⬣//BLOSSOMING FROM A GAP IN THE ASPHALT.

[cccorp]

>>NAVAL MONTE // >>HEALTH // >>ROGUE NPC // >>CONFERENCE // >>Zelkova Corner

⬣//A TOWERING MOUNTAIN AMIDST THE WAVES

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.

⬣//FOR YOUR HEALTH

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.

⬣//ON THE RUN

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.

⬣//YOU CAN TRUST US. WE PROMISE.

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!

⬣//ZELKOVA’S CORNER

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!

>>Navigation

Comments

[dissimulative]

i - Naval Monte, Sep 9

[ Oria is usually pretty excited to go travel to new locations, but his enthusiasm is nonexistent when he sees all these peddlers and merchants asking for money. He's seen this sort of thing before, so he doesn't even bother for conversations, throwing GP at them and briskly wanting past them. Now he's just even more annoyed, even after he activates the Chaos Gate here so that he never has to go through them ever again. ]

This place... is such a shitshow.

[ He already regrets coming here. While that could be one reason why his mood is so sour, there's probably something else. He doesn't seem like his chipper self. Why? Well, someone just had his health exam done recently. Maybe it's that? ]

ii - Unnamed Root Town, Sep 10

[ Over time, Oria has been seen less and less online for those who take notice of their friend/guild lists too much. He's just about cut his average playtime in half and even when he is online, it's difficult to find him. Today, he is in the Unnamed Root Town, high in the sky, sitting on a bench and... crafting? He has a bunch of random items around him, which include several game recipe foods, chairs, penguin alarms, and more. Anyone is free to take one, but then Oria takes a bite out of Tres Miel.

...

When someone finds him, they'll see him swarmed with birds perching on his shoulder, the bench beside him... just plain all around him as if he's been feeding them. But Oria just sits there with a distant gaze that seems to be looking at nothing ahead of him.

Should you try to approach him, the birds will look at you warily. It's as if they're maybe... guarding Oria? But that can't be right. There's nothing that has that effect. Maybe they grew fond of him. He seems gentle when caring for them at least, like the ones who try to nuzzle against his hand and he scritches them under the chin in return. ]

Guess I can't find the cure today...

iii - wildcard

[ Anything else goes under here, including PvP matches! If you'd like to thread out with a severely distressed Oria in the final stage of the plague, we can plan something out, though I'd like it to be Oria's somewhat closer CR. Plotting post is here. As a note, Oria will not be timely responding to any messages on the 11th to 13th ICly and will be offline. ]

ii - Unnamed Root Town, Sep 10;

[ganymed]

[ Ganymede usually hangs out and speaks to Oria pretty often. Now, of course, he has his own busy schedule to contend with given his own theatre production is kicking up into high gear. Though for practical reason, he has more or less been keeping tabs on his closer friends circle.

While he isn't around physically in the game much on the ninth it is extremely and instantly noticeable when Oria makes himself difficult to find on the tenth of the month. The distant gaze is more than odd.

Worrisome. As for the birds, well, Ganymede doesn't know what to think of them. ]

...The cure? What do you mean by that?

[dissimulative]

[ Oria almost startles when he hears Ganymede and tries to refocus his gaze where the voice is coming from.

The gaze never lands on him. ]

Ganymede? Well, maybe it's just another bug or a quest debuff... I haven't been feeling well recently.

[ Oria reaches down on the bench to pat down the space next to him, inviting Ganymede to sit. With that action, the birds make way and are now relaxed around the guest. ]

[ganymed]

[ ...Yeah, that is noticeable as well. In the way that there is something up; Oria no longer flirts with him, but it isn't like the other has had much difficulty keeping his gaze on him.

Not to mention the way he startles is further indication he's a bit out of it, he thinks. Ganymede knows he can be reading so much into it, yet he's the type to still assume the worst than the best. ]

...What do you mean? Does it feel like a cold, or something else?

[ Or more than that, he wonders. Ganymede takes the offered seat, next to Oria. The birds' behavior is still also a little strange, but they don't seem to be a problem either. ]

[dissimulative]

Well, I can't see.

[ Though Oria can feel the bench shift a little when Ganymede sits, so he knows that he's sitting next to him. ]

I've been getting headaches in real life too, so I thought that maybe I could take it easy here.

[ Not in real life. In the game. It should be obvious that he should log off and get some rest in reality, but the way he says it implies that he can't do that right now. ]

Funny how that works, since I'm "sick" here too.

for michel

[dissimulative]

[ After the 10th, Oria hadn't logged on from the 11th to the 13th. When he finally logs in on the 14th, he's nowhere to be seen again out in the open. If Michel tries to search for him in earnest, he'll find him at Holzig Camping Grounds where he'll spot Oria lying down in one of the tents, but only halfway. There's a towel where the upper half of Oria's body is on, and he seems to be staring right up at the night sky that's full of stars.

But when looked at closer, he seems to be an absolute wreck: disheveled hair, a distant gaze... even his usual blue eyes that are full of life seem to be dull.

He's not dealing with this very well. ]

[userunfriendly]

[ How many areas has he cycled through, searching for Oria? When he gets a chance he'll have to remember to make that an urgent feature request. Being able to gate directly to your friends would be just a minor convenience in another game, but in one where so many strange things have already been happening...

The sight of Oria's familiar form is at least a temporary relief. Until he approaches and sees how haggard he looks and how unfocused his eyes are, that is. Michel flops himself onto the grass beside the tent and leans over to inspect him worriedly. ]

Oria?

[dissimulative]

[ Winter is here.

Oria's dull eyes slowly shift their gaze over to Michel. He looks absolutely tired--maybe he aged a decade with his exhausted look alone. ]

... Winter?

[ His voice is quiet, and maybe a little raspy. He sounds like he needs some water. ]

I can't feel my arms. My head hurts too.

[userunfriendly]

Yes. It's me.

[ Oria looks, frankly, terrible. Before Mithrun's death this would have been merely concerning. Now? It's a little unnerving.

He reaches over to feel Oria's forehead, although there's no logical reason a temperature would be reflected in the game. ]

...You can't feel them in the game? Or outside of it? A headache could be dehydration...

[ He rummages through his inventory, but nothing there would help the real-life problem, would it? ]

for fai

[dissimulative]

[ It's a shame for Fai, because while he's hit the final stage, he has still taken up the arduous task of finding someone. Maybe the game should implement a player location function for next time to cut the hassle.

Fai will eventually find Oria at the Hülle Granz Cathedral, sitting on one of the many empty pews, staring ahead with his dull eyes that were once vibrant. Is he looking at something? Does he see anything that no one else can see? Despite how echo-y the cathedral can get, Oria doesn't turn around when Fai enters. ]

[fluorite]

[ His thoughts are muddled and he feels so, so, so incredibly off that even taking up the task of seeking Oria out to see if he's alright is difficult.

But he's doing it anyway, simply because he has to, or else he'll be sick with worry. Well, sicker than he is now.

As his steps echo across those marble floors, Fai's gaze falls onto Oria, who doesn't even turn around. ]

Oria?

[dissimulative]

[ Oria slowly turns when he hears his name and looks over at Fai. He frowns a little--not at him, but at himself. He's...

... ]

Jen... no, Yuui.

[ Fai? Who's that? ]

Yuui. I'm here. Sorry, I'm... feeling out of sorts today. The cathedral is quiet.

[fluorite]

[ Fai pauses at the name, doing his best not to think too hard about how it took him a second or two to register that Yuui is his real name.

Right.

Oria is calling him by his real name. ]

It is, isn't it? It's peaceful.

[ He walks towards the pew Oria is sitting in before taking a seat himself. ]

i - Naval Monte, Sep 9

[tylorific]

[ Tylor is coming through said chaos gate just in time to catch that complaint, with a glance to wherever the closest NPC happens to be. ]

Well, I can't argue with that. It sure is! But I still can't help but feel a little sorry for them.

[ A blink, once he really Looks at Oria. Followed by a stupid smile. ]

Hey, wingman, are you hungry?

[dissimulative]

[ --Ah. ]

Tylor. Yeah, I'm always hungry! I can go for something to eat right now.

[ At least the mention of food seems to bring up his spirits. ]

What do you wanna go for? I'm assuming we have to cook it ourselves since this place is like... dead.

[tylorific]

[ Tylor laughs at that, shaking his head.

He goes on playfully-- ]

Oh, well that depends. [ A grin-- ] How much do you like hearing NPCs tell stories? They're pretty smart around here, you know.

for sinclair

[dissimulative]

cw: underage drinking

[ After the 10th, Oria hadn't logged on from the 11th to the 13th. Sinclair wasn't online on Thursday, but when Sinclair's online on Friday, he'll see that Oria is finally online. However, he's nowhere to be seen again out in the open. It would a great feature if the friends list could just tell you where everyone is, huh?

Oria said that he'd leave to Las Vegas on Monday. He hadn't been online nor returned calls and texts on his phone. He should have called. He should have sent something so that he wouldn't worry Sinclair sick. It's happened before, when it's been an innocuous moment of his sister taking the lone phone when it was still on and hung up, thinking Oria forget to turn it off for whatever reason.

Sinclair eventually find him in one of the rooms inside the inn, lying face down on the mat, a spilled bottle of hot sake on the floor, a boiled egg that rolled over to the distance after being presumably dropped...

If Oria's turned on his back, he looks like a wreck. His head hurts. His body aches. He can't feel anything. He opens his eyes and frowns, narrowing his eyes as if doing that will help him identify the person who just rolled him over. ]

[insinning]

[Sinclair worries. Of course he worries. Oria doesn't answer any of his texts or calls, and with Oria offline, there's no point in messaging him through the inbox to check in on him.

It's troubling. Oria usually got back to him. When Sinclair gets back home and online his heart gives a jolt when he sees Oria online. Except, it's an absolute pain to find him. The inn is the last place he searches, mostly because he knows Oria didn't like the hot springs.

There's something about this scene that unsettles Sinclair deeply as he rolls Oria over, reaching up to press his hand to Oria's forehead. The sake, the egg...]

Oria...what happened?

cw underage drinking

[dissimulative]

[ He's actually a little warm and it's not because of the game! Maybe! Who knows, because he actually drank alcohol for the first time in his life. ]

E...

[ ...

His voice trails off. ]

It aches everywhere and my head hurts.

for mithrun

[dissimulative]

[ It's around Friday morning where Oria lives and he's at the Twilight Shoreline. There was a party here once, along with a dead-looking guy who taste-tested food to give out dogs and various chef outfits. But now, Oria is there in his default clothes, looking out at the ocean and frowning. He's in the final stages of the plague, and it's no wonder he's frowning. He's trying to remember. Something important. What did he forget?

But it doesn't matter when his head is also riddled with anxiety of how he can't feel his body anymore. He's lost control.

It's only when the waves crash onto the shore that Oria snaps out of it and sees someone in the distance.

Mithrun? ]

[tablescraps]

( Mithrun, unusually, isn't in a skin of some sort - he's wearing proper armor. Cute and all, but still armor. He's half-sitting rather maidenly up by a tidepool, fixing up his hair in some silly way with seaside flowers and shells and other pretty bits he's found by the sea.

Oh, and he's humming.

Satisfied with his work - so very likely to come undone within the hour, but apparently? just fine? with that (?) - he pushes himself up as he makes his way down from the uneven rocks, mindful of his step, coming necessarily nearer in Oria's direction, since that's the way the rocks slope down.

He looks different, besides the armor. His hair is longer and silkier, and he's got two good eyes, both as pretty silver as his hair, and a bright complexion. There's vivace in his step as his heel hits the shore, and he seems uncharacteristically content for a Mithrun as he casts his gaze across the beachside, realizing he's got some sort of company.

Well, he seems characteristically content until he recognizes who it is. Then he seems quite beside himself! )

Oria? ( How could he forget that little prick? ) Wow, it's been awhile! How have you been?

[dissimulative]

[ oria: who the fuck is this bitch

He looks a little bewildered. Is he seeing things? Is this a doppelganger ability--no, it would have to be the same Mithrun. Another bodyswap bug? But Tylor doesn't know him as "Oria". With the way that the hair is done and how Mithrun isn't wearing his usual outfit...

With how glitchy this game has gotten lately and how the final stage of the plague is making him extremely forgetful nowadays, this Mithrun could just be a hallucination in this beach.

But fine. So be it. ]

Mori.

[ He has never called him by that name in his life, but he's doing it now. He needs to set them apart. ]

Since when did you care about how I've been?

[ lol ]

i

[trollophoroi]

If you would like it to be even worse, threaten one of the NPCs! It's hilarious!

[ Calls a familiar voice from... above? Wait, why is there a tree in the middle of a sidestreet? Ah, mostly because Fandaniel has decided to linger in it after summoning it up in self-defense. It'll vanish eventually, sure enough, but so long as the caster is seated at the very top of the leaves and branches, it remains and the mods can come here and fight me over that not being a thing bring it. ]

[dissimulative]

[ Who--why is there a tree here in the middle of the street?? Oria looks up and. Oh. It's the resident troll. ]

Why did you threaten a NPC...? I thought you liked doing that to real people instead.

[ ...

Well. It just came out. ]

[trollophoroi]

Mm, usually, yes.

[ It's true, why would he even deny it? But Fananiel does wave off the accusation a bit since, in this case, that's not what he did. ]

But these ones were acting so strangely, I decided to try and get some information out of them. Oh! By the way, it matters not how much GP you offer them. Their "Naval Monte is cursed" nonsense is all you'll get from them.