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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!
i
[ 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. ]no subject
Why did you threaten a NPC...? I thought you liked doing that to real people instead.
[ ...
Well. It just came out. ]
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[ 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.
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[ Though definitely not to the degree Fandaniel saw. ]
... Wait, how much GP did you spend on them?
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[ That was not typical, that was not typical. Ah, but as to how much he spent... ]
Though I spent far too much, so really, don't part with more than the single GP. You've been warned.
[ By a wise(ass) man in a tree, even! ]
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[ Wow. Fandaniel? C'mon?? Though it makes Oria laugh a little. ]
It's fine! As long as I travel between Chaos Gates, I'll never have to give them a single GP ever again! Did you come to warn me? Thanks!
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[ Oops, maybe that's a little too honest about the number there.
He isn't going to craft his own fancy gear set or anything. Ah, but his idling away in the tree mood is fading and, thus, he moves, vanishing down into the foilage a moment. A crackle and rustle of branches and leaves comes before he appears again, climbing down and landing on his feet at the last bit of height.
With the caster gone, the tree itself begins to fall apart, fading away. ]
But no. I was making sure the NPCs weren't going to try and tear me apart again. Seeing how they didn't try to rip you to pieces, I suppose they are back to normal after all!
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Why would they do that? It's not like they're zombies or anything!
[ Hahahaha..Hahaha ha... ha? ]
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[ Tome stowed and tree properly vanished, Fandaniel strolls the handful of steps left between himself and Oriade and tilts his head at him with a gleam of mischief in his eyes. ]
What to find out? I assure you, it's quite a startling reaction.
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[ That's... well, they may act more organic, but they're still NPCs. Oria doesn't think it's fun to tease NPCs like that. ]
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[ Fear not, Oriade, Fandaniel is here by your side if you want him! ]
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[ Let's go, Fandaniel. Time to piss off some NPCs. ]
Why don't you show me how it's done?
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Gentlemen! Gentlemen. I fear I must warn you... [ And he turns to point out Oria specifically. ] But that young man is planning to try and massacre you all. He's about to open fire with his weapon. He hates this town, you see, so he wishes to wipe it out. Dreadful!
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"Hey, buy our goods!"
"Donate GP!!"
"Give us your GP!!!"
Cool. Oria doesn't like that, so he fires a Vak Doom in the air, which is likened to an exploding fiery mortar shell. Nice fireworks. ]
Christ, calm down!!
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Will you cut it out? Or maybe I really will go through with tossing the lot of you off the mountain myself after all!
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Fandaniel, this way!
[ Oria gives a strong shove to several people at once, since they're crowding around too much, too clumped together. He's making them topple like dominos if they're in the way. If they keep coming towards them, he shoves them back too. He seems to have absolutely no qualm in doing this. ]
I KNEW I HAD FORGOTTEN A TAG
Ah, if we must.
[ And he'll turn to follow after Oria, swift enough to keep up, though the NPCs -- even those shoved over, staggering back up -- continue to come after them, hot on their trail in hope of a tasty GP or two. ]
They are a bit troublesome, yes?
\o/
[ Oria can't believe he's running away from NPCs and he shoots Vak Doom on the ground, something like an exploding fire bullet with the power of a mortar shell. There's definitely no damage, but all he needs is something that impedes their vision for a second and throws a Slippery Potion to make the NPCs slip and fall into a pile. ]
Phew...
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[ Frankly, Fandaniel hasn't even cracked open the other professions yet. It's all cooking and ingredients for him, though with his tidy stockpile, he wonders... should he experiment? Ah, but later.
He carries on, jogging a pace quicker so he'll be beside Oria now and then, upon spotting a useful alleyway between some buildings, he'll reach out to grab his arm and yank him that way. ]
Let's duck out of sight. Come on.
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Yeah, and a little warning first next time, please...
[ He thought his heart stopped. ]
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[ Fandaniel lets out a chuckle as he releases Oria's arm. They're in the alleyway now, no need to keep hold of it. ]
I did tell you. They're very odd for NPCs, even dangerous.
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[ The only one who scares him is his mom!! ]
That's really weird though. It doesn't look like we can get rid of them either--or they just won't give us a chance to.
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Without PVP being enabled here, we cannot even hope to harm them, truly. My spell with the tree before touched none of them apart from knocking them back, though once they could no longer reach me, they went back to acting normally.
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Because of a lack of target? When you describe it that way, they sound like zombies.
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Could they not be? Some kind of undead, if not zombies. The city's lore, the curse, the desperation for GP, how terrible they all look...
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