The search and rescue operation moved quickly, daylight being key, Wensa told them.
“We can barley fly at night and lights help but don't seem much good for searching large areas. Unless any of you can make something about fifty times brighter than a hand light that won't instantly blind the user?”
It was a throw away comment, but not a bad idea. The woman took off, flying about three hundred feet above the water, and cautioned them not to make a sound at all.
For a second Tor didn't get it, then he realized that it was so they could possibly hear anyone calling for aid or attention. Another good idea. Wensa seemed full of them suddenly. It was her job, as a Royal Guard, to know things like that. Or to figure them out in a pinch.
As they flew, Tor started working on the field they'd need. A focused light that only went one direction. Heh. Just a minor variation on a simple light. Brighter, but that wasn't hard, the first light he'd ever made was many times brighter than sunlight. No the tricky part was trying to focus on the field being made while flying and placing it on the tiny brown stone in his pocket. A natural stone that he'd picked up from the ground. It wouldn't look as good, but that would have to be suffered through. It was an emergency.
They flew and stopped a few times to investigate odd sounds, but didn't find anything. No people. Just a single dog that Rolph moved to higher ground, plucking it from a log in the swollen and dirty river below. It was scared, but didn’t try to bite him, just running away once it was on dry ground.
Nothing more happened, until about three in the afternoon when Guide noticed something floating along, waving at them.
“Help!” The voice was female and sounded stressed, though Tor couldn't imagine why that would be. Couldn't she just swim to the shore and climb out? It wasn't that he was uncaring, just that his focus was still on the light he was trying to make in his pocket. Everyone else was suddenly puzzled as to how to get her, but it wasn't that hard. Not difficult in any way. Really, half the people here had the equipment…
“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.