#toa: taskboard

[ashenprofessor]

Black Beauty

starter for @atypicalsenerio

The Pegasus Moon gets its name from the herds of wild pegasi that flock to their snowy nesting grounds. Nestled in the tall mountains, Garreg Mach sees plenty of snow-white pegasi come wintertime. This year, however, the school is abuzz with news that a flock of black pegasi have stopped close by, searching for a suitable place to nest. Their feathers are of particular interest to certain students, as they are said to amplify a mage’s power. With final exams just around the corner, many are looking for a little boost to their power. [Grants Reason +1]

Byleth crept quietly through the forest surrounding the Monastery for the second time in recent months. The current situation was eerily similar to the last time when she’d heard rumours of Wyverns nesting close by. This time is was whispers of Pegasi having flown in to a clearing a few days ago. They had Pegasi at the Academy so ordinarily Byleth wouldn’t be interested in making the trip, however there was something rare about these ones. According to those who had seen them, they were pure black in colouring.

Black Pegasi were unusual and said to have a higher magic affinity than their snow white counterparts. As such their feathers were highly sought after items which allegedly boosted one’s magic power. Although she didn’t desire one for herself, she was keen to lay eyes on them anyway. Having recently commenced her own study of magic she had a strong belief that using means to enhance one’s power was dangerous due to the risk of loosing control of over-powered spells compared to growing in magic power level naturally.

The forest floor underfoot had a light dusting of snow covering it despite the relative shelter of the trees. The crunch underfoot hindered her stealth as she approached the clearing, not wanting to spook the creatures and cause them to take off. Approaching cautiously, Byleth took up position behind a bush and glanced through the branches into the clearing.

Roughly ten Pegasi, ranging between 15 - 16.5 hands tall, were lounging in various positions within the protection of the ring of trees. Jet black in colouring they stood out against the snowy background. She let out a breathless sigh of wonderment at the sight. Impressively large wings were folded neatly across their backs, gleaming in the winter sunlight reflecting off the glossy feathers. She dreaded to think of the conflict which would occur to attempt to pluck one from such a magnificent beast. Hopefully people stuck to searching for dropped feathers instead.

Byleth was not so taken with observing the Pegasi that she missed the faint rustling from behind her. She was not alone in the forest then, someone else was following up on the rumours. Her hand hovered above the weapon hidden in her boot, just in case, as she narrowed her eyes and scanned the area. A few feet away she spotted the originator of the noise as a body was barely visible, hidden under cover akin to hers.

Crouching, she made her way over relaxing upon recognition of the person. It was Soren. Silently she raised a hand in greeting to catch his attention before whispering.

“Hello Soren. Are you also interested in the magic-enhancing Pegasi? I take it that is why you are here.”

[falchrom]

Claim your prize

Starter for @princessmacedon

The carnival is in town! Nothing like a little truancy and fried treats of your choice to spend away an entire afternoon… And giant, stuffed plushes and shiny prizes catch your eye. “Play a game?” The booth attendant holds out a rickety toy bow. How hard could it be? [Grants Bow +1]

Arriving back at the Monastery had been a blessed relief after his time up north in the country of Sreng. If he never had to visit those frozen wastes again, he would be very happy. He was grateful to all his fellow students and staff on their team sent up there by the Church of Seiros, especially Maria who had saved his life on multiple occasions. Not only had the healer fixed his various wounds he’d acquired when traversing the floors of the bunker, in the final battle she’d used her magic to block an attack he was certain would have finished him off. Chrom wanted to thank her for this.

They’d been back at the monastery about a week when an opportunity presented itself when a carnival set itself up in the town. Chrom had fond memories of visiting a travelling fair with his sisters back home in Ylisse. He decided to go take a look at it, see if it was worth it before asking anyone to come too.

The carnival was easy to find, an array of colourful tents and flags filled the market square. Members of the fair, dressed in equally bright garb as their tents, were shouting into the crowd to encourage folk to try out their games and rides. Passing by one booth, Chrom spotted a neat row of prizes along the back wall including some giant stuffed plush and other trinkets. The sort of thing he could gift someone he wanted to thank …

“Play a game?” The stall holder enquired, noticing the Ylissian’s attention on his wares. He held out a small bow towards Chrom who saw that the game itself was some sort of shooting gallery. He’d hunted back home and was a fair enough shot.

“Sure, I’ll give it a go. If you could give me half an hour, there’s someone I want to bring along.” He said, before rushing back to Garreg Mach.

Upon retuning from his brief excursion, he went looking for Maria to invite her to go with him. He felt that the princess would enjoy an afternoon off, a chance to relax after the previous month. He came across Maria in one of the rose gardens.

“ Erm… hey. I noticed there’s a carnival in town and it’s got . Have you been to one before?”

Chrom was aware that he was rambling slightly but outside of battle he found it hard approaching those of the female persuasion. Wiping his hands on his cloak, he tried again.

“Would you be interested in checking it out with me. It’s been a while since I’ve seen one and it could be a fun way to pass the afternoon?”

[ashenprofessor]

Learning to deal with Restrictions

@atypicalsenerio

Silence fills the air of the library as she pushes open the heavy doors. Glancing round she notices not only the absence of students but more importantly, the librarian who keeps a dragon-like eye on their precious books. Slipping in, she closes the door gently behind her and starts heading through the shelves with purpose. Her goal: Knowledge. More specifically, the kind of information one cannot easily get their hands on.

With every month that passes at the Monastery, she has been exposed to new, bizarre and occasionally otherworldly creatures. And each time she goes to the powers that be looking for answers on their origins, reason for appearing or even how to best them she has been turned away. Fobbed off with some excuse or other about how it wasn’t necessary for her to know. That is unacceptable when it is her students on the line facing them. She must do her best to prepare and protect them.

Hence, her presence in the library now. She has watched the comings and goings in here for a while to find the optimal time to come searching. She has possibly an hour at most. Time to get started.

At the point furthest from the door there is a small, black wooden door almost invisible as it blends in with the surrounding shadows. It leads to the restricted section where the church keeps the texts it would rather people didn’t know about. Hopefully, she will find her answers and more there.

Blast. Locked. Of course

She should have seen that coming she thinks as she lowers into a crouching position to examine the lock. It doesn’t look too complicated. Byleth withdraws her lock picking kit from the folds of her robes and sets to work. The lock is almost dealt with when shadow falls across her.

Has she been caught?

She turns abruptly to see a dark-haired man looking down at her with an indecipherable expression on his face. Just as she opens her mouth to give an excuse, there is a click and the door swings open. Realising there’s no hiding what she’s up to she states “I won’t tell if you don’t” before moving to go through the door.

[falchrom]

Who’s ambushing who?

@merrydiviner​

As you gather information from the students and the surrounding villages, you begin to notice a common thread: mages utilizing unfamiliar spells that aren’t known in Fódlan or beyond. But as you prepare to ambush a group of suspiciously-robed “mages”, you notice their physical, non-magelike builds and strange weapons in their hands. Swords, lances, axes, all made of a strange “organic” material, if you could call it that, and eerily similar to what you’ve seen from the Heroes’ Relics. The Church would be more than interested in bringing those back for inspection, whether by force or theft. [Grants Any Weapon + 1]

Chrom paced restlessly around the square of the village he’d been sent to. Despite being a new student, the faculty had called for more people to come and aid with the situation in the Faerghus. On the march over, he’d been filled in on the strange goings on recently with infected villagers and mages using unfamiliar spells. Despite his lack of knowledge of the arcane, Chrom was willing to lend whatever help he could.

His current order was to prepare an ambush for said mages. Scouts had reported that there was a group hiding out in a storehouse on the village outskirts. What interested him was the description of them having more muscular builds than you would expect for a magic user and using melee weapons alongside spells. He may be useful for the upcoming fight after all. Apparently the weapons resembled Heroes Relics, whatever those were but the Church wanted them retrieved so that was now his goal too. 

Pausing in his movement he met the eyes of a purple-haired woman watching him with a calm confidence. He flashes a quick disarming smile and heads over to lean against the wall next to her. There was a tension in the square, the energy which gathered before a battle as people made their preparations. Maybe this person held some new information.

“Hello. Do you know what the plan is?”

[ashenprofessor]

Knighttime Wanderings

Starter for @loyaltestament

As the days grow colder, students balk at the idea of walking around outside in the cold, especially late at night. Whispers of a shortcut quickly spread through the student body: if you’re coming from the library, you can go through the gallery hall to get back to the dorms. It’s not long until this path is marred by rumors of an armored thief stealing people’s books and essays late at night. There’s a reward if you unmask the criminal, but soon enough you find out that there’s more to this criminal than you thought. Too bad the realization only comes when one of the armored knights on display is magically brought to life, brandishing its sword at you. [Grants +1 Sword]

Byleth knew she wasn’t alone in wanting to avoid cold, hence why she had decided to check if there was any truth in the rumoured shortcut. She’d had enough of getting frozen to the bone every time she needed to cross the courtyard to get back to the comfort of the dorms. If she followed the rumours she should find the route starting at the library which is where she was currently heading. 

One concern she did have though was the news which had accompanied the rumours. Apparently an armoured thief had been attacking those using the shortcut late at night, stealing their work. Notices had been put up stating a reward for the capture of the criminal. Byleth herself had little interest in the reward but felt that she should investigate for the protection of the student body. Her sword was strapped to her hip ready for use.

Reaching her destination she looked for a good spot for a stakeout. She found a place offering a wide view of the passageway and settled in to wait. Time passed with no change, she could feel her eyelids beginning to droop. 

A sudden crash in the next corridor over had her on her feet, instantly alert, running in the direction of the disturbance. Time to apprehend the criminal. Rounding the corner she narrowly avoided slamming into Dedue. Byleth doubted he was the culprit. Why was he here? Had he been studying late or was he looking to apprehend the criminal himself?

“Evening” She greeted briefly before enquiring “It’s a bit late to be out the dorms isn’t it?”

[ashenprofessor]

Soaring, Flying . . . ?

Starter for @15shadesofgray

Flight wasn’t a thing Byleth had much experience with. So far in their life they had managed to keep both feet on firm terra. It wasn’t for a lack of trying on their part, having made many attempts over the years to soar in the skies. They still remembered the look of shock on Jeralt’s face when he’d caught them stalking those wyverns, determined to jump on its back and ride it.

Hearing about the arrival of an inventor at the monastery claiming to be able to grant people the power of flight naturally had them intrigued. Fortunately it being a free day and the staff being away on a mission, it gave Byleth plenty of time to track down this individual intent on enquiring further about this new contraption.

A small crowd was gathered in the corner of the west courtyard by the main church tower. Byleth headed over assuming this was likely the location of the inventor. Hanging on the outskirts of the crowd, they listened to the man’s spiel.

“Soar through the skies like the Immaculate One, radiant and majestic. This simple looking contraption is our answer to pegasi, falcons and even dragons. No longer will we need to rely on them to get us airborne.”

The man gave his sales pitch with an unrivalled enthusiasm. He appeared to seriously believe the words spouting from his mouth. Byleth was slightly skeptical but it couldn’t hurt to stick around and listen further.

“All I ask is for some willing volunteers to aid in this test phase. You will of course be rewarded handsomely for your effort. Please come forward.”

Glancing round the crowd to see if anyone was interested in the man’s offer, Byleth spotted one of the newer students, Gray, looking like they wanted to volunteer. They wove their way through the crowd to reach him, waving to grab their attention.

“Hello Gray. Are you interested in helping him test this contraption? If you are, I am curious of what it involves and potentially helping out too. We could do it together.”

[falchrom]

Magic tricks & Sleight of hand

Starter for @musing-curse

The academy professors are bogged down with work and need a little extra help. Teacher’s assistant positions have been opened up and are available to just about anyone willing to lend a hand. Try your hand at helping teach some of your fellow students—or get an inside opportunity to change you and your friends’ grades in the assignment logs. [Grants Authority +1]

There was a busy air to the Monastery now that everyone had returned for the new academic year. Word of the Academy’s prowess had spread increasing the number of students and staff alike. The additions to the faculty was still not enough to cope with the influx of students leading to notices appearing advertising for teaching assistant positions. Chrom stopped by one to scan it, noting which professors were in need of help. One which caught his eye was Nyx, his magic teacher.

Combat and riding classes he was acing, he could even muster up a pass in strategy and tactics. His one area of concern was magic. Chrom held a lot of respect for mages, they were handy to have on the battle field especially healers, but his own magical capacity was virtually non-existent. Thus he found the lessons rather boring and would sleep through them if Nyx wasn’t so intimidating.

This could be a chance to earn some brownie points with the sorceress, bump his grade up a little. Either that, or an opportunity to sneakily change his grade in the records. He went to Nyx’s classroom hoping to find the professor. Knocking he opened the door and entered the dark interior.

“Excuse me. I saw the flyer requesting a teaching assistant. Is the position still open?”

[ashenprofessor]

The first rule of fight club

starter for @cashandaxes

If there was ever any evidence of how much the faculty contributed to the general discipline of the Academy, then it was produced by the activities which popped up during their absence. The staff had only been gone a week when Byleth began hearing rumours of an underground arena which had sprung up in one of the chambers beneath the dining room, down beyond the kitchens. Not only was there an elicit fight club, it was said that those who visited could come away with a hefty sum of money either through participating or betting on the results.

Although she had little need of extra funds herself, Byleth felt that as she was technically a faculty member it would be irresponsible of her not to check out the club. Of course, any monetary gains she made while there were to be kept off any report she presented to the rest of staff upon their return.

Descending the steps into the basements of the Monastery she could already hear the faint cheering coming from up ahead. Good job there weren’t too may people around because they certainly were not being subtle. The room itself was unguarded and the first thing which struck her once she entered was the smell of sweat mixed with a hint of blood. The classic odour of battle. It was intermittently familiar to her and made her long for her mercenary days.

In the centre was a roughly etched out ring on the floor. Two student were currently engaged in a brawl within its confines. Around the edge many of the cheering crowd held strips of paper indicating their bet for the winner. As she drew closer she spotted a familiar face.

“Hello Charlotte. Are you here for the betting or the fighting?”