The Ruin of River Bluff (2)

Writers: Avery, Emma, Heather, Paula
Date Posted: 7th June 2017
Series: The Ruin of River Bluff Weyr

Characters: K'ran, A'kades, Riveenata, K'lvin, K'sedel, Lenala, Uetia, Tamah, Im're, B'jon
Description: A tsunami races for the Weyr and the residents must evacuate.
Location: River Bluff Weyr
Date: month 12, day 20 of Turn 8
Notes: Part 2 of the control posts for the RBW disaster.

K'ran

K'sedel

Lenala

}:Vilarth, Xmrenth, Nikornath!:{ Rogueth called. Once he had their
attention, he passed on in words and images what he and K'ran had seen
out at sea. The ash and smoke spewing from the waves. The debris in
the water. The small swell of water racing away that his rider knew
would move towards the Weyr itself.

}:My rider says we need to get people out of the caverns and to high
ground _now_, before the water. Dragons must carry riders and
not-riders out. We must tell our wings to get it done in time,:{ the
bronze added.

He did not know how much time they had, because he could not see the
wave that would be a problem yet. But he knew that his rider said
urgency, and that they must have everyone out of the vulnerable areas
before the water arrived.

Rogueth dropped his rider at his ledge so K'ran could get him strapped
up to help evacuate riders.

Vilarth got Rogueth's message and relayed it to her rider and all
Cascade Wings dragons. She had curled up to a nap next to her nest,
now she sprang up and placed herself protectively over the eggs. }: My
eggs! Are they in danger? :{ she demanded to know.

The Hatching Caverns faced the river, and K'ran knew that the surge
would hit the river and cause it to have its own big waves and flood.
}:Water rushes far in from these waves,:{ Rogueth answered, sending a
picture of a big wave causing the river to overflow across the bowl
and start pouring into the Lower Caverns.

}:My rider is worried everything in the caverns is in danger.:{

The image that Xmrenth passed to K'lvin from Rogueth was enough to
make the Wingleader's gut twist. If that kind of power hit River Bluff
there was no guessing what kind of damage they would see. **Relay the
importance of Bahji staying put until I come get her, she should be
okay for the moment.** K'lvin ordered Xmrenth.

Xmrenth passed along the message to Bahji's firelizard before
addressing their Wing, }:Torrent Wing, begin evacuating non-riders
from the caverns, everyone must go.:{

K'lvin made quickly for the lower caverns, he wanted to see for
himself that the foster mothers and children go onto dragons and to
high ground.

When Uetia got the word from Sirjath, her first thought was Sabia. Her
baby must survive, no matter what happened. She abandoned whatever she
was doing and ran to the lower caverns to search for her baby. She did
inform every person she met of the evacuation order. Uetia finally
located her from a room where several fostermother and their
fosterlings were spending time together. Sabia was sitting on a floor,
banging two blocks together. She scooped her up.

"Everyone out! Take the children and head out to the high ground, we
are evacuating the Weyr!" she barked command with a tone that would
had made uncle U'das proud. Frightened Sabia bust to cry but first
time in her life, no one rushed to comfort her. Uetia just took
another baby and started to usher the fostermothers out.

The image from Rogueth did not help, just sent Vilarth deeper into
panic. }: My eggs! Protect my eggs! Where are you going! :{ Last was
directed to her rider.

Lenala had been doing some hideworks in the stands. Now she was
running out of the Cavern. ** Must find K'ran, I have an idea to
protect your eggs, ** she explained.

}: Don't leave me! :{ Vilarth roared.

Lenala just kept running until she located K'ran.

"K'ran...we... must...sandbags... Hatching Cavern's entrance!" she was
so breathless that she was gasping between words. "Can't move the
eggs."

The word reached Infirmary too. Drumilla was on duty. She grapped a
backpag and crammed in first aid kits and as much basic supplies as
she could fit in. Then she moved to help to evacuate the patients,
following the Weyrhealer's instructions.

K'ran turned as Lenala ran in. She was right - the eggs were too soft
to be moved /between/. Her idea was the only chance they had for her
eggs, and it was a good one. They had time to get it done before the
wave without putting anyone in danger - dragons could get the people
placing the bags out before the flooding.

"We can get a sandbag chain started, have one group filling the bags
and another group placing them," he agreed. "Will she trust your
wing's riders to do so?"

"I hope so, if I'm there to reassure her," Lenala said. "I better get
back to her before her panic whips up a frenzy among the other
dragons. This is a moment when I wish she was easier to control."

Like all dragons, the bronzes listened to golds as the senior
authority, but maybe enough of them could help... "Is there something
the bronzes can do?" He asked

Rogueth informed him that Hurricane wingriders were moving caverns
workers now. He added that the dragons in the dragon infirmary would
need assistance getting out.

"Shells. We need bronzes to help get the injured dragons out."

"Maybe Xmrenth can help to calm her down, he's her current mate,"
Lenala answered. "You can spare him, can't you?"

"Of course, his Wing knows what to do now. Ask for any bronzes you
need," K'ran assured her.

}:Xmrenth, your wing is in action?:{ Rogueth queried the bronze in
question. }:Please help Vilarth,:{ he added.

Xmrenth snapped to action, heading down to the hatching caverns and
his mate. }:I am here my queen, I will protect our eggs!:{

K'lvin was busy rounding up women and children and seeing them to the
waiting Torrent wing riders who carried them up to the plateau.

Meanwhile K'sedel and Nikornath had begun rounding up the weyrlings
and his staff. }:Tell them all to dress for rough weather, grab
anything they cannot live without, there's only one small bag
allowed,:{ Nikornath relayed to them. It was fortunate that all they
current batch were at least flying, they could get them to higher
ground, even if they then had to use other riders to carry them
/between/ to another weyr.

}:My rider wants to know if the weyrlings that can /between/ should
help evacuate lower caverns workers or not,:{ Volaith asked Nikornath.
That class was nearing entry to the wings and close to their full
growth, the greens and blues could manage a single passenger and the
browns and bronzes two.

}:The older ones may help,:{ came back the reply after a few moments.
Some of the weyrlings were over the age of sixteen and old enough to
join the wings on graduation. }:Those underage I will keep with me.:{

"I'll be with Vilarth," Lenala told K'ran and ran back to the Hatching
Cavern.

As a harbourmaster, Tamah was directing the evacuation of the Weyr
port and the craft shops around it.
"Forget the sharding warehouse. Just shut the door and run to the
higher ground," he told a dockhand who wanted to save the goods
inside. His flits were providing him images, which added to his
urgency.
"Grap those bundles of sail cloth, they make good tents!" he bellowed.

}:I will direct the older weyrlings to help bring cavern workers to
the plateau,:{ Volaith said to Nikornath and included Rogueth,
reaching out to the ones who fit the description and ordering them to
pick up residents first and foremost.

B'jon was taking as many passangers as Denenth could hold on her back.
**They are not too heavy?**
}: No, but I have to fly carefully so they don't fall off. :{

Riveenata and Savith arrived with several other Cascade Wing riders
and immediately began scooping sand from the edge of the Hatching
Grounds into the provided sandbags. She worked to fill them as other
riders started dragging them into the form of a barricade.

The evacuation proceeded for about half a candlemark before the
Hurricane Wing riders that K'ran had posted a few minute's flight from
the Weyr started calling out. }:Wave here,:{ and }:Swells here!:{
warnings started echoing among the dragons.

K'ran was on the plateau, unloading three weyrbrats from Rogueth's
back. Once he made sure they were safe, they took off and /betweened/
to where the scouts were. Yes, the wave was incoming.

}:The wave will be here soon. Perhaps five minutes. Do we need more
time?:{ Rogueth asked. He needed to know the status of the Hatching
Grounds barricade and of the Caverns.

**It's almost here?** K'lvin repeated when Xmrenth passed him the
information.

"Let's go! Let's go!" He barked at the wingriders grabbing people,
before he grabbed up a couple of brats himself and hoisted them up to
a waiting brownrider, C'rin. "Get them out of here."

"Do you need a lift?" C'rin asked K'lvin.

"No, I'm going to the Hatching Cavern." He wouldn't abandoned his
dragon. Turning, the Wingleader jogged off to the Sands.

C'rin settled the children on Dasveth's neckridge, and then took off
to the safety of the plateau.

Riveenata sealed the top of one last sandbag and hauled it to the
barricade, which was taller than she'd expected it to be given the
amount of time they'd had to prepare. Then she vaulted over it,
assuming Vilarth wouldn't want any of the Cascade staying here with
her and the eggs. Then she grabbed onto Savith's extended leg,
mounted, and left for the plateau.

On the plateau, A'kades signaled the last few incoming riders to bring
their dragons to a spot cleared for them to land and lower their
passengers.

K'ran sent the scouts back to the Weyr, to watch from high in the air
over the river. Rogueth followed the swell of water as it approached
towards the Weyr. He wanted to see the damage as it happened. As it
hit the shallower water it grew from a mild swell and rose up in
height, until as it hit the beach it was a towering wall of water.

On the sea-side, the wave easily smashed into the lower terrace of
sea-facing weyrs and the force of the collision sent water splashing
all the way up to spray over the top of the plateau. Fortunately it
had not had the height to crest the plateau and flood the evacuees. As
it collapsed downwards it began to flood into those weyrs.

The part of the swell that hit the Weyr's bay smashed into the port
and docks, damaging them. It rushed in, channeled by the river whose
bounds it was overflowing, washing out the bridge across the river.
The force of the swell kept going as it hit the lake, which began
aggressively overflowing its bounds and sending a cascade of water to
the weyrbowl. From there it rushed towards the dragon infirmary, the
lower bowl weyrs, and the Hatching Caverns.

K'sedel and Nikornath took one last look back as they, and a heavily
pregnant member of the headwoman's staff, took to the air. He'd been
able to grab a framed sketch of Ciara and their children from his
office, and a toy that belonged to Keseran, hastily shoved in a small
bag, like he'd told the weyrlings to grab. Maybe, it would be safe to
go back, but maybe it would be like Thayan Peak, gone forever.

The water crashed against the sandbag barricade at the Hatching
cavern's entrance. The force of the impact was so great it made whole
cavern shudder. Lenala cling to to Vilarth's neck while the Gold
valiantly roared at the water. Few top most bags fell. Some water
made it over the barricade's rim and more seeped through the cracks
but it was not enough to endanger the eggs. The sands of the Hatching
cavern absorped it before it reached Vilarth's egg. Lenala got even
more worried when she noticed that there was water pouring in from the
Lower Cavern's entrances to the Sands. Vilarth started frantically to
push more sand around her nest, increasing thesand wall around them.

Uetia hold Sabia tightly in her arms and watched with horror the
powers that Nature could unleash on the hapless humans on it's path.

Im're didn't make it, he was still trying to get an elderly couple up
to Gormth's back when the water reached them.

The shudder against the Hatching Cavern walls nearly sent K'lvin
toppling head first down the stairs as he raced to get to the bottom.
Xmrenth snarled at the watery threat that came crashing into the
sands. This was his queen, and his eggs! He would protect them! The
bronze positioned himself right behind the wall of sandbags, his
great, hulking body reinforcing them. When K'lvin reached the Sands,
he ran over, boots sinking into the now wet sand, and began throwing
the bags that had fallen back up onto the wall in case another wave of
such height hit them.

}:How are the Hatching Grounds??:{ Rogueth sent to Vilarth and Xmrenth
anxiously.

}:The sandbags worked well enough, the sand absorbed most of the water.
For now, the eggs are safe.:{ Xmrenth reported back to his Weyrleader.

}: I don't like this at all :{, Vilarth replied. }: The water may lower
the temperature of the Sands. :{

}:There may be another wave. Be alert,:{ Rogueth warned.

Last updated on the June 10th 2017

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