hadriel_logs | Intro Log: Rock This City

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Intro Log: Rock This City

Who: New arrivals and everyone else!
What: The intro log for January
Where: The colosseum and all around the city.
When: January 10th-14th
Warnings: New folks, rockin' dudes made of rock, and collectible friends!

This time, it's different.

There's no cave, no stone walls looming up around you and overhead, no stifling air or artificial light- not that you'd appreciate it, seeing as to how you've probably never been here before. And still, when you land facefirst on the dirt ground of the colosseum, you may not quite appreciate all the improvements and steps we've had to take to get here- after all, you're still surrounded by strangers in a crumbling city on an alien planet in the middle of nowhere.

Oh, and you're being attacked by Earth Elementals. These creatures are tall, between seven to ten feet, and made of solid rock, capable of punching through all the squishy bits of you- and for whatever reason, they definitely want to start punching. They're incredibly strong and, seeing as to how they're enchanted alive and have no internal organs, they're very difficult to kill.

But don't let that scare you off. For all the collectors in you, you can also find a very special array of beanie babies all scattered at the ground at your feet. Do you know that some of these things will be worth a lot of money someday? Better find the rarest one and stockpile it while you can! You might run into the rainbow crab, the platypus, or the sought-after bald eagle, or many more! Be sure to never take the tag off and never ever let anyone play with them so they don't lose value.

Once you've got your kids' college fund squared away, it's time to start exploring! You can explore the rest of the city! Find a house, a new monster, a project to help with, or simply scavenge for supplies. Good luck, and enjoy your stay in Hadriel!

► This log covers January 10th-14th.
► Feel free to make your own logs as well!
► All characters arrive with phones that have network communication and the newbie guide installed.
► Please put your character's name and open/closed in the subject line of your starters!

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[The Colosseum]

[Getting whisked away to new worlds without warning wasn't exactly new to Asriel, and there was always a danger that came with it each time it happened. ... Usually that danger waited until Asriel could kind of process where he was first.

The moment he opens his eyes, the first thing he sees are giant rock creatures looming over him. He opens his mouth to talk to them, right before he sees one of them raising their fist to bring down on top of him.]

Aaaaaaaaaaaahhhh!!

[He bolts upright, scrambling away from the rock monsters. He is not fighting them, he is running out of here as fast as he can.]

[The city]

[After Asriel escapes the terror of the Colosseum, he's left to explore the city ruins. Nothing looks familiar, he's definitely not on Thisavrou, and nobody he's seen so far looks familiar either. There's a little bit of fear building in his chest, just being left alone with no one he can go to or readily contact.

He's been in that situation before. It didn't go well.

While he wanders aimlessly for a while, stopping to peek into buildings, he stop and talk to anyone he can found. And anyone he does find while find a strange-looking goat monster with a lion-like tail, a scarred, bad eye, and a glowing disk attached to his back. He smiles awkwardly, trying to seem as harmless as possible.]

Uhh... howdy! Can you tell me where I am? And how to get back to Thisavrou?

Edited 2018-01-11 06:13 (UTC)

Yeah, maybe later.

[It isn't just a polite agreement, either; he really will consider it, and he knows he should take her up on the offer. It's only become more and more apparent lately that he has to start actually talking, especially if he wants to do anything meaningful--for himself or anyone else--with the time he has left. He can't keep going like he has been the last month.

He gives her a small smile, truly appreciating that she not only cares but is willing to help, and gives her hand another squeeze in return to show that she's doing fine and he really is alright for the moment.]

Thank you. It really does help, just knowing I have the option.

[And it's okay if she might be stumbling over the right words, or if she can't find the right thing to say now or later; just being able to confide in someone who isn't immediately involved in everything--because he could talk to Brennan, but he's afraid the entire subject will hurt her just as badly, but differently--means he has a choice other than dealing with everything alone. Even if he doesn't take the option, that the choice is there at all is incredibly important.]

I. I didn't fall down the rabbit-hole; the rabbit-hole ate me.

(The ground is blessedly solid, but it seems to shift nonetheless. Her cheek is nestled against the dirt and her Northern dress seems incredibly heavy. Yet her memories flow back as if they are made out of water.

Hadriel.

Her home after Ruby City. Sansa pushes herself onto her elbows and rolls just in time to avoid an attack. She has seen many monsters, but the Earth Elementals are frightening. Even so, she is much happier facing them than Ramsay Bolton.

Who could blame her?

Chest tight as she fights for breath, she struggles to her feet and sheds her outer cloak of furs. Then, after a quick glance around, she lifts her skirts and pulls out the dagger she keeps on her person at all times - unless she is sleeping (and then it is under her pillow). She hasn't a clue what sort of damage it will do to an Elemental, but it's something.)

Stay back! (It's a silly order, she knows. Do those things even have ears?)

II. What can a stuffed animal do for me?

(As cute as the beanie babies are, she doesn't have the heart to sort through them. There are more important matters at hand. Once she is free of the monsters, she brushes her tangled hair out of her face and sets about walking down the main road. She has her furs folded over one arm - nothing should be lost or wasted - and her lips are set in a grim line.

She has changed since she was last here. What else has changed too? Are her belongings gone? What of her friends? ~~Her family?~~ Sansa feels breathless again and clutches the dark material covering her chest.

Breathe. Breathe.

The mantra means nothing; it helps nothing. She enters one of the temples for some shade and collapses into a seat within.)

You must see. You can't put it off.

Sansa?"

There's relief laced in Fingon's voice as he catches sight of her. Her sword had been hanging in Elrond's house since her disappearance some days before, but her own whereabouts had been a worrying mystery. They had been beginning to fear the worst- but perhaps it had been worrying for nothing?

"Where have you been?" He rushes to meet her and pull her into an embrace.

Edited 2018-01-11 06:45 (UTC)

[ Curufin has a feeling that he should go to the Colosseum this month, and so he does. The monster-of-the-month turns out to be damnably difficult to kill. He makes a circuit of the structure, helping whomever he can. Just as he comes back around to the area of the main entrance, he sees Sansa trying to stand off an Earth Elemental with only a dagger. Of course she would, brave young woman that she is! ]

Sansa!

[ He runs up, jumps up and down in front of the creature that threatens her, and waves his arms at it, so that it will chase him instead of her. It isn't very good at chasing, being too tall and ponderous. ]

Run for the entrance, Sansa! I'll meet you there in a minute.

[ The Earth Elemental swings its head around and looks angrily at Curufin, turning its attention away from Sansa for the moment. ]

She freezes, slow to recognize the voice - or maybe she is slow to believe he is truly here. She had begun to think all of her happiness from before had been a dream.

"My lord?" her voice is faint, barely audible because as soon as she sees him, she remembers his preferred method of being addressed, "Fingon?"

His arms are something she has missed, she realizes. Deep down, she has been looking for him; for all of them. But she found Jon instead. And Winterfell.

He will surely see that she is dressed quite differently.

"...I was in Winterfell."

[It's been too long, hasn't it? Rey hadn't thought about that for some time, but now she realizes that it's been several weeks since she's allowed herself to unwind even a little bit. While she can't say she's happy or enjoying herself, there is something nice about seeing others do that. It's a brief reprieve from the chaos that all too often strikes them.

[So she doesn't do the dancing or singing, but does her own fair share of watching in between prepping drinks for people. This isn't so bad.

[Before long she finds Alphys sitting alone. While Rey had kept to herself for some time, she didn't like to talk about her reasons for going dark since the city moved above ground before and she still has no desire to now. People can be nosey, but Alphys is more considerate than most.]

Thanks for helping out here. Don't think I could've done any of this on my own.

[In more ways than just the blatantly obvious.]

(Lord Curufin! His name and all the affection she has for him occur to her so suddenly that she feels dizzy from it. She would not call what she is doing bravery. Surely it is sheer stupidity, but a part of her knows that if she doesn't keep the monster's attention, it will hurt someone else.)

Please be careful! (She trusts he can level such a foe and so she turns and runs for the gates, not wanting him to fight for longer than necessary. If he knows she is safe, he can get away sooner.

Even so, she tries to determine what she can use for bandages. Just in case. She refuses to leave him wounded on the battlefield.)

Blades don't work on elementals - not well, anyway. But there are things that do.

Maglor's Song rises like a river in spate, cresting ever higher as it breaches its banks, sweeping all away before it, even including stone.

And then he's running to her, pale and shaking from that sort of use of power, but hurrying to her side.

"Sansa!"

Westeros needs him and his kin badly. Sansa watches, transfixed, clutching her fur cloak. Her face is nearly as pale as his, but she wraps him in her arms once he is close enough nonetheless.

"Maglor." she sighs in happy relief, "I'm back."

[ He gives her a big affectionate smile; he is so glad to see her! ]

Don't worry! [ He can deal with this critter, slow and ungainly as it is. As soon as Sansa heads for the entrance, Curufin gets the monster to chase him some more. He dives under a low arch and the Earth Elemental bashes its head while trying to duck and follow him. It staggers and falls, it's head at an odd angle. Curufin scrambles out the other side and comes round, levels his shotgun and blows the monster's head off. Then he runs after Sansa and catches up to her just on the other side of the gates. ]

Are you okay? [ And then he sees she's been making a first aid plan, and that gets another smile from him. ]

(He might as well tell her to not breathe! She is thankfully wearing a bit too many layers - the North is cold - so she has plenty of extra fabric to cut and make bandages. While he fights, she is busy making bandages in a variety of shapes. Lord Elrond had instructed her well. Cloth can be strong if it is woven right.

She looks up when he returns, checking him over for any sign of injury. When she finds none, she smiles too.)

I'm - I'm well. I'm glad to be back. (She thinks?)

Edited 2018-01-11 08:11 (UTC)

He's pale, exhausted and shaking, but his arms around her are tight.

"You are. I am so glad I got here in time."

She rubs over his back, frowning worriedly. She hadn't meant to frighten him so.

"I knew you wouldn't be far. Is everyone alright?"

"We are, yes." He presses a fond kiss to her brow.

"You went home, eh? Are you well?"

Something in her chest unclenches and she can breathe easily again.

"I'm..." she hasn't really had time to ask herself that question, "Yes. I will be, at least."

Another monster is dead and her family is alive.

one - coliseum

[ He's used to falling flat on his face. Hell, he's quite good at it. Still, when he lands and gets a mouthful of dirt, it takes him by surprise, takes the breath from his lungs, and when he props himself up and coughs up grit, it takes a moment for him to realize that yes, the ground is actually vibrating beneath him. Vax looks up slowly to see an earth elemental lumbering toward him — it's not quite how he recalls Keyleth's earth form, but recognizable enough. A brief frown, a quiet ] Kiki? [ before he dives out of the way as one enormous fist swings out at him. ]

Not Keyleth, then. Got it.

[ Daggers are immediately in his hands, Whisper in one and the Flametongue dagger in the other as he circles around the thing. A glance around the area, seeing a few others around, and he raises his voice to shout: ]

Does anyone around here know exactly what these are, and how best to kill them?

[ Whisper goes flying a moment after, burying deep into his elemental's head, and just a second after that Vax appears on top of it. Stabbing it seems to do nothing; how odd, he'd never expected to be on this end of the elemental. ]

two - city
option a

What is this place?

[ It's nothing close to what he'd imagined the Raven Queen's domain to look like, so much...more than the emptiness he remembers from where their conversations had taken place. He'd almost expected to end up back in that emptiness, when she'd come for him; that he's in a city, of all things, confuses him more than he can express.

As he walks, he catches someone as he walks past, arm snaking out to stop them walking past. ]

'scuse me, I don't mean to bother, but — do you know a woman named Elaina? Or, perhaps a beautiful woman who's got no name, long black hair and white face like a mask?

[ Alternatively, he might be overheard touching his ear, muttering: ] Calling Vox Machina, are you there? Is anyone around, or is it just me? Hey, you S.H.I.Ts, please respond. [ and after a brief pause: ] Vex'ahlia, if this is a prank, it's not a very good one. Are you here, Stubby?

option b

[ He's freed of the coliseum, mostly unscathed after fighting an elemental — he'd made sure to save a piece of the thing, just in case he meets anyone he knows. Proof, should they ask. He tries not to think about what it might mean, to run into a familiar face; it wouldn't be so strange to find Tiberius, he thinks, but anyone else would be cause for concern, especially so soon after leaving them.

For now, though, Vax isn't letting himself dwell on the chances of running into anyone. Everyone had been (relatively) hale and healthy when he'd left them; the thought is a non-starter. Instead, he's escaped to the safest area he can find, which happens to be atop a nearby roof. Everything outside of the coliseum seems relatively calm, but he may as well not take the risk; he perches atop the building, poking at the strange thing he'd found in one of his pouches. It's bright, strange — nothing he's ever seen the likes of before, and the fact he's no idea how it arrived on his person concerns him.

After a few fruitless minutes of poking it, and only succeeding in making it bright and dark and bright and dark, he gives up. It's a strange thing, he's got no time for strange things. Answers are far more important, and if it doesn't help him get those then it's useless to him.

It gets tossed over the edge of the roof, then. And only after it's vanished from sight does he realize that oh. He hadn't thought to make sure there was no one below.

Whoops. ]

three - wildcard

[ got an idea? drop it on me, or feel free to pm me here or on discord to talk something out! ]

(She doesn't know what to make of Asriel. Or the monster he currently faces. Not that her opinion matters; action is needed before Asriel becomes that beast's meal. All she has is a dagger on her person, but it will have to do.)

Get away from them! (Hopefully the monster will focus on her now, though that leaves her wondering just what she has planned next. Running seems like the best option.)

Follow me! There are places we can lose him - (Maybe. Hopefully. She holds out her hand for Asriel, blue eyes weary but bright.)

Edited 2018-01-11 10:03 (UTC)

"Ah Sansa. So strong. Do you want to tell me about what happened?"

[She answers the questions as they come, keeping it brief because it hits her, then, how much there is to talk about.]

Hank. She's getting straight A's. She loves school. She says she wants to sell cars when she grows up.

[Brennan imagines they will talk more once things have settled back down. For now, she is content to keep to the subjects he brings up.

Including what he says about Zack. After all this time, she is still an open book, so her surprise is as clear as daylight on her face. Why would Zack want them all to think he was a murderer? That, more than Sweets keeping the secret, is what stays with her. Sweets was acting as Zack's psychologist, and was therefore bound by professional ethics to maintain confidentiality.

But that does not make it into the conversation now. Later, perhaps, she will ask questions. Right now, she is the one with the answers.]]

He couldn't even kill in self-defense. One of his doctors was trying to murder him, and Zack had a chance to kill him, but he couldn't. [A small, almost bitter, but fond laugh.] I knew it. I knew he wasn't capable of murder.

[ Curufin submits cheerfully to the checking-over, since when you have a sister in the family (adopted or otherwise), this is the drill. Then he helps her fold up and pack away the bandages she has made. He doesn't need them but somebody else is bound to.

He doesn't wish Hadriel on her, but at least here she has people who love her and will always stand by her side in any difficulty. ]

We worried when you disappeared. But I had a dream, or perhaps a vision. I thought you were telling me that you would be all right, and you would be back. It was so real that I believed it. I've been expecting you.

Did you return home to Westeros?

[ It was something she had suggested to get Rey back up on her feet and, hey, it had worked. Well. Sort of. While the woman knew she was more going through the motions than actually enjoying herself, well. It was at least a start. Maybe the genuine enjoyment of hosting this would return before the knew it. Or so she could hope.

Either way, Rose was happy to pitch in. The music selection especially had her fingerprints all over it and anyone who knew her would be able to tell that. Especially as she dances along to whatever top forty-esque trash happens to be currently playing. Or she's killing it on stage, belting out a beautiful mezzo-soprano that will make anyone hesitant to go on afterward.

Or she's, uh. Flirting with the bartender? ] Hey. Come here often? [ asked to Rey as she leans on the countertop by elbows and head in her hands. And she's not even drunk! Just dumb. ]

[ As it happens, Cecily had just been returning to the colosseum, pushing herself to help the new arrivals more and more as time goes on. Maker knows she doesn't have anything better to do, and there are a lot of kids and defenseless people who come through the Door each month.

Maybe she's just grown soft in her old age. Who knows.

The Inquisitor doesn't see Leliana, but she hears a soft call made out to her own title. Cecily slows, then, automatically. Her stance is tense, but everything shifts to surprise when she sees the purple, the flash of red. Leliana, the Nightingale. ]

- Hang on. You... know who I am?

[ She must, right? But it's difficult to believe. People don't usually come back to Hadriel after they leave (at least, not those from Thedas). To have one return and to remember their time in the cavernous city - or, rather, what used to be the cavernous city -

Cecily watches the other woman closely, not yet daring to hope. ]

[ Wash blinks, just standing there awkwardly for a moment before he settles his arms around her, too. He should at least take his helmet off, but then she'd see... ]

Kyna, this can't be comfortable.

Um... It's not.

[She's essentially hugging a Wash shaped chunk of metal.]

You're making me worried.

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Page 5 of 75

Intro Log: Rock This City

Asriel Dreemurr | ota

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Sansa Stark | OTA

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vax'ildan | ota

(The city)

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rosie 🌹 ota, mostly

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