The grownups are all very busy, but the children are all bored.
Bored or having nightmares. But Tasárinon was not on a ship and did not see the people dying and has only heard it thirdhand and can't exactly have nightmares about the look in his mother's eyes - well, he probably could, but he hasn't - so he's bored, and he is drawing on the floor. It is an absurdly intricate drawing. He has been embellishing it for three days.
"...okay, I could go down alone and leave everybody else circling up here while I talk to folks, or I could land us inside a city, opinions?"
"You might be better off with someone who can hear and respond to osanwe, and we actually speak the language, and can swear to things in our own voices. I think you should take at least some people."
"Okay. A little shuttle will be less intimidating than landing everybody. Anyone comfortable jumping out of a ship and expecting a shuttle to be made around them?"
"Everyone will if I tell them to. Let me get you a landing party." He does. Six people.
If all the six people would jump very close together please? And now they are all in a shuttle and landing.
People come around, tensely.
"Don't think they're going to fire on us," Maitimo says. "They asked who were were and I said I was from Valinor and we wanted to help - okay, and now they want someone to come outside and swear to not serving the Enemy -"
And they can all cheerfully swear that they don't serve the enemy. In Thindarin. The locals relax a little.
Cam steps out being winged and short. He has learned to say 'hello', in Thindarin, so he says that.
And they explain him and point out that if he worked for the Enemy, the Enemy would have won, which logic does not totally seem to reassure the locals.
...well, it's the best he can do. Would they like any material objects here.
Yes. Taller walls to keep out the orcs, and water safe for drinking.
Uh. They can go get buckets.
He can make a container! He can make several containers! Just, located where.
There's space in the center of the city. People crowd the water as soon as it appears. The orcs poisoned the river, apparently, and even the rainwater's poison.
If he summons some he won't find it familiar.
It's a prion disease. Charming.
So charming! Cam recommends the following aggressive quarantine protocols for anyone poisoned and if they ever REALLY need to drink the water they can go through the following really tedious procedures.
Good to know. Can they just all go to Valinor? They haven't heard great things about Valinor but here they are all going to die.
Cam would love to evacuate them to his planet - or Valinor if they prefer and it is suspected they'd be welcome? - but doing it right this minute would be taken as provocation by the Enemy.
Great.
The Enemy already looks pretty darn provoked; he's out there, shooting mortars at the walls.
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