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.

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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

[tenthstreetbred]

Gobbet looks to the battlefield, trying to find ways out, while Shepard looks to the cages behind them, still full of other captives. She shakes her head.

"I'll get you as far out of here as I can but like I said earlier, I ain't leaving until everyone is out of those cages."

She feels her biotics gearing up inside her, the familiar feel of a battlefield calling her name. The peaceful island life has never been her, even with the constant stress of survival. It's here that she thrives and while it's not the healthiest thing in the world, nor is this particular battle the best, it makes sense. Commander Shepard is a weapon and it's been awhile since she has been put to use.

[ratsinadaze]

Gobbet stares at her for a moment before sighing in resignation. Hey, maybe Shepard owes something to these people. Maybe she's just the hero type and can't sleep at night unless she does one good deed a day. It was no use arguing practicality versus heroics in the middle of a combat situation. So instead, she simply nods and draws up a spell. A gentle green energy, pulsing in her hand. She offers the ball of energy to Shepard.

"If you're bent on staying, I can't stop you. I can find my way to safety, but this should help you out."

If she should accept it, she would feel her muscles grow light and loose, her breathing becoming easier and fuller. Her movements will seem faster for the next thirty minutes or so.

[tenthstreetbred]

Shepard knows that stare. It's the stare of someone who is used to saving their own hide unable to understand her brash heroics. It's nice. It reminds her of people she knows back home. The glowing green ball of energy she creates in her hands is something she doesn't know however and she looks to it for a brief moment before looking to Gobbet. She explains what it is supposed to do and there is a mixture of perplexity and curiosity inside her as she decides rather quickly to accept it. There's not much time to think logically about what this could do to her or if it will even work at all.

"Thank you, Gobbet. Stay safe, all right?"

She can already start to feel the effects of whatever it is that she's been given, her muscles no longer as heavy as before. She can feel her lungs expanding and a familiar level of biotic spark running up her spine. It's liberating and she can already feel a reckless smile tugging at the edges of her lips.

[ratsinadaze]

"I'll live."

Is the most honest answer she can give as she looks back to the battlefield. It's chaotic and messy and Gobbet feels strangely at home among the screeching and metallic tang of blood on the wind. There are openings in the tide of battle and she takes the first one she sees, disappearing into a sea of bodies living and dead.

Weaving through the fighting and occasionally slinging spells to cover herself, Gobbet finds exhaustion pulling at her muscles harder than it ever has before. This must be what the Storyteller meant by "needing to recharge". With one last look back at the cages and the pot, Gobbet shakes her head and plunges into the jungle in search of safety.