lifeaftr | April Intro: Better Get to Digging

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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 )

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[Oh, don't worry, Yeager. Bucky isn't here for the constant earthquakes either. He's from Brooklyn; there weren't exactly earthquakes where he was growing up.

And speaking of the owl snake, it's a good thing sheep friend is a good ways off, enjoying her meal of grass and plants, because otherwise she could easily become a victim of the angry beast. Only taking his eyes off of the creature for a moment, he shoots Yeager an exasperated look.]

Loads of fun! I always wanted to be disemboweled by a snake with a beak!

Oh come now, you aren't going to be disemboweled! At worst you'll have a few injuries, but it won't be that bad!

[Anyway, he'll kneel a little closer to the snake, and set a piece of fruit down. He's keeping enough distance for it to not lash out at him, but it still doesn't look happy about this arrangement.]

Trust me, liebchen, you'll like it!

[...he is definitely talking to the owlsnake.]

[The owlsnake looks between Bucky and Yeager with increased apprehension. It makes a noise a little lower than the angry screech, but not by much. A growl?

Bucky once again stares at Yeager.]

I don't think it's going to like you more because you're giving it nicknames.

Oh, I'm sure it doesn't care about that. But I'm sure it will like the fruit!

[He'll set a couple more pieces down before backing up.]

I promise I won't touch you. They're all yours!

[He is going to keep talking to this thing, but you have a pet sheep, you know how it goes, right?]

[I mean, he does. It's true. But he also carried her home in his arms.]

This one's a little... angry.

[He doesn't need to say that, though, because as soon as Yeager has finished setting fruit down, the snake beast rears up again, letting out a tremendous yaaaaaaaaaarg!]

[...All right, backing up further then...]

This looked so much easier...

[Come on, how is Alexei better with animals than he is. That's just ridiculous!!!]

Well, I'm sure it'll calm down once it notices the fruit!

[Just as long as the screaming doesn't attract any more of these guys...]

[God damn that is a high-pitched roar coming from the snake beast.]

I think I'd prefer if it roared.

[Snake beast is not amused by the offering, thrashing one of the nearby fruit out of its way without so much as a glance down.

What was that you said about not attracting more of these guys? Because that sure sounds like a waaaar!! in the distance.]

[Well that's just rude?? What the hell did Alexei do so differently...]

Hmm. Well, it looks as though this is a failure!

[you don't say!!]

We should probably get out of here before they all start screaming, we'll be knocked unconscious otherwise!

[He's already backing away because Bucky is many things, but he is not stupid enough to stick around for a whole pack of these things.]

No sudden movements.

[Is that something they need to worry about with one of these creatures? Snake beast might be threatened by anything.]

Well, I doubt they'll actually attack us, but the screaming certainly won't help.

[But he's backing away slowly too because he's honestly not sure either. Maybe they will attack! Who knows.

He's actually trying to keep his voice lower this time which might actually help, given that Yeager has no indoor voice at any given moment. So let's just... carefully move back as quietly as possible...]

I'm not worried about them attacking us.

[Not really. He could probably fight them off— the beaks don't look like they're stronger than his left arm. No, Bucky's biggest problem is that he absolutely does not want to harm an animal that's just defending itself.

At least they haven't angered the creature further?

Just keep walking away and hope for the best.]

[Right, this one clearly isn't having any of it, so he'll just have to try again with a different one later, maybe...]

Ja, this one isn't following and I don't hear any others getting any closer. We should be in the clear if we keep moving.

[Not too fast, not too slow, just enough to let them know we're leaving.]

[The backup snake beasts are definitely still around, but with the one closest to them not sounding another alarm, it looks like it's mostly posturing now, ready to chase the threat away.]

Sounds like a plan to me.

[Oh my god. He hates letting an animal win??? But there's really nothing to be done so fine. You win this round, lorby.]

This certainly is an unfortunate turn of events...

[The lorby's ear tufts flare up before it takes off, back up the tree it had fallen out of.]

This place has a lot of weird fucking animals.

[Bye... Well, at least that means we can relax a little now.]

It certainly does! These ones in particular are so ridiculous!

[He says it really affectionately, though... He's really fond of the lorbies...]

They don't look like they're real, do they?

[They would be kind of cute if they never shrieked ever again...]

Ja, they don't! They're like... a cross between an owl and a snake, and they're just ridiculous-looking!

[...he really likes them...]

Yeah.

[At least Yeager knows what snakes and owls are?That's a big plus!]

Y'think they ever molt like birds?

Well, I'd imagine it'd be that rather than shedding their skin like snakes!

[enjoy that mental image, he just had to share.]

[The face Bucky pulls says all you need to know about what he thinks about that.]

That would make them far less cute.

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April Intro: Better Get to Digging

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