for a while. I got stuck in an outer level of the game and it took me a week to get back, but I should be just fine now! I hope I didn't miss anything too serious...
I did see that all of you have worked hard on those recipes, though! I liked all of them so much that I've added each of them into the game so that everyone can make their own. Congratulations!
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If Fandaniel knows anything about games, this NPC could be useful, and thus he stifles the immediate griefer urge to try and wipe the poor man out. No, no, Fandaniel, be nice to the NPCs. Besides, this one seems talkative, so, he'll hold up a single GP, but high up, out of reach, as soon as the NPC makes a move for it. ]
Ah, ah, ah, my friend. How about you tell me about Naval Monte first? Make it interesting enough and I'll give you far more than a single GP.
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I know what youngsters like you do. Give me that GP first!
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[ Give him a good reason to, old man. ]
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[ Look at his thin ass legs, bro. They're sticks. ]
We won't allow you inside Naval Monte if you don't give us anything anyway.
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[ And thus does Fandaniel lower the GP down within reach, offering it to the beggar. ]
Why is that, anyhow? It seems very strange for every new visitor to be jumped by so many people asking for at least one GP.
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[ The others seem to look at the peddler and Fandaniel, staring and whispering amongst themselves...
"Will the visitor give him the money? To us?"
"If he wants to know, it's only fair."
"Look at him, dressed so fancily... we couldn't even dream of wearing things like that."
The peddler smiles at Fandaniel. ]
What do you say?
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What would you do if I gave you 10,000GP, old man?
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[ His lips curls into a smile. ]
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[ Because it probably does and yet... and yet? Fandaniel will do just that. Ka-ching, baby, this beggar is 10k GP richer. It's not like Fandaniel was doing anything with that money. ]
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[ The peddler shouts in joy and if he had two good legs, he'd be dancing right now. Alas. He must sit. ]
Haha, well! I can tell you my life story and my favorite type of cake if you'd like, lad. My favorite cake is the chantily cake, you see. It was the cake that I shared with my loved one when we got married... ohhh, the memories... He has long since passed now and I had to sell off the ring as it was the only thing I had left. If only I could eat it again...
[ The peddler clears his throat, but what follows after is a rather monotone voice, completely different than before. ]
Naval Monte is cursed. It thrives off GP. Otherwise, Naval monte will disappear into the mist for a thousand years. We have recently emerged from a thousand years of being hidden away... We would not like that to happen again.
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It thrives off of GP? My, my, what a greedy curse that is. How does it keep track of its treasures? And what transpired a thousand years ago to cause it to banish your city like that?
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[ He says it in the same tone as the last. Perhaps it is the answer to all of Fandaniel's questions. ]
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Every curse has an origin, old man.
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[ ... ]
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Old man, do you think that you're cursed enough to survive being thrown from the mountain?
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[ The peddler says without fear, staring into Fandaniel's eyes with sunken eyes and the blackness of the sclera that welcomes the void to their souls. He isn't the only one either. The other many peddlers around them adopt the same eyes and stare at Fandaniel, walking closer and closer to him. They were once full of life, full of desperation for GP from any visitors who cross the border into Naval Monte, but now they're all in the void of nothing. They start chanting: ]
Naval Monte is cursed. Naval Monte is cursed. Naval Monte is cursed. Naval Monte is cursed. Naval Monte is cursed. Naval Monte is cursed. Naval Monte is cursed. Naval Monte is cursed. Naval Monte is cursed. Naval Monte is cursed. Naval Monte is cursed. Naval Monte is cursed. Naval Monte is cursed. Naval Monte is cursed. Naval Monte is cursed. Naval Monte is cursed. Naval Monte is cursed. Naval Monte is cursed. Naval Monte is cursed. Naval Monte is cursed. Naval Monte is cursed. Naval Monte is cursed. Naval Monte is cursed. Naval Monte is cursed. Naval Monte is cursed. Naval Monte is cursed. Naval Monte is cursed. Naval Monte is cursed. Naval Monte is cursed. Naval Monte is cursed. Naval Monte is cursed. Naval Monte is cursed. Naval Monte is cursed. Naval Monte is cursed. Naval Monte is cursed. Naval Monte is cursed. Naval Monte is cursed. Naval Monte is cursed. Naval Monte is cursed. Naval Monte is cursed. Naval Monte is cursed. Naval Monte is cursed. Naval Monte is cursed. Naval Monte is cursed. Naval Monte is cursed. Naval Monte is cursed. Naval Monte is cursed. Naval Monte is cursed. Naval Monte is cursed. Naval Monte is cursed. Naval Monte is cursed. Naval Monte is cursed. Naval Monte is cursed. Naval Monte is cursed. Naval Monte is cursed. Naval Monte is cursed. Naval Monte is cursed. Naval Monte is cursed. Naval Monte is cursed. Naval Monte is cursed. Naval Monte is cursed. Naval Monte is cursed. Naval Monte is cursed. Naval Monte is cursed. Naval Monte is cursed.
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I see. [ Excuse him while pulls a spell out of it. ] I believe I need a bit of space.
[ And right under his feet, he throws down an OrJuk Zot, a tree erupting from the ground right under him to, firstly, give him a lift out of reach, and, secondly, knock all the NPCs back... assuming it works, anyway. ]
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Fortunately, Fandaniel can still be on the tree for them to be out of reach.
The NPCs stop trying to crowd around Fandaniel when there is no more hostility and return to peddling their wares to any and all visitors who pass by. ]
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...alright, I suppose Naval Monte is very cursed.
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The peddler and the others won't do anything else if Fandaniel decides to climb down, as long as he doesn't show hostility to them. Maybe it's a good time to leave the area. ]