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 )

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[More grumbling. Grumble grumble grandpa. How many times does he have to answer the same question!!]

Like you--[Okay, maybe that's not really a fair thing to say and he'll cut himself off right there.] Hey, you're close. I see light. [Now will you please let it go??]

[As many times as it takes for your answers to stop sucking, Hector!!

Ginko pulls away a few more rocks, and, finally, manages to break enough of a hole in the blockage to see Hector through. Oh, perfect. Now he can glower at him properly, because he heard that beginning of a rude comment.] Watch it.

[They're truthful answers!!]

Gah! [There's a troll face in his face all of a sudden and he recoils. And then leans forward again, once he's gotten over the half second of surprise.] What?

[Wrong. Incorrect!!]

Whatever you were gonna say there, watch it. [He takes a step back to resume pulling rocks aside, widening the hole now that it's there.] If something like this happens again, just tell someone, alright? Call me directly if you've got to.

[Okay, yes, now is not the time to keep arguing!! Not if he wants out!! He starts widening the hole from his end. It doesn't need to be all that big for a skeleton to clamber out.]

Yeah, yeah. Let's hope there's no next time.

That would be best, yes. [Ginko pushes another few rocks aside, then takes a step back to look over the condition of the hole.] Think you can fit through there?

No problem.

[He doesn't have to fit through all in one piece, you see. Whatever's left behind or pops off on the way out can be snapped back, some kind of bizarre skeleton magnetism going on here. It won't take him long to be free now!]

Alright. [He does make the hole a little wider, just to be sure - he should at least make sure Hector's shoulders can get through here, he figures.

That only takes a couple more seconds, though, and then he leans in, and just... holds out his hands for Hector to grab onto.] Okay, c'mon.

[He can just pull him through, that seems like a good plan.]

[Easy as pie, he weighs next to nothing. And if his shoulders don't fit, he can pop off his arms!

Soon enough, he's completely out and... not letting go of Ginko's arm. These bony fingers have a good grip on him just below the shoulder. Ginko doesn't exactly appreciate hugs, he knows that, so this is a fair compromise.

It seems someone is more shaken up than he's ever going to admit.]

...gracias.

[...Well, he guesses he shouldn't be surprised. Hector doesn't seem like the type to deal well with being isolated for so long.

Ginko himself isn't all that great at physical affection, but he figures he should... try? He pats at Hector's hand a couple times, by way of... recriprocating, he guesses.

He really is trying.]

Are you alright?

[This is not helping his case one bit, and he forces himself to let go. And laugh, quietly, sheepishly. His bad!! It's fine!!]

I'm good. So--everyone else out? Is there still more digging to do?

[Yeah, that's, uh... weird. Hector is a distinctly huggier person than Ginko is necessarily used to dealing with, which can, granted, be a bit much at times - but it also makes it pretty bizarre for him to be pulling away like this.

Who does he think he's fooling?

Ginko's suspicion probably shows on his face, though pushing too much strikes him as counterproductive.

Doesn't mean he won't push a little, though.]

If anyone else is still stuck, I haven't heard about it. So, I don't really have anywhere else to be.

[He takes a deep breath in, out, making all those loose ribs rattle, and looks slightly less... manic. It's all good, he can wobble on back to his islet and hang out with the tigerlily. What doesn't kill you...]

Eh, I don't have any muscles, there's not much I can do anyway.

[That looks like an improvement, at least.]

All the more reason for you to get home. I'll walk you back.

[Which will mean walking over that godawful bridge between the islets, but that's... fine. He can deal with that.]

[He does have an adorable little cob house and it is so not his home. Not now, not ever.]

If you want to.

[Surely he's had enough rotten luck for the next week or so and he'll make it back safe!]

I do. [High-up bridge or not, he'd rather not leave Hector to walk home on his own after having been trapped in a cave-in by himself for so long.] Want to get going?

[He'll... allow that. Choose to believe no one else needs dug out by a rock-hurling trolldude and get going.]

Right, let's move before it starts up again or something.

Good call.

[He starts in the general direction of the mana pool, moving slowly to make sure that Hector can keep up without a problem.] Let me know how you're holding up as we go, alright?

[There's no reason he shouldn't be able to keep up--his broken bones were healed long ago, though his right foot still has an annoying tendency to turn inwards and his fibula pops out occasionally. Doesn't seem to slow him down any.]

I'm fine. I'll be fine. It's not a big deal.

...If you're sure.

[He doesn't believe Hector for a second, but it's not like pushing will get him to admit much of anything - about how being stuck in the cave-in might have shaken him up, or anything else that could be bothering him.

If it weren't for those damned flowers, Ginko suspects he wouldn't even know Hector well enough to be able to guess that more was wrong here than he was letting on at all.

With asking about Hector's condition being out of the question, though, Ginko can't think of much else to say, being... kind of incompetent at small talk. So he goes quiet, and opts to just... wait and see if there's anything Hector wants to bring up on his own while they walk.]

[If it weren't for those damn flowers, indeed. There's no point in talking about it when every single person with him is as trapped as he is. There's a gaping hole inside of him and nothing they can say to him will fill it. Why drag everyone else down? Just redefine okay, and keep holding on, because it isn't going to kill him.

They walk for a little while before he says anything.]

...So what's Epsilon like?

[Given the opportunity, maybe, someday, Ginko will be able to tell Hector how glad he is that they did end up getting to know each other... even if the circumstances absolutely sucked. The risk of getting 'dragged down' has never really stopped him from latching onto the opportunity to maybe help someone, even if just a little, and he doesn't intend to let it now.

Ginko's expression brightens, though, when Hector speaks up again.] Epsilon? He's a pretty great guy; probably one of the most patient people I've ever met, especially considering what kind of crap he's been dealing with for... most of the time we've known each other. [You know. The whole horrible monster peninsula thing.] I think you'll get along. You'd have a hard time finding someone more compassionate or easier to talk to.

[Maybe he should exercise a little more discretion in how he talks about Epsilon, but-- listen. He's only speaking the truth here. There's nothing weird or suspicious about that, and it's fine.]

Oh, just, uh-- remember that wood, paper - things like that make him pretty uncomfortable. Part of being a nymph.

[Oh.

Oh no.

This is precious. He's struck gold.]

Right, right, I don't take books out of the library anyway. He's easier to talk to than the other robot?

[Ginko... absolutely fails to notice that Hector has picked up on anything about how he talks about Epsilon.] I'd say so, yeah. I guess he's just... made to be good with humans.

[As comforting to talk to as he is stunning to look at. And he doesn't even seem to notice how he draws attention to himself, simply by being.]

He's funny, too, in his own way. I'd say that might help put people at ease, but that part might just be me. [After all, Epsilon's sense of humor matches up pretty well with his own, and he has... gotten the impression that a lot of people don't love his.]

[It's more real and solid than his idiotic 'charming' grin, honestly.

...Making people is all kinds of disturbing, but what's done is done and that's not Epsilon's fault.]

How long have you two known each other? I think he said he's been here before.

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