Strawberry, Board 2

[battleshipmod]

The lunch rush finally ebbs and you sit down at a table, exhausted and hungry. A golem brings you a raw salad garnished with cold fries. "I could have made something better with all those vegetables," you mutter. If you're going to be stuck in a cooking game, the least it could do is let you cook.

"You could," a melodious voice agrees. You look up to see a spark-sprite hovering next to you. "True culinary delight comes from creativity, and only sentient beings can be creative. The golems, poor things, have dirt for brains. They can chop vegetables and not much else."

That seems a little insensitive, and you wince, but a passing golem doesn't look bothered at all. It takes your empty bowl and gives you a glass of water, which you gratefully chug. Being a bard is thirsty work.

"But as the golems could not be creative," the sprite continues, "they could not provide entertainment. For that, only you and your fellows would do. And you did it so well!" he adds warmly. Literally warmly — a few sparks fall from his wings for emphasis. "Word spread and I had to come hear you for myself. I was not disappointed, I must say! And as I am a professor of the arcane and mundane arts, I know whereof I speak."

"Thanks," you say, feeling a little better. It's nice to have your art appreciated, even if the professor thinks it's mundane. You made some good tips, too. If only that game currency meant anything in the real world. But who knows when you'll see the real world again...

Your melancholy musings are interrupted by the sprite producing a peculiar mechanical device that's nearly as big as he is. Magical or electrical energy crackles along its wires and prongs. It reminds you of the goblin devices that sent you into the game in the first place. "Hey," you say, sitting up. "Do you know —"

"That the golems are drenched in ancient magic?" the sprite exclaims. "I do! Tell me, do you know anything about the soil they're made of?"

You neither know nor care. You just want to go home. "Uh, not really. Professor —“

“Then further research is needed!" He puts the device away (how? where?) and gestures to you. "Come! You're no longer needed for the lunch rush, so I need you to dig around in the ground the golems came from and see if you find any ancient items of interest. If you can further my research, I shall be most grateful."

You don't want to dig more, but you like the idea of the professor owing you a favor. Maybe then he can help you get home.

There's just one problem: when you go outside, it's foggy and you can't see very well. You cough, waving your hands around to clear the air. It smells like vegetables and dragon spit.

"Sorry!" Stray calls, sticking their head out the back door. "The dragons got a little enthusiastic making steam to sanitize the dishes. Oh, hello, Zzt. Did you enjoy the salad?"

"Terrible," he says briskly. "But the fine entertainment was worth it. Why didn't you tell me your vegetable patch was full of magical residue?"

Stray huffs. "Why should I tell you anything when you're so rude?" They go back into the cafe, slamming the door.

Professor Zzt shrugs and turns back to you. "Nothing to be gotten from them. But I'm sure you'll turn up everything I need."

A new tracking board appears. It seems you have no choice but to accept this quest.

---

Strawberry Board 2 Grid and List of Goals

Strawberry Collection | Prompt Collection (AO3) | Prompt Collection (Automagic App)

Each square on the 12 x 12 grid contains either mysterious artifacts or ancient coins.

There are 36 mysterious artifacts hidden on this board. A team must find all of them in order to move on from this stage. Squares with ancient coins contain clues that will help with strategy.

There is no X-ray mechanic for this board (even a diligent X-ray machine needs to recharge).

Coins

Coins come in quantities between 400 and 1000, and will be applied to support your efforts when you return to the cafe again (ie. reduce the number of hit points needed to clear the boss). Additionally, each strike of overkill beyond a board goal claims a bonus equivalent to 300 coins, up to a maximum of 10 strikes of overkill against each board goal.

How to Clear a Square

Each square is assigned a goal. The list of goals is displayed below the grid. A goal consists of a number and two tags, such as "16, Enemies to Lovers, IN SPACE." Meet the goal by posting works that claim one (or more) of those tags. A work that uses multiple tags on a square contributes to a goal multiple times.

The goal number for each square is initially hidden from the team. A team must use either of the tags on a square to reveal the number of works required to clear it.

In addition, there are board-wide goals for AO3 labels such as “Major Character Death,” work mediums, and freeforms that do not appear on any board. You must collectively achieve these goals to complete the board.

Teams may continue to fulfill board goals beyond the required number to claim bonus “overkill” points. Each board goal counts up to 10 strikes of overkill.

Claim relevant tags in your author's note, in a comma-separated list (e.g. "First Kiss, Fisting, Friendship"), with the tags exactly as they appear in the tagset. The mods will only count tags claimed this way. Fic and podfic may claim 1 tag per 100 words. Art may claim all tags that are clearly present in the work. Metadata such as ship type will be claimed automatically.

Every work must fulfill one of this year's requests in the prompt collection, and be gifted to the prompter.

Each team’s members (and only members of that team) should post works to their respective team collection. Each team member is capped at 7 works per board. The collection is moderated, and works will be approved as the mods count them.

Once enough works have been approved to fully clear a square, it will be marked "Ready to Call." Call the (specific, with grid location) shot in the team’s shots channel in Discord to finish digging up the square and retrieve what's beneath it: an artifact, or coins.

Advancing to the next level

Once the team has retrieved all the artifacts and met their board goals, the team will collectively decide whether to keep digging for coins or return to the cafe. When you've decided, announce in the shots channel that you're ready to begin the next boss. Good luck!