Intro Log: Rock This City

[hadrielmods]

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!

Comments

[igniting]

[Ah. Well, that sounds familiar. Aloy studies him for a second, voice going quiet.]

I'm sorry. Something... similar happened where I'm from.

[requiemshark]

[Apparently other places have to deal with that shit, too. Ephemera shrugs.]

Happens. You survive or you don't. But now we're here.

[igniting]

[She shakes her head.]

I wish I knew where here is. What happened? This place isn't in great shape.

[requiemshark]

It's called Hadriel.

[He grimaces.]

Short version, we all got dropped into a war zone. People in charge call themselves gods.

[igniting]

A war between who? The gods, or did someone invade?

[requiemshark]

The Null. Machines, basically.

[Ephemera shrugs.]

Gods get their power by eating emotion. Don't ask me how. Nobody seems to know. So that's why we're here.

[igniting]

Machines.

[The feeding off of emotions thing she can't help with, but at least machines are something she's good at dealing with, which is why her demeanor has changed from curious to laser focused.]

What can you tell me about them?

[requiemshark]

[Hard to miss the change in tone. Ephemera watches her for a moment, wondering.]

They talk like they're all one thing. Parts of a whole. And they're smart. Use tactics when they fight. Not like the monsters.

[igniting]

[Yep, pretty much what she was expecting. Cool, great.]

What sort of tactics? Does it seem like they adapt as they fight?

[requiemshark]

Yeah. They did. Used our own stuff against us.

[He doesn't want to go into details, not with someone he's just met.]

They had a spy, for a while. One of the gods. Knew exactly where to hit us.

[igniting]

[She scoffs.]

This place isn't as different from home as I thought.

[requiemshark]

[Ephemera hums to himself, thoughtful.]

You go after machines with a...bow?

[igniting]

Among other things. Is that uncommon here?

[requiemshark]

[Ephemera just gives her a look.]

Say that's pretty uncommon anywhere. Don't you people have guns?

[igniting]

Only what we can salvage. If you know where to aim, an arrow does a lot of damage.

[requiemshark]

Hnn.

[People do what they have to, of course. Survival of the clever. Ephemera eyes her bow again.]

I wouldn't know. Never used one of those things. They strong enough to pierce through armor plating?

[igniting]

[She shakes her head.]

No, but there are ways around that. Gaps in armor, components that are visible when a machine is firing, sheering off plates... Depends on how creative you're willing to get. Brute force rarely works.

[requiemshark]

[Clever indeed. Ephemera tries to imagine going up against the Covenant with only a bow and maybe a knife, no armor at all. He'd be dead in fifteen seconds, easy. At least with the usual strategies. But perhaps from a distance, if he had good cover and some explosives to distract them, then...

Interesting.]

Sounds like you'll do just fine here, then.

[igniting]

It seems like the rest of you have been doing just fine, too. How many machines were there?

[requiemshark]

Plenty of fighters, some people have magic. We manage.

[He's noticed that the majority of people dragged into Hadriel have some ability or another, something that makes them more difficult to kill. Perhaps the gods designed it that way.]

I'd say sixty, in the last attack. You could ask some other people who were there, they might have a better count.

[He tightens his mouth.]

I was out, for some of it.

[igniting]

Magic? And why were you out?

[requiemshark]

[Yeah, she just point blank asks. Ephemera grimaces. Touches the back of his neck.]

I've got implants. Little machines in my body, they help me use the armor. Turns out they can be hacked.

[igniting]

[Yeah, no one ever really bothered to teach Aloy tact. That's something she's never considered before, and she frowns at him, brow furrowing.]

Do you know how they did it?

[requiemshark]

No. We're working on it.

[He lifts his chin, defiant.]

We've got good people here, good fighters. We'll be all right.

[igniting]

[She nods. She doesn't doubt it, considering the entire town hasn't been overrun.]

There are machines at home—old military robots. They can do the same thing. If you can show me one of the machines you fought, I might be able to figure out how they managed it.