The Queen Kateryn
The Queen Kateryn is one of the older Lonetrains that service the route between the Royal City and the city of Ordon. The train is composed of a slightly dated locomotive, completely sealed as it is customary in lonetrains, as to protect the operators from the deathly cold outside. The second and third carts carry coal and wood, necessary for the locomotive to run, as well as some other first necessity implements, such as tools, food and water. The fourth cart is first class, though few aristocrats and wealthy individuals use the Queen Kateryn anymore, most Daguerrians that travel in the train are able to afford that cart. After the dining cart and a few, mostly empty passenger carts comes the cheapest cart, usually reserved for Majai because of its cost and distance from the sensible locomotive. Finally come a couple of cargo and luggage carts to complete the lonetrain. Currently, the Queen Kateryn travels long route from Ordon to the Royal city with little more than a skeleton crew and barely a few passengers, mostly between the first class and Majai carts. Currently and in the middle of the night, the train is 12 hours into its 24 hour journey.
WoW - The Queen Kateryn 01
WoW - The Queen Kateryn 02
WoW - The Queen Kateryn 03
WoW - The Queen Kateryn 04
WoW - The Queen Kateryn 05
Somehow, Zahrah had managed to pull Rill onto the locomotive, almost falling in the process. The train had slowly picked up speed and was now barreling towards the barricade, where the rest of the group stood. Probably trying not to get crushed by the train if it were to derail, the creatures sent out powerful screeches before they turned around and rushed towards the tree line. As usual, they walked through the snow as if they had no weight, and left no foot prints before. Daiyu, Ferrah, Dakai and Paki had but one chance to get onto the locomotive.... after that, they could try to get onto the back of the train before it left them behind. Ideally, they would do this before the train crashed into the barricade, for the shock of the crash could easily send them tumbling down onto the snow!
Having managed to get into the train,
Rill really wanted to get rid of the arrow sticking out of his side. He still decided that maybe he should try to grab the people who hadn't had the sense to run to the train when he did. Therefore, he positioned himself where Zahrah had been and held out his hand to help anyone coming his way. "Here!"
Blood was slowly seeping out of
Ferrah's wound, starting to freeze already as it leaked out to her outer layers. But the creatures had left. They still had some luck. Her head whipped round to the sight of the train approaching and ran towards it - she knew she'd rather be inside the locomotive when it hit the barricade than outside with the danger of flying debris. As she got closer to the speeding train, she readied herself before leaping towards the open door and Rill's outstretched hand (Jump).
Ferah crossed the tracks at top speed to try and get to the side of the locomotive where Rill was holding his hand outstretched. As the train approached and right before it collided with the barricade, the woman managed to jump and grab onto his hand. As she did, she almost pulled both of them down off the train and onto the snow, unless Rill managed to pull them back!
Running as fast as he could
Dakai sprinted to Daiyu through the snow. "Sorry about this princess." He apologized ahead of time before lifting her up out of the snow and hauling her onto his shoulder. He turned and ran to meet the train. He had to get his timing right on this one, with his free hand he readied himself to grab onto the railing by the door and haul them both up.(push/pull)
Dakai managed to grab hold onto Daiyu and run after the train, but the weight of the two of them was far too much for the Daguerrian. He held onto the railing but his grip quickly gave away. Both Daiyu and Dakai fell onto the snow, rolling as the train took off. As they stood up, they had seconds to attempt to climb onto one of the other wagons, as the locomotive was out of their reach!
Zahrah rubbed at her hand, moving away from the door as Rill stood where she had been. Somehow her meager strength had held long enough to get Rill on the train, but she knew she couldn't try that again. Instead she hurried up to her watch post once more, pressing as close to the glass as she could, hands cupped around her eyes so she could see out into the darkness to see when the barricade came up. (Notice)
There was not much Zahrah had to do to look upon the barricade, as it was a mere hundred paces away, in front of the train. As the locomotive approached the logs at blinding speed, the group had but seconds to brace themselves before the collision!
"Hold on!" came
Zahrah's voice from above as she wrapped her arms around the nearest solid structure in an attempt to keep herself steady.
Daiyu yelped in pain as Dakai swung her up but for now she was far to grateful for the assistance than to even consider protesting the rough manner. When they jumped for the train she had to bite her lip as her side was jarred and in consequence was a little late grabbing for the railing, to late in fact and she hissed painfully as she hit the ground. The train was passing by and she forced herself to stand and looked at Dakai frantically, "We need to try again. This time I will grab as well." She said urgently as she forced herself to stand.
With a slight panic created by the combination of the sound of the train moving, the sight of his new-found "friends" hopping aboard with varying degrees of difficulty and the knowledge that there were more of those creatures out in those woods,
Paki jumped for the first doorway he saw (jump).
Rushing towards the still open door of the locomotive, where Rill held onto Ferah, Paki leaped out of the snow in a massive jump, clearing the door and landing inside the locomotive. The man's landing was less than stellar though, falling flat on his stomach on the floor of the locomotive car, surrounded by the snow which had clung to his clothes.
Rill had hoped that one the people who weren't as likely to get into the train on their own had had the sense come to him but he wasn't going to just let Ferah drop either. Not caring that they were going to hit the barricade, he tried to pull Ferah in – he was at least partly inside the train already, and maybe the sudden bump would help him pull her since the train would suddenly slow down, even if just a little bit.
In the last second before the collision, Rill managed to pull Ferah in, surely the massive logs would tear her apart when they hit the barricade had she stayed hanging out of the side of the train, even if the train itself did not derail. The Ranger and the woman fell back into the locomotive, landing right next to Paki.
In all honesty
Tetra didn't care one way or another if everyone made it onto the train - as long as she was on the train as it sped away, she would be fine and could go on living. As she felt the train speeding up, she recalled the barricade still situated in front of the train. Motioning for Ulysses to hide himself within her jacket, Tetra quickly loosened the belt around her waist, tying it quickly and tightly around the armrest of the seat. With a deep breath, she stuck her foot out against the wall in front of her seat and braced herself for impact.
Typically,
Thaddeus was a pretty laid-back fellow. Of course, he also wasn't usually at the helm of a vehicle tens of thousands of ton in weight that was hurtling toward a barrier in the middle of a frozen wasteland. As such, the slim gentleman did his best to prepare for the inevitable impact, his red-rimmed eyes darting from mechanism to gauge to instrument, ready to (hopefully) react if and when he needed to push another button or pull a lever to keep the train on the tracks and moving in a forward motion (Engineering).
With a massive crunch, the train shook and the lights flickered as they hit the barricade. The speed suddenly diminished and everyone in the locomotive felt pulled forward by a powerful force. Tetra, Zahrah and Thaddeus managed to stay in place but Rill, Paki and Ferah were catapulted forward, bashing their elbows and knees against the metal floor of the locomotive cart. The train jumped up in the air as it went cleanly over one of the logs, sounding like a massive bone break. Splinters flew all over the front and several of the small windows were broken by stray branches and pieces of wood. After the jump, the train seemed to swing dangerously from side to side, as it trying to stabilize itself on the tracks once more and, for a moment, it looked like it was about to derail and fall on its side. Luckily for everyone, the wheels soon slipped back into place with another small jump and the train began to pick up speed again!
After the train had gotten stable again,
Rill just lay on the floor for a moment and muttered something about the worst train trip ever. He then got up and looked around to see who of the other people were in. He noted that two people who had been outside were missing but it wasn't like he could do something about that. Instead, he turned his attention to the arrow in his side. He opened his jacket and peeled other clothes before inspecting the wound. "Did anyone of you know stuff about wounds?"
"Many thanks, Ranger,"
Ferrah grunted as she pulled herself up into a sitting position. She pulled off her padded armour and prodded the bleeding wound she'd sustained during the battle. "Less than I deserve for leaving the Shah girl," she said as she bowed her head in a silent prayer to the assumed dead. With Rill asking for medical help, she figured that whoever could help would patch her up after him.
Taking a moment to make certain she wasn't injured,
Zahrah straightened and couldn't help but smile that the train was still moving. That show of happiness was short lived as she heard Rill's voice coming from near the door. Right, wounded. She knew a little about a living body, that which was required of her, but not enough to really be of use. Rather than staying at the top of the stairs, Zahrah descended, giving Thaddeus a nod as she passed him. It was thanks to him really that they were even alive still. She walked over to where Rill was and frowned. "I will look for something to help," she said before she started searching for anything to bandage them up with. (Search)
After getting violently jostled about in his seat and then heaving out the breath he hadn't even realized he was holding,
Thaddeus all but collapsed in in the engineer's seat in relief. His limbs, still trembling from the rush of adrenaline, went momentarily limp after being held so rigidly up until a few moments after impact, until it seemed that they were out of imminent danger of careening off of the tracks. Thad returned Zahrah's smile with a wan one of his own before he glanced back to see who had made it back onto the locomotive. People were bleeding, and his smile faded quickly. First aid was not his area of expertise, and he was hesitant to leave the controls for the moment, so he remained where he was. At least the train was still moving, so Thaddeus didn't do anything else than keep an eye on the things for the moment.
Rill nodded an acknowledgemen
t to Ferah. While Zahrah looked for something to help with tying up, he looked at the arrow in his side and decided that he should just take it out before it made more damage to his innards. He moved the clothing aside so that not too much blood would stain them, though of course there was blood on them already. "I took that weird container of something along. I doubt it's anything useful but someone could look at it," he said, tilting his head at the container. He then proceeded to take out the arrow. (Heal)
Luckily for Rill, his injury seemed to be superficial. Wincing at the pain, he pulled the arrow out while dealing minimal damage to the tissue around it. A quick spurt of blood came out right after the arrowhead, running down his arm before the bleeding promptly stopped.
As Paki stood and observed the others interacting, he could not help but wince. Arrows could leave nasty wounds... He suddenly felt rather lucky.
Not knowing a lot about first aid, Ferah knew she needed to stem her bleeding at least. She tore a few strips of cloth from one of her sleeves, trying to make a makeshift bandage with them and tying them round her to cover the wound (Heal). Still, her heart ached for the apparent loss of Daiyu. Her own lust for battle had meant she'd left the girl behind. Still, her pride would not allow her to shed tears in front of her travel companions.
Zahrah didn't like what she found. She turned away from the storage areas and looked around the place for anything that might help. With nothing on her that was sturdy enough to make a bandage, she finally frowned and looked at Rill. "Mr. Rill, do you have any cloth that will hold?" she asked, wanting to help but not finding anything. "There are no bandages here."
"Huh." Rill looked at the wound and pressed it very carefully. He spent a few moments licking the bigger part of the blood off his arm before Zahrah announced her findings. "I see. Well, the wound isn't anything serious, it's not really even bleeding. I'll just tie my coat around it so I don't need to tear anything." He took the jacket and folded it so that once he tied the sleeves around his waist, it formed an odd sort of padding around his torso. As he saw Ferah trying to tie up her apparently not quite as superficial wounds, he had another thought. "Maybe there's a heal kit somewhere else in the train." He glanced at Paki. "Maybe you should go look for one."
Tetra slowly eased up, back into her seat after the train experienced a large jolt and almost toppled over. She nudge Ulysses, who, using his beak and talons, pulled himself from her coat and perched on her shoulder. Untying her belt from the seat, she fastened it around her waist again, then looked around. No one was up there with her, and it was nice and quiet, but she was still shivering from the cold outside, as was her bird, and the upper part of the cart was not exactly warm. Running a hand over the raven's head, Tetra decided, against her own will, that it would be best to be near the coal fire so the two could warm up, and the girl stood and began heading down the stairs. She hesitated only for a moment when she reached the locomotive's main room, stopping only to count the heads. There were still two missing, one of whom had helped her and the other who had tried to turn her in. The street rat inwardly hoped the latter of the two had perished, but she was slightly concerned for the former, if only for the fact he might be able and willing to help her. "Where're the Shah and the mechanic?" she asked abruptly, showing little concern for anything happening among the others. As she spoke, she shuffled across the locomotive to sit next to the fire, crossing her legs and letting Ulysses perch on her knee.
"Ah! Yes, of course!" Paki nodded to Rill, eager to be helpful. "I shall search every available cuboard and surface for the medical kit!" And with that, he headed for the next compartment of the train.
"They got left behind," replied Rill to Tetra. "Unless they managed to get on the other cars, but I doubt it. They were both hurt."
Although Zahrah didn't think it a great loss that the other two had disappeared, she did hope inwardly that they managed to catch one of the other cars. "We should attempt to be positive and hope they made it," she said quietly as she waited for the boy to return with whatever he found. She was of no use here, having neither bandages or adequate knowledge of healing. Feeling that it might be time to lose some of the pretense, Zahrah lowered her veil, wrapping it around her shoulders and under her hair as she moved towards Ferah, who seemed to be faring the worse of the two. "May I help?" she asked, gesturing at the makeshift bandages before she moved to assist the woman. (Heal)
Ferah's attempts to cover her injury only seemed to make it worse, as every time she moved, the wound would start bleeding once more. Only with Zahrah's help was the woman able to finally staunch the blood. Luckily for her the cut had been superficial, though she still felt a bit queasy afterwards and probably could not move too much or strain without the injury getting worse.
Having been exceptionally focused upon the train's controls, Thaddeus hadn't yet bothered to take full stock of who had and who had not made it into the locomotive, although he didn't know everyone who had gone out to the barricade. However, when he heard Tetra's inquiry and Rill's brief reply, he glanced toward the girl and the man, brow slightly furrowed in polite but genuine dismay at the information the Ranger had provided. He coughed softly, sniffed then sunk down slightly into his seat, abashed that at least Dakai was unaccounted for, as the Engineer could have just as easily gone outside instead of the other man, and had even offered to do so. He dropped his attention downward, suddenly becoming apparently enthralled with a brass button on his waistcoat as he fiddled idly with the shiny closure.
With a little sigh, Ferah lay back against the train's floor. She patted Zahrah's hand and smiled up at the escort. "Thank you, girl," she said, giving kindly eyes to her. "I'm not as spry as I used to be, and never been all that good at looking after myself." She sighed again.
Rill sat down to rest as well and after realising that his mind wandered into the impossible monsters, he wanted to focus on something different. Therefore, he glanced at Ferah and stared at the odd gauntlet. When he figured out that the oddness was because he hadn't seen majai people with such contraptions before, he turned away. He then remembered that he had brought a container with him and picked it up from wherever it had rolled. He looked at it, trying to find some markings or other things that could identify what was inside.
"Try not to move too much until we find something to bandage you properly with," Zahrah said to the older woman, giving her a rare genuine smile, relieved that she had actually assisted. "Let me...just one moment." The escort stood and looked around, finally letting her gaze land on the man driving the train. "Thaddeus," she said, her voice lightening ever so slightly. "Would you assist me in getting her into one of the seats? The floor cannot be at all comfortable." (Persuade) She felt the atmosphere slowly dipping down after the high of getting the train started and the aftermath of that fight and while she didn't like the thought of losing any more than they had to, at least the ones who were here had made it.
Rill didn't look too happy at the container. He got up and went to stash it in a closet or any reasonably safe place. He then returned to his seat and tried to relax a little.
"No need, girl," the Amiri warrior said as she sat up and pulled on her blood stained padded armour. With it strapped on, Ferrah heaved herself up and plonked down in the nearest available seat. "I'm not dead yet," she said to Zahrah with a twisted smile. "Despite my best attempts at getting into trouble." She rubbed at the wound under her clothes. "I don't recommend it if you want to stay beautiful, girl."
Perking up slightly at the sound of his name being called from behind, Thaddeus straightened in his seat and looked back to Zahrah. He glanced at the controls for a half-second, and by the time he was standing, it seemed that Ferah had taken it upon herself to get up to move into a seat from the floor. His eyebrows raised, Thad watched the apparently wounded Amiri woman closely as she sat herself down. After it seemed as if she was adequately settled, he looked back to Zahrah, eyebrows still raised, as if to say Anything else?.
As she hung around in front of the fire burning atop the coal, Tetra tuned the others out, focusing on the red heat before her. If the other two had been left behind, then it wouldn't matter - she could just make a run for it at the train station, since it was likely no one else would be willing to claim the accidental stowaway. The girl's mind went back to the strange creatures that had appeared, wondering what in the world they could be, and a small shiver ran up her spine. They'd all have been dead if that Thaddeus fellow hadn't been around to start the train. The other girl had died regardless, the Lena woman. Remembering her, Tetra perked up a little and reached into her pocket, digging around a little before she pulled out the woman's notebook. Keeping it close to herself so as not to draw the others' attention, the girl what little literacy she had to try and read whatever was written on the notepad (Decipher).
"My name is Zahrah," she responded as she carefully watched the woman move to a seat. Being called 'girl' grated on her a bit, but Zahrah just put on a smile. "Are you cold, do you need anything?" Her question was to Farah, although she did glance at Thaddeus, knowing that if the Amiri woman was cold, she had nothing to give her. If she needed anything, Zahrah was pretty useless.
"Zahrah? A pretty name," Ferah said. She dismissed her concern with a wave of a hand. "Warm enough." She'd noticed Rill's stowing of the canister and pointed to where he'd put it. "I take it that's dangerous. What do you make of this?" she asked as she brought the cylinder she'd taken from one of the earlier dead bodies.
"Oh?" asked Rill. "It was something flammable as far as I could tell. Oh, maybe you should take that off, it could be dangerous too," he replied to Ferah, pointing at the gauntlet. Since Zahrah had just introduced herself, he too remembered to share his name. "I'm Rill Taskinger. How about you?" When Ferah showed the cylinder, he examined it to find out what it was. (examine)
Waiting sedately for a reply, Thaddeus smiled vaguely when Zahrah looked over at him. After Ferah declared that she was fine, the Engineer assumed that his assistance wasn't needed, and he started to turn back to the engineer's seat. The young man tipped his head slightly and surreptitiously as possible to the side toward Tetra and Ulysses; he frankly felt uncomfortable about their presence, and he let his attention linger on the girl's shabbily-clothed frame for a moment before sitting himself down again.
"Ferah Azzal, of the Azzal Amiri," Ferah replied. She raised the gauntleted hand. "After using it some I've come to understand how it works. However, it would look surreptitious on a poor woman in the Royal City." She pulled it off and pocketed the weapon. "I owe you for saving my life, Rill. Without your help I would have been left behind with the other two." She bowed her head solemnly, partly in thanks to the ranger but also in silent prayer for Daiyu and Dakai.
"Good to meet you." Rill nodded to Ferah, acknowledging her words. He was accustomed to helping people survive, even if this particular circumstance had been exceptional. Before Ferah put the gauntlet away, he stared it and at the object Ferah had given. "I don't know what this is, but it would go there," he said and pointed at the gauntlet where another similar object was attached. "Maybe Thaddeus would know." He looked at the mute a little questioningly but didn't say anything.
Since none of her offers to help were of use, Zahrah took Rill's interjection as a sign to back off. She didn't want to be in the middle of all this anyway. The woman seemed capable. The escort took the opportunity to turn her attention to the final person in their little group, the urchin who had made it clear she wanted nothing to do with them before. Her mind might have changed now, however. Zahrah took a step closer, eyeing the bird for a moment before deciding she was close enough. "And you? How are you fairing?" she asked the girl. If she didn't get an answer, Zahrah was fully prepared to make her way to where Thaddeus was and ignore everyone equally.
Dakai exhaled deeply as he made his way into the main cart, battered, bruised, and slashed across the chest, with a precious package in his arms. "Excuse me everyone but is there any first aid kits here? Miss Daiyu is in bad shape. She hurt her leg and as far as I can tell it's bruised or broken or something pretty bad because she can't even walk." He walked over to an open seat and laid her down gently so she wouldn't have to be ashamed of him carrying her.
"They're alive!" Ferah gasped at the sight of Dakai and Daiyu. She was immediately out of her seat and at Dakai's side, looking down at the Shah girl. "The gods are smiling down on us." She turned to the young man. "I owe you a debt. I swore to defend her and I left her behind, both of you." She knelt down and held one of Daiyu's hands. "Girl, how do you feel? I will never leave you in the hands of our foes again." Her scarred face was solemn, and genuine with its remorse.
Rill also turned to look at whoever had come in and was a little surprised to see the two he thought had gotten left behind. That was good news at least. However, for some reason, he was more surprised at Ferah's reaction and stared at her for a short moment. "There are no first aid kits here. That big majai fellow went looking for one. Didn't you see him?"
Having never really received a formal education - aside from what little they had tried to teach her in the orphanage - Tetra had some trouble understanding a few of the words written on paper, but based on context from what she could read she understood the gist of what she found inside Lena Rose's notebook. She flipped through a few more pages, studying the various things that had been scribbled down, before a voice behind her nearly made her jump out of her skin. She closed the notebook and shoved it back into her coat pockets before turning to face the female figure behind her. "Fine," she answered curtly before promtply placing her hands on the floor of the train cart and beginning to push herself up. The door opening caught her attention once more, however, and she looked up quickly to see the two they thought they had lost standing in the door way of the cart. Tetra stared for a moment, inwardly breathing a sigh of relief but saying nothing. She couldn't let herself get her hopes too high yet, either - she didn't know for sure if the mechanic would help her get back in the city or not. The urchin's face scrunched up in disgust as the older woman fell to her own knees and began practically worshiping the Shah woman. Rolling her eyes, Tetra looked up at Zahrah briefly before turning away and shoving her hand into her pocket. The girl dug around for a moment, and after pulling her hand, empty, from her pocket she groaned - she had been hoping she had at least one biscuit left, but apparently either she or U had eaten it, or it had been lost in the scuffle before the train. With an annoyed frown, the girl crossed her arms and simply watched the others interact.
Daiyu hissed in pain when Dakai set her down but she did manage to pull herself up a bit while keeping her leg still. She chose not to say anything, the man beside her having said everything necessary already. She was completely unprepared for Ferah's reaction, however, and for a brief moment surprise managed to glimmer across her face before it was quickly replaced by the cool mask she usually wore. "I will survive." She said quickly and then continued, "Thanks to you and the others we all will. It is difficult to keep one's wits in the heat of battle, there is nothing to apologize for." She said quietly. She couldn't blame the woman, I mean honestly, who would expect a Majai to keep her word? Still... at least the woman had admitted her mistake and now had given an oath to protect her... it would be interesting to see how it played out.
"Well yes we did meet but i was simply wondering if one had been found in his abs..." Dakai was cut short as Ferah rushed to Daiyu's side. She almost tripped over herself to get to her. Well i suppose my care here is not needed. "Yeah we barely made it onto the last cart." He scratched the back of his head a bit unsure what to do now. Keep trying to help miss Daiyu or investigate the other members, the silent male seemed to have a good amount of knowledge in the engineering department and that intrigued him.
Zahrah looked around as the door slid open, hoping it was the boy returning with medical supplies, but her heart skipped a beat when she saw the other two. Then Farah jumped up and Zahrah got a stern look. "You just stopped bleeding, please sit down again," she said, her word choice gentle but her voice taking on an air of command. (Intimidate) She didn't want the older woman to start bleeding again before they got actual bandages. It was rather annoying that she jumped up like that. Looking down at Tetra, Zahrah pursed her lips, not in aggravation at the girl but rather at the situation.
When Rill spoke his name, Thaddeus sat up in his chair, having fallen into some sort of distracted reverie, thinking about various things: Tetra and the notebook he spied her holding; calculating the time and distance remaining in their trip; wondering about exactly what life would hold for him back in the Royal City. He looked back at the older man expectantly, and was regarding the Ranger as such when Dakai and Daiyu appeared, looking rather worse for the wear. Standing, he turned, blinked rapidly and shook his headful of wavy brown hair slightly, as if he were shaking his previous thoughts out of his head. In turn, he looked to every member present, then back to Rill, who had originally spoken his name. Someone would tell him if he were needed for something, right?
"Very well," Ferah muttered under her breath. "I won't be far away," she added to Daiyu before returning to her seat. "Would somebody tell me what this bloody thing is?!" she yelled, holding up the unknown cylinder she'd shown Rill earlier. She figured it was probably ammunition for her gauntlet, but she wasn't ready to risk it. Her anger, though heated, wasn't justified - she was merely rebelling against feeling like she was an invalid old woman.
Tetra could care less about the well-being of the pompous Shah girl. She was mostly waiting for an opportunity to get on someone's good side - obviously not Daiyu's - and worm her way into a soft spot in their heart and possibly convince them to escort her back into the city. Her eyes traveled around the room and eventually fell on Thaddeus, whom she thought she had noticed earlier eyeing the notebook from the woman who was shot. She stared him down for a moment, watching as he wiggled uncomfortably in his seat, and seeing how no one was approaching the man for any other matter, she stepped towards him. The old woman yowling on about her unidentified object cause her to hesitate momentarily and look back with a scowl, but she simply grumbled a bit to herself and turned back to Thad. "Ya look like the schooled type. Found this earlier," began explaining the girl bluntly as she reached into her pocket. She pulled the notebook out again, opening it up to where the loose piece of paper was, and pulled it out, keeping it separate from the other notebook full of ancient or coded writing. "Ain't a language I know, but you might be able to read it," she added, speaking quietly as she thrust the notebook in Thaddeus' face. Ulysses, perched atop the girl's shoulder, tilted his head and fluffed his feathers, looking curiously at the mute.
When Thaddeus turned to look at Rill, Rill didn't know what was going on and it wasn't like Thaddeus would speak. Therefore, Rill was quiet too. He then looked at Ferah again and remembered what he had said before. "Thaddeus, do you want to find out what this does?" he asked, showing the container Ferah had given him. "It goes into that gauntlet thing um... Ferah had." He was secretly a little glad that he remembered Ferah's name.
Zahrah was thoroughly disgusted with this group. There were people bleeding and broken, and they were more interested in finding out what things did. She had a hard time keeping the disgust off her face as she knelt next Daiyu, honestly feeling bad that the girl had been injured. It kind of angered her that no one was really trying to help besides the woman who was already injured. "Can I borrow someone's coat?" she asked loudly, talking over everyone else. "And will someone help me move her somewhere more comfortable?" Her annoyance might have leaked out quite a bit in her last question as she half glared at rest of the group. This was ridiculous.
In less than a fraction of a second, the combined beauty and charm of the two Majai forced Dakai out of his seat and his coat off in a flash. Yes it was a tad stained and his wound shown through the bandages but he didn't care. He stepped forward offering both his coat and his body again to transport the Shah. "Just tell me what you need." He had completely lost focus on the container.
Ferah was yelling, Tetra was shoving something in his face, Rill was asking him a question and Zahrah was addressing the occupants of the car in a blatantly pointed and perturbed manner. Looking suddenly overwhelmed, Thaddeus had to take a step back from Tetra. As he did so, he cast the girl and her bird a somewhat wary look, but reached to take the notebook from her, anyway, as his curiosity was definitely piqued. His eyes darted between Ferah and Rill, then Zahrah and Daiyu-- thankfully Dakai came to the assistance of the Majai women, as Thad was honestly less-than-eager to get gore on his good coat. He looked to make eye contact with Rill across the car and held his free hand up, one finger pointed toward the ceiling; he also smiled in a tired but congenial manner, trying to indicate that he needed a moment, but he would be glad to take a look at the item. Finally, he brought his attention back to the writing Tetra wanted him to peruse(Decipher) and he blew a bit of air through his lips, up toward a few strands of hair that had fallen into his eyes.
Even through the pain Daiyu was feeling distinctly uncomfortable about people touching her. No, she didn't want that woman to touch her, a tainted woman. The venomous thought managed to worm its way into her mind despite the pain. Luckily, she was very good at keeping her thoughts hidden and she only smiled gratefully as she asked for a jacket and Dakai produced it.
When Dakai produced the coat, Zahrah wrapped it around the other woman's shoulders and looked up at the man. "Would you please move her?" she asked, looking around for a comfortable place. Since nothing stood out as a good place to put her, Zahrah pointed to an area near the walls of the train car that Daiyu could lean against without moving her leg. "We will see what sort of bandages the other boy comes back with before we wrap anything," she informed the woman with a nod.
"I doubt it's a good idea to move injured people," said Rill when Zahrah suggested that someone moved Daiyu. "That might make the injuries worse, right?" Even though he really didn't need to or shouldn't continue the topic, he did so anyway because he didn't have the sense to leave it there. "She shouldn't have been moved here in the first place. This isn't a good place to be for healing stuff and ...whoever that is had to carry her through the whole train and I bet that wasn't a smart move. But what's done is done." He then noticed that Paki hadn't come back still. "Where's that big Majai fighter now?" he sighed. "Ugh. If you wait here, I'll go and try to find a healing kit." He placed the container he was holding on some space where Thaddeus could easily see and take it. After putting his coat on properly again, he left to search for the kit – provided no one stopped him or had anything to say.
Tetra turned slightly to gaze into Rill's direction, wondering why he felt the need to explain what seemed like every detail of his thought patterns. Blinking once, the girl kept quiet and turned back to Thad, who looked to be in deep concentration as his eyes scanned over the markings in the notepad she had handed him. "Can ya read it?" she abruptly asked, taking another step or two forward to close what little distance there had been put between them. She was practically breathing over his shoulder as she looked down at the scribblings, as well.
Once the atmosphere of the locomotive seemed to calm down, Thaddeus looked like he was starting to relax as he studied the writing in the antique notebook, as if he found comfort in the act of performing such a task. He looked at ease, that is, until Tetra further invaded the mute man's personal space with her discourteous inquiry. Clearing his throat, he actually took a moment to even acknowledge the bedraggled girl, eventually looking up at her. He stepped away from her once again, hoping that she'd take a hint. Could he read it? He nodded a succinct Yes, then took his pad and pencil from his coat pocket. The young man looked appraisingly at Tetra and wrote It is a ledger., paused, then also jotted, Where did you get it?, then showed her the paper. Judging a book by its cover, he wrote in exquisitely neat, block printing, as if Tetra were a child who was just learning her letters.
Tetra didn't really think of Thad's small step back as a means of moving away from her, but she didn't move any closer for the time being. Ulysses pecked quietly at the young girl's knotted and, well, incredibly dirty hair as she stood, eyes glued to Thaddeus as his eyes scanned her notebook. Finally, he affirmed that he understood, and Tetra, perking up excitedly, immediately inquired, "Wot's it say?" The urchin raised up on her tiptoes to impatiently look over the top of Thaddeus' own notebook, though her height made that effort fruitless. Since she was unaccustomed to any type of normal social interaction, all of her own actions and reactions probably came off as strange and pitiful to the others. Finally, the man turned his written words to face the girl, and she leaned forward, expecting words that told her what was written. Instead, she was faced with a few words she didn't understand, and a question. A moment of silence followed as Tetra - much as Thaddeus had assumed - took the time to read what was written, mouthing the words silently and slowly to herself. "Wha... ledger? Wot's a ledger? And I FOUND it, wot's it ta you?!" the young girl snapped back defensively, her bright and fierce tea green eyes raising to meet Thad's gaze.
"Well then miss Daiyu i bid you adue. If you need anything just call." Dakai gave slight wincing bow before setting out to search for his canister from earlier. He really wanted to know what was in it. "Has anyone seen a document tube? I left it by the door during the fight." He asked as he stepped away and looked about. (search)
Dakai did not have to look far, as soon after he stepped back, he noticed the spot where the map case he had found earlier had been placed, on the second floor of the locomotive, leaning safely against the side.
Diayu nodded quietly in acknowledgement of Dakai's words but didn't do much else. She really preferred to stay quiet, she was in pain, and each little bump the train hit, jarred her leg and sent a new shard of pain shooting through her body. She huddled in her spot, and clutched the jacket closer, she wasn't cold... but it was as if she was using it as a shield against the pain. It wasn't long until she closed her eyes and laid back her head, attempting to meditate and overcome the pain.
Wrinkling his nose momentarily and in apparent distaste at Tetra's behavior and her unkempt presence in so close a proximity to himself, Thaddeus paused to ponder precisely how it was he wanted to approach this. Finally, he wrote, A ledger is an accounting book. One typically records business transactions in a ledger. Squinting slightly, Thad stopped writing briefly, then recommenced with, How interested are you in 100-hundred-year-old lists concerning a coal mining company? he added, half as a joke. The contents of this ledger seemed overwhelmingly and, well, disappointingly common, although the engineer was curious as to why the urchin had such an antique in her possession. After giving Tetra what he thought was plenty of time to read what he had written, Thad stacked Lena Rose's notebook on top of his, and he leafed slowly and carefully through its delicate pages, in case he missed anything important or noteworthy (Notice) the first time. Lost in the act of studying the notebook, Thad neglected to hear Dakai's question about the document tube.
These people were infuriating. Zahrah heard Dakai's question as he wandered away from the girl who needed help, but Diayu couldn't be helped at the moment, so the escort stood and turned to the group, hard pressed to not let her disgust show on her face. She knew where the tube was, jammed where she put it upstairs by the window, and it would take the Daguerrian a little while to find from where she put it. And Zahrah was in no way going to help him or anyone else trying to plunder the train. Instead she lifted her thin skirts and stalked over to the opposite side of the train, sitting in the open seats there, head held high as she disregarded those around her. Enough helping. They could tend each other for now.
Tetra, by now, had focused herself entirely on Thaddeus and his reading of the notebook, waiting impatiently for him to finish and reveal the contents. The goings-on of the others in the cart were merely background noise and she paid them absolutely no mind. As Thad began to finally write something else down, the girl was hopeful it was an explanation of the ancient script's content. Wiggling a little, she tried to look up at the notebook as the man wrote, but was unable to see much. Soon enough, he held it in front of her face, and the girl leaned in closer, studying the words carefully like before. "Coal mining company?" were the girl's first words after a few moments of silence, her face wrinkling up in a look of confused disgust as she pulled it away from the paper. She blinked a couple of times, wondering how something like that would be of any importance. She figured, though, if the original carrier had died carrying, or perhaps protecting, items like the ones Tetra had been given and had found on the other woman's person, they must have been worth some value. She considered the fact that, if she WERE to investigate further, she knew she wouldn't be able to do it alone. She didn't exactly trust this mute man that she didn't even know, but he was the most educated person around and kind enough to interpret things for her, so she figured she could indulge him in a few more pieces of information. Reluctantly, the urchin pushed her other hand forward, the one holding the letter, and laid it silently on top of the other notebook. "That wos in it, too," she said simply, reaching up after to rub her hand across Ulysses' silky feathers. She considered telling him where she had found the items, but she didn't want to risk getting in trouble for stealing, even if it WAS off a dead body.
Rill made his way back with Paki and brought in a freshly found medical kit. "I found some supplies that should help. Does anyone know how to treat wounds?" He also looked at Daiyu and wondered what could be done with her since her injuries were probably more internal than external.
Paki walked in behind Rill, carrying the small survival kit that he found.
During his closer examination of the ledger, it appeared that Thaddeus was becoming increasingly puzzled at what it was he was reading-- something he didn't catch upon his initial perusal of the text. As his expression became somewhat befuddled, he idly drummed the pads of his fingers against the cover of the notebook, trying to recall what he could, if anything, about the Leeds Coal Mine (Memory), in hopes of eventually making a connection or finding some other insight to the unusual accounting on the fragile pages of the old script. When Tetra offered-up the letter, Thad let his attention trail from the book to the teenager, then down to the letter, which he barely touched, save to center it over the open notebook pages, guiding the sheet of paper gingerly with his fingertips. He wanted to mull this information over before trying to explain anything to Tetra, IF he could even make sense of anything.
Dakai finally saw the edge of the tube leaning out from the second floor. With a half jog he retrieved it before joining the group again. Paki had returned and actually found some supplies. That was a relieve but as for Miss Daiyu he couldn't really think of how to help her. "I dont have a vast knowledge on aid, but maybe miss Daiyu could use a splint or her leg wrapped? Possibly some medicine, alcohol or opiate to dull the pain?" He offered taking a random shot in the dark as he clutched the tube in his hand. In the back of his mind he tried to figure out who could open it. Maybe the aggressive little lady I had helped from getting arrested earlier? Tetra was it? He decided to wait for Diayu's response before asking tetra for help as she seemed to be involved with the mute man at the moment.
It was incredibly hard to meditate when she was surrounded by annoyances, Daiyu thought irritatedly to herself. She opened her eyes when Rill entered and announced that he'd found the first aid kit. Relief did not even begin to describe the magnitude of her feelings and she looked up at Dakai as he approached. It was hard to admit, and in a way she still hadn't, but the man's presence was reassuring and that was something she was sorely in need of, though she would rather be flayed alive than admit the thought. "Relief from the pain and a splint to keep the limb from moving and worsening would be much appreciated." She murmured wearily, trying to keep the pain from her voice as she spoke.
"Paki is there anything for pain in there? I'll try and find two pipes or poles or something."(notice) Dakai responded putting his tube down to look around. "Maybe a broomstick..." He remarked tapping his chin.
Dakai did not really have to look far, though there was no broomstick to be seen, the spade they had used to shovel coal into the engine had a solid, if a bit large, wooden shaft which could be cut off with an axe or something like that. Aditionally, there were a couple of long metal handles on the sides of the door. Those would have to somehow be pulled off the walls, though. Something requiring quite a bit of strength.
"There's um...packaged...stuff..." Paki scratched the back of his neck. "I don't really know what any of them are are...But something's got to be for pain, yes? It is an emergency kit!"
Dakai glanced over the spade as he thought to himself. "But we might need it to fuel the engine later so no..." He kept his gaze as he swept along before finally settling on the bars. "Hmm even, sturdy, and straight they would be good for a splint." The engineer rummaged through his pouch as he examined the bolts and withdrew his adjustable wrench. With some quick sizing and alot of elbow grease he tried his best to detach them by unbolting them(engineering).
Dakai sat by the railing and began to work on the bolts. They had been placed it when the train was first built, probably a generation ago at the least, so they were almost soldered shut to the metal of the railing. Dakai had to thoroughly grease them and apply all of his considerable strength. After nearly 20 minutes of solid work, he finally managed to loosen the bolts enough to pry the metal bar from the wall.
Rill placed the kit on a level surface and opened it, taking out the opiates. "This is for the pain, I suppose you can take it like that or with water," he said while giving it to Daiyu. He returned to the kit and took out the bandages before turning to her again. "I can try to bind your wounds and legs if that's okay with you." If Dakai came up with some splints and Daiyu allowed it, he tried to tie up her wounds. (Heal)
"This is fine." Daiyu muttered as she took the opiates and popped them into her mouth. She leaned her head back and waited for the drug to start working as she watched Dakai work. She just wanted it over with and to be safe in a city.
Rill had apparently had plenty of experience dressing up similar wounds on ranging expeditions before. He had to get Daiyu's heavy clothes out of the way and expose her bare leg in order to work, though. The skin was black and blue from bruising and there were a myriad of scrapes and tiny cuts on it, but it would heal. Carefully, he cleaned the leg as much as he could and felt around for a fracture. This would probably be extremely painful for Daiyu had her senses not been clouded by the powdered opium. Finally, Rill found what seemed to be a fracture on the woman's shin and, using bandages and the metal rod to craft a splint of sorts around her leg.
"Well miss Daiyu I hope that helps." Dakai smiled at her hoping he could ease her pain and set her at ease a bit with his friendliness (charm). He handed the bars off to Rill to let him work his magic before he turned away. He didn't feel it was right for him to see Daiyu's unclothed leg for some reason. He approached Tetra cautiously hoping she wasn't still pissed at him for earlier. "Hey, miss Tetra. Would you happen to know how to pick a lock." He asked her quietly.
"My thanks." Daiyu murmured with a sleepy smile as the drugs started to work. She was feeling surprisingly at ease though she did not like the way her mind was clouded and made it hard to think clearly. "My father would kill me for being so indecent." She said with a smile, almost unaware of what she was saying as she watched the man cut through her clothing and touch her skin. She was actually serious, the shame of being touched by a man other than her husband... if she hadn't been drugged she probably would've protested but for right now she could only smile in relief.
Tetra was so intently focused on Thad, down to staring at him directly as he read the contents of her findings, that she completely missed Dakai's approach, and hopped slightly as his voice surprised her. "Wot?" she said initially, looking the young man up and down with a sort of contempt. "Why would ya ask that? Ya think cause I look like this I pick locks for a livin'?" snapped the girl, her thick brows creasing together as she looked Dakai dead in the eye. Of course she knew how to pick locks – it was, many times, how she survived. But she couldn't resist challenging someone else's assumptions of her, even if they were correct.
The engineer didn't mean to interrupt the two, "Sorry." He offered at first before facing the younger girl. "Look? No but I know you know how to get by in the slums like I do or else you wouldn't have lasted long." Dakai smiled a bit (charm) trying to play it off more as a compliment than anything. "But I usually resort to breaking locks off or bartering for services." He held the container out a bit for her to see. "I have seen how you can run and evade things, so yes I assumed you would be good at most things it would take to survive a bad situation miss Tetra."
"I think your father would prefer his daughter alive and well, regardless," said Rill a little absent-mindedly to Daiyu. "You're welcome." He then looked at what remained of the medical supplies and turned to Ferah. He walked closer to Ferah and spoke to her. "Want me to try to bind your wound too? That is, if there's enough bandages for that." He tried to ignore whatever Tetra and Dakai were talking about since he didn't like their tones.
Because Zahrah had nothing real to add to any of the conversations, she stood slowly and looked around the cart for anything that might be used to cover the now drugged Daiyu until they arrived. (Notice) An escort and dancer she might be, but the woman had some standards as far as what was exposed to the general public. And there were too many men here for her comfort. Were it she exposed and weakened in such a manner...the woman refused to think about that as she looked around quickly.
Thaddeus didn't even look-up when Dakai approached Tetra-- less out of discourtesy and more out of the fact that the engineer was fully engrossed in the letter and the notebook, wondering what the correlation between the antique item and the modern missive could possibly be. Tetra had gotten a little testy when Thad inquired as to where she'd gotten the notebook, so he wanted to be cautious in his further handling of the matter. As the locomotive buzzed with other activity, Thaddeus stood still, thinking; he looked for any indication of a date on the letter, then pondered a moment about the Royal Crown Inn, to recall its location, if he had any recollection about it at all (Memory).
Ferah gave Rill a tired smile. "Thank you but no thank you, Ranger," she said kindly. His concern was appreciated, but she was sure her wound would heal fine with its current binding. With one eye on Zahrah, Ferah made her way to a seat closer to Daiyu. She reached out a hand and patted the Shah's shoulder. "You have shown great courage. You have done well," she whispered to her, referring to having her wounds treated. "Perhaps some day I can teach you how to wield a blade with such conviction."
"Are you well, Miss?" Paki approached Zahrah. "You seem troubled. All are safe and attended to and that is a good thing, yes?" The Kkala gave her a gap-toothed grin that wavered with his next thought. "Or are you injured, too? Perhaps a sprain?"
Tetra was still worried about the papers Thad was holding, more worried that he might try to take off with them if she didn't keep her eyes on him - though where could he go on a moving train - and, combined with the request coming from Dakai, she consequently missed the goings-on in the rest of the train. Glancing quickly at Thad, the girl turned a little towards Dakai, standing awkwardly so that she wasn't directly facing either of the men. She stared at him intently, obviously unamused at his failing attempts to charm her into doing as he bid. "Yeh, I guess I might know more 'n you 'bout breakin' locks," she said, still not letting on that she could probably open any lock he could throw her way. "Whatcha got for me in 'change?" she added, lifting an eyebrow as she looked the young man up and down. Of course, she had her own idea of payment.
After staring alternately at the letter and one of the pages of the strange ledger, Thaddeus suddenly shuffled everything he was holding so he could write again, but before jotting anything down, he first cast a cautious glance toward Tetra, who was now in discussion with Dakai about dubious behavior involving locks. He scritched the blunt end of his pencil next to one of his sideburns for a thoughtful moment before he proceeded to write One could presumably discover the importance of the ledger by meeting with Lord Raleigh, if Ms. Thorne was currently on her way to meet with him when she lost her belongings, and if the letter is current. Or, perhaps, one could locate Ms. Thorne. Either way, at least some small amount of further investigation is necessary. When he was through writing, he struck the unsharpened end of his pencil once on the pad of paper as if to punctuate his point, then waited patiently for Tetra to finish her new conversation so he could show her his written deduction.
"Always the business woman. Smart." Dakai smiled at her sense. He checked his pockets quickly before coming up empty. "Well I have no money on me at the moment." He began knowing it was a bad way to start. "But when we get to the city I could cook something up, or let you stay at my apartment for the night. It's not much, just a two room shack in the back alleys but its what i can afford. It beats the streets I suppose." He offered. He didn't have a lot since most of his clients were broke as well, but he had a place that was basically a kitchen storage and workshop in one room and a bed in the other, well room was being nice it was barely ten by ten feet.
"I would greatly enjoy such a thing." Daiyu muttered in answer to Ferah's offer. She wasn't exactly paying attention to most of what was going on around her though, being off in her own little world. The idea of learning to use a weapon was inviting to say the least, even though she knew her family's policy about women handling anything war-like, it was one idea she was willing to go with.
Tetra didn't yet notice the written words on Thad's notebook, as she was then engrossed in conversation with Dakai. She kept her body, however, at an angle, so that she could easily see if Thad tried to move away. "Ya don't know nothin' bout me," she stated firmly, giving the man a glare after he assumed she was all about business. As soon as he said he had no money, the girl began to feign disinterest turning away and back towards Thad. Then, she caught the words on paper, but had no time to read or speak up about them as the mechanic at her side began offering alternate solutions. Slowly, she turned her head in his direction, raising her brow. "Deal," she said immediately, figuring one night not in the streets and in someone's home could be to her benefit in multiple ways. "But I need somethin' else," she added in a low voice, keeping the suspense until the young man asked.
Dakai was put off by the girl's bluntness but it wasn't new she had been this way earlier he remembered. He studied her wondering what else the girl could want. "I suppose I could work something out. What do you have in mind?" He asked trying not to cock his eyebrow as he did. She was shrewd but she knew how to haggle.
"Fine," said Rill to Ferah. Since no one else seemed too hurt and didn't ask for any healing assistance, he spent a moment cleaning his own little wound and putting a small bandage over it. Having done that, he headed for a free seat if there were any, or if not, the floor. He tried to rest again.
"I am whole and uninjured," Zahrah replied to the boy as he asked her if she was okay. "However we should find a blanket or some covering for her," she said just as quickly, gesturing at Daiyu as she did. "I believe Mr. Rill has something we can use if you would be so kind as to ask." (Charm) Zahrah thought it might be better for someone else to do the actual asking. She was already tired of dealing with these people and wanted some privacy to mull over what had occurred and if it was possible to get a refund on her ticket. After all, it wasn't for them to be in charge of this train.
"Get me into the city," Tetra replied without a hitch, Ulysses at the same time suddenly cawing loudly at Dakai. The bird went back to pecking at Tetra's disheveled and dreadlocked hair as the girl stared intently at Dakai. "Tell 'em I'm yer kin. I ain't a orphan or a stowaway. I'm yer family." Tetra knew if she didn't have someone to vouch for her, without a ticket she would be seized and certainly returned to an orphanage as soon as she was back in the city.
Now that was a request Dakai hadn't expected but it was the same ruse he had tried earlier. He really didn't want to involve himself in crimes, and this was basically human trafficking, but he wanted what ever was in the tube, if it was an expensive blueprint he could make the plan and sell them, or if it was some decent documents he could win some favor back with the school of engineers. Only this time it was probably going to be tougher, more guards, multiple checks, and hell they were even rolling in on a train with multiple dead royal engineers with a pretty non believable if true story behind it all. This was going to be tough. He had to think for a second before answering, hatching a plan. "Deal, but we will need to do some prep work. I have one wild card i can use in emergencies." He stated, he had a plan but no idea if it would work. "Play along and don't go off script, what ever i say if a guard questions us you go with ok?" He leveled with her(persuade).
Tetra's eyes moved slightly as she studies Dakai's face, truly unsure if she could trust him. He seemed sincere, but she knew better than to believe that without proof. "Fine. You get me into the city and I'll unlock your thing after you do," confirmed the girl, lifting her chin a little to show she wouldn't take no for an answer.
Dakai's face almost comically drooped a bit. This runt knew how to push her weight around even if she was less than a sack of potatoes. "Fine." He sighed, disappointed he wouldn't be able to get into it sooner. Honestly he could hire someone to do it in town once he arrived but now he it was on his conscious that she would probably be jailed if he didn't help her... again, well if they all weren't honestly.
Paki's face warmed and his concerned expression turned positively giddy. "Ah! Of course, of course!" With quick steps he approached Rill and laid his hand on the older man's shoulder. "Excuse me, sir? Would you be willing to part with your cloak for the time being? It would be bad if the lady caught a chill." (Persuade)
"Oh?" Rill didn't even know who Paki was talking about, but he figured out that refusing would be very impolite. Still, since he was warm enough, he agreed to part with his extra cloth and gave it to Paki. He then looked after Paki to see to whom he would give it.
"Thank you very much, sir." Paki gave a short bow before walking over to where Daiyu laid, coming up beside Ferah. He gave the older woman a polite nod and smile before laying the cloak over Daiyu.
Tetra gave a curt nod and let her eyes linger on Dakai for a moment, almost as if she was challenging him to go against his word. Of course, if he did, it would be to both their disadvantages, because if Tetra went back to the orphanage, Dakai would have no one around to open his map case. Blinking once, the girl turned back to Thaddeus eager to know what he had discovered in the papers she had shown him. Without asking permission, the girl reached out and took the writing pad from Thad, bringing it closer to her face to scan it. After a few, long second of lip reading and eyes following the path of the words, Tetra looked up at Thad. "Wot if she's dead?" the girl asked rather bluntly, opening herself up to questioning from Thad against her claim of having found the letter and notebook. Of course, the woman she had received the items from had a different name, but she still possessed these things. Tetra considered however, that if she had been on the run from Officials, she probably would have used an alias.
Thaddeus stood there, patiently waiting for Tetra to finish her conversation, looking slightly off to the side, as is he weren't actually listening to the discourse she and Dakai were having right in front of him. People routinely treated him like this, thanks to his disability, so he was used to pretending like he wasn't paying attention and acting more like a piece of the scenery. He wasn't expecting Tetra to snatch his notebook right from his hands, however, and he looked justifiably disgruntled when she did so. His bloodshot eyes narrowed in suspicion when the urchin posed her question, and he pointedly reached for his notebook to take it back from her. If and when he was able to wrest the pad from her, Thad jotted, That would undoubtedly complicate the situation. He paused, to recollect anything he might know about a Lord Raliegh or the Ralieghs in general (Memory). It would most likely come under scrutiny as to how you procured these documents, as well, he wrote, then tilted the page toward Tetra so she could read it. By the slight curl of his lip and the way he was looking down his nose at her, there was no mistaking the thinly-veiled mask of aristocratic mistrust and skepticism upon his face.
Now that business was settled, Tetra was not being a pain, miss Daiyu was drugged and seen to for first aid, and Dakai himself was not dying of a chest wound he allowed himself to sit down across from Thaddeus and rest for a spell. He recalled from earlier that the man had some sort of engineering knowledge as he knew how to handle the train controls better than himself and was able to patch up the severed cable Dakai had pointed out. Knowing it would be a bit before he could ask the man about his engineering knowledge, but then he caught the gleam of the man's eye as he interacted with Tetra, he had seen it his entire childhood.
Tetra willingly let go of the pad and looked back to Thad, once again staring intently as he scribbled his next message down. As soon as he finished, she looked at the notepad again, scanned then words, then raised her gaze to meet Thad's. "Then I'll just let them know that she died in the fight we had, and she gave 'em to me 'fore dyin'." With that, the girl spitefully snatched up the documents she now considered hers, folding them carefully and stuffing them in her pockets as she walked away.
Rill tried to not listen to the scheming going around, but that was a mostly doomed attempt. He didn't react, however, since what was more important was that the train kept going and that the people in it would make it. He listened to the others in case they needed help, especially if there was something wrong with Daiyu or if Ferah or Dakai needed help with their wounds after all.
Adventure Concluded
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