voidtreckermods: (train)
VoidTrecker Express Mods ([personal profile] voidtreckermods) wrote in [community profile] middleofsomewhere2019-09-21 06:31 am

Day 11: Purple and Orange

Purple: A Very Foggy Morning.

The night before the fifth day since the goblin ambush brings heavy and relentless rain. When the children and their helpers wake they will find the air damp and misty. If the treckers look at their SCA maps they are close to Um’i’les, very close.

However the mist thickens and by mid morning it is fog, thick and heavy. It’s practically impossible to see their hands if they stretch them out in front of them. Goblin activity has lessened considerably this far North but there are still dangers. Most notably the treacherous landscape. Paths turn sharply, hills give way to steep drops over jagged rock.

The children call out for each other and hold hands to stick together but the days of marching are taking their toll. They are tired, hungry and cold. This is much further than they usually go and now they can’t see. The older ones are irritable, some of the little ones burst into tears. Some whisper about getting lost forever in the blanket of fog.

Orange: Tumble Down.

Approaching Um’i’les from a different direction mean the farmers, merchants and their companions avoid the worst of the fog, mist rolls in but rolls out again leaving the hills hazy but still visable.

Just before noon it happens, one of the cattle dislodges a rock on the path. A small, unassuming rock but apparently vital to the structure of the hill side.

Everything crumbles, the section of path that the cow was walking becomes mud, parts of the path ahead and behind collapse or warp. People and livestock go tumbling. It’s not a sharp drop, luckily the slope here is one of the gentler ones but a mud slide is still dangerous. Merchants shout, chickens squawk. Hopefully the Voidtreckers bring some calm to this chaos…

If they look around they will see a path lower down the hill, if they could just get everyone out of the mud, hope no one is too badly hurt and get them on the other path this adventure might be salvageable...

Purple: Safe Haven

It might be the group splits, or perhaps they stick together. Maybe they stumble upon the city, find a section of wall and follow it round. Perhaps they wander lost for hours, so close yet so far. Or perhaps they decide to stay still until the fog lifts.

But eventually they find it. Um’i’les. A city, much larger than Culin’e’ai. Much better fortified. Guards challenge them at the gate but once they see the children will let them in and runners are sent to inform those that need to know.

Things happen quickly and soon there is one of the lesser halls of the keep prepared for their use. It is simple but there is a fire at one end and servants bring in tubs of water and also blankets. Soon there is pottage on the fire and enough bowls for everyone. A woman with a face that invites no nonsense can be seen around, clearly giving orders and instructions. If she sees any of the adults looking remotely competent she will watch them, though only approach if they seem open to the idea.

Orange: Help Comes

It might be that Orange Team are well on their way again. It might be that some have gone with the bulk of the citizens whilst others hang back to help those stuck or injured. Um’i’les has sent out riders, a huge group of children with a few adults arriving in from the fog was enough for them to search the hills for any other people who may be lost.

So it may be they find the city on their own, it may be they are found by riders, who will lead them to the city. If there are people stuck the riders will help with rescue efforts.

But unless anyone has gotten themselves well and truly lost they will arrive at the city a few hours after the children.

Purple and Orange: Reunited

Animals are stabled or put in paddocks, given food and water. The citizens are led to the same hall the children were taken to. Children are reunited with parents, or much more commonly grandparents. Stories are swapped and talk soon turns anxiously to those who are still out there somewhere.

In amongst all the clamour Orange Team are reunited with Purple Team, their charges safe for now.

((OOC: A reminder that if you want an NPC to show up in your thread just let me know here. Likewise if your character wants to do something outside of this framework that's absolutely fine! If it's something that you feel mods should be aware of let me know here or on the event ooc post!))
stealsyourheart: (Default)

[personal profile] stealsyourheart 2019-10-19 08:47 am (UTC)(link)

Kaito grabs the rope and sets to.

"An airship? Wow really? I hope you had better safety procedures than we did! Ours tended to catch fire dramatically."

so_dark_a_road: (Elves step up)

[personal profile] so_dark_a_road 2019-10-20 06:40 am (UTC)(link)
Haul!

"We didn't build it with a hydrogen ballon for lift. That would have been dangerous! You had an airship too? And it caught fire??" Wow.
stealsyourheart: (Default)

[personal profile] stealsyourheart 2019-10-21 02:57 am (UTC)(link)

"Used to. Before I was born though. Lots of em! But yeah, we used hydrogen. The Heildeburg disaster is still famous today."

so_dark_a_road: (until the world ends)

[personal profile] so_dark_a_road 2019-10-23 02:28 am (UTC)(link)
"Hydrogen. . ." Shudder. "I guess people didn't know what perils they were subjecting themselves to, in the early days of flight in your world."

They finish hauling the man's friends out of the mud, and then he's the last. He drops the rope around himself and allows himself to be pulled to dry land, and then he stands talking to his friends and shivering a little from the saturated clothing. He refuses Curufin's jacket but drapes it around one of his friends' shoulders.

"We'd better get these people up the cliffs," says Curufin to Kaito. "Thanks for the help! You're good at this sort of thing."
stealsyourheart: (PON)

[personal profile] stealsyourheart 2019-10-23 06:18 am (UTC)(link)
"It's lighter than air, and relatively cheap to produce." He shrugs, and says matter-of-factly. "We learnt better. They're working on it again now, but... carefully. Jet engines are the preferred method, these days, but they're loud, expensive, and very polluting."

He grins. "I'm just doing what I'm told~"
so_dark_a_road: (you are foxglove)

Want to wrap this one?

[personal profile] so_dark_a_road 2019-10-23 07:39 pm (UTC)(link)
"I certainly hope carefully! Blow themselves to smithereens in a hot second. I don't know much about jet engines, but I guess they use petrochemicals for fuel. Who'd want that in their neighborhood?"

He responds to Kaito's grin with one of his own. "Yes, I'm sure you're a very compliant sort of person." Hahaha!
stealsyourheart: (Default)

yah

[personal profile] stealsyourheart 2019-10-24 05:57 am (UTC)(link)

"Sometimes." He grins. "When it suits me."