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

[cantilevers]

You all find anything worthwhile on your scouting missions? [He shrugged his shoulders because he wasn't gunning for anything but success on however that came. He was slide into being involved where he could.] He and Furiosa will take the lead on Alrys I have no doubt. However, they are going to need a team around them regardless.

[He had no doubt that Shaw would put herself in line to have some of that action, and he admired that about her. She was decisive and willing to take risks to accomplish what she wanted as far as he could tell.

He watched her, curious. He lived so much underground that burns were chemical not from the sun. So people having actual skin care needs and the continual exposure to the sun were a sharp learning curve for him.

Instead, he fished around for his lighter and flicked it with a practiced hand. His lips rose in a smile at her comment, and he lit his cigarette anyway.]

Would it offend you if I told you that these were the lesser evil where I'm from? Air is poisoned with factory smog, but we all have to get used to it. These are practically fresh compared to that.

[cactusy]

[She rolls her eyes, but not in a truly exasperated way; it's about as good-natured as Shaw gets. Just because your air sucks doesn't mean you sound compound the issue, buddy! Love yourself and your lungs.]

We found a body. Looked like a torture victim. Nothing interesting or useful on it, though.

[Which, yes, that definitely means that she searched the torture victim's corpse for loot. As you do.]

[cantilevers]

[He took a drag on his cigarette, seemingly unaffected by the pep talk. He did raise his eyebrow at her statement about a body, yet it didn't surprise him. Perhaps it was more surprising they hadn't found more of them. Then again, predators were probably taking advantage of corpses.]

What kind of torture?

[He wasn't even ashamed that it was probably an inappropriate question. Curious minds wanted to know what they could expect if captured, that's all.]

[cactusy]

[She appreciates you, Vander. Squeamishness and sympathy do nothing for a complete stranger who's already dead, so why not search his corpse and then talk about his untimely end in a matter-of-fact way? The dead guy won't care, and none of his hypothetical loved ones are around to be offended.]

Starvation, it looked like. The guy was chained up, and he looked like he'd wasted away, so--

[She cuts herself off, turning to squint out into the desert. The sound had been quiet enough that she might have been hearing things, but... was that a rumble?]

[cantilevers]

[Vander considered that, and he had seen starvation enough in his lifetime to know it was an unpleasant death. It was an excellent way to make someone feel weak, to feel their body slowly dying all around them. It also verified something he had been wondering.]

I wonder who he pissed off to earn being chained up and not just fed to the desert. Of course, that strengthens Aurora's concern that death is permanent here, so we had best stay in the land of the living.

[He flicked ash off the end of his cigarette out of habit, following her gaze towards the desert. He tilted his head and closed his eyes, listening intensely.]

What weapons did you bring with you? [In case this came to a fight.]

[cactusy]

Weapons that are useful for fighting something big? Just a gun, and the grenades. But I've got some tricks up my sleeve.

[Thank you, Gorgug and your magic bullets. She starts moving in a slow circle, scanning the horizon.]

You?