Sinking of Outpost 4

An island sinks into the storm.

Despite lots being drawn to determine which families leave the island first, the skyport was crowded with people when Satik arrived with her three children. It was a struggle to weave through the writhing mob and reach the dock where guards held back the crowd from the ships. On their way down the hill into town she saw one ship leaving and hoped they would not be too late.   Satik scrambled to find the paper that guaranteed their passage on this cycle. Running had crumpled it in her pocket and it was damp with sweat. The guard looked at the sheet while Satik's worry grew. A sigh of relief when they are let through and instructed to board the Barle. The Barle, the ship that brought her grandparents here all those years ago.

The First Signs

Fortunately for the inhabitants of Outpost 4, the Cartographer's Guild noticed the steady decline of the island well in advance. The guild began to gather this vertical data in the summer of 38EX. Islands normally drift up and down by small amounts over the course of a season. The previous observation that prompted this data collection revealed that islands that sink into the Floor never rise from it again.   By the autumn of 42EX the island had only drifted toward the Floor for 11 seasons in a row and if it continued at that rate it would enter it by the winter of 43EX. Something had to be done, over 1000 people inhabited the settlement at that time.  

The Plan and the Panic

Moving over one thousand people is a tremendous undertaking and it took several seasons to convince the powers that be to supply the resources to relocate them. Only on the 43rd of spring 43EX was a plan completed. Several skyships would be diverted from their normal duties to move the people. It took 15 cycles to contact all of the ships.   When word of the relocation reached Outpost 4 - from whom this information had been kept from to avoid panic - it was met with hesitancy. However, the people had noticed more frequent storms and the people knew the skies looked different than they did years ago. Quickly hesitation was replaced with panic and people flooded to the skyport.   A lottery was run to determine which families would leave first. There were categories of lottery, those with elderly and with children would leave first, then those who required medical attention, then everyone else. These lots were traded for goods, even one story of someone trading all of their possessions except their clothes for a better lot only to end up on the same ship as the person they traded with.  

Exodus

The process took longer than anticipated. The panic at the docks slowed down the boarding and delayed departures. The limited number of ships means this also delayed the next boardings. Among the ships involved only one was designed for passenger transport, the Barle. The other ships could only hold three or four families at most.   At the very end of the evacuation, the Barle loaded the last citizens - and last people to ever stand on that island - onto her deck mere moments before the Floor engulfed the island.  

Aftermath

1431 people were evacuated from Outpost 4, more than anticipated. Some of these families had relatives to return to on Breharan but some did not. There were no support programs in place for these people when they arrived at the docks of Darapur and many left the city.   Some travelled to Burim to find a better life but ended up with the Muck Drudgers. Others joined the Drifters and lived on the rivers of the Zinato Region. Some missed life on the fringes and moved to other outposts while others integrated into the bustling city life of Darapur.

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A Note on Outpost 4
56 Spring 41EX
This island has shown a steady course toward the Floor. Fortunately, none of the other Outposts founded before we began recording this data have shown the same pattern. If this course is not broken in the next few seasons, an evacuation will be necessary.
— Anonymous Cartographer's Note
A Plea Ignored
11 Spring 43EX
The council refused to hear our words at their public meeting last night. Me and the others were escorted out by the guards. We have friends and family on that island and we won't stand silent while the council leaves them to die.
— Anonymous Note Nailed to the Council Hall Door
Action Taken
34 Spring 43EX
Family and friends of residents of Outpost 4 have taken to the streets and brought allies with them. The market is inaccessible and no one has been able to move goods to or from the skyport since the 32nd. A final act of desperation as the council ignores their plea for aid. A reliable source tells us that the council has begun to discuss the issue and plans to reveal it in the coming cycles.
— Snippet from Happenings of Darapur 43EX Issue 34


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