#134 - Advancing Above and Below

The Journal of Wynn Dennavar 

Zarantyr 26th, 999 YK

We slew the remainder of the demons and enemy casters in the increasingly cramped rail car. There was no time to linger once the area was clear. We’d saved those we could, but at least one civilian had died during the conflict.

Past the bulk of Magnus’s great white wolf, I saw a warforged standing outside the door to the next train. The others dispersed—Cypher and Clarion and Izzeth joining me and Bale, Aleae, and Magnus clambering back to the roof. He left his wolf, glaring around with blood caked on its mouth, resenting whatever delay kept it from the fight.

From what I could see through the small window on the lightning rail’s heavy outside door, the warforged bore no insignia. It and its companion carried weapons, nothing else. After Cypher unlocked it, I cracked the door a few inches and asked who they were.

“Concerned passengers,” one replied.

I had trouble believing that. Two experienced Karrn veterans leaping in to finish off a troll, I understood. Two armed and unmarked warforged feeling concern for a random assortment of travelers? By now I could imagine a warforged like Clarion feeling and demonstrating concern, even Cypher when it came to his Brelish loyalties, but they showed that concern visibly in the styled gear they carried, and through speech and action. These two had none of that.

One looked upward and wordlessly started climbing the precarious ladder toward the roof, where the others were. I braced the outer door and called for them to stand down. Neither did. Instead, the one facing me drew a greatsword from where it hung on its back.

Sounds of combat began above. I had full confidence that Aleae alone could throw it off the rail if it caused trouble, let alone with the assistance of Magnus and Bale. The warforged on the ground level turned abruptly away, and in an easy motion yanked free one of the pins keeping the rail cars coupled. That it came free meant the chains were already removed—their work?

I threw open the door and between myself and the two truly concerned warforged, and we took the unmarked one down before it could pull the remaining pin. Above, the rooflings leapt across—the second warforged predictably and unceremoniously flung beneath the rail by unseen magic.

The Karrns looked to me for orders again. I worried that the dangers here were beyond those any normal soldier could face, even those whose loyalties I knew I could trust. But when I suggested they guard the surviving passengers, they told me they wouldn’t be able to assist if left behind. Ultimately it was their choice. I waved them over and we pulled the final pin.

Ahead in the next car, something had caused the others pause. Not knowing what was going on, I quietly approached Izzeth, who whispered to me that more foes were holding hostages out the windows—ready to drop them if we did not surrender.

A moment later, as if from some unheard signal, Clarion called a charge and burst through one of the ajar doors flanking the hall.

Advancing after him, I saw one lean, crossbow-armed human and another unmarked warforged. The enemy rogue shouted orders to yet-unseen others to drop the hostages. I also heard the distant, muffled song of harpies—too quiet to affect those of us inside the car, but hopefully the rooflings were becoming inured by now.

I glimpsed the warforged pause, staring upward for a moment, empty hand extended out the window, before turning after Clarion. Remembering Aleae flinging bodies from the train, I could guess she was hoisting the hostages upward to safety with her spell of telekinesis.

The rogue produced a crossbow and struck Izzeth. It appeared to do more harm than a simple bolt merited, given his reaction. I suspected some trick or poison. Here I didn’t spot any demons or casters, but we were being endlessly slowed on our progress to reach the Mire, and Sharn drew ever nearer as the lightning rail ascended a mountainside.

#133 - Battle on the Rail

Aboard the lightning rail...

With Magnus having vanished over the side of the lightning rail—flung overboard by a harpy—the others regrouped on board the next cart. It was a passenger car of some kind, with private rooms instead of an open room for steerage.

Clarion and the winter wolf Warlaz leapt to its roof, the latter snarling and demanding to be led to "the carnage." No full explanation was ever given, but their understanding was that this horse-sized wolf had, in life, been a companion to the frost giant Storgrimm—who now inhabited Magnus's bone mace—who in turn had been a part of the original Winter Coalition. Now Warlaz was a spirit himself able to manifest only temporarily in a flesh-and-ice form.

While Clarion went below, the Warlaz lingered on the adjoining roof, awaiting battle.

With Cypher's direction, the PCs managed to disconnect the chains and pins that bound the passenger cart they were on with the four behind it (two steerage carts and two cargo carts), leaving only six carts in the caravan of this lightning rail. Slowly the four cars drifted away, with a few puzzled passengers looking on.

Inside the passenger car, in the hallway that ran between staterooms, a Wall of Stone had been conjured, presumably by the agents of Katashka. A human passenger, and a priest of Boldrei, had been sent to the PCs to warn them. He pleaded with them to stop, to go no further, or the terrorists would kill their passenger hostages. Meanwhile, the two Karrn passengers, veterans in their own right, had joined the PCs and wished to help.

Clarion, himself a servant of Dol Arrah, explained to the priest that their mission could not, should not, be averted. If they stopped, far more people would be killed. His words and conviction was enough to convince the human priest that the risk of further death was one they would all have to take. The priest decided to help, and said he could attempt to dispel the Wall of Stone.


Meanwhile, Wynn and Cypher sought other means to get past the wall—on the exterior of the car, through the windows. They only got partway through this plan when the Wall of Stone vanished.

The PCs faced new foes, and their captives. Already they could see several of the rail's Deneith guards had been killed. The PCs looked upon the scene and, refusing to lay down their weapons as demanded, the attacked swiftly.

A deadly battle was joined.

The enemies numbered several humans with no obvious affiliation. Perhaps they were mere mercenaries. Human spellcasters—a wizard, and two clerics—and one heavily-armored swordsman were the first ones, but there were a couple of tall fiends with black leathery skin and upward-curving horns at the back of their heads. They bore spears, long sharp claws, and hideous faces.

By this time, the Elidac-sent griffon had swooped down and scooped up Magnus where he'd fallen and caught up to the still-speeding lightning rail. The winged beast dropped him off on the platform that jutted out from the now-rearmost car. He climbed ot the roof, then raced across it to enter the car at the opposite end, along with Warlaz, by means of a hatch.

Hold Person spells were used in abundance, and it was one such spell cast by Izzeth that saved one of the passengers—a noble, by the look of him—from being outright decapitated by the enemy swordsman. And though one of the black-skinned fiends ran its spear through another—a noblewoman—Izzeth also pulled her back from the brink of death with a well-timed Healing Word.

Wynn was halfway from one window to another outside the car when she used the teleportation magic of her weapon, the Fang of Risia, to appear inside one of the staterooms. Therein, a family had been held hostage by one of the demons—but Clarion had intervened and drawn its ire. Together the Karrn and Aundairian saved these passengers.

Cypher, Aleae, Clarion, Wynn, and Bale fought hard, but there were some casualties. The enemy wizard cast a Cold of Cone which, while harming only one PC, completely froze and slew the human priest of Boldrei. Likewise, a demons struck down one of the Karrns. Yet Wynn bore down one of them. After unleashing a Fireball, the enemy wizard used Misty Step to move quickly across the battlefield, attempting to escape the fray. Bale pursued him.

By the time Magnus and Warlaz appeared at the far end of the battle, another stateroom door had opened and out issued horrific demons whose malformed bodies were mostly gaping, fang-filled mouths. It was apparent a number of passengers had been held hostage within that room and now stood lined up in fear. Magnus even witnessed one passenger falling to the floor, his throat slit. Someone or something within had begun to slay them.

The battle was not yet ended.