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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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[Ah, thank you Oria. Sinclair uses the poles to balance himself as he clips his skis to his boots. Honestly what a miracle Sinclair was even chasing after Oria in these things]
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I'm ready! I'm gonna zoom down the slope and even circle several times to wait for you!
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Ahaha...you can definitely go ahead. I'll take my time.
[Sinclair will take it slow, thanks!
...he's still cheeky enough to push himself off by his poles without waiting for Oria. Bye. Zig zagging down the mountain they go, unless one of them falls. Which might be Sinclair, if there are environmental hazards in the way]
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Down, down, down they go... ]
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But uh, his speed sure is picking up quite quickly despite his zig zags down the slope.
What did his parents used to tell him about stopping again?
Pizza feet? Pizza feet???]
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Emil! Slow down! You're going too fast for zigzags!! V shape!!
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[PIZZA FEET HAVE FAILED HIM.
Aaaaaaaaaaaaa---even though he's not supposed to, he tries to throw himself backwards--
and straight into a snowybank he goes.
At least he's at the bottom of the slope now.]
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Oria finally gets to the bottom of the slope and skids next to Sinclair and immediately takes off the feet fasteners on the snowboard to go to where he is. ]
Are you okay?! Give me a sign!!
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[Sinclair just lays there for a moment, blinking when Oria's face appears in his field of vision]
I'm okay...[He's lost a ski somewhere but that makes it easier to reach around to undo his last ski...and then he flops right back down, defeated]
Snow's still fluffy here at least.
[Not at all compact and harsh and icy, so he's not hurt]
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Come on. We were supposed to be drying with the wind, not get more wet.
[ He holds his hands out to Sinclair to help him up. ]
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Mm. I think I remember why I never liked skiing much as a kid.
[Sinclair had a good amount of coordination and elegance, but something about skis in particular threw that off entirely]
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It takes practice! And if you still don't like it after, you don't have to try so hard anymore.
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He's very much looking forward to the hot chocolate]
Maybe the flatter slope for me next time.
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[ The absolute beginner slope... Oria's just teasing though.
It doesn't take too long for them to get to the log cabin and the first thing Oria does is snag a big towel from the bathroom and throws it over Sinclair's head. Then next, he goes to make...
... ]
Emil, can you make the hot chocolate?
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Hm? Sure thing.
[ Some of his other layers get stripped off and dumped by the fire place. He'll make the hot chocolate.
Is it the super traditional kind or powdered. Time to check]
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In the meantime, Oria dries himself off while sitting in front of the fireplace. Brrrr. ]
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Have your clothes dried yet?
[ Sinclair managed to find fluffy slippers too, so he can squeak in without having to re equip any boots. he's thinly dressed but no longer wet. he's okay!!]
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[ He takes the mug of hot chocolate and takes some marshmallows to put inside, watching them float on the surface. It makes a warm smile rise on Oria's face.
Oria is always in his default look as a skin on top of everything else, so he was very not prepared for snow activities, but he doesn't really have another outfit to wear. He's not wearing the Jason mask.
Either way, he takes a sip of the hot chocolate. ]
Mmm~ it's so sweet! I can feel it warming me up!
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I'm glad you like it.
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[ Even if the hot chocolate enables them to stay warm for a few hours anyway due to its special effect. ]
Today was really fun.
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Yeah. It makes me think it'd be fun offline too...maybe with less snow down my shirt though.
[Rude]
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Oria looks a little smug about that as he turns his head to look at Sinclair. ]
Oh, don't worry! If we ever do this in real life, I'll do it even more!
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I'm going to remind you, you hate the cold more than I do.
[That scream??]
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[ Unfortunately for Sinclair. Oria fidgets a little in place from the side poke and puts the mug down at a safe location so that he can hug Sinclair from the side. Its really quite something for Oria to initiate when he's not distressed either. ]
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[Sinclair blinks at the hug, and leans into it, even as he tries to put his mug down too. It's warm, and he does like hugs--but he knows Oria doesn't really give them out either that easily. Resting his head a little against Oria's as he places a hand against Oria's]
What is it?
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