April Intro: Better Get to Digging

[lifeaftr_mods]

INTRO LOG: APRIL

Who: New arrivals, and you!
What: New souls arrive to the archipelago of LifeAftr
When: April 4th and onward
Where: Cahypdo
Warnings: Mark as needed!

Waking up to the gentle proddings of what appears to be very curious, sentient trees isn't the worst wake up call LifeAftr has to offer. For our newest arrivals, however, it may be a tad…odd.

Situated in the valley between two mountains, Elower is a scenic village filled with the friendly Roaka, tree-like beings that are rather peaceable and happy to assist those who have just arrived. I'’s a peaceful location for one to start their adventures - though, unfortunately, it doesn't stay peaceful for long.

Cahypdo: You'll Bury Me Low
Those who have explored the new island of Cahypdo in the last month will undoubtedly recall the series of quakes that shook the island throughout March. With the arrival of LifeAftr's newest adventurers comes Cahypdo's largest tremor to date, striking without warning and more than enough force to throw even the steadiest and sturdiest of your number to the ground. With a low rumble, the mountains heaped on either side of the island will start to shed an abundance of slag and debris, pouring down their slopes. Anyone who's scaling those peaks risks being flung bodily off them when the outpouring of shale comes roaring down those mountains, and anyone at the mountain bases risks being crushed beneath.

As one might expect, unsuspecting newcomers aren't all that have been shaken up. Though protected by netting and retaining walls, the cliffs around and above the village of Elower can only take so much pressure before giving way - a threshold that has been crossed entirely. With a sound like thunder, rocks fall.

Everyone dies? Only if you don't act quickly. Roaka housing is sturdy in build, enough to protect a decidedly less sturdy body from all but the heaviest of boulders. Hiding inside any of their village constructs built into the sides of the mountains will certainly save you from taking a new weight onto your shoulders. They will not, however, save you from being buried alive.

For those who become trapped inside any of those abodes, your options appear limited. Work to free yourself, or wait for help to arrive. Though, speaking of help, those outside may think to offer the Roaka a helping hand in getting their trapped people - and yours, at that - a few breaths of fresh air.

Before you suffocate.

Cahypdo: Stay Acting Brave
Such seismic activity will also stir up the local wildlife, of course. Those unfortunate enough to come across them will recognize the restless shark-dragon hybrids, hydrac, now prowling across the shorelines, while the wickedly fanged wabbits will also be far more frequent, traveling in larger numbers in the jungle and at the bases of the mountains. Taking care to avoid them would be wise - though another creature may make that venture much more difficult.

Lorbies have been unlocked in the bestiary! A strange mix between owl and serpent, the recent quake has clearly startled these usually reclusive creatures into the open. Alone, a lorby is a rather skittish animal, prone to hiding from most perceived threats. Useless for food due to the toxicity of their flesh, lorbies do have the potential to be tamed...but this comes with its own risks.

A lorby may be prone to flight rather than fight when encountered solo, but in groups, these feathery critters are far more hostile. A defensive lorby emits a piercing cry alone, but a group is an almost ear-piercing experience, capable of rendering the unfortunate unstable on their feet at best, and unconscious at worst. For the days that follow the severe earthquake that so rocked everyone's foundations, any hope for silence is lost in the infrequent bursts of almighty screeching by colonies of lorbies who have so rudely had their homes overturned and disturbed.

While the lorby is omnivorous, it may not think to take a bite at anything so much larger than them. That doesn't mean that conflict with these fluffy creatures won't attract something much more willing to take advantage of the fact that you may or may not have been reduced to a prone sack of meat. If something else does arrive, you best hope that it's a friendly face.

If you're interested in keeping a lorby for your own, bear LifeAftr's companion limit in mind - two per character, and no more. The lorby is omnivorous and can survive off of most odds and ends: insects, fruits, berries, critters it can dig up in the sand, and more. However, the process of trying to tame a lorby is not always successful. We recommend use of a d10, with the following guidelines:

Rolling a 10: Critical success! This lorby will love and adore you, and may even feel comfortable enough to drape itself along your neck like a beautiful, furry scarf, churring softly all the way.
Rolling 7-9: This lorby will prove high-strung and timid, even if safely befriended, and will take several weeks to warm up to you. But once it does, it's yours!
Rolling 2-6: Failure. The lorby enters a state of distress and starts screaming. Hope you brought earplugs, or you'll be snoozing for several long hours for your efforts.
Rolling a 1: Critical failure. Not only does the lorby start screaming, but its panic attracts a colony of its friends, and they all start screaming too.

Bear in mind that these are only guidelines; you are free to predetermine successes or failures as you'd like, presuming your character can sustain the companion! Our discord channel has a room for dice-rolls, if you prefer.

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

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

[eudaimonikos]

I'm not an animal. And this isn't even my house.

[Anything he can shove out of the way from here? He is much stronger than a proper human! Just kinda in a bad position for digging his way out.]

[a_shadow]

[ Since the rocks were going downhill when they hit the house, it would be pretty hard for Michael to help from where he stands. Fortunately, Tex seems ready to resume lifting rocks out of the way of the right half of the window. ]

I don't know, animals are known to be pretty aggressive.

[ A second, and a third, are lifted out of the way, and Tex backs up to size up the space left. ]

Think you can squeeze through that hole?

[eudaimonikos]

[ehhhhhh...]

One way to find out.

[HERE WE GO THROUGH THE HOLE]

[a_shadow]

[ Tex offers her hand once he's partway through and able to push up with his legs. It seems this method had worked! Tex is glad for that. She's become quite tired by this point. ]

You okay?

[eudaimonikos]

Yeah.

[Michael dusts himself off, runs a hand over his hair, adjusts his tie. He doesn't seem as fussed by his apparent near-death experience as he should be.]

Thanks for the help. [He offers her a hand with a charming smile.] I'm Michael.

[a_shadow]

[ She shakes it, and glances around and finds a rock she can rest on. ]

It's no problem.

[ A deep sigh follows as she sits down. This seems to be the limit of what she can handle of these sorts of rescues today. ]

You know the way back to the other island?

[eudaimonikos]

Pretty much only been on this one for a few hours, so no.

[He turns to look around the village.]

Boy, this place looks bad. [He pokes one of the rocks covering the house he was just in with the toe of his shoe. Someone probably lives in there...they should get the rest of it out sometime.]

[a_shadow]

It does.

[ She decides to lift off her helmet and get a breath of fresh air for a few moments. ]

I'm heading back to the main village in a bit. I've been told how to get there, if you need a guide.

[eudaimonikos]

Sure...

[But he's still looking around contemplatively.]

Maybe I'll look around a little first. Might be some more people still buried?

[a_shadow]

Go ahead. I need to rest a bit.

[ She sets her helmet down and rests with her elbows on her knees. ]

[eudaimonikos]

Yeah, okay...

[He nods and wanders off to inspect another buried building nearby. Then he just starts lifting rocks off it, much larger than it looks like a skinny old guy should be able to lift.]

[a_shadow]

[ That's curious, but Tex just waits for him to finish. They can discuss what happened afterwards. ]

[eudaimonikos]

[After he's done, he promptly gets super fussy over his outfit again. Ugh, he's all covered in dust, and his suit is messed up, and - and Tex is just sitting over there watching him? He'd sort of just assumed she'd leave and he'd find his own way to the main island...

Well, he could keep going, but it was nice of her to stick around. Best not to keep her waiting anymore.]

Okay! So what's this other island about? Gotta get a boat, or something?

[a_shadow]

Yeah.

[ She had been dozing in her place, off and on, though when Michael finally checked on with her, she was awake. She rises and replaces her helmet. ]

From what I hear, most everyone lives around the same area on the other island.

[eudaimonikos]

Oh, you just got here too?

[a_shadow]

I did. I just...woke up here. But there's no rest for the wicked around here, it seems like. You know? I would have liked to be able to settle in before I needed to rescue half of this village.

[ She begins leading the way to the other island then, not checking to see if he's following along. ]

[eudaimonikos]

[He's following, he's following]

Yeah, woulda been cool. But that's just how it goes. For me, at least - been ages since I had any real downtime.

[a_shadow]

[ She snorts lightly. ]

For me lately, it's been nothing but downtime. I'm glad to have something to do. But this was a bit much.

[eudaimonikos]

Yeah, not too familiar with earthquakes.

[......well, that's not true at all actually, but]

Real ones. Big ones, I mean.

[a_shadow]

[ She glances back at him. ]

Neither am I. I lived my whole life on a spaceship.

[eudaimonikos]

Really?

[He sounds impressed.]

Humans haven't gotten to that point yet where I'm from, what's that like?

[a_shadow]

[ She shrugs. ]

It's like living in a small village where everyone knows everyone and there's only so much to do. Not as exciting or glamorous as most people would think, I assume.

[eudaimonikos]

Still sounds kinda neat. But I've never lived in that kind of place - there were always a ton of people around, where I come from. Real rat race.

[a_shadow]

Oh, I've lived the rat race, too. There just weren't that many contestants.

[ Rather than lead Michael to a boat, she's led him to the mana pool at the south end of the island. ]

From what I'm told, you can teleport between islands using these.

[eudaimonikos]

Oh, it's a portal? [He leans over to peer into it.] Never seen one like that...