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

[deadlylittlething]

If only he still had that extra eye, he could roll that too.

Especially when she continues to insist on treating magic like it's a real thing. He knows people love their inane superstitions, but it makes about as much sense as believing his old man was capable of giving a shit about his kids. In fact, magic being real is solidly more likely. Five can only shake his head in amused disbelief.

"And what would you know about where I come from? Please, enlighten me." He doesn't actually care, he's just kind of having a bet with himself on how long he can lead this woman by the nose with evasive answers.

[lesbeau]

Somehow Five has managed to be right even when being wrong. It's a gift, it seems. A stubborn, obstinate, child-wrapped gift. Or well, a gift on his end. On Beau's end, she's just frustrated, and a bit too smart to just beat stuff down. But just a bit.

"Nothing, but that doesn't mean I don't think you won't try to lie to me and be a little shit." Well she has some kinda peg there. He's not running from her, so she's gonna keep asking questions. "Maybe we call it magic, maybe you call it something else, could be the same fuckin' thing for all I know. So start talking and don't be a jerk."

[deadlylittlething]

Wow she's really laying it on thick here, he almost has to laugh. Who the hell does she think she is? Maybe that's why he's not simply cutting this ludicrous interrogation short, he could use the distraction. And why is she so invested in this anyway? Of course that can't fail to add to his incentive to give her absolutely shit-all.

Instead, he smiles. "Or what?"

Hey look, she's absolutely on the money about one thing, that's gotta be something, right?

[lesbeau]

Who the hell does she think she is is a really bold question and one he is absolutely not the first to ask. He also won't be the last, because the day Beau stops demanding respect from people and getting up in their faces is absolutely the point in which it kills her, and not before.

"Or what-- dude, you're in a totally new dimension probably without people you know and you wanna start by muttering math down the beach and denying any help? Is this just a regular day to you? Because newsflash, you can't leave." Maybe she's here to lay it on thick, but now she's just throwing information out there until she finds something that sticks and he thinks is interesting. It's how she tends to get her foot in the door.

[deadlylittlething]

Unfortunately Five doesn't respect anyone, so she may very well die of old age on this particular hill.

But at her newest argument, his smile visibly curdles into something far colder and sharper. Does he look like he needed the reminder? More importantly, how much longer does she want to test his patience? He scoffs.

"And this is your attempt at help, is it? Coulda fooled me. I've met World War One nurses with better bedside manners than you."

[lesbeau]

Yeah, she's starting to get that impression, but that just means it's time to double the fuck down.

"You think I'm some kind of nurse?? I'm not here to baby your goddamn cuts!" Ugh, who does this kid thing he is, how dare he seem to have so much of his shit together. That's illegal. She showed up and jumped people in trees for her intel, can't he have at least a little self respect?? Damn. "I'm trying to tell you shit so you won't die, yeah, but if you wanna kick it to the first fustercluck you see be my guest, I guess."

She's stopping herself from putting her hands on her hips because she knows it's gonna make her look too much like a mom, but that's not stopping her from pointing a finger into his chest. Which is still a little mom-ish, but more aggressive. Sort of.