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

lonce | ota

[thegoofball]

a; rocks fall, everyone dies
[Lance was, you know, kind of hoping for peace and quiet. Just do some friendly training, introduce some trees to the wonders of cow milk and cheese, and be done with it.

But then the rumbles start, and the rocks start tumbling, and Lance finds himself trapped in a house.]

Oh, come on! Why is everything always trying to kill us?

[He kicks at the sealed over door, grumbling.]

This is ridiculous.

b; oh lordy
[Lance's hope for peace and quiet is further dashed by the emergence of the lorbies.

Lance, not really expecting them to be dangerous, goes quiet when he spots one.]

Okay, it's official. [He puts his hands on his hips.] Things have gone too far!

[He squints at the lorby, which looks back at him. It looks like it's gearing up to flee, or at least start screeching.]

You better not start going on about alternate realities or I swear-

b

[antepone]

[ Somehow, she's managed to avoid a swarm of lorbies. They seem pretty skittish, and if they're anything like some of the other wildlife around here, she really doesn't want to startle them.

She hopes that's a trend that'll continue, when she comes upon Lance and the lorby. ]

... Lance? Do you know what these are?

[thegoofball]

I'm not sure. [They look a lot like Slav, but there are some noticeable differences.

Mainly, the number of arms.]

But they look a lot like a guy I used to know.

[antepone]

[ From anyone else she might find that weird, but. She guesses there are alien furbies out there. That's not weird for space.

She moves closer to Lance, watching the lorby warily. There's something vaguely threatening about it... or maybe she's just picking up on its fear. ]

An alien, I'm guessing? ... They look like a toy I had when I was younger.

[thegoofball]

Yeah. [They're definitely on brand for space.] His name was Slav.

[He looks back at Mira, raising his eyebrows.]

You had a toy that looked like that?

[antepone]

Not... exactly like this. It wasn't so long.

[thegoofball]

Huh. [He can't picture it.] Slav was pretty long, but he had more arms.

[antepone]

[ Oh my god. Like a centipede?? ]

... How many arms?

[thegoofball]

Like...eight? I think it was eight.

[So still a Lot.]

[antepone]

[ Oh, that's not as bad. But still..... She considers, then looks at the lorby. ]

... I think I would be more uncomfortable if they had arms.

B

[atailoftwoworlds]

Um.........I’m not sure what alternate realities have to do with it. I do think you’re scaring it though. [Zidane just hopes this one doesn’t start screaming too. One that did almost knocked him off his feet.]

[thegoofball]

[Good. He should be scaring it.]

The last time I ran into someone like this they wouldn't stop going on about alternate realities!

[That explains Nothing.]

[atailoftwoworlds]

........What......?

[Yeah that made absolutely no sense. Just staring at you very hard Lance.]

[thegoofball]

[Wow.]

His name was Slav, and he looked just like that thing! [That's a lie. There were some obvious differences.

Mainly the fact Slav has arms.]

He was obsessed with alternate realities.

Laughing forever

[atailoftwoworlds]

......Oh. [So that’s what he’s talking about. Is this creature from his world then?] Well, uh, I don’t know this Slav guy but none of these creatures I’ve met here seem to talk. Unless screeching counts? So uh.......I don’t think you’ll hear much alternate reality talk?

8D

[thegoofball]

[Does screeching count? It doesn't not count.] Yeah, all the alternate reality stuff just comes from everyone else who lives here.

Re: 8D

[atailoftwoworlds]

......

.....Well, can't argue with that. [It does make his head hurt if he thinks about it too much so unless someone uncovers an explanation, he won't.] Still, as long as we find a way for all of us to go home of our own will, and it'll be out there, that's all that matters.

[thegoofball]

[Lance hates to be the bearer of bad news, but...]

Yeah, I get the feeling that's not happening. At least not any time soon - and by then, what's the point?

[atailoftwoworlds]

[Meanwhile, Zidane is optimistic - 99% of the time anyway. And he feels he has to be in his case.] Hey, I never said we'd find it soon. But others have left, right? I mean not voluntarily, but if we all got brought here and they somehow left, there's gotta be a way to find out how, right? I mean, it might take a long time to find [And likely will, Zidane admits to himself]. But that doesn't mean it's impossible to find.

oh lorby

[vagabone]

[He's side-eying Lance, not the Lorby, having seen three or four of the critters by now. What even. Calm down, sonny.]

What are you talking about? It's just an animal.

[thegoofball]

Nothing on these islands is ever just anything.

[He doesn't know how to explain it looks almost identical to an alien he used to know...]

[vagabone]

...Point taken.

[Given the way the critters shriek, yeah.] I haven't heard them talking, though.

[thegoofball]

That's probably for the best. [He doubts they'd have anything good to say. It'd probably be all doom and gloom.] What are they going to talk about? How you're not wearing shoes, so this is the reality where we all die in a horrible explosion?

[vagabone]

[He looks at his bare feet. Then at the Lorby. At his feet again. At Lance.

Q u é.]

What do shoes have to do with explosions?

[thegoofball]

[Lance could explain things, but...The idea doesn't occur to him.]

That's what I'm saying! It doesn't make any sense, but just you wait - they'll try to go on about it even though it makes no sense!