Quest Trapped!

[Auric]

Timestamp: Fall 83, 513

The Aeries had always been shelter. They had always been a haven of refuge, a stone carved safety in an unforgiving world. The Aeries were home to the elite of the elite, the creme de la creme, the Endal. If anything had been made to stand, to weather the gradually worsening weather, it had been the Aeries.

And yet, still, they fell.

The winds howled angrily outside the collapsed columns, bashing and rubbing the rubble raw. Both eagle and Inarta trapped inside a maze of rock. Rain pounded down in sheets, water leaked wherever it could; many of the larger Eagles were being moved to the the more open areas of the collapsed nests. Chiets and Dek desperately trying to keep the birds calm, to keep the Endal calm, to keep themselves calm.

Short Post!Hey all! I just wanted to start this off while I had time, and basically just to set the scene. Think panicky. Someone needs to take the lead, to take charge -- many of the NPCS will be played as idiots so you'll have lots of people and drama to work with as you attempt to survive this! Good Luck!

x

[Lavira]

They had still been at Alori's Aerie, sleeping off the fun from the previous night where they'd celebrated her adopted sister's bonding with the surprising Durveth. All of them had known that the storm was sure to break within a day or two, but nobody had known exactly when.

Most of the previous day had been spent in a cold drizzle, the winds dead calm for once; but that was then and this was now. When morning had come, Vira had left Alori, Kovac, and the rest to go make sure the Ivory Aerie was secure should the rains get too heavy and start to flood Mohya's cave. It would be bad form if her Eagle drowned more than half way up the mountain, hah! She also had wanted to check on the eagle she had rescued on the 58th from the Bay. The bird had been trapped in a snare from another hunter and had been being bullied by a bobcat. It'd been quite a tale the one-eyed Endal had told.

But both birds had proven secure and with that insight, she collected the free-roaming Tulaj from his perch (no way was he going in a cage, the crazy wretch), and left to meet with the others. There was little more she could do for the Wind or Golden eagle at present until the storm ended and they could return to their homes.

They had just met back in the tunnels leading to the rest of the aeries and were about to head down; she, Kovac, Alori, Turrin, and Azira. She had given Kovac a hug and a kiss before nodding that they should get going. They were just about to leave the Endal aeries when the world exploded in chaos. In a moment of horror, Vira actually thought Skyinarta had just blew its top! But the sting was not of lava searing away her flesh but the icy chill of wind-swept rain.

The tunnels had collapsed.

And it was pure chaos.

Se felt her heart give a terrified THUMP in her chest as she stared at where she had just been standing were it not for the sharp hand of another from behind grabbing her back just in time. She didn't know who it was, didn't care. Her first thought after the mountain went boom was that Kovac was dead, crushed. For he had been beside her, hadn't he? She couldn't be sure; he did'nt normally stand on her blind side but for some reason, that was how it had ended up.

Petch and petch again. Angry and horrofied and and panicked thoughts screamed through her mind, all emphasized by that 'petch'. A second later and she probably would have been crushed. The next thought as she began to turn her eyes, spying Azira (was the Avora alright?), was what the petch just happened? The tunnels around them looked like they'd collapsed, a whole chunk of the mountain to their left having been destroyed in the miserable blast of wind. The screams and shrieks of the dying filled the tunnel, bouncing off the new 'wall' that had been created, which had cut them off.

She turned back to the wall then, staring.

Trapped.

Okay, don't panic...don't panic...I'm gonna panic. And who could blame the teen? Hadn't this happened last season? She was still getting over it, for petch sake!

"A-az-zira..." She stuttered, hands opening and closing. Where was Tulaj? "Az-z-zira!" Can't breathe. Throats closed. Gods, not again!

[Azira]

   

It had been an eventful night. The huntress had been surprised and secretly pleased to be invited to the Endal Aeries for a party. It had initially been awkward but it had worked out okay in the end and she'd ended up staying the night in Alori's Aeries. They'd had no fear of the storm hitting yet but the morning brought it owning winds and lashing rains and the group had decided that it was time to take shelter deeper in the mountain.

Lavira had disappeared off to her own Aeries to check everything, probably frightened for her Eagle, Mohya. So Azira had been left alone with Kovac, Turrin and Alori. She had avoided Turrin as much as possible as they made sure everything was secure in the Endal's home before they made their way through the tunnels, meeting up Lavira. Trailing behind the group, the teen had found herself lost in her own thoughts behind Kovac and his girlfriend, nothing in the world to bother her.

Then everything changed.

The world had seemed to fall around them, the rock shaking and shuddering and raining down around them. 

Lavira had been in front of her, right in the path of the raining rock and the Avora had grabbed her, tugging her backwards as more rock rained down. The world seemed to spin, nothing certain as stone struck her head making her dizzy. Off balance, the teen fell, her head narrowly missing the tunnel wall.

Dazed, it took the girl a minute to assess the scene. The others were gone, separated from them from a wall of stone. At least she hoped they were on the other side of it rather than under it. The idea of them being crushed made her shudder but her attention was drawn to the Endal woman that she'd saved. She seemed to be falling apart before her eyes, trembling with terror as she stuttered Azira's name.

"I'm here," she replied, her voice coming out fainter than she would have thought. Using the wall for support, the teen pulled herself up, the world around her a blur as a wave of dizziness assailed her, making her feel sick. Groaning, she raised a hand to her head, gingerly feeling her tender scalp. Her fingers slipped in something wet and slimy over the raised lump of her head. Withdrawing her fingers, she gazed in horror at the red that stained her fingertips.

"Oh petch!" she moaned, steadying herself against the wall. "Lavira...Lavira, I'm bleeding."

x

[Kian]

Kian's strides became longer and quickier with each step. His anger growing while he walked. How the petch did every Endal or Avora know when he was scheduled not to work, The young Inarta began to shake his head. His inner grumblings were really putting him in a bad mood. He was truly trying to stay out of trouble, but the harder he tried the more someone liked to push his buttons.

The Chiet was looking forward to a day of his own, but that was not to be. He had awoken early for some archery practice but fate and a drunk Endal thought otherwise. Instead, Kian, this morning was going up near the Aeries, carrying several pieces of parchment. He was a practicing archer or at the very least a target baler, not a letter carrier. Yet, here he was doing the bidding of the upper caste. Of course, the Endal was drunk enough that Kian even thought about not doing the task. Once the Endal had sobered up, he probably would not even remember sending the young Inarta on this fool's errand.

Taking in a deep breath Kian was still trying to calm himself. Do not let it ruin your day. If he was quick about the duty he could still enjoy the rest of the day.

His thoughts and anger were interrupted all at once. The whole of the mountain shook and the Inarta thought for sure that all of the city was going to be buried. When all of the mighty rumblings stopped Mount Skyinarta and Wind Reach still stood. Kian had found during the incident that he had put his back to the wall and his finger tips bled from where he had to grip the very stone.

Now that it was over, a silence filled the void after the loud rumblings. The red haired teen used the pause to gather his bearings and try to make sense of actually what had happened. the silence was short lived, Inarta began fleeing down the tunnel. Those that were fleeing down the corridor in Kian's direction were wincing in pain and others were holding open wounds. The Chiet heard words like collapse and cave in. Instead of fleeing with the Inarta down the tunnel to safety, he found himself going against the tide to see for himself and if there was anything he could do.

[Aose]

“Lemme in!” She called out, but her calls were ignored by the occupants on the other side of the barricade, Alori's party was on the other side and she was in it originally... Until they petching tossed her outside . “Hey c'mon! Dere's sometin' goin' on da birds are drivin' me nuts!” Still nothing. The fright in her voice and eyes was obvious, cracking words and eyes the size of saucers.

After a few chimes of pounding and getting rejected Aose stopped, now tears have trailed themselves down her cheeks and she had no choice but to find someplace to hunker down from the loud chaos that were the birds of prey in the area. The wind had already picked up, tossing her fiery hair about her face. “Petchin' gits.” the yasi grunted as she went to find another opening into the aeries, something had to be there!

It was several more chimes before Aose found a opening she could slip into, sighing some relief she watched from inside the opening to see streaks of lightening grace the skies and the winds roared wildly. That was when Aose realized there was one thing she didn't hear anymore... The din of birds, their voices were stripped from the winds this left Aose some peace of mind...

… If only that was the reason Aose heard nothing, the rain had started and the birds scattered, the resulting torrent of mud had loosened gravel and rocks from the upper parts, but it also weakened the structure and Aose hadn't realized until she felt the dripping of water from above. Looking up the girl's jaw gaped open, the world she knew was coming to a end it felt, her body drained in stoic staunchness and the girl had no choice but to run deeper in fright.

She could hear voices ahead, a bell ahead at least, Maybe its them? Aose hoped it was and she tried to pick up the pace , but her body was protesting and she was forced to take it at a trotting jog, Siilark was flapping his wings loudly in Aose's face and hair, it was obvious to the yasi that he wasn't too comfortable in the caves, but there wasn't a choice in the matter.

She had managed to almost get to them when the wall came crashing down suddenly, the concussive force thew the girl and bird backwards, luckily for Siilark he was able to buffer his fallback whereas Aose wasn't so lucky. Crashing to the ground Aose laid there gasping and staring at proverbial stars and birdies until they blurred and Aose drifted to blackness.

It must not have lasted long because Aose woke to the pecking and nipping of a sharp beak on her pinna and nose. “Ow.. Git off!” She pushed towards the offending bugger, it was Siilark! Aose sat up and groaned, placing hand to the back of her head. Luckily it wasn't a sticky wet mess but there was one hell of a large bump there and it smarted under her touch. “Petch.” She hissed and winced.

Looking upward at the wall she groaned, “Petch!” There had to be someone on the other side... Maybe if I yell they can hear me?
“HELP!” She screamed, it was a hoarse call out...

OOCEdited due to Party Thread
Credit to Edreina for creating

[Caelum]

Guest Moderation Guidelines : Hi, ya'll. Harrier has asked me to take over this thread for you. Gossamer approved it in the HD (for those of you keeping official tabs). I hope you aren't too terribly disappointed. Here's the quick and dirty: I don't care about posting order. You may post in whatever order you so desire and, if you wish, you are welcome to post multiple times between my posts. Taking risks and being inventive makes you a player after my own heart. I won't get annoyed. You can't break my plot. You can only make it better with your wonderful PCs. Reasonable liberties are acceptable. Play to your skill level and don't write the Endal Loren who I'm flinging right into your face with this first post, and you'll be just fine. Questions, comments, concerns? My PM box is always open and I share my pie. Talk to me. Now, let's write ourselves out of this mess! The panicked shove of a bystander staggered Kian forward when he reached the site of the cave in, leaving him off balance in a thunderous dim. Unfortunately for him, the worst was far from over, and as all of his courageous instincts turned him back toward the light where he could be of greatest aid, the other half of the wall slid down with a gnawing of rocks. The collapse sent him rolling backwards into the dark, cut off from the others. Loren (Decathik) strode down tunnel like a force of nature himself. The tails of his sheepskin katinu bucked and fluttered about the calves of his boots. The hooded overcoat hung open, revealing his bare chest and baring the sharp, ruffled line of his hair to flame to the dim. The expression on his face could have cowed another Endal, let alone a person of lesser caste than he. His eyes scoured the tunnel ahead of him, narrow slits of sea green, and he sent a pile of rubble scattering with a vicious kick before whirling about a turn in the rumbling wall. "You --" He snapped at Kian , pausing by the man's sprawled form. He ducked down and brought with him the scent of wind, delivering a matter of fact visual examination before he bunched both hands in the front of his shirt and hauled him to his feet. He maintained his grip exactly long enough to be certain Kian wouldn't fall right back over. "Come with me," he said briefly. The Endal turned back to the howling dim, the batter of the storm seeming distant and muffled now by piles of rock and dust. He led Kian through a twist of the tunnel and they stumbled across no other souls. It was growing increasingly more clear that everyone else, or at least almost everyone else, had been on the opposing side of the cave in. They came to a crossroads and it was there Loren paused, head tilting as he listened. The sound of voices echoed through the stone corridor from two opposing directions. "Go that way," Loren swept Kian up in the full intensity of his regard. He jerked a thumb to the left. "Find whoever that is crying and meet me that way --" He indicated the opposite direction, where two voices overlapped each other. Without waiting for reply, apparently having no doubt that he would be obeyed, Loren swung around to the right and disappeared into the dark. Kian would find Aose to the left, if all went as planned. Meanwhile, Loren's boots crunched on gravel and stone. He passed a whistling hole in the wall that gave him pause and to which he gave a long, considering look before continuing on. Calculation began shine in pale eyes, formulating the next steps in his plan. "Here!" He called ahead of him before spinning a turn to blink at the sight of Lavira and Azira.

[Azira]

The liquid on her fingers made her breathe in short sharp gasps, her stomach churning sickeningly at the sight of it. She was hurt. She didn't know how badly but she knew that head injuries were bad. Banging your head could have terrible consequences and she wondered what the consequences for her would be. As much as she wanted to fall to pieces an panic, she couldn't. Taking deep breaths, she tried to calm herself down and think straight. It was hard to do as there were screams echoing through the tunnels from gods knew where and it was extremely unsettling. She spoke aloud, although her voice was weak, to try to block out some of the worrying sounds.

"So I'm hurt and the others are on the other side of that rock wall. There's no way through it so..." The teen's head swivelled to take in the unblocked way behind her, where they'd just come from. "We need to find away around so that means going back and trying to find a different route. Need to find a doctor or a healer and not pass out in the meantime," the huntress murmured. Turning she stumbled forward, an ache making itself known in her behind from her fall. It was probably only bruised but it added to her discomfort.

There was no real pain in her head, just a dull sort of ache. She wouldn't have thought it was as bad if it wasn't for the blood but with the blood and the almost non-existent pain, she was worried that there was something very wrong with her. Thinking straight was still hard between the dizziness and the rising feeling of nausea but she was able to stagger forward with the thought that she just had to move. It was all she could focus on.

Swaying sideways, she found herself banging into the wall, her elbow grazing the sharp stone and making her wince. She tried to right herself but she couldn't without the help of the wall and she couldn't stay balanced alone. Panting, she allowed herself to lean against the wall for a few moments to try to work up the energy to move again. Vague thoughts of Lavira came to mind but she couldn't concentrate on the Endal who seemed so far away now. Out of sight, out of mind.

The strange voice snapped her out of her groggy awareness, making her focus on the man standing so close at hand. Where had he come from? The Avora didn't know but she tried to go to him, her mouth moving in a soundless cry for help. Pushing from the wall too quickly only made the dizziness strike anew with more force than before, sending her sprawling to the ground with a groan.

x

[Caelum]

OOC : Writing Lavira and Kian out, so go with it. Aose, please let us know if you are still involved! You are welcome. Loren watched the Avora pitch toward the ground at his feet with a detached interest. If it was not his sense of empathy motivating him to catch Azira, then it was at least his sense of economy. It would be far more efficient to avoid further injuring his potential help. Strong arms snatched Azira up a wink before she hit the ground, sweeping her into his arms and against his chest with disgusting ease. The lapels of his katinu brushed against her cheek and her wrinkled his nose while giving the narrow cavern from which she had emerged a visual sweep. "Where's your friend, eh?" The Endal questioned, muttering in a manner that could leave you wondering if everything he said was rhetorical. "Thought I heard two voices. Hello!" He shouted the last, throwing his voice into the pitch of the narrow opening until it splintered into pieces to echo back at them. With Azira still in his arms, he rolled a few steps forward, but before he could get more than an arms length through the opening a bone shattering crack clapped above. Loren did not so much as run as he flew. An avalanche of earth rumbled behind them, curtaining off that potential escape route with dust and crumbled stone. The Endal coughed at the blooms of dust in the air and slouched against the corridor wall even as the vibrations in the floor beneath his feet began to shimmer toward stillness. He turned his head as he did so to avoid coughing right into Azira's face, as he still clutched her against him rather tightly. "Alright," he rasped after a moment, tone matter of fact. "I can smell the blood on you." He squinted in the gloom. "And see some of it. The petch. Keep your eyes open, girl. I'm Loren. What's your name?" Slowly, he shoved off the wall and looked around, waiting to hear if Kian would be returning or if he too had been caught in the second shift of that rock slide, buried or cut off from them. Either way, Loren figured he was equally as useless to his cause. The Endal was disturbingly pragmatic, but he did begin to tilt Azira's feet toward the floor to see if she would be able to stand on her own. "There was another voice crying out close by," he explained. "We should investigate."

[Aose]

OOCSorry yeah I am still here, been a bit busy offline with stuff plus connection has been patchy here...

Aose cried, her hands were becoming raw as she once more slammed them against the blockade of rubble. “Help... Damn my lack of respect! Damn it to hell.” She whimpered and slide down the wall, it was no use she figured. There was now way beyond the wall, and her hands and arms were rather sore. She heard no help coming as of yet and it was time she did something for herself.

There had to be a gap somewhere, cave-ins could possibly take up every gap when they happened could they? Aose stood, her body was trembling from a combination of fear and being soaked from the storm outside. Siilark had taken off, probably in search of a different way through or to find shelter himself. Blasted bird. Aose grumbled and looked at the rock wall, it was just a pile of rubble really. Placing one hand on it she judged the sturdiness, but of course a foot planted on it caused her to move some of the wall and slide down in a micro-landslide. It took her a bit before she managed to find a way to climb up the slope.

Time was of no understanding in the dim of the tunnel, the cave-in was enough to block off any way through from her vantage point, however far up that was, she managed to find a small hole, it wasn’t a large hole, so she couldn’t fit through quite yet, but it was enough that she could position her face nearby and scream through it. And that she did, her young voice roared, echoed, and bounced in the hole before it rumbled and escaped the other side. It was a single word...


“HELP!”

Credit to Edreina for creating

[Azira]

Hands moved to catch the huntress, sweeping her up with ease to rest against his chest. After the fact, the thought of having been so close to the strange male Endal would repulse her somewhat but for the moment all that she could do was make a feeble attempt to put some space between them. It wasn't something that she had a chance to worry about for very long either. The reminder of more important matters was rudely thrust upon them as they passage she'd come from began to collapse. It sent the Endal holding her sprinting away from the scene, his unexpected movements jostling her as he ran, the view around her became a dizzy blur and the sound pounded through her head. She had to close her eyes to stop everything from spinning and making her feel ill.

It wasn't until after they'd stopped moving that the huntress realised that she could still hear something even though she could see no sign of movement coming from the collapse. It took her a few moments to come to the realisation that it was the sound of her own groaning. As soon as she was made aware of the the Avora shut up, keeping her lips tightly pressed together to stop any more moans and groans from escaping her lips. The teen had closed her eyes again, desperate to stop the spinning that had somehow gotten worse now that they had stopped, when the man spoke.

"I'm... Azira. I'm fine just... dizzy," she mumbled, her eyelids fluttering open for a moment before closing again. The blackness of the inside of her lids was far less nauseating than what awaited her when she opened them a few moments later to find herself being set on her feet. "Woah, give me a chime here. I'm either going to fall over or throw up if you put me down too soon," the young woman complained, more life coming into her tone than before. She even managed an attempt at glaring at him, although it was a bit hopeless. The girl had to grudgingly admit that the Endal was right though; someone was crying out for help.

"Just give me a chime and we can both go and check it out," Azira explained tiredly, her eyes closing once more.

x