10th of Cylus, Arc 719
As it turned out, Praetorum's earlier assessment that the ship seemed mostly undamaged was not quite correct. What he hadn't been able to see from above was the ragged hole on the side of the ship facing inland, that exposed quite a bit of the lower two decks. Walking Sivan into the hole, he found himself faced with a huddle of children, whispering and staring at him. "Are you here to save us?" One of them asked nervously; he was a strange looking one, almost human but for the small pair of wings on his back. Praetorum glanced at the woman by his side, who'd given her name as Kira. She nodded, so he knelt down until he was closer to the children's eye level.
"What's your name?" He asked, as gently as he could manage.
"'m Derry." The boy mumbled, wings fluttering slightly.
"It's nice to meet you Derry." Praetorum smiled at him. "I'm Praetorum. The one who's going to save you is your friend Lucretia; I'm just here to protect you all until she gets here."
That drew a reaction from most of the children. "Miss Lucy's okay?" A boy asked, eyes wide. Praetorum nodded. "I told you!" He turned to a girl by his side, grabbing onto her arm. There was a strong resemblance between them, he noted. Siblings? "I told you she wouldn't go away forever. She's coming to get us." The girl looked a little skeptical, but said nothing.
"Alright kids, that's enough." A Lotharro limped out from inside the ship, carving knife in hand. "C'mon, it's time to eat." He gave Kira a meaningful look as he ushered the children inside, and nodded at Praetorum.
"Thank you for being so confident with them." Kira told him, leading him to what presumably used to be the hold of the ship. "We're down to six adults taking care of all those children, and I was starting to think we'd never get out of this Mastes blasted place."
"Six?" Praetorum frowned at that, securing Sivan to a post. Lucretia had said there were nine when she'd left them. To lose three Yari in the span of trials...
"Six." She confirmed. "That's why I was so careful when you called out. Something in the swamp used Lucretia's voice to lure our friends out into the open, and then this flock of massive birds swooped out of nowhere and took them, flew up high and—" she made a hand gesture like talons opening. "No one could have survived that fall. We try to stay under the trees or the ship when we can now."
He nodded. Unbuckling the saddle from Sivan, he helped her out of her tack, leaving only the reins to secure her by. "What do you have, and what do you need?" He asked, grabbing the saddlebags.
"What don't we need." She groaned. "Mostly, it's food that's our concern. Even with four of us out hunting, this place is a maze, and every creature here is damned tricky. If you can stay with the children, I can go out and hunt as well, which will help. Rorik's been able to boil off clean water from this mess, thank Karem, so we have enough of that to last us. Aside from that, the local predators seem to have realized we're an easy target. When high tide comes in, they'll come sliding in to try and sneak a bite. We keep the kids on the upper level when that happens, but it's still rough. "
Praetorum nodded, and began to riffle through his things. "I didn't expect to be staying outside the city for more than a few days, so I've only got a days worth of rations for myself and some feed for Sivan, but I did bring my kit with me. I've got fishing line and hooks, a couple of snares, some rope, blankets, flint and steel, the standard issue survival necessities."
"Fishing line. That'll be a life saver; Tess could definitely use that." Kira rubbed her face, an exhausted expression crossing her face. "If you can keep an eye on everyone in here, I'll go hunting." Taking in a deep breath, the Yari looked him up and down. "I'm trusting you to keep them safe." She said warningly, and he tilted his head, acknowledging her concerns. They hadn't known each other for for fifteen bits, but, well. Desperate times, and all that.
He could only hope that he proved deserving of her trust.
"What's your name?" He asked, as gently as he could manage.
"'m Derry." The boy mumbled, wings fluttering slightly.
"It's nice to meet you Derry." Praetorum smiled at him. "I'm Praetorum. The one who's going to save you is your friend Lucretia; I'm just here to protect you all until she gets here."
That drew a reaction from most of the children. "Miss Lucy's okay?" A boy asked, eyes wide. Praetorum nodded. "I told you!" He turned to a girl by his side, grabbing onto her arm. There was a strong resemblance between them, he noted. Siblings? "I told you she wouldn't go away forever. She's coming to get us." The girl looked a little skeptical, but said nothing.
"Alright kids, that's enough." A Lotharro limped out from inside the ship, carving knife in hand. "C'mon, it's time to eat." He gave Kira a meaningful look as he ushered the children inside, and nodded at Praetorum.
"Thank you for being so confident with them." Kira told him, leading him to what presumably used to be the hold of the ship. "We're down to six adults taking care of all those children, and I was starting to think we'd never get out of this Mastes blasted place."
"Six?" Praetorum frowned at that, securing Sivan to a post. Lucretia had said there were nine when she'd left them. To lose three Yari in the span of trials...
"Six." She confirmed. "That's why I was so careful when you called out. Something in the swamp used Lucretia's voice to lure our friends out into the open, and then this flock of massive birds swooped out of nowhere and took them, flew up high and—" she made a hand gesture like talons opening. "No one could have survived that fall. We try to stay under the trees or the ship when we can now."
He nodded. Unbuckling the saddle from Sivan, he helped her out of her tack, leaving only the reins to secure her by. "What do you have, and what do you need?" He asked, grabbing the saddlebags.
"What don't we need." She groaned. "Mostly, it's food that's our concern. Even with four of us out hunting, this place is a maze, and every creature here is damned tricky. If you can stay with the children, I can go out and hunt as well, which will help. Rorik's been able to boil off clean water from this mess, thank Karem, so we have enough of that to last us. Aside from that, the local predators seem to have realized we're an easy target. When high tide comes in, they'll come sliding in to try and sneak a bite. We keep the kids on the upper level when that happens, but it's still rough. "
Praetorum nodded, and began to riffle through his things. "I didn't expect to be staying outside the city for more than a few days, so I've only got a days worth of rations for myself and some feed for Sivan, but I did bring my kit with me. I've got fishing line and hooks, a couple of snares, some rope, blankets, flint and steel, the standard issue survival necessities."
"Fishing line. That'll be a life saver; Tess could definitely use that." Kira rubbed her face, an exhausted expression crossing her face. "If you can keep an eye on everyone in here, I'll go hunting." Taking in a deep breath, the Yari looked him up and down. "I'm trusting you to keep them safe." She said warningly, and he tilted his head, acknowledging her concerns. They hadn't known each other for for fifteen bits, but, well. Desperate times, and all that.
He could only hope that he proved deserving of her trust.
