:Earthquake I guess. Are the other locations far enough away to not be affected by the same quake? Can you hold a gate long enough to get everyone through?:

:...Can't get everyone through, sorry. Could get you and the girl and your Companion: 

:Can you directly do something about the earthquake, or is it not enough like normal weather -:

:Earthquakes aren't weather at all! There's probably a technique for it anyway but I don't know it: A hint of embarrassment. The mage left behind as a communications person because he couldn't master microbe-murdering is perhaps not the cream of the crop among Leareth's staff. :Can do a barrier over us but I'll get tired: 

:How much will it take out of you to hold a gate to the next location long enough that we can see if anything's going wrong there?:

:I can do it but it'll be less tiring for the Mindspeech-relay here to contact them, they're in range: 

:Okay, let's do that, who's the Mindspeech-relay here:

:Tarasha. I've asked her, give us thirty seconds: 

The floor gives another violent heave. Amshalan's hooves skid a bit but she keeps her footing. 

Belrun clings to her neck and tries not to freak out enough that Leareth'd notice it from hundreds of miles away. :How long could you hold a Gate: she asks. :If we did something crazy like having me Fetch people across faster than they could walk or something, is it close enough that that could make the difference?:

:Can you do that?: He sounds so impressed. :I could hold a Gate to there a couple of minutes–: He cuts off, clearly distracted. :Other backup location is hit too, it's in the mountains as well, but seventy miles east and not nearly as bad there: 

A couple of ceiling tiles jolt loose and narrowly miss them, shattering on the floor. The hallway is now crowded with people rousted out of their beds, huddling in doorframes or holding onto each other. 

:If I don't mind knocking them around some probably but if it's quaking there too anyway and there's gryphons at the first place -

- where else could you Gate?:

:Probably can't make it more than a hundred miles. Few other operations centres in range but they're pretty out in the open: 

:It doesn't have to be an ops center, just anywhere we could survive for the next day, but I guess with that range limit it's a tall order.

How hard is it to learn to Gate?:

:...To learn to Gate? Um. Conceptually not that tricky but it takes control and really good concentration, most mages need at least a year or two of training before they can get it down: 

:How hard is it to learn that barrier thing that'd keep the ceiling off us -:

:Oh, that one's not very hard. Physical shields are right up there with levinbolts for simple techniques: 

:Okay. Um -

Amshalan, do you think you could relay somebody else's Sight to me for the sort of concert stuff I normally do with Leareth:

:Hmm. Yes, I think so - what are you thinking here...?: 

:We've only got one mage but I can make more:

:Wow. Do you think you can concentrate well enough right now to do that, it takes a while...: 

:I think so as long as the shaking isn't really ill-timed. So I guess I should roll some dice to decide when to start. Not sure if I should do myself or somebody else, but - if I do myself, that may be higher option value, I'd be able to boost my other Gifts - anybody else here have other Gifts useful in earthquakes -:

There are a few other Fetchers who can keep any debris off her, and five Healers, and someone has strong Farsight but isn't sure what it would be helpful to Farsee - oh, and one of them has short-range Foresight, and experience using it in combat, and thinks she can reliably get thirty seconds to a minute's warning on really bad shaking, maybe Belrun can time whatever she wants to do to that? 

:I have that too but less warning and I'm not practiced at it: Amshalan tells Belrun. 

The Foreseer will be helpful. Which Fetchers want to be mages?