lifeaftr | 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 )

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Clementine is making steady progress; one of the bars of wood already snapped now, she reaches to hack one a few feet across.

She can't help but pause a little, tense, when it becomes apparent the monkeys have realised what's happening. But then Asriel seems to do something to them, slowing them down. She's seen magic before, so it's not too surprising. Wow though, it is pretty cool.

Not wanting to waste time now, she starts hammering into the wood more quickly. One more bar to break and they should have a hole big enough for each of them. ]

Yeah - Yeah, of course. There's about forty or fifty other people that got taken here too. I can take you to where we've all been kind of living the last few months. Um. It shouldn't be too far...

[ She frowns a little. She's pretty sure she hasn't explored this part of the island before, so she might not be entirely certain on the exact route to take, admittedly. ]

[Well, it looks like their captors have finally taken notice of their escape attempt. Kanaya can't help but feel a little worried as Asriel summons the strange looking magical pellets; there's nothing she can do while they're still in the cage. She has no magic, no weapons -- she might be able to distract them with a cloud of faerie dust or bop them in the face, but that requires the monkeys to be much closer. For now, her safety is firmly in Asriel's hands. (Paws? Whatever.)]

Once we're out of here, I'll be better able to disorient them and cover our escape, but until then, I'm afraid it's up to you, Asriel.

[She glances upwards. Clementine's making good time -- it won't be long before they can start climbing out.] That's a small comfort, at least, if safety isn't too far off. Is it possible some of your friends would have noticed your disappearance and come looking?

You can count on me!

[For now, all he has to do is keep that ring of bullets in existence. The monkeys are still at a point where they think they can circumvent it or get past it; he just has to buy time by shifting the ring every time they try to reach over it or adding a new bullet every time one bursts against their reaching hands. It's too weak to do more than smart a little, but - but it's better that way. Better if they can figure out how to do this without too much harm.

He just hopes they can get away quickly. Once the monkeys give up on trying to get around the bullets, the obvious next course of action is to call in backup, after all.]

We'll follow your lead, Clementine. Don't worry, we'll have your back until your friends find you!

[ Clementine gives Asriel a small, grateful smile, then turns to answer Kanaya's question. ] They should notice... There's three other guys who share the cottage, and I might not even be the only one those things took.

[ Not seconds after she's said that the hatchet saws through the last bit of wood, which falls onto the floor below. There's now a hole in the ceiling of their cage big enough for them each to crawl through and onto the top. ] Got it! Shall I go up first?

You're already up there, so that seems like the most sensible and expedient option, and I'll stay behind to lift Asriel up as well. After that, I'm afraid that I might need some assistance in my own escape attempt.

[~~WITH A MIGHTY HEAVE KANAYA FASTBALL SPECIALS CLEMENTINE TO SAFETY~~ by which I mean that when Clementine is ready, Kanaya goes ahead and hoists her up to help with the climbing. Afterwards, she shakes her hands out -- they were starting to get a little tired -- and readies herself to repeat the process again for Asriel. ]

Get ready to go quick - I don't think I can get out of here and keep the bullets up at the same time!

[Asriel risks a look over his shoulder. Clementine is already through, and Kanaya's ready to lift him. Now or never!

He clenches his paw, and the halo of bullets explodes outward. Banking on the precious few seconds of time that'll buy, he darts over to Kanaya, ready to get bolstered out then just as quickly try to pull her up, too.

At least she'll find him remarkably light for his size. Being empty inside and also made of little more than dust and magic has its side effects, after all.]

October Intro: Louder than Sirens, Louder than Bells

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sorry this is late

np! I've been pretty slow too

me too sorry fam