lifeaftr | April Intro: Better Get to Digging

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.

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.

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

[ It's not the first time they've seen someone with a shell like this, but it's exceedingly rare for them to see such people take them off. So, naturally, they're fascinated - especially since this person is incredibly tall. Plus, unlike many of the other shells they've seen of this type, this one is black and white.

They're enough of a child that any superficial similarities draw their attention. So, Maine will easily feel like he's being watched while he contemplates his helmet; the Knight isn't making much of an attempt to hide themselves from view.

They just...peek out from behind a nearby tree, and stare. They're not even blinking (mostly because they're, uh, incapable of it in the first place). It might be a little unsettling. ]

[ The Freelancer does indeed feel like he's being watched. He raises his head to scan his surroundings, dark eyes intense beneath a furrowed brow, and he sees … a thing. A tiny thing. A thing with a bone-white face and gaping black holes for eyes.

What the fuck.

Maine blinks and stares back. Maybe it's a kid wearing a mask…? A really small kid, sure, but it wouldn't be the weirdest thing to happen to him today. He tilts his head slightly in curiosity and a silent question: what do they want? ]

[ Bolstered by his neutral reaction (it's not actively hostile, so it's good enough) they emerge from their hiding place and approach. It's made even clearer up close how tiny the Knight is compared to Maine, barely scraping two feet tall.

They can't reach his helmet - and it's impolite, they've learned, to just touch people's belongings without asking. So they point to the helmet, and then pat at their own mask-face.

Whether they're trying to indicate look, it's similar or just that they're interested in it, or something else altogether, is unclear. But it's clearly caught their attention. ]

[ As talented as Maine is with nonverbal communication, he's still not entirely sure what the kid — or what he thinks is a kid — means by their gestures. It takes time to learn each individual's physical expressions, just as it takes time to learn their tone of voice. But Maine decides to take a shot at figuring out what they mean.

The Freelancer flips his helmet over and slides it back onto his head. Looks down at the tiny child through his gold visor, then pats his helmet and points to their mask in turn.

See? They're twins. ]

[ At Maine's action, they clap their hands in a clear and (hopefully) obvious sign of happiness, or excitement, or delight. Something nonspecific and cheerful like that.

They draw their tiny sword, but it's only to scratch some words in the dirt. They make the words large, so Maine doesn't have to lean down too much to read them. ]

CANNOT TALK ?
SAME AS ME ?

[ Whatever momentary tension enters Maine when they draw their little sword fades when they begin using it to write. He peers down at the words, then shakes his head. ]

Can.

[ His voice is deep and extremely rough, but the word is distinct. He can speak; he just chooses not to. Or, when he does, he chooses to use very few words. ]

DO NOT WANT TO ?
I UNDERSTAND

[ It's tiring to talk, even though it's a wondrous thing to have a voice at all. Maybe this person is a little like that. ]

I AM KNIGHT
NICE TO MEET YOU
WHAT IS YOUR NAME

Edited 2019-04-11 07:05 (UTC)

[ Maine nods to the tiny Knight, confirming that he just doesn't want to speak. Actions are easier. More honest, too. ]

Maine.

[ No "Agent" preceding it. Just "Maine." And, after a moment of thought, he offers his giant hand for the Knight to shake. ]

Edited (missed a "the") 2019-04-12 01:19 (UTC)

April Intro: Better Get to Digging

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