❪ introlog: #6 ❫ city of secrets

[natha]

You've spent the last few days on Thesa Station, taking in the knowledge that your world is no more. Now, the time to put all your survival training into practice has arrived: El Nysa needs you, and you're here to help the planet thrive. Are you ready? THE DESCENT     All refugees on the station are called to the hangar, where a large-scale teleporter awaits. Simply step onto the space between the arrays and wait; everyone will be sent down to the planet together. Before they depart, all refugees will be given a cold weather survival kit with warm clothing, rations, and bedding. The arrays build into a brilliant wash of light, creating a column that travels all the way from Thesa Station to the surface of El Nysa, teleporting the refugees to the planet on an aurora. Once on the planet's surface, refugees receive one last message from Darma. It has been a long, perilous year for you, refugees. And yet we must ask you to brave further peril. Within Nadril are the secrets to how poor Ysverai's revival was hidden from our sight and how this disaster has come to our star. Find the first refugee from beyond this planet, a man named Magda. He will not speak to us, for much has come between us, but to you… If you prove yourselves, he may be willing to answer your questions. We beseech you, for there is a veil over Nadril that hides all within from us. There may yet be more untold dangers waiting to befall this planet. For the good of all who make this world home, we ask you to lend us your aid. There is yet one more favor we would ask of you. In warding off the Storm's encroachment, the physical aspect of ourselves that you call Thesa Station was damaged. We must remain to continue repairs to El Nysa and to deal with Ysverai, but there should be suitable technology within Nadril that could be used for spare parts. If you have the chance to find it and can return it to us, it would hasten— Darma's message crackles with static, another image overlaying hers — her broadcast is cut off and replaced with another. A more sullen and alien voice takes Darma’s place, overlapping on itself in an ominous reveal. It has been a long, perilous year for you, refugees. And yet you’ve only just arrived here. To say I’m not disappointed in your… generation would be to lie, and I am nothing if not an honest creature. But I suppose these have been unusual circumstances. You must ask yourself this — are you only here as Darma's lapdogs? I can assure you, it's not worth being on the Natha's leash. With time, that will be something you'll have to learn for yourself. If you're so determined to come find Nadril, then follow the path north, and you'll find the border. What awaits you is revelation, if you're up to the challenge. A FROZEN LAND     The refugees land on a literally frozen world, both in temperature and time. Curls of icy wind hold swirls of snow aloft and an uncanny silence is broken only by the crunch of hoarfrost underfoot. Only Darma's protection allows the refugees to move through this frozen world — and movement is very necessary. Bitter cold sneaks through even the thickest clothing and without warning, a snowstorm rises: unnaturally quickly, a wall of white howls directly in the refugee's path. Bizarrely, the way back is perfectly calm; it's obvious that this storm is no product of nature. Magda's challenge becomes clear: the only way to Nadril lies through this storm. Visibility within the storm is near zero, the whiteout hiding any landmarks from view and making navigation near impossible. The only guidance refugees have is a sporadic path of faint, greenish lights, easily lost in the raging storm. Refugees need all the survival skills they practiced on Thesa Station to survive, for getting lost alone is a death sentence. Luckily, those separated from the group can happen upon guiding lights Magda has planted throughout the tundra. These blue-white sparks cause frostbite if handled recklessly, but they also serve as directional anchors, turning into ghostly flames that lead lost souls back to the path to Nadril. The trek through the storm will be no mean feat and will last for the better part of three days. By the time the refugees reach Nadril's gate, most will find themselves exhausted and running on fumes. As the snowstorm dies away and a gap in the glittering forcefield around the city opens to usher the refugees inside, it's clear that Nadril is a different beast. A WARM(?) WELCOME     I. Despite the unforgiving journey, entering Nadril is painless. Once inside, characters will be greeted by their predecessors: the original refugees who made this advanced city. They'll immediately be offered medical attention, as well as warm cider and blankets. But it's obvious that the Nadril citizens prefer higher tech to fend off the weather: they also offer wristlets and ear cuffs that that double as mittens and earmuffs by creating warm bubbles of air. The earrings also feature a few quality of life programs, such as timed alarms and thought-to-speech messaging. However, both programs are in beta stages so it's not unusual for a stray thought to accidentally slip through or an alarm to accidentally ring at an inopportune time. II. Refugees are offered free lodging in a large, crystalline building crafted from ice. Despite the coarse building material, the ice is unmelting and surprisingly well-insulated, and the beds are as warm and cozy. The rooms are, however, small. The sleeping quarters house two people, and are some cross between an igloo and a capsule hotel. Though built for efficiency over comfort, all rooms are also outfitted with the latest Nadril AI, RoboAlfred, or Ralf for short. This helpful program is installed in practically all the furnishings: the closet tells guests to bundle up, the bathroom sink reminds them to brush their teeth, and the mirror offers helpful fashion tips. Ralf's personality matrix still needs polish, though: it may very well insult your clothes and passively-aggressively question your lifestyle choices for the entire stay. III. Though not as advanced as Thesa Station, the colony has technology far beyond the rest of the continent, such as rudimentary AIs and mechanical transportation. Nadril's skyline is a point of pride — refugees can take a (literal) lightrail that gives an aerial view of the colony, which is hewn almost entirely from ice and rock. Despite its tech, Nadril is much more sparsely populated than Olympia and Wyver, and its residents stay near a central hub: a Natha refugee drop ship, Central, which has crashed and long embedded itself into the earth. Central is similar to an older, smaller, grounded model of Thesa Station, in functional order with round-the-clock solar power. Within Central are lounges similar to ones on the Station, though many of the damaged areas have been converted. They include repair stations, different wings dedicated to science, botany, astrology, and mechanics, and a research and history facility, which has a smattering of technology from planets beyond El Nysa — including your own. The staff here don't mind if anything is sampled and studied, but objects cannot be taken from the labs. IV. On the outskirts of the central hub, many will find several curious looking bots with insect-like wings perched about high traffic walkways. Simply passing the bots will cause a dizzying flash before a series of photos print out. Upon closer inspection, people will find that these images reflect stills taken from their home worlds as they remember it. Unfortunately, these photos only last a couple of hours at best. At that time, they will revert back to regular pictures of the refugees. People will be encouraged to share these images of their worlds. The residents of Nadril comprehend the value of remembering one's origins, and will be pleased to see that people still hold memories of old homes close to them. RECREATION IN NADRIL     I. Small, mechanical creatures scampering through the city are a common sight. Ask anyone, and they’ll tell you that they come from a shop called Paws About Town. They’re very useful, as companions, gophers, and couriers (though the more mischievous will note that they’re just small enough to keep tabs on people without being noticed). Premade robotic pets are available on display inside the shop. They come in all shapes, but small sizes; one may be able to find robots that even look like miniature creatures from their homeworld. These are a part of a new, highly customizable line with programmable personalities. Customers have the chance to take pets for a one-day trial run. Those who don’t know how to program may want to enlist more knowledgeable aid, but the pets come with instructional pamphlets for basic personality traits such as obedience, helpfulness, playfulness, and bloodthirst. For returns, the switch to wipe the robot's personality to a blank slate is on the back of its neck, right between a switch to invert all traits, and a switch to have them learn by observing. Try not to press the wrong switch — you might wind up with a pet with a mind of its own! II. A. The Frosty Tap Cantina is a thriving hub of activity, but one of the major draws is the self-service bar: molecular mixology is wildly popular here. Playing with drink compositions can be a game in and of itself, and newcomers to the cantina will find that the bartender — a cheerful woman with lilac skin and three eyes — is always happy to give them a few tips on how to use the wide array of tools within reach of the barstools. All manner of drinks are possible — from glowing, layered cocktails, to clear drinks with colored, spherical bubbles and vividly-colored shots that give off their own smoke. There's a nightly contest in the cantina for the most creative drink created by a team — this may be as good a time as any to partner up with someone and see what can you come up with. Winner gets all their drinks for the night free! And, hey, even if you don't win, you get to drink whatever you make. The well-lubricated patrons of the bar are eager to challenge anyone nearby to a different sort of drinking game… Just how well can you hold your liquor? B. Holo-screens in the cantina are nearly always broadcasting some match or another of a game that looks very much like hockey, albeit played with sticks that light up and a puck that changes shape from time to time. Colonists here merely refer to the game as "the sport," and one of their favored pastimes is betting. However, they don't use currency — they wager dares. Nadril colonists are a tough, weathered lot, and they prefer to speak with actions over silver. Colonists will urge the refugees to take part as well. Common dares range from the ridiculous (lead a sing-a-long, attempt to make someone with a poker face smile) to the suggestive (kiss the person in the cantina you find most attractive, strip off a piece of clothing), to the outright reckless (venture out into the snow for a certain amount of time, and no one will judge if you find some company to keep warm). The colonists are unfazed by even the most insane or tawdry of dares — but you'll certainly be called a killjoy for refusing too often! Why not grab a friend and give it a whirl, or challenge a rival to a dare yourself? THE MISSION     I. On the outskirts of Nadril is the communications tower of the old refugees. This is where Magda resides, monitoring Nadril's technological protections, the extent of the Natha’s influence, and running his own personal projects for El Nysa’s technological advancement. It is isolated, filled with research labs and relics of the past refugees who have come to El Nysa — a living mausoleum of worlds swallowed up by the Storm whose peoples have refused to forget where they came from. Crew photos line the walls of the tower: pictures of alien families and friends, the refugees who came to Nadril before you. Each group of photos gradually becomes smaller in number, and the most recent of the pictures are from half a century ago. Magda's picture can be found among the first group of refugees, an unusually small cluster of photos dating back centuries in El Nysa's past. I have been on this planet for nearly two centuries. Life has come, evolved, and collided in an ever expanding culture. But Darma fears interference, and made this place a prison, with she our warden, stifling the growth of the creatures native to this world rather than encouraging them to flourish. She sent you here for answers in her stead because she knows I'll spurn her, and after seeing what that fool Raysc has wrought, I'll give you them — not for Darma's sake, but because I trust after all the Natha have done to you, you'll understand my decision. Mistakes were made, and I won't hide them. You've made it here so there's some mettle to you, and unlike the Orbiters, I'm not interested in hiding the secrets of the dangers we face. I gave Raysc what he needed to keep his actions hidden from Darma's eyes — what he needed to advance the primitive magics the Natha had doomed him to. It was old Natha tech, Darma's very own used against her. Hilarious, isn't it? Raysc learned of Nadril, and like you, braved the snow to find his way here. He proved his worth and his determination, and he spoke of a brighter future, El Nysa coming into its own, its people realizing their true potential, unhindered by the shackles that had been put upon them. I believed him. He had vision — or so I thought. In truth, he was a fool. A madman. He wasted the opportunity I gave him on his petty vengeance. But not everyone on this planet is such an idiot. Surely you lot aren't. The Natha are hiding things from us — about the Storm, about everything. And here in Nadril, we're going to find all those secrets. What's it going to be? Will you help us, or are you going to stay obedient dogs on Darma's leash? Magda isn't too talkative yet; after all, the new flock of refugees may just be here as eyes and ears for the Orbiters. But what he has said leaves you with plenty to talk about, and if you can earn his trust by helping out around Nadril, he doubtless has a great deal more to reveal. II. Central isn't the only Natha ship that made its way to El Nysa — another, crashed just outside Nadril's borders, is little more than a junk heap. It's here that you'll find the spare parts Darma asked you to retrieve for Thesa Station. What remains of the ship's hull serves as a windbreak, and snow has built up against it, turning the piles of old Natha tech inside into something of a snowy morass. Holes in the deck offer would-be scavengers passage to the ship's innards, barely illuminated with flickering lights — the tech is old, but hardy enough to withstand a crash landing, the severe weather, and the passage of centuries. Deep in the wreck are the remains of living quarters, research labs, VR arenas, mecha bays, cafeterias, and a host of other rooms, many of which may seem familiar from Thesa Station, albeit with a decidedly older feel to what remains of the smooth curves and sleek surfaces of the Natha architecture. Most of the ship's systems are damaged and the technology is nonfunctional, but that just means there's plenty of spare parts to be found. The wreck isn't in the best shape, its structural integrity damaged, and the drifting snow threatens to block off exit routes. Be careful while exploring and be sure to bring a partner. As it turns out, Darma isn't the only one interested in the wreck — Magda is also eager to get his hands on Natha technology. In his own way of taking some responsibility for Raysc, he's asking scavengers to bring him parts, muttering about seeing what he can do about Ysverai's curse. Bring him anything that looks useful, and he may have a chance to succeed, though whether he'll be more effective than the Natha Orbiters is up for debate... FINAL OOC NOTES     An AC-eligible thread with a new character as a participant for 2 NADRIL REP POINTS may be submitted from this log. SUBMIT THE THREAD HERE BY AUGUST 5TH, 11:59 PM EST. As always, feel free to create your own prompts and explore the Nadril location page! There are a variety of activities made available, including fishing and cave exploration! Please direct questions to the questions thread below! Thank you! QUICK NAV premise ● faq ● lore ● map ● npcs taken ● atp/emp ● application ● rep/acp calendar ● hiatus/drops ● modbox [ FULL NAVIGATION ] elnysa nysalogs nysaisles nysaooc elnyan

Comments

[1701]

Spend your youth in bars picking fights? [ It's a wonder Jim even still has a face, given his pre-career proclivities and what he does now. For a while the only sounds, boots on snow, his own breath, are over-loud as he tries to concentrate on something besides freezing, biting wind. ]

Huh?

[ Oh, Steve again. ]

Not really, [ Jim says. ] We kept saying we were gonna get a beer or something, but it never happened. I live in Wyver, though.

[1701]

[ And now he's priorly a potato. ]

Nice to meet you, Tired Prior, [ he says. ] I wish the circumstances were less shitty.

[ Jim sizes him up, considers a few things. ] On a scale of 'about to lose consciousness' to 'might be able to walk in a few minutes', how tired are you?

[meinwaifu]

[And Mephisto will be waiting when he pops out of the snow, offering him his hat, which totally flew off when Meph "shoved" him.]

Fufufu... you know what they say, all's fair in love and snowball fights. But my, isn't someone looking a tad bit chilly! I'll happily accept your surrender, you know.

[cassus]

Careful, Linn. [ His smile softens at the affectionate squeeze. ] You'll spoil me if you keep this up.

[ Yes, practically if not logically, Dazai had seen Linneus divested of everything save for his skin. But the moment was a somber, healing one, where both of them had been rubbed so raw that even holding a conversation let alone one another felt difficult. It hardly even registered as seeing him in quite that light. ]

Some people believe experiences only improve with repetition.

[ All that considered, he feels it's appropriate to tease. Even if the mood shifts toward another direction entirely when the fingers of his free hand reach over to lace together with Linn's. ]

Ever heard the saying, "Third time's the charm?"

[ In particular their post-Armageddon shower together had been a rather stunted episode of missed opportunities. One which held an exceedingly high absence of exposed skin for bathing. Since getting under a warm spray sounds like the perfect remedy for all this excessive cold, that kind of redundancy doesn't seem so bad at all. ]

[priorly]

[Well that's some improvement?

As for sizing him up, he's built like a baby bird these days, although wrapped in enough layers that it's hard to tell quite how fragile he'd look without them. But the talk of hospitals might be a clue that he's not built for hard terrain.]

...The former?

[A little helplessly. He's warming up at least, but oh, he's so tired - his eyes are more closed than open, lashes blinking themselves apart through sheer force of will. Though at least his mind's finally wandering back down some of the strange paths it set out on.]

Toto, I don't think we're in Prospect Park anymore, are we? But if I can - if I can just lay down here a while?

[inaurare]

[that smile is shot back with equal warmth]

But I do enjoy spoiling people.

[especially people he likes. He may be less demonstrative in public but that doesn’t mean he dislikes showing affection, albeit in small ways; little touches]

I have heard this saying, of course.

[and all kinds of superstitions about the number three - all kinds of superstitions period. That tended to come of being raised by housekeepers and serving staff]

But wouldn’t that be skipping over the second time, in that case?

[The second time may be just as good a chance as the third to make up all those missed opportunities - it seems unfair to dismiss it.]

Come, shall we go somewhere, or just continue wandering?

[1701]

Laying down here isn't gonna work. [ It's okay if he's about to pass out, Jim can deal with that. Probably. ] We've got to keep moving pretty soon. If you don't think you're up for that, I can carry you, but it's not going to be the most comfortable or romantic thing.

[ Not Prospect Park, no. ]

Don't give into the poppies, Scarecrow, c'mon. At least for another minute.

[ Though if he conks out, he's just gettin hauled up and away. ]

[nostalgiabomb]

Makes two of us.

[ This, grumbled out.

On the bright side, she doesn't seem like she's liable to snap his arm off, and doesn't seem like she's readying a knife to slit his throat if he even breathes wrong. Gingerly, he lets himself settle a little more comfortably against her – not quite relaxing, but something close.

He rests his cheek against the top of her head, letting out a slow breath that disturbs a few strands of her hair. How the fuck is she so warm? ]

P-probably too early to wonder how we're getting back, huh?

[gekkajuu]

[inb4 she ends up fighting the tiger sometime and ends up having the time of her life, while the tiger just gets increasingly annoyed.]

Right! If we just roll it through the snow, it should collect more, right?

["Catching" the ball as it rolls his way, he starts doing exactly that, his breath blowing soft clouds in the cold air. Still, it's funny how the snow sticks to the ball so that it leaves a trail.]

... It's kind of like lawn-mowing, isn't it?

[Here's looking at you, Aku.]

[priorly]

[The burst of laughter from him is 1. probably surprising and 2. delighted.]

Oh, someone with culture. Someone from home. There's no place like

[And end scene. Carrying him may not be any more romantic, unconscious, but at least comfort should be less of an issue.]

(*ΦωΦ*)

[gekkajuu]

I don't know. They were gone for a long time, and then this happened...

[He's also a little afraid to get answers, if he's honest. By now, he's so used to his life here that returning to his own world would mean a painful goodbye, even if it would also give him many things to look forward to.]

We'll have to do it. Maybe Magda will eventually give us information that will make it easier to know what questions to ask them.

[impavid]

[ John has a momentary, visceral flashback of Rodney saying what did you do a hundred times over. ]

Yes.

[ Honestly, it's so unfair! He swaps the circuit board to his bad hand so he can push himself up with the other, wincing as he gets his feet under himself properly and lifting it to examine it better. ]

It comes with being the person who touches things the most, I guess.

[ Don't touch that! Rodney says sharply in his memory, and too late, he thinks, you're not here to stop me. Better wake up! ]

[inaurare]

Well, yes.

[...this is strange, isn't it?]

I saw a little snow in Olympia - that was my first snow. But I've never seen as much as this and, well...

[a little gesture to their surroundings. Ice palaces are strange and fantastical indeed]

[inaurare]

Nor the boots, either.

[most of his shoes have been soft, slipper-like things - not the kinds of thing one would hike in at all. They're probably more supportive than what he is used to wearing, but the weight is strange, and the inability to flex his ankles and feet...]

They're a little strange to walk in, even after a few days...!

[dreamprotector]

[Honestly, Riku doesn't really expect it to mean anything to the other – if he were from the Grid, he wouldn't have asked about the kind of bike in first place. At that question, he shrugs.]

Honestly, I've only driven it once, so I don't know much about the technical details. I'm pretty certain that it runs on its internal core of energy, but I don't know what its made of either. It has two different weapon modes, but I'd need to take it for a test drive to see if those are still the same as on the Grid…

[atwo]

Aren't they wanting us to give them what looks usable?

[ She tilts her head to the side and raises a brow. ]

Not that I'd give it to them...

[atwo]

How ... interesting.

[ And worrisome, not that she has much to worry about because she's tough as nails (literally). ]

You should do what your heart tells you to do. That is what it's there for, right? Besides pumping blood throughout your body so you can actually live. [ She's really bad at this. ]

[atwo]

Couldn't you tell?

[ She supposes that she can't exactly blame him for that because it isn't like she's too different from humans at this moment. Most of her skin is intact and what isn't skin can come across as parts of her clothing. ] I'm a YoHRa Android, that is what I am.

[atwo]

So it's heavier? [ squints. ]

No, I haven't. I only saw larger animals on Earth and some fish as well which I avoided as often as I could because they were quite slimy and weird to look at. Their eyes are so large and different from peoples.

[impavid]

"That's just me making sure you don't fall on your ass."

John looks up from where he's flopped onto the bed, stripped down to a t-shirt and his boxers. He's been reading something on his phone, which he sets aside now -- swiping up a bundle of things to duck into the bathroom with. Three days on the road in the same set of clothes is enough to have him feeling a little grimy, no matter how cold it is, and he strips off his t-shirt to wash up -- changes into a clean pair of boxers and tries scrub himself down as much as he can before heading back out. He dumps his old clothes by his bag on his side of the bed, towelling drops of water off his chest and out of his hair with a sigh as he sits on the end of the bed.

After a moment he drapes the towel around his neck and reaches for the wrist cuff thing hidden in his bag, frowns at it a long moment trying to feel out if it's doing anything -- if he can turn it off just in case it is listening to them.

[impavid]

Ah, busted. Well, he can hide it under the guise of a flirty compliment. He's good at those, after all. So John shrugs casually, offers her an easy smile.

"Well, I was just thinking you look pretty good for someone with kids that age."

Nailed it. Probably. He takes a sip of his drink to save himself having to expand any more on that thought.

1/3

[stuns]

2/3

[stuns]

3/3

[stuns]

First rule of being a detective is to have a lot of possibly wrong answers, so yeah. Definitely a detective. No question about that.

[ juno uses the last of his designated bar napkins (and probably someone else's) to wipe up a little bit of the mess from the bar, mostly just weird booze, and press it onto his hands to wipe away as much blood as possible. because he's starting to feel a little peaky about it now and the sooner he can get the bits of drying, tacky blood smears off his good hand, the better. ]

Already been kidnapped by one mad scientist, so sure, why not another. I'll break a record at this rate.

[priorly]

Oh a top secret rift in space and time. Well, that explains it.

[Prior Walter, prophet, confidante of angelic bodies, literal traveller through time and space, still good-naturedly clinging to a 20th century view that all this stuff sounds insane. Besides, Humor is his weapon and shield, and he's vaguely concerned about what exactly's being hidden from him by this otherwise mild-faced boy.

Keeping an introduction friendly yet wary happens to be a speciality, though and Prior maintains a lightness to his expression... until he takes the scanner.

And he doesn't quite know what he expected, but it wasn't this.]

Is that. [Something medical looking: lungs, fuzzed out with obscurities and grainy patches.] Is that an x-ray?

[Half-unconsciously, he's pressed a hand to his own chest. He looks up to meet Ianto's eyes.]

Is that me?