The party had about an hour to kill before the next coach arrived so they could continue their journey to Korrenberg. They decided to get some lunch in a local tavern. Akta got a little lost looking for the bathroom, but other than that it was a uneventful stay. A little under an hour later, they made their way to the station, and boarded the lightning rail again. A long, boring coach ride ensued, and late that evening they arrived at the city of Starilaskur.
The coach was to remain parked for the next 6 hours, so the party decided to stay put and sleep on the train, and didn't end up seeing any of the city. Bright and early the next morning (now the 11th day of Eyre) the coach started up again. It was afternoon before they made another stop, this time near the fort Sterngate. Here the coach joined a larger train, and the party noticed several individuals of obvious wealth boarding a first-class coach.
Not too long after the train got going again, it passed over the border into Zilargo, the nation with a high population of gnomes. They had now entered a wide, dry valley flanked by two large mountain ranges. There were much fewer trees, and farms were giving way to ranches. The area was still sparsely populated though.
Only minutes after crossing the border, there was a flash and a bang and the coaches derailed! The party's coach flew off the tracks, flipped on its side, and landed with a crash. Taumir was able to stay upright, but everyone else was knocked to the ground (now the right wall of the coach.) Everyone on board was banged up, but the train had slowed down to take a sharp curve, and this reduced speed meant the crash was relatively soft.
The party climbed out of the wreck, only to see a group of three gnomes running out of the woods to attack a group of gnomes climbing out of another wrecked coach! The party was unsure whether to get involved at first, but when their queries as to what the fight was about were met with dismissive, hostile replies, Edge and Azeri felt it was time to knock some heads in. Plus Azeri realized she'd seen one of the gnomes who'd been on the train on a wanted poster some time ago. The gnomes were more interested in attacking each other, but when they party waded into the fray, blows were exchanged between all three factions. The gnomes used their invisibility and teleportation skills to try to get the upper hand, but the party was able to knock four of the six gnomes unconscious. At this point, the leader of the first band of gnomes realized they were out-matched, and in response to a shout from Edge, called off the fighting.
This gnome explained that he and his compatriots worked for Lon Visis, whom the party knew was a somewhat notorious black market dealer. This second group of gnomes (who were all unconscious now, and the party was working to keep from dying) worked for a different black marker dealer that had stolen some of Lon Visis' property, and they were trying to get it back. Edge berated them for bringing down a whole lightning rail train for this; their feeble excuse was that they thought their enemies had brought a lot more muscle. Edge made them offer they didn't refuse: we'll help you look for your property, heal your people, and not attack you, if you'll let us take the bounty on this one guy, and Lon Visis owes us a favor. The gnomes readily agreed.
A search of the coaches though turned up nothing, and after a while they had to admit defeat. At this point, an elemental wagon was pulling up with Sentinel Marshalls, so Lon Visis' gnomes fled the scene. The party was able to bluff some of the witnesses and then the Marshalls themselves into believing that the fleeing gnomes were responsible for the attack on the train. Of the three gnomes who'd been on the train, one had been too badly injured in the fight, and died around the time the Marshalls arrived. One was the person Azeri knew had a bounty on his head, and the party now turned this person over to the Marshalls and demanded the reward. The Marshalls gave them an affidavit stating they could collect the bounty, but told them they'd had to go to Dragonroost to collect it. (The last gnome recovered, and didn't cause any trouble.)
The Marshalls took charge of the scene, and not long after a disaster team from House Orien (the lightning rail owners) arrived. After these authorities evaluated the situation, the Marshalls left with their fugitive in tow, while the House Orien responders informed everyone that a new train could arrive tomorrow morning, and that food and tents would be provided for all passengers tonight. The party sat down to decide what to do. If they traveled to Dragonroost, they wouldn't make it back in time to catch the train, and would have to buy new tickets to make the rest of the way to Korrenberg. There were a little skeptical of the safety of using the lightning rail at this point though. After asking around a little bit, they realized they could collect the bounty in Korrenberg too, the Marshalls had just been blase about the whole thing. They decided to wait it out, and make their way to Korrenberg tomorrow morning.
The evening passed uneventfully, and on the morning of the 12th day of Eyre, a new lightning rail train arrived - this time with heavily armed guards in each coach! Everyone re-boarded, and after a long, boring trip, the party finally arrived that evening in the mighty city of Korrenberg!
Rewards
- 800 XP for everyone!
- From the wreckage of the lightning rail, you found a Resounding Staff (+2) (p. 236 Player's Handbook) and 380 GP.
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