INTRO LOG: WELCOME TO THE BATCAVE

[hadrielmods]

Who: New arrivals and everyone else!
What: The intro log for January.
Where: The colosseum and all around the city.
When: January 10th-15th
Warnings: Bats, but not Batman. Weird arts and crafts. Confused newbies.

You awaken on the hard-packed sandy floor of the colosseum. As you blink the sleep from your eyes and begin to try to get your bearings, you might hear the gentle, soothing sound of wind chimes tinkling through the air. It's a peaceful sound, a pleasant sound. As you look around, you'll find tall stands with curved hooks at the top here and there throughout the arena, each supporting a different handmade wind chime.

You could stay and enjoy the sounds, even if what they're coming from is a bit less than aesthetically pleasing. Or you could pause for a moment and wonder where the wind that's sounding the chimes is coming from, considering you're in a cave. There are breezes in Hadriel now and again, but what's causing this wind is something else entirely. Spend too long out in the open and you'll find out what.

Perching atop the broken walls of the colosseum, hidden in crevices and shadows, are a number of Ahools. These giant bats can have wingspans as big as 12 feet, and they're certainly strong enough to lift smaller and lighter people off their feet entirely, carrying them away to devour at their leisure. Don't think you can hide - their echolocation will find you as easily as a bat finds a moth in the black of night.

If you manage to escape the Ahools and get your bearings, feel free to go explore the rest of the city! Find a house, find a new monster, or simply scavenge for supplies until your belly is as full as that giant bat's was supposed to be. Good luck, and enjoy your stay in Hadriel!

► This log covers January 10th-15th.
► Feel free to make your own logs, as well!
► All characters now arrive with phones that have network communication.
► Please put your character's name and open/closed in the subject line of your starters!

Comments

[imobouzu]

[ If Jinbee knew what batteries were, maybe he could have compared them to batteries, giving energy to the Gods who were the flashlight or something. But this was a weird place and he has not learned about all the weird things yet.

Jinbee gives him a concerned look but he was asked a question, so he focuses on that instead. So he nods. ]

I do! I will gladly show you the way!

[faithfulwolf]

[ He seems to droop. Perhaps there was no time for fear but it was scary being in a strange place with nothing but strangers. It happened before and he only found a place in Hell thanks to Jack. ]

O-okay...

[faithfulwolf]

[ Weird. Really weird. It's also awkward. ]

Ah, alright..

[ That's a tall and twisted building. But at least it's a little familiar to home. Seeing something that's a little familiar actually helps calm him down just a little bit. ]

[vendetta]

[ What other reason is there to fight, but for some kind of purpose? Kaz had given up on the idea of noble causes a long time ago, but that doesn't mean that he's lost sight of his end goal. It's shifted, no doubt about that, but there's no greater motivator than spite. A need to exact revenge on every person who might have wronged him has led him into an extremely successful enterprise.

The point being, the two of them may have a few things in common, even if their drivers couldn't be more different. Saving people is usually more of a side effect as Kaz pursues his true objective.

(On the other hand, he's liberated some people, saved some kids.)

The stranger barely blinks at the mention of monsters, which causes Kaz to frown, only slightly visible behind his sunglasses. Why someone would wear sunglasses in a cave city is a valid question, but he's hardly ever seen without them. ]

All kinds, from what I've been told. The giant flesh-eating centipedes I saw for myself, but there's been talk of bears, some kind of specter, the list goes on.

What came in with you? [ The pattern has been established now. New people, new type of monster. ]

[dangerous_dog]

Good. [Says Bob, and sensing those nerves, he says, again, forcefully.] Get it done.

[He's on his own here, sink or swim. Bob gives him a nod, not unkindly, and moves away, with a glance over his shoulder to regard him as he goes. He hopes he makes it.]

and then i had no internet, whoops

[fervence]

[it's a familiar sort of feeling that rushes through lloyd after ashraf casts, if ever so slightly off center, like genis trying out a new spice in the dinner or something, as opposed to raine being the one to cook and everything being awful and wanting to die.

he bounces a few times on the heels of his feet to test his reflexes, eyes following the direction that ashraf gestures in and grip tightening on his swords. and then he blinks and looks back at the man in surprise because why wouldn't he be able to attack the monster with magic too? for some monster magic actually worked better than swords (he really hated those chests that tried to eat him, really really hated them).

he doesn't get the chance to ask though because then the giant bat is swooping out and down at him and lloyd is duckin, spinning and swiping at its back with hardly a thought. lloyd doesn't give it a chance to swoop back around after him to change its target to someone else nearby, running and jumping after it and knocking it out of the sky with one adept somersault of spinning blades from above.

lloyd lands on his feet neatly and falls immediately into a prepared stance for the next attack. he definitely wasn't lying when he said he could fight.]

[fervence]

Chie's question manages to startle a little laugh out of Lloyd and he shakes his head. "I don't really think we have one of those around here." He tells her honestly. "Though maybe we should make one." He wouldn't have the first idea how to go about doing something like that though. If the rest of his friends had come through with him and Zelos it would have been a simple matter, honestly. But as it stood?

All Lloyd can really think to do is offer to help where he can and hope people accept it.

"I just know that monsters usually come through with the new people and not everyone who comes through can fight so I help with what I can." Lloyd offers her with a little shrug. And going by the two swords strapped at his hips it's safe to say that what Lloyd can help with is fighting.

And general morale support, really.

[heavyheels]

"Might not be a bad idea ... we had one in Demeleier. People just volunteered for it and made a point to watch out for the newbies - you know, explain where they were and what happened to them, how to watch out for the faeries so they didn't get hurt." She points to the twig crown on top of her head. "Stuff like that."

Talk of monsters isn't exactly encouraging, though she's grateful to be told what she's up against right at the start. At least her general creeped-out feelings aren't for nothing.

"Um ... wh-what kinds of monsters d'you got here?"

[heavyheels]

Her eyes widen a little, once he's upright and she can see just how much taller he is - taller even than Souji or Kanji, and that's saying a lot. To Chie's credit, she does have a strong grip on her side. But he's friendly enough, and that's what's important.

"Yeah! For a way out of here, those wind chimes are seriously creepy." She smiles up at him. "I'm Chie Satonaka. Nice to meet you! Well - you know, under the circumstances."

[circumitus]

Rey's eyes narrow into slits. "They claim to be, but that doesn't necessarily mean that they do."

For someone who refuses to believe in gods, it's going to take a lot more to kill her skepticism. We'll see how long that lasts.

[circumitus]

Rey feels her shoulders slump, avoiding the urge to emphasize how important this task was not only to the people she was now letting down, but to herself as well. She's been perceived as a monster for so long that she wanted nothing more than to prove otherwise; that she could be good.

Now she just feels angry, and sick, but she manages to cup that all in at the risk of losing herself in a furious outburst. After all, it doesn't seem like this woman is at fault for her being here -- she's as much in the same predicament.

"Has anyone ever thought to look for it?"

Because that might just be Rey's next mission.

She draws in a sharp breath. "It may be possible if we were able to find the surface. There has to be a way out of these caves. And if not, we could make one."

Even if it took years to dig her way out, Rey has that much dedication.

[circumitus]

"Rey."

Like Rhys, that's just it. A nice, simple, one syllable word.

While continuing walking, she glances over her shoulder at the Colosseum for a moment, and then back to the front. She notes the spires over the city, and nods to them. "Are those the apartments?"

They're a little hard to miss.

[circumitus]

"Machines?"

Rey is no stranger to machines. But it does have her wondering--

"What sort of machines do they have here?" Just to make sure they're not of the like-human variety.

[unknowable]

They're all right, and food and other supplies are provided. We don't have to worry about money or going hungry.

[It could be a lot worse. Adam's spent enough hours working himself to exhaustion and enough nights going to bed hungry to know that.]

As prisons go, it could definitely be worse.

[vendetta]

Descriptive names.

[ To some extent, anyway. Fear isn't particularly scared and Rage isn't particularly angry, but they sow those emotions among the people in the city. Kaz still has no idea how that actually works, but he's experienced it firsthand now and realizes that he can't simply deny its existence. Still, calling it "magic" is an over-simplification.

Kaz nods in response to the question. ] Similar enough, anyway. This is more advanced, but I could see how technology would progress to this point in ten or twenty years.

[ He tilts his head, taking in the man's face to track his expressions. ] You said phones don't exist where you're from anymore, right? What happened?

[xiake]

[Monsters and stuff. Sunny raises an eyebrow at that, but he doesn't ask. It's true that from what he can see, it looks like it's been gutted and then decorated in desperation. And why is it underground? Is the ground above unlivable?

Maybe that's not so unbelievable. Weren't there stories of people building underground cities for themselves a long time ago, hiding from some destructive force they were afraid of? He's heard, anyway. He's never given much thought to it til now.]

And you think that's possible? Bringing someone back to life?

[xiake]

[So much for that. He puts the phone away and folds his arms loosely across his chest.]

There seems to be a lot of that going around. Hearing about things.

[Like gates and gods and something about bringing people back to life. He doesn't like putting stock into rumors or stories.]

[xiake]

[Well. Okay. It never occurs to Sunny to take that literally; people name their little villages and towns all sorts of things, and maybe the kid is just being dramatic.

Are they all jumpy like you? He doesn't say it. Not because he's nice but because it doesn't seem worth it to get into. He's more interested in finding out if this is someone from one of the barons' territories or outside of the badlands, somehow.]

You don't belong to anyone? Who's your baron?

[xiake]

The explanation, on a functional level, makes sense to him. It's still strange, its whole existence, but he doesn't feel the need to dig too deep for answers. He's used to things just being as they are.

His gaze shifts instead to the man. "What's your name?"

[xiake]

[Suddenly, he's more interested in the man's comment. His brows draw together. There is no progress. It's just people cobbling together what they can find. He shakes his head.]

The war. Or multiple wars, no one remembers anymore. [Or they do, but no one remembers it right. They're just more stories passed down. Sunny only remembers one war with the barons. He's spent the years after that both waiting for another to break out and desperately keeping one from doing so.

So much for that.]

What do you mean ten years? [He peers back at the man.] Are you saying your part of the world somehow held on to all this technology?

[dangerous_dog]

No one has real answers. Or if they do, they're not sharing.

[He agrees, with a little nod.]

We're trying to work it out, but-

[amos_moses]

Amos hesitates over that, just a beat too long, eyes suddenly wary: in his world, giving out your name too freely can result in being enspelled or enslaved by a supernatural being. Even children are taught to be careful with their names. But the man before him doesn't look like anything more than a man, no overt signs of glamour or trickery. So Amos nods, wariness sliding again into the little friendly smile.

"Amos. An' what's yours, if I may?"

[casperdisaster]

[Noah leads the way to the spire, then, pointing out any interesting or notable things along the way. Where shops are to find food and clothing, things like that. Really he's just trying to keep the conversation going since Wolf doesn't seem like the talkative type and Noah wants to keep him comfortable, so. Well, there are worse ways to get a primer on Basically Everything?]

[theresolve]

"Hope I imagine would be happy to get rid of us if he could." They give the man enough headaches, he makes no secret that he doesn't care for them, but their upkeep falls to him just the same. Thus, Rainier is inclined to believe Hope when he claims to be powerless to return them.

Fear... Fear's a douche, Rainier doesn't trust anything he says.

[circumitus]

"Oh, good to know." Is she being sarcastic? She's probably being sarcastic.

Rey sighs, glancing away, and then back to the man.

"Appreciate the information. Am going to take a look around for a bit." Whether that's a prudent choice or not, but she has the bearing of someone who can look after herself.