The Shattered City: Chapter Four

[The Whistler]

"Oh!" Well, Celeste was enough of a trend-spotter to pick up on proper procedure, here. "One moment, sir..." There followed an intent session of rooting around in a coin purse, and the triumphant presentation of the two appropriate coins.

[DocBeard]

"Tough luck, pal." Tomas says, one abomination against nature to another. He hands a pair of silver coins over, kind of bracingly pats what he's assuming is a more traditional warforged on the shoulder, and moves to hop aboard.

[Rock of the Fraternity]

Lia says nothing to the conductor, but duly hands over her two silvers, then enters the train.

[lostboy]

Nicolas takes one last puff on his cigarette as he regards the train and its fantastical conductor, already picturing a poem in his minds eye. As he does so he sings a short verse of something that might perhaps one day be remotely called music, strumming his fingers delicately against the board of the odd lute he carries slung over his shoulder. Then grinding out the cheroot with his heel, pulling up his collar he flips two coins in the general direction of the outstretched hand and boards the train, with a cheery "evening" directed at the mechanical fellow.

"Umm do we have a plan?" the poet says in a hushed voice to those aboard standing near him as he stares at the dead eyes of the passengers.

OOC: Daily power on Fochlucan Bandore with song of rest to grant Tomas +2 power bonus to weapon damage rolls until end of next short rest.

[NeoTiamat]

1 Days, 0 Hours, 55 Minutes
Aboard the No. 5 Lamplighter, Late at night on April 23rd, 770
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So instead of making some likely fatal social gaffe, Kerrian looked to Finnsen and some of the more worldly members of their little train hijacking excursion, ready to follow their lead.

"You worry too much! I told you, getting on is the easy part!" Finnsen said, with a comforting grin and a clap on the shoulder. He even, in a fit of generosity, pulled out two coins to pay for Kerrian as well, though he didn't hand them over so much as hold them out begrudgingly. The conductor took them in a grip like a steel vice. After a long moment of mental struggle, the boatman let them go and stepped on board, still staring over his shoulder at his lost silver.

Remy followed last, slipping his white, undecorated porcelain mask over his face.

"Umm do we have a plan?" the poet says in a hushed voice to those aboard standing near him as he stares at the dead eyes of the passengers.

"The train engine will be at the front," Finnsen answered, gesturing towards the door at the end of the train cabin. This seemed to be the extent of his plans; he had not even bothered with a mask, though he seemed quite impressed with all of yours. The boatman plopped down on one of the red seats, brimming with enthusiasm, in stark contrast with the dark spectres that sat around him. The ghostly passengers looked up at you as you entered the train, but none moved to do anything, yet. Some returned to staring down at the ground, or out the window, a few remained looking at you, the cold gaze of the dead watching the living.

From up ahead you heard a high pitched, mournful wail - the blast of the whistle. Behind you, the cabin door slid shut. You could hear the sound of metal as the conductor secured the door, then the groan of the wheels as they started to turn. Mists began to rise from the wheels once more, tendrils of fog reaching up around the windows. With an unearthly smoothness, the train launched into motion, speeding off into the darkness.

You could see, though the windows, the dark silhouettes of trees speeding by. You were moving at speeds unimaginable, speeds impossible to the grand trains on the Northwest Line. Dementlieu sped by like a blur, a steady stream of fog and vapour rushing by the window as you looked on, and yet the cabin did not even rattle. There were no tracks, and no path through the Kings Woods large enough for a train to pass, but it seemed not to matter. Unbound from this world, the No. 5 Lamplighter sped onward on its journey.

[Rock of the Fraternity]

"If we need to open a lock on that door, I have the ritual," Lia mutters to the other living. "But it takes several minutes to perform. Shall we get on with it, or are we waiting for the refreshment cart?"

[Kaitou Kage]

Where Rex was exactly, it was difficult to tell. The pharmacist had an uncanny knack for keeping attention off himself when he did not want it. Or more precisely, it was uncanny for a pharmacist to have such a talent. Rex was not preternaturally sneaky. It just showed that he had practice.

When Lia mentioned the ritual unlocking magic, Rex snorted inwardly. Why spend ages on magic when one could use simple tools and have it done in a minute?

Theree would be enough time for that later. For now, Rex remained quiet and unobtrusive amid the hubbub of living on a train for the dead.

Besides, the train was absolutely fascinating.

[Nathan of the FoS]

Mercator looks rather unwell--almost as if he's seasick. Looking at Finnsen, he nods toward the front of the train, stands up, and makes his way forward, toward the engine.

[lostboy]

Nicolas taps the flask in his pocket "all the refreshment I need." He says winking at Lia.

Then with a shrug towards the others, he follows Mercator towards the door, trying to look like a train company engine inspector or some other such personage that would help bluff their way through the door.

[Cronax]

Agale shuffled into the car with some trepidation. He opted for a simple cloth mask, utilitarian in the obscurement of his features without being flashy enough to draw unwarranted attention.

"Let us take advantage of the denizens current ambivalence to our presence and proceed nonchalant to the engine room. Once there, I think it wise that we decouple the other cars to minimize the number of displeased spirits during the chase." he said in a hoarse whisper.


Agale starts politely making his way forward through the cabins.
Retrieving my other sending stone from whoever had it, then leaving it with my driver

[DocBeard]

Tomas eases his shield off of his shoulder and keeps his hand on his sword, aware of the possibility of this odd little scene erupting into something less creepy and more 'oh my god the floor has mouths' very quickly. Otherwise, he follows Mercator's lead, working to keep close enough that he can shove the arcanist back in case trouble does rear its ugly head.

[The Whistler]

"Marvelous!"

Celeste closed her parasol after stepping inside--apparently, this component of the costume was reserved for thrilling showdowns on speeding train car rooftops, where one presumed it was quite blustery.

For now, though, she was content to look avidly out the windows and greet the (dead) other passengers with a series of polite nods. This did take her progressively closer to the front of the train as well, though it seemed to be an ancillary effect of social momentum more than anything else.

"Ever so much smoother of a voyage than the Number 3, is it not? Ah, but the very experience brings back fond memories nevertheless! Borca in early autumn... Oh, I shall have to write the superintendent of the railroads, to suggest that they investigate supernatural propulsion in their other engines, as well--it should make future voyages still more pleasant!"

[Rock of the Fraternity]

Lia closes one hand on Celeste's arm in a way that is in no way painful, but very definite. "Keep. Your. Voice. Down," the Mage whispers as she starts to pull the pretty young woman along after Agale. "In case the smooth ride obscured the fact, we are surrounded by the restless dead. Move."

[NeoTiamat]

1 Days, 0 Hours, 43 Minutes
Aboard the No. 5 Lamplighter, Late at night on April 23rd, 770
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You made your way up the train cabins, followed by the eyes of the other passengers. There were many, some black and featureless, some pale and ghostly, and even a few more of the strange metal automatons. They watched you, but few moved to stop you, any more than a mundane passenger would move to bother you on a normal train. A few might have floated towards you, out of curiosity or malevolence, but you could brush past them quickly enough. You arrived at the final passenger cabin and opened the door, leading out to the train's coal car. The ground zoomed beneath the gap between the two cars, the exterior of the cars shaking with a force belied by the smoothness of the ride. There was no door to the coal car, and the only way to proceed onward was to climb atop it, standing upon nothing more than the thick metal pin that bound the two cars together. Finnsen offered his strong leg up, helping to lift you upward.

Uncoupling the passenger cars requires a DC 21 Strength check, as the train as moving near 70 mph and exerting extreme force on the pin. The train coupling is too narrow to allow for assists. Whomever accomplishes this, along with anyone else standing down on the train coupling, must then immediately make a DC 20 Acrobatics check to balance on an unsteady surface or fall off the train. Tying a rope to them will prevent them from being left behind entirely, but unless the rope holders wish to risk falling too, the rope must be held from the top of the train - so if the person tied with rope fails the Acrobatics, they will fall and be dragged along the ground until they can be pulled back up.

Your legs sunk into the coal as you tried to walk across it, loose pieces trying to trip you, wind and tree branches threatening to rip you off. You struggled your way up to the front, looking across the massive gap down to the engine. The boiler burned bright hot in the night air, glowing like phosphorous. Three boiler men looked up from their work to stare at you, if they could be called men - their metal eyes burned as hot as the furnace they serviced, their metal bodies burned black as the coal they shoveled. Each one gripped a heavy shovel in one hand, their fingers soldered to the steel handle.

Standing at the controls was the final metal man, his engineer's hat gleaming red in the light. He was pulling the levers of the ghostly train with limbs of iron, welded to wheels that served as shoulders. Each hand was a heavy glove of bronze, brilliantly joined and riveted together. Twists of metal, like a wrought iron fence turned in on itself, served as his body and his uniform, the pattern of ribs visible among the black coils. He turned to look at you, with two eyes as bright as the light on the front of the engine.

"Go back," Tom Fields said, a hollow sound, echoing through metal.

Roll Initiative. If you roll equal to or above a 15, you may act this turn, before Tom Fields and the Boiler-Men do. If you roll below a 15, you must wait until after the DMs post and Tom Fields and the Boiler-Men take their turn.

Victory Conditions:
Part 1: Find the Breath
--Get Finnsen to the controls (squares W7 or W8) and see to it that he stays there for three rounds. They do not need to happen all in one chunk, however.
--Help speed the train by shoveling coal into the engine (stand at squares V/W 9/10/11/12 and make a DC 15 Athletics check.) Each success grants a cumulative +1 to rolls to catch the Breath in Part 2.
Part 2: Catch the Breath
--????

Lose Conditions:
--Die. (This is obvious)
--Let Finnsen die. (He's the only one who knows how to actually pilot this thing).
--Let Old Tom die. (Bad things happen to a Domain when a Darklord gets killed. Best case scenario, you find yourself in an utterly unmagical train coming to a slow halt while the Breath runs off. Worst case scenario... I hear Necropolis is lovely this time of year.



Miscellaneous Mechanics

Coal: The coal (columns 7-12, rows AF-down) is difficult terrain. Also, any fire attacks directed at a target standing on the coal deal +5 fire damage.

The Engine Cabin: The train cabin (columns 7-12, rows V-AB) is enclosed from the top and sides. Those are walls. It is open from the bottom, and you may enter freely through that area, and shoot freely from the coal-car to the engine cabin, or vice versa.

Crossing the Gap: You may either jump directly across the gap (rows AD-AE) which is an Athletics DC 30, or DC 15 with at least 2 squares of a running start, bear in mind that the terrain is difficult and so you need a speed of 7 in order to make it, or you may shimmy across the connector (Column 10), which is an Acrobatics DC 20 check.

Falling off the Train: If you fall off the train, either by failing the above Athletics or Acrobatics checks, or by being pushed, pulled, or slid, you take damage and are slammed into the top row of the coal car (row AF) by the speed of the train.

PCs

Tomas Eisenwald (T): +2 damage
71/71
AC 26, F 19, R 19, W 22; Resist All/1

Prof. Lia Mournswaithe (L):
54/54
AC 21, F 17, R 19, W 18

Celeste Viardot (Cv):
61/61
AC 19, F 19, R 21, W 23

Kerrian Mauganson (K):
64/64
AC 19, F 21, R 18, W 22

Kerrian's Spirit (Wolfish Outline):
Special
AC 19, F 21, R 18, W 22

Mercator Melanchthon (M):
65/65
AC 20, F 21, R 20, W 23

Rex Alistair Prescott (R): (Stealth 28)
59/59
AC 23, F 17, R 23, W 19

Mr. Agale (A):
52/52
AC 20, F 17, R 21, W 23

Nicolas Etienne de Castaigne (Nc):
67/67
AC 23, F 20, R 22, W 24

Friends

Remy Lessard (Blue R):
AC 23, F 21 R 22, W 21

Eric Finnsen (Blue F):
AC 25, F 19 R 23, W 25

Foes

Tom Fields, the Engineer (T):
AC 25, F 25 R 21 W 22; All Push, Pull, or Slide effects reduced by 2

The First Boiler-Man (B1):
AC 19, F 20 R 18, W 19

The Second Boiler-Man (B2):
AC 19, F 20 R 18, W 19

The Third Boiler-Man (B3):
AC 19, F 20 R 18, W 19

Inactive

Nerit Doherty (N): [ON HIATUS]
52/52
AC 18, F 15, R 18, W 22

[Cronax]

"That will not be practical at this juncture Mr. Fields" Agale answered. "You are outnumbered, prudence would suggest you submit." Agale sighed, knowing reason had little sway on-board this ectoplasmic contraption hurtling through the forest at speeds which would dismember an average carriage. The Borcan sighed as he trudged forward through the coal, at first trying careful steps before succumbing to the inevitability of soot covered trousers.

Redirecting his attention towards one of the boilermen. "You there, assist your fellows in standing aside if you please, and don't think of trying anything foolhardy!"

In a more reserved tone to his fellows, Mr Agale remarked "Stay toward the center of the car, it would not do to have a mishap when we are so close."

Initiative 16
Readying Intellect Fortress (Immediate Interrupt when hit, +5 to 1 defense until end of next turn)
Move Moving to AI10
Standard Betrayal on B1, 29 hits Will (Sliding it to Z9, it then makes a melee basic attack against B2 with an extra +5 to hit)
Minor: Distract vs B2, giving me combat advantage
Action Point: Augment 2 Dishearten centered on Z10
B1 25 hits Will
B2 23 hits Will
B3 19 hits Will
Each takes 12 psychic damage and a -5 penalty to attack rolls until the end of Agale's next turn.