The hunting units finally returned a few hours later. I blew the
conch to let everyone know that the meeting was starting, and then stood
up. The first that I did was to ask what the hunters found. The first group
found nothing, but the second said that they had found some pigs which they
had been unable to kill. I next asked the three groups of foragers what
they had managed to scavenge. The first group, Altariel's group, reported
that they may have found some edible berries, but not much else. The other
groups had found much of the same.
Celebrinor pulled me aside for a moment or two. "Ary, do think that we shall be rescued? Ever?"
"I'm fairly certain, but I think that to enhance our chances we ought to light some sort of fire on that mountain top over there. You know, the flat one." I replied.
"Good idea. Do you mind if I hold the conch? It would be a good way to show who's supposed to be speaking."
"Go ahead."
Celebrinor stood up with conch and started to lay out our idea. Everyone's heads were nodding while he talked, and I began to see the advantages to having him as my second-in-command. Suddenly, the whole group started shouting "Fire! Fire!" and raced off to the flat mountain. I looked after them with disgust at their childish behavior and trudged after them. By the time I had gotten there, they had amassed a rather large pile of dry wood and leaves - burnable things. Celebrinor started looking around for something to start the fire with. Noticing his searching gaze, I asked around for matches. No one had matches, but one of the older kids - a teen perhaps - had a lighter on him.
Taking the teen's lighter, I sparked it and set one of the sticks in the pile on fire. Eventually, the whole pile was brightly burning, but not creating enough smoke to be seen by passing ships. One of the younger children came up and tugged at my shirt.
"High Priestess, there's a fire in the woods to left," the child said.
"Oh, dear. Is it smoking?"
"Yes."
"Then just forget about it. The smoke is a good thing."
I retrieved the conch shell from Celebrinor and blew hard. The whole rim - meaning group or gathering in Elven - of people stopped whatever it was that they had been doing and looked up at me.
"Folks, we've got a smoky fire burning in the parts of the forest to my left over there. Just ignore it, 'cause it's our signal fire. Next, we need anyone who can build a sort of crude hut." To my regret, only three of the 30 other people raised their hands.
"Great," I said, dripping with sarcasm. "You three are now one unit. Your mission is to build one meager hut for every two people here, and a slightly larger one for myself. Hop to it!"
"Yes'm," they all replied.
I turned to Celebrinor. "Hey, Seal."
"Yeah."
"Do ya think that we ought to head back down to the cove and take another head count?"
"Sure. Why not. Go ahead, I don't really care. I mean, it's all up to you anyway, isn't it?" He said unhappily.
"Thanks for helping out, Seal. I wouldn't have gotten this far without you."
Wearily, all thirty-one of us walked back down to the cove to watch the hut building and to take a head count. Everyone was there, so I let them know that it was OK to have rest if they wanted. Within minutes, nearly everyone was either asleep or on their backs, resting peacefully.
Celebrinor pulled me aside for a moment or two. "Ary, do think that we shall be rescued? Ever?"
"I'm fairly certain, but I think that to enhance our chances we ought to light some sort of fire on that mountain top over there. You know, the flat one." I replied.
"Good idea. Do you mind if I hold the conch? It would be a good way to show who's supposed to be speaking."
"Go ahead."
Celebrinor stood up with conch and started to lay out our idea. Everyone's heads were nodding while he talked, and I began to see the advantages to having him as my second-in-command. Suddenly, the whole group started shouting "Fire! Fire!" and raced off to the flat mountain. I looked after them with disgust at their childish behavior and trudged after them. By the time I had gotten there, they had amassed a rather large pile of dry wood and leaves - burnable things. Celebrinor started looking around for something to start the fire with. Noticing his searching gaze, I asked around for matches. No one had matches, but one of the older kids - a teen perhaps - had a lighter on him.
Taking the teen's lighter, I sparked it and set one of the sticks in the pile on fire. Eventually, the whole pile was brightly burning, but not creating enough smoke to be seen by passing ships. One of the younger children came up and tugged at my shirt.
"High Priestess, there's a fire in the woods to left," the child said.
"Oh, dear. Is it smoking?"
"Yes."
"Then just forget about it. The smoke is a good thing."
I retrieved the conch shell from Celebrinor and blew hard. The whole rim - meaning group or gathering in Elven - of people stopped whatever it was that they had been doing and looked up at me.
"Folks, we've got a smoky fire burning in the parts of the forest to my left over there. Just ignore it, 'cause it's our signal fire. Next, we need anyone who can build a sort of crude hut." To my regret, only three of the 30 other people raised their hands.
"Great," I said, dripping with sarcasm. "You three are now one unit. Your mission is to build one meager hut for every two people here, and a slightly larger one for myself. Hop to it!"
"Yes'm," they all replied.
I turned to Celebrinor. "Hey, Seal."
"Yeah."
"Do ya think that we ought to head back down to the cove and take another head count?"
"Sure. Why not. Go ahead, I don't really care. I mean, it's all up to you anyway, isn't it?" He said unhappily.
"Thanks for helping out, Seal. I wouldn't have gotten this far without you."
Wearily, all thirty-one of us walked back down to the cove to watch the hut building and to take a head count. Everyone was there, so I let them know that it was OK to have rest if they wanted. Within minutes, nearly everyone was either asleep or on their backs, resting peacefully.