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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[ Maine doesn't know what kind of 'big ass gun' she means, but the Brute Shot certainly qualifies as one. Its blade can be seen sticking up over Maine's shoulder, though it's not apparent that it's attached to a firearm when looking at the Freelancer from the front. It just looks like … well, a giant curved blade.

In any case, Maine nods. Yes, he has a big ass gun. ]

[She kind of expects a gun to have a sword on it, but it's more in the idea of 'bayonet', not curved death blade. It just sure is happening out here. Beau nods back, like that means anything.]

Cool. Don't shoot at people with it. They come back to life and are gonna be super pissed.

[Aka, don't shoot her with it, because she's been on the business end of one of those and it is bad actually.]

[ Once again, Maine blinks behind his visor. Then he tilts his head slightly, staring at this bizarre woman telling him not to shoot people. That alone wouldn't be odd — shit, sometimes Maine needs the reminder — but the reason is … well. Pretty fucking nuts.

Maine stares a moment longer. Briefly, he debates asking if she's talking about zombies or something. Then he decides that he probably shouldn't engage with the delusion, or whatever it is.

Instead, Maine nods. No shooting people. Sure thing. ]

[Surprisingly, not zombies! I mean, if you could ANY reanimation as zombies, it kind of is. Maybe it depends on what a zombie is. Beau is handling none of that nuance. He seems to Get It and that's what's important. She nods, a curt thing of understanding.]

Cool.

[She's quiet for a few seconds before a voice in her head that sounds too much like Fjord for her comfort reminds her she's supposed to stop just walking away from people without another word when she decides the conversation is over. Beau looks over at him, squinting as she tries to think of something to ask. She gives up on that one quickly.]

Do you have like, questions for me or something?

[ If she were to walk away, Maine wouldn't be offended. He's in the same 'Conversation Over, Leaving Time' boat, really. But she squints at him, and Maine stays where he is, mildly intrigued by how strange she seems.

When she asks if he has questions, Maine has to think about it for a moment. He's not a particularly inquisitive person, and he mostly just rolls with things. So it takes him a second to actually think of something to ask. When he does: ]

Name?

[ … Yup. Pretty simple question. ]

[Oh shit. Did she not say that? Balls. Of course that's what she'd forget, but in her defense, it didn't seem important to be exchanging pleasantries when she was under dirt mountain. She stays for a few seconds before she responds, nodding a bit to herself.]

Right. Forgot about that. 'Mm Beau.

[She gestures to him, a flick of her wrist his direction, as if to toss the question back like a frisbee. Or a fantasy frisbee. I don't know if she knows what a frisbee is.]

[ To be fair, it's not as though Maine shared his name, either. He catches the metaphorical (possibly fantasy) frisbee, well used to body language in place of words. ]

Maine.

[ No "Agent" preceding it. Seems unnecessary in a place like this. ]

[She still doesn't know what states are, and therefore the codenames for these people are getting increasingly nonsensical the longer they go on. She knows Wash (mostly as Wash), Church, Texas, and now Maine. And hell, she's gonna say it.]

Huh. I have no idea what kinda naming scheme you're going for here, but I bet it's some other world shit. Who am I to judge.

[The 'Agent' would have been lost on her anyway, other than to assume he was working for the government in some way. The only people who get fancy titles like that are monarchy or someone like her mentor out doing cool spy shit.]

This is another world, by the way. In case that's not like, a normal thing for you guys.

[ Maine grunts noncommittally and shrugs a shoulder. Different worlds — different planets — aren't unusual to him at all. But this shit? This is something else altogether. ]

Different universe. [ Or: ] Reality.

[ They don't have rabbit gods where he's from. ]

Yeah, same thing.

[That's basically synonymous; her world isn't exactly a spacefaring place, so all of that feels superfluous. Worlds, universe, whatever. Same diff.]

Point is you're not leaving anytime soon unless you get lucky. Or unlucky? Maybe you don't wanna go back, what do I know.

[ Maine's not sure he buys that. There has to be a way to get back; it's just a matter of finding it. But he grunts, accepting the information. Then he gestures to her. ]

Here how long?

[Ooh, now there's a question. Beau frowns a little, tilting her head up as she tries to think.]

Fuuuuck, good question. Sun and moon appear to match back home, so in that case...

[How many full moons has she seen? The exact number is damn fuzzy, but she can pigeonhole something.]

At least six moon cycles. Whatever you call those. Some've been here longer though, over a year, but I was first from my world as far as I can tell.

[ The orbit of moons varies from planet to planet, so that doesn't tell Maine a hell of a lot. "Year" is familiar, at least, and it's way the fuck too long — so he's going to focus on figuring out how long the moon cycle lasts. Because that's much easier than dwelling on the "year" bit. ]

Length of moon cycle?

[ He means 'how many days,' but what is being specific. ]

Uhh, shit, I dunno, what am I an astronomer?

[A moment's pause.]

I'm not, by the way. That.

[But hhhhh, damn, how long does it feel like? She's usually got Caleb to handle this kind of info. But she concentrates, takes a breath tries to think of what she's seen, and remembers the calendar on the rock- the tallies between when new people arrive. She's seen that a lot, and that was...]

About 30. Ish. There's a uh... tracker on the main island, provided only one person's been updating it.

[ Maine shifts his weight slightly as he waits for Beau to figure out how many days are in a moon cycle. It's not a sign of impatience so much as one of discomfort, though Maine couldn't pinpoint what, exactly is making him uncomfortable.

(He's not used to being around people who don't use the Military Calendar. It increases his awareness that he's somewhere way, way outside of UNSC territory.)

When she answers, he's almost too eager to tell her: ]

Called month. [ Then, with a little nod. ] Thanks.

I know what a month is.

[She sounds a little indignant there. Look, she's not some big idiot, you know? There was a purpose here!]

I didn't say month because I can't promise it's actually a month. It can get fucking impossible to tell time around here. Sun doesn't always behave.

[And yet, she just says shit like that. For fun, I guess.]

This place is fucked sometimes. Especially with like, time.

[ The indignant tone gets little response, as Maine doesn't really care if he's offended her. He just tips his head slightly as he listens, wondering why she didn't just say "month" in the first place. But then she continues, and…

Ah. Yeah, he's encountered some time fuckery already. Not in the way that days behave, but in the way that he and his best friend are suddenly years apart. ]

Noticed.

[ Grunted out without much inflection one way or another. ]

[Yeeeah, that one's gonna be a little much perpetually. Sorry, Maine. Everything's real weird.]

Cool.

[She's pretty similar in speech, when she's not being challenged.]

Try not to die, or something.

[ Maine nods once more. ]

Likewise.

[ It's as terse as anything else he's said, but he does mean it. It'd be a shame to have rescued Beau from a wall of mud just to have her die later.

That said, Maine turns to continue on his way. ]

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April Intro: Better Get to Digging

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