video;

[nonscriptum]

Is this thing recordi- Oh.

[Nate isn't really that good at introductions nor is he any good at handling the SmartPhone capabilities of his new communications, but he's been trying, and as he once overheard a fancy guy quote at a black market auction: to try is to live.

(At the time he'd been checking the lot list and privately drawing conclusions about why Jack Rackham was given an inlaid cross, when a man four feet away started telling a story about how his shitty French was insulted by a crêpe vendor and he paid some thugs to rough him up later. Rich people, right? The worst.)

What started out as blurry footage of worn boots turns into slightly-more-focused footage of Nate's face. He looks well enough, if windswept, though it is evident he is somewhere far from ground level if the small buildings behind him are any indication.]

For those of you who haven't met me yet, I'm Nathan Drake.

[Flawless introduction. Short and sweet.]

Just gonna throw a general question out there: is there a more...comprehensive version of the city map outside that mural? Does anyone go into the caves to try and get the lay of the land in detail? And, uh, follow-up: how opposed would anyone be to me updating that stuff?

Comments

[closerift]

You can't climb out of here.

[ Comes the amused, English quip on the other end. ]

Feeling industrious?

[nonscriptum]

I'm insulted you would suggest that.

[She's got him in one. He was definitely going to try to climb out of here.]

More like antsy. Thought it might keep me busy.

[closerift]

You look it.

[ She chuckles, corners of her lips tugging upward. ]

Those who are antsy in Hadriel typically drink too much or fight too much. But... [ Cecily continues, now thoughtful. ] Some have come up with things like our power plant, so you may be on to something more productive.

[video]

[infinite1up]

Not that I know of.

I've always found the cave system to be a little confusing, I admit. If you ever think you'd like some company while you try to sort the place out, I'm usually available for a little bit of co-op.

I'm Sato, by the way.

[video]

[nonscriptum]

[Nathan Drake, who failed miserably at a single run of Crash Bandicoot while his wife looked on in both encouragement and frustration, will not catch the witty reference. He never had a television growing up, let alone a console system.

Context clues tell him, however, that this individual is offering to accompany him should he venture into the great beyond.]

"Confusing" is kind of my thing. And you can call me Nate.

[video]

[infinite1up]

Nate, then. Of course, we keep getting moved from place to place, so I'm not sure how much there is to be discovered, but it could be a fun adventure. It gets boring going out by yourself all the time.

[To, you know, hunt monsters and suchlike.]

text.

[torrefied]

That is the most current and comprehensive map of Hadriel, to my knowledge.

An updated version would be appreciated. Cartography isn't my area of expertise, or else I'd have done it myself.

text.

[nonscriptum]

i'm already on it

[Nate was going to do this whether he got community approval or not, but he's relieved there seems to be a consensus about lacking the kind of extraneous details he so enjoys.]

...wait, are you the guy who wrote that "welcome to hell, enjoy your stay" document?

text.

[torrefied]

Guilty as charged. Questions? Comments?

video

[outstandingbalance]

Can't say I've taken a headcount... [There's a certain amusement in her tone as she answers.] But I don't think anyone is going to complain if you wanted to keep things up to date.

video

[nonscriptum]

If I'm being honest, I wasn't really looking for permission.

[In the event that someone else was planning the same thing, he might have sped up productivity just to beat them to the punch, but that's because he's got a competitive streak several miles wide.]

I kinda just needed the...project.

[It's a sterile word for it, but it works.]

video

[outstandingbalance]

The ask forgiveness instead type?

[Yeah, Natasha knows a lot of those.]

Or just that bored.

video;

[quacked]

You don't wanna go in the caves... There's monsters in them.

[ Not that he's gone in there and checked, but... it's not something easily missed here. ]

video;

[nonscriptum]

Yeah, that's what they tell me.

[This isn't news to Nate, because he got the welcome wagon's brochure and it gave him some small indication that there are, in fact, deadly creatures lurking in the dark, but he's seen a yeti before and c'mon, what could have been scarier than that?]

But I've seen some weird crap before.

video;

[quacked]

Have you seen snakes with three heads - or huge, giant bugs? [ Because Duck has, and he hasn't even been in the caves where they all live. ] They'll eat you for sure.

[voice]

[circumitus]

Not much point in mapping out the tunnels, seeing that they change. Guess that's to be expected since evidently we've been jumping planets this whole time.

[And Confusion did say that the tunnels were meant to keep those god-killing things out.]

[voice]

[nonscriptum]

They change?

[No one filled him in on that little detail. Would've been nice to know before he pulled his boots on this morning.]

And second, planets? Pretend for a second that I'm someone who showed up a month ago and I have no idea what you're talking about.

[voice]

[circumitus]

To be fair, a few of us have been here for over a year now and even we didn't know about that until recently.

Long story short, Fear evidently has the ability to move the city to different planets because they've been trying to escape the machines that killed most of their lot the last time.

Video

[knifecollecting]

You want to go into the tunnels just to map them? [Most people go for ammo.]

Video

[nonscriptum]

[A face he recognizes! Finally.]

...are there other reasons?

[Thus far he's gotten warnings about the caves being populated by a host of "monsters," but people aren't exactly forthcoming on the details and Nate's never been someone to plan ahead, as a general rule.]

Video

[knifecollecting]

Most people go to get monsters for Rage. [She shrugs.]

I think the tunnels change. I don't know how often though.

video

[skelebro]

['Sup, Nate. It's that animate skeleton who definitely traded quips with you earlier.]

Gotta say, that'd probably be real handy. 'Specially if things might'a moved around since the last one was painted and all.

video

[nonscriptum]

[Jesus H. Christ, buddy, give a guy a little warning the next time you want to show off your skinless mug. Nate laughs, partly out of fleeting anxiety.]

You're the second- [Animate object? Body?] -person to say that. Do they really move around?

text

[hornrims]

Good to know you have a name.

[Nevermind that Richie isn't returning the video favor.]

text

[nonscriptum]

[Nate's texting isn't great, but he's had worse days with small pieces of technological advancement.]

don't tell me you were just gonna call me "maze guy," specs