Day 005: I Saw The Sign
Summary: The captives arrive in Coesbur
Date: Day Month Year
Related: Logs pertaining to We Are Grounders.
Ruth Quinn Devin Morgan Grounders 


Forests of the Trikru
A dense forest that runs alongside the divided Potomac.
Day 5 After Landing

There is some confusion between when the Grounders retreated and the four are secured by their captives. Ruth is perhaps a surprise bonus when Devin, Quinn, and Morgan are brought to where the horses had been hobbled. She had been grabbed on the other side of the bank while she was hiding. The Grounders use ropes to secure Devin, Morgan, and Ruth's wrists, tying them to the saddles of the horses. Quinn, due to the extent of her wounds, is bound and placed behind the wolfish Archer woman astride her horse. The Grounders do not say much, save for the Bear who growls and chuffs orders in that strange language.

Quinn's got no fight in her, which potentially says something about the state of affairs. However she does seem to be awake, and every time she's moved or jostled around a pained sound comes from her direction.

Devin puts up no resistance as he's led away from the rest of the group, glancing towards Morgan for a moment as they are led to the horses then to Quinn, frowning as he sees the state of her wounds. He doesn't say anything, but the concern is there. As they see Ruth, he bites his lower lip a bit, hoping that more of them had gotten away.

Ruth is likely in the best condition right now, all things considered; she was one of the first to ford the river, and certainly the first to hide. Now, at least, she keeps a straight posture in an attempt to salvage some dignity height-wise, her restraints pulled at until they're taut. "Oh, no," she whispers with growing dread as the new captives near, her eyes widening from their previous squint. "No. How about everyone else?" she hiss-whispers in a choked voice.

Morgan doesn't try to resist as the savages approach. "Are you okay?" he asks Devin then looks around to take stock of the others. The arrow sticking out of his chest tells him what he needs to know about himself. Fortunately, he doesn't have any trouble breathing so he knows it didn't puncture a lung. That would be really, really bad.

"Shh," the Archer hisses to Quinn at her soft noises, "Yu need shof op." The woman casts a dangerous look at Devin from behind her wolf skull mask, and her gloved fingers work with the reins of her brown horse. Before Morgan is tied and secured, one of the Grounders unceremoniously snaps the arrow still sticking out of his chest, leaving a stub of the shaft and the arrow still imbedded. Another Grounder checks over Quinn, and with the arrow and shaft still buried within her, he seems satisfied. He nods to Bear, and moves to swing into his own saddle with Ruth leashed to his saddle. The horses are quite docile given their monstrous riders; one even bows his massive, soft head to nudge at Devin's ear before huffing out a soft exhale against his hair.

It's hard to shut up. Quinn isn't trying to be loud, the noises are uncontrollable. But she tries to bite them back when she gets shushed.

Despite the horror of the Grounders' masks and of the situation as a whole, Ruth still finds time to gaze in terrified fascination at the horses. Being tied to the saddle of one, though? That wasn't on her list of things to do today. No matter how friendly, horses are of course unfamiliar to her, and her shoulders are hunched considerably in effort to avoid their large noses and doleful eyes. "They're so big," she squeaks through grit teeth, speaking so quietly that only one listening carefully might happen to overhear.

Devin looks towards Ruth as she hush-whispers to them. He doesn't speak, just shakes his head a bit, wincing at the pain. At Morgan's question, he nods once. "Yeah. I'm okay. You?" He asks, his voice low. As the woman shushes Quinn, he falls silent himself, his eyes keeping on her. The trip to the horses seeming to have cleared up his head a little bit, but his head still hurts. As the horse nudges his hear, he flinches a bit as the massive creature gets close to him. "It's going to be okay." He says to Ruth, waiting for the grounders to lead them to their next destination.

Morgan hisses in pain as the arrow is snapped off but it's exactly what he would have done. He'll have to try to take it out himself once they get wherever they're going. "Been better." he answers quietly. He looks dubiously at the horses but they seem tame enough. Still, he clutches tightly to whatever he can in order to stay mounted. As they ride, he tries to memorize the route they're taking but also shoots Quinn worried looks each time she moans in pain.

Once everyone is secured, the horses continue their forward movement. The pass through the forests and hillocks, though they seem to be riding very close to the river as they head northwest. The Grounders are the cold, quiet types that do not seem concerned with their captives. One mutters something that sounds vaguely like 'head see them.'

Abruptly, the forests break, and they are riding along an elevated stretch of asphalt that reaches out across the river in the form of a simple bridge. The bridge is covered in moss and cracks run through the road. A sign hangs sideways at the entrance of the bridge. It has seen a lot of damage and weathering, but what can be made out is:

C—- o- —esbur-, POP: 4-,65-.

"Don't promise me that," Ruth bids of Devin, voicing these words amidst a shuddering exhale. Once she's gotten past the mental hurdle that are the grotesque masks worn by the Grounders, her gaze searches what's visible of their faces. Is she searching for sympathy? Reason, logic, premeditation? It's hard to say, but whatever she finds in their eyes doesn't assuage her trembling.

Quinn manages to mostly muffle any more pained sounds, but she's barely paying attention to where they are. She knows she's on some big furry creature called a horse, and there's someone shushing her. She knows that there are others, but that is about where her knowledge is swallowed by pain.

Devin nods once to Ruth then remains quiet for the rest of the trip. He looks around and watches the area around them as they travel. It's the bridge and sign that catches his attention and he stares at the sign until they pass it. "Coesbur…" He says softly, seeming a bit confused by it. He repeats the name over his head over and over.

"Try not to move." Morgan says quietly. "You'll make your wounds worse." He's taking his own advice and staying as still as possible. Not to mention it hurts like hell. The bridge is… novel. Fascinating. Something he's only read about. "We're going to a city I think."

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