Eberron: The Corruption

[DiscipleofBob]

The Deneith Enclave in Karrlakton, Karrnath.
Date: Late Olarune

The bitter cold in Karrnath is especially noticeable in the winter months. Even inside the walls of the Sentinel Tower, you can't help but feel a slight shiver. Or maybe it's just the way this job is set up. You are an adventurer, you've done this before, but it just seems... different. Two major differences from the standard job: first, the pay, which was promised to be enormous. You wonder if even House Deneith really has this much money to throw out to adventurers. Second, the guards seemed to be really nervous, especially the closer you were lead into the inner chambers, where 5 other figures awaited you. Your companions for the journey, you assume. The room is large and, although well-furnished, seems very dark and cold. Everything seems almost awkwardly quiet. There's a table and several chairs in the center of the room, but they look very uncomfortable.

Finally, your host walks through a set of double doors at the far end of the room. The man stands tall with broad shoulders, and stares at you with a cold military stare. He speaks with a clear, strong, commanding voice. "Greetings. I am Baron Breven d'Deneith. Thank you all for coming on such short notice. I'll get straight to the details, as the lightning rail you'll be on is leaving in an hour. You will be escorting a prisoner to Korth, where he to be interrogated by the tower of the Twelve. This is a delicate operation, one that requires you to be inconspicuous and cautious. While this operation is supposed to be supported by all the Houses, we've received some information that some of the other Houses do not want the prisoner to reach Korth alive, and may attempt something. Exactly who will be involved I cannot say at this time. This is why we're transporting the prisoner on a common supply car. Remember, part of your payment goes towards keeping quiet about this mission before, during, and after its completion. I will do best to answer any questions you may have, but there is little time to waste."

[Lycar]

Darren stands, arms folded behind his back and listens silently, stealing a glance at his compatriots every now and then. He seems to be fairly detached but then again, it is hard to say, as the lower half of his face is obscured by some sort of mask.

Darren isn't very tall, just about 1,64 m (about 5' 6") and a bit on the skinny side, without being gaunt though. He keeps his dark brown hair cut short and together with his grey eyes, he looks mostly .. unassuming, plain even.

He is wearing a thick cloak because of the winter cold. The bulge on his back either covers a humpback or a backpack. Probably the latter.

As far as one can see under the cloak, he is wearing a standard travellers outfit, his boots seem to be of excellent craftmanship though. When he moves, the faint clink of metal can be heard by the more perceptive ones.

(An escort mission. Ah well, not too different from bringing back a deserter i suppose. Only usually the deserters weren't meant to be executed until after their delivery...)

The more perceptive ones might notice the twin daggers he wears on his tights as well as what appears to be the handles of 2 hand crossbows at his sides, tucked in in an odd angle (for a hand crossbow).

Lycar

[Darkantra]

Surge

The tall warforged next to the masked man stood stolidly during the Baron's speech. It's ink-stained soarwood and mithral hands were an odd contrast to the huge axe resting across it's back, a contrast mirrored in the mix of explorer's and scribe's gear arrayed on it's person.

Interesting, one would think that House Deneith itself would be able to handle a simple transfer.

Glancing at the others in the room only once before the Baron spoke and once afterwards, it speaks in a slightly echoed but decidely male sounding voice before any of the others get the chance to.


"I only have one question Baron, does this prisoner possess any abilities that could aid in their escape if we were attacked or do they even desire such a thing?"

[Dustyme]

Gander being that could be considered small even for a Halfling paces around the room looking at various objects he touches an expensive looking vase ticking the side and listening to it a few times. As he walks around he pulls a blanket out of a haversack and wraps it around himself.

“Nice piece, I think it might even be goblin…”

Gander looks up at the other individuals “I’m Gander by the way.”

He walks over to the table up behind a chair that is much taller than he bracing his legs and setting his hands on either side his noisily slides the chair back and forth finally getting it out far enough to sit on.

“Dang this thing is rough. You think in a room with a fancy vase they’d at least have some comfy chairs, maybe even a cushion or two. Bumpy chairs, cold room, these people need to visit an Inn. I wonder if they make the prisoners sit in these things to break their will?”

Gander continues wiggling for another minute before jumping to his feet and again circling the room.

When he gets behind the Warforged Gander sees the shiny axe.

“Nice Axe!”

Gander walks up behind the Warforged and begins fixing his hair, twirling a curl here and straightening a bad part there using the axe as a mirror. His head being a being a bit below the axe heads height on the Warforgeds back he has to jump a bit to make ends meet.

“There! Now I feel presentable.”

Gander walks around the front of the Warforged and puts out his hand smiling.

“Thanks friend. I needed a bit of a fix.”

When the Baron walks in Gander stops ogling the valuables and listens intently managing to only shuffle between and behind people a few times.

“Sir, who is this prisoner; and why or more importantly which houses want him dead?”

Unable to contain himself any longer Gander pulls out a silver coin and begins rolling it on his knuckles rapidly soon adding a second and third coin.

[Kevka Palazzo]

The Karrn had been relaxing since he'd arrived. The cold Karrnathi weather felt welcoming and familiar against his skin. But the unease of the Sentinels in the Tower was contagious, and by the time the incessantly restless and annoyingly talkative halfling began moving around and jabbering, he was downright paranoid.

Glad I wore my armor after all, he thought.

He quickly scanned the various other adventurers, taking into consideration the people who were likely to be his comrades for the upcoming assignment. The warforged's presence was reassuring. He assumed the halfling would be working with them, and groaned mentally. The dwarf looked like a warrior, and he knew he could trust dwarf honor. The masked human gave him pause for a second, but he knew that some adventurers had strange habits. The brown-clad human warranted a glance at the bastard sword he wore and nothing more.

When the Baron arrived, he listened intently, and was about to ask the same question the halfling did. So he waited for the Baron to answer.

[DiscipleofBob]

"I have only one question Baron, does this prisoner possess any abilities that could aid in their escape if they were attacked or do they even desire such a thing?"

"The prisoner turned himself in. It's highly unlikely that he even has any desire to escape. Even if he did, the prisoner is a feeble old man whose only value is the knowledge he's agreed to give us for asylum."


"Sir, who is this prisoner; and why or more importantly which houses want him dead?"

"I think it's best if I leave out the specific details for now. These walls don't seem to be as thick as they once were. If you prefer, you can ask the prisoner once you board the rail. As for the opposition, I don't have any solid evidence towards any specific house, and I daren't risk falsely accusing anyone, not in circumstances such as these."

[WillWolf]

Gawair:

He stood toward the side, but still directly facing the man who was addressing them. He was a non-distinct man, dressed in black cotton and leather clothing: slightly expensive, but not flashy. He had a nice black cloak and simplistic bag, but the most distinct thing about him was his hand and a half sword: distinctly beautiful in it's simpleness. A sharp eye would see his arcane signet ring and the house outline on his scabbard.

He looked stern, standing toward the side, but attentive, in a non-militant sense. He had no doubt that Vandelis was not one of those houses that had interest in this area. Still he kept more or less silent, guarding a prisoner on a train, but the rush job was still a bit interesting. Regardless he shrugged and nodded his head in agreement.

"How long is the train trip?"

[DiscipleofBob]

"How long is the train trip?"

"It's only to Korth, so you should arrive before dawn tomorrow.

[Kevka Palazzo]

Alokor mulled over the new information in his head before responding.

"Any chance the prisoner had other enemies outside of the disapproving houses? I imagine, with the sum we've been promised, that the chance of attack is likely."

He continued standing straight and alert. Not military as such, but respectful.

The job reminded him of an escort mission he had done almost a decade earlier. He never did find out what that Thranite turncoat wanted to tell his superiors, and he never asked. Higher-ups generally didn't tell the help such things.

[GimliFett]

Azgrim d'Kundarak

The dwarf stood in silent attention as the Deneith patriarch outlined the situation and parameters. The haft of his warhammer rested on the polished floor, with the head standing chest-high on the tall dwarf, where Azgrim rested his hands atop the balancing weapon. Affixed to the head is a crystal the color of a cloudless sky.

He wore full plate armor, minus the helm, that gleamed brightly. A silver clasp with crystals shaped like stars adorned the center of the breastplate. A heavy darkwood shield was slung over the dwarf's back adorned by a cabachon-cut blue sapphire; those looking closely notice a flint arrowhead somehow rests within. His broad leather belt is adorned with three moonstones.

He waits impassively for the other's questions to be asked and answered, knowing his own skills and talents lay in defense and offense alone, he would have nothing to offer in a discussion of their charge's past or future, save it be to reassure his host and employer that he would do his best in his duties.

[DiscipleofBob]

"Any chance the prisoner had other enemies outside of the disapproving houses? I imagine, with the sum we've been promised, that the chance of attack is likely."

"Yes, the organization he defected from has already made several attempts to free him. As for what organization that is, I believe that is a detail best left unsaid for now. Suffice to say that you probably wouldn't know it anyway. We've already switched the escorting parties several times, and this is the final stretch of the prisoner's transfer, so expect the enemies' most dangerous attempts at this time."

[Lycar]

Darren finally raises a hand, indicating that he had to say something.

Upon being recognized, he asks:

"It would be useful to know what tactics our opponents have used so far in their attacks? You know, proper pre-fight preparation prevents poor performance."

It was hard to tell if he was smirking under the mask or if his face was still dead-pan.

Lycar

[DiscipleofBob]

"It would be useful to know what tactics our opponents have used so far in their attacks? You know, proper pre-fight preparation prevents poor performance."

"Unfortunately, all we've seen so far are different mercenary groups, no specific tactics that we could analyze, but I doubt they'll hold back this time."

[Lycar]

Darren nodded and fell silent again.

(Mercenaries. Well, makes sense if whoever is behind this wants to maintain anonymity. And if this is indeed the last leg of travel, it is their last chance to strike. At least in a supply car there are no bystanders to worry about. Hm. A decoy maybe... couple of caltrops to the obvious exits... )

Lycar

[Kevka Palazzo]

Alokor purses his lips, thinks a bit, and asks:

"Was the lightning rail cleared of passengers for this trip?"

[DiscipleofBob]

Alokor purses his lips, thinks a bit, and asks:

"Was the lightning rail cleared of passengers for this trip?"

"It's a supply train, not a passenger train. The only other person aboard is a member of House Orien to run the rail. He's already been briefed and is waiting at the station."

[WillWolf]

"For the duration of this mission may I intrust my mount at the house here? It's too short notice to find adequite board." That was a bit of a half-lie, he probably could find adequite board, but not easily, even for him.

[DiscipleofBob]

"For the duration of this mission may I intrust my mount at the house here? It's too short notice to find adequite board." That was a bit of a half-lie, he probably could find adequite board, but not easily, even for him.


The baron raised an eyebrow at Gawair quizzicaly. "We use the local Vadalis stables for most of such needs. Surely you, of all people, should be able to find free shelter for your horse. Regardless, I see no reason why you can't bring your horse with you on the train."

Taking one last glance around the room, Breven was satisfied, pulling out a case and setting it on the table, opening it to reveal six stacks of Kundarak bank notes. "Consider this a down payment to pay for any expenses for the mission. You will receive the rest upon the successful completion of the mission. I suggest you hurry, especially if you need to make any last minute preparations." Breven waits for everyone else to take their share of the money and leave.

((All players receive 1000gp worth in Kundarak bank notes.))

[WillWolf]

Gawair

He sighed. Yes he could, but in truth he didn't really want to be a bother. He wasn't the most well respected man in the world, and sometimes, well, he didn't really know who to trust. House Vadalis was well protected no doubt, but he had his own problems in that house, and sometimes when a farmer had a problem with another farmer they would make an example out of their beast. Considering his predicament, and to stir that soup too often was to ask for trouble, and truthfully he acknowledged his own shame.

The horse would just have to come with him, short supply or not, it would. Besides he had no doubt that Tristram could use for the excursion. He was pretty much the only animal that still had some sort of respect for him. Once upon a time he could quell even the most dangerous of beasts, ironically he had an almost "silver hands" but now, he was only just typical and a typical member of the house was not well appreciated: ignored really.

He nodded to his He took his money and nodded to his traveling partners, "Meet you at the station." He had to go out and grab his horse, she would be coming, but he had no desire to have her break a leg. Following that, or rather preceding that as he could grab the horse in ease, he would need a new belt. After his last mission with house Deneith, well a healing belt would be best. The rest of the money would go back into paying off his debt.

((ooc: from a meta-standpoint, I will keep the money until a little later, then I will deposit it. Who knows when you might need it again?

Could someone give me the crunchy bits for a healing belt?))

[GimliFett]

Azgrim d'Kundarak

The knight bows respectfully to the Deneith patriarch. "It shall be done as you require," Azgrim offers in his powerful bass voice. He picks up his down payment and places it within a pouch beneath his armor. He hefts his warhammer in his right hand and lifts his helm from it's place by the door as he exits. "I will also meet the rest of you at the station."

Once outside the Deneith enclave, he heads directly for a Kundarak bank to deposit his scrips, not wanting to carry so much cash on hand, before joining the others at the lightning rail station.

[Darkantra]

Surge

Surge spends a good minute just staring at the bank note, marveling at the exquisite detail put into each of the markings and wondering at whether or not he could decipher each and every protective mark on it if given the time.

Seeing two of the others leave jerks him out of his reverie and Surge nods to the Baron. He looks at the others still present, his eyes flaring in what may be amusement at the halfling.

"I'm off to procure some repair items for myself, I'll see the rest of you at the station."

[Lycar]

Darren Carpenter

Darren nodded his agreement to the terms of the contract, then got in line to pick up his own stack of notes.

(Hm.. 1000 gp worth in notes. Nice. Maybe i should invest in a few healing potions. They might come in handy. Maybe a quick stop at the crafter quarter is in order. Save the rest. Maybe save on a lighter chain shirt. Mithral is costly but worth it from what i heard...)

Darren picked up his stack of notes and quickly counted them. Not that he didn't trust his employer but it was a matter of professional courtesy. Of course he found everything to his satisfaction. Not that he had expected otherwise.

"We meet at the train station then. I'll be there in time."


Lycar

OOC: It is quite a drag to get on the boards lately... pages take 5+ minutes to load, if they load at all. :smallannoyed:

[Kevka Palazzo]

Alokor quickly scoops up his bank notes, gives the Baron a military bow, and makes for the exit.

"I need to purchase a few potions that I believe will be useful. I will be at the rail quickly."

[Dustyme]

Gander walks over and picks up the scrip pondering over it a moment, he then tucks it into his shirt and leaves the room with a skip and a hop tapping his fingers as high as they can reach on the doorjam.

Poking his head back into the room after a second he says
"Oh yea, which train are we getting on and will there be legal papers for us to use at border crossings? If not I need to go talk to some gnomes..."

After recieving his answer and hopefully some traveling papers and a warrent, Gander leaves the premises and works his way over to the local House Sivis documents provider to get some papers. After getting his paperwork in order Gander makes his way to the Lightning Rail station to look and see if anything funny is going on. Once there he patiently waits (in the shadows) for the others to show up.

[DiscipleofBob]

((Um... Korth, your destination, is in the same country, so your question about papers is kind of moot.))
"Don't worry about finding the right train. You'll have no trouble finding it at the station."

The sun has already gone down, by now, and it hasn't helped the cold any. The Orien station is for the most part, abandoned, as operating hours are over. Only one five-car train is still present, with a young man in official looking garb befitting of a House Orien conductor waiting impatiently by the fourth car.

[GimliFett]

Azgrim d'Kundarak

The knight approaches the conductor and nods congenially. "Azgrim d'Kundarak. Where's the cargo?" His words are abrupt, but his manner is friendly as he offers his hand to the Orien scion.

[Darkantra]

Surge

After visiting a local Artificer's shop to buy a few self preservation items and a Kundarak bank to deposit the rest of the advance, Surge walks to the station. Arriving in short time he ignores the House Orien conductor and kneels down by the tracks to inspect the conductor stones.

Truely amazing, I hope that I get the chance to see one of these being made some day.

When Azgrim arrives and blurts out his greeting Surge jerks out of his reverie and approaches the two.

"I am also here for the transport," he says to the conductor before turning to the dwarf, "Hello, Azgrim d'Kundarak, I am named Surge," Surge holds an inkstained hand out to the dwarf, "Have you seen the others?"

Though his introduction is polite his gaze keeps getting drawn back to the conductor stones and his red eyes glow in an appraising look at them.

[GimliFett]

Azgrim d'Kundarak

Azgrim smiles at the warforged and takes the proferred hand in a warrior's grip of respect. "I have seen no others as yet, though it is possible they arrived before me. What do you do, Surge? What, aside from writing, apparently, is your specialty?"

[DiscipleofBob]

"You're late," the young man says in a stiff, disapproving tone upon you arrival. "Your charge is in the fourth car. Don't bother me unless it's an emergency, and whatever you do, stay out of the last car. It's privately owned."

Those of you who make deposits at a Kundarak bank note a bit of commotion happening with the workers, but nothing too unusual.

[GimliFett]

Azgrim d'Kundarak

Arching an eyebrow, the dwarf asks coldly, "Privately owned, but currently unoccupied, yes? Otherwise we already have issues, Orien."

[Darkantra]

Surge

"My passion is lore, but my specialty is a combination of arcane energies and physical fortitude. In layman's terms, I can cast spells into my axe and unleash them through it."

Surge doesn't even notice the conductor's tone and takes his words as a simple statement of fact. That the last car is owned by an outside group was disturbing.

"Indeed conductor, we were assured absolute privacy on this trip. Regardless of whether or not it is a private car, it had better not be occupied."

[DiscipleofBob]

Azgrim d'Kundarak

Arching an eyebrow, the dwarf asks coldly, "Privately owned, but currently unoccupied, yes? Otherwise we already have issues, Orien."

The conductor laughed aloud at Azgrim's remark, ignoring the dwarf's cold stare. "Are you suggesting someone shelled out the money to buy their own supply car only to live in it? That's rich."

[GimliFett]

Azgrim d'Kundarak

Changing his glare to a smile, the dwarf joins in the joke, forcing a chuckle. "Good point. I had not thought of that, though I did not necessarily mean living within the car so much as traveling or transporting something anathema to a successful mission," he says.

Internally however, his mind follows a different path. The rich and powerful care not whether one, especially someone beneath them, thinks something possible. Only whether it serves their purposes.

Azgrim turns back to the warforged, and his smile quickly drops. "Shall we board, Surge?" he asks waving at the rail car.

[Lycar]

Darren made his way to the crafter district and sought out a hardware store to purchase a few bags of caltrops. Instead he found a shop that proudly boasted 'A fighting Chance - Gear for the discerning customer'.

(Huh, that's one odd name for a shop. Well, i don't have much time but....)

With a mental shrug he entered the store and looked around. The shelves were stacked haphazardly with all kind of equipment, even some weapons and armour.

Darren quirked an eyebrow. If the quality of the gear matched the quality of the layout ...

"Ah ! A customer ! What can i do for you my good sir ? No, don't say it, let me guess.... you need... special tools, right ?"

After recovering from the slight shock of suddenly spoken at from behind, Darren turned around. And looked down at the gnome, smiling up at him.

(A gnome. Of course....)

"Hm well. Do you have caltrops ?"

"Ah but of course ! A very specialised tool, a bag of caltrops is. And we even have not only mundane four-pronged bits of wire, no, we also have pyramidal metal containers, filled with acid ! They work just like regualr caltrops, only better, for they eat their way even through sturdy footwear. Or thick hide as the case may be..."

The gnomish shopkeeper couldn't help but eye Darren's mask curiously, but he didn't ask about it. Probably was fighting the urge until he made his sale...

"Thanks. The traditional ones will do nicely. I want to cut back on collateral damage. I take it you have tanglefoot bags as well ? Just the regular kind will do nicely."

"Why certainly good sir ! We have everything that a discerning professional could hope for !"

"Nice. That will be 5 bags of caltrops and... a tanglefoot bag please.§

"Certainly. Anything else ?"

The gnome turned and started to rummage through the contents of his store. Amazingly he did seem to know exactly where everything was and didn't take long to return with the requested items.

"You wouldn't happen to have healing potions too, now would you ?"

"But sir ! Everybody knows that a discerning professional, like you certainly are, will go only for the most exquisite and effective gear available ! Why bother with a potion that you can only use once, that is prone to breaking at the most inopportune moment and that will distract you in those crucial moment you actually need to quaff it ! Why bother with all these drawbacks when you can also wear a Healing Belt ?"

Darren looked at the gnome quizically. "A healing belt ? How does that work ?"

"Very simple really. It is a belt imbued with healing magic. But not only is this item reusable, no, it also has unlimited charges ! You will never run out ! Of course, there is a slight limitation: You can only expand 3 charges on a given day. Spread them out as you like and need though. Need a little fixer-upper ? Just use one charge and receive the benefit of roughly one potion of Cure Moderate Wounds. Need a bit more help ? Use two charges to boost your health like with a potion of Cure Serious wounds. And if you go for all three daily charges at once, the effect of a potion of Cure Serious Wounds will be yours to enjoy !"

Darren pondered. Well, to have a permanent healing item like that would be useful... but certainly it won't be cheap....

"I must admit, i am intrigued. Certainly such wonderful craftmanship has it's price tough... ?"

The gnome beamed "Ah but that is the best part about it ! Certainly, the initial investment of 750 gold pieces may sound steep, but just do the math yourself: For that money you would receive only 15 potions of Cure Light Wounds. Why, you could recoup your investment in but one week of use ! Certainly, potions still have their place as emergency items... but only after your belt has run out of daily charges ! Think of the savings in the long run !"

Darren considered. Sure, he had hoped to put most of the money on the side, to save up for a lighter armour. A masterwork chain shirt maybe. Or even mithril. Yes, a mithril chain shirt... that would be .. but then again, the gnome had a point.

"I guess you have a point there. After all, if you don't have your health, you have nothing..."

"Precisely sir ! It is an investment into your own health ! Can you think on anything better to spend your money on ?"

Darren smiled. The gnome couldn't see it, because of the mask, but the smile reached his eyes too.

"You know what ? You just made a sale. You wouldn't happen to able to consider the caltrops a little giveaway for the purchase of a Healing Belt and a Tanglefoot bag ? 800 gold is such a nice, round number..."

"Why certainly !" beamed the gnome "Just answer me a little question."

"*sigh* It's about the mask isn't it ?"

"Well...."

"Here are 805 gold worth in banknotes. Thank you very much."

".. you wouln't..."

"No."

"Not even if i .. "

"No."

"What about ..."

"Definitly not."

"Oh well. Be that way."

Darren was that way and left the shop, a lot of money poorer but a bit of useful and maybe even lifesaving equipment richer.

He quickly made his way to the train station where he met up with the rest of the team (not before taking the time to use the train stations facilities though. It was a long ride after all).

"Done shopping. Let's board the train."

Lycar

[DiscipleofBob]

The fourth car has a wide open door and an entry ramp, mainly intended for large cargo to be loaded.

[Kevka Palazzo]

Alokor breathes the cold air of Karrnath with fondness, before wrapping his heavy adventuring cloak around his armored body.

He made his single stop by the apothecary, giving any clerks intent on making some sort of sale a no-nonsense look, and high-tailed it back to the lightning rail.

"...something anathema to a successful mission.", he hears as he approaches. A red flag shoots up in his mind, and he jogs up to the rail.

"Comrade dwarf!" he yells before Azgrim boards the rail, just after Darren finds his way over.

[WillWolf]

A little while after Carpetner had left, he came in. The gnome looked at him oddly, probably still a little bothered by the weird man with the mask. Gawair could smell the fact that he had been here very recently; it came to him naturally actually. Being a werewolf had some perks, one of them being the ability to smell every, and he did mean every, smell imaginable.

"Why hello-"

"One Healing belt." He was abrubt, but not in too much of a rude manner.He had worked with enough gnomes to know that they were keen buisnessmen who buttered people up. Gawair would have none of that. He was the one who buttered people up.

"Is that all?" the insationably curious gnome hadn't lost his smile, though he could tell that the man wasn't in the mood to buy anything else.

"You have change for a 1000 bank note?"

The gnome nodded and scurried underneath his desk to take one out for him. He returned with a crisp 250 bank note back in change. Goodnight sir. He prounced with some sauce. He must have noticed his ring. The door closed behind him.

"Weird night."

And that was that.


He arrived at the station on his horse. She was a fine magebred creature with a brown torso and sleek black legs: sturdy and dependable. On his back there was a backpack filled with all his goods, but other than that he looked no different than normal.

He saw his comrades board the train, but his imediete problem was his horse. Most of these trains had an area for livestock. He was an Orien, he could tell even at this distance. House Vadalis and Orien had a long standing friendship and partnership, ever warry for a deal, he decided to drop his name a bit earlier than he originally intended. Mind you the others were inside the caravan.

"Evening," he said in a low-voice, "Gawair d' Vadalis. I'm with the group. Which car can I put my horse in?" Polite, but formal. That was his goal, be polite and formal. The horse snorted in the chilly air, unduanted by the cold.

He hadn't gotten off his horse, but he had made sure to make his ring noticible to the man.

[DiscipleofBob]

The conductor's reply is short, official and largely unrecognizing of Gawair's status. "There's room enough in the fourth car, but I'm no shovelin' any horse****." The phrase was both literal and figurative. The phrase "shovelin' horse****" also meant taking crap from someone or cleaning up others' messes. Popular especially among Vadalis and any major stable or caravan, it basically meant that the conductor wasn't putting up with shenanigans or unnecessary destruction. That and he didn't want to clean up any horse poop.

[GimliFett]

"Comrade dwarf!" he yells before Azgrim boards the rail, just after Darren finds his way over.[/QUOTE]

Azgrim d'Kundarak

Azgrim turns to face the Karrnathi warrior. "Aye?" he replies. "I didn't catch your name. I am Azgrim d'Kundarak," he says as he offers his hand once more. It is good to know your companions, the dwarf thinks to himself.

[Dustyme]

Seeing the others arrive Gander comes out from the shadows he was "resting" in. While the conductor is distracted by the horse issue Gander goes over to look at the mechanism holding the last car to the rest of the train.
((Searchs it for traps as well.))

After a minute he aproaches the group.

"Where's our charge? Is he inside the car or still on his way?"

Gander shuffles midway up the ramp and peeps into the car.

OOC: What kind of chance does the group have of unhitching the last car either before or during the train ride? Does it look feasible or is the mechanism mystical?

whispers to Surge and Azgrim "So who wants to pull the pin on the last car now before some ya'ho jumps out of it to attack us? And who wants to go inspect the other cars and the engine?"

[DiscipleofBob]

"HEY! I SAID GET AWAY FROM THAT LAST CAR! IF I LOSE ANY CARGO, IT'S COMING OUT OF YOUR WALLET!" The conductor yells at the halfling. Apparently he realised the halfling's presence despite his attempts to conceal himself.

No traps found. Between the fourth and last car there are two locked doors. Unhitching any of the cars is a moderately high, but doable Disable Device check. Keep in mind though that this is still a supply train. Unnecessarily unhitching the cars will result in some very pissed off NPC's and probably a cut in your reward.

Inside the windowless fourth car, various crates of different sizes are stacked to the sides of the car. They aren't arranged in any particular order, so you could easily sit on/climb on top of/ hide between the crates. Besides the cargo entrance where you entered, there are doors at either end of the car. The only source of light is the dim, pale blue glow of a crystal on a staff held by a decrepit old man sitting towards the back of the car. His wrinkled, blotched, hairless skin reeks of old age, and he is dressed in dark tattered robes. He smiles wickedly at you as you enter, and a cold chill runs down your spine that suddenly makes the Karrnath winter seem a bit warmer.

The conductor turns to the group. "Is the halfling going to be a problem, or does he have to ride with me in the engine room for the trip?"

[GimliFett]

Azgrim d'Kundarak

Facing the conductor, the knight bows and smiles. "I am afraid the halfling has a bad sense of humor," he says, then adds even quieter, so only those within his reach might hear, "and a poorer sense of timing." Straightening, he addresses the conductor once more. "There will be no trouble, on my honor."

[DiscipleofBob]

The conductor smiles at Azgrim. "I like you, dwarf. When this is over, we'll share a drink if time allows it. What's your name?" The conductor offers his hand as a friendly gesture.

[GimliFett]

Azgrim d'Kundarak

Taking the conductor's hand, Azgrim introduces himself once more, "Azgrim d'Kundarak, of the Iron Ga--. Ah. It would be a pleasure, of course." he says heartily. "You?" he asks with a friendly smile.

[DiscipleofBob]

"Belaean d'Orien. We should board and get going since everyone's here." After shaking his hand, Belaean heads off towards the front car to start the rail.

[Lycar]

Darren watches the halfling as he checks the train car and smiles at his suggestion of unhitching the offending 5th car. Too bad it would make people mad. But is IS strange to have a 3rd party train car on such a sensitive mission...

When the dwarven knight swore on his honour, Darren just though
(Caution my lord.. gone is gone...)

But then he just shrugged and enterd the waggon, looking around. When he saw the old man, he felt a shiver run down his spine.

(Huh. This guy is creepy. Wonder who needs to be protected from whom here really...)

So he just went about to get a feel for the layout of the train car and tried to ignore the man as far as possible.

"Fine. Lets just spread a couple of caltrops in front of the doors. If you wish, one could disable the door mechanism too. If they want in, they'd have to provide their own entrance."

Which prompted Darren to take a closer look at the roof and floor. Any crawlspaces under the floor ? Hrm.. or access hatches in the roof ?

Lycar

[GimliFett]

Azgrim d'Kundarak

The knight shakes his head. "I do not like the caltrop idea. If we need to move, it would hinder us just as much as an opponent. I daresay moreso since they will probably have a mobility edge over us anyway, in order to make the attempt in the first place."

Azgrim looks from face to face, looking each of his companions in turn. "I agree we each need to be familiar with each car, excepting the fifth. So a walkthrough is a good idea as soon as possible. Note weakspots, possible openings and possible detachment points, as well," he adds with a look at the halfling, since we're in the second to last car, that might be a tactic employed against us."

He pauses a moment, then hefts his warhammer once more. "I will have additional thoughts once I have completed my own walkthrough."

The dwarf faces the prisoner. "I am Azgrim d'Kundarak. I will do my best to keep whatever assailants may come off of you, but I need to know who the most likely candidates are and why, so I can discern their possible tactics."

[Dustyme]

Gander smiles and nods his head until the Conductor is out of earshot. Once the conductor is facing away I cast detect magic and look around
Inspection includes at the conductor, then around the train and the old man, move onto the last car and finally inspect the top then the undercarriage of the train. While doing this Gander starts his speak to Azgrim.

"Listen up, friend Dwarf. Honor is that stuff that makes a person stand up in front of someone bigger than themselves and get punched in the face. That's not the way I work. I won't purposefully sully your honor, this time. But don't ever guarantee to my good behavior again. Besides do you really expect no trouble? Look at that creepy old man. I want him gone. I can’t imagine the people he actually worked for wanting him alive anymore. They’re going to ht us on this train and me bad sense of humor tells me it’s coming from somewhere we can’t prepare for. Maybe they be riding giant birds or maybe they’ll just separate us from the trains engine. I don’t know but I want every bit of information that will help me hit them from behind verses us getting hit. Do we even know if that’s the real conductor? Did you ask to see any papers or see his Dragonmark to check if it was real?”
Looks again at the old man and gestures towards him.

“Not much of a prisoner either. He has a magical staff and was sitting here all alone. Besides I was mostly kidding about the last car. If someone had the foresight to attach it on with someone to kill us why not just murder Mr. Creepy before we got here?”

“As for not using caltrops I think if we threw a blanket of the ground 1st and flattened it out we could make a path through them with a quick flick of the wrist. Heck if they take the time to fiure it out and try it I can blast them that much more.”

[DiscipleofBob]

Fourth Car:
As described above. There are no crawl spaces or roof hatches. Like the other cars, it is about 100 feet in length and 20 feet in width (though the crates make the walkable area of the car roughly 10 feet in width), with a 10 foot open area between cars, from which you could detach the car if necessary. The roof of the train holds nothing of interest. The front of each car has a ladder with which to access the roof. The bottom of the train is lined with conductor stones used to propel the train.

Third Car
The third car is an open-aired car, one used to load larger crates. These are easily taller than you, and would take some effort to climb on top of. The crates are not arranged conveniently, as you have to walk around the edge of the train to reach the other side. However, there's enough room to walk without fear of falling off unless you were to trip. About halfway across from the direction of the fourth car, there is enough of a gap between crates for you to walk between them and reach the door to the second car.

Second Car
Outside, the second car looks identical to the fourth car. Inside, however, the car is well-lit by crystalline fixtures lining the inside, sort of permanent sunrods. It resembles a residential car, only with all but one of the cabins removed and the windows boarded up. The cabin's door is closed and locked. There are a few small crates by the cabin, but otherwise the car is empty.

First Car
The first car is not nearly as long as the other cars, meant only to be the control room. Belaean stands here. He gives you an annoyed look and tells you not to touch anything, but otherwise lets you inspect the cabin. There's a large glowing stone set in the front of the cabin, presumably the main apparatus to operate the train with. There's also a control panel along the front end of the car, though you see no buttons, levers, switches, or anything resembling a control mechanism.

Detect Magic
The most immediate source is obviously the track and conductor stones, which grow brighter as the train starts up. In the fourth car, the old man glows slightly. Besides the staff, he must have a few magical trinkets on him, though nothing of significant value or power. Your allies give off far more potent magical auras. None of the crates give off any magical auras, with the exception of the small ones in the second car, but even those are fairly weak. As for the first car, the magical auras immediately blind you, presumably from the mechanism that powers the lightning rail.

The old man stands up, which appears to be a chore in of itself and bows. You halfway expect him to fall apart from the endeavor. Yet despite the creep factor, it appears he has good social courtesies. In a thin, raspy voice, he speaks. "Greetings, noble Azgrim. I am Sindra of the house of Darkaanan.

NOTE: The name Darkaanan doesn't mean anything to the character unless they make a fairly high Knowledge (Nobility) or (Local) check. The same will apply to other organizations, even the Houses, in order to know specific or secret details about them.

"Unfortunately, if it comes to enemies and their tactics, I cannot help you, but I wouldn't worry." Sindra chuckles, an unnerving sound indeed. "An adventurer such as yourself would be prepared for any situation, yes?"

By the time your search ends, the lightning rail has already started moving and is on its journey.

[Darkantra]

Surge

Surge nods in greeting to the others as they all enter the train. After having a look around himself he moves back to the fourth car.

Well everyone, we should make a tally of our respective skills and abilities. If we have free reign through all of the cars except the last one then we have two options while we perform this mission.

The first option is if we split up into teams that either patrol or stay in each cabin. I agree with Gander that the attack, if one does come, will probably be something that we dont expect and splitting up into patrolling teams gives us the advantage of being able to cover each car. If we got split up by the enemy then wed be in a good deal of trouble. The biggest problem facing us is the conductor, if he is killed or otherwise disabled then well be grounded between stations. Splitting up will allow us to protect him if such a thing does occur, he waves a hand in respect to Gander again, and allow us to keep an eye on him if need be.

Our other option is to stay in this cabin and fortify ourselves. It means that theres virtually no chance of being split up by the enemy and we can take great care to keep master Sindra safe. On the other hand the conductor will be at their mercy and our enemy could simply detach our car and then take us out in the wilderness.

I for one favour splitting up into complementary teams, each pair of us will have abilities spread out so that we can maximize our combat potential. I have already told master Azgrim what I can do, so to the rest of you, I specialize in offensive arcane magic. I can channel spells into my weapon and discharge them into the enemy. I am also an amateur loremaster and scribe, though I do not think that well need such abilities on this mission.

Surge settles back against the wall, awaiting the responses of the others.

[Lycar]

Azgrim d'Kundarak
The knight shakes his head. "I do not like the caltrop idea. If we need to move, it would hinder us just as much as an opponent. I daresay moreso since they will probably have a mobility edge over us anyway, in order to make the attempt in the first place."


Darren quirks an eyebrow at the knight.

"You expect them to have superior mobility and oppose a plan meant to deny them said mobility ? It's easy to avoid the caltrops if you know where they are. If you don't..."

He shrugs and continues "The cars themselves seem to be safe enough. The open car worries me a bit. It's so ... open to flyers."

When Sindra introduces himself, Darren returns the favour.
"Darren Carpenter."

He listens to Surge's comments but offers no input of his own, except stating his abilities.

"I worked with a group of bountyhunters for a couple of years. I was their armsmaster. I service weapons. Also i'm a trained mechanic. If it has gears or springs, i can work with it. As for fighting... well, i can hit a stationary target with a crossbow. Moving targets, not so much."

Lycar

[Dustyme]

Gander looks over at surge from the box he is currently poking around

"Me? I deal in fine Art, Antiquities and such. I don't like feeling blood splash on me so I stay as far away from the fight as I can reasonably get. Don't get me wrong I can and will protect both myself and my companions. However, dying for a cause just isn't on my to do list."

Gander then looks over at the bounty hunter and the dwarf.

"Oh, yea I like to liberate stuff from rich people too. Wealth is meant to be shared among everyone. Not kept in a vault to be sat on like a greedy "
Gander glances away from the Dwarf Everyone can almost hear the sentence ending in word Dwarf. ((Bluff [roll0]))
Gander hacks like he just choked a bit on something.
"Person! Sorry, a bug just flew into my mouth while I was ranting."

Gander turns a bit red in color before hastily looking back at Surge.

"Don't get me wrong now. The guys and gals that take the punches have their place. It's just not my place" Gander gestures at his 33 lbs 3'11" body frame. "We have something in common though friend Surge. I too dabble in the mystical. Not much mind you but enough for most purposes."

Gander then smiles bows and starts going through crates again, turns back to the Dwarf after a few seconds.

"By the way I have my own code and would never steal from a trustworthy companion. So don't go thinking I'm going to steal from anyone here unless they steal from us first. And before you get ants in your pants I'm not stealing anything from the train but I for one want to know what I'm breaking before we find out that these boxes are filled with something flammable, or costly...
Unless of course I see something just way to useful to pass up. I'll put i back afterwards if I don't use it all up."


"Might I also make the suggestion that we maybe move up a car or three? Who cares if they assigned us this car to die in? What's the conductor going to do, stop the train and make his run late?"

[Lycar]

Darren had been slightly distracted admiring the fine horse Gawair had brought aboard. He was worried about the animals safety, should this waggon turn into a battlefield.

So he asked Gawair about it "Do you really think it was a good idea to bring your horse along ? Even if it is a trained warhorse and knows to defend itself, it is at a disadvantage if we should be attacked here. And we can't move it to any other car now that we are on the way already."

Darren realy only got the last half of Gander's speech but comments on it anyway "Can't move the horse. I don't know if our equestrian comrade here is willing to leave it alone in here. But then again, it might be safer for the horse if we change cars."

Lycar

[WillWolf]

Gawair

Gawair politely nodded concerning the conductors request. He knew the lingo, almost definitly knew who he was, and he still had the ability to be a rude snot. He probably had a good degree of standing in the house (or didn't give a horse's behind about it) so he said nothing of it. His smile was toothy and more animal than human.

He led the horse onto the platform by hand, and the horse knew exactly where to go once in there. He began to tie the horse up as the others talked and he barely noticed the creepy man. He just wanted to get there and back, nothing else, and wasn't in the mood for talking.

"The conductor is who he says he is." He said as if that finished the question, but remained silent until the human with the mask spoke to him about his horse.

The human spoke to him and he turned around and scowled at the human. "Jerima is a Majebred." He said as if that finished the arguement. The horse could probably kick the silly human's butt right off the car if she wanted to. Jerima snorted as if agreeing.

"I will not leave her alone." He glared at the dwarf some more. "And caltrops on a moving train is a very bad idea." He growled. Honestly, he was more worried about his horse stepping on one, and even if all the other members of the party agreed on the caltrops thing: he had full intention to remove them or stop them.

"Gawair," though anyone curious enough could see his ring and the insignia on his sword hilt. "And I am a sort of tracker." He looked at them all rather darkly.

Can Gawair smell anything unusual in the car?

Use rope check, taking twenty: [roll0] To make a knot that will unravel if tugged properly. (DC 15)

[Kevka Palazzo]

Alokor takes a moment to look around the train, listens to the rest of the group introduce themselves, then speaks.

"My name is Alokor ir'Weycari. I served Karrnath in the Last War. Right now I'm...doing the world-walking thing."

He shuffles for a second, uncomfortable with speaking.

"I think the caltrops are a bad idea. It's easy for you," he glances at Darren, "to avoid such things, but it's already going to be hard enough for some of us to move about on a moving, narrow train."

"Also, what I'm worried about most is the last car. I don't like it." He says with finality.

[Lycar]

"I think the caltrops are a bad idea. It's easy for you," he glances at Darren, "to avoid such things, but it's already going to be hard enough for some of us to move about on a moving, narrow train."

Darren paused for a moment, looking back at Alkor, then shrugged.
"Fair enough. I suppose, if you aren't used to working with them, they are just as hindering to you as to any opponent. Just don't ask me not to fling a couple between me and a charging warforged."

That settled that then. Still, Darren couldn't help but wonder about the house Vadalis man.

(Hrm... didn't know they had half-breeds in the houses. But then again, maybe that explains why he's so unfriendly. Bet he has to work twice as hard just to be accepted as a bastard. At least he has the matching sword...)

He decided to put the issue aside though. If Gawair felt the need to prove himself, he'd fight much harder if they should be attacked. And it was only natural to be proud and posessive about such a fine animal as an actual magebred horse. It was probably his most prized posession.

Also, if his comrades were not keen on using whatever tools available to shape the area to their advantage, he was pretty useless right about now.

"I'll leave it to you professionals to come up with a good battle plan. If you need me, i'll just be outside on the third car a bit."

Darren went to the door connecting their car to the flatbed one, opened it and went through, closing it behind him again.

Finding a good place that offered some protection from the chill of the wind, Darren wrapped his cloak around him and peered around.

(It will still be a few minutes until we clear the city limits. But then it will be fresh air all the way.)

He looked foreward to it.

Lycar

[Darkantra]

Surge


"Might I also make the suggestion that we maybe move up a car or three? Who cares if they assigned us this car to die in? What's the conductor going to do, stop the train and make his run late?"

Surge nods at this point though what the halfling said about liberating valuables form those who would hoard them interested him.

I wonder how he views the liberation of arcanic texts from places where they are never seen... he makes a mental note to ask this as soon as the two are alone.

"True, if we were to move up to one of the first two cabins then we would have the added advantages of being close to Belaean and not being separated from master Sindra."

Surge pauses for a moment then begins tapping his temple with one raised finger. Looking at the magnificent horse he stop the tapping after a few seconds and lets out a sigh.

"The only problem is the narrow avenues through the open car ahead, I am not certain if Jerima can cross the narrowed area, Gawair. If you believe that she can then I see no reason to not move up a car or three."

"If no one minds I do agree with Gander that we should inspect the crates in the second car more thoroughly, and I am curious as to why all of the passenger cabins but one were removed," he spreads his hands in mock innocence, "While we are very clearly denied the use of the last car the conductor said nothing about thoroughly inspecting the others."

While waiting for the others to respond Surge looks over to Sindra. The man was... disturbing in a way that the Warforged just could not catalogue.

"Master Sindra, is there any reason for you being in this car, and not any of the others?"

Question, are the paths through the open car too narrow for a horse?

[DiscipleofBob]

The train has finally left the city and there's now even less light than before. The third car is now almost pitch-black and probably perilous to try and cross, and the fourth car is only well-illuminated up to within a 30' radius of Sindra, so those without low-light or darkvision cannot see the entire car clearly.

Scent
Gawair believes he smells some foodstuffs and spices in the fourth car, probably in the crates, and Sindra himself reeks of old age and decay, but nothing particularly unusual in the car.

The Horse and the Third Car

The paths are too narrow for a large horse. You might be able to get him through with some trouble, but it'd take awhile and require some handle animal and balance check, which if failed could end in disaster.


Sindra's smile widens as Surge addresses him. "Yes, there is very much a reason why this car was initially chosen for the transport, but I wonder... The majority of you seem to be the intelligent types, at least with regards to tactics. There is enough information available to you to decipher both the significance of this car being chosen and the odd layout of the second car. Can anyone find the answer to either riddle?" Sindra addresses the question to everyone, as if asking a riddle, smiling wider all the time which only makes him all the creepier.

It doesn't long for the train to leave the city, and Darren can only barely see the Karrnath winter countryside from the starlight. Otherwise, it's pitch-black for him.

Also, can I get three Listen checks from everyone? These will be used for later, but I want them now so that when I say "roll for listen checks," everyone doesn't automatically goes on edge

[Lycar]

Darren waited for the train to leave the city limits, then he took off his mask and breathed deeply. The air was cold, biting even, but he rather dealt with that then the dust from the city air.

He felt the cold creep through his cloak, despite the relative slow speed of the train. Still, he decided to stay just a few more minutes to savour the fresh air.

(... of course, if something decides to attack right now, i'm a sitting duck... oh well, just another minute or two then...)


Lycar

[GimliFett]

Azgrim d'Kundarak

Azgrim stood in silence after his inspection as the others debated the purpose of crates and location. He waited for them to finish before speaking up once more.

With a nod towards their charge, the knight clears his throat and begins. "I assume the second car is a decoy, meant to lure an attack -- and possibly spring an unpleasant trap as well -- to alert us to such an attempt. As for our car, it is far enough from the conductor car that should things get out of hand, they will not affect him. Other House agents, should we have to deal with them, will not want to create an issue by possibly harming the Orien, and it is best to not take chances. Deneith doesn't want anything happening to him either, as it might affect -- somewhat, anyway -- their own future dealings with the House of Transport."

He faces Gawair. "I know not what I did to draw your ire, but please let it pass. If I said something to offend you it was unintentional," he says with a courtly bow.

To Gander Azgrim smiles thinly and also bows, though not as deeply as to Gawair. "I would rather you not um, liberate, anything unless it is expressly offered us. However, I do not have any issues with identifying said contents, as they could pose dangerous, and possibly useful should events progress to that degree." The dwarf's smile broadens. "Glad I am to know you have a code, and when I spoke before, it was to reassure the conductor of our intentions, not to belittle you in any way." Azgrim winks at Gander.

[DiscipleofBob]

Sindra smiles wider and shakes his head. "Unfortunately, sir Azgrim, you are incorrect, as the train itself has not been organized in any fashion beneficial to this mission. The train itself normally runs under the same condition it is now, sans myself and your honorable selves. This fourth car was merely selected by House Deneith and the conductor as the best place to carry out the initial transfer. Anyone else care to have a gander at this riddle?" Sindra's smile shows quite clearly that he is testing the heroes, but to what ends is unclear.

[Dustyme]

Gander looks very shocked that the Dwarf not only comprehended but accepted at face value what he said. After a few seconds he puts his hand out to Azgrim to shake.

"Very well sir dwarf, truce and a fresh start. As for your horse human it is a fine animal but not worth disemboweling my spleen, so yes I will help you protect it if possible but I am just as ready to abandon the beast if it becomes necessary"

He then listens to what the creepy human has to say.

"Pfft, damn old people. Rather than just giving us the information outright he waits and riddles. Hey old man it's you they want to kill, not me. If they get through our defenses because you withheld something and get killed I might walk away from this with a bad reputation but at least I might get to walk away."

"Tell us or don't, I'm going to keep looking around. Who’s keeping watch by the way? Someone should watch both the land and the sky."

Gander then continues looking through crates and boxes moving up car by car as he finishes the previous inspection.

Search Car 4[roll0]
Search Car 3[roll1]
Search Car 2[roll2]
Search Car 1[roll3]
Do you want me to roll more checks?

[Darkantra]

Surge

Sindra's comment about House Deneith not modifying the cars in any way sparked an interesting thought, something that lay entirely outside of any tactical considerations. Though he wanted to inspect the rest of the train with the halfling he just couldn't let a riddle like this go. Facing Sindra he begins his long-winded argument.

"The second car may well serve as a decoy in any case, the attackers may assume that we would keep you in an enclosed space for maximized protection and that being close to the conductor would allow us to unhitch the the other cars should they utilize the third car for infiltration. The boards upon the windows further enhances the idea by giving the illusion that the cabin is fortified."

"This car is effectively a bottleneck, enemies cannot come in force through the third car and I cannot think of how they could effectively use the cargo entrance to attack us. So making this our center of operations is also a wise tactical consideration, unless our enemies unhitch the car. Whomever the last car belongs too may well be too forbidding for anyone to enter from there or it might be protected against such things."

"Tactical considerations aside there is another possibility," Surge points at the small glowing orb of light at the end of the man's staff, "You may not enjoy bright lighting or natural sunlight, and the latter may even be harmful to you. The first car is unusable due to the control mechanisms taking up the space, the second is too bright and has windows that even boarded up may let in light, the third is completely exposed to sunlight and the last is locked. The only distinguishing feature of this compartment is the lack of lighting, you thereby can control it's only source. We also arrived well past the closing time for the station, and while I can agree that leaving at night might throw our enemies off the track, so to speak, it might have been much easier to slip you out on a train during the day when the bustle of commerce and travel would obscure us."

Surge holds up an apologetic hand.

"This may not be the case, but in a country whose citizens have an affinity to undead the likelihood of you either disliking light or being an undead yourself is at the very least a possibility, and my master was very careful to teach me to consider all possibilities."

[WillWolf]

Gawair:

Carpenter's thoughts were beyond his ability to discern.

In regard to the warforged's questions in regards to the horse and the rail, he just sort of glared at him with rather cold eyes, as if re-engaging how smart the living-machine/creature/whatever was. He didn't even say anything, this was just one of those moments where saying something would win him no allies, so he just continued to glare. There was absolutly no chance that the horse would be leaving this cart, unless it was an emergency. He didn't really like having the horse with him, truthfully, he found it nerve-wracking, but he couldn't just leave him here either. If the car fell over or something they would all be squished, and he had no desire to be squished by his own horse.

As for the riddle of the old-man, well, he guessed one thing: living men did not regularly smell of decay. He could tell that it was disquiting to his fellow members, but truthfully he didn't care if the man was undead or not and even if he could, there wasn't anything he could do about it anyways without giving up his own secrets. Let the old man have his riddles and secrets as long as the route went according to plan, he was ok.

The horse would probably be best darn member in fight. You don't want to mess with a cornered animal, and really, she was a warhorse. She probably saw more combat than most of the people on this rail.

He nodded politely and bowed his head in response. He didn't trust his own toungue still. There was actually a look of anger toward him, something he could see in his eye. How dare he be polite to him, but the truth was much deeper than just that thought. His signet ring stood out against his black glove.

Wordlessly he followed the halfling. He liked the halfling the most of them all actually, at least he could depend on him to not depend on him and to state that he would not depend on him. It was refreshing really. He had his own suspision on what was occuring. He followed the halfling, but he wasn't looking, he was smelling. He took deep breaths through his nose and smelled each of the four carts.

If there were any surprises he would not say anything in regard. Before the mission, before the safety of his friends, and even before his horse came his secret, and he was in no mood to to mess with his secret. He kept a close hand to his sword.

Smelling for people that were not supposed to be on the train. He can't disern where they are without the track ability, but he should be able to find odd smells in each of the cars.

[DiscipleofBob]

The Crates

Gawair smells nothing resembling any living thing on the train besides the conductor, yourselves, and Sindra. In the fourth car, Sindra's old-man-stench is nearly overpowering. The crates contain only mundane supplies, foodstuffs, some medicine. The only thing of real interest is that some of the crates contain oil or wine barrels which could catch on fire, though probably do no real damage to the train or to the other supplies. The search, however, will take a couple hours though. In the second car, when you inspect the few crates that are there (finding only mundane magic items, like sunrods and tindertwigs,) the door to the cabin opens and the conductor steps out, looking only slightly irritated. "Can I help you?" He stands by the cabin door and watches you rifle through the crates, letting you do so, but especially watching the halfling to make sure nothing is stolen.

The old man laughs with a raspy cackle. "You are at least partially correct, sir Warforged, with regards to this car. There are only two entrances to this car from which the enemy can attack, from the front or behind. Besides those, we have all these crates to provide cover and a tactical advantage. And since the secrecy of this mission was tantamount to its success, the seclusion of this car makes the train inconspicuous and a good place to hide, at least in theory. I have no doubt that my pursuers will attack this night.

"You are, however, incorrect to guess the nature of the second car, and I can easily assure you, while I may not seem long for the grave, my heart still beats. You are nontheless clever to consider the possibility of me being already passed away. Perhaps there is hope for the lot of you yet. Soon we shall see if your axe is as sharp as your intellect."

Events on the Train
A couple hours have passed by now. With the exception of the first and second car, everything is pitch-black. The light from Sindra's staff does not even extend to either doorway, so unless you have low-light or darkvision, those in the fourth car cannot see to either door. Current locations are as follows: Gawair and Gander are searching the cars, and by this point are in the second car with Belaean d'Orien. Darren is just outside the fourth car, effectively guarding the door and keeping a lookout, though right now due to lack of illumination there's little he can see. Assumable there's some sort of conversation there that if you particularly like we can go into a bit more detail, but for the sake of the story, I'm going to go ahead and move ahead right now unless there are any immediate preparations the remaining party members in the fourth car, Azgrim, Surge, and Alokor, can think of. If there are, I can let you do one or two things real quick.

Azgrim and Alokor can hear some sort of scuffling commotion coming from the back of the car, presumably in the "forbidden" fifth car. At this moment, it's unclear exactly what the noise is, these cars are pretty well insulated, after all. Sindra appears unaware of the noise. Gawair, Gander, and Darren are currently oblivious to this.

[Lycar]

I should point out that Darren was outside to catch some fresh air. People who went inspecting the other cars would find him sitting outside with his maks taken off. He still looks kinda unassuming. No hidden scars or deformities.

As much as Darren enjoyed the clean air, the cold was getting to him. Also, he had some preparations to make.

Returning into the fourth car, Darren sought out a place where he would have at least suffivient ligthing and spread out his bedroll, which he pulled from his Haversack. He then went on and produced a toolkit too.

Sitting down cross-legged on the bedroll and preparing a few tools, a rag and a can of oil from the toolbox, he pulled two somethings out from under his cloak and put them down in front of him.

The things looked a lot like hand crossbows, except they lacked the steel bow and sinew assembly one would expect from a crossbow.

Things became a bit clearer when he unscrewed a part at the back of each of the 'crossbows' and pulled out a spring. Which he then proceeded to meticulously clean and oil. He did the same with the rest of his odd little devices before reassembling them again.

Finally he pulled a lever on each of them, which seemed to **** the springs (maybe one could even hear a faint 'click') and then pshed a hand crossbow bolt in the front of each of them.

After putting his now fully loaded weapons back under his cloak, he restowed his tools and bedroll in his backpack and got up again.

He turned to head out to the open car again but paused a moment beside the magebred horse. Such a magnificent animal... he tentativly reached out with his hand and gave the animal a slight pat on the flank.

"So we won't have to worry about your safety then after all, hmm ? Good to know."

Lycar

[GimliFett]

Azgrim d'Kundarak

"Shh!" The knight hisses as he tilts his head to one side. After a moment he moves back through the car to the final car and looks at the others. "I heard something. Possibly from the final car," he readies his shield and then opens the door that leads to the final car and steps out.

[DiscipleofBob]

The horse seems to be impassive towards Darren's touch, supposedly as long as all there is is a pat on the flank.

I went ahead and rolled those checks for you Darren.

Azgrim fumbles with the door at the back of the fourth car, but it's locked tight.

[GimliFett]

Azgrim d'Kundarak

With a snort, Azgrim mutters, "Seems they wanted to remove all temptation of messing with the last car." He faces the others again. "Did anyone else hear anything a moment ago?"

[Dustyme]

Gander looks a bit confused when Gawair starts following behind throughout the search. When the grumpy human starts breathing heavily the first time Gander looks at him weirdly and takes a step away from him waiting to see if the man is going to attack him. After a few instances he figures maybe it’s just all the dust kicked up by moving the crates and boxes.

"Are you ok human? You don't sound so healthy. Are you sick or something?"

At that thought Gander pulls out a black hankie (handkerchief) with a red rose embroidered on one half and a silver orb embroidered on the other half. Gander ties the hankie around his head bandit style with only his eyes visible above the cloth. Visible over his mouth lay the red rose.

By the time they reach the conductor Gander is satisfied that nothing will unceremoniously explode without the proper evens and is unsurprised when the conductor seems rather suspicious.

“To answer your stated question in a word, No. To answer your suspicious mind the answer is also, No. I didn’t take anything and do not plan to. Why would I want to be banned from using your houses fine transportation? These trains are absolutely amazing and I consider them to be quite sacrosanct.”

Bluff [roll0]

Gander then smiles innocently and begins wandering towards the last car to prepare in it a fortified position to shoot from. He also wants to suggest to the others about moving some crates to block one of the entryways into the rear car. Also even though he has no plans to acquire extra gear and spread it among the people in need (yet) he wouldn’t mind setting up a box or two of dry goods tumbling onto attackers.

Gander says to Gawair as he points at some sacks and crates:

“I’ll bet a big bag or crate like that falling on a man would split his head wide open.”

[Kevka Palazzo]

After hearing the noise, Alokor made put a hand on his dagger. The rail was annoyingly small, and he didn't want to risk his greatsword harming anyone yet. He wouldn't draw the marked blade if he didn't have to, though.

After Azgrim tried the last door, he tensed up a bit more.

"By Vol's blood...", he mutters. "I heard it too, dwarf."

Regardless of his initial fears of drawing the weapon, he places his other hand on his greatsword, getting it ready should he need to draw it.

[DiscipleofBob]

Locations as I see them right now

Azgrim: In the fourth car, next to the back door, aware of scuffling noises from the fifth car.
Alokor: Same as above.
Surge: In the fourth car, but unaware of noise except through Azgrim and Alokor.
Gander: In the second car headed back towards the fourth car.
Gawair: With Gander.
Darren: On the third car, just outside the fourth car.


The scuffling noise continues in the fourth car, but exactly what the nature of the sound is is unclear to Azgrim and Alokor, who can only barely hear it.

Despite Gander's attempts to "console" the conductor, Belaean remains suspicious, and only when Gander steps away from the crates and heads back towards the fourth car does he step back inside the cabin, closing the door behind him.

[Darkantra]

Surge

Surge could only stare blankly at Gawair as the man gave him an incredibly cold look. When Gawair left the car without a word he left a confused Warforged behind him.

Hmm, I ask a question about a situation that might arise and he looks at me as if I told him to throw the horse underneath the train.

Looking at the horse and Darren, who was hesitantly patting it, Surge shook his head.

The kinds of attachments that fleshed creatures can have with animals, I just cannot fathom. Hmm... I should ask if I have given a slight Gawair did seem to value it highly.

"Well master Sindra, I am almost at a loss in guessing the purpose of the second car. The only guess I can hazard is that the cabin is to be used in an emergency. What that emergency might be or the purpose of the locked cabin is, I do not know. Perhaps a communications or escape magic is there, but that is all that I can guess."

Not liking how dark it was in the car Surge reaches into his pack and draws out a sunrod, twisting it to illuminate the area. Though he notices Azgrim and Alokor inspecting the door to the last car he puts it off as them inspecting the area, and is too interested in his conversations with Sindra anyways.

[GimliFett]

Azgrim d'Kundarak

"BAH! Locked!" the knight grumbles as he turns from the locked door and faces the others. "Sindra. Enough riddles. You apparently know far more about this whole setup than us. Share. NOW! What lies within the final car? And from whom are you fleeing?"

[WillWolf]

Gawair:

“I’ll bet a big bag or crate like that falling on a man would split his head wide open.”

"Probably." He said, only half thinking. "I don't want to get on the head either." His mind was closer to the whole buisness of figuring out what was happening with this man. This felt very, very odd to him and he wasn't really interested in being so far away from the rest of the party. He was almost sure that there were people hiding in crates here, but whatever. He would continue on. The nose knows when things are wrong and nothing was wrong and that made it very, very wrong.

"I'm heading back." There wasn't anything he could do here and so he hurried on back to the fourth car.

[DiscipleofBob]

Sindra ignores Surge, his face quickly switching from a wicked smile to a wide-eyed panic, and begins to cower in the corner. Azgrim's forceful interrogation does nothing to help this matter. "I flee from my own house and other enemies I don't even know about! I know nothing about the enemy or their plans, and I certainly don't know what's in there!" The old man now cowers, now a pathetic lump between the crates as the sound now becomes apparent from the back car.

Gander and Gawair get about halfway across the car when suddenly, a flash of steel whirls around from behind a corner, barely cutting into the halfling's flesh.


[roll0]
Damage: 7


Just before the attack, Gawair's nose goes wild. Something is here that wasn't before, and that same scent is now both in front, behind, and above him.


Above attack part of the surprise round, to which Gander can react in. Only Gawair and Gander can act for this combat, though Darren can probably hear the commotion in a bit.

[Kevka Palazzo]

Alokor looks at the cowering man with a bit of distaste, quickly replaced by cold indifference. They had a job to do. He would complete it.

"Azgrim, no need to be so harsh. Throwing him into a panic won't help matters." He briefly pauses to think, then turns to the warforged. "Surge, Azgrim and I heard a noise from the fourth car. Be vigilant."

[WillWolf]

He smelled them and shouted, more like a roar, as loud as he possibly could to distract them: "TAKE COVER!" But he was too late. There were three of them and only two of us and he didn't like it one bit. He growled, literally growled, at the man who stole blood from the halfling. The halfling said he was no good in a fight: he hoped that he was mistaken.

He slashed his sword with both hands continuing his growl. "DIE!" He was trying to attract attention to himself and to create as much noise as possible.

Bastard sword, two hands: [roll0]
[roll1]

[WillWolf]

Action point for attack roll: [roll0]

[Dustyme]

---Gander---

Upon getting cut Gander almost freezes in suprise for a split second then reacts as Gawair charges past him.

At the same time he tumbles towards the end of the car ((Staying out of melee range)), Gander draws a slim wand with his left hand. He ends up slightly to the left side of the corridor between the boxes and stacks. As he comes up from the tumble he enters fighting stance with Gawair between himself and the assailants he yells "Ambush!!" and throws out a black, red and silver mass of energy (Eldritch Blast) from his right hand. The mass flies between Gawairs legs and strikes at his nearest opponents kneecap.


Tumble (If needed)[roll0]
Ranged Touch Attack [roll1]
Eldritch Blast Damage [roll2]
(I assume we're within 30' otherwise subtact -1 Att / -1 Dmg)

[Darkantra]

Surge

Surge nods to the warning and hurries towards the third car.

"Alright, if you two can keep an eye on that door, I'll get the others. Do not worry master Sindra, they haven't killed you yet and they shall not now that we're here."

Surge gets to the doors between the two cars and draws his axe, taking a moment to listen for any strange noises before exiting the car.

[roll0] Listen check to see if Surge hears the shouting and fighting before he exits the fourth car.

[Lycar]

Darren meanwhile still sits in a spot on the open car that allows him to keep an eye on the doorway to the fourth car. He has huddled up in his cloak to protect from the cold.

While this makes him a bit harder to spot in the darkness surrounding the various crates, it also seems to make it harder to hear noises from behind.

Lycar

[DiscipleofBob]

Gawair swings and slashes at air just as the offender comes up from behind and swings his axe at Gawair, missing by just a hair. Gander tries to move out of harm's way, but in the darkness in the close quarters between the cars, this is nearly impossible. Luckily, his offender ((which unless I am mistaken, Gander cannot see due to lack of any light source or low-light/darkvision)) misses by a long swing and the sound of sharp metal rending through one of the crates as its contents spill over the unlucky assassin. Gander's luck runs out there though, as when he tumbles towards the edge of the car, another attacker hiding behind the corner clips Gander, causing him 4 damage. Gander's blast lights up the the third car for a split second before colliding into the halfway buried dwarf.

Initiative

Gandar: 21
Gawair: 13
Darren: 22 (Made listen check to hear commotion and warnings)
Surge: (Did not hear anything in the third car yet. Can act outside of initiative order until then.)
Enemy: 6
???: 26 (Don't worry about this one, I'll post this one's action when it matters.)
((I have all enemies of the same "type" go on the same initiative to save trouble.))


Mechanics-Wise

Gawair's attack misses the only person he could reach who was coming up behind him, who attacks as well and misses. Gander, going at the top of the round barely fails the tumble check and provokes an attack of opportunity from the immediate offender, and from another one around the corner. The 1st enemy rolls a 1 and breaks a crate, causing supplies to fall on him. The 2nd enemy makes it and does 4 damage to Gander. Does Eldritch Blast require a concentration check or anything like that if someone gets an attack of opportunity on you, Dustyme? Your attack will be resolved after I figure that out. Darren and Gawair can take their actions now.

[Darkantra]

Surge

Not hearing anything and suspecting that he still might have some time before the enemy closes in on this side of the fourth car Surge will open the door and step out into the open third car, taking care to close and block the doorway while he has a look for one of the others.

He still has a sunrod in one hand and is holding his greataxe in another. That should give 30 ft of bright illumination and 60 ft. of shadowy illumination.

[WillWolf]

Gawair:

"Get out of here Gander!" The halfling was doing more harm than good, and although his blast had lit the area (making it easier to see). He could smell all three of them and he didn't think that the halfling knew it. "There's too many."

He snarled again as he attacked the man again. His sword slashing against the same opponent as before.

Bastard Sword: [roll0]

[WillWolf]

I am cursed with low rolls.

Action point number 2: [roll0]
Sword damage: [roll1]

[GimliFett]

Azgrim d'Kundarak

The knight nods in acknowledgement of the warforged's words, then places himself just beyond the area where the door would open into, allowing him to strike at anyone who might enter through the door before they are aware of his presence. "I didn't mean to put the fright into him, Alokor. Something else is at play, I think," Azgrim says to the Karrn.

[Lycar]

Darren notices the opening door and emerging shine of light just in time to raise his arm and avoid looking into the warforged's sunrod directly, thus ending up blinded.

(Great, there goes my nightvision...)

"Coming to relieve my watch ?" he askes Surge, oblivious to the deadly struggle taking place just a couple dozen feet away from him.

Lycar

[Darkantra]

Surge

Seeing Darren whole and hale made Surge feel a bit better, perhaps they really did have time after all. Wedging the sunrod into his belt so that he could have a hand free for casting he settles down a bit and explains the situation slowly, but as usual he doesn't even notice the fleshy's discomfort.

"Not quite, and I don't know how much time we have left. Alokor and Azgrim heard a noise coming from the last car and are guarding the door as we speak. I thought that it would be best to get everyone else back here, we could get picked off pretty easily if we're seperate, despite one of my earlier plans. Can you watch the door while I go up to the second car?"

[Lycar]

"Sure. But what if it's only a distraction ? Hrm.. yes, better go and fetch the others."

Darren gets up, a bit stiff from the cold and goes on to get back into the fourth car past Surge.

Lycar

[Darkantra]

Surge

"Be ready, there's no telling what might happen."

As Darren moves past him Surge makes sure that the door is securely closed then hurries around the crates towards the second car, heedless of the combat ahead.

[DiscipleofBob]

((I personally wouldn't waste those action points on bad rolls that'll never make it but whatever.))


Surge's initiative.
[roll0]


As soon as Surge turns the corner, he can see an unknown dwarf from behind with the sunrod's illumination accosting Gander. As he does though, an arrow from above clangs off of Surge's armor, barely avoiding a weak spot. There's a hushed elven curse sounded from above, but there's nothing visible above but total darkness, even with the sunrod's illumination.

The sound from the fifth car dies down for a bit, but then a loud, much closer crash is heard with a loud thud against the door. Something is coming this way into the fourth car, and it doesn't sound friendly.

Gander's action resolves before Gawair's, then the assailants go. Pretty soon Azgrim's and Alokor's initiative will be pulled into this regardless.

[Lycar]

Darren makes haste to cross the waggon to get back to Sindra and his fellows. But then he decides that he and his companions would be best served if he played to his strength.

Checking that none of his companions were in front of the door, he takes the bag of caltrops from his belt with his left hand and pulls out one of his loaded crossbows with his right, taking up a position behind a crate just about 20' or so from the doorway, preparing to toss the caltrops bag right in front of the door.

Lycar

[DiscipleofBob]

Loud thuds bang on the door to the fifth car. To those who can see the door, large dents are appearing in the door and it's starting to give.

[Darkantra]

Surge

Surge rounds a crate to confront the back of a dwarf readying its axe to split Gander in two. Surprised, he stops just in time to have an incomming arrow glance off of his plating rather than pierce one of his joints. Seeing the halfling hard-pressed he elects to kill the dwarf first, then find the hidden archer.

Surge calmly steps up to the dwarf's back, intones several words in draconic and flicks his off-hand fingers in an arcane twist before grabbing the axe haft again. As he brings the axe down towards the dwarf it lights up with a peal of electricity that dances around the blade.

5 ft step or move action to close in on the dwarf's back, and a standard action to attack the dwarf between him and Gander with a channeled Shocking Grasp.

[roll0] +2 if flanking, and then +3 (maybe, depends on ruling) if the dwarf is wearing metal armor.
[roll1]
[roll2]

FAIL

[Dustyme]

Gander looking angry and hurt bleeding from a large gash on his neck takes the opening that Surge gives him to strike.

Gander tumbles back out of immediate reach and crouches into a defensive stance. Tumble: [roll0] . I'm adjusting my sheet to reflect the changes +3 AC due to tumble. Move is 5'-20', angled away from any other assailant and closer to the door if possible. I'm will maintain a flank while getting as far away from combat a possible over getting to the doorway. Keeping his opponent between himself and surge waiting for the moment the dwarf turns to avoid Surges blow Gander twiddles his fingers and cuts loose another energy blast that daws a line between him and the dwarf. Red, Black and Silver stream out and (Hopefully) connect Gander and the dwarf for a bare instant.
Eldritch Blast w/ Sneak Att (Due to ranged flank);
Ranged Touch Attack (Blast): [roll1] (+7 Att Bonus, +1 PBS, +2 Flank, -4 Fight Def.)

Blast Dmg: [roll2] (1 PBS)

Sneak Att: [roll3]

"Thanks Surge! These dwarves are really pissing me off!"

Gander looks a bit wobbly for a second his bloody fingers loosening on the wand shaft then steadies up and gets an angry look in his eyes again. "Dwarves! Arrrgggghhhhh! I'm not a stone for you rockheads to crack open, go find some cave to pound."

[Dustyme]

Burning an Action Point on my tumble
Come on 3 or more! Not getting thwacked again would be great!
[roll0]

[Lycar]

Darren takes a moment to aim his throw, then tosses the caltrops bag, so that it lands a bit in front of the door and, upon bursting, scatters it's contents to cover the area in spiky traps.

With another swift and practised motion, he brings his second crossbow to bear, drawing it effortlessly from under his coat.

(I hope the others come back soon, this door won't hold much longer..)

Lycar

[DiscipleofBob]

The close quarters seem to be interfering with the combat all around, as attacks are missing left and right, even the halfling's blasts are only causing glancing blows to the attackers.

((Wow, 2's and 1's for everybody. And you guys are technically going up against 2 encounters at once. Not too late to let me do some of your rolls for you.))

Initiative:
Enemy2: 26
Darren: 22
Gander: 21
Surge: 19
Azgrim: 16
Alokor: 15
Gawair: 13
Enemy1: 6
Enemy3: 4


Another arrow flies, this time at Gander, knicking him across the shoulder for 2 damage.

[Lycar]

Darren does some quick tinking.

(Hrm. No foliage to hide in... but maybe i can remain unseen just long enough to line up a good shot if i hide on top of these crates..)

After taking a last glance at the door, which is just about to give in, Darren quickly scrambles on top of a pile of crates, hoping to stay out of melee range of the enemies about to enter the rail car that way and lies down to minimize his silhouette.

Lycar

[WillWolf]

Gawair

Again he slashes the man in front of him with his sword and growls as he does so.

Attacl: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

[GimliFett]

Azgrim d'Kundarak
HP: 59/59; AC 24 (total defense), touch 14, flat 20

As the door before him is pounded, Azgrim sets himself with his shield before him, in a complete defensive posture, waiting just beyond the caltrops. "Get ready, Alokor. Whatever it is has strength!"

Total Defense!

[Kevka Palazzo]

The Karrn draws his greatsword and readies it.

"I knew that damn fifth car was a problem!"

[DiscipleofBob]

((One nice thing about splitting up the party, only have to wait for half the party's initiative at a time :smallsmile: ))

After a few hard, solid thuds in the door which leave giant dents, the door finally gives, throwing it off his hinges and onto the floor. Standing in the doorway is a giant, hulking warforged whose eyes glow a cold, unfeeling red. Spikes adorn its black armor as it slowly steps through the doorway.

Basically, knocks the door over onto the caltrops and then takes a 5-foot step forward. No AoO's, but you have readied actions anyway I presume.

[Lycar]

Darren

(... so much for the caltrops... )

Darren was a bit disapointed with the way things turned out. But well, now it counts. Where are the vulnerable points on warforged again...

Taking just a moment to adjust his aim, Darren fires off both of his 'crossbows', while the hulking brute still stands relativly still and tries to get it's bearings.

Lycar

[GimliFett]

Azgrim d'KundarakHP:59/59; AC: 20, t 10, ff 20

The dwarf stands upright for a moment, glaring at the warforged. "Beast! Face me, Azgrim d'Kundarak, and face your doom!" Azgrim calls out a fighter's challenge. He then swings his warhammer at the brute.

Fighter's Challenge (target must have Int 5+ and CR 2+): +1 morale bonus to my Will Saves and Attack/Damage; duration 7 rds.
Shield Block: AC bonus from shield is +1 vs. Warforged opponent (AC21).
Bulwark of Defense: all of my threatened squares count as difficult terrain for opponents.
Attack: [roll0] +1 for FC, if applicable.
Crit?: [roll1] +1 for FC.
Damage: [roll2] +1 for FC. {x3 if crit}

[Kevka Palazzo]

Alokor grumbles as he swings at the warforged, putting most of his strength behind it. The damned things had thick armor, as he well remembered from the Last War. He wasn't intending to let it survive more than a few hits.


Power Attack, -3 Attack for 6 damage (thank you, Power Attacking with two-handed weapons :smallbiggrin: )
[roll0]
Damage (if it hits)
[roll1]
I reiterate: Thank you, Power Attacking with two-handed weapons!
I rolled an action point in the OOC thread that added +2 to the attack roll, making it a total of 18. Thought I'd repost here for clarity.

[DiscipleofBob]

Despite the overwhelming tension, Darren manages to quickly aim his crossbows at the right spots as two arrows fly into chinks in the warforged's armor. One falls shortly off, only a graze as the armor goes further underneath. The warforged turns to look at the source of the challenge with glowing, unfeeling eyes as Alokor's sword slams down from high on the warforged's head, seeing a distinct flinch from the warforged, which you can tell is more of a reaction than it's used to.

Mechanics
Rolled for Darren. Both rolls ended up at least 20 so they hit. Due to fortification, though, only one Sneak Attack applies though. Azgrim's attack misses, but Alokor's BARELY hits, and only because you're flanking. I need to double check whether or not Knight's Challenge would work on this guy. He certainly meets the HD requirement, but he's immune to a lot of different stuff.

((Lab's closing, I'll have to finish this later.))

[Lycar]

(The caltrops were a bust but i got two solid hits.. time to withdraw.)

Darren quickly shuffles back a bit to break line-of-sight with the warforged and starts to reload his weapons.

Thankfully, he can just put them down on the top of the crate in front of him, since he's prone anyway. Working the c0cking lever is a bit harder lying down then standing though.

(Hrm. Suboptimal. If only there was a way to combine the c0cking action with reloading a new projectile... maybe cut a hole along the barrel on top and fit a box with more bolts on it.. naa, that would screw with aiming...)

Lycar

[GimliFett]

Azgrim d'KundarakHP:59/59; AC: 20, t 10, ff 20

Azgrim takes advantage of the warforged's seeming distraction, swinging his warhammer with force once more. "You shall not have your target this day!" he shouts.

Fighter's Challenge (target must have Int 5+ and CR 2+): +1 morale bonus to my Will Saves and Attack/Damage; duration 6 rds.
Shield Block: AC bonus from shield is +1 vs. Warforged opponent (AC21).
Bulwark of Defense: all of my threatened squares count as difficult terrain for opponents.
Attack: [roll0] +1 for FC, if applicable.
Crit?: [roll1] +1 for FC.
Damage: [roll2] +1 for FC. {x3 if crit}

[DiscipleofBob]

The warforged shakes off the blow and turns to Azgrim, taking its huge, mighty arms and barreling into him, attempting to knock him away.


Bull Rush Attempt: (No Attacks of Opportunity) 29 ((I'm pretty sure that hits))
Strength Check: 24
Damage: 16+ depending on how far back he knocks you.


Meanwhile...
The dwarf Surge is facing turns around and starts a full-reared attack with his axe. Gander's slice cuts into the dwarf's shoulder, who attempts to strike back. Both however, miss by wide margins. The dwarf who was buried in whatever spilled out of the crate gets out though, and looks around for his newest target.


Power Attack for 3 in both cases:
Against Surge: 15
Against Gawair: 11

[GimliFett]

Azgrim d'KundarakHP:48/59; AC: 20, t 10, ff 20

With a whoosh of air, Azgrim tries to resist the warforged's assault and hold his ground.

Fighter's Challenge (target must have Int 5+ and CR 2+): +1 morale bonus to my Will Saves and Attack/Damage; duration 6 rds.
Shield Block: AC bonus from shield is +1 vs. Warforged opponent (AC21).
Bulwark of Defense: all of my threatened squares count as difficult terrain for opponents.
Resist Bull Rush: [roll0];
Action Point: [roll1]
DoB? Just for my own clarity, Fighter's Challenge will apply to future attacks, correct?
EDIT: Oh, this is gonna hurt.

[DiscipleofBob]

((You forgot your +4 for being a dwarf Gimli :smallsmile: You just take the initial 11 damage. And yes, your Fighter's Challenge works fine.))

The warforged tackles Azgrim, pushing him back quite a ways (5 feet), and although the dwarf has sturdy legs, the spikes on the warforged's armor bury deep into his skin. Satisfied, the warforged continues its march forward (10 feet due to Azgrim's ability, provoking an AoO from Azgrim.)

EDIT: ((Sorry, calculated that damage wrong, it comes to 11 damage. Quite a difference there I know... :smallredface: ))

[Darkantra]

Surge

Surge let's the blow from the dwarf glance off of his plating, returning the dwarfs axe strike with a heavy one of his own, one charged with energy.

"Not a problem Gander, where's Gawair? We should take care of the dwarf and fall back."

HP: 34, AC:18

Channeling a Shocking Grasp into the attack against the dwarf.

[roll0] +3 for the spell and -2 for Power Attack. Then +5 from the AP in the OOC thread, making it 23.
[roll1] +4 for Power Attack
[roll2]

[GimliFett]

Azgrim d'KundarakHP:48/59; AC: 20, t 10, ff 20

Reeling from the powerful rush, Azgrim takes the opportunity to strike back at the massive warforged as it moves away from him, swinging his warhammer once again. "I didn't give you permission to leave!"

Fighter's Challenge: +1 morale bonus to my Will Saves and Attack/Damage; duration 6 rds.
Shield Block: AC bonus from shield is +1 vs. Warforged opponent (AC21).
Bulwark of Defense: all of my threatened squares count as difficult terrain for opponents.
AoO: [roll0]
Crit?: [roll1]
Damage: [roll2]
Totally forgot the bonus. :smallredface: It's been ages since one of my dwarves was bull-rushed...

[Lycar]

Darren meanwhile is still buisy reloading his spring action 'crossbows'. He's working with practised motions, fast but not hasty.

He remembers how he had to learn to work with his own invention. How the c0cking lever would get stuck or pinch a finger or catch on clothing until he finally found a design that, while not eliminating the problems entirely, at least cut them down to a manageable level.

(I sure hope the two can hold that thing off for a few more seconds...)

Lycar

[DiscipleofBob]

The hammer clangs loudly against the warforged's armor, a solid hit, but the beast looks little worse for wear as it silently continues its hindered path away from Azgrim. The dwarf almost collapses from the shock and stares wide-eyed, not expecting nearly that much pain or power from the attack.

((Okay, initiative is a little hectic, but here's how I think things need to go...

On the third car, Gander and Gawair go before the enemies do, then it's top of the round again.

In the fourth car, since the warforged went last, it's everybody's turn again, though this round Darren is reloading his crossbows.))

[Dustyme]

Seeing altogether to much ranged activity Gander activates his Entropic Warding (acts as an entropic shield, 20% miss vs ranged att's) to give him cover as he flees to (What he thinks is) the safety of the box car. Gander then moves 20', past any opponents tumbling if needs be ((Feel free to roll that if he actually has to try it :smallwink: )).

"I'm outa here! I told ya I help but I'm no warrior! Presto mazulio!" (Up pops the effect :smalltongue:)

[Kevka Palazzo]

Alokor grumbles as the warforged plods away, and he reaches into his belt pouch for a potion of bull's strength. As the magic reinforces his muscles and bones, he moves up behind the warforged, ready to strike as it moves away.


This just means I'm getting up behind him so if he moves I get to hit him. If he doesn't move and tries to hit me instead, then I get to Power Attack him when my next turn rolls around (yay).

[WillWolf]

Gawair:

Again growls as he attacks the man who he was attacking him before.

((OOC: If there is a free way to get out of here and just keep running, he would do so.

Attack Roll: [roll0]

Damage Roll: [roll1]))

[GimliFett]

Azgrim d'KundarakHP:48/59; AC: 20, t 10, ff 20

As the warforged continues to move away from him, Azgrim realizes he has no opportunity for attack, thus only one option remains: the test of mettle. "FIENDS!" he roars. "I am Azgrim d'Kundarak! Face me alone or know shame!" The dwarf looks at Alokor and grins. "If this works let him come to me! Do nothing!"

Fighter's Challenge: +1 morale bonus to my Will Saves and Attack/Damage; duration 6 rds.
Shield Block: AC bonus from shield is +1 vs. Warforged opponent (AC21).
Bulwark of Defense: all of my threatened squares count as difficult terrain for opponents.
Test of Mettle: {PHBII, p26} All enemies within 100' (with Int 5+ and CR 2+) must make Will DC 14 or attack me in preference of other targets. If attacked by someone other than me, the test of mettle ends for that target.

[DiscipleofBob]

Another arrow flies by Gander just as the halfling tumbles away to the second car. Gander gets to the end of the car, merely 10 feet from the door to inside the second car. Gawair cuts into his dwarf opponent as the two clash, but the dwarf who had buried himself in his own mistake earlier, now looking for new prey, approaches Gawair from behind to flank him and buries his axe in Gawair's back. (15 damage.)

Surge's blast lights up the third car for a moment and the dwarf almost collapses from the shock, staring wide-eyed and not expecting that kind of blast. The dwarf mutters something in his race's language and leaps off the rail, taking his chances with the ground.

The warforged wheels around with another arm to bull rush Alokor back out of the way, seemingly ignoring Azgrim's challenge. (Strength check: 27)

[WillWolf]

Rolls to see whether or not I make the proper checks:


15 damage is equivalent to two rolls make the following check.

[roll0]
[roll1]

Resisting an involuntary change is a check of 25.

[WillWolf]

Gawair:

"Keep running!" He roared, hoping that the darn halfling just kept going and did not turn back.

The moon was in him and he couldn't stop it. "No, no, no, no!" Each word sounding more and more a bark as his form expanded, twisted, and convulsed. He had been warned that this might happen, that the beast inside him would react and fight in the face of battle, but he had not expected to get caught up here.

His bones cracked, and his flesh thrashed. Hair, dark brown hair sprouted all over his body, growing on his face, his hands, and everywhere in-between. His tail sprouted out with enough force that it ripped straight through his cotton pants. His nose and face kept etched forth with a number of pops.

His back arched and let loose a wolf-ish howl. The animal inside him just wanted to get out of here, outnumbered, he really had no quarrel with these guys.

((Not sure on the layout on what I can do. I still have a move action left; however, I'm not sure what is happening and where everyone is. One dwarf is directly in front of me, another dwarf is behind me [flanking]. There are boxes all around here. Can I move (taking the attack of opportunity in doing so.) ... Grr I really need a map here. @__@;; ))

OOC: Tra

[DiscipleofBob]

((You're unfortunately surrounded. You could try a tumble check or even a jump or climb check to get on top of the boxes (taking AoO's on the latter two options of course.), but otherwise you better hope for some reinforcements or some very good rolls.))

[Darkantra]

Surge

Surge watches the dwarf fall with an odd sense of detachment.

Hmm, at the speed that we are currently travelling the dwarf will probably die on impact, but then again I have never qualified the strength of dwarven bones...

Listen check to see if he hears Gawair howling, I failed the last four, so why not fail this one too?

[roll0]

[DiscipleofBob]

Surge

Surge watches the dwarf fall with an odd sense of detachment.

Hmm, at the speed that we are currently travelling the dwarf will probably die on impact, but then again I have never qualified the strength of dwarven bones...

Listen check to see if he hears Gawair howling, I failed the last four, so why not fail this one too?

[roll0]

Surge hears the howling, and it's not far at all. Could it be more reinforcements for the enemies?

((Actually, the lightning rail usually travels at about 30 mph. Pretty easy to survive with a few bruises. Especially when you have a CMW handy.))

[WillWolf]

((ooc: Would you allow an intimidation check to scare them off as a move action? If one dwarf jumped off the train after being zapped, I'm sure that having a werewolf transform in their very minds [keeping in mind that this continent is were-animal paranoid] >__>;;))

[Lycar]

Darren finally finishes reloading his weapons.

(Dammit, this takes far too long... anyway, what's the dwarf up to? Better take a look.)

Back in buisines, Darren looks up and searches for the warforged.

He sees him trudge toward where Sindra is hiding, apparently ignoring the others for the moment.

(Hrm. Better do my part to take the thing out.)

Taking a deep breath and aiming carefully, Darren squeezes of another pair of bolts at the living construct.

Lycar

[Darkantra]

Surge

The howl was... disconcerting, Surge had never heard anything like that. It was a feral and fearful cry, one that he was sure heralded a new enemy. Surge charges his axe with energy again and rounds the corner of the crates ready to swing at whatever new threat had arrived, only to come face to face with too surprised dwarves and a creature of legend.

"Fascinating..." his eyes glow even brighter as he steps up and slashes at one of the distracted dwarves. He didn't even care what they did anymore, he only wanted them out of the way so that he could inspect and investigate this new development.

Moving around the crates and attacking the dwarf that's flanking the werewolf.

[roll0] PA for 1
[roll1]
[roll2]

[DiscipleofBob]

((ooc: Would you allow an intimidation check to scare them off as a move action? If one dwarf jumped off the train after being zapped, I'm sure that having a werewolf transform in their very minds [keeping in mind that this continent is were-animal paranoid] >__>;;))

((Sure, intimidation check is fine, though the only reason the first dwarf fled was that he had 5 hp left.))

[WillWolf]

Gawair:

((ooc: This is still apart of my old action, sooo this is not in reaction to seeing Surge come through.))

Gawair decided that the easiest thing to do was to scare them off. He grew as menacing as possible and howled again, trying to look as vicious as possible.

Intimidation check: [roll0]

[Dustyme]

Feeling an arrow zip past his head Gander tumbles Tumblefor the safe haven of the door and hunches down next to it trying to stay as small as possible.

Rushing to use the wand on himself he jabs it just below his eye "Ow! Shanderthwip Glasrath Gneee!" These words sound more like Goblin swears than magic but the wand (hopefully) lights up Use Magic Device: Wand DC: 20 [roll1].

Gander is now on Partial Defense +3 Dodge AC (Tumble), and has a 20% miss chance vs ranged weapons due to the Entropic Warding. More concerned with flying arrows than Howling werecreatures Gander tries to spot the archer (30' Darkvision)
Listen vs Howl [roll2]
Spot vs Archer [roll1d20+1

(On the off chance that I heard the Howl)
"First Horses, now someone brings their dog to the party? I hope it belongs to the conductor and not the dwarves. Ooo, I need to remember that tree near those rocks, that way I can come back this way sometime and check out if the dwarfs dead so I can liberate his gear. How the heck those guys got on the train I want to know. Probably a wizard..."

[DiscipleofBob]

Still to go this turn

Azgrim, Alokor, enemies

One of Darren's bolts hits the warforged, though it doesn't seem to do as much damage as before. The other clangs harmlessly off its armor plating while Sindra, fearing for his life, tries to hobble his way towards the other end of the car. (The warforged has noticed you this time, so you don't get sneak attack unless you go to flank it.)

Surge once again lands a solid hit, lighting up the car so he gets a clear view of the beast surrounded by the two dwarves. This one looks pretty badly beaten now, though he's still standing. The two dwarves look on in shock at the beast before them, but stand their ground nontheless and while one swings his axe at the wolf-creature before him, the other tries in vain (failed tumble check) so he slashes at Surge again, burying deep in a tender spot in Surge. (One miss. One critical hit. Er... how much HP does Surge have left?)

Gander's wand unfortunately fails to activate as he stands right outside the door to the second car and can see the dwarves, the werewolf, and Surge fight for their lives, but he can't see on top of the crates. Even with his warlock-enhanced vision, there just appears to be darkness on top of the crates.

[Lycar]

Darren had aimed at the weak spots in his targets armour, but since the hulking warrior-construct moved, he didn't quite manage to actually hit them.

One bolt glanced off harmlessly, the other did hit the edge of an armoured plate, losing most of it's power scraping along it before hitting a soft part.

(*sigh* I hate moving targets... now what, Sindra doesn't have much room left to flee into. Think dammit, think!)

Lycar

[DiscipleofBob]

Alokor is thrown back 10 feet as the warforged continues its rampage seemingly unabated, its armor spikes piercing deeply into Alokor's armor. (17 damage)

[Darkantra]

Surge

Surge was utterly entranced by the werewolf. In the intricate blend of wolf and human he could see the strength of its form, and he knew why such things were feared by the fleshlings. In his excitement he forgot about the dwarves, the mystery archer and his mission and stood with his weapon barely on guard.

Magnificent, I must find a way to collect a blood sample, some hair, maybe even a tooth! Aleolis will be as thrilled as I am, the properties of this creature could be researched for decades, maybe even longer--

CRUNK

Surge's body failed, the magic that gave him life threatened to be extinguished for a moment before flaring him back into consciousness with a message of massive damage. A huge gap had been creased into his side by the injured dwarf, one that had crumpled his armor and nearly caused him to go inert. Keeping one hand on his axe he reached down to touch his belt. Most of the damage from the attack folded back outwards, metal and wood rearranging themselves to mold his chasis back into a workable shape.

"Let us finish this dwarf, I have research to conduct."

Standard action to activate the Healing Belt, and I'm using 2 charges.

[roll0]

[GimliFett]

Azgrim d'KundarakHP:48/59; AC: 20, t 10, ff 20

With an irritated snort, and an ear-shattering yell, the knight charges the warforged, warhammer readied to strike. "ENOUGH OF THIS!"

Fighter's Challenge: +1 morale bonus to my Will Saves and Attack/Damage; duration 4 rds.
Shield Block: AC bonus from shield is +1 vs. Warforged opponent (AC21).
Bulwark of Defense: all of my threatened squares count as difficult terrain for opponents.
Charging Attack: [roll0]
Crit?: [roll1]
Damage: [roll2]
EDIT (from OOC):

I need action point for attack roll!
Action Point: [roll0] See OOC post, it just copied roll0 from this post. So add 6 to my roll; total 28.

[Kevka Palazzo]

HP = 21 / 38
Strength = 22 from bull's strength potion


Alokor coughs up a bit of blood after recollecting himself, but raises his sword in response to Azgrim's challenge.

"Damn House Cannith," he grumbles. "Face the steel of Karrnath!" he yells as he throws himself at the pseudo-construct.


Power attack -3/+6
[roll0] for a charging attack
I'm so action pointing this again
[roll1] on top of the attack
Assuming a hit, I deal the thing [roll2] damage
Mmm Power Attack.

:smallfurious: You realize that I just rolled three 1s on three d6s in a row.

[DiscipleofBob]

Both Azgrim and Alokor charge into the warforged and bury the steel into its thick armor. It reaches back and does another of its slams, as if swatting rather large flies behind it, this time trying to throw back Alokor.


Strength check: 24


The dwarf tries to finish off Surge with an axe strike, but it grazes off the warforged's armor. "Lemme through ye daft tin can!" He yells in desperation.

The other dwarf decides that the odds are now very much against him and tries to run away, provoking an attack of opportunity from the werewolf.

The archer, wherever he is, appears to be holding his action.

(This is the third listen check, which everyone made) A loud whirring fills the air along with the sounds of vague cackling laughter, along with the smell of smoke. Even in the darkness, those outside can make out a strange-looking airship with a column of smoke trailing behind it speeding ahead of the train to the front car.

(Top of the round.)

[WillWolf]

[b]Gawair:[/rollv]

He growled at the dwarf. Swiping both his sword and his claws at the escaping dwarf. That would show him.

[roll0]
Bastard Sword Damage: [roll1]
[roll2]
Claw damage: [roll3]

But his concern was the dwarf now attacking the warforged companion. His carniverous brain worked in overtime trying to figure a way out of it, and the first thing to do was to leave no witnesses of the transformation. The running dwarf would be less of a problem than the dwarf in front of him *not to mention easier to hit* He swung his sword with both hands.

[roll4]
[roll5]

[Lycar]

Darren

(Great... the two can't contain the warforged. Better do something to slow it down a bit.)

Time is of the essence, so Darren decides to just drop one of his crossbows. Then he reaches behind him, into his enchanted backpack.

While the backpack's magic makes, whatever you are fishing for, just happen to be on top of the pile, it still takes precious seconds to get it out. Seconds the warforged uses to get perilously close to their charge.

Finally, Darren manages to ready the tanglefoot bag.

"I sure hope you don't mind me glueing up your gears too much..."

And tosses the bag at the warforged (aiming for the legs).


Lycar

[Dustyme]

---Gander---

Looking at the missfired wand.

"Damn that Artificer! Works every time my $**^#!"

Gander grabs the handle to the door and swings it open.

Upon seeing the brutes bearing down on the conductor he screams in a high pitched yelp and fires off a bolt of arcane energy at the nearest

"Yeow! Surge! Surge! They're trying to kill the conductor"

Gander then turns back thinking to run the other way and sees a wolfman standing between himself and Surge.

"Ahhh! They ate whoshisname! Gawair! Oh poor manling what a bad way to go!"

closest enemy (I can't see the map you laid out. My connection filter doesn't let me veiw it :smallfrown: )
Att: (Ranged Touch):
Dmg: [roll1]
(+1 Att & Dmg if within 30')

Edit:ooc:
Sorry about the confusion I was trying to get to the other car lol. Damn my workplace for not letting me see the map!!
P.S. If a sneak attack would apply to my eldritch blast... well here's the roll for you to apply or ignore.
[roll]1d6
Also I edited my text a bit to make more sense.

[DiscipleofBob]

Once again, the heavy spiked arm buries into Alokor, dealing 11 damage. When he does so, however, the tanglefoot bag gums up his legs, making it difficult for him to continue his relentless pursuit.

((Dustyme: Gander is actually on the other side of the car, next to the door leading to the second car (where the conductor is), so he wouldn't know about the warforged yet. Also, there's one enemy left, but Gawair in werewolf form is in the way (unless you consider the werewolf an enemy now), so apply any necessary penalty for firing through a person if you're looking to hit the remaining dwarf.))

When Gander opens the door to safety, so to speak, he sees the conductor being flanked by several large, brutish humanoids in fierce combat. Belaean is brandishing a longsword and seems to be holding his own, but the humanoids brandish wicked looking daggers.

The dwarf falls dead from the werewolf's claws, now there's nothing standing in between Surge and the werewolf before him.

[Darkantra]

Surge

Why do fleshlings always panic so?

Surge lowers his voice to a metallic hiss.

"Gander, get in there and help the conductor!" he slowly lowers his axe and holds a hand out towards the werewolf "If you can understand me, I'm not your enemy, your enemies are in that car there, and that man is your ally," he points to the conductor car, "We need to help him, and master Sindra but first, don't be alarmed."

Surge gestures quickly and four glowing lights of swirling color appear above his head to sweep through the darkness above the crates, in an attempt to spy the hidden archer.

Casting dancing lights to illuminate the darkness above the crates

[DiscipleofBob]

As soon as the lights move above the crates, they vanish, as if eclipsed by a greater darkness. In response, an arrow flies from where the lights vanished into Surge. (9 damage.)

[WillWolf]

Gawair:

Now he was in a tricky situation. He wanted survival, there was no change in his opinion on that one, but in order to survive he needed to keep a low profile ... on a train filled with enemies and friends. ... and friends who would think he was enemies.

But he had one thing to his advantage: confusion. Gawair belted off toward the second cart after being spoken to after the warforged had spoke to him. Apparently his identity was safe so far, and he planned to keep it that way. He didn't even acknowledge the warforged after knowing that the identity was indeed safe.

The archer must go, where the lights disappeared, he intended to circle around him and attack the archer; however, he was badly wounded and survival mattered a whole lot more than whether or not this sniper knew who he was.

He mumbled the command phrase: "Sheaperd's Sword" for a significant amount of renewal.

Move action to get out of the general vicinity of Surge and the entrapped boxes. Standard action: Two charges of healing belt: [roll0].

[DiscipleofBob]

((Go ahead and reroll those heals, Gawair. From now on, unless anyone has any objections, I'm instituting the following houserule:

For all healing spells and items, reroll any dice that turn up less than half of that die.))

[WillWolf]

You are my hero. For a fighter-type he has a low HP score; however, that has to do with the LA more than anything else. Obviously I'll take the first one that meets your criteria of at least getting 12 (from top to bottom) I get, but this way I don't have to double post.

[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]

[Darkantra]

Surge tries to figure out what he knows about this strange beast...

[roll0]

[DiscipleofBob]

((So that's a 4, 8, and a 6.))

Surge knows next to nothing about this kind of creature, as it only vaguely resembles the monsters mentioned in church legends. Supposedly, these kinds of beasts are extinct as well.

[DiscipleofBob]

((All right, Azgrim and Alokor hold their actions until they post.))

The warforged struggles in the tanglefoot bag, and in its fury turns around to wail on Azgrim with a full attack, but due to its distraction and being gummed up in its gears, so to speak, it misses horribly.

There's silence from above the crates. Either the attacker from the shadows is waiting for something, or is fleeing. (Listen check for Surge please.) Gawair's can detect the offender's scent on top of the crates, and it seems whoever it is is moving towards the fourth car.

An explosion wracks the entire rail, even those in the fourth car can feel the entire train shake and hear the rumbling. Those on the third car can clearly see the flames from the explosion and see the smoke trailing back. It seems to be coming from the first car.

[Kevka Palazzo]

Dammit...I was waiting for Az to go. Oh well, this isn't a huge problem.
Alokor takes the second hit the warforged deals and falls back. He utters a quick prayer to Vol and channels the divine energy within his blood to suffuse his wounds and close them, channeling the pain from the split skin and bruised bones to focus.

5-foot step back (unless I got thrown back again, in which case I just heal myself and start standing) and cast cure light wounds

[roll0]

[Lycar]

Darren crouches down and starts to reload his crossbows, kinda glad to have jet another excuse to stay away from the warforged.

"Come on people, this stuff degrades quickly, now go on and wreck the bugger already!"

Lycar

[WillWolf]

Gawair:

Now here was the conundrum, what to do? Fake his voice. "Oi, he's going back!" Followed by "Sic him boy." He went around the crates, aka not the narrow gap as before, and headed toward the door leading to the fourth door.

The floor shook him, but he carried on.

Bluff: [roll0] ... Disguise: [roll1]

[DiscipleofBob]

The werewolf clearly speaks in Gawair's voice, albeit a somewhat distorted one. Anyone who could possibly hear Gawair (Gander and Surge at the least) could easily trace the connection here.

[Dustyme]

---Gander---

Gander grabs the doorframe of the car as the explosion rocks the train. He Then points at the man closest to himself and fires a ball of arcane energy at that mans back trying to strike him from behind.

Eldritch Blast (Ranged Touch):[roll0] (Point Blank Shot & Precise Shot)
Damage (Arcane):[roll1] (PBS)
Sneak Attack: [roll2]

Gander then ducks back behind the door frame (away from the man).

"Surge! Come help the conductor! He's under attack by two manlings!"

[Lycar]

Darren looks up from his reloading his crossbows and freezes for a moment.

(What the... ? Oh crap, this doesn't sound good at all...)

"Something bad is happening, we need to get out of this train car."

Darren takes a look at the still gummed-up warforged, then quickly moves over to Sindra.

"If you want to live, follow me..."

Next stop: Door to outside. There he goes about frantically to finish loading his crosbows.

"Guys, forget about the forged, let's move. The door will hold him off another couple of seconds and we need to find the others."

Lycar

[GimliFett]

Azgrim d'KundarakHP:48/59; AC: 20, t 10, ff 20

"YOU! SHALL! NOT! PASS!" Azgrim swings his hammer down at the entangled warforged, but misses wildly. Looking over his shoulder at Darren and Sindra he yells, "Get him out of here! I'll hold this thing here as long as I can!"

Fighter's Challenge: +1 morale bonus to my Will Saves and Attack/Damage; duration 4 rds.
Shield Block: AC bonus from shield is +1 vs. Warforged opponent (AC21).
Bulwark of Defense: all of my threatened squares count as difficult terrain for opponents.
Attack: [roll0]
Crit?: [roll1]
Damage: [roll2]

[Darkantra]

Surge

Surge moves as quickly as he can towards the conductor's car.

[DiscipleofBob]

Gander's attack hits solid, the robed figure grunting in pain from the surprise attack. Surge runs through the door but can't quite get to the conductor yet, last time. Sindra does not reply to Gander, he seems unable to as he's panting for breath, but follows as much as his old, brittle legs can do so. Despite being entangled, Azgrim's attack lands only a glancing blow it seems.

The warforged, unable to move from his spot, instead hacks away at the only one he can reach, Azgrim, practically cleaving through him. (22 damage.)

Two of the figures continue their assault on the conductor, determined to fell their prey. The other looks over, sees Surge and Gander in shock, and runs toward the other side of the car.

[GimliFett]

Azgrim d'KundarakHP:26/59; AC: 20, t 10, ff 20

Determined to keep the warforged occupied, Azgrim stands his ground and swings his hammer in return. "You're going to have to do better than that, Canner." He then takes a step back, but remains in his resolute posture.

Fighter's Challenge: +1 morale bonus to my Will Saves and Attack/Damage; duration 3 rds.
Shield Block: AC bonus from shield is +1 vs. Warforged opponent (AC21).
Bulwark of Defense: all of my threatened squares count as difficult terrain for opponents.
Attack: [roll0]
Crit?: [roll1]
Damage: [roll2]; ADD +1 damage for Fighter's Challenge. Forgot that.
5'-step back.
Next round: activate healing belt; as long as I make it to next round.

[DiscipleofBob]

The warforged takes the solid hid, starting to look dented and worn, though any signs of fatigue are absent. This thing is a beast, and it looks like once it gets free of the tanglefoot bag, it's ready to go on the rampage again.

[Lycar]

Seeing the lone knight struggle to overcome the warforged, Darren has a tough decision to make.

(... he's not coming, is he... he is absolutely going to try and take out the warforged, even if it kills him. I really should just lead the others out and... oh to hell with it!)

Darren quickly holsters his crossbows and instead draws his daggers in one fluid motion.

(All right, wait here, he's not going to make it all by himself...)

The next moment, Darren swiftly moves up to the warforged and distracts it.

Going to make an Aid Another action to help Azgrim hit his mark. [roll0]

Lycar

[Darkantra]

Surge

Bounding forwards through the second compartment Surge swings his axe in a large overhand chop, electricity springing from the blade, at one of the men menacing the conductor.

"Belaean, it looks like we're all in quite the predicament."

So, charge action right up to one of the men with knives, and hitting him with a channeled shocking grasp.

[roll0] and add a +3 if they're wearing metal
[roll1]
[roll2]

[Darkantra]

Oh I love my crits :smallamused:

[roll0] add +3 if they're weaing metal. They had better be!
[roll1]

[Dustyme]

---Gander---

"Holy Cow Surge! I didn't know an axe could do that to a living body!"

Gander points in the direction of the robed figures as he creeps to a shorter range inside the car (out of the archers Line of sight and within 30' of combat).

Eldritch Blast (Ranged Touch):[roll0] (Point Blank Shot & Precise Shot)
Damage (Arcane):[roll1] (PBS)

"I don't like all this bleeding around here." Touches his side, "Especially when it's a lot of my blood."

[Dustyme]

Burning an Action Point so I don't take out myself or a comrade.

P.S. I'm aiming at the man surge hit unless that guy dropped.

Go Go Gadget Action Point!! [roll0]

[DiscipleofBob]

The humanoid's hood is thrown back as it screams its dying throes in pure shock, literally and figuratively, as the half-orc is now missing anything resembling a chest, and its insides start smelling like overdone hamburger.

Gander's eldritch blast narrowly misses Belaean, who somehow manages to duck out of the way. "WATCH WHERE YER SHOOTIN', TEX!" He yells in aggravation, understandably frustrated by the current events.

The other half-orc looks at his comrade in suprise, and tumbles out of the way, booking it for the door to the first car, choosing his life over the mission.

The warforged finally breaks free of the tanglefoot bag and, noticing yet another nuisance, makes for a grab at Darren. (No AoO's. Strength check: 21)

[Lycar]

Darren

With more luck then anything else, Darren barely manages to escape the clutches of the warforged and retreats immediately.

"Aw damn, he's free again! Come on people, pull yourself together and waste the damn thing already!"

Lycar

[DiscipleofBob]

((Er... you'll need an opposed strength check, Lycar. The warforged made the required touch attack.))

[Darkantra]

Surge

Surge shouts over his shoulder as he turns to take down the fleeing half-orc.

"Beaean, if the train can still run then close and bar that door while we take care of the rest of them!"

He closes in on the thug and swings his sword (DURR) axe in a huge arc.

Charge action to attack the fleeing thug with a shocking grasp. That lowers my AC to 16 for the turn.

[roll0] +3 if he's wearing metal, blah blah blah
[roll1]
[roll2]

[DiscipleofBob]

The warforged barely misses Lycar by a nosehair.

Surge runs after the half-orc, but cannot catch up to it before it barrels out the door. The eldritch blast strikes the assailant in the shoulder, but doesn't stop him from running out the door. The conductor, now that the battle is "over" walks over to the wall and collapses in a heap, his bloody wounds becoming quickly apparent. He tries to mumble something, but doesn't have the breath to shout it to Surge.

[Dustyme]

--Gander--

"Dangit human! Don't you go dying on us now, we need you to fix this train."

Gander rushes over to the conductor and taps him with the wand (CLW).
UMD [roll0] (DC 20 to succeed)

Feeling the magic of the wand working Gander smiles in relief before:
"Woo Hoo! You better not be dead human cause you owe me one bigtime."

[DiscipleofBob]

"DAMNIT, GET AWAY FROM ME, I.. *cough cough* ...I... I'm fine... just out of breath... Engine room... check... *wheeze* Damnit all, I'm out of practice at this..." The conductor is bloody, but he'll pull through just fine. For the time being though, he seems exhausted.

[Lycar]

Darren meanwhile takes care of Sindra.

"Move it, old man! We have to get away from the rabid tin can over there!"

Doing his very best to speed things up, Darren would simply pick the old man up and carry him if he could. Instead he only can shove him ahead, through the doorway and hopefully slam it close and lock it before the warforged catches up.

Lycar

[DiscipleofBob]

Sindra eventually makes it out the front door, but on the outdoor third car, he can barely stand up due to the winds and the fast-moving train. Azgrim falls unconscious from another powerful blow of the warforged, and it looks like the juggernaut's not waiting for Alokor to stall him.

A hulking figure on the third car greets Darren and Sindra. At first it appears to be Gawair, but a flash of lightning reveals it to be a hideous anthropomorphic wolflike creature.

[WillWolf]

The werewolf-like creature waves his hands, making a motion of: don't hit me, and goes out of the way. Wherever the gent was with the arrows; he must have left or hid himself. He then backed away into the shadows and the crates. They looked to be running from someone; he would attack whoever it is when they entered the door.

Hopefully his horse was ok.

Hide: [roll0]

[Darkantra]

Surge

Surge moves as quickly as he can from the second car into the third, moving between the crates to get to the fourth car in order to warn the others.

I figure that a double move will get me pretty close.

[Lycar]

I'll just go ahead and assume a 21 is good enough.

Darren looks ahead, weapons readied to shoot any threats that should emerge from the gloom.

Suddenly he spots something... a furry figure.. could it be?

"Curses! They've got a werewolf! Now we are screw.. er.. why is it waving at us? Odd... either way, we need to move and fast!"

Darren realizes that Sindra needs help to navigate the open rail car. Taking one last look around and not spotting any immediate threats, he holsters his left hand crossbow and locks the door to the 4th rail car behind them. Then he takes Sindra's arm to guide him along.

Lycar

[DiscipleofBob]

((All right, since all that's left is the warforged, I'm going to go ahead and take this to 'out-of-combat' time since that seems to be wrapping up.))

With Darren's help, Sindra can navigate the corridor a little easier at least (equivelent of 10 feet a round if that mattered anymore.)

Surge easily gets within shouting distance, especially now that he sees Darren leading Sindra out the fourth car and locking the door. The werewolf is also still visible (that is, with an easy Spot check), but at least it seems to be sticking to the shadows and waiting for something.

Belaean curses to himself and tries to glare daggers at Surge, but the warforged has already barreled through the door, leaving him and the halfling alone.

[Darkantra]

Surge

Surge runs to Darren and Sindra's side, something in his metallic features suggesting a frown.

"There might still be an archer above us on the crates, they shadowed themselves in magical darkness. What has happened in the fourth car?"

He places himself in a guard position in front of Sindra, trying to block the view of any archers

[Lycar]

Darren

"A warforged burst in from the 5th car, big surprise there... "

"The others are still buisy fighting it. Since i didn't do much good plinking at it, i decided to get our charge out of there instead. But it seems you've got trouble of your own."

Lycar

[Dustyme]

---Gander---

Looks at the conductor:

"Damn me your grumpy. I save your life and you still bark at me..."

Standing up and turning around gander concentrates his efforts on activating the CLW wand and taps hiself lightly.

He see's Daren and Surge conversing with the old man in tow and walks over to them cautiously keeping his eyes open for any more enemies.

"Is anyone hurt? Who needs help? Daren why are you out here with he old man? I though you and the others were safegaurding him in the car."

Takes a 10 on UMD for the wand = 20 (DC is 20)
CLW Wand [roll0]

[WillWolf]

The werewolf just kind of stood in the background. His red eyes and wolfen form looked around in fear: he felt trapped, trapped, trapped, trapped, and he wasn't afraid to kill anyone who tried to take advantage of that. Still, everyone seemed to be keeping their distance so a fight seemed unlikely, and he had to put a limited amount of trust with the others from his group--they were at least professionals.

What about his horse though? Her silky brown fur must be in terror--no the horse wouldn't be in terror, it was magebred--still not a good feeling. What to do? What to do?

The werewolves eyes bounced between everyone in the darkness.

[Darkantra]

Surge

Surge takes a moment to activate the magic sewn into the belt around his waist, and some of the rents in his chasis mend themselves. Once that is done he gestures in the air and four laternlike lights move off into the area above the crates, hopefully lighting any bowmen.

"I'll take care of the warforged, Alokor and Azgrim need our help and I have one more spell that should take care of it," he bows slightly and respectively to Sindra, "Master Sindra I apologize that we were unable to shield you well enough but this will be over soon."

Activating the healing belt for 1 charge and casting Dancing Lights to move above the crates.

[roll0]

[DiscipleofBob]

The lights illuminate the top of the crates. The same trick hadn't worked earlier because of some artificial darkness that swallowed the lights, but now that darkness is gone, and the presence along with it. Gawair's smell no longer detects the foreign presence.

Several loud thuds echo from the fourth car. The warforged must have finished with Alokor and Azgrim because it was on the move again. The door's locked, however, so the exact situation is unclear to the rest of the party.

Belaean tries to call back for help, but Surge and Gander have already left...

Sindra was gasping for air and trying to stay standing. With the rushing wind on the open-air third car, it looked as if he could keel over any second now. He wasn't wounded or anything, just old.

[Lycar]

Darren

Darren does his darndest to move Sindra along, half pushing, half dragging him towards the 2nd rail car.

"Come on, old man, that thing didn't take half a minute to smash through the last door, we better get something else between us and it by then. Like that door over there. Now move!"

(And don't don't die from a heart attack or something. That would just be daft.)

Still waving around one of his crossbows with his right hand, he tries to keep an eye out for more hostiles, but has a hard time doing so, for he really has to concentrate on propping up Sindra with his left arm.

Lycar

[Darkantra]

Surge

Surge braces his feet on the train deck and holds his greataxe above his shoulder, ready for a great sweep as soon as the warforged breaks through.

"I'll stop my cousin here, take care with Master Sindra."

So a readied action to attack the warforged with a channeled shocking grasp.

[roll0] with +3 to the attack already added in from the spell
[roll1]
[roll2]

[Darkantra]

[roll0]
[roll1]

The requisite 10 characters or more of text...

[Dustyme]

---Gander---

Unsure of what to do with himself taps himself with the wand again CLW [roll0]

"Get this creepy old man with the conductor. We need to keep them both safe. Surge be careful he seems to have taken out the others."

Gander talks as he hustles everyone towards the forward car. Then he awaits with surge so he can heal the wounded stuck inside the rear car.

[WillWolf]

Gawair:

Damn, he growled in the darkness, his prey had disappeared and now his identity might be revealed for what he truly was. He would have to figure things out on the run, and apparently there was something big on the otherside of the wall. Well no-one who had forced his identity open would be able to walk out of here alive. Besides he appreciated a challenge and if the others didn't think of him as dangerous to them, more the better, they were less likely to cause trouble.

[DiscipleofBob]

Darren slowly leads the feeble, broken man across the third car. It takes a fair while, but they get to the second car. The conductor, however, is missing, with the door to the first car thrown wide open.

After a few large, unsightly dents in the door, the steel door flies off its hinges. (Those standing in front of the door, make a DC 15 Reflex save to avoid getting hit by a giant steel door.) The warforged, battered and dented, looks out in a furious rage.

[Darkantra]

Hmm, so he has Animate Objects eh?

[roll0]

[Dustyme]

Standing behind Surge by about 5':
Reflex: [roll0]

[Dustyme]

Standing behind Surge by about 5':
Reflex: [roll0]

I'm gonna use an Action Point to bump this up [roll0]

EDIT:
LMAO Not sure how the spoiler changed other than they both = roll0 now...

Total with AP is Reflex: 18

[DiscipleofBob]

Surge gets slammed in the face with the door (6 damage) and pushes him backward. ((Make a concentration check to see if you can keep the charge on that Shocking Grasp.)) Gander almost gets squashed beneath the door AND the warforged but dives out of the way at the last second.

[Darkantra]

Damn, I almost had this guy, c'mon no whammie...

[roll0] vs. DC 16

Mwuhahaha!

Surge

Though battered by the flying door Surge holds the spell firmly in his mind and his axe.

"I am sorry cousin," he manages to say before bringing his weapon around in an angry arc, "it is too bad that there are not any gods for us."

[WillWolf]

Gawair

After the dust settled Gawair bounded from the darkness and attacked the warforged from the side with a howl. His glowing red eyes focussed on his prey.

Claw attack: [roll0] Damage: [roll1]

If he looks to be made out of silver, he would not do this. Instead he would run away.

[DiscipleofBob]

Surge's shocking grasp hits dead-on, just as the other warforged raises its fist to attack, and the juggernaut convulses as sparks fly throughout its insides. Finally, it collapses on the ground, deactivated. A small, metal compartment in its back opens up and a small, winged construct flies up and away very quickly.

[Dustyme]

---Gander---

Gander seeing the little winged thing zip out and off starts to send of a blast but realizes it is way more important to help is companions 1st.

Gander moves up to the unconcious party members in the car and taps them with the wand until they are all awake.

CLW [roll0]
CLW [roll1]
CLW [roll2]
CLW [roll3]
Using minimal charges. Start with Azgrim then Alokor until they're up. If it only takes 2 charges total ignore the extra rolls otherwise. Just let me know how many it takes so that I subtract the right amount from the wand.

"Surge, Azgrim, Alokor, we need to do two things. 1st we need to protect the old man. 2nd we need to inspect that last rail car. I'll help search the rail car. Which of you is going in with me and which to the old man?"

[Darkantra]

Surge

Having stayed by the door Surge calls back to Gander.

"I will go to protect master Sindra. I am also concerned about the status of the elemental engine."

Surge turns and holds up a plaintive hand to the werewolf.

"If you can, you should go back to normal," he says in a low tone, "Now that our enemies are dead, staying that way would spark some troublesome questions."

Though curiosity burned at him over the nature of werewolf transitions, the possibility of the engine being damaged was too troubling. With a final look back at the werewolf Surge hurries off towards the first car.

[DiscipleofBob]

((2 charges will wake both of them up))

Even inside the fourth car, before Gander even sees it, he can smell the blood emanating from the fifth car. As dark as it is, Gander can make out several bloodstains through the door to the fifth car.

Surge finds Darren and Sindra, the latter of which is leaning against a wall, in the second car. The conductor is nowhere to be found, but the door to the first car is flung wide open.

((Okay, everyone's awake now, and the last combat threat has been resolved. Everyone gets exactly enough experience to level, plus more RP experience later. In the meantime, there's a warforged and a few cars to search.))

[Dustyme]

---Gander---

Gander walks into the last car and nearly chokes on vomit, "EUGH, wow! That is one nasty piece of work!"

After the last car is searched he will take his time and thoroughly go over the enemy that is still on the train and climb up to whereever the archer was to search there as well. ((ooc:I'll need a meatshield to go up 1st :smallwink:. Yes I know OOC he's gone but... IC!))


Gander begins going through the car looking for a few things:
#1: Treasure/loot
#2: Information on where the bad guys came from/How long they might have been here (Maybe the conductor knew and didn't tell the car had been subverted).
#3: Who this railcar actually belongs to.
#4: Treasure/loot :smallbiggrin:
Gander will take 20's on everything if possible. If not I'll throw down the rolls JIK;
Search [roll0]
Search [roll1]


"What happened to the other bodies? Those 2 men in the fight with the conductor and that dwarf?"

[DiscipleofBob]

The first thing Gander notices once he gets in the car is that the entire car is painted with blood... fresh blood, and corpses to match them. A quick glance around the room around the few corpses not completely dismembered beyond all recognition reveals mostly nude shifters, male, female, and children, mostly shackled to the walls. A few more gory examples lie strewn out in the middle of the room. Obviously they had tried to defend their families from the warforged and met a swift, gruesome end. The rear door to the car is ripped completely off. Somehow during the ride, the warforged had reached the rear car and pried the door off.

The shifters are lacking even basic food and clothing, much less anything lootable. Unfortunately, there aren't any clear markings on the car, but maybe if the conductor saw what was really being shipped in here, he'd be more forthcoming as to the details.

There's still some blood where the dwarf was. Most likely he was dragged off by the archer, probably to avoid leaking any information. As for the half-orcs the conductor fought, his sword seemed to make them simply disappear, at least from what you viewed of things.

[Darkantra]

Surge

Surge gives a nod to Darren and Sindra as he passes them.

"The warforged has been taken care of, and our other enemies have fled. You should both rest for now."

He moves towards the first car, and not seeing Baleaen, calls out.

"Baleaen, our attackers have either fled or have been killed, what is the status of the engine?"

[DiscipleofBob]

Surge finds Belaean in the first car, struggling with a very recently added structure. The giant hole in the left wall isn't even the most noticeable feature as a giant, red, spiked bomb the size of the room sits in the middle of the floor, blocking the way to the engine controls. A few arcane runes on one side tick slowly down as Belaean tries in vain to turn the damn thing off or move it. "NO, BY ALL MEANS TAKE YER SWEET TIME! NO RUSH! GO AHEAD AND TAKE A NICE LONG ****! BUT WHEN YOU'RE DONE, I COULD REALLY USE SOME HELP HERE!"

[GimliFett]

Azgrim d'Kundarak

The dwarf toddles a bit unsteadily at first. "My thanks, lad" he offers before activating his belt for additional healing. "Now that I'm standing, where do we stand?"

I dunno from what point I'm starting with HPs.
[roll0]; spend 1 charge at a time...

[Darkantra]

Surge

Surge quickly holsters his greataxe and sprints to the spherical object.

"Give me a moment, I may be able to turn it off!"

Oh boy, I hope that I didn't survive combat just to be blown up... rolling some checks to see if Surge can find a way to turn it off.

[roll0]
[roll1]

[WillWolf]

Gawair:

((ooc: The stomping at the warforged never happened, but I will say that he was willing to take a swipe at it. Also keep in mind that Gawair's thoughts and Gawair's actions are not the same thing, alright. >__>;;))

The first thought came to mind was: Surge had to die.

It wouldn't be what he would think about when he was a human, but the wolf part inside him really just wanted to have a quick swipe at the warforged's sensitive parts, and be done with it. Exposure meant death to him.

And he was exposed.

But the warforged had made a good point, even though he did not trust him in the slightest. The man had far too keen an interest in him to be healthy.

The werewolf would sink into the shadows of the cart and await for things to happen. He could comfortably stay in this form for as long as he wanted; however, he wanted a bit more privacy before he switched back and came up with a reason why he wasn't around.

He'll take ten on a hide check when people stop paying too close of an attention to him, until then he will just keep quiet in the shadows. That would make it a 13.

And no I will not be killing off players.

[Lycar]

Darren

Darren is still with Sindra in the 2nd car, blissfully unaware of the carnage in the last car. Instead he is crouched behind a crate, crossbows drawn and tries to cover any possible approaches.

When the others report that the assault has been repelled, he relaxes somewhat.

"Damn, they did make an attempt all right. That was closer then i liked. What about Azgrim and Alokor? Are they still alive? I had to leave them behind to get Sindra out of harms way."

When Belaean yells for help, however, he casts a quick glance at his charge and goes off to investigate.

"Sindra, i better take a look what's going on over there. Yell if anything shows up that is'nt us."

Still keeping his 'Darrengers' out and ready to fire, Darren goes to find out what Belaean is so excited about.

Then he sees the 'thermoarcane device', sitting pretty smack in the middle of the control car.

"Holy.... now that's different... Belaean, what the hell is that damn thing?"

Quickly estimating that, even with all of them present, they will probably not be able to simply push this thing overboard, Darren approaches the strange device with a kind of morbid curiousity, holstering his springbows as he does so.

"Okay Surge, if you can turn this thing off, do it. But if you can't fetch Gander. Taking this thing apart may need some teamwork..."

Crouching down beside the bomb, Darren proceeds to produce a number of toolkits from his backpack.

"Let's see that we disable this device before it disables us. Not to sound negative but with the size of that thing, even hiding in the last railcar will not save us i'm afraid... So, can you turn it off?"

Darren looks up at Surge, warily. Would be nice if it would just take a well-cast spell. But that would be too easy, now would it.

Lycar

[Dustyme]

---Gander---

Gander having finished up his search starts heading for the 1st car to confront the conductor.

That cranky SOB, he's been running slaves! No wonder why he didn't want anyone poking around that car.

When he gets up to the car Gander has worked up a huge head of steam.

Pointing at the conductor, "You! Why are you running slaves? Me and Surge save your life and for what?! How could you allow them to die and be slaughtered like that?"

After he has his say/yell Gander notices the large red spiky thing in the middle ofthe room and then the hole in the wall, "What's that?"

EDIT: (ooc: lag on posting so I didn't notice the previous post till it was pointed out)

Gander then notices Darren with some tools out getting ready to poke at the object. "Uh, are you sure about what your doing there? Maybe you could letme handle that while keeping an eye over my shoulder."

Search: [roll0]
Kowledge Arcana: [roll1]
Spellcraft: [roll2]

[DiscipleofBob]

Surge and co. easily figure out that this... contraption, while did involve some magic in the construction, is mostly mechanical, and probably of mostly Darguun technology. As for how to turn it off, the most a Dispel Magic could do is turn the timer off, and all you'd do is lose any indicator of how much time is left. A small, removable panel below the timer easily exposes several wires, one of which might disable this thing, but a wrong cut could also detonate this thing prematurely. ((read: Make a Disable Device check, and don't fail!))

Belaean looks a little confused by Gander's mention of "slaves" but due to recent events and the fact that he has a giant friggin bomb in the middle of his engine room, he ignores the remark for now. "I don't know a darn thing about how to disable this thing. If none of ya can do it then help me push this thing off!" He does have a point, you could either try disabling it or you could simply try to push it off the train, though it would take probably all of you to move such a large and heavy thing.

[Lycar]

Darren

Looking over at the halfling, Darren asks "Well? Do you think you know how to disarm this thing? If not we better get the others and start pushing..."

Still, Darren uses the time to examine what he can see of the mechanism at hand.

Unfortuantely Discipleofbob didn't answer my question about Darrens Craft (Weaponsmith) skill doing any good in this case. So i'll just make a roll (without the tool modifiers of course) and let our GM decide if it helps any.

Craft (Weaponsmith (auxiliary knowledge check)):[roll0]

Lycar

[DiscipleofBob]

((Sorry, didn't see that part Lycar. I'm going to rule that since this IS a weapon, but one of very foreign and unfamiliar technology, that roll is going to give an as-of-yet unspecific circumstantial bonus to your Disable Device check. Go ahead and roll it, (whoever) with whatever other bonuses involved and we'll go from there. That is, if you decide to disarm the bomb rather than push it off the train.))

[Lycar]

Darren

Darren's brow furrows as he concentrates, trying to make sense of what he is seeing. The entire contraption is definitly alien to him, and yet, something about it appears to be oddly familiar...

"I'd be lying if i said i knew how this thing works but... "

Darren remembers the years he spent as an apprentice to a gnomish weaponsmith. Remembers his old masters obsession about war machienes of all kind, the more imposing, the better. But for a short time he also dabbled in a back then new technology... Unfortunately, Darren never took more then a passing interest in it, he is a mechanic at heart. Still, something clicks.

Nodding to himself, Darren goes on and instructs Gander.

"If this is what i think it is, try to get your hands down past these wires and feel for a clockwork mechanism. If i'm not mistaken, if you jam this, you will get more time to disable the thing then that countdown indicates. But they should have 2 or 3 backup triggers, at least one of them of an alchemical nature, like a slow fuse or something."

Lycar

[Dustyme]

---Gander---

Gander looks a little sceptically over his shoulder at Darren then not having a better idea pulls out his tools and mirror.

Anyone have a rubber band, some chewing gum and a nail file? Sorry little Macgyver joke :smallwink:

Searching the outside of the device for anything (even more) unusual Gander starts his work.

"Surge, Just in case something starts to go wrong have everyone in the next car so that maybe we'll be able to push this thing out before it does whatever its meant to do... Also find out from the conductor why he's transporting slaves and who for. We might need to blackmail him later or something."

After a short time (clearing out any traps he finds) Gander moves to the inside of the device and starts Using the mirror to see inside a little better he carefully taps the device and sets to inspecting the inside for traps and any method to disarm it talking his way through the process to see if Darren gives him any extra insights.

Search outside: [roll0]
#1: DD outside: [roll1]
Search inside: [roll2]
#2: DD inside: [roll3]
Action Point on #2 DD [roll4]

[DiscipleofBob]

Working together on the bomb, Darren and Gander carefully pick apart several of the wires of the bomb and disable it. Looks like most of it was simply gunpowder and decoration, the actual fuse being not too difficult to disable. Now, instead of a giant bomb taking up space in the first car, there's a giant paperweight which might explode if someone sets it on fire. Belaean lets out a sigh of relief as the timer stops. "Whew... Now that that's over with, I can just remove this thing in the morning. Now as for you..." With that, Belaean grabs Gander by the collar and lifts the halfling off the ground. "You have ten seconds to explain what the hell you mean by 'slaves'. I don't carry that kind of cargo."


You can attempt a Sense Motive check if you like, but Belaean seems very sincere about not knowing anything about the shifter slaves.

[Dustyme]

---Gander---

Lets a bit of Eldridge glow envelope his hand. "You will let me go. If your house wants to transport slaves then allow them to get slaughtered then that is your fault not mine."

Waiting until the man lets him go, "Now if you know not about which I speak go check out the gorefest in your last railcar and have a good puke. Don't touch me again manling especially since not only do you owe me your life but your train as well."

Sense Motive: [roll0]

[Darkantra]

Surge

Surge's own hand closes around Balaean's arm as the halfling is hoisted up.

"There are too many questions that need answers right now for another fight. Put him down."

Once Gander has been returned to the cart floor Surge releases his own hold.

"I'm going to inspect my fallen cousin. His body might reveal a clue about our attackers," his red eyes, now the colour of burning coal, focus on the conductor, "Believe Gander or not, you share responsibility for whatever happened in the fifth car, and I suggest that you come with me and see for yourself."

What the heck, I'll roll it, though Surge is a trusting fool.

[roll0]

[DiscipleofBob]

Belaean completely ignores Gander's threat, the eldritch charge, or Surge's hold, but listens to his words. His steely gaze is enough to make Gander second-guess his threat attempt ((Read: Intimidate check: 30)) As soon as Gander explains what's in the last car, he very abruptly drops him to the floor as he runs back towards the back car in a rage.


Surge gets the feeling that A) Belaean never had any idea about the slaves and would probably take great offense to having slaves on his train anyway, and B) he wasn't in the least intimidated by the group's threats, despite still being somewhat wounded.

[Lycar]

Darren

Darren looks at the bomb as if he's scowling (which you can't see because of his mask).

"Dammit." he mumbles under his breath "I must admit i'm disappointed. That was no masterwork. No back-up fuse, no trigger-trap, nothing."

With a sigh of disappointment, Darren goes about to restow his tools.

"Fine, we still have to move this husk somehow, it is still blocking the controls. Also if i remember correctly, there was an airship flying outside. Take care of Sindra, i better take a little look-see."

And so goes to the open third car again and scans the sky for the airship he saw earlier.

(And what the hell was that about slaves anyway...)

Lycar

[Dustyme]

---Gander---

Gander looks at Darren, "Yes, I had forgotten about the airship. No I think the questionto ask is what would you do if your frontal assualt failed then your backup plan failed? I think we should empty out this bomb and leave it as bait for them to try again. Maybe they'll be stupid. Other than that maybe they will try to destroy the lightning stones ahead..."

"To start lets find some smallish bags to empty the explosive powder into. I'll store them in my pack for now. Maybe we can use it or sell it later. Besides maybe we can move this thing easy when it's empty or even give them a taste of their own medicine."

Gander closes the device to keep sparks out then quickly goes to find a few bags (preferably pouches) to fill and a scoop. He looks at the conductor, "We'll pay whoever owns these if we survive."

As bags fill up he tosses them into his magical Haversack. ( :smallbiggrin: )

[Darkantra]

Surge

Seeing that only Darren was going to remain behind Surge's shoulders slumped.

"Well, I can inspect my cousin later, but for now," he looks down to Darren, "We should stay up here and watch over Sindra."

Surge crouches down next to the bomb and takes a careful look at the timer mechanism, to see if he figure out a way to activate or reproduce its effect. As he works his hands unconsciously pull out an inkpen and notebook and begin to take down notes on the mechanism.

Just in case we run into a non-activated bomb in the future, Surge will be inspecting the timer, not activating it! And he'll be taking 20 on a spellcraft check, for a 26 result

[DiscipleofBob]

(Lycar): The airship which Darren had seen earlier is not immediately in sight. However, he quickly spots the ship coming closer, especially with the smell of smoke and gunpowder. The ship makes one overhead pass but quickly flies off. But before it's gone, Darren can make out some sort of high-pitched raving chanting, as if the tail end of some sort of song. "...but we've got the biggest/ BOMBS OF THEM ALL! KYAHAHAHAHA!!!! The ship is quickly out of sight. Sindra, who's apparently recovered, approaches Darren at first possible convenience. "I owe you my life, adventurer. Maybe there's hope yet..." At this point, Sindra reaches in his robes and gives Darren a small, fist-sized transparent globe. "Keep this on hand. You might see something interesting in it."

(Gander): The actual gunpowder stuffed into the bomb is in tightly cramped heavy compartments that will be very difficult to open, even with the right tools. Dismantling will take some time, far longer than what's left of the rail ride. That, and the workmanship is fairly shoddy, at least by today's standards. Recklessly tearing apart the bomb would easily set it off.

(Surge): The timer is a simple Arcane Mark effect, meant only to serve as a countdown, nothing more. There seems to be nothing else magical or otherwise active about the bomb.

[WillWolf]

Gawair:

Safely assumed that he is hidden in the darkness of the second car, he decides to risk it, and just get back into his normal form before the others find him to be missing and a werewolf to be here. Surge knew, but he could deal with that. After he was left alone in the darkness, Gawair took a full minute to transform, while the others dealt with the bomb. He was not a bomb expert, did not have magical knowledge, and he doubted that his senses would do anything other than tell him people were there.

Following that, he followed the intently focussed conductor (he entering right after he got into his full human form) and gave a good look at Sindra as he followed him, a look that would kill, if looks could kill.

For a minute to control his shape (post-placing in his stuff. He is now, btw,) a full level in ranger, yay. 10+11=21 ... DC 20.

[Lycar]

Sindra, who's apparently recovered, approaches Darren at first possible convenience. "I owe you my life, adventurer. Maybe there's hope yet..." At this point, Sindra reaches in his robes and gives Darren a small, fist-sized transparent globe. "Keep this on hand. You might see something interesting in it."

Darren is approached by Sindra after he watched the airship fly off.

"Sir? Thank you Sir but if you really want to show gratitude, do it to Azgrim and Alokor. It was them who delayed the warforged with their own lives. I merely made sure their efforts would not be wasted."

He still accepts the sphere though.

"Let's get inside again, it is cold."

So Darren stands watch near the doorway between 1st and 2nd car and waits for the others to return.

(Hrm... i wonder what that... furry creature in the 2nd car was... it did wave at us.. strange....)

Lycar

[DiscipleofBob]

Gawair follows the conductor who hurries to the car, and then looks with rage and disgust at the dismembered corpses of shifters. He doesn't seem to pay Gawair any mind, he just clenches his fist and grits his teeth. Gawair can hear the conductor mutter some words under his breath. "...not on my rail..."

[WillWolf]

Gawair

((OOC: I'm going to assume that Gawair's horse is a-ok. If not then he never went into here, instead he would attend to his horse. He's only not doing so now, because he has trust in his steed's abilities.))

Gawair covered his mouth and nose, the smell of the place was unbearable. He took a look at the dismembered corpses of many, many Shifters. Being from the Reaches, this really disturbed him. True, life and death happened, but genocide was not something that went into the lines of life or death. Shifters were known for many things, but there love for their own personal freedom topped them all. He glared at them all, thankfully, he wasn't in his werewolf form or else he would be eating them (waste not, want not), but he wanted to know what was happening here.

Like it or not, the conductor should go back to the head of the train. The last thing he wanted was people messing with the complex controls (controls that only members of his house had a good grasp at understanding) and Gawair wanted to sniff around and see if he could find anything.

"Go back to the helm." He said for the first time, "I'll dig up all the evidence I can find."

[Darkantra]

Surge

Finishing his writing Surge stands with a clunk of metal and puts his notebook back into his backpack.

If we ever run across a similar device, then we should be able to detect and dismantle it even easier.

He moves around to get a better look at what Gander is doing, being clearly interested in how the bomb is designed despite his lack of technical know-how.

"My friend," Surge says softly to avoid startling the halfling in his delicate task, "I do not believe that the conductor knew about what happened in the last car. Slaves you said?" Surge tightens his fist in anger, "His fury was real, as is ours."

[Dustyme]

---Gander---

"His train, his responsibility Surge. If he hadn't stopped me from poking around earlier they would never have been there. By the way between you and me I was only kidding about the blackmail, I wanted to scare him a bit. That turned out well."

Gander sticks his face right up to the hole in the bomb to see inside as good as he can. (Yay Darkvision!)

muffled and echoey, "Damn, stupid explosive powder is to far in to get out without ripping the whole thing apart. I might try that if I wasn't on a bumpy lightning train and probably under attack again in 2 minutes..."

Gander pulls his face back from the hole a perfect square patch of powder residue lining his skin, "Who am I kidding, I do it anyway if you guys wouldn't stop me." Gander throws a bright shiney will you let me try it smile at Surge!

[Darkantra]

Surge

Shaking his head in disbelief Surge looks down at Darren (Durrr) Gander with a sense of humor in his voice.

"Strange, I thought that only gnomes were so fond of tinkering with explosives. If you think that you can do it safely then we could use the explosive substance ourselves later. Otherwise I would not tamper with it, were I you. House Deneith will probably want this bomb as evidence, and there is the possibility that it's origins could be traced."

Surge shakes his head.

"Overall, it would be better if we did not poke at it. Rest assured, I am not saying that to ruin your fun though."

[Dustyme]

---Gander---

Gander shrugs his shoulders and moves on once he realizes that he won't be allowed to play with the new toy.

"Maybe your right Surge. Besides if we figure out where it comes from then we can go steal any others they made." With that said Gander cheers right back up.

"Did you guys see that huge dog they brought with them? I nearly pooped my pants when I saw it. The thing was bigger than Surge!"

[Lycar]

Darren

Darren still keeps his vigil on the flatbed car for the time being. Having reholstered his 'guns' for the time being, he is huddling up in his coat to keep the cold out.

(Hrm. Maybe they won't try anything new until we arrive at our destination. Maybe not.)

Suddenly Darren perks up and goes to lean over the edge of the car, looking foreward.

(Let's not forget we are headed for a train station.. wouldn't do to suddenly arrive there without the conductor ready to apply the brakes...)


Lycar

[DiscipleofBob]

Gawair's horse is fine. It had enough sense not to get in the warforged's way and therefore went ignored.

The conductor seems to ignore Gawair for a bit, still full of rage, before he turns around and marches back to the front while calling to the front. "Meeting in the front car. Now." Belaean then goes to everyone on the train and calls them to the second car for a debriefing.

"Now look here." Belaean explains once everyone's gathered. "I was expecting something to attack my train. Breven told me that much. And besides that hulking contraption up front, which I'll take care of in the morning, there doesn't seem to be any irreparable damage to the car. So that's not the important part.

"What I AM concerned with is that some schmuck was usin' MY train to transport slaves!" His voice rises instensely as he says this. "Now, I dunno how much you mercs really care about the issue, but rest assured whoever owns that car is gonna pay.

"And before you ask, no, I don't know exactly who owns that car. One of their boys did all the dealmaking to rent the car, and I inspected it the first couple of times. All fancy artwork and stuff, nothing like that. All I know is it's some noble in I think Aundair. I'll be looking into exactly who. If you actually care about this sort of thing, I'll be glad to fill you in once I get the info.

"As for the car now, if I take it into town now, there's going to be a huge uproar, and if that happens, whoever owns the car is likely to take steps to make sure he doesn't get caught. If there were survivors, I'd just take 'em somewhere near the Eldeen Reaches and let 'em loose. Since there aren't any left, I'm just going to detach the car and leave it in the wilderness. I'll call in some old help to take care of the cleanup, and the bastard who owns it is likely going to come a'checkin' on his merchandise. Any objections?"

[Lycar]

Darren

Listening quietly to Belaean, Darren re-examines his own past. He had done what he thought best to avoid getting himself killed, in a war that he had seen no sense in fighting for to begin with. As a bounty hunter he had helped to end many other people's dream of surviving the war.

Maybe it was time to even out karma a bit.

"Works for me. Let us detach the rail car for you. Then you can honestly say 'the mercs did it'. Too bad the 'forged eventually caught up and still wrecked two more doors. Pity."

Darren looks over at Sindra for a moment.

"But we all have a job to finish first. Get this man to his destination alive. How long 'till we reach the town? The airship crew migh come back for another run if they don't see us explode."

Pausing for his companions to offer their own thoughts, Darren looks for Gawair. He still has the image of the strange creature waving at him in his mind. Was there a connection? Even then, work with the bounty hunters had taught Darren that some questions best remain unasked.

Lycar

[DiscipleofBob]

Darren

"Works for me. Let us detach the rail car for you. Then you can honestly say 'the mercs did it'. Too bad the 'forged eventually caught up and still wrecked two more doors. Pity."

"But we all have a job to finish first. Get this man to his destination alive. How long 'till we reach the town? The airship crew migh come back for another run if they don't see us explode."

Lycar

"Don't worry, we won't arrive until at least tomorrow afternoon. All the work can get done I don't think they'll be coming back for awhile. Just looking at the damage they did to my train, I'd say these were their big guns, and before they could attack again they'd need to go back home and get bigger. By that point, we'd already be in the city anyway. Question is, who were 'they?'."

[Lycar]

Darren

"If we want to find out we'd better make sure someone's taking a peek at that rail car. You know, so that one can see who's coming to look for the cargo..."

Turning to his comrades, Darren looks at each of them in turn and asks "So, any takers? We have to do our job first but i won't mind putting a wrench or two into some slave traders operation."

(Khyberis knows, i have quite a bit of a debt to pay off, karma wise.)

Lycar

[GimliFett]

Azgrim

The knight, whose ruddy face seems to have reddened further, nods to Darren. "Aye. I'd like to be in on that."

[Darkantra]

Surge

"I think that we should ask our charge if he has ever been attacked by such an organized group," Surge nods to Sindra, "I doubt that they will try anything while we are in the town and out in the open, but we will have to be careful. The only question is if we risk our original mission by staying at the station long enough to find our new quarry, or if we split up our tasks."

[DiscipleofBob]

Sindra, apparently having regained his composure and therefore his snakelike composure, openly laughed at Surge's comment. "You think that these attacks were from one organized groups? There's more than one force after my life, and seeing tonight's work I'd say no less than three unafilliated forces were after my life tonight. Probably more."

Belaean ignored Sindra, giving him a look that reassured the party he found the old man just as creepy as the rest of them. "Why don't you all worry about taking the walking dead here to where he needs to go. I'll find out who the bastard is and "S-mail" you the details as soon as I find them."

((Referring to House Sivis in case no one else got the reference.))

[Lycar]

Darren

Darren looks Sindra over for a moment. Then he decides to ask:

"And which of your numerous nemesis like to sing '... and we've got the biggest bombs of them all!'?"

(... or didn't you keep track of just how many enemies you made old man?)

Lycar

[WillWolf]

Gawair:

Gawair followed the conducter, silently, and took a good long nod at his horse. He smiled slightly at his smart horse, and sighed at the events that occurred. Truthfully he was just happy to get away from all that smell of death. Shifters were rather preditorial beings, to have them slaughtered, weird. He kept silent, and just looked at his charge. He was safe. His safety meant that they would get paid at the end of the day, he didn't care a damn for the plots.

Instead he just kind of glared at the man who was looking at him. What the heck was he thinking about. Anyway...

Why were the Shifters murdered, certainly the owners wouldn't want to do that, and if the warforged just wanted to destroy things: why wasn't his horse hurt.

"Who'd want to hurt slaves?" He said in a low voice. Shrugged and rugged his hand through his thick, greasy hair.

[Darkantra]

Surge

"They all may have not been affiliated with the same group but the timing and placement of their attacks suggests that they are be working together now. As individuals your enemies may cause such laughter but it they are united in their purpose to kill you, master Sindra, then there is a great deal to worry about."

[DiscipleofBob]

(Darren): Sindra's face loses its smile and instead offers a confused, unknowing expression. "Er... that's a new one. None of my enemies thus far have been of the 'singing' variety."

(Gawair): Belaean answers Gawair's question in a stoic voice. "Probably when the warforged got on board, some of the shifters reacted in self-defense and got in the thing's way. And from what I saw and what you've told me, I'm fairly certain it didn't take too softly to obstacles."

(Surge): Sindra takes again to laughing. "United? Heh. I'd hardly call those forces united. Maybe some of them were under the same coalition, but different people want me dead for different reasons, and they aren't likely to ally against me."

Belaean stretches his arms and then heads towards the cabin. "Well either way, it's very late, I'm going to need some rest before we arrive at our destination tomorrow, and everyone here's probably tired too (warforged excluded). Go ahead and investigate "that car" more if it suits your fancy, though I doubt you'll find any good information. 'Night."

[Lycar]

Darren

"Peachy..." mutters Darren as he sees Belaean walk off. "I wonder where his quarters are anyway. First car?"

"Okay people, we better decide who's going to get the first watch now. I'm still in good shape, so i'm up for it. Anyone else?"

Lycar

[Darkantra]

Surge

"I do not sleep but I must focus for eight hours to replenish my spells, particularly tonight since I must devise a new spell. I can take over once I am done."

If they are done their discussion Surge moves into the second car and sits cross-legged in one of the corners. His red eyes dim like soft burning coal as he begins to meditate.

[WillWolf]

Gawair:

Gawair shrugged. ""Sure. You'll need good eyes," He said in a lowish voice and dusted himself off. He wanted to take a good look at his horse, he would much rather spend the night with his horse anyway. The less time he spent with Surge the better. "Someone's got to look after him," he pointed to Sindra, "though."

[DiscipleofBob]

It's very late now, almost 2nd or 3rd bell in the morning. You organize your watches and take precautions in case of another attack on the train. Eventually, all but Surge take their rests. Belaean steps out of the 2nd-car cabin before he retires and hands out some spare pillows, all he really has to keep you from sleeping on the floor. After he goes back to his cabin, the light stays on for an hour or two longer before finally shutting off. Eventually, everyone gets the rest they need by whatever means.

((If anyone else wants to do anything, such as investigate the cars further or loot the warforged, I'll go ahead and assume you do so here, just mention any other work you're doing in the OOC thread.))

The sun rises fairly high before Belaean wakes up rested. Immediately, Belaean groggily heads to the first car. Touching the now deactivated bomb, in a bright flash, the giant, mechanical device disappears, the "controls" if they can be called as such, now unobstructed. Going back to the last car, he easily detaches it and lets it loose on the rail. Eventually, it'll simply fall off the track, and thanks to the high bridge where he decides to leave it, it won't be found for awhile. Going back to the helm, Belaean wakes anyone still resting up, noting that the rail will arrive at its destination soon, and you can even see the skyline of Korth in the distance.

[Lycar]

Darren

Getting up early, Darren prepares himself for the day. He quietly eats some bread and cheese and checks his weapons, going through the routine of disassembling and cleaning them.

"Right, i'll sit out on the 3rd car again, to spot any approaching airships. I hope they won't try anything so close to the town but one never knows. Better if the 5 of us are prepared to fight off any last-minute attempts."

Darren proceeds to get outside giving Gawair an odd look as he passes him.

Outside, Darren basks a bit in the morning sun, even though it is still quite cold. He also uses the chance to take off his mask and breathe some fresh, clean air.

Then he spots the inert body of the warforged and remembers.

(Oh right. Let's see if we find any clues on that thing. Would be nice to know who is after us after all. And picking up the spoils of our victory is an added bonus.)

So Darren goes over to the prone figure and starts searching it, mindful of additional secret compartments like the one, which the mechanical bird thingy came out of according to Surge's description of the events.

Lycar