hadriel_logs | Intro Log: Welcome to the Snave (snake cave)

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Intro Log: Welcome to the Snave (snake cave)

Who: New arrivals and everyone else!
What: The intro log for March
Where: The colosseum and all around the city.
When: March 10th-15th
Warnings: Snakes! Snakes! It's a snake!

Good morning, new arrivals! Or, well, it's probably morning. The sun is up, anyway. Okay - not the sun, but that ball of light at the top of the cave that functions as the sun, anyway. Whatever. The point is you've woken to find yourself on the floor of Hadriel's colosseum. You may be wondering where you are and what you're doing here, but what you should be wondering is how fast you need to run to get away from a three-headed snake.

You're not the only one who just woke up. Also to be found in the arena, angry and confused, are Runespoors - large three-headed snakes. Only one of the heads is venomous, but all of them are perfectly willing to take a bite out of you if you get too close - or if you annoy it. If you're lucky, an attacking Runespoor may distract itself via infighting between the three heads, giving you time to run. If not, well, let's just hope you can fight off all three heads at once!

But that's not the only thing you might find. Also scattered around the colosseum floor are what look like tasty snacks. Popsicles, cheese, even toast! Unfortunately, if you get hungry and take a bite, you will quickly discover that each and every one of these is actually soap. So that's great. Maybe the Door thinks everyone needs to shower more? You can also find a few that actually look like soap, and if you're really lucky, you might stumble across the rare and coveted 'pile of baby hands' soap.

With luck, you didn't get eaten by a snake or accidentally eat a piece of soap. Once you find your way out of the colosseum there's plenty of other distractions. Feel free to go 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 March 10th-15th.
► 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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[ She shouldn't be surprise. She isn't surprised. All the same, Emily swallows a small, anxious lump in her throat, peering at the Outsider as he appears. ]

Three times so far. [ Well, she hadn't been officially crowned that first time, but it counts. ] Did you do this?

[ Who else could have drawn her into place, or at least, a very vivid dream? ]

What do you mean, about time?

[ He shouldn't be surprised that Emily thinks he's had a hand in this sudden new strangeness; it's not as if any meeting they've had, or will have in her case, involves any hint of normalcy. ]

No, I did not do this. [ There's a terseness to his reply, something that edges the line of offended and annoyed. Darkness swirls near his feet, a smoke of black water. ] I would not do this. This is beyond me, dear Emily.

[ One of the hungry creatures seems to have taken a shine to the two of them, and he looks to it as he speaks, mild again. ]

It looks like we have a visitor you should take care of. I so would hate to see you fall to such boring creatures. [ For some of the animals he's seen in existence, these three-headed monstrosities were nothing. It seems he's either avoiding the question or isn't interested in answering it, that or perhaps he's waiting for safety to really speak on the situation at hand. ]

Beyond you? [ She can't keep the incredulous tone from her voice; he is the Outsider, after all, and if something has power enough to draw him into... wherever they are, then... consider her thoroughly baffled.

Emily wants to press him with more questions, but one of the three-headed snakes is approaching. Her expression darkens and she dispatches it quickly with similar methods to the one before it, rounding on the deity again once she's finished. ]

What do you know? [ The empress presses, not one for wasting time (when it matters). ]

[ Emily may be incredulous all she likes but it does not change their current ugly predicament—or rather her current ugly predicament: trapped in a coliseum of monsters. She takes out the one he notes with the ease expected of someone trained by Corvo Attano, with the ease of someone who has, can, and will take her throne back with mindful skill and control.

He flickers away when she presses, towards the exit, guiding her like a dark candle. ]

Not much. Not everything. [ He pulls out his phone from a pocket on his trousers as someone yells something in the distance. He shows no interest in the goings-on around them. ]

Just what I've pulled up from this handy device. [ He's long since scrolled his eyes over the newcomers guide but it's left much to be desired, more questions than answers, but that's why he's here, isn't it? To watch the answers unfold. Too bad he's at such a close distance. ] We've been brought in by something called the Door, here to supply gods with power.

[ Hmm. There's something to his tone there that implies he's kind of in a Do Not Want state. The story may compelling but he's now tied into it in a way he was only once before, and that was 4000 years ago before his blood merged with the ink of the Void. ]

[ She follows, gaze sweeping the inside of this space, ears pricked for any more approaching snakes. ]

That must be a first for you. [ She doesn't know now that he used to be decidedly less omniscient, so hearing that he 'doesn't know much' is disturbing, to say the least. ]

... What is that? [ Emily asks, stopping briefly to eye the device. There are a lot of similar-looking things in their world, but nothing exactly like that. Something he was able to take information from. Not an audiograph player, obviously. ]

... You aren't serious. [ The Empress continues toward the exit, uttering a scoff at his 'explanation.' ] That sounds like something from a fairy tale.

[ And there are no fairy tales, not in the real world. ]

[ The exit isn't far and he keeps himself just steps ahead of her, blinking away the moment she gets close enough. But, even from a distance, his hollow, echoing voice still manages to reach her. ]

This is no fairy tale, Empress, just as I was not simply some tale spread among the hopeless and unhinged. Here, all that we know is gone.

We are... alone in this place, the only beings from our universe. [ There's a note to his voice that implies that, because of this, they should stick close to one another. This whole situation is uncomfortable for him and he knows it will take time for him to settle into this place. ] And I do believe they call this device a phone?

[ That last line is said so flatly. Phone. It's an impressive display of technology and magic, more magic than technology, but it's a fine display regardless. This is something only the likes of Jindosh, Joplin, or Sokolov could create—men of the mind, cut from the same cloth of curiosity but curtained in a different fashion. ]

[ They reach the exit without any more trouble. Her heart still pounds with the uncertainty of it all, with the fact that the Outsider is telling her that they've been spirited away to another world entirely.

Together. With No one else from their -

Emily stops in her tracks, hand flying to one of the many hidden pockets within her cloak. The panic grows in strength as she comes up at a loss, turning a wide and somehow demanding gaze on the being. ]

The heart - It isn't here.

[ It's a statement of fearful fact, of course, but it's also a bit of an indignant question. How could it have just vanished? Could it - could she - not come with us? ]

I know. [ He responds, the soft frown deepening, darkening. The Door took the Heart but, for the Outsider, the Heart has since dissolved—becoming one with the Void as everything does in the end. ]

It was never meant to last forever. She was only meant to accompany you on your journey through Karnaca. You should be glad she was not brought with us.

[ That's what Emily meant, isn't it? Ah, how she is still a child deep in heart, her own journey having only barely begun. ]

[ 'You should be glad she was not brought with us.' But Emily isn't glad; she's upset. To have regained some contact with her mother, if only just Jessamine's spirit, had meant so much to her. To have that guidance so close to her again, to hear that voice... and now, on top of everything else, that gift is lost.

Instead, she has the voice, the guidance, of the Outsider. ]

What else should I be glad for, while I'm counting my blessings? [ Emily asks, stony-faced. ] I have even less now than I did just an hour ago.

[ And that wasn't saying much, considering. ]

You could have arrived alone. [ He intones cooly. There are a great many things Emily should be glad for and the fact that he's here is one of them. But, perhaps, he should put it in another perspective. ] Or worse: Delilah could have arrived with you instead.

If Delilah were here, then she wouldn't be sitting on my throne. [ Emily mutters, looking away, continuing toward the exit. ] Then I could deal with her alone, without her metal soldiers and coven sisters to defend her.

[ Truthfully, Emily knows it's more complicated than that, as the Outsider will undoubtedly point out. Still, she's feeling bitter, and arguing with him is all she has to hold on to. ]

Delilah is more powerful than you can comprehend, Emily. A fool is the one who underestimates their enemy. [ He lowers his voice a touch, as if telling her a secret. ]

And as you are now, she would eat you alive or have the bloodflies do it for her.

I haven't underestimated her. [ Untrue, but she can't well agree with him. ] I don't know anything about her.

[ Contradictory. She huffs shortly from the nose. ]

I would fight her as best I could. I'll do the same when I return to Dunwall.

[ But, before that: Karnaca. ]

Here, she would win every time. You would return to life only to face her again and it would be a painful cycle to endure, for the both of you. [ He's soon far ahead of her in just the blink of an eye, leaning against one of the many buildings outside the coliseum. ]

You must crawl from the same sort of hole Delilah came from to be able to beat her. That, or you fail. [ He returns closer to her, to the right. ] That's not something anybody wants to happen.

[ Even the Outsider. ]

Return to life? [ That catches her attention, of course, but he blinks away into the distance. Emily follows, eyes narrowed curiously. ] What do you mean?

[ It sounds straightforward, but no one can return from the dead. If only. ]

I'll get there. [ She states quietly. ] I won't fail.

[ It may take time, especially considering this... detour, but she will do everything in her power to unseat Delilah. ]

I know you will. [ But he's already watched how it's all fallen into place for her, how she'll become greater and more powerful and more determined the harder she has to fight.

Then, he returns his attention to her prior inquiry. ] There is no peace here. Death is not the end and one will always return; it's just a pause in the city, as you'll always return within days.

They say it's the god of hope that brings those of you who die back. [ There are other gods, isn't that neat? ]

The god of hope? [ She nearly scoffs, but frowns deeply instead. ] I would never have guessed that anything had that power.

[ She can't help the next thought, either, logical as it is: what are the limits of his power? Who can, and can't, this god bring back from death...? ]

It's a power that requires exchange. To bestow life is no easy task. [ And it's not one within his own arsenal. It's not one he requires because it's death that brings life to him, to the Void, and then the Void swallows it like it swallows light. ]

I'd still recommend caution on your part. Death can often leave its mark on those brought back even from the brink of it.

I wouldn't think so.

[ What is the exchange, then? What does the god of hope need, or take, to restore a life? ]

I don't play to die and test it out. Don't worry.

I know you are no fool. [ Death is not at the top of her priority list but neither is being trapped like a rat. ]

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Intro Log: Welcome to the Snave (snake cave)

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