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

Interesting. Didn't work quite that way where I was; there was usually something of a pattern to the changes people went through.

I do. [He turns back to face Yukio, and holds up his Stone to show him.] Doesn't look like much, but I can call someone to help us out. Hang on.

[His decision on who to call ends up being made more or less at random; frankly, it's sort of nice to have a few options for who to contact to help out.

He makes a quick call to Legion, giving them an idea of where he and Yukio are located - and making sure they know that neither of them is injured. It seems safe to assume they're already going to be helping others, and he'd rather not give them the impression that this is more urgent than it actually is. After all, even if the space is blocked off, they've probably got plenty of time before they risk running out of air.

He pockets the Stone again, and casts a frown at the entrance, as if hoping for some kind of change in its condition.] They should be here soon.

(Soon is almost an understatement, perhaps: Their current location is not far from where their ally has described, and their current task is near completion.

Within three to five minutes, it's possible that they'll hear stone rattling, maybe even a strange mechanical chatter.)

[In that time Yukio will have started trying to dig a little, for want of anything else to do. He stops when the digging starts, stepping away from the wall of stone, tongue flicking and tail curling low between his legs. He's just a little on edge, even though he knows it's fine.]

[Ginko has started in on digging, too, standing as far off as he can from Yukio while still being able to reach the rubble. Just, for the sake of respecting his personal space.

His ears perk up at the rattling and chattering from outside, and he nods at Yukio.] That'd be them. ...Are there robots where you're from, by the way?

[He knows Rin and Yukio are from the future, sure, but... how far, he's not totally clear on.]

Not... sentient robots. [Which is what Yukio is pretty sure Ginko is actually asking about.]

Is that what's helping us right now?

(And then, a loud rumble and crash, as Legion dislodges a particularly large boulder.

...

After several perhaps somewhat worrying moments of silence, the rattling and chattering starts up again.)

Yeah. They're gonna be a hell of a lot better at this than I would be on my own.

[Obviously, given the sounds coming from outside. Ginko tosses aside another rock.] Sounds like they're getting close.

[Yukio tugs at another pile of rocks, carefully and cautiously.]

What are they like? [He's sure they're not like the Mother of Invention, but he's still curious. Besides, he's a millennial. He knows about killer robots.]

They're... interesting.

[The comment certainly isn't meant to be euphemistic; his voice is genuinely thoughtful as he says it, considering how else to go about describing Legion. ...Though, he guesses Yukio will meet them in person before too long, anyway.]

They can be a little hard to read at times, but they seem pretty personable in my experience - and certainly benevolent.

[He knows the noises from outside might be alarming, but he promises there are no killer robots here, Yukio.]

(And then, with the falling of several much smaller rocks, a hole appears. In floods sunlight, soon to be replaced by something fainter and more artificial as Legion attempts to get a look inside.)

[Yukio's main eyes squint against the brightness, but the magitech implant in his forehead can adjust to the change in brightness instantly, and it focuses on Legion as the robot peers in. Yukio does take a step back, just in case.

Ginko's turn to take the lead on this, because he does know their rescuer.]

[Ginko winces at the flood of light; as uncomfortable as the situation had been otherwise, the darkness in the blocked-off structure was actually something of a relief.

He takes a step forward, planting a hand on one of the remaining rocks.] Hey! Thanks for helping us out - how stable are the rocks looking from out there? [As much as he'd like to be out of here, he'd rather not risk a cave-in.]

(Seeing the discomfort the organics are experiencing, they dim their eye.)

You are welcome.

(They chatter, examining the rocks.)

Collapse appears unlikely.

Thank you for your assistance. [He says, with a slight bow. It does sort of grate, being forced to accept help from anyone, even a stranger.]

[That stiffly polite tone from Yukio is agonizingly familiar, and Ginko keeps his eye locked on his own hand rather than risk looking at him. He’s pretty sure he’s made the poor kid uncomfortable enough already.]

Alright. Good. Between us in here and you working out there, we should be able to get this hole big enough to get out of soon, right?

Affirmative.

(And they'll go back to work.

They can be talkative, but now isn't the time.)

April Intro: Better Get to Digging

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