networkinthenight | [audio] @kingofwei HERE WE GO

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[audio] @kingofwei HERE WE GO

[he sounds tired. They probably all do, after all of that.]

My friends...

I'm sure I don't need to state the obvious, but we are just now seeing the full extent of this disaster. If you have not yet looked to see the bluff where the lighthouse used to be, take a moment and behold. This is hardly the first time the ferry hasn't come, but everything else....well. It is a tragedy on all sides.

First, I would like those who can to check in. Who is still here, and are you all alright? Now that we have a moment to breathe, report in if you can. We must take stock of who is genuinely missing, versus those who are just too busy to use the Grandmaster's alert system.

Second, can we have reports on what is destroyed and what still stands? I have spent my energy moving torches and redirecting water around the Bonfire. It is mostly safe, as far as I can tell, but Master Rastus is missing entirely. What of the village and the downtown on the other sides of the river? How do they fare? Has anyone been able to reach the Keeper, Dr. Solis, or anyone else with the network?

[a pause, a deep breath. Rosinante, buddy, this is on you]

Now is the time we need leadership, more than any other. We can discuss and debate the options later but for the moment, I would like for all of you to trust me and allow me to take charge. Temporarily, if nothing else. I have led my kingdom through war and disaster on a similar level before, I will do everything in my power to lead us out of this and to recovery and reorder, swiftly and carefully. I have been asked by some to step up, and so I shall. If you will let me. If there are no objections, simply ask me for a direction and I will point you toward a need that your skills can meet. What we need first is to take stock of what we have and what is missing: people, supplies, and shelter. From there, we will move forward one step at a time.

If you will not have me, then feel free to say so and I will not waste my time. Meanwhile, I will be moving torches back to the Bonfire Square until I drop from fatigue.

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[He did say he'd support him and a leader doesn't look legitimate without at least a few people visibly backing him up. Rather than keeping quiet as is his preference on the network, he'll just have to pitch in his two cents. Or two beris. It's not like there's money here anyway.]

I've been focusing for the time being on search and rescue on the north end of town. Unfortunately it's pretty quiet outside The Invincible and the Landmark. If people never made it to those locations before the flood, it seems like they might have had more trouble than those who did.

From what I've seen so far, the museum looks to have been hit badly. Like the lighthouse, it looks like some of the cliff under it collapsed. I know Riku used to spend a lot of time there and I haven't seen him since the rain started.

I'd like to keep searching, but I'd also like to get some bridges rebuilt so we can get help back and forth. Let me know which you think is the higher priority.

[thanks man, just what he needs]

Both are, generally speaking. If people cannot use the tablet to send an emergency signal, I doubt they can respond to this message either, and those must be found. If they are hurt or in danger, the sooner the better.

Bridges are important but not time-sensitive. If others are currently stranded on the other side of the river, we will all be able to work together to span it in time.

Right. I'll focus the first few days on immediate search and rescue efforts, and switch to helping with bridges as time allows.

Easier than asking for who is present might be asking people who they notice is missing. I've got a list going in my head. Might be more helpful if it's written down, available to everyone. Also helps me and others out here know who we should look for. Would you be able to maintain something like that for us?

You would vouch for him?

[ His voice is as even as always. Is he upset? Maybe, but Ephrim's doing his level best to take this in rationally, and he'd like to think his level best is quite good. ]

Yes, I would gladly undertake that task. I can form a roster, and as reports come in, update it.

Fair point; I will take reports from people that they haven't seen so-and-so yet, so that if the missing person does surface, they can simply be scratched off the list.

I do. I've known Cao Pi since we both arrived last July. He and I have had our disagreements and in that time I've come to see that he's competent and level-headed. We have disasters so frequently, and every time we do, we lose people due to a lack of organization and communication. Having one person we can look to, who can help keep track of who is where and delegate responsibility, will unify us. The flood proves that we're not able to just make our own haphazard independent decisions and survive them.

What's more is we need someone who can help direct research and organization toward fighting the world eaters who is here with us in Beacon. The Wild Hunt and Pluto of the Night Market have put themselves forward as having solutions and while I don't think anyone agreed with Kimiko's ideas, the risk in following Pluto is clear - she's down there, she doesn't know us well, and it's too easy to lose contact with her and the others. Beacon needs its own leadership.

[More words than he's said in one breath since coming here, probably.]

Thank you.

Actually, an even better idea: assuming the list of network handles was up to date before the lighthouse collapsed, we probably can, in fact, use that as a list and cross people off once they're accounted for.

[Look, he's had months to get used to this technology but sometimes it takes him a second still.]

Using that list, I can account for the following as of the last week: Elektra, Ephrim, Fitz, Fjord, Haein, Jason Grace, Javert, the Grandmaster, Matt, Mary, Minimus, Newton, Pudding, Sora, Stone, Dr. Ingram, and Soldat.

I truly hope the others have just been holed up in other buildings and that I've missed any comments of theirs on the network. I'll keep looking on foot for people if you want to cross-check network posts.

[Thanks to that cool search function. He's just barely had time to breathe, let alone poke at a tablet until now.]

Excellent. Off to a good start. I will do that, since most of these names are harder to render in my own tongue. Much as I enjoy writing...

[he would totally have his own inked list if it were at all possible to write 'Jason Grace' in Han Chinese ok. That said, he's privately relieved that he knows so many of them. Good people, he would hate to lose them.]

As others check in, I will account for them. I do hope you find Master Riku in one piece.

What happened to the Lighthouse?

( there's a clear note of unease in his tone. which, from Matt, means HIGH KEY PANIC. he might be the last remaining member of the Robin Stan club, but he's basically president, so he has a Concern. )

[okay Matt can be forgiven for not uh. looking up at the lake. Cao Pi's tone is dead serious]

It's gone. Entirely. The entire bluff appears to have been washed away.

There is only so much we can discern from a distance in the darkness but the light is gone and the black shapes of the bluff have changed. Now that we have some starlight to see by, we can see that much. But without having someone who can go there to see it up close, there is no way to know if the Keeper survived, or if any of it is salvageable.

I'm more worried that I haven't seen or heard from Daylight.

[He's normally very hard to miss, after all.]

I'll... I'll see if I can contact her. I haven't heard from her since all this started, not once since before the storm. I figured that with the rain, the connection was too muddled.

( now he feels guilty and terrible that he didn't try sooner or even think sooner that a flimsy metal lighthouse that seemed to seem creaky just in the wind could be utterly destroyed by a storm of that magnitude. )

The spirits always kept us from getting too close. It might be dangerous to go search, but if there's anything left behind, we should find it if we can.

( Robin was in charge of some important technology, after all. Matt is distinctly worried about the implications of what that might mean, if all of it is suddenly gone. )

Robin, Solis, Rastus... they're not the only ones that seem to be gone. It seems we lost quite a few in the storm. I can't even guess how many, but we need to find out.

I'm still here. [Although she hasn't spoken to him just yet.] My name is Hana.

I'm not sure all that I'd be able to do in my state, but I'll assist in helping any way possible. I think the village took some hefty damage.

Daylight. [heavily, like saying it also implies fuck no not him he's too good to lose]

I will not count our losses prematurely. Though, if Doctor Solis is not responding we may well not have luck in bringing back the dead.

It can't be helped, we were all rather busy trying to keep ourselves and the rest of the town from washing away.

It is my hope that an open message like this will get some to respond, so we can account for them, in order to focus our search efforts. If anyone has received an alert from someone, it needs to be reported as well.

Hana. [repeating to make sure he marks her down as safe]

Are you injured, my lady? What is your present location?

I'm currently at the Landmark Hotel. I... ended up breaking a few ribs during the flood, but I'm alright otherwise.

[But it's the last thing that she wanted. It could be worse, though. Makes moving around and breathing hard sometimes.]

How is the hotel faring?

If you need assistance, simply ask. We may need to discern who is closest on that side of the river and can reach you.

The hotel is okay. We managed to keep it from taking too much damage.

Aside from time healing them and maybe some healing magic, I'm not sure there's much to be done about it. I appreciate the offer though.

Is there anything I can do to help? I know the bridges have been reported as destroyed in the aftermath. I'd like to help out however I can.

[And make sure her mech is okay, but she wouldn't be able to carry the pieces of it back yet like this.]

I would not ask someone with a serious injury to exert themselves, but surely there must be some good you can do from there. [thoughtfully, like he's working on coming up with an idea despite already having several in his pocket]

If there are others around you, ensure that they check in or report for them. I am keeping track of the verified missing. Beyond that, an assessment of the damage will help us know how to proceed. Knowing what is damaged and which would be considered salvageable, versus a complete loss, will help immensely.

( it can't be helped doesn't code well with catholic guilt. even if it's probably true. )

I'll get a headcount the best I can. And I'll try and get in touch with Robin.

Keep me apprised. In the meantime, is there anything you need, counselor?

[ahhhh forgive him, he loves using titles and wielding them as if they're more intimate than someone's given name]

I will.

( now more than ever it seems especially imperative not to try and be an island of information. anything he finds out, he's happy to share. )

I don't think so. I'm as well as anyone else. Seems like the place I was staying in the Village was more or less trashed. We might have to find something else.

The Invincible is still intact and I am hearing good things about the hotel, so there are options. It is a shame to lose good housing in that direction, though.

And she was always so careful not to tell us where to come and find her. Still, she's survived all this time, she must be still out there somewhere. A bunch of rain can't be a bigger problem for her than world eaters.

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