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

[thegoofball]

[Hee. Mira thinks he's handsome.]

Wow. [He reaches up, ruffling Mira's hair.] That's uncalled for!

[antepone]

[ She might even think he's cute.

She lets out a squeak before playfully batting his hand away. ]

Messing up my hair is uncalled for!

[thegoofball]

Oh, I think it's very called for.

[Ehehehehe.]

[antepone]

[ She huffs lightly. ]

It takes a long time to brush out, you know. Very uncalled for.

[thegoofball]

Maybe if you ask nicely, you could get some help.

[He's brushed his niece's hair before, plenty of times. It was always something that calmed her down, and he can do a mean braid.]

[antepone]

Don't I always ask nicely?

[ She hums softly. ]

I've actually been thinking about cutting it. It's too much trouble to manage it when it's so long.

[thegoofball]

Yeah, you do.

[He tilts his head.]

You'd look cute with short hair. And I imagine it'd make things a heck of a lot cooler.

[Long hair on a tropical island sounds like a bad time.]

[antepone]

[ It is Such a bad time. ]

It would, especially if it's going to get warmer... I just don't really want to cut my hair with a knife, but I don't have any scissors.

[thegoofball]

You know, I actually got some scissors the last time I made a request. [So to speak.]

You could use those!

[Or Lance could cut her hair for her...]

[antepone]

Really?

[ She perks up a bit. ]

Or... If you wanted, would you cut my hair?

[thegoofball]

[!!!]

Of course I could! Nobody'd do a better job than me.

[How hard can it be to cut hair?]

[antepone]

[ How can she argue with that? ]

That is why I asked. And because I trust you. [ She leans up and kisses his cheek. ] Thank you.

[thegoofball]

[She puts too much faith in him.]

I'll do a great job. Your hair will look great!

[He beams, cheeks going warm at the kiss.] It's no problem.

[antepone]

[ too much.... or not enough ]

And it'll be easier to manage.

[ Her heart is so full..... ]

And... I still want to thank you. You really have done so much for me.

[thegoofball]

[thinking emoji....]

And it'll be easier to manage!

[His smile goes soft around the edges, and he reaches to squeeze one of her hands.]

You don't have to thank me. I'm just glad I can help.

[antepone]

[ She intertwines their fingers, leaning into him a little more. ]

You really do. More than I could ever say, I think.

[thegoofball]

[hee hee pretty girl likes him]

It's all because of you. You do so much for me, and you make me better. I don't know if I could be happy here without you.

[Maybe he could, but Mira just...makes it all easier.]

[antepone]

[ spoiler alert she likes him a lot ]

You make me better, too. [ It reminds her of her conversation with Keith, when she'd gone to him after too-long nap. She smiles, teasingly, but with genuine, true affection. ] And I don't know if you've noticed, but you make me pretty happy.

And just think... we have Kaltenecker to thank for that.

[thegoofball]

[Lance laughs, ducking his head.]

Kaltnecker and that awful elevator. Who would have thought we'd end up here from that?

[He wouldn't have expected this. Sure, he's over the moon it's happened, but...

It's not something he would have expected, on these islands and from those circumstances.]

[antepone]

Let's hope we don't ever meet that thing again.

[ She's smiling so much, her cheeks'll hurt by the end of the day. Lance is, honestly, a godsend (ha) in a place like this. ]

But I think you're one of the best things on this island. On all of them.

[thegoofball]

What, you're not a fan of big, creepy elevators that fly everywhere eating things?

[He's so lucky he was able to meet her.]

No way. You're definitely way more of a best thing than me.

[antepone]

Elevators are scary enough!

[ She laughs and nudges him. ]

Hmmm. I suppose we'll just have to agree to disagree, then.

[thegoofball]

I know, right?

[He nudges her back.]

Hmm, or you could accept that I'm right and you're amazing?

[antepone]

[ She huffs softly, her cheeks pink all over again. ]

Or, you could face the truth and admit that you're way more amazing.

[thegoofball]

Uh, no.

[And this could very easily go into a "no you" "no you" conversation, so he decides to snip things off.]

But seriously. You're one of the best things that's happened to me here. You make living here just a little bit easier, and I don't think I tell you nearly enough.