lifeaftr | October Intro: Louder than Sirens, Louder than Bells

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October Intro: Louder than Sirens, Louder than Bells

INTRO LOG: OCTOBER

Who: Everyone!
What: New souls arrive to the archipelago of LifeAftr
When: October 3rd
Where: Ensō
Warnings: Mark as needed!

The Beach: For All the Rest
The shores of Ensō are far from the tranquil, almost idyllic tropical backdrop that they should be. And so it is that while you fish, or perhaps as you go about your daily business on the islets, the first thing you will note is the persistent sound hammering at the back of your skull.

A drumming.

And it's growing louder.

The source of the drumming will, like it or not, soon become apparent. At the fringes of the trees, wielding slings and hollow, wooden pistols, is a group of large and very displeased simians who have every intent of claiming this spot of beach - yes, traveler, this spot of beach you're standing on right now! - for their own, and by any means necessary.

And they certainly don't look interested in diplomacy.

If you came armed, you might be in luck, because this conflict will require your steady hand in its resolution. If you did not...well, you may be better suited to run, or risk capture at the hands of warriors skilled, cunning, and incredibly vicious. Laugh at their monkey business all you like; they are ingenious fighters and, what's more, they're just as good at killing as they are at capture.

For the uninitiated, this particular brand of chaos doesn't usually sweep across the entire island the way it has. But those who have been here for some time will recognize the monkeys in question, and might even recognize this for what it is: revenge.

Group I: The Squeakquel
Looks like your monkeying around last month has landed you and everyone else in a spot of trouble. The monkeys in question certainly weren't happy to be confronted with others on their lands, nor are they willing to share their territory. While you may have triumphed last time you confronted them, the apes have been planning their revenge in the meantime.

Some of you were unlucky enough to become targets. Overnight, a great deal of them silently invaded the islets. Their blow-dart guns are equipped with a fairly powerful sedative that is more than capable of knocking most living creatures out - and those that were immune were simply snatched up, gagged, and bundled away.

However, it seems that some of their prisoners didn't suit their purposes, for one way or another, and thus weren't retrieved with the intention of long-term capture. Which is why a number of you will awaken in regions of the island that you've already explored.

...the really, really dangerous ones.

Whether it's a Center of Gravity, a parade of centipuppies, a contingent of Lungblossoms, a Fustercluck, or something else entirely, one thing is certain: the monkeys wanted you out of their way.

So get ready to fight for your life.

Group II: Ape Escape
If you're not one of the slightly luckier newcomers that materializes on the shore, then you're one of the unlucky ones that's managed to materialize square in the middle of the jungle. Or rather, in the middle of one of the denser, more populated parts of the jungle. The abodes woven into the canopy are crude, built of mud and sticks, but they're nonetheless sturdy.

And, as an important note - they are also swarming with monkeys. Snarling, baying, armed monkeys. Perhaps they'd be more hostile toward an interloper...if you weren't already in a cage, along with several others.

Fortunately for the newbies, they've all got something the monkeys didn't anticipate, aside from the element of surprise. Most prisoners don't arrive with knapsacks full of newly-acquired gear, and it's a good thing, too - you may very well need it, and the help of the new arrivals, to escape this place. You could always wait for the cavalry to come, but are you really willing to take that risk?

Group III: Pot Luck
As for you, you terribly fortunate third group?

You'll find yourselves suspended in wooden cages as well, though this time, to the hot curtain of whitish steam clouding your vision. It smells an awful lot like smoke down there. An awful lot like something...burning? Unlike your fellows over in the second group, these cages aren't simply a means of containing you, no. These cages are currently hanging over what might be the largest cast iron cauldron you've ever seen. All of this is, of course, for one simple reason:

Some species of monkeys are carnivores.

The acrid scent of smoke is already hot and rancid in your nostrils; the pyre beneath you has been lit, and the hungry flames are beginning to boil the water below quite eagerly. We'd suggest you hurry up in freeing yourself and your fellows - being boiled alive is not a particularly pleasant way to go. At least the monkeys weren't expecting quite so many main courses so soon, which allows you the element of surprise.

As a final note to those who participated in the Test Drive Meme, bear in mind that those threads, if all parties involved would like, can be game canon in the form of dream-like memories involving a place very much like this one, though the layout is considerably different.

All new arrivals will awake with knapsacks with their names stitched to the front. The contents of said knapsacks can be found below!

Feeling a tad adrift? Make sure to check the Locations Page, which has details regarding the starting areas and a handy map for those who feel better with a bird's eye view!

LOGS ● OOC ● STORIES ● MAIN NAVIGATION

( CODED BY BOOTYCALL )

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[Lunafreya smiles and offers a trained curtsy of her own.]

The pleasure and honor are mine, Lady Muffet. Circumstances aside.

[Becoming serious again, she peers out at the apes and monkeys overrunning the beach.]

What are those creatures, pray tell? What are they after?

Oh, it's just Miss Muffet, dearie- although I am flattered.

[She looks grimly out at the beach, scanning the area cautiously for any simians that might be getting too close to their shelter.]

Exactly what they are, beyond some sort of heavily armed and very aggressive ape, I'm not entirely certain. We've been exploring the island since our arrive, trying to discover more resources and information, and we found their camp a little over a week ago.

They attacked us on sight, ignored all attempts we made to peacefully negotiate, and cut off our attempt to retreat. Our expedition group fought back-no deaths on either side, as far as I'm aware, I was certainly sticking to nonlethal attacks- and eventually forced them to run. At which point we took whatever weapons they'd left behind and returned to our camp.

Which they attacked this morning.

An act of retaliation, then. Thank you; I understand.

[Even with Miss Muffet's reassurances that they'd done all they could to avoid violence--the negotiations, the retreat--it's hard not to feel for the creatures. Of course they'd attack, if they felt they were being invaded.

(It's a little hard not to understand, looking at Miss Muffet's limbs and fangs.)

Still, it's not the time to wonder about that, not when she's been dropped literally into the middle of battle. She looks up again.]

Are there very many of you? If you fought them off before, I'd expect greater numbers than this.

[And if they're not here, they might be injured, or worse.]

[Honestly, Muffet can't entirely blame them, herself- monsters never were very good at holding grudges. It's part of why, even now, she's stuck to binding them up or tossing them away instead of shooting to kill.]

[A kindness they have very much not returned.]

Yes, there are quite a few castaways by now- I don't know the exact amount, but I suspect it's at least three or four dozen of us. As I said, they attacked our main camp, and I suspected they were looking for prisoners- one of them tried to carry me off.

[She's speaking calmly, but her expression is tense, worried. These are people who've been trying to help each other survive for the past couple months, and while she knows they're all very capable, she can't help but be concerned about everyone who's missing right now.]

Then others are likely captive, and some may be injured.

[Okay, here we go. If people need help, then Lunafreya knows what she must do.]

Would they have taken them back to their camp, do you think?

[Muffet nods.]

It seems the most likely option, to me. I've been trying to figure out the quickest route there, from what I remember of the last time we saw it. It's mostly an issue of figuring out how to get past here without drawing more attention than I can easily deal with...

[Hmm.]

My bloodline is that of healers and god-speakers, and I've little skill in combat or concealment. But should it come to battle, I can at least protect myself, and I have some defensive magic to my name.

[She appreciates the willingness to help, but one part of that description in particular catches her attention.]

God-speakers, you say? Would that happen to involve any negotiating with deities personally?

[She explains:]

There's an entity here called the Storyteller, the god of this island. They've been helpful in various ways, although our priorities are sometimes rather different. Their temple is nearby, a little further into the woods along the route I was planning to take...

[Does she negotiate with deities personally? onedirectionhahaha.mp3]

Yes. One of my functions is to forge covenants between the Astral gods and the King of Lucis.

[Whether they like it or not.]

I believe this island's Storyteller spoke with me briefly before my arrival. If you believe petitioning them for their help would yield fruit, I would be more than glad to try.

[Excellent. Muffet smiles, a plan beginning to take shape.]

It certainly couldn't hurt. I'd be surprised if they weren't aware of what was happening, by now, but any more help or information we can get from them would be good- and I suspect it might be a good way to keep you out of the thick of the fighting, since they're unlikely to appreciate the apes trying to attack someone in the middle of their temple.

[At least, she certainly hopes so. Having somewhere safe to put any noncombatants could be invaluable all by itself.]

If you're willing to follow me there, I should be able to guard you from them long enough to get you into the temple, then I can lead any of them still after us off deeper into the woods.

[It's a good plan. A well-thought out plan. It stings a little that Miss Muffet thinks she should stay out of the action even after she makes contact with the deity, but Lunafreya is wise enough to recognize sense.

She might not be wise enough to stick to sense if someone might need her aid, but at the very least, reaching the Storyteller comes first.]

Of course, I'll follow. But will you be all right, fighting on your own?

[Normally, she'd have phrased that more gracefully, but under the circumstances safety takes precedence over tact, and that meant trusting Lunafreya's assessment of her own skills as not suited to combat.]

[As it is, she smiles gratefully at the girl's concern and willingness to help.]

Thank you. I appreciate the thought, but I should be fine- the deep woods is a much better location for my preferred method of fighting than the beach, making it into there will shift things a bit more in my favor.

[Her purple magic, the shining strands of web, is far from useless out in the open, but it's less helpful without something sturdy to anchor it too. Having plenty of large trees and rocks to choose from will make it much easier for her to lay traps.]

[Lunafreya nods. She hasn't seen much of Miss Muffet's brand of combat yet, but she understands, in theory, the tactical advantage of a change in terrain.]

Very well. I pray there we might also find others to aid us--if for nothing other than my peace of mind.

[She adjusts the knapsack on her back--when did that get there, anyway? She'll have to check it out later--and nods again.]

Even the most capable of warriors fights better with a capable comrade at their side, do they not?

[Muffet nods.]

That's another good reason to head for the temple, really: it's a recognizable landmark, and anyone else who managed to get away might have headed for it. Hopefully, I'll be able to meet up with someone there.

Are you ready to move when I say 'go'?

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October Intro: Louder than Sirens, Louder than Bells

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