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!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

How very polite. But Swift isn't exactly in a position to deny the request and it isn't as if it costs him anything. So he bends down and picks it up again, tossing it gently to whoever that is.

"Is it really that interesting?"

Since Ghoul's gotten his way, he grins easily and snatches the toy out of the air. As he turns it over in his hands and examines it more closely, he also shrugs out an answer. "Somebody I know's gonna like it, I think." It's silly. Girl's too grown for dolls and toys now, but still... It looks like a puffy version of some of the creatures he'd pointed out to her in comic books, back when she was still just a tot. It's nostalgic, or something.

Now that he's got it, though, where the fuck is he going to store it. After looking himself over and patting down his pockets, he decides to shove the stupid thing inside his empty shoulder holster, glancing back up with a content smile once everything's squared away. "You better hit the red line. There's usually monsters'n shit in here."

Swift is too polite to laugh at the place he sticks the toy, but he does raise an eyebrow for a moment as he looks this new person up and down. He would really feel a whole lot safer with some of his soldiers behind him but...well. He didn't always get what he wanted and he was certainly used to that by now.

He almost asked what the hell he was talking about, but he could at least guess that after "monsters and shit" it meant he needed to leave. And if there really were monsters, he very heartily agreed.

"If you could point me in the direction of an exit, I would very much like to."

He hums and turns on his heel, still addressing Swift after he begins to walk. But to where? An exit? Closer to where the monsters will be? Who knows. It's a mystery. "Y'dont wanna at least see whatcha got? They're different every time. Think last time was little lava-lizard things. Made everything catch fire, but still high fuckin' cute. Mine wasn't as good as those."

Really? Is he actually having this conversation right now? He scowls and crosses his arms, but he still follows--he doesn't have much of a choice.

"No, I do not want to stay and see what I've 'got.' One of the things I rather enjoy about myself is that I don't have a death wish."

Suddenly Ghoul's stopping and turning far enough to half-face Swift again, looking him up and down in a bewildered sort of way. "You ain't already dead?" All right, sure, not everyone who ends up here has died (supposedly- maybe some of them never got the memo), but it's such a common story in Ghoul's experience that it's odd for him to run across someone who's been snatched alive.

"You sure?"

"Positive." That seems like a stupid question, but then this is a new place and he still isn't entirely certain he isn't dreaming. Why not dead people? He'd probably run into everything else, too. And apparently monsters. What is it, giant spiders? Snakes? He'd seen real monsters, and he'd rather not find out what this place was trying to do to him now too.

"I think I would have remembered if I were dead."

"You'd think, but..." Welp. Could've happened fast and surprising. He wouldn't have known what hit him, would he?

Ghoul shrugs and smiles morbidly, then continues leading Swift elsewhere without further argument... Against that one specific topic. "Anyway, you don't gotta be damp about it. Fuckin' boring way to be. The lizards weren't out to hurt nobody anyhow, ain't their damn fault everything takes to fire so quick." He really likes those lizards, okay.

"And, what, we're just suppose to let them burn the buildings down?" Just because it wasn't their fault didn't mean it wasn't a problem. And a fairly serious one that apparently they might have to deal with. Wonderful. Add it to the list.

Sure, why not?

That would be a terrible thing to say. That, thankfully, doesn't come out of his mouth, although what he does end up responding with is another shrug and a far too casual sounding, "I dunno, it's either I burn 'em down or they do. How cute y'want your arsonists to be?"

So that's really not much better. It might be like ten times worse, actually.

What's possibly worse than that is the fact that Swift is stuck following this weirdo down a kind of creepy-looking corridor.

The combination of those words and their surroundings makes Swift stop walking and question all of the choices he'd made over the last hour. He's alone with a criminal, apparently, in an enclosed area and with no knowledge of where he was or what to expect. But after a few moments he realizes he doesn't have a choice and continues following. At least he hasn't given any indication that he knows who Swift is.

"I'd rather there weren't any."

"See, you're no kinda fun." Ghoul pauses for a split second and glances over his shoulder, waiting for Swift to start moving again- and figures it's probably a good idea to put his mind at ease. "You looked kinda like you wanted to bolt for a sec there, lemme just tell you it ain't a great plan. The whole outside part of the ring here's like a maze." Maybe that's not very comforting at all. Maybe it's just confirmation that he really is stuck with someone who looks and sounds like he either has been or should be locked up.

"M'not gonna bite, fuck's sake. Way out's just up here, anyway." There we go, that's better. Sort of.

He almost quips that he's not supposed to be fun, but holds his tongue on that and instead just takes a deep breath. He's going to need to learn to give people more of a chance before he insults the wrong person and ends up dead in a place he's never seen before, far away from his home and his family.

"I didn't think you were going to bite." No, he figured on much worse than that. "Thank you for your help."

Good to know Swift has so much faith in him. He doesn't bite all that much anyway, really. Just when he's fighting, mostly. Or trying to prove a point. Or if someone's hand is near his mouth. Or if they have food he wants... Or if he wants them to move out of the space they're occupying...

"Yeah, sure." You're welcome doesn't exist in his world either, evidently. Ghoul stops at the mouth of the colosseum's exit, waving an arm as he presents Swift with... more sand and rocks. Kind of like how it was on the inside. Wonderful. "There y'go. You got any idea where you're goin' next?"

"No." That is an easy answer for an easy question. He has no idea where he even is, let alone what's here or where he needs to go. Is there even place to go? Home would be preferable but he is rapidly losing hope of that.

"Where is this? What is this?" He sighs. Those questions really don't help him. "Where do you think I'm supposed to go next?"

"Magic city of some kind. Sucks people in like we ain't got other shit to do." Ghoul shrugs, turning to face the city in question. There are a lot of options... He's not sure what people usually decide or where they typically go to start out, but he remembers what he'd done. "There's a buncha stuff on the chatterboxes. Newbie stuff, normal gossip and talk. I hid out and read it like all day 'fore I really went anywhere."

Half of the things he says... Swift almost sighs, but bites down on his tongue to keep from doing so and tries to figure out what he's even talking about, but eventually he has to give up and just ask.

"On the what? I'm afraid I don't have any idea what you're talking about."

Ghoul goes tense for a second... And then he exhales loudly, his shoulders slumping along with the breath. It sounds like he might actually be deflating.

What is it with folks around here? This isn't the first time he's had this issue. Why doesn't anybody understand basic language? He speaks as clear as a god damn bell!

After a quick groan, he glances down at his jeans, prying a phone from his pocket and holding it up. "On the phone. Geez, c'mon."

At least with the example he can understand what exactly they're talking about, even if he'd never seen one before. Apparently he'd have to save the rest of his questions, though. He is not going to press his luck after he'd already asked for an escort out.

"Alright, sorry. There's a lot of new things around here I'm still getting used to it." Getting used to it. He hadn't even been here for a day. He's still coming to terms with the part where he's not even anywhere close to home.

"New things? Ain't got dirt, rocks, and phones where you're from?" The questions come as he's tucking the phone back in his pocket. He sounds like a bit of a smartass about it, although his curiosity is pretty genuine. He's establishing a baseline of what to expect from this guy, more or less. Some people around here have never seen a phone. Things like fire lizards tend to be pretty unusual, too...

"Dirt and rocks, yes. Phones, no." At least, not anymore. He's never seen one before, but it sounds vaguely like something human that had been around once. Seel would know more. Swift hasn't been around for that long and he's never been anything but har. If it is human, there has to have been a reason they left it behind.

"Well, they're handy. I can see why they used t'be everywhere." They're not that common in Ghoul's home, either. Not anymore, and especially not for killjoys. But, he shoots Swift a pleasant little clip of a smile. It could almost be considered encouraging. "They ain't hard to figure out, you'll get it quick long as you can read any. You think that's wild, though, just wait 'til you learn about the guys that eat your feelings."

Umm.

"Reading isn't an issue." He isn't an idiot, and he does know that it might be for some people but he, at least, had the luxuries of Galhea to grow up with. Or else the fear of his father that brought what he needed into Forever or else. Either way, it doesn't particularly matter now.

But his mind grinds to a halt once again at the next sentence.

"I'm sorry, the what?"

Ghoul reaches up to scratch anxiously through his hair, because this is a bit of an awkward topic that he's not completely sure how to explain.

"Yeah, those guys." Shrug. "People call 'em gods. S'posed to be the ones that got us here, I think? They're named after different feelings and they suck up our vibes any time we feel what they're named for. I dunno the guts of it, but that's why they gotta keep us. They'd starve elsewise. Still sounds real throwed off to me."

About half of that was probably understandable English. Godspeed, Swift.

It takes a moment but he at least manages to sort out most of the meaning in that explanation. Enough that he doesn't think he needs to ask "what" again, at least. He doesn't like the implications of any of that, but really, is there anyone who would? He's under no apprehension that he's at all special because of that.

"It sounds downright monstrous."

Intro Log: Rock This City

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