October Intro: Louder than Sirens, Louder than Bells

[lifeaftr_mods]

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!

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LOGS ● OOC ● STORIES ● MAIN NAVIGATION

( CODED BY BOOTYCALL )

Comments

[power_of_dominance]

[He relaxes a bit more as the scent hits him: the blood is a bit old, there are no fresh wounds on her, at least nothing that should be concerning. He tries to smile without showing his fangs too much, but it ends up looking tight and uncertain.]

At least I can keep trouble away from you while you help. Fighting's about all I'm good for.

[Protect her. Guard the healer. Others don't understand, they'll think her a witch and burn her, BURN her, for trying to help. They don't deserve her compassion....

He shakes himself free from those seconds of fugue, eyes refocusing on her.]

I'm Soma.

[shedgrace]

Lunafreya Nox Fleuret.

[She bows, somehow graceful even in a dress torn to ribbons.]

Your protection would be invaluable, Sir Soma. Are you uninjured yourself?

[She noticed that brief slip of his out of focus.]

[power_of_dominance]

Yes... yes, I'm fine. Just a bit dazed. I don't remember how I got here.

[He takes a deep breath and when he lets it out, his smile is a bit less stiff. He returns the bow, the proper son of his Japanese mother.]

Just Soma's okay, I'm no knight. But it's good to meet you, Lunafreya.

[shedgrace]

[There's someone important he reminds her of, and it cheers her even as her worry for that person grows, the longer she doesn't find him.]

Just 'Luna' will do for me, as well.

[Though if he doesn't remember how he came to be here, perhaps no one explained the nature of this island to him.]

Soma, do you happen to remember... something like a dream, before you arrived here?

[power_of_dominance]

A... dream?

[He looks uncomfortable. Right now, there are so many dreams and memories floating around in his head, he can't tell what she might mean. His head's a mess, and it's not like he really wants anyone poking around in there.]

I'm not sure. My head's a little fuzzy right now. I know I didn't hit it or anything, maybe it's just shock.

[shedgrace]

Please, do not push yourself overmuch. These circumstances would prove disorienting to anyone.

[Self-care is not losing yourself to your memories of being Dracula.]

I ask because I and another new arrival to these shores shared a dreamlike experience prior to finding ourselves here. Within it, among other things, a deity called the Storyteller explained some of the workings of this land, though they could only deny that they were the force that brought us.

[power_of_dominance]

I wish I could remember. Maybe once we get out of this mess, you can fill me in, see if that jogs my memory.

[Soma's never been great at self-care, sadly. He's more of the "charge in and take care of everyone's problems at great personal risk" type.]

I'm okay for now, I can keep going as long as people need help.

[shedgrace]

Of course. Now is not the time for us to talk of gods, but to act as men.

[She nods and firms her grip on her trident.]

I... shall keep to the edges of the fray. [Not because she wants to, but because she doesn't want to worry the young man too much.] But if someone closer to the heart of the battle has need of aid, please call for me. I am not so delicate as I might appear.

[power_of_dominance]

Luna? You're definitely a lady, but there's nothing delicate about your will. I can see it in your eyes and the way you carry yourself.

[God, did he really just say that? She's going to think he's hitting on her, isn't she? He just doesn't want her to think he's underestimating her, that's all. He's starting to blush.]

I... I mean... um... I believe you, okay? I only want to protect anybody I can.