hadriel_logs | Intro Log: Please Remove Metal From Luggage

Who: New arrivals and everyone else!
What: The intro log for August
Where: The colosseum and all around the city.
When: August 10th-13th
Warnings: New folks, metal falling apart, fun stuff

As you wake up on the sand of the colosseum, gazing up at cloudy gray skies, you might wonder what you're doing here. Where are you? How did you get here? You'll figure it all out soon enough, so try to clamp down on that rising panic, or you just might end up in a dangerous situation.

Because, of course, you're not the only thing that arrived. The Door has also chosen to pull in some rust monsters. These monsters may look a bit like insects, but they're much larger, with a rather vicious bite. You can fight them, but be careful - anything metal that touches them instantly begins to corrode. Your sword, a bullet from your gun, even your robot friend. Might want to keep a little distance.

And that's not all. Scattered across the ground of the colosseum can be found a variety of unique and delightful musical instruments. If you're the musical sort, maybe you can figure out how to play one - or maybe you already know. Hopefully no rust monster has wandered too close to the one you want to try, or you might find that it's missing important metal bits.

Once you've found a way to express the song in your heart, feel free to leave whatever bit of safety you've found. 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 August 10th-13th.
► 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

A kraken! Well, at least that would be a bit of excitement.

[Or a death sentence. Caedra has never met a kraken and they're essentially godlike in power - or close to it - from what she's heard of them in her world. If there's one here she has no desire to meet it, but downplays it nonetheless.]

Some of the people I'll be cooped up with are tolerable at least. But - you might be the first I've heard who understands that even tolerable people grow to untolerable levels with too much close contact for too long. I may have to drown a few of them just to stay sane.

[Which she grins at. A joke, of course. She would never slice someone in two and dump them into the sea, or drag them into the depths with her, where she doesn't need to breathe. Surely, she would never.]

[she laughs] That's one word for it, yeah.

[that sounds bad. maybe they shouldn't find a kracken?]

Hey, I worked in strip clubs stuck with the same bitches day in, day out. I know exactly how annoying the same people can be if you're stuck with them. [she grins] It's not like they won't come back to life, right?

[who, her? of course such a thing would never happen!]

Exactly! Nobody here seems to understand how fortunate they are, to have death be so minor a deterrent. Well - or they understand it, but...

[She gestures vaguely, drops the sentence. The girl still doesn't seem to know much about her. Willing ignorance perhaps? Or maybe it's just that those who shout her name in warning have quieted down lately. Who knows. Caedra is content to talk with someone who is ignorant to her reputation. It's a pleasant change.]

Although we're going quite far out, and I've heard that there is a point we may cross where the reach of the false gods no longer extends. If someone died out there, they would be dead for sure. So I'll do my best to keep a full tentacle's length from any sea monsters.

[Says one of the few people who doesn't need Hope to revive herself, unknown to the younger woman. Caedra just laughs it off and has a sip of her drink.]

Really? It kind of blew my mind when I found out about it.

[she's been told, but she didn't believe them. she assumed they were lying]

Damn, that would suck. It's like the only thing the fake gods are good for. And you'd better. Or even better, blast it with magic and make it think twice about fucking with you.

[she has a wicked grin on her face]

As it should, but they don't seem to appreciate it now that they have it.

[Aw, a hint of appreciation mixed with encouragement and ego-boosting? Alice, you spoil her. And Caedra clearly basks in it, still grinning as she sets her glass down. It's not quite empty, but she reaches for a bottle to top it off anyway.]

If I do, I'll bring you back a trophy. Your very own kraken tooth. Or something like that. It'd make a crazy necklace, I bet.

[Do krakens have teeth? Who knows. Caedra may just get to find out.]

I sure appreciate it. I can't do much to defend myself, so it's kind of a big deal to me.

[she's good to those that she likes. those she doesn't can go fuck themselves :) ]

Seriously? That would be great. And it would come with one hell of a story. Which you'd have to tell me so I could tell other people.

[she pictures them as ginormous octopi. do those have teeth?]

You seem smarter than a fair number here. Don't do anything stupid and you'll survive just fine.

[Like, oh, making insults and threats in her direction and then running off a cliff, for starters. Ianchus might not have died but the humor of that whole thing still makes her smile. It's among her more amusing victories.

And a kraken would be one of her greatest triumphs. She nods along as she swirls her glass and sips at the drink inside.]

With a clear enough look at it, I could even show you what it looked like. You know, something like this.

[With a gesture, she creates an image floating above their table that's the length of the whole thing and a good few feet tall. Teeth, tentacles, fins and scales, it doesn't look like a traditional kraken but it sure is horrifying. And extremely detailed. Caedra has not invented this on the spot; rather, this is a creature she has heard tales of and knows well to avoid. Also, the first thing that came to mind that she didn't have to try and imagine herself.]

Why, thank you. I'm touched. [she says teasingly] I know better than to get in the way of an asshole with a gun. Learned that on the streets of New York.

[she'd never make insults or threats in her direction. much less go running off a cliff. that sounds stupid.

she stares at the image in wide-eyed amazement]

Woah. Holy shit. That looks pretty badass. But I still think you can take 'im.

[Caedra laughs, both at Alice's reaction and the flattery which pleases her immensely. The image remains for about a minute so that the younger woman can have a good look at it, but then it fades.]

I know my limits, and I know I can't take that one. That's actually... His name is Kaetos. A lord of the sea. Probably about the size of this island, in fact. So he's not a kraken, but they must look something like that, right? Some great sea beast that eats ships and sailors alike.

[Kaetos is in fact the Demon Lord of the upper reaches of the Abyss; a place most unfortunate travelers must first navigate should they wish to live long enough to see any other parts of the plane Caedra belongs to. She has only been there once, as a newly-dead soul ferried through by a skilled mercenary captain who knew he would be paid well for his special delivery. She remembers none of it, but somewhere deep within, the fear of his presence still lingers even though she now only knows his image thanks to the records in their archives at Ironhold.

Caedra does not fear the depths of the sea or the beasts that lurk there, but that creature could undo the whole of her existence and she knows it.]

[and she has her look and knows that she wants to be nowhere near anything like that, ever]

A lord of the sea? And he's the size of this island? Fuck me, your world must be wild. But, yeah, I figure that's what a kracken would look like. Big and gnarly with a lot of tentacles.

[then it sounds like a demon to be avoided at all times. fortunately for Caedra, she's currently here where the creatures would be far less dangerous to her]

Wilder than you can imagine. More beautiful, too, and varied. Every kind of place you can imagine can be found where I live - it's infinite, like worlds atop worlds linked by a silver river. Dangerous, but breathtaking. It's why I've found such passion in poetry, I think. Trying to capture everything I've seen in words seems futile but I do my best.

[And it's just one more part of why she desperately wants to return home. She has so many reasons, some more important than others, but the wild and ever-changing beauty of the Abyss is something she misses deeply.]

Intro Log: Please Remove Metal From Luggage

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