“Boat.” He said, his voice flat and dry, using his right hand to search down the front of his shirt for the right amulet. It got passed to Rolph, who'd seen and even driven one before, the smaller festival type he'd made for the last King’s week. It looked ridiculous in its bright purple and gold colors, but the woman didn't seem to mind when they powered up-stream towards her, gliding silently and then tracked her slow downstream progress.
Sam was the one that made the grab, and though he was a little small to pull her in alone, Wensa wasn't. In less than a minute the lady from the water was with them. Tor got her a healing device, then a temperature equalizer. Handing off one of the dozen he'd stuffed in his inner pocket. She went from shivering and freezing to nicely cozy in moments, her body temperature returning to a nearly perfect level all the way through at once. She looked like a drowned rat still, her dark hair, brown probably, black with wet and missing a few pieces of clothing that probably made her feel uncomfortable. They didn't have anything out there for that, since Tor hadn't thought to bring extra clothing amulets or even blankets.
They found a clearing and made a house for her, since they needed to get back to work, no matter that everyone was half asleep already. That gave her warmth and shelter for the time being and clean water to drink. Wensa had made sure that everyone knew not to drink flood water, no matter what. It was all contaminated. Always and in any flood, she let them know.
When darkness started to fall they pushed the time limit, planning to just land and make camp above the highest water line. It was a good plan, but the cries from the six people trapped on the roof of a small cabin got their attention before they could do anything restful. Of course.
It wasn't a kind thought, but Tor wanted to sigh at them. Instead of running to higher ground, they'd climbed up on their roof? Brilliant. Then again, they probably had a reason. It may not be a good one, but there had to be some thought that caused them to do something that stupid.
It was a full family, two parents, two grandparents, a boy and a girl, each of the kids holding an animal. The young man had a large dog, gray and black, that was growling, apparently having had about enough of this being wet and miserable stuff.
Tor couldn't blame him. Not at all.
The girl held what seemed to be a pig. Tor blinked, but that didn't change. It was still a pig. White and brown, about thirty pounds.
Pig.
Oink.
Hopefully a pet, because if it was just dinner, Tor was going to have to scold the people for being silly. At least the small animal was being well behaved. No growling at all. It just cuddled in to the girl for warmth and safety. Smart.
The field in his pocket, the new light for searching, was done, he guessed. It had a field that should be strong enough and last a couple of years, worked into stone, even if on the fly. The glowing sigil on it was a whole word, that just said “light” in his own fairly bad handwriting, it glowed a cheery and bright yellow though, so it could be easily seen in the dark. He hadn’t had time for something more creative.
That meant he could try clawing his way back to the surface reality with everyone else instead of having the personality of a doorstop and the empathy of a rock. Wensa was talking as they hovered trying to make a plan.
“And there goes the light. So, we need to find some way to get them off the roof, and do it without killing them all or getting ourselves killed. We can't take passengers flying this way, personal rigs, and a boat might work, but they'd have to be athletic and the older ones seems a little stiff. I don't think they're up to an eight foot drop right now.”
Tor literally had to shake himself.
“Ah… um… right so… we use a flying carriage and reconfigure it so the top is open, they can just walk in. I can drive it well enough for that I think. Probably. Someone will have to hold the light. Wensa? It was your idea.” Pulling the small brown river rounded stone from his pocket didn't cause a stir, everyone was too tired for that.
He still wasn't up to speaking much, that was one of the first things to go in a deep trance state, for Tor and most of the other meditation and building students at the school too. Instead of worrying about the words he pulled out the craft from around his neck and fixed it to hold everyone, with two covered areas in the back, that had clear but secured fronts, in case the dog and pig weren't friends without their people holding them. He had to land to do it, but the whole thing only took about five minutes and then got everyone but Wensa inside, sitting on the large and comfortable seats. Smiling a little blankly, but trying to seem sociable, Tor even left a place for Wensa up front, so that she could hold the light for them while he drove back to headquarters.
When Wensa activated the light, a brilliant beam shone from her right fist, spreading in a cone that was many times brighter than the sun when the sky was clear. The whole world below suddenly turned to day it seemed. It sent the light out so that it didn't go into the holders eyes, but Tor didn't know If that would be enough to leave her comfortable or not. It worked though. Still, Wensa wouldn't have complained if it left her blind, not when there was work to do. It looked about right sitting next to her. Hopefully good then. Tor nodded to her and got a soft nod back as the craft settled next to the sloped roof.
The people climbed on muttering thanks and looking like they might be in shock, cold and hungry. They didn't have food for them, but they could get warm easily enough. Once they had the dog and pig settled in their own cages, Wensa lowered herself into the front second seat, flying herself into place carefully, pointing the light in the right direction without being told to. Royal Guards practiced team work from early childhood and never really stopped, so her first thought was about what worked for him as driver, Tor figured, plus Wensa was a quick study. She pointed the light forward and down, so that he could tell where the ground was.
“Nice light. Just happened to have it in your pocket? Might have mentioned that earlier.” She said softly, her voice light and playful.
Rolph snorted from the back.
“On a stone I saw him pick up off the ground after you mentioned wanting exactly that kind of magic just before we took off this morning? Right.” The voice didn't sound amazed, just tired and a little proud.
Sam's voice was different, suddenly more awake than not.
“Um, sorry? You created a novel device, while flying through the air and searching for people in the water? In hours? That's… not possible, is it?” His voice had gotten soft.
Tor took a turn to snort and chuckled weakly.
“Of course it's possible. Either of you could do it with practice, and will. There's nothing special about me that you can't match or beat. Don't try it now though, I may need one of you to drive.” Tor yawned and made himself smile, then realized no one could see his face.
“Getting a bit sleepy you know.”
He just drove then, watching the ground for signs of where they were, and distance above the ground, hoping he didn't crash. That would look pretty stupid and besides, he really wanted to get some sleep. Being dead may or may not be restful, but a nice bed had always worked for him in the past. Maybe with a cute girl in it for warmth. He was married to one, if she didn't already have company. Or given the situation, if she wasn't just too busy herself to sleep.
Rolph yawned loudly. It was no fair because now Tor wanted to yawn too. The control indicator in his hand got depressed lightly as he did, his head going back.
“Stop it!” He chuckled, trying not to sound panicked at the suddenly loss of altitude. It was horrible control of the vehicle and Tor didn't really want the already worried farm folk to panic. They all seemed a little uneasy so far. It wasn't like they'd been flying before, was it?
“We’ll be back in a few hours, don't make me yawn though! I don't know, somebody talk or sing, something like that?” They were flying at a crawling pace, light or not. Tor really couldn't risk going faster. It just wasn't safe.
The farmers they'd gotten from the roof of their barn told the story, which took about an hour. It amounted to; “a flood came and we lost nearly everything but a dog and a pig. It was scary.”
Still, if they felt better talking about it, Tor could listen. He made encouraging sounds and fought to stay focused. He didn't want to mention it, but he nearly fell asleep several times before they got back, eyes closing without him being able to stop them briefly. Wensa watched him, but said nothing and didn't seem worried outwardly.
Right.
In her world, Tor was the driver, and as such wouldn't fail to do his job as long as he lived. It was a level of
