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!

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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

[greatcleavage]

[Roy has taken out a few trees and towers, so he can't fault anyone for environmental destruction at this point. He's not so sure the kiting techniques are the best though.]

[Roy dips him a slight nod, but gives no other sign of noticing as he makes a show of turning back to his work. Never mind that said work appears to be nothing more than waving his sword menacingly at a tower that doesn't even have an occupant at this point; he doesn't want to give the cluster of apes chasing the other guy the idea that he's noticed them. They might back off or split off otherwise, instead of going for the cheap swarm trick.]

[crosslaced]

[Look, he didn't go to RPG school.

Roy not getting out of the way is all he needs. With one last detour- to fling a nearby Burdoc at an ape chasing some other prisoner, derailing that train of action- Laurent sprints past Roy and brings his pursuers right in the fighter’s path.]

Tag.

[In deference to Roy’s incredible amount of injuries, the blonde makes one more move- scooping up a fallen spear, he sends it in an arc over Roy’s head. It lands in the heart of the leading monkey, and as it crumples the second one crashes into it. Something screeches.

This at least will create a second or two of confusion, but Roy still has to plough down a whole bunch of monkeys. Tag, you're it!]

[greatcleavage]

[Roy has a few tools at his disposal to address this situation: a +5 greatsword, a Strength score that puts some giants to shame, plenty of levels of fighter, and the Great Cleave feat.]

[The moment the apes are in range, Roy turns, takes a dozen purposeful steps forward right into their midst, and whirls his sword in an arc of starmetal-alloyed steel. Call it reaping wheat, maybe; the result is much the same. Every ape, along with a couple of slender trees that were too close to the path of the weapon, goes flying. Or at least their top halves do, as their legs slump and drop to the ground, carrying half their abdomens with them.]

[crosslaced]

[The guts and other viscera of multiple halved monkeys spoil the effect, as the reality of warfare usually does. It's almost a shame, because the move is extremely impressive; the blonde, for once, does look impressed.

When he speaks it’s in a fairly cavalier tone:]

...Well, that’s most of the guards in this section.

[greatcleavage]

Yeah. We're doing a terrific job, killing all these relatively helpless apes. And no, I haven't forgotten that they were about to do the same to us, including plenty of innocent and defenseless people.

[Which is why he's doing this. It sucks. This whole thing sucks, and Roy figures this is one battle he's not going to come out of clean.]

Are you all right?

[crosslaced]

Helpless?

[Really? He's going to run into a moralizer every time he takes out his sword?]

I’m fine. If it offends your conscience, you can always turn yourself in.

[He looks unhurt- and if he can be snide he can fight, presumably.]

[greatcleavage]

There's no one's conscience it shouldn't offend, although I recognize that a large number of people here are perfectly comfortable with this solely as a matter of self-defense. [Roy shrugs, well aware there is literally no hope for this.] That doesn't make it any less necessary. Do you know of anyone else in immediate need or danger?

[crosslaced]

As it turns out, many creatures survive to adulthood without a fully functioning conscience.

[It’s a wry response as Laurent scans the emptying compound.]

No, but I haven't been to the far end.

[greatcleavage]

That's at least some good news. [Roy exhales, letting some of the tension out of his muscles. He almost appears to shrink a little, given his size and strength, though his relaxation is less confident and more simple weariness.] Have people been getting to safety too, then?

im so sorry

[crosslaced]

[mildly, glancing towards the compound’s entrance:]

I do believe we both have eyes.

[greatcleavage]

Yes, and fluency in the nuance of conversational skills, which under normal circumstances could be bypassed in favor of contextual understanding. That apparently not being the case, allow me to rephrase: are you aware of any barriers to escape preventing the immediate egress of noncombatants besides the obvious simian opposition?

[Why is this his life.]

cw: mildly sexual language

[crosslaced]

[If there's a way to get Laurent to cooperate…. this isn't it.]

Because nothing turns people on like pulling an entire thesaurus out of your ass.

[laurent no

He's scavenging weapons fallen in the conflict as he speaks, eyeing the sealed door at the end of the compound.]

[greatcleavage]

Then don't be a jerk about questions asked with less specific language. [Roy says this without any vitriol and punctuates it with a shrug. Either don't make him be very precise or don't complain about him being very precise... or do both and just be a jerk, whatever. At this point Roy has entirely given up on pretty much everyone barring a couple specific exemptions, and he's frankly amazed the group hasn't started trying to take advantage of the chaos to slay and loot each other.] All I care about is getting people to safety before anyone gets severely hurt or killed. We don't have the resources to address that.

if you'd like, they can split up now and wrap this thread! it's up to you.

[crosslaced]

[Isn't it amazing, really. there's so much to be gained by taking pot shots at some of the others right now- but he doesn't consider himself moral for abstaining. it's a matter of being not entirely stupid.]

Good for you, [He said with a cheerful tone that implied ‘I don't care’.] This is my nice side, actually.

[There seems to be some commotion from behind the door. after a moment of eying it intently, the blonde starts making his way towards it.]

If you're so concerned, why aren't you investigating it?

Seems inevitable!

[greatcleavage]

I considered asking someone with potential eyewitness reports to be part of investigating it, actually. I can't be everywhere at once.

[Though he's starting to believe that is literally the only option that would keep people alive, considering no one else on the island is trying to work with that goal.]

If you see anyone in trouble, please send them my way if possible. [He doesn't for a second believe it'll happen, but whatever. It is what it is.]

[Gripping his sword, Roy sets off further into the compound at a double-move.]