Damping the Fire (PLOT)

[Plot]

Who: Anyone not on the Sands who wants!
What: The sky is falling!
When: About twenty-five minutes after Trith's announcement.
Where: Rider weyrs.
Warnings: Violence, possibly death.





As the smoke began to rise from the Lower Caverns and the screams began to sound from below, several Riders and their dragons were apt to leave their Weyrs to go in search of the cause. However, by doing so, they revealed exactly which parts of the weyrs were currently inhabited. Just what this quartet needed.

Winging in silently from above as the chaos erupted below, they stopped to hover and take careful aim. And then they dropped. Four giant boulders fell from the sky at once, crashing into the inhabited portions of the cliff-face. Several screams echoed as a couple people dropped from the ledges. Riders, weyrfolk, or drudges - who knew.

Watching the giant stones roll down the cliff, all four dove in unison. Two threw themselves against the already battered ledges, hoping to do more damage to the living quarters. The other two swept to the bottom to take hold of their boulders for a second barrage.





OOC NOTICE!!! Four dragons are attacking the Rider weyrs. There are two browns and two greens. The two browns are now ramming into the various spaces, while the two greens are swooping in for their boulders to rain them down again.

Beware, there will be damaged ledges and hallways leading to or from any of these places on foot. Cave-ins and rocks and dust falling from the ceiling are both very possible. The majority of the weyrs affected will have been living spaces for any number of weyrfolk, but mostly Riders. As it was mid-morning and a fair amount of people might have been alerted to the events elsewhere, the occupancy level was likely low...but not deserted.

Fend off the dragons, rescue trapped people, provide medical care to those who have fallen or been hit by falling debris - or simply run like hell. There will be plenty of NPCs about.

Damage and injuries have already been incurred - how far it gets is up to the players. (Yep, that would be YOU!)

((Note: if your dragon is injured here, he will probably not be able to chase Dalisth. Keep injuries light or none at all if you wish to do so!))

[Kaemi]

Shards, Lialla hated chores. When would she be switched off of the glows? It felt like she had been doing this since arrival! Nope! But don't worry, it's going to be over soon- so no fiery explosion today![/i] Cryth put in cheerfully. Ever since the first day, the green had felt the need to assert the fact that there would be no spontaneous combustion of her rider. It made Lia laugh a little, which kept her from banging her head against the walls between the glows. At least she was in a populated area, as opposed to an utterly obsolete back corner which apparently needs to be just as bright as the Great Hall. She coughed, and then replaced a dimming glow with one which was fully bright.

Just for you, I won't explode, the weyrling reassured her flighty green (a bit of redundancy, there, but what can you do?). She could feel her splashing around in the waves of the beach, diving and playing with some wild f'lizards she had befriended, waiting for Hers to finish that last stretch so that she could bathe. The itinerary for the day was to finish chores early, so that the rest of the day could be theirs. Cryth wanted to cheer Hers up- she hadn't been in the best mood lately, and it upset the green. So they would spend the day together and be happy!

Lialla coughed again, walking over to another dimming glow and replacing it. I'm almost done, sweetheart. However, she was delayed from replacing this glow with yet another round of coughing. Are you alright, Minelove? Cryth asked worriedly, her tail beginning to swish in the water. Hers didn't answer, consumed with a coughing fit, and then there were people in the halls. Some were coughing, others were wondering at commotion... what was going on? I'm fine, sweetie, don't worry. And that's when it started.

The general quiet of mid-morning was interrupted by loud sounds- crashing, rumblings, yelling... but it was the scream that truly worried Lia. It came from the weyr across from her, and was enough to beckon her inside a weyr- a place she wouldn't normally venture, being a private area. The coughing, and then loud noises, compounded with someone screaming in... pain? It was enough to spark both her curiosity as well as her instincts to help, so she went out through the weyr and through to the ledge. Nothing would have prepared her for the havoc occurring. There were... boulders! What?!!

Mine. Mine, what's going on, what's going on, are you alright? I'm coming to get you. Cryth's voice cut through the chaos, and Lialla immediately knew that she couldn't let her innocent, eager little green see any of this. There were boulders falling from the sky, and there was smoke in the air, and there was screaming and yelling and... she quickly sent a thought out to her mindmate. Don't come. I'm fine. Love you, I'm fine.

Of course, this only alarmed Cryth more, and so Lia shut her out and knelt to try and help the person on the ledge, who had been hit by one of the boulders, she presumed. There was profuse bleeding from the head, which seemed to be from the fall onto the stone ledge more so than the boulder. Head wounds bled copiously no matter what, and the pulse was steady, so Lialla felt a little better about the chances. Now she needed bandaging and lots of it- who knew who else was injured?! Shells, she had no idea what was happening. It seemed like they were being attacked, but that was utterly absurd. Who would attack them?

Her mind went to Trith's Flight, and she cursed aloud before coughing again, standing up and looking around her. There were people trapped by the falling boulders, there were plenty of injured, and there were probably a few casualties. The only thing she could do was help the people who were hurt. So where were the bandages? There were probably some in the rider's room, whoever it was. She was going to search for them when Cryth's voice began to shout in her mind, tired of being ignored, and coming in with fierce, unusual will. MINE. What is happening?! What is going on?? Are you okay??? The frantic mindvoice worried Lialla more than anything else, and she winced.

I love you, sweetheart, but I have to help these people. If I can, I have to. And then she dashed into the rider's weyr and began tearing through for bandages. It didn't take longer than a minute or two- most riders did keep minimal first-aid, for the little things that they could take care of without making an Infirmary trip. Lialla managed to stem some of the blood flow from the head, dressing and bandaging it, and then she moved to the next injured person on another ledge. Help as many as she could, within her very limited knowledge. Shield them inside their weyr if she could.

Before she could leave the fourth ledge, however, a sharp, distant creel voiced from the beach, cut off abruptly and never picking back up.

[Kira]

V'taph was pleased with himself. He'd gotten some work done that morning, a little training in with Veneth, dragged the the imp to the Sands and made him attend the Touching (though why he didn't want to was beyond comprehension), and now he was relaxing in his Weyr with a nice little snack. Tiieh chirped at him from where the odd little thing was curled on his chest and he chuckled, giving her another tiny chunk of the fruit. Meat was best for her, but he knew he spoiled her; she liked it and it wouldn't make her ill, so why not?

Suddenly, she spun on his chest, hackles raised and hissing at the ledge opening. V'taph was halfway through wondering why she was hissing at Veneth when the dozing brown came fully awake and snarled. He issued forth a very odd panicked sound and scrambled off the ledge. Stay back! Go to the back of the Weyr!" Years of training were the only thing that allowed V'taph to spring to action and sprint almost to the innermost wall before the boulder hit his ledge. Some of the outer portion caved in a bit as it bounced down the cliff. Tiieh clung to the front of his leathers, screeching in fright and pain - the loud noise was too much for her. 'What the FALL?!' Attack. Four dragons. Smashing weyrs,[/color] came the quick, terse reply.

Swearing, V'taph quickly sent Tiieh away, telling her to go somewhere safe. If they were still attacking, there would be more noise, and he couldn't concentrate with a flit screeching in his ear. 'Show me,' he told Veneth, and with a wrench their minds connected so V'taph could see the two greens dropping down to recollect the boulders, and then the two browns hurtling into the cliff right before he felt the shake of the impact. There were little dots of people running and screaming everywhere. They didn't even need to discuss their plan, as close as they were, especially at that moment.

Veneth quickly contacted the closest few dragons he felt that didn't feel like The Outsiders. Hobble the greens first! They are killing our people! Try to get the boulders away and drop them in the ocean! Veneth himself twisted in the air and launched himself at the back of one of the browns. He bit down hard on the joint between neck and shoulder, latching his claws around the other's sides and digging them in. The enemy brown's wings faltered in their limited space and the pair began to fall away. 'Be careful!' V'taph admonished. Veneth snapped out his wings. He couldn't carry them both, no, but he could use them to place himself on top and angle them away from the weyrs. Slamming the other into the ocean was the plan, the surface tension of the water sometimes being greater than that of stone. Plus, it would keep him away from falling on people. The trapped brown thrashed in Veneth's grip, hurting himself more than dislodging himself, and trying to twist around to bite the other back.

V'taph had sprung into action as well. There would be people trapped in the caves and weyrs that had already been hit, and the weakened stone could cave-in or break and slide down the cliff at any moment. He rushed from his own quarters, easily bursting through most doors in his fervor. He found a few people, scared or dazed, and a handful of wounded, quickly directing them to take the stairs up. They could run into the jungle along the top ledges, as the beaches were too dangerous. The unhurt were instructed to carry along the injured. V'taph might have carried a few himself, but he had a different bit of franticness in his mindset. Of all the people that could be in those hallways, there was one he sought. If she got hurt because he wasn't there to protect her than he would never forgive himself. Crashing his way along, careful to avoid rubble and any ceilings that looked not-quite-sturdy, he threaded his way to the creche, hoping he would find her there, safe and sound - if a bit scared.

.o0O0o.

Tiieh was a scared little bundle of nerves. Herbigtwoleg and herbigbrownwing were fighting and it was noisy and there was dust everywhere. Hers had said to go somewhere safe - but there was nowhere safe! Creeling, she felt around with her mind as she clung to a wall. Her mother! She quickly dropped into between and came out above the Sands...and then had to quickly drop between again with a screech of fright to avoid getting blasted by fire. Appearing again in a clearer corner of the arena, she saw a familiar little blonde head. Hers'slittletwoleg. Winking out again, she appeared no more than a foot above Selene and quickly darted to her shoulder, curling up next to her neck and shivering in fright, keening quietly.