December Intro: Don't Come Home for Christmas

[lifeaftr_mods]

INTRO LOG: DECEMBER

Who: Everyone!
What: New souls arrive to the archipelago of LifeAftr
When: December 3rd and onward
Where: Monsun
Warnings: Mark as needed!

The Overview: Uncharted Waters
Stay alert, new adventurers; instead of the white-sand beaches of Enso, you will instead be coming to on one of two sides of the relatively uncharted lands of Monsun. Most of the information regarding this peculiar land can be found in the informational post linked, but as a quick-and-dirty rundown: Monsun's western side is a hot wasteland of a desert prone of disasters and mishaps, but will affect your character's emotional and psychological state in a positive sense, while its eastern side is a verdant forest filled with endless resources...as well as a tendency to bring out the absolute worst of your character.

To start with, all new arrivals will be showing up in one of two squares that characters uncovered last month! We are leaving it up to player discretion as to which side of the island your character arrives on, but bear in mind the psychological repercussions!

All new arrivals will additionally awake with knapsacks, their names stitched to the front. The contents of said knapsacks can all be found in your acceptance notices!

Monsun, C4: These Are Your Good Years
You wake to the hot sun steaming overhead, rapidly drying your clothes and belongings, waterlogged from washing upon this desolate shore. The heatwaves shimmer at your vision, distorting your view of the horizon. But if you really squint, it looks like there might be something dark green fringing that pipecleaner skyline, like a lush woodland awaits you on the other side of this desert nightmare. A mirage, maybe?

Whatever it is, you don't get very long to contemplate it. Beneath your feet, the ground has begun to shake as a many-headed horror erupts from the earth. Great streams of pale sand slough from its dry, scaly hide as multiple horned heads unfurl in a hissing inflorescence. The creature's eyes are all pale as grubs; it is quite blind. But that does not mean it cannot smell you. Boasting both a thick hide and a chitinous coat of sandy-colored scales that blends them perfectly with their surroundings, Sand Hydras sleep several feet under the sand until they sense the vibrations of potential prey aboveground. While they are significantly smaller than their mythological counterparts - they can only span eight to twelve feet in length - Sand Hydras are cunning creatures nonetheless with a number of heads that can vary from one to as high as ten. Their weakness, on the other hand, is simple: water burns them like acid. It seems they may flourish only in any moisture-poor environment.

Assuming your character lasts that long, remember: as physically destructive as Monsun's west may be, your character's most admirable traits will be amplified to their fullest potential by the twenty-four hour mark.

Monsun, D3: Before You Bury Yourself Alive
Those waking on the eastern side of the island, on the other hand, will face a far more pleasing tableau. The temperature is perfect, the sun shines modestly through the canopy of deciduous greenery above your head, and the air is thick and sweet with the smell of fresh fruit.

That's right - within minutes of their arrival, your character will discover several plants laden with fresh wild blackberries. Should that temptation arrest their attention, should they be vulnerable to the foibles of greed or hoarding or paranoia, your character may very well wish to keep this treat to themself. Or...perhaps not. Perhaps they'd much rather search out a fight, or try to steal someone else's supplies, or embark on a poorly-advised mission to swim out into Monsun's surrounding waters.

For that is, after all, the catch: as physically soothing as Monsun's east may be, your character's most hateful traits will be amplified to their fullest potential by the twenty-four hour mark.

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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.

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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

[shineinside]

[She shakes her head.] For long-distance travel like this, that power is no good. I can't use it on myself, and I can't use it while moving.

If your condition gets bad, though, I have healing abilities, too. I probably shouldn't overuse them, either, but I'm still in pretty good condition right now.

[thermalwind]

[He stares at the green in the distance. If they can’t boost their speed to get there faster they have to go the usual way. He motions for her to fall in step with him as he starts walking.]

I’ll be fine. Been in a lot worse. Keep an eye out for one of those hydras. Can you use that power to help you dodge attacks?

[His mind is churning away at all the information he’s gathered so far. It had been his water logged scanner that taught him the Hydras don’t like being wet. He’d saved his scanner.]

What are your limits? I need to know so i can cover you.

[shineinside]

[She falls in step without complaint. It'd good to find someone else that's on her side, at least.]

My strength and speed are above that of an ordinary human, but... something strange happened earlier. After fighting the hydras for a while, my strength suddenly cut out, and I was like an ordinary human again. I haven't really tried to push myself since then, so I don't know if it's temporary or not... it's never happened before.

[In an emergency, she could un-transform, at least - her 'real' body is fit enough to have been on the track team, so it'd be better than staying this way without her powers. She declines to mention that, though, mentally filing it away as a last resort option.]

I can boost someone else's strength and speed by something like double, but only one at a time, and I can't move while concentrating on it and I can't use it on myself. I can heal anyone in about a three-meter radius, which repairs injuries and clears up fatigue. That one also doesn't affect me, and it drains my own stamina to use it.

I haven't looked at the backpack's contents in detail yet, but there was at least a bag of rice in there. If we ran out of food, that could be helpful, but water is probably more important...

[thermalwind]

Let’s focus on water first. We can check over packs and what rations we have once we get that far.

[If worse comes to worse he can gather water and take a hydra down. With his companion’s capabilities in hand he puts together a plan. They need to close the distance between them and the green. They can’t do it by boost or any other way. He nods to himself. That’s fine. They’ll make it. Even if he has to pick her up and run the whole way.]

Without anything to pilot I’m fast and good with a blade. We find any kind of craft and it works I can fly it or figure out how.

[He pauses. The sands aren’t rumbling. He continues as he picks up speed into a distance eating stride.]

Just got to get to the water before nightfall, or those hydras will really start coming after us.

[shineinside]

Right. [If night falls, it should at least be colder. That'll be a huge relief as they get eaten by hydras.]

...So, I don't know how much you remember from that dream, or whatever it was, but I'm Yuka. I never got your name.

[thermalwind]

[It's the second time she's said her name, but that really doesn't matter. She's probably nervous.] Keith.

I don't know what it was either. I only remember bits and pieces of it. It might be connected to this place. I should be out in space right now.

[If it's indeed connected to here. Somewhere, somehow there's a slightly maliciously off guy that he handed a knife too. That might be a problem.]

[shineinside]

[Yeah, she's probably nervous. Her player definitely didn't forget how the thread started, it's just nerves. Yes.

Yuka's quiet for a while, before speaking up again without preamble.]

Have you been in situations like this before, Keith?

[thermalwind]

Usually it involves a crash. My ship is missing. [He frowns as a faint trembling warns him that they might be in trouble again. He draws his knife from the sheath.]

Don’t run. If those tremors aren’t coming for us we’ll draw attention to ourselves. ...been in a situation like this before? [Might as well ask. She’s nervous but seemingly calm.]

[shineinside]

[She freezes. Their eyes looked strange, so it's possible that they use other senses to hunt. She lowers her voice.]

I've fought monsters before, but the situation was totally different. I don't know anything about this kind of wilderness survival...

[thermalwind]

[He slows to a creep. The heat is getting inside under his armor. He can ignore it for now.]

...if I picked you up and ran, could you boost me? You’d be moving but not by your own feet.

[He can teach the wilderness survival pretty easily. It’s a good idea.] a I can show you survival training when we get out of this.

[shineinside]

I... don't know. I've never tried, but there's at least a chance that it could work.

[It never came up in the Imaginaerium; she always just used it for fighting. Clever thinking, Keith.]

[thermalwind]

We got nothing to lose by trying it. [Keith sheathes his knife and adjusts his pack straps and slides it from his shoulders. He ties it to his side like a belt pouch. He secures it to ensure it would not be dislodged in any way. He frees his weapons. If he needs them he has them free to swing. The trembling of the sands is still a little ways off. It makes him long for the Lions. Briefly. It won’t help them now. He kneels down and nods to her.]

Climb on when you’re ready.

[The hydras eyes were odd but he just has to focus on pushing every bit of strength and speed out of himself. Good thing he can fixate on a goal like no one else.]

[shineinside]

[This is a bit of a clunky solution, and it's kind of embarrassing to ride on the shoulders of someone who's about the same age as you, but eh. Let's go for it. Yuka climbs onto Keith's back, closes her eyes, and concentrates.

...It seems to be working. The strength boost is more than enough to make up for the weight of the girl he's carrying.]

[thermalwind]

[He carefully rises to his feet. Experimentally he flicks his knife. Good, he'll have free movement.

One breath in and he trots forward. The tremors shift direction coming directly towards them. Keith switches from a slow build-up of speed to moving like a pebble released from a sling. He bends low, letting Yuka's weight help him balance.

Purple light suffuses his knife, transforming it into a sword. So far the plan in motion isn't horrible.]

[shineinside]

[She can feel that, even transmitted through Keith. This is a big one.]

We're running, not fighting, right? Those things are really strong...

[thermalwind]

Yeah. We're running this time. If we keep fighting them in this heat without water we're going to pass out.

[He's no desire to be lunch. The Hydra is trying to keep pace with them. It's pretty big. As it bursts out of the sand, glances back. That's sure ten feet of scaly beast.]

Definitely not fighting it.

[shineinside]

All right, I'll leave it to you.

[There's not much she can do back here, so she quiets down, closes her eyes again, and concentrates on making sure Keith's power boost isn't interrupted. Doing this while on the move is new territory, so who knows what might happen.]

[thermalwind]

[The Hydra does try to give chase but Keith is moving faster than it can. But mysteriously it retreats abruptly as the air gets cooler and the sound of water drifts to them. Keith slows down and finally comes to a stop when it plunges back into the sand.]

...what the? Did you see that?

[shineinside]

...Yeah. I thought it would try harder than that...

[Keeping the boost going, just in case. What's different about this area?]

Maybe it's the change in temperature? We're far enough out that it's hard to even call this a proper desert anymore.

[thermalwind]

[The trembling of the earth beneath his feet is receding into the distance. He stares after it feeling a bit of his relaxed calm ebbing despite their lack of danger. It had been sliding away with every step but he hadn’t noticed until now. He shakes his head and walks a little further.

No pursuit.]

I think we’re in the clear. I’ll let you down. [He kneels down to let her climb off and peers suspiciously about them.] Don’t see anything else. So maybe it really is just the temperature.

[shineinside]

[Yuka gets down, feeling a bit less awkward now that she isn't riding on a near-stranger's back.]

If it's something climate-based, then we should be safe from here on. Or, at least, if there's more monsters, they'll be something completely different from the ones in the desert.

[thermalwind]

[Keith rises to his feet and pads forward light on his feet.] At least we don’t have to worry about dehydrating. Let’s see if that water we’re hearing is safe to use.

[He slips the axe away but leaves his sword out. There’s a chance something horrible will burst out of the river and come for them.]

Makes you wonder. If the climate change is that big of a deal for it....it might slow down when frozen or something like that.

[shineinside]

[Continuing north, they do reach the river. It... looks nice, although the hard cut from green to desert is a bit jarring.]

...So, I don't know about you, but I have no idea how to tell if water is safe to drink.

[thermalwind]

[...he checks his belt pouch and produces a small black cylinder. He shakes it, dislodging water.]

And my scanner is broke so we couldn't even check that way.

[Nothing to boil it in either.

...]

You said you can heal, right?

[shineinside]

Injuries and fatigue, at least. I can't get rid of hunger or thirst... I have no idea whether or not it would work on disease. My guess would be I could at least keep the symptoms at bay.