lifeaftr | January Intro: I Know the Winter's Getting Colder

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January Intro: I Know the Winter's Getting Colder

INTRO LOG: JANUARY

Who: Everyone!
What: New souls arrive to the archipelago of LifeAftr
When: January 5th and onward
Where: Chol and surrounding waters
Warnings: Mark as needed!

The Overview: New Lands
New arrivals will not be waking in the typical hub of activity; instead, they will find themselves coming to on the small island of Chol. While the island's fringes are little more than an unforgiving spread of craggy, canyon-like rock and coastal cliffs, the island dips down to form a fertile divot of edenic woodland in its center. The people living there will even be helpful and polite to you, should you inquire after them.

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!

Icebreaker: This is the Winter of Our Youth
Unless you're someone with a fondness for the cold, you'll undoubtedly be waking with more than a slight chill in your bones. The appearance of the island of Chol has signaled a coming event of great import in LifeAftr, and unfortunately, the signs of that event's approach have already been set in motion. The temperature has begun to drop as the sun's rays begin to die, faster and faster, leading to an impressive cold snap in the ocean waters - particularly those surrounding Chol.

It is for that reason that you won't be waking on Chol, per se. Instead, you'll be waking on a thick crust of ice that's mantled itself over the ocean waters, freezing solid enough to bear your weight...for the most part.

The ice won't hold forever; it isn't meant to. If you happen to be particularly vivacious in your waking, or especially active in general, thick cracks will start to spiderweb out from underneath those impacts with low, warning chunks and wrenches of fracturing ice. Better hurry to land soon, unless you care to take a little dip into those freezing cold ocean waters.

Mainland: When We Pick Over the Past
Should you make it to the land of Chol, braving the iced-over waters surrounding its craggy shores, you'll encounter something at least as startling - the people who have elected to set up a rudimentary encampment upon its lands. While a bit on the scalier side, the Jormun are nonetheless allied to you land-dwellers, and will welcome you to the island.

Most will be preoccupied with preparations for an approaching siege, but many will comment idly that the cold is a sign of the coming battle. Some may point you to their leader, known to most as Munin, but others will venture hospitality based on the actions of those land-dwellers that came before you, who were successful in allying themselves to this sea-dwelling people.

Those who might have braved the cold a little too fiercely will quickly be offered some rather rough blankets - perhaps more on par with burlap sacks in terms of texture - as well as a hot brew that the Jormun call brrkshavak. Heated to a boil just prior to being served, the drink will be more than adequate in warming your weary bones, though it bodes mentioning that it is both scalding hot and made with a fleshy kind of undersea herb that is akin to crushed chili pepper in taste.

It'll warm you up, all right.

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.

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

[Gobbet nods with an eager grin. She's had time to get PUMPED.]

Apparently the sun is going to die and be reborn. We have to protect it from shadow monsters for a week to make sure it isn't snuffed out for good.

[She reaches for her pack and her wassail jug as she explains, offering it to Asgore towards the end of her sentence as a casual punctuation of the definitively not casual statement.]

[.....okay, he'll take it and take a small drink, because a large drink from him is large and he hasn't yet realized that they don't run out]

...gosh, that sounds dangerous! Is there somewhere safe for the people who cannot fight to go?

[Gobbet nods.]

Sure. The Storyteller's temple is far enough from the shore and easy to defend. I think they themselves are going to protect it. They'll still need help keeping warm and fed for that week, but it should be totally safe otherwise. It's on the main island - I can get someone to lead you there before the fighting starts.

[She takes a swig from the jug before pouring a little into her cupped palm. The rat on her shoulder happily accepts the offering, lapping it up eagerly with tiny, satisfied squeaks.]

We've still got some time to prepare though, so don't feel rushed.

[It finally strikes her that this is a new arrival and she's probably scaring the shit out of everyone she greets with this news.]

Sorry if I seem a little...indifferent, about it. Just been working on preparing for a while already. I've had a lot of time to digest it all.

Oh, I did not mean for myself. I can fight well enough. But I know there are...children here.

[If he seems subdued, it's probably because he's a new arrival and this is super overwhelming, right?]

No, that is alright. It seems that nearly every world can sound bizarre to those from the outside, yet completely normal to those who know it. I was just in a place where we had all come from different worlds.

[Gobbet thinks back to the only kid she's ever actually met. Kidwun, they'd asked to be called. They seemed capable enough, though Gobbet didn't expect to see them on the battlefield. Maybe she would stop by the Storyteller's temple and make sure all the kids were there and safe.]

Then you'll adjust quick enough. But I pretty much have to ask if you can fight, since we'll need all the help we can get.

I understand. Of course, I will do whatever I can to help.

[He doesn't seem particularly enthused about the idea of fighting. But, of course, he won't stand aside while others defend whatever sort of community has sprung up here. He'd have done the same for the others.]

I also have some healing magic. Is that very common here?

Not very, I don't think. I have a basic heal of my own, but it's limited. You made this fire, too, right?

[She can think of plenty of places where you would be welcome and needed, Asgore.]

I did. All of my magic takes the form of fire...except for my weapon, I suppose. [He adds this as if he's somehow not super thrilled with having a magic weapon?] It is the color that varies - a green fire would be healing. But that is a little more taxing than just making sure this one does not burn anybody.

Sweet - the creatures we're up against are afraid of light, and the cold means we'll need heat. They could use your magic at the temple or in camp, to be honest.

[Gobbet lets out a breathy laugh.]

Sorry you got yanked from your world, but I am glad to have you in light of current circumstances.

Ha ha. [It's not really a genuine laugh, but that's all right.] I suppose I am glad to be of use, then. It does make me feel better, that time may be frozen in the places we have left...

[With any luck, no one will have time to miss him.]

Got a lot of unfinished business back home?

[It's a loaded question in some ways, but her lazy half-smile seems innocent enough.]

Some, yes. And friends who would be worried, to lose track of me after everything that has happened.

[Even if it's a loaded question, he doesn't seem to think his answer could be particularly troublesome to anybody. Lots of people probably have unfinished business.]

We were in a dangerous situation recently, so we have been sticking closely together.

Out of the frying pan, into the fire, I guess.

[Gobbet has simultaneously thought very much and very little of her friends since arriving here. On the one hand, attachments were dangerous and impractical in her line of work, so she generally avoided making them. On the other, she never expected to actually lose any of them and was thoroughly attached to at least two of the five in their group. The knowledge - or at least the suspicion - that things were just on hold back home made it seem so...unreal, anyway.]

What kind of danger?

[Better or worse than the death of the sun?]

...ah. It was...

[He's a little hesitant, but really he's not sure why; none of it is a secret. It's just strange, perhaps, to talk to someone who was outside of it again.]

...we had been locked in a building, and told that we would have to murder one another to be allowed out.

Oh shit. That's rough, buddy.

[She knows it's not her place to ask, but she kind of wants to know if he did any murdering. It's not like she's going to judge him - her body count is pretty high, after all.]

You don't have to murder anybody here. It is, in fact, strongly discouraged.

[Gobbet laughs, stroking the head of the black rat in her lap. Yeah, the Storyteller probably wouldn't endorse murderparties.]

Yes, well. We managed to come to an agreement with our captors. There were no permanent deaths.

[Which is very much not the same as saying "nobody died". Asgore smiles a little at the joke, though he doesn't quite dredge up a laugh.]

I had assumed as much.

[Aw, come on. Not even a giggle?]

[Gobbet leans back a little, considering Asgore with an amused grin.]

[Now's the time to bring up the sweater. Calculated.]

Okay, tell you what, last question from me and then you can pick the conversation topic: Be it questions, casual, or just telling me to get lost.

You seem far too down in the dumps for a dude wearing a "Mr. Dad Guy" sweater. You okay?

[Asgore's smile goes a little melancholy.]

Oh, do not worry about me. It has simply been a...full day.

[Honestly, being randomly dropped into another world would have been manageable on its own. Upsetting, yes, but manageable. This, though...

Too many people who know him.]

[Gobbet regards him curiously. If he wanted to talk, he would. She assumes, anyway. That's how she works, so it must be how the world works.]

A lot of those coming up, unfortunately. But a deal's a deal. Any questions for me?

[Or do you need some space to digest?]

...gosh, I'm not sure I even know enough to know what my questions are yet.

[It's definitely a lot to digest. But Asgore scrubs a hand over his eyes and then glances around at the general gathering, trying to re-focus.]

Where does everyone stay? This looks like it's mostly a Jormun camp.

Mm. Off the mainland there's a chain of islets with a bunch of cottages and shacks on them. None of the uninhabited ones are in good shape. Hell, a lot of the inhabited ones don't look so hot either. But they're usually safe from disasters and can only be reached by mana pools. Or boats, I guess. Just find one that doesn't have anybody's stuff in it and it's yours. Or bunk with someone willing to bunk, if you're the type who likes that sort of thing.

[Gobbet smiles weakly.]

There's also a compound that used to belong to killer monkeys. It's safe now, but it's right next to a door that leads to slow and painful death in a dark cave system. Not a glowing endorsement, I know, but it's an option.

[There's also the camp on Monsun but 1) she's a tad bitter about them accidentally muscling her out of her own camp and 2) she has a feeling Monsun will disappear soon. Something the Storyteller had said about impermanence in the archipelago. So she fails to mention it.]

Is there something living in the cave?

[Not that Asgore would ever, ever want to make a cave his home ever again. But he's not terribly opposed to just being near one.]

It's...what's down there isn't really...alive. More like. Reanimated.

[She sighs, taking a sip of wassail to warm her tongue and calm her nerves. It's weird to her, being residually afraid of something that happened and resolved itself. Is this what trauma is?]

[It's lame. She doesn't recommend it.]

Down in those caves there's a virus that...it turns you to crystal, from the inside out. Only, the crystals come to life after they kill you and lumber around all huge and faceless, seemingly with no other purpose than to infect anyone who goes down there.

[She might still be down there, come to think of it. Her last dead body, crystallized and wandering and waiting to infect someone else.]

There's a huge stone door in their way, though. They won't come crawling out of there any time soon. I just couldn't live there because it's got a bad memory attached to it, but it's perfectly safe otherwise.

...mmmm. Like crystal zombies.

[Asgore's face seems drawn; maybe he has some personal experience with zombies?]

Well. That is good. Perhaps some people in the area would not be a bad thing, if only to keep watch.

Better you than me, Goatdad.

[She pulls the nickname from his appearance and shirt, not from any personal experience with him. She's in the habit of giving folks nicknames they didn't ask for, Asgore, sorry to say.]

[Gobbet stretches, sending the black rat on her shoulder into the folds of her clothes. A quiet squeak implies a second rat somewhere, perhaps in one of the box pouches at her belt, but if it's there it fits too naturally to be noticed.]

Anything else?

January Intro: I Know the Winter's Getting Colder

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