Intro Log.

[awashmods]

It's raining, it's pouring. The old man is snoring. He bumped his head and went to bed And he couldn't get up in the morning.

ou wake in knee-deep water, cold as ice and stagnant, in a space that is far too echoey and spacious. It feels like a massive cave, but looking up... there's only one small, circular opening that shows grey sky and shines any sort of light. It looks like a long trip upwards, a small cylinder with walls of brick that's just a little too high to reach, even when jumping. Getting out is probably going to be a bit of a task, especially considering the water is more than cold enough to make limbs go numb. The dark makes it impossible to see much further, but the space seems large, all filled with water, but with no other way out, stone walls the only thing for an intrepid explorer to find. Oh, and to make things even better, it's raining today. Water from below (though thankfully only like, knee-deep), and water from above... how fun. But most importantly of all... you're not alone. Welcome to Awash's second intro log, everyone! Please review the FAQ and rules before playing. New characters have all woken at the bottom of the well in the middle of the town (which seems a lot bigger on the inside, somehow), and it looks like they'll have to put in some work to get out. Thankfully, they have some friends on the outside, this time. Once out, they'll be free to explore the various locations the Town has to offer at will. Just try not to die on any of the far-too-rickety walkways. Please feel free to ask any questions here and don't forget to greet your fellow players here!

Comments

[keeneye]

[Begone vulture.]

Hunting. They're around town right now... [Okay, he doesn't seem hostile. He even gave his name. With the tension fading she visibly relaxes.] I'm Emma. Are you hungry?

[troubadamsel]

Hmph! I don't believe I owe you anything.

[Arms crossed, nosed up.]

[inheritance]

Yeah...you'd think so. Except the forum is the only thing that really works on those laptops. [Izuku sounds so pained when he says this. He's had to go two months without browsing his favorite websites. Like wikipedia.] There's a paint program and a word processing program, too, but anything that requires internet is a bust.

Oh, it's #FFFFFF. I can show you on my laptop, if you want. Since you haven't found yours yet.

[keeneye]

[You would think this would shake her up a lot but nope. This was a topic of conversation for a while the first two months.

Emma still frowns though. Death isn't a pleasant topic by any means.]

Ah... There are a few people like that here but not everyone. I don't remember dying before arriving here, for one.

[Not like it was completely out of realm of possibility, but she's pretty sure she would remember that.]

I'm sorry that happened to you.

[cupiditates]

Eh. Wasn't the first time.

[Kind of bizarre it's happened to so many people around here, though. Kind of a pity it wasn't her-- not because he's sadistic like that, but it'd be interesting to hear a first person account.]

How many are we talking, exactly?

[hydrokinetics]

I don't remember any of that. [No Magnus. No California. Nothing. That's not good. That's not good news and he's known Annabeth for five long years and he knows that tone.] We went back to Camp Jupiter? [He's not ready to ask "what happened" yet, but this probably isn't good news. It rarely is these days.]

[troubadamsel]

[Maribelle almost jumps!]

My word! How did that portrait get painted so quickly? It looks so life-like!

[hydrokinetics]

[He's nodding along. Right, right, those are really important things. It's only been about a year since he was living on the streets and being raised by wolves and there's a cringe at the idea of having zero resources here. It's doable, but it's not fun.

No, the important thing here is he hears the word harpies and that's maybe a little bit of a lead. Harpies. Shadows. Monsters.]

Not if you're going in there unarmed, I bet. [So far most of the people he's met seem pretty normal, too. So that makes it worse.] Who's putting up the requests? Anybody know yet?

[Because that makes sense. Do a stupid thing you don't want to do/something that might get you killed, receive a reward in the form of fixing something that someone else already broke.] And what forum?

[hydrokinetics]

How long ago was that? [The question is timed with a loud bark over the rain again and Percy can't help but wince a little.]

[bittybat]

[Thank God, she put it back on. His shoulders drop just half an inch. Relief. Quickly, he falls in line after her, his pace steady and stiff. The walking actually help; being active might not dissipate the chill entirely, but it keeps him warmer.]

You've been here. [It's not a question.] Was this place deserted when you arrived?

[unfatalist]

...Steps on you.

[His first impulse, naturally, is to assume Prompto means he and Gladio had encountered one of the Magitek Armor suits that had been marauding around Altissia. Certainly there'd been plenty, and they'd posed a distinct threat; he himself had destroyed six of them on his own, so who knew how many more there might've been?

But gradually, a nebulous apprehension starts creeping at that line of logic. He'd assumed he'd known what day it was for Noctis, too, and he'd been wrong. He'd assumed Nyx Ulric was supposed to be dead, and it turns out he isn't — yet.

He assumes he knows what Prompto had seen before he'd wound up in that well.

But he doesn't know. He won't, until he asks.]

Suppose we might need something a bit stronger than just a potion, then, depending on the extent of it.

[He breaks open the top of the bottle, daubing his handkerchief in the liquid inside before reaching to brush it gently against the visible sore patch near the bridge of Prompto's nose.]

...Gladio is yet to arrive, I'm afraid. At the moment, it's Noct and myself, and now you.

[That's not technically a lie so much as a partial truth. Of the four of them, that's who's here. Nyx is...something that's going to take more explanation, and a gentler, more tactful lead-in.]

[a_special_hat]

[His expression was carefully neutral but he couldn't quite stop his sigh. He rubbed at the bridge of his nose.]

I see.

I don't suppose anyone understands how or why this is happening?

wildcards!!

[doublecrowss]

[ With the recent arrivals, there have been quite a few new faces dropping by their house and testing out the new laptop that had mysteriously shown up in the spare room on the very same day that well was once again flooded with people. There is only one conclusion to be drawn from the evidence: that machine has an owner, and their house must be about to gain a third resident.

And while the knock on the door doesn't exactly surprise him, the ancient figure now standing before Akechi does manage to take him slightly aback. So their captors don't even spare the elderly now? How ruthless. ]

Ah, hello. [ He puts on a smile, anyway, sympathetic and welcoming. ] I imagine you must be looking for your laptop?

[asano_san]

[Is he the only one here without a weapon? At least, he's guessing roommate #1 just pulled out weapons. There are enough pokey things on them to hurt someone who wants to stab them with a sword. He's grateful for the protection, so he's not going to question it too much.

Keigo doesn't relax much when Kei stands down and stays behind his protector.]

Keigo Asano. If you had others living here before, then maybe you should have thought about new people showing up instead of treating us like robbers!

[bittybat]

[Izuku's modern, first world problem life is a big mood and also suffering.]

...White? [Odd. Or maybe not so odd.] What's your handle? [A pause. Even better, he gets to play with the computer.] Show me.

[photoshooter]

Mm.

[That's a faintly troubled noise. Gladio isn't here, and that's... Gladio can take care of himself, of course, but it's bad when they're separated. At least when Insomnia fell, when they lost Lady Lunafreya and Ignis's sight both, through almost all the trials and the good things, too, that came between, they at least had one another. They at least had home, among the four of them. Five, counting the Regalia. The Regalia totally counts.

But Ignis doesn't sound too worried. Like, he's not pleased about it or anything, but maybe he's even relieved to have Prompto, and with Noct here--

Prompto's eyes fly open and he startles back.]

Noct's here? He's okay?

[So much for gentle, tactful lead-ins. There couldn't be a more visible exclamation point above Prompto's head if he were in Metal Gear Solid.]

library

[doublecrowss]

[ What... kind of hurricane just blew past the library? It's usually so neat and organized-- did this girl do all of this mess on her own? ]

Ah, I'm afraid that is all the literature we have available, miss. I must admit, I find it rather lacking, myself.

[ Not because he wants any nudie mags, though. ]

[troubadamsel]

All right, let's start at the beginning. One of the earliest quests told us to clean and fix up the town - repair the homes and bridges and such. Unfortunately, everything began to break at an alarming rate... and then things went truly bizarre as the furniture itself began to insult us.

[unfatalist]

Come back here, Prompto, I'm hardly through with you.

[It's easier, somehow, to have something to do with his hands while they talk. Naturally it's for Prompto's benefit, too, that he's patching him up like this, but it's hardly as though Ignis isn't getting anything out of it, either.]

Noct is fine. He and I arrived at the same time — about two months ago, now. It's been as such ever since.

[He pauses a minute, sensing a possible opportunity to take this conversation in the direction that sooner or later, it's going to need to go.]

He's told me that, by his recollection, it was the night before the summoning ceremony in Altissia. He doesn't recall anything after that.

[He has yet to live through what's waiting for him, beyond the next morning.]

[good_ideas]

[Homesick, huh... Shiho can understand that. Even with Kaoru here, nights were way too quiet without the sound of traffic and the city.]

Can I see?

[It's probably the bad weather, but it also gives Shiho an excuse to take a look at that tablet while she was at it.]

[missingache]

[Weapons they are indeed. Not very practical looking, but they do the job they need to, and Roxas is good at using them. He doesn't lower his weapons until Kei takes his hand off of the sword. After Keigo introduces himself, Roxas dismisses them and nods.]

I agree. What's there even to rob around here? [Genuinely curious about that.] And my name's Roxas.

[missingache]

[You make a castle and don't know it's name? That seems sloppy.]

I dunno. I've been to a lot of different worlds, but there's not many castles. There's a castle I never went to called Castle Oblivion, but I know my friends went there...

[good_ideas]

Some of them.

[But then again it doesn't need to be all of them for this to be difficult already.]

Some of them just have too many legs. Rather than baskets, we might want to get some kind of tranquilizers.

[good_ideas]

[Shiho doesn't like having someone behind her, so she'll try to slow down and force him to walk beside her instead.]

That's not what I had for breakfast. And where exactly are you getting that pizza? [He isn't keeping it in his cloak is he? Because that's a gross way to carry your lunch.]

[troubadamsel]

[Now making sure the books are in evenly, nothing sticking out too much, picture perfect.]

Which one, the fact that you were apparently raised boorishly, or the unknown answers to the questions we have here? Both have fair evidence.