• Mature • [Dust Quarter Collapse!] Call for Aid

[Seira Shiryu]

82nd Ymiden, 721


Seira and Seri were out walking Taerin when they noticed that their seemed to be more people out and about that usual that time of trial. And they all seemed to have something important to say because they were so busy sharing their news that they didn't notice that they were talking louder than was strictly polite in public. As they walked their dog, they could hear scattered words here and there; snatches of conversation that they couldn't help but overhear since people were talking louder than they should.

The twins tried to ignore this as best they could at first. But when they saw some people with shovels and an assortment of other tools leaving the Glass Quarter at speed, while overhearing words such as "collapse," "Dust Quarter," and "dead," Seira and Seri realized that something was seriously wrong.

"What's going on?" Seira asked a Lightning Knight that was talking to a group of people that were carrying shovels and other tools.

"Massive sink holes have opened up in the Dust Quarter. We're asking anyone who can to go help with the rescue efforts. People have been trapped and injured, houses have collapsed...we can use anyone who's willing to help."

The twins exchanged glances.

"We'll help." Seira and Seri said in unison.

With that, Seira scooped Taerin up, and they raced back home. Seira paused only long enough to take Taerin's leash off before joining Seri in her search for shovels, or anything else that might be of use. It took them several bits to find what they were looking for. Then they were racing out of the house once more. The Lightning Knight was gone by then, but it didn't matter. There was sure to be someone in charge of the rescue efforts in the Dust Quarter, and there was sure to be someone who could tell them how they could be of the most help once they got there. So they made their way to the Dust Quarter as quickly as they could.

[Seira Shiryu]

Organized chaos greeted them as Seira and Seri entered the Dust Quarter. People who were trapped by the destroyed houses were pleading for help. Injured people were screaming in pain. There were some people who were desperately calling out for loved ones who were missing. Order members were tending to the injured. People were rushing about trying to help wherever they could.

Seira and Seri searched for someone who looked like they were in charge. When they found someone, they made their way over to him.

"What can we do to help?" Seira asked quickly.

The man eyed them critically, taking in their obvious lack of physical strength, shovels, and determined looks.

"Find a ruined building where people are already searching for survivors. Help them dig people out if they find any, and search for survivors yourselves. Look for movement under the debris. That might be someone trying to dig themselves out. Listen for the sound of people calling for help. Even sounds that aren't voices could be a sign of survivors if they're coming from under the dirt and debris. If you hear a whistle, stop what you're doing, and be absolutely silent. A whistle means that someone thinks they've heard something. And if you hear something, whistle yourself. Don't do anything you don't think you can handle. Call for help when you need it. We don't need anyone else getting themselves trapped in all of this because they try to rescue someone on their own when they don't have the strength for it. Those kinds of heroics will only get people killed. Understand?"

Seira and Seri nodded grimly.

"Yes, sir."

The man smiled at them grimly.

"Good. Then get to work."

It didn't take long for the twins to find a destroyed building were people were already searching for survivors. They were everywhere. Seira and Seri got to work quickly. They found a spot where no one else was working, and searched the dirt and debris for sounds of movement. There was none, but they could hear what sounded like something banging against a pipe. They listened for a few trills, trying to be certain that they had heard it in the first place, and to try and pinpoint where it was coming from. Then Seira whistled sharply.

Silence fell over the area, and she could hear the banging more clearly now.

"I think there's someone trapped over here!" she called frantically.

Then she and Seri began digging through the debris. Others came to join them, and before long, they found a man who had been trapped in his kitchen when his house collapsed. The debris had fallen in a way that created a small space around him so that he was trapped, but he had a little room to move around in, and he hadn't been crushed by the falling debris because he had managed to crawl into the unlit fireplace. The "metal pipe" he had been banging on was a pot.

The man was terrified, but he appeared to be mostly unharmed aside from minor injuries caused by the falling debris. One of the other workers helped the man towards the area where the Order members were working while the rest of them dispersed, and got back to work. Filled with hope at finding someone alive, Seira and Seri did the same. They were determined to rescue everyone that they could.

Several minutes later, someone else whistled, and the area fell silent once more. Seira and Seri looked in the direction that the whistle came from and saw a woman waving frantically, so they ran over to her.

"I think I saw something moving over there."

She pointed to a spot, and when Seira turned to look, she could see the debris shifting slightly too. Several people got to work digging around the spot they had seen moving in the hopes of finding a survivor without injuring them further with their efforts. This time, they found a woman. She was close to the surface of the pile of debris; enough so that her struggles had been visible from the surface. But she was pinned by a wooden plank, and she was bleeding heavily from several lacerations. She also has a piece of wood piercing in her leg. Two of the volunteers carefully got the woman to her feet and half supported her, half carried her towards the area where the members of the Order were treating the injured. Everyone else got back to work.

[Seira Shiryu]

Shifting through the debris was hard, exhausting work. So was extending every sense as far as it would go in the hopes of finding signs of yet another survivor. But no one was willing to give up. Seira could only think of what if she condemned someone to death if she were to give in to her fatigue? She knew that Seri felt the same way without having to ask. Her twins feelings were written in the tension of her body, and the grim determination in her eyes. Seri would keep going until she either passed out, or there were no more survivors to find. And Seira felt much the same way. From what she could see, others agreed with them.

When they finished searching one area, they moved to the next. Then the work began all over again. Listen for the sounds of survivors trapped under the debris. Search the piles of debris for the slightest amount of movement, which might also be a sign of someone still alive. Wait for the sound of a whistle; the sound that meant that someone else had found signs of a possible survivor. And the frantic efforts to dig someone out when they did find someone. Sometimes they were successful, and they were able to free someone who had been trapped in the rubble of their home. But sometimes...sometimes, help came too late, and the person who they had been trying to free died before they could reach them.

Every so often one person would reach their limit and have to call it quits. Another would join their efforts. Seira watched them come and go numbly. In the end, it didn't matter who was searching for survivors. It just mattered that someone was, and that the survivors were found. Seira and Seri were utterly determined to save everyone that they possibly could.

[Doran]

Seira:

Knowledge:
Detection: listening for sounds of survivors
Detection: searching for signs of movement under debris that might mean survivors
Endurance: x 2
Strength: x 2

Loot: -
Lost: -
Wealth: -
Injuries: -
Renown: 10, for rescuing people after a disaster.
Magic XP: -
Skill Review: See below.
Points: 10

Consequence: For the three nights following the Dust Quarter collapse, Seira will experience nightmares of the events in question.

- - -

Comments: Seira and Seri going for a walk with their dog only to suddenly learn the terrible news was quite an effective way to start this thread. You conveyed that sense of urgency very well in my opinion. I appreciate that the twins immediately took their dog back home and decided to help!

The chaos that greeted them upon arriving in the Dust Quarter was described well as well in my opinion. I wish you had provided us with a bit more information about the man that was in charge though. Was he a Lighting Knight? A member of the Order of the Adunih? Someone else?

We only learn that he’s a man.

I like in how detailed the instructions that he gave to the twins were. Using a whistle to alert other helpers of the fact that you might have heard survivors under the rubble is a clever idea. I’m glad that it worked, and that they managed to find someone that was still alive.

With that being said, I found Seira’s (and Seri’s) emotional reaction to be lacking. There is despair. People are screaming in pain. Not everybody can be found alive, and sometimes, the survivors are badly injured. Seira and Seri are mostly grim and determined though.

Considering that Seira only has Novice Discipline, and this seems like a pretty harrowing scenario to me, I would have liked to see more of a reaction from her, and not just grim determination.

For that reason, I have decided to assign the consequence mentioned above.

Enjoy your rewards, and let me know if you have any questions, please!

P.S.: I would have added “Athletics” to the list of skills used as the twins were running in the first post.