SOLMARA

[etrayamods]

⏵ LEAVING ETRAYA ⏴ Whilst most individuals will be making their way to Camp Etraya, the select few that have volunteered (and those who Aurora chose to be the fifteen she could support travel for) will be directed to come to the hospital, where a portal made of a swirling purple energy awaits. Aurora will meet them beside it, several backpacks placed by her feet by companion bots on their way out to their camp duties. "I'm sorry I cannot be of more assistance," Her voice is soft, hesitant in a way Aurora generally is not. "I would send my back up in this body to accompany you, but I am... using an extensive amount of my own resources just to keep this portal open, and I want to ensure our city is safe, too." Each name has a name on it, or a symbol that represents the character it has been brought for. For those who do not recognize their packs, Aurora will lift them and offer them out herself. They all contain basic survival needs, including breather masks, modular tool kits, hydration capsules, thermal cloaks, solar-charged lanterns, ration packets, medkits, as well as items specific to them that they may require - medication they may require, sunscreen, anything Aurora could think of that they may need that she could pack away. Once they've all gathered their packs, she raises a hand to gesture them towards the portal. "Your earpieces will continue to function, but will not be able to reach outside of their protective barrier. I understand some of you may have the means to communicate over long distances without the assistance of technology or magic," her eyes linger on Nate Grey momentarily, before she addresses the group as a whole once more, "And I would, if you can, lean on that to reach out to those who remain behind. While they may be on their own mission, I have left it... open, as best as I am able to. I wish all of you the best of luck. And please do be careful - I cannot guarantee your return from death should anything happen to you on Solmara." Lips press together tightly. Aurora hesitates, before offering, "I would, if you could, keep a look out for Ithaqua. He is still registering as one of mine, but I have not been able to find him within Etraya." The portal awaits them. Aurora will still be beside it to answer any further questions as best as she can, but she cannot step through alongside them. ⏵ OUTSKIRTS ⏴ Once they've stepped through the portal, they will find themselves in a small forested area full of barren trees called the Mirkwood Strip. Even the air in Solmara smells different: stale, and musty, despite how dry the environment around them looks. Where Etraya was covered in greenery, Solmara is covered in sand. It's a ruin of torn up roads, steel skeletons where buildings had once been, and jury-rigged machinery can be found throughout the city bubble. Scorched earth beneath a blood-orange sky, it barely feels habitable, let alone like a place for those competing to save their own worlds. Its outskirts are near-empty, full of those who have left Alrys' good graces and a few patrols to keep the half-starved deserters from rising up against her. There are a few individuals wandering among old buildings who may look a little less torn up: city bubbles are initially designed to suit those who will be arriving, after all, and some of these citizens look at home in sands and heat, even if the lack of nutrition is less than ideal. Some don't require it, but are fed by the bright light in the sky itself. Everyone outside the large barrier Alyrs has put up around the hospital and the numerous buildings around it are either fighters, scavengers, or left over torn-apart corpses, waiting to be revived or worse: too torn apart to be revived in their original bodies. Either way: most this far out will know they aren't meant to be here if they blend in well enough: Alrys may have eyes on the hospital to look for any new arrivals, but outside of her scouts, who would know? If they wander closer to the barrier surrounding the city, they may find small cracks in the shell that protects them from the planet's hostile environment - not quite big enough to fit an entire body, but big enough to pry open so one could make it out. Perhaps this is where the warning of the incoming Solmarans had come from: someone slipping out and trekking across the planet to leave behind the banner. Where Etraya has wildlife, Solmara has predators. Large creatures hide amongst the dunes, in the trees, the caves, and mountains, just waiting for the opportunity to get a nice-sized bite out of an unfortunate traveler. ⏵ SOLMARA ⏴ But they didn't arrive here as tourists: the Etrayans came with a mission: figure out what's wrong with Borealis, and free the citizens of Alrys' control. And do so so - they'll need to get passed Alrys' defenses, break through the gates she and her people have put around the main buildings, and infiltrate the hospital. This is where her defenses are strongest, where they will find multiple groups of her soldiers ready to take them on, if they aren't careful to avoid them. And just like Etraya: they have a varied bunch. Some are strong, powerful. Some may be able to see the Etrayans moves two steps before they decide to make them, may be able to easily remove them from the equation. But the further they get, the more hesitant her forces may seem. Those who had been on Solmara previously will note: this isn't normal. Something's wrong here, different. ⏵ NOTES ⏴ This log is only for the characters chosen to visit Solmara, as discussed with Aurora. Please feel free to reference Ashlee's map, as this is what we will be using to guide characters through Solmara! As mentioned previously, we mods will be watching this post closely and will be guiding characters along to assist them in getting to their goal. Our intention will be to boomerang tags back as quickly as possible, until this mission is finished. To this end, we ask that any tag that you want the mods to respond to directly have "@mods" in the subject line, so we don't step in when it's not our time yet, and don't miss anything directed our way. Feel free to respond to this log in any format that works for you! We would recommend breaking up into smaller teams to make navigating the city easier, but do ask that you keep to at least teams of two or more, to make it easier for us mods and allow your character to have interactions that aren't just against NPCs/mod tags providing guidance on moving forward. If an OOC thread of what happens as characters move forward is easier for your group, please begin that in the mod queries comment on the Solmara Plotting Post. We'll get back to these threads as quickly as possible, too. This can be used to ask a question such as "What if Accelerator sneaks in passed the barrier and tries to blend in as a guard, what could he find?", "What monster is outside of Murkwood and how would they respond to intruders?", or something like "Max will be going up to some of Alrys' guard and reporting he was able to successfully complete the mission, how will they respond and can he get to Alrys directly like this?" For all questions relating to this log, please refer to the Solmara Plotting Post. All other questions can be directed to the FAQ. ⏵FULL NAVIGATION⏴

Comments

OPEN | PRE-SOLMARA | MAX'S SOLMARA CLASS

[theroadwarrior]

[Max is not happy with the fact that he's the best option they've got, with regard to detailing the Solmaran landscape. He hardly talks to anyone outside of Furiosa as it is, and even now this is all begrudgingly offered. The truth is, he knows the monsters and the dangerous around the city more than most, especially having lived out there. So. Fine. He'll tell them about as much of the bestiary as he possibly can.

They all meet up before their little stint into Solmara, and Max collects a piece of chalk and gets to work... drawing. The juxtaposition of a gruffy, grouchy man drawing borderline cute doodles of deadly monsters is — something. Tapping through each one, he talks with precision and gets straight to the point for each one. Take notes, people:]


(Click for larger image.)

Whisper-Vipers. Huge snakes covered in armored scales. Fills your head with static. Makes it hard to think. Never bothered trying to fight these ones; even Solmarans with magic try to avoid 'em. They cause headaches, hallucinations. Not sure how, but you'll need to watch your head around them.

[He taps his little pointer to the next chalky image.]

Then, the rolling bug creatures. Someone called 'em rolling pollies. Huge, but not a threat unless you get caught in them while they're traveling. They roll around in packs, got enough weight to crush someone not being careful.

Charybdis... Big monster that lives in a whirlpool in the lake. Easy to avoid, s'long as you don't piss it off by getting in the water. Couple of residents have been eaten by it.

Barbskitter... mmm. Just giant scorpions, size of big rats. We've got some of those back home. Maybe just as eradiated. Got barbed tails and pincers that take fingers. Avoid 'em and other scorpions, unless you wanna get poisoned.

Dunesnares are creatures with long arms under the sand. They work off vibration, off movement in the sand. Seen someone pulled under once... Didn't come back up, and when I came back, bunch of bones were spit out. Think it suffocates you, then eats you slow. Usually in the plains of silence.

Glasswings are aerial predators. They fly around the mountains and Mirkwood often, have a kind of... glass texture to their bodies. The sun's magnified through their wings; don't look at 'em, or you'll go blind. Got a few people who can't see anymore back in the city because of it. You see a shadow, you keep your eyes down. Might end up with the thoughts of others around you, too. Don't know why.

Venus Traps are big, stupid creatures that wander around with their mouths open. Usually they use mirages to trick things into walking into 'em. Once you're in there, you can get out with something sharp. But it gets messy.

Cave Hounds're just a bunch of wolves with pointed fur. As long as you're not around a hungry pack, they don't mess with you much.

This thing... [He taps his pointer on the weird creature near the words 'free ride'.] ... Don't know what it is. They hollow out rocks into shells that they wear, and wander around like livestock. They don't care too much if you sit on them.

... Don't know shit about Nulls. Have no clue how they work.

Any questions?

[Let this be over with, he's talked enough for a lifetime.]

[The OOC details provided for some of the creatures! Other creatures not listed were added in by me and have no concrete rules to them outside of what Max described, so feel free play around with their concepts if you meet them in the wild! This also may not cover every creature.

And mods have given us permission to have a giant three-headed skull monster to fight at any point. Of course.]

[tinflower]

[ Wow, look at the cool drawings... can he compliment Max on his art skills? He will later!

But Gorgug has a question! Max, question! ]

What are people gonna be impressed by us killing the most?

[ There's the singular beast in the lake, but is it worth going after a problem in one area that people can avoid as opposed to others? He's wondering if the viper snakes would be able to fuck with even his head, and those Glass Wing things sound interesting.

Gorgug definitely has his notebook for taking notes!! ...and has taken a picture of Max's drawings with his rectangular crystal shaped like a cellphone. Click! ]

[laserguy]

[...Nice drawings, Mr. Max??

But Scott resist the urge to raise his hand, like he's back in class, although this definitely is no lesson about mathematics or writing. This is actually important shit that's relevant to what they're about to face, so he's fully listening and paying a lot of attention. When it comes to stuff like this... yeah he can definitely drop the whole shitty teenager attitude.]

So, uh, aside from the whisper vipers, everything else has to come close to us to hurt us? No long ranged attacks? [...] And do we know the range of when the vipers start causing hallucinations and stuff?

[Thinking a little bit about Nate.....]

[levelshift]

[Accelerator listens to the entire explanation quietly, committing it all to memory. It all seems a bit ridiculous, honestly. Is it just because things have gone so far south that even the environment has gone nuts, or is this just someone's idea of a joke? It's hard to tell.

When he speaks up he's sounding a bit irritated.]

That's a hell of a lot of dangerous animals for a place that isn't populated naturally. [Wildlife can be dangerous, sure, but this is excessive levels of "everything wants to kill us."] Even Eos' city wasn't this bad.

[Eos basically just had Im'mari to watch out for, which was bad, but it was otherwise a fairly normal place.]

Does the place have any extreme weather anomalies we should know about, too?

[hauntedsnowfall]

[ Dimitri listens intently until Max is done and the ere is a lull in the conversation. ]

Are your drawings size accurate to the stick-people you have drawn?

[sonofzod]

[ Hernan's listening. He's paying attention. He's also taking his time to study each of the images. Not a lot of time, mind, but some time. Eventually though he steps back from the drawing and shrugs. ]

I'm not concerned about any of this.

sneaking in here late with starbies

[supbitches]

Hey. That looks great, Mr. ... Max.

[Sorry, she didn't catch a last name because she was too busy admiring the drawing and trying to visualize the actual critters.]

What would you suggest for those of us who aren't so good at fighting monsters?

pre-mission organizational meeting | ota

[clavesregni]

[In preparation for the mission, Caitlyn has re-drawn Max's map on a significantly larger canvas and pinned it up to the wall. Her drawing skills are lacking, but she's taken great pains to ensure the recreation of the map is accurate and to scale.

With no preamble, she begins:]

We've been tasked with infiltrating Solmara. Once we arrive, we will have two primary objectives:

One, locate and free Borealis.
Two, locate and neutralise Alrys, and free the people of Solmara from her reign.

Neither task will be easy. We should decide now who is best suited to accomplish each objective and split into teams. Those with technological abilities should go after Borealis. They'll need protection; if they're injured or killed— [She really doesn't like the idea of anybody being killed, but it's the risk they've all willingly taken on by agreeing to this mission. So she forges ahead.] —we stand little to no chance of achieving our first objective.

We know from Max— [She nods to him.] —and Dr. Romano that Alrys has the ability to charm others, but the extent and mechanism of this ability is unknown. As such, we should keep in frequent contact with one another, and report anyone who is acting or speaking oddly.

Once in Solmara, we'll need to scout the land to determine the best place to set up a camp. We'll also need to engage with the locals. Some of them may be under Alrys' mental control, or they may be coerced through withholding of resources or other means into working for her. But there may be some who are willing to aid us. We should seek them out and learn what they know, without drawing attention to them or otherwise putting them in additional danger. Meanwhile, those of us with tactical skills and infiltration experience will need to begin the hunt for Alrys.

[She's including herself in that, despite having essentially no such experience.]

This is a dangerous mission, and there's no guarantee that everyone will survive.

[And Caitlyn feels a bit in over her head. She's never run this sort of mission before. She's never run any sort of mission before, really, save for her personal investigations. But while she feels not only a moral imperative to go on this mission, this is also precisely the sort of opportunity she's wanted at home, the opportunity to show that she's not merely her mother's sheltered daughter. She can do this.]

But if we fail, not only will the people of Solmara be abandoned to a terrible fate, we will also be leaving Etraya exposed to a potential future incursion. We have a chance, now, to save both the Solmarans and everyone we care about here. We've got to do everything in our power to help them and protect ourselves.

groups

[ascarylady]

[ Once Caitlyn's done with her piece — and Sevika has managed not to roll her eyes out of her own damn head — she steps forward. ]

Gorgug's given me a pack that can carry up to five hundred pounds. I've stocked it with a lot of goods from Etraya to trade and bribe people with. I'm looking for one or two other people to tag along with me into the outskirts.

The plan is to try and find those outside of Alyrs' influence and either collect what they know or even find allies if we can. You know, like the cop said. "Engage the locals".

[ Another glance towards Caitlyn is given, and then back to the rest of the group. ]

I'd suggest groups of three for all other scouting efforts. Keep it small and mobile. Three for the city, three for wherever we set up base. The last groups are up in the air. I'm not sure what we'll need. Maybe someone to scout out the old abandoned building by the lake or the lake itself as a good point to cross at when we do make our move.

[overconfidently]

I don't know how well I'll be able to locate an AI, but the people of Solmara and this Alrys I should be able to the moment we're there.

( He's standing there with arms crossed, rather contemplative about this. )

I can see about picking information from the minds of the people there to get a better idea of what we're dealing with and what we might be up against the closer we get to the center of it all. I can also keep us connected to the people on Etraya. Or at least I'm hoping to be able to if we need that line of communication open.

[unaliveyourself]

[Dazai waits to speak up until several of the others have offered their own contributions. There's quite a few areas in which he could offer skills from his, ah, questionable background, but there is a very specific reason he volunteered for this mission.]

The teams for the final objectives need not be mutually exclusive, do they? It'll be easiest to retrieve Borealis once Alrys has been neutralized, especially if she's exerting any unnatural influence over her population. Our manpower is already quite limited.

[He hums, hands folded under his chin a bit like a bored teenager. Despite the strange presence of bandages around his arms and throat, he doesn't especially look suited for a mission that will endanger life and limb. Even so, he speaks with absolute assurance, as though he's undertaken operations like this many, many times.]

To that end, though, I'm best suited to volunteering for infiltration! I'd reaaaaaally rather keep this information off the network, but I'm what you might call an anti-gifted, you see. Not only will no powers of any kind function against me, but I can prevent their activation in the first place or nullify them after the fact as long as I can touch the ability user in question, even if it is only a single stray strand of hair.

Quite convenient for our purposes, hmm~? There's nothing quite so dangerous as one's assurance in their own control of a situation, after all.

[supbitches]

[Charlie waits until it seems like there's a lull in conversation. With her hand raised. After a couple of minutes pass and nobody calls on her, she starts feeling a little silly and promptly lowers it, clearing her throat.]

Right. Guess that's me on Team Borealis.

[She'd feel a lot more comfortable about this thing if Dean were here- and had in fact assumed he'd also be signing up for this when she did. But Dean isn't here, so she's just going to have to suck it up.]

I'm good at cracking codes, too. So that's a thing that might not come up, but I figured I'd mention it. Could be useful.

pre-mission item help!

[tinflower]

Hey, uh-- [ cough ] Hi. Hey? Um. Hi.

[ That there is the many attempts for Gorgug to speak up, hopefully to get peoples' attention, including with a wave. He's tall at around 6'7, but has a lanky frame filled more by the baggy hoodie he wears. Goggles on his head and gloves on his hands, he is, apart from being a half-orc with green skin and black scleras against white pupil for eyes, the most awkward looking figure here, surely. ]

I make stuff. Magic engineering-- uh, I can fight too, but that's not what I wanted to talk about. I can make items for bartering when we get there if I have the metals, but I-- I can make some stuff to help protect people too, or. I can try. I couldn't find anything to help resist charming, except, um, I know how to make pins to help people get out of the way or to give them some extra strength if they need it. Or use their minds better.

[ He's got a bag with him, one with a very cool-looking patch on it, and many pockets. He digs in to retrieve what look like brooches made out of metal, no bigger than a fifty pence coin. ]

I can make ammos, too. For guns or bows. And give them magic. And I've been making smoke grenades and some EMP grenades-- they'll be good for the bots if they get sent on us. They're not easy to take down if the AI doesn't want you taking them out.

[ Someone here would know that best. Mentioning no names, and not looking their way. ]

We don't have long left, but I'll see what else I can make before we go. [ He pauses, and then makes a small sound as he starts to rummage back in his bag. ] Oh, and me and Accelerator made some radios for people to take. If we don't want to use the earpieces there.

[ Come, come and get your radios! ]

[laserguy]

[There's a passing thought, where Scott wonders if this guy is a mutant at all, but no uh, he thinks he knows who all the mutants are in Etraya. Gorgug's just a dude from a completely different species and that's cool. Probably not stuff to really talk about now, not when they're about to embark on a mission, but he's thinking about it for later. Instead, the teen's just sitting and listening to Gorgug with a slightly intense focus; he's definitely paying attention to everything he's saying!

So. Magic engineering. Really cool stuff. Items that can compliment people's abilities or give that extra boost? Maybe in a way he's like Professor McCoy? He wonders if he can develop something that can help with the control of his powers, but...]

Wow, you can really make all that stuff? [There's no doubt in his voice, he's mostly just impressed.]

I'll take a radio, thanks. [Won't hurt to have that extra communication just in case, right?]

[supbitches]

Hey- cool patch.

[Charlie has been not-so- subtly staring the entire time he's been speaking because, while she's come across non-humans in her life, the majority of them weren't exactly trying to help with anything.]

How do you make stuff? Like I promise this isn't me trying to call you a liar, but you can't just say "hey I can make stuff" and then not elaborate because I have so many questions. What kind of magic ammo can you make? Are the pins single-use or is it more like a "however many times you need it" situation?

[This is no time to interrogate the guy for trying to help, but she's a little nervous, so she's overcompensating just a little.]

Sorry. I'll take a radio for now!

Vander - Arcane

[cantilevers]

i. Out in the Wilds - Intel Gathering.

[Vander had decided his course of action once they had stepped through and been provided a debrief. Information was going to make this mission make or break, and the locals that survived here were going to be the source for edging the odds towards success. As he had been blessed with the gift of the gab and he was not above bribery and trade, he set out to the outskirts once camp had been established.

He would slip his way through the desert looking for people, aided by Nate who had provided him a daily list of those who were not charmed. He would seek those people out that day and barter, chat and bribe his way for information, but also do what he could to allow people here to see that it could become better if Alyrs was removed from power. Little blasphemies that he carefully and casually laid down like breadcrumbs. He also wasn't above spreading misinformation and rumors.

Yet, once darkness fell, he would find his way to a specific agreed upon spot to wait for others who were gathering intel from the local population. They divided and conquered what they could, but it was also important to impart information to one another as well recharge supplies. Check-in meant one of their number hadn't been captured, charm, or killed either.

So there he was. While there was no fire allowed, he still had a cigarettes lit and jammed between his lips. He took a long drag of it for the nicotine hit, breathing out the smoke silently from his nostrils. The temperature was dropping rapidly - deserts were so weird - but he made no effort to move from the spot he was rooted in. No, he was listening and watching, searching for signs that he was not alone any longer.

He tilted his head to consider when there was a sound or he thought he saw something moving in the distance.]

Care to share a smoke? I've got a few spares.

[A simple greeting. If it was a monster, it wouldn't reply. If it was one of their party, he just identified himself. If it was a local, the invitation could be taken one way or another. That was the uncertainty of this place.]

ii. Home Sweet Home

[Vander returned to their secretive camp every day for both a check-in and a rest. Out in the desert, there weren't many 'safe' places that he could find where he would want to settle in for more than an hour of recharge, which had to include eating, drinking and a nap. Otherwise, he had a job to do.

So, returning to camp was a reprieve that could be considered safe. Everyone was busy with their own tasks and preparations for the upcoming infiltration and assault. Days were moving fast before they had to pick their way inside the main stronghold.

He brought back valuable intel and potential allies, if only those that wanted to see Alyrs burn. So he searched for those that needed to know his information before he would take a few hours to sleep where at least the Etrayan picks had a higher potential to guard him rather than kill or rob him.]

Hey, anyone else check in yet? We still going in a few days?

iii. Wildcard

[Don't see something that you like? Want a closed starter? Hit me up to discuss apomorphine or discord: apomorphine]

Home Sweet Home

[levelshift]

[Given his underwhelming state without the aid of his esper ability, Accelerator has mainly been staying back at the camp. It's safer, and a more efficient use of his brainpower to be supporting Gorgug instead of scouting or gathering intel. The idea of him doing the latter is laughable honestly, given how unsociable he is. His skills are better spent helping create equipment, and occasionally venturing out to kill some of Solmara's fauna.

When Vander returns to camp Accelerator is there, having been out earlier to take out some glasswings for their wings. It's late and he's sitting in front of a lantern, poking at one of the ration kits with an unimpressed expression. He's refraining from complaining, though. It's not like his diet is that great to begin with.

He takes a bite of some mystery meat, cringing a bit, before glancing up at Vander.]

We're still on schedule. You learn anything interesting while you were out today?

Home Sweet Home

[sonofzod]

[ For the moment, Hernan's been keeping an eye on the camp's perimeter until it's time to put things in motion. Patrols never take him very long, since he can cover the entire area and a few miles beyond in the span of a breath.

It's from above that he spots Vander returning to the camp and after he circles around for another sweep, he returns to camp, landing nearby and approaching Vander in a few short strides. ]

Plans have not changed for me at least. Were the locals friendly today?

ii; i figure we can move from downtime into something fighty against a monster and/or scavenger!

[cactusy]

[While Shaw certainly isn't incapable of putting on the charm or doing undercover work, it takes a very specific sort of effort from her - and so by and large, she's been playing the bodyguard role while they prepare to infiltrate the city. Sometimes, that means patrolling the outskirts of camp or accompanying anyone who needs back-up on a scouting mission; other times, it simply means taking watch shifts while others rest. Right now, she's taking stock of inventory, though she glances over at Vander as he approaches.]

Far as I know, yeah.

[She lightly squeezes her fingers down her tube of sunscreen, trying to determine how much is left inside.]

How's your source list coming along? Still making buddies with the locals?

solmara. early into the mission. telepathic info dump.

[overconfidently]

( The moment they'd stepped through the portal and arrived on Solmara, he'd done two things. The first: checked to make sure his telepathic connection with Quentin still held back on Etraya; it did. The second: ensure telepathic shields and cloaking were up when discreetly in the air some while letting his mind stretch across Solmara in search of whatever he could find that might be useful.

It takes him a few minutes — other attempts liable to be made as they go — before he's finally tapping down to the ground and making his way over to the others. )

This planet's been neglected, which I'm guessing is because of their missing AI.

( It's not dying, but it's not exactly being taken care of either. )

I did a head count of people here. There's around two hundred. Some of their minds I can touch, others I can't. From what I could find, there's three names that seem to have a strong connection to Alrys here. Beckett, Callie, and Flynn. ( He'll glance to those who have come from Solmara to Etraya, seeing if maybe they recognize the names. ) One of them's like me because I can't locate them which means Alrys has a telepath to shield them. If they catch wind we're here, they're going to be a problem.

( Which means... Nate's gently annoyed. )

If it comes down to it, I can handle them. ( Hopefully. ) But I'd rather not blow our cover from the get-go and see who's the better telepath.

( Rude, but. He's got to be smart about this and not just go in guns ablazin'. )

The hospital's currently guarded but nothing heavy as of right now. That can likely change though if they find out we're here and why. I can get an idea of what it looks like inside but I don't know how far in. There's some blind spots I can't reach here.

[theroadwarrior]

[Max isn't particularly surprised by Callie or Beckett's names being mentioned. They were at Alrys' hip for a lot of his short few months within the city limits. Flynn, however... it does spark a slight surprise in his gaze. That guy is one of her strong connections? Huh.]

Not very familiar with Beckett and Callie.

The girl talks too much, and the other's a tired drinker at the bar.

[Max had certainly spent some of his time at said bar, even if he tries not to drink too much, too. And frankly, Max avoids talkers as much as he possibly can — for obvious reasons. Outside of his Solmara Bestiary lesson, he has mostly just grunted in response, if not remained silent for most of their preparations.]

... Flynn works on a code, doesn't use unnecessary violence, doesn't kill unless he's out of options. Empathetic type.

But he never doubted her, even when she killed or starved objectors.

Max Rockatansky | OTA

[theroadwarrior]

I. Leaving Etraya

[And once again, Max was preparing to wander back into a familiar world, one composed of sand and heat and unrelenting danger. It was just how his life usually panned out, wasn't it? If he wasn't lurking on the outskirts of the Plains of Silence in his world, he was doing so here in Solmara. But before that, Aurora had at least been kind enough to compose survival backpacks for them.

Before they set out, Max opens the bag with his name on it — and ah, look at that! Looking over his shoulder will provide someone with his name, if they hadn't been told it by someone else. A few items earn a satisfactory nod or grumble, up until he reaches...

Sunscreen?

With a slight frown (a resting scowl, even), he holds the bottle up to the nearest person.]

What is this?

[Wastelanders, with sunscreen? Even with Max's more fulfilled childhood at the edge of society's end, this has never once come up.]

II. Outskirts

[The arrival is without fanfare.

In just a few steps, the air goes from pleasant and clean to encroaching, hot. It warms the skin and dries the eyes quickly, but Max is hardly challenged by it; he imagines Furiosa isn't much influenced either, and he glances back at her before he starts wandering forward. To him, this is nothing. It's like returning to reality after a pleasant dream. To the others, he knows it must just be another unpleasant adaptation to a mission. Foreign lands.

He walks them toward an old rusted fence that has been shreded up, some parts gone and likely used for supplies. Max has certainly snipped some things off for use in the past. Mirkwood's all barren trees, and every so often something big flies overhead. He pointedly says:]

Glasswings. Don't look up, or you'll hurt your eyes.

[... Well. Scott might not hurt his eyes. But everyone else, best not. As they wander in a group, they pass a clearly human skeleton tangled up in some kind of abandoned vehicle — and Max can't help but think of Aurora's uncertainty, before they entered the portal: "I cannot guarantee your return from death." He offers unhelpfully:]

Sometimes you stay bones.

Try not to die here.

[How strange has their lives become, that the idea of a failed resurrection fills him with unease? Mm. Well. Hopefully nobody dies. As they go, he'll be available to anyone who may want to wander with someone watching their back.

Just try not to get tangled up with a monster in the wild while we're out, hmm?

(Easier said than done.)]

III. Camp Ghosts

(CW: mental illness, potential ableist thoughts/talk, hallucinations)

[There is something about this Max guy that becomes more obvious the longer people are in his presence: he's the dictionary definition of haunted or something like it. As they journey to find a suitable place to set up base camp, he often stares off for long stretches at a time, and sometimes his lips move, form words that are so quiet that it's hard to hear any of it. Anyone who moves a hand too quickly while he's in a silent, listless state will be met his body jolting and his eyes snapping to attention toward them.

Skittish. That's a way to put it. A skittish creature, especially the longer he's left in a world that draws him back into old ways. Voices trickle into his head, remind him of what he is — of what he'll lose. The ghosts have never gone away, because his brain will never be right. He knows this. He accepts it. Accepts being a psychotic.

The first night in camp, he stays up all night, staring off into the blue-hued distance, battling ghosts that people can't hear or see. You'll get them all killed, someone whispers. Angharad cradles her infant to her chest, eyes gleaming in the distance. Who'll go under the wheels this time? But eventually... eventually he nods off, sitting up with his rifle leaning on his shoulder. He twitches, mumbles in his sleep.

If someone makes the unfortunate mistake of reaching out to shake him awake, they'll find him intaking a sharp gasp of breath just before he swings a solid fist at their face.

The second night in camp, he stays a little further from the others, armed with a thermal blanket around his shoulders. It's not until Furiosa finally intervenes that he gets up and quietly follows after her, his eyes more clear and focused on the woman walking ahead of him. It's the days that follow that when he returns to camp, he finally seems to be more clear-headed and focused on scouting and offering aid to the others who come and go.]

IV. Wildcard

[Literally anything else, hit me up. I'm down! Can do closed starters or anything else needed here under this one. :)]

I

[cactusy]

It's a cream. You put it on your skin, and it helps protect you from sunburns and worse. It should be reapplied a couple times a day, so make sure it's fresh when the sun is highest in the sky.

[She'll pull a similar bottle out of her own bag and squirt a generous amount into her palm, demonstrating the process on her arm.]

Massage yourself until it's absorbed; if you brush against something and the cream comes off, you either used too much or you didn't rub it in enough. Cover all exposed skin; get a buddy to help you with places you can't reach. Recheck yourself in an hour or two for pink spots; that'll show you areas you missed the first time around. Anything covered by clothes doesn't need it. Got it?

caitlyn kiramman | arcane

[clavesregni]

i. the city | closed to dimitri and yuri

[This is beyond anything Caitlyn's ever experienced before. If she felt out of her depth in Zaun, she feels as though she's practically drowning in Solmara. The heat, the sand, the sun, the dangerous wildlife, the enemy guards, the threat of capture or death over every hill and around every corner... But the more overwhelmed she feels, the more determined she becomes not to let anyone catch even the faintest glimpse of nerves or uncertainty. As a result, there's a tension in her posture and a heavy frown on her face.

She's lying on her stomach behind a small outcropping, using the sights on her rifle as a telescope to observe the guards around the city perimeter. The desert is blazing hot during the day, but now as night falls, she's starting to shiver even beneath the layers of her uniform. Despite that, the rifle remains perfectly steady in her grasp.]

There.

[She points to what looks like a break on the guard line.]

We may be able to approach the wall there without being spotted.


ii. wildcard | ota

[I'm up for basically anything! Hit me with a wildcard or find me for plotting at sprucemoose or sprucemooses@discord.]

i

[wolfish]

[ Yuri remains crouched low, his dark cape lending itself to the shadows as they stretch in the dying light. The desert isn't the easiest of places to blend into, but this won't remain an issue for long, if all goes well. He peers toward the distant figures of guards and the wall beyond them, painted lips thinned into a thoughtful frown.

He only needs a few brief moments to assess before he concurs with a stiff nod. ]

Yeah, that should do... No one'd be the wiser if we're quick about it.

[ Once they've slipped in, they shouldn't have difficulty with their infiltration. This place draws in people from across worlds, universes, whatever, just like Etraya. That makes for a mixed bunch, which works in their favor. No one is liable to know everyone. ]

sevika / arcane

[ascarylady]

there and back again - outskirts ally-seeking team returns

[ Sevika and several others set out to see if they could drum up any support, but the effort is short-lived. Those they do find are willing to accept supplies and only that. Understandably, they don't want to go anywhere near Alrys. As much as that had irked Sevika personally, she wasn't actually so heartless as to not hand out some of the extra items she brought along; they'd been specifically for this purpose and, hopefully, it would convince these people to not squeal on them, either. ]

So that was a big, fat waste of time.

[ She mutters aloud as they approach the camp again from however many days wandering the sands. Readjusting the bag-of-holding-ish, she went fishing for a cigarette from a pocket. ]

Although... [ She adds as she finds one, a bit roughed up from being in a pocket after long hours of walking. ] I'm not sure I blame them. Everything about this place is a mess.

[ Perhaps you were with her on that little adventure and want to chime in or maybe you see them returning from the camp and want to come up and talk. Either way, their mission was a failure for the most part. It leaves Sevika irate, but not unapproachable (mostly). ]

IT'S A SNAKE??? (GROUP FIGHT, REPLY TO COMMENT BELOW)

[ Back at the camp, Sevika is sitting on the very outskirts of what they have set up, taking a turn to keep an eye on things. Even now, she's still smoking away on a cigarette, staring off into the distance. The wide open space, sandy and bleak, gives her the creeps. She's unused to wild spaces like this. The bleakness, ah, that, that she's accustomed to, but the rest is new and strange. Even stranger than it is in Etraya.

It's the silence that's the worst. Or was, until the headache begins to creep in. Slowly filling the air — in her head, she'll realize later — is this awful static that gets her nerves up and makes her tense. That's a— ]

...damn it.

[ Their little encampment was bound to attract something eventually, wasn't it? Sevika slowly rises from the rock she'd sat herself down on and begins creeping backward towards the rest, eyes moving quickly from place to place to try and pin down where the Whisper-Viper is slithering in from.

She can't see it. It's hidden itself behind a hallucination, one of empty space, nice and easy-like, but that's only to her.

Maybe you can. Maybe you see the massive viper just fine creeping up on her from the left. Maybe you have enough time to call out a warning or strike first. ]

snake fight snake fight this is where the reply chain begins

[ascarylady]

THIS IS A FREE-FOR-ALL THREAD.

I will NPC the snek in the same tag as Sevika replies so please watch for that. Otherwise, reply where and when you want!

Accelerator | Open and closed

[levelshift]

A. Roughing it [OTA]

[Deserts are officially the worst biome.

Having grown up in a modern city, Accelerator knew going into this he wasn't going to enjoy roughing it, but this is beyond all of his expectations. It's hot during the day, and freezing at night. It's too dry, there's too much sand, too many dangerous creatures. For a skinny, disabled kid who only has twenty minutes of access to an ability that would help, this is kind of a nightmare. He doesn't complain though, preferring to keep his irritation (mostly towards himself for not faring better) quiet and making sure to keep out of everyone else's way. They're all having a hard time here, and despite being as asocial as he is he doesn't want to make things more difficult for anyone.

For the most part he sticks to the camp. It's safer that way, he isn't particularly good at intelligence gathering or scouting when those activities take hours and hours, so his skills are better spent hanging around their base of operations. In case it gets ambushed by creatures or Solmarans, he can be there to take care of the problem quickly. Of course, that means a lot of time just spent waiting for other people to return. He helps Gorgug out with his equipment when he can, but he's limited in that capacity, so... waiting it is.

One night he can be found sitting in camp with a thermal blanket tightly wrapped around himself as he taps away at an average-looking smartphone. He scowls down at it, shivering slightly.]

B. Combo Attack! [Closed to Scott]

[It's rare for Accelerator to make his way out of camp, but there's one very good reason to do so: monster hunting. Truthfully, Max's descriptions of the creatures didn't make them sound all that intimidating to him. With the way his ability works the stronger the opponent, the more effective it is. Combine that with the fact that most attacks typically have vectors, and he's essentially an impenetrable tank in most altercations. As long as he can switch choker modes it's no problem.

That's why he's out today. He may not be great at long term stuff like scouting, but taking out a couple monster so Gorgug can incorporate their body parts into his equipment? Easy as hell. It's also a good opportunity to stretch his legs for a little while. Even though this isn't really a break from the endless sand and crappy weather, and it's tough trudging out here with the crutch, it's nice to get out of the camp temporarily.

He sighs heavily, settling his free hand against the side of his head so he can crack his neck. He isn't alone, and he glances over the other kid - Scott? Scott.]

Okay, let's do this.