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
The group had succesfully repealed an attack by the creatures that had killed the soldiers and engineers. However, the question remained, if these things had so easily taken down Royal Carabineers, there had to be more out there than the three they had seen. Many, many more. The monsters seemed not to be keen on losing any of their numbers, so they could very easily be sitting right then on the edge of the forest, waiting. Circling around like a pack of wolves, looking for the weakest in the herd that made up the train survivors. Looking for a gap in their defenses through which to charge again.
The Luxury Cart
(Tetra, Royal School Agents, Paki, Ferrah)
Lena Rose, who had been following after Paki, stopped right as she saw from afar how Ferrah dispatched yet another one of the creatures. Still agitated, she couldn't help but smile at the thought maybe now they were safe. "I knew Miss Ferrah could do it!" she called out to Paki, who was a few feet ahead of her. "And we found more people too." added the girl, turning to Zahrah and Thaddeus, who had just exited the cart next to the group. "I'm so glad to see someone else made it. What were those things?" she added. The woman looked relieved but still shaky and frail. Her skin was as white as the snow behind them and her hair bushy and cherry blonde with pale blue eyes. The heavy winter coat she was wearing made her seem even smaller and one of the young woman's hands clutched something she had hanging from her neck, but too small to see outright.
Tetra had stood on the train, glancing around quickly to get a feel of her surroundings. She spotted the two remaining creatures and gritted her teeth - hopefully she would be able to avoid the things. However, too soon one of the creatures, the one nearest the woods, seemed to have already spotted her, and it nocked and arrow, looking ready to fire it in her direction. Growling under her breath, Tetra readied herself to simply run for it, but a screech from the other direction distracted her. Whirling her head around, she was just in time to see a head roll to the ground and a decapitated body flop over into the snow. She looked at the dead thing in horror, then back in the direction of the woods, catching the rear of the creature disappearing into the woods. Tetra couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief, dropping down to her knees on the top of the train. She whistled for Ulysses, and he flew out from the cabin to land on her arm. Hearing another unfamiliar voice approaching, Tetra scooted over to the edge of the train, sitting and letting her legs dangle off the side, and observed the frail-looking woman from her seat. "Somethin' to do with wolves. Maybe," answered the girl without a hitch, looking down at Lena. "Ulysses called them that, anyways," she added, not wanting the other to think she actually knew what they were.
Despite the added layer of his coat,
Thaddeus shivered as he ventured outside of the cabin, and his watery blue eyes followed Paki as the Kkala man rushed after Ferrah, who, in one fell swoop, dispatched with the creature closest to the engine of the train. The thing's death-screech made the young man shudder, and its partner's cry from the woods did the same. He looked wide-eyed and frantically around, wondering what to expect next. It was only then that he realized Zahrah's petite form aside of him. He was looking questioningly down at the courtesan when Lena Rose spoke, and as Thad allowed a momentary glance in her direction, the corners of his mouth twitched, like he was trying to smile in polite greeting, but the lad just couldn't manage it. The terms
monster and
nightmare crossed his mind, remnants of his childhood when she inquired as to what the creatures that had attacked them were, and his thoughts were, to him, verified when Tetra piped-up from the roof of the train car. After Daiyu passed-by the larger group to tend to Dakai, Thaddeus, who had, in his panic, frankly even forgotten that the gear head had run off ahead to take a look at the engine, made a somewhat spastic and rapid forward thrusting movement with his hands, and in quick succession, he licked his lips nervously and formed the words
We must get the train going, although there was no sound to accompany them, of course.
"M-m-maybe w-we should g-get h-him b-back on the t-train?"
Zahrah said, the shivering causing her words to sound stuttered. Her arms were wrapped fully around herself as she watched everyone else do things. She was just too cold to really move. Looking at Thad next to her when he started doing his hand gestures, she tilted her head until she thought she understood. "C-can y-you g-get it m-m-moving again?" she tried to ask, finding her speech slowed drastically with the cold. Since it seemed that no one else was going to suggest it, she chose to stick with Thaddeus because at least his plan, or what she thought was his plan, made sense. They had to keep moving.
Ferrah laughed as the creature bled out in front of her. She flicked the dark, sticky blood from her falx's blade before placing it in its harness on her back. Seeing Dakai already being attended to she made her way to the train cart and climbed in. The swanky carriage - the seating definitely looked comfier. She sighed with relief when she took one for herself. "I think I've earned an upgrade," she said with a tired chuckle before stretching her arms.
"Ah..."
Paki had a contemplative look as he considered Lena Rose's question. What
were those things? They walked on two legs, so perhaps it used to be human? Sure did not look human, though...
Exhaling a frosty breath as he considered Zahrah's chattered inquiry,
Thaddeus bobbed his head back and forth slightly, nodded just as vaguely, then added a small shrug. It was an entirely noncommittal reply, for he'd need to go have a look at the engine to diagnose the issue before he actually knew whether or not he could do anything. The young Daguerrian was confident in his abilities, but not to the point of arrogance. Thad looked back to the inadequately-d
ressed woman standing aside of him, and, with a sweeping manual gesture toward her body, an expression of realization hit his face, and he fluttered his hands in a shooing gesture toward Zahrah, trying to indicate that she should get back onto the train. Since he was taught at a young age, despite his mutism, not to point at people because it was rude, he tapped himself twice on the chest with an open palm, then gestured toward the engine. He was going to go to the engine. Reaching the same open-palmed hand toward the courtesan, he didn't touch her but came close to her shoulder as she would allow and tapped the air above twice, circled his hand to encompass the small group gathered by the first-class car, then swept his hand toward the train car. With a wide, puppy-dog eyed expression, he tried to indicate that everyone else should go inside (persuade). Not wanting to waste any more time, he pulled the collar of his woolen greatcoat up and turned to make his way to the engine.
She wasn't going to argue getting back on the train. Zahrah knew that standing out in this cold was just stupid. The train had a broken window now, and she wasn't going to rejoin the two crazies still on board. No way in hell. But that look, she couldn't help but think that even for a Daguerrian, Thaddeus was kind of adorable. She pulled her wrap tighter around herself, shivering too violently for words at this point. Her clothes weren't helpful out here, but she wasn't going to go back into the car until someone else entered. So instead she moved to follow Thaddeus, ignoring the stinging cold as best she could. (Fortitude)
Slowly, Zahrah and Thaddeus made their way towards the engine, the nearly direct contact with the snow burning at the beautiful young Majai's ankles and shins as she advanced. As they walked off, only Tetra, Paki and Lena were left standing by the luxury cart. In the meantime, the two agents from the royal school, who had been standing by as if preparing for another attack, noticed Ferrah walking into their cart. For a second, they jumped at the new person walking into the cart, the older woman's books crushing some of the broken glass that now littered the floor. "Y-you!..." said the long, tall man as he turned his gun on Ferrah. "You're... human." he then finally added, putting his weapon down. Shortly after the short man continued under his breath, "...if barely... Let's go and get those mongrels to fix the train. We're overdue for the Royal City." he hissed as the two walked off, stepping off the train and onto the snow. As they stepped out, though, the eyes of the tall man widened. "You!" he said, pointing at Lena Rose, who immediately gasped and took refuge behind Paki. "Emilia Thorne! You're under arrest by order of the rectory of the Royal School of engineers!" grunted the man, pulling out his gun and aiming it rigth at Lena. "You, Kkala mongrel!" yelled the fat short man. "Grab that bitch and bring her here, now! That's an order!"
Hearing some of the others make their way over to the wounded boy, Tetra turned her attention in Dakai's direction long enough to see the blood pooling around him. Blinking quickly, she looked away again, figuring the two company members helping him could handle it, and honestly not caring to get involved one way or another. A chill ran through the girl's body, and for an instant, she considered retreating back inside the cart until the others managed to get the train going or something. However, shouts from the door of the cart distracted her, and she suddenly loathed the idea of returning inside with those two oafs of men. Fortunately for her, the supposed Royal officials stepped outside instead, and Tetra put one knee up, ready to stand and go back inside. Suddenly, however, the two men began shouting again and pointing fingers. Tetra's brow furrowed, and she slowly let her leg back down, bending over slightly to look down at everyone. She wanted to keep quiet, to keep from being seen by the other Daguerrians - the last thing she wanted was to be taken back to that damned orphanage. The tables suddenly turned, though, as one of the men raised his gun, pointing it at Lena. "Fuggin' Royal School scum," she barely whispered under her breath, her hand reaching behind her to withdraw the Dagger she carried from beneath her coat. Tetra had more than a few grudges against the Royal School of Engineers, and suddenly, under the circumstances, she was getting an itch to settle a few of them (Sneak).
With a groan, Ferrah got up from her seat and followed the agents outside. She pulled her falx out from its harness again, resting it against a shoulder as she stood on the platform of the cart. "Do you Imperialist pigs mind explaining yourselves before you attempt arresting our comrade?" she called out. Lena, or whatever she was called, seemed like a woman who could do with some protection.
"Ah?" Paki blinked at the agents. "Me?" He gestured to himself before noticing their gun. At the sight of the weapon, Paki stepped between Lena Rose and the agents. "Hey! Don't be rude! Enough fighting and peril has happened without us turning on each other!"
Tetra had always been light on her feet, and this was no exception. She moved right above the pair with her blade in hand without being noticed at all. In the meantime, the broad-chested, short Daguerrian turned to Ferrah with fire in his eyes, "We don't have to explain ourselves to the likes of you." he barked back at her as he stuck his hand inside the jacket. When he pulled it out, he had some strange contraption on his hand. It seemed like an over sized glove, but on each knuckle was a small protruding metal plate with a myriad of cables and the sort running from one to the next. Making a fist with his hand, the small coils came alive with electricity for a second. "This woman is a thief and unless you stand down right now we'll consider you her accomplices." added the tall man, aiming the gun squarely at Paki now. "And you'll hang at the gallows with the rest of your kind." he added, his eyes narrowing as he spat on the floor. Before anyone could react, Lena poked out from behind Paki, replying to the accusations with her hand clutching the thing she had hanging from her neck, "I'm not a thief! I didn't do anything wrong, I know what you guys are trying to hid-" she began to reply, but was quickly silenced by the sound of the Daguerrian's repeater pistol being cocked.
Tetra watched with disgust the two Daguerrian men below her, a large scowl forming on her petite face. She looked at the Kkala and resisted rolling her eyes at his moronic actions. Then her eyes focused on the woman who called herself Lena, her eyes narrowing as she argued with the Royal officials over what was the truth. That didn't concern the girl, however, as she was more interested in the fact that these two men were so eager to shoot down another passenger, or two. Much like they always were, of course. Slowly, Tetra ran her thumb lightly along the blade of her Dagger, watching everything carefully, and even eyeing the two weapons the Daguerrians carried. Briefly she wondered if she could take them from them at some point - they'd sure be worth a pretty penny. The girl's thoughts were cut short, however, as one of the Royal officials cocked his gun, and Tetra stiffened, waiting to see what would happen.
Grudgingly, Ferrah returned her falx to its sling on her back; the agent's glove contraption looked like it would hurt a lot, and despite their uselessness earlier, she had no idea of the abilities of the two Royal College employees. Horking up a chunky amount of phlegm, she spat on the snow between her and the agents before leaning back against the carriage. For now, she'd watch what happened. Unless the two pigs thought they were going to arrest them all, she'd monitor the situation and plot her future moves carefully.
Paki's eyebrows furrowed at Lena's words before he spoke up with a clear and determined voice."Ah...If you're so willing to shoot her, how are you so sure she's who you say she is and not who she says she...is...?" He faltered near the end of the sentence, not out of fear of the gun or doubt of his actions, but because something in that sentence sounded awkward...Did he phrase that right?
"You better stand back, woman." replied the short, thick man, obviously pleased his intimidation tactic seemed to have worked. "We're going to bring that woman into custody one way or the other." added the tall man, his eyes narrowing in Paki's direction as he motioned with his gun. "We're pretty sure she'll confess to her crimes with the right incentive." he added. "And it's not your place to question what we say, Kkala, you just need to do what we say." he added, his tone a bit softer now, as if trying to convince Paki. "P-please don't." said simply Lena, holding on tighter onto Paki's arm and looking up at the large majai man with pleading eyes. "I've done nothing wrong! I don't know what your rectory told you but you have no grounds to be after--". Angrily, the tall thin man sapped at the young woman, once more cutting her off before she could continue. "The rectory didn't have to tell us anything. And you better follow suit, we don't HAVE to bring you back alive after all." As the man spoke, the lights inside the luxury carriage suddenly sprung back to life and a cursory glance up and down the train would show that all the other carriages seemed to have gotten their power back as well. "Good! Seems those no good train workers finally got the thing running." said the short man with a toothy grin. "Now hand over the woman, Kkala, and go back to your cart, we ought to be leaving soon."
"This is stupid!" Ferrah announced loudly. She stepped off the cart and advanced towards Paki and Lena. "Get out of my way," she said curtly to the huge Kkala before pointing at Lena. "You're keeping us here with your crimes. I for one would rather be on my way to the city by now." She suddenly lowered her voice to a whisper and hurried her words. "Go with them child, I'll be just a step away. You won't be in danger with me close by." She let out another burst of angry words. "And you, Paki Egwu, would do better than to face down a hand cannon! Foolish man!" She threw up her arms in mock annoyance before turning back to the agents, giving them a sneer, and then climbing back up to the front cart and stepping in.
Paki moved aside as Ferrah directed him to, considerably more startled by the Amiri then he was by the agents or their guns. He watched, wide-eyed, as the woman snapped at Lena Rose, debating to himself whether or not he should defend the younger woman. Paki decided not to when Ferrah turned to him again. Nearly jumping in alarm, he stuttered over his defense. "B-but they were going to--so soon a-after--Yes'm."
Combat!
Lena's eyes widened as Ferrah moved forward towards her. As the older woman advised she turned herself in, the woman denied with her head as and cold sweat running down her face, as if she knew something the Majai did not. "N-no..." she said simply. Soon enough, the woman turned around and rushed towards the tree line, apparently preferring to brave the snows rather than go back to the Royal City in the hands of Royal School agents. "Damn it!" yelled out the short man, "She's going to get away!" he added. The only thing the tall man replied was, "She's not!" before he squeezed the trigger of his repeater. After a loud bang, Paki could feel a bullet zing by his ear before turning around just in time to see Lena falling onto the snow. The woman's body quickly disappeared down the couple of feet of snow that blanketed the ground.
Turns are as following;
1. Tetra (Endurance: 2/4, Stamina: 1/3)(Arm Disabled)
2. Ferrah (Endurance: 7/7, Stamina: 9/9)
3. Paki (Endurance:9/9, Stamina:10/10)
4. Short Agent(Grappled)
Tetra's turn!
How could these people be so stupid? Encouraging the woman to turn herself in to these nobodies, and now the man had gone and shot her! As time seemed to slow down to a crawl, things moving in slow motion, Tetra looked quickly between the two School officials, her heart beat growing faster. She knew they were going to do something stupid. Experience with men like these all her life told her that. She could hear her own breathing in her head as she considered her options: kill the man with a gun, or kill the man with the weapon. The man with a gun had fired on that woman, and she was tempted to go for him first, but she vaguely recalled that he had only managed to load one bullet, and the man with the strange glove would be more of a threat. Gritting her teeth, time suddenly sped back up as she made her decision. "Fuckin' bastards!" screamed Tetra as she pushed off from the top of the train, leaping down without hesitation. (Jump) Gripping her dagger tightly in her hand, she tried to fall on the back of the man with the electric glove, aiming to dig her blade into the back of his neck. (Finesse)
The large, burly man with the electrified glove was taken unawares as he suddenly looked up and saw a diminutive figure jumping at him from atop the train. For a second, he seemed to think the creatures had returned, his eyes growing wide with panic. He did not have time to turn around to face his attacked, however, before Tetra's blade bit deep above his right shoulder-blade. Though she had missed his mark, the girl made a bloody gash on the thick Daguerrian's back before finally landing on the soft snow with cat-like reflexes, her blade sticky and warm with blood. "You little cunt!" yelled out the large man, grasping at the cut on his back as his face grew red, veins popping noticeably at his temples.
Paki's turn!
Paki could not breathe. A woman--who was unarmed and no threat to any of them as far as he knew--was shot down. Her life extinguished with a single bullet. When he heard the bullet and felt the sting of it passing his ear, he turned faster then he could comprehend, but for a moment afterwards there was a silence that seemed to last eternity. Time did not awaken until he heard Tetra's cry at which point he turned and saw the struggle. "NO!" Paki rushed at the two, intending to separate them before there was another fatality.
Paki rushed towards the wide chested Daguerrian man, but the damage was done, Lena Rose lay in the snow, probably bleeding out if not dead already, and the young urchin Paki had met earlier had stabbed the officer in the back. At this point Paki could choose to use his considerable strength to try to restrain one of the Daguerrians, or maybe Tetra.
Ferrah's turn!
With the gunshot ringing out, Ferrah looked out the window in time to see Lena fall and then Tetra spring at the agents. "Idiocy!" she hissed. Despite this, she pushed through the door and drew her falx. With her own cry of anger, she launched herself towards the man with the gun, hoping to catch him before he could reload. Maybe she could simply wound him enough to stop him attacking and then help out the street urchin. Her blade in both hands, she swung it at the skinny agent (Strike).
The tall, skinny Daguerrian, quickly realizing they were under attack, pulled out a couple of cartridges from his lapel and quickly attempted to start reloading his gun. He too, however, was surprised by Ferrah suddenly coming to the small girl's aid. The man dove out of the way of the blade, still sticky and smelling of foul blood, but he was too slow. With a quick slice, the man's left hand and part of his forearm flew off and fell into the snow as he stumbled backwards, blood flowing out of the stump where his hand had been in quick, sickening pulses. The man only managed to scream, holding onto his empty gun with his other hand as he tried not to fall unconscious.
Short Agent's turn!
"You traitorous mongrels!" roared the thick Daguerrian man, blinded by rage. It was obvious Ferrah was the bigger threat at the time but the short bruiser only had eyes for Tetra. "Come here you filthy little rat, we'll have you and all your Majai friends hang for this!" he screamed, almost foaming at the mouth as he tried to drive his massive fist into Tetra's face. Electricity snapped and crackled around the man's glove and the young girl had a split second to decide if she wanted to attempt to dodge or try to stand her ground and block the strike!
Tetra let out a breath as her blade hit flesh, but grunted out a frustrated scream as she realized she had missed her true target. The girl caught her footing easily and tore her dagger from the Daguerrian's neck, watching him carefully. She heard screams from behind her, but had not time to turn and look, as now her target was attacking her. She knew she was no match against brute force, so, she leaped to the side, trying to roll out of the way of the man's attack. (Tumble)
Tetra jumped back but even her speed was outmatched by the fists of the raging bull of an agent attacking her. In mid air, the man's fist caught her shoulder and felt like a brick hitting her at full speed. The young girl fell to the snow and barely managed to keep her balance and throw herself back as another swing came at her. Falling back on the snow, she felt like all her muscles were trying to contract at once. Her legs were shaky and the arm where she had been punched hung lifelessly from her body. As much as she tried, her arm would not respond past erratic twitches on her hand and elbow.
Tall agent's turn!
While his partner went after the young girl who had attacked them, the tall agent grabbed onto the stump where his hand had been and screamed. With the hand that was still attached to his body, he faced Ferrah and began squeezing the trigger wildly. Unfortunately for him, Tetra's calculations had been right earlier and he was out of bullets. His eyes wide with anger and fear, he began to pull back towards the forest as quickly as he could.
Tetra's turn!
Tetra screamed in agony as the man's glove connected with her shoulder, sending her sprawling into the snow. She managed to scramble away from the second hit, but her entire body felt almost as if it were on fire, her muscles spasming violently. Gritting her teeth and grunting through the pain, Tetra tried to push herself up, but her left arm seemed to be completely out of commission. "Shit!" she hissed as she used her other arm to push herself up and scramble to her feet. If there was anyone who hated to run away from something, especially something they had started, it was Tetra. However, the current circumstances predicted that if she didn't high-tail it somewhere else, she'd be killed in a matter of seconds. Not even bothering to glance back at the man she had attacked, the girl took off running, albeit a bit unsteadily, towards the woods, in the same direction where the other agent went. She figured, if anything, she could lead him there and wear him down enough to take him out. It wasn't until she was running directly behind him that she noticed the other Daguerrian man in front of her, limbless and trailing blood across the snow. Her anger reignited, she girl grit her teeth together. He wasn't getting away from this. Dagger still in hand and left arm flopping limply at her side, Tetra raised her right arm, and with one strong thrust, threw the Dagger at the Royal School official, trying to embed the blade into his back to at the least slow him down. (Aim)
Tetra was faster than the man who was making for the woods, even with her legs numb and spazzy. As she moved in the same direction as him, she managed to quickly bridge the distance between them until they were a mere 15 feet or so from each other. Trying to shake off the numbness on her good hand, Tetra grabbed her dagger by the blade and flung it at the man. Though her aim was affected by the electricity still coursing through her body, she managed to strike through and the blade buried into the man's body right below his right shoulder-blade. As if suddenly stung, the man stopped and turned as if he was disoriented. It was almost pitiful to see him, blood running down his back and out of his mouth, he tried to reach behind him with his good hand and the stump where the other hand been, spraying more of his life down on the white snow, before his legs finally gave in and he dropped into the snow only a few feet away from Lena. He was sure to bleed out in a few seconds.
Ferrah's turn! -
Everything had happened so fast, but at least the agent with the gun was incapacitated. Ferrah span to confront the remaining Royal School combatant. His fist weapon was undeniably dangerous, but she had to take him. With a howl of anger, she took her arms back and then swung them round, all her force thrown into the effort with her falx (Smash Attack).
Turning to the Daguerrian man, Ferrah lifted her massive Falx and brought it down on the man, almost as if she attempted to slice him in half. For the first time since she got on the train, however, Ferrah seemed to be facing someone competent in close combat. The falx, even coming down with such force, was slow and unwieldy. Much like he had punched little Tetra away, the Daguerrian managed to thrust his fist against the side of the blade before it touched him and deflect the blow!
Paki's turn! -
Not giving much thought on the fact that the man was facing him and most likely will see him coming, Paki ran towards him. At the very least he would attempt to distract the Daguerrian and give Ferrah an advantage (Tackle).
Even in his early youth, Paki had always been built like a bunker, and had an easy time grappling even with opponents larger than him. This wasn't the case though, so he Kkala rushed the Daguerrian agent right after he deflected Ferrah's blow. Putting all his body forward, Paki slammed his shoulder into the other man's stomach, ramming into him like a train and tossing him back against the cart behind him. Coughing, the Daguerrian fell to the floor, clutching his stomach and trying to get up as quickly as possible.
Short agent's turn!
Lying prone on the ground, the man could do little more than try to stand up as quickly as possible, still clutching the spot on his side where Paki had rammed into. Once in his feet, he braced himself against the incoming wave of attacks. In the meantime, the electric shock Tetra had been subjected to wore off, and though she regained feeling on her fingers, her disabled arm still wouldn't move much.
Tetra's turn! -
A large breath came from Tetra as the knife successfully hit its target, digging into the Daguerrian's back. She watched as he struggled to pull the blade from his flesh, and then collapse into the snow. Scrambling over to him, she dropped to her knees, looking down at the nearly-dead man. "Bastard," she hissed, as if the last insult he heard would haunt him in death. She looked back to see that the other official was on the ground, struggling to get to his feet, and the girl decided she could take her chances getting her weapon back. With a grunt. Tetra slipped her hand under the man's shoulder and dug her feet into the ground, pushing and trying to turn over the limp body to retrieve her dagger. In the midst of pushing, the girl noticed the body of the woman, Lena, lying face down in the snow, and she pushed the body with all her might. (Push) If Tetra could just get her weapon, then she could go check to see if the woman was even still alive...
Tetra moved towards the dying man and promptly pushed him over so he was face down on the snow. The area on which he had been laying had been dyed read and her dagger stuck straight out of his back when she turned him over. When the girl reached over and pulled it out, the man twitched lightly and seemed to make a small gargling sound. With that done, the girl moved over to Lena, who lifted her hand up in the air as Tetra approached. The woman was even paler than before and the snow around her had bloomed red.
Ferrah's turn! -
So, the kkala had some stones after all! Grinning in the knowledge that she had some support, Ferrah sprang towards her opponent. "Time you learned the meaning of fear," she hissed at the agent. Again, she brought her falx back, but this time she avoided using pure brute force. Instead, she swung the weapon with the hope of disarming this man as well (Strike).
Once more, Ferrah's falx seemed rather slow compared to the man she was trying to slice with it. This would not be as easy as it had been with the creatures earlier. This time, as soon as she lifted the cumbersome falx, the man reached forward and batted the blade to the side with his armored hand!
Paki's turn! -
Again, paying more attention to what Ferrah was trying to do then the dangers of fighting hand-to-hand against a Daguerrian with unknown armor, Paki went at the man again, attempting to keep at least his arms occupied (Grapple).
Once more, Paki lunged at the other large man, but this time instead of simply tackling him into the ground, he tried to reach behind him and secure his weapon arm. With surprising grace for a man of his size, Paki hooked his arm around the other man's and bent it backwards so he couldn't use his weapon.
Short agent's turn!
With his arm hooked, the agent tried to use all his strength to bring his arm out of the lock Paki had him in. At one point, he almost managed to lift Paki off the floor, but it proved to be too much for the Daguerrian, thrashing around in anger as he tried to release his weapon arm.
Tetra's turn! -
Tetra sighed when she managed to pull the blade from the man's back, and she shook her dagger one time, hard enough to try to sling some of the blood of the blade and into the snow. Panting heavily from both being attacked and running away, the girl gave another glance over to the man who had managed to hit her, then scurried over to where Lena lay. The girl gritted her teeth when she saw the pool of blood around the woman and her pale skin. "Damn Royals..." she muttered, gripping her knife tighter and resisting the urge to go after the other man. "You don't look good," the girl said quietly to Lena as she kneeled beside her, wondering what she should do. She had never really been the sympathetic or compassionate type, but she knew she felt bad for this woman who had been shot in cold blood.
Upon closer inspection, Lena had been show clear through the chest. How she had managed to hang on this long as was a mystery. Even if they were to somehow get immediate medical attention, they probably could not save her. When Tetra approached the woman, she seemed to be holding something in her hand, which she promptly thrust at the young girl. Finally, the woman muttered something, just loudly enough for Tetra to hear and with that, Lena closed her eyes as her hand dropped down to the snow, still clutching the object she had tried to give the girl.
Ferrah's turn! -
Spotting that Paki had the agent held, Ferrah grinned and brought her falx back to strike. "Hold him steady," she told the kkala in a low voice. Deciding that she needed to be more accurate with the two men caught together, she aimed at the agent's heart and slashed (Strike).
With the man restrained by Paki, it was child play's for Ferrah to stab her blade into his chest. There was always a sort of gross feeling when a sword first made its way into soft flesh. The man began to scream and kick and there was some resistance to Ferrah's falx, but with a little push, she felt bone crack and then the screaming stopped. The man would probably bleed out and die in seconds.
Combat has ended!
Tetra frowned deeply when she noticed the gaping hole trough the woman's chest. It was a shame she had to go and die at the hands of those poor excuses of men, but at least they had been taken care of. Leaning in, the girl tried to listen to what the woman was saying, and she felt her hand pressing against her chest. "Wha?" she questioned as she pulled back, looking completely confused, then jumped slightly as her body went completely limp. Tetra sighed, looking at the woman for a few seconds, until she heard the crunch of bone and wails of pain from near the train. Looking back, she saw the other man laying, now silent, on the ground. The young street rat showed little reaction to the latest of multiple deaths that day, and instead began to pry whatever it was Lena held from her lifeless fingers. Grasping the object, she shoved it in her hand, figuring she could look at it later. Right now, she had one goal, and that was to get as much loot as she could from these bodies - they weren't going to need it anymore. Beginning to dig around in Lena's pockets, Tetra searched for any money or items she might have been carrying. (Notice)
From afar, the other two could see Tetra shuffling around Lena's inert body, but failed to notice the urchin going through her pockets.
Flicking the blood from her blade, Ferrah gave a quick nod to Paki. "Well done, young man," she said in a solemn voice. "You are now a warrior." Stooping down over the agent's body, she took a look at the glove weapon the man had been wearing. "He won't need this where he is now," she murmured removing it from the corpse. She pulled the device onto her own right hand, admiring the device's potential to cause harm. "Here," she said, holding her falx out to Paki. "You may need this more than I now."
Tetra pocketed the few things she had found, not bothering to take the time to put her new Guerrmarks in her pouch. Standing up, the girl trudged through the snow, back over to the body of the Daguerrian man. She knelt down beside him and began doing the same as she had done with Lena, though she had to turn him on his back again. (Push). Before grabbing anything from his pockets, the girl picked up the man's pistol, sticking it in her waistband, beneath her long coat. Then, she proceeded to search him. (Notice)
From their vantage point by the train, Paki and Ferrah could see little Tetra struggling to turn the other man over with her one good arm. The young girl pushed into the man with both arm and shoulder, but quickly slipped on the snow and fell face first into it. Getting up and spitting some snow, the girl seemed to simply decide to try to get into the man's pockets from behind. The others were, once more, too far away to figure out what she found in them.
With wide eyes Paki cautiously reached out for the falx, acting as though it were some sacred object capable of smiting him with no wielder. When he finally held the weapon in his hands he weighed it curiously before giving Ferrah a childish, gap-toothed grin. "Thank you so very much! I shall cherish this blade and treat it with utmost honor." He spoke this last sentence with great reverence completely unlike this joyful expression as he bowed to the woman. He had righted himself just in time to see Tetra slip into the snow and give up turning the body. "...Does she need help with something?"
"Probably searching the dead," Ferrah murmured before patting down the dead man at her feet and feeling inside the pockets (Notice). "It's not pretty, but the dead have no need of their possessions. And in this age, where Majai are lesser people, we need all the help we can get." She grimaced as her hand touched the man's blood, wiping her hand in the snow.
Ferrah searched the thick chested agent they had just felled right before Paki. The fact he had been stabbed right through the chest meant that blood had soaked his sharp business suit, ruining it completely. As Ferra stuck her hand into his jacket pocket, it felt warm, wet and sticky, her fingers dyed red as she pulled out a couple bloodied coins. On the opposite pocket, a bit drier and less gross, she found a strange copper lined canister. What it was for, she could not say.
Once again, Tetra put away the items she had garnered from the dead body in front of her, sitting up so that she was sitting on the ground, legs bent beneath her. She looked over at the train, having been hoping to loot the other body, but unfortunately, the other powerful woman had gotten to him first. Scowling, Tetra looked back at the man in front of her. Surely he had more on him that what she had gotten. Laying down on the ground once more, she reached under the man again, digging around for something else. (Notice). If she couldn't find anything else, she would happily go back to the train, as her fingers were starting to feel numb from the cold.
The feeling on Tetra's stunned arm was slowly starting to return, but it would probably be hours before she regained full mobility in it. In the meantime, her good arm started to hurt from the cold as the girl continued to search the man's body. This time around she found a hidden pocket sown into his jacket, inside was a tiny velvet bag with some more coin.
With the items pocketed, the Amiri warrior returned to the carriage and climbed in. Ferrah wiped what was left of the agent's blood on her breeches as her body started to feel the bite of the cold ebb. Taking a seat, she sighed. "You're getting too old to be charging around in the snow, gal," she chided herself. Now relaxed, she took the strange cylinder she'd taken from the dead man and examined it - what could it be? (Identify)
Tetra breathed in as she resurfaced from the dive into the Daguerrian man's coat pockets. She looked down, counting the coins in her hands, and a tiny smile appeared on her lips. It seemed she was set for a good while with the things she's scavenged from the dead bodies. Feeling her arm begin to throb, the girl figured it was time to retreat from the cold, and shakily, she stood. Moving a little stiffly, the street urchin trudge through the snow, making her way back towards the train. Reaching the cart, she stopped, looking up at the roof, and gave a sharp whistle. Ulysses had stuck to the cart during Tetra's little battle, and seemed to have been playing around on top of the cart, chasing snowflakes and playing with icy spots on the roof of the car. Perking his head up over the edge, he gave Tetra a curious look, then fluttered loudly down to her shoulder with a loud caw. Giving the bird a little nuzzle with her cheek, Tetra retreated inside the cart, taking a seat at the back, farthest away from Farrah, without saying a word.
As Ferrah went into the cart, Paki stayed outside to watch and make sure Tetra did not need any assistance. Once the young girl returned to the cart, Paki glanced around to check that those creatures were not watching nearby (Notice). The fact that he could not see anything suspicious did nothing to relieve him. With an anxious glance towards the front of the locomotive, he headed into the cart, not sitting down but keeping an eye on the doorway.
Hurrying from the front of the train, Zahrah paused outside the cart and looked around. She swallowed back a little shock at seeing the outside and when she didn't see anyone standing, she decided to go into the train. Stepping into the doorway, the woman paused as she looked at those inside. "Hello," she said in greeting, her eyes traveling from Paki, who was closest, to Ferrah, and finally she looked back at the small figure practically hiding in the back. "We are...attempting to get the train moving again, but need some help. If you could assist us in removing the barricade blocking us from getting started again...that would be...so appreciated." She put on her best charming self (charm/persuade) in her attempts to get them to help, figuring that even if they didn't give into her, they would still want the train to be moving.
The Locomotive
(no one)
Well it seemed Daiyu's faith in Ferrah was once more confirmed and she emerged from her hiding place in time to see only black blood scattered on the snow. She looked around at everyone who apparently had no thoughts for the young man dying in the snow. She approached Dakai, seemingly undecided and then knelt beside him and tore a strip from her robe tried to staunch the bleeding. "Now is not the time to celebrate. We still have wounded." She spoke up, loud enough for the others to hear her. True he was not a Shah, her skin crawled just touching him but she was unprepared to watch a person bleed out in front of her. It would not be honorable and she was reluctant to shame her ancestors in spite of her disgust.
The creature bared down on Dakai as it went in for the kill. For the briefest moment the young man saw his life flash before him, his family, his old house, a well established manor, his old school, his hole in the wall he called home now. He shook it off gripping his wrench firmly in one hand ready to do his best to parry the blade, the other clutching at his chest in a feeble attempt to stop the seeping wound. But then at the last second its head separated clean from its shoulders in a fountain of blood. An older woman with a pole arm stood behind it, having slain the beast that almost disemboweled him in one strike. She had the look of many years of experience in her eyes. He faltered for a moment before a even newer girl ran to his side, a refined beautiful Shah. Before he could protest she had already pressed the cloth to his wound. He did his best not to let on that it hurt like five hell forges. "Thank you miss," He began through gritted teeth as he slipped his hand under a layer of cloth under hers to apply pressure to a lower layer himself, "But don't dirty your hands for my foolish actions." He tried to keep his manners in order, after all he had run ahead of the group in an attempt to fix the train and he had to the pay the price for doing so. He handed her a piece of his clean engineers rag to wipe her hand with. "Please don't worry yourself over me." He gave a half smile(bluff)(charm) before doing his best to pull himself up with the aid of the train side. "His attention turned back to the group as he leaned against the train and pressed his hand to his chest. "We can fix the engine, there is a sliced cable along the side that powers the cart, if *huff* we can fix that it should run again."
Rill had been about to get moving to get a better shot at the creature but he was struck by suprise by Ferrah's moves. He stared at her for a couple of seconds and then made sure that the remaining one had ran away. He really didn't want to get attacked again. He glanced at the people who had just ran up to them. "I... don't know," he answered to Lena Rose. Once he was sure that the creature had run away, he approached the group next to Dakai. "That was impressive," he said to Ferrah. He eyed Dakai and tried to assess his condition (Heal) in addition to asking him how he felt. "How serious is that? Are you able to fix the train without tying that up first?"
"You will go inside and you will lay still." Daiyu ordered (Persuade). He was trying and failing to act tough and as much as she would enjoy letting him die she knew her ancestors would be ashamed that she had left a boy to die. It was true, the sight of his blood staining her hands made her shudder but she stood up and pushed her dislike aside. "You are in no shape to move. If you move to much the blood will continue to flow and you will die." She murmured and watched him intently.
Rill watched what Daiyu was doing and gave her a small glare. "As far as I can see, the wound's bad but not life-threatening. See, it's a slice. Tie it up quickly now so we can get the train running and then fix it better. Okay? Um... I'll try to help. Tie that bandage lower so that the blood won't flow." (Aid on Heal?)
With Rill's help, Daiyu managed to move the bandage down, covering more of Dakai's wound, and tie it in tightly to staunch the blood. Though the wound was probably still very painful, little by little, the flood of blood coming out of it lessened.
As Thaddeus and Zahrah made their way toward him and the two others in his company, Rill looked at them but said nothing. When he heard some shouting from the passenger car, he gave it a very cursory glance, but since he didn't see any of the weird attacking creatures, he didn't even want to care what was going on. He'd be relatively content ss long as he was kept out of the argument. "Oh, you said you understand machines, so you can help with that, right?" said Rill to Thaddeus. His eyes then fell on the mutilated creature that had fallen on the snow. "Those things... we should bring them with us. Otherwise no one will believe us..." He held a pause. "And uh... probably the bodies of the guards too. Their families would probably want to bury them."
When he heard the crunching of feet through snow other than his own, Thaddeus turned warily to see Zahrah following him, and his shoulders fell just slightly, but visibly. He exhaled a sharp sigh, and, while he didn't looked ill-tempered, he did look a touch disappointed that she'd decided to come along. He motioned hastily with his unencumbered arm, trying to indicate that she should come up to his side, then let his partly-curled arm hover until, and if, she accepted his invitation. With his bag of belongings slung cross-wise over his torso, it would have been a lot of to-do to try and lend her his coat, but at least he could try to help a little. As they neared the engine and Rill addressed him, Thad's focus was more on the engine than anything else, but he managed a small nod in reply; he was acutely aware of the dead guards and creatures laying in the snow, bloodied things with which he wanted absolutely nothing to do, and he chose to maintain his gaze along the body of the engine and the tracks ahead as he scanned for any reason for the train to have stopped (Engineering). He just wanted to get moving again and didn't want to move any bodies, human or not, with the exception of helping Dakai back onto the train if need be.
There was hesitation on Zahrah's part before she ducked under Thaddeus' arm, getting close and betraying the amount of her shivering to him at least. Something inside her screamed not to do this, not to get too close, but there wasn't much time for those thoughts when it was between pressing up to him or become hypothermic. She wasn't stupid. So there Zahrah stood, pressing as close tot he man as she could, and surveying the area. (Notice) If they could get this train moving again, maybe they could get into the city before anything more happened. But she would stick with the men for the moment. At least they weren't completely mad. Her eyes swept along the tracks and the woods, looking for something blocking the way or any kind of movement.
As Thaddeus passed by Dakai recognized the mute man as at least mechanically inclined noting the engineers tools he carried. "Hey," He called out to the man, "The powers supply cable on the main engine is severed. *huff* If you can attach some conducting wire to the conduits then patch the wire to keep it together it should get the engine up and going again." He Managed to get up through a good bit of pain, luckily the first aid Rill had supplied seemed to help a good bit. "Do you think you can handle it on your own or do you need some help?" He asked, Daiyu's suggestion to go in weighing heavy on his mind. "Thanks for the help." He smiled a bit at Rill, prepared to make his way back inside if Thaddeus said he could handle it. That was until he heard the commotion behind them from the two guards. The words Royal School of Engineers rang in his ears as he caught sight of the gun. Fuck we really don't need to deal with the assholes right now.
Rill continued pondering about the cadavers after Dakai and Thaddeus focused on the engine. "Well, I'll go see if there's enough room in one of the coal cars for the bodies. There should be since we're halfway to the city."
Thaddeus let his arm firmly but chastely encircle Zahrah as she snuggled into his side, and he cast a quick and pointed glance at Rill's furry coat before turning his attention toward the damaged engine, gently trying to guide the shivering courtesan along with him as he moved. Dakai's voice was a hum in the background, a mere narration to what Thad was thinking as he surveyed the mutilated cables, and he nodded to himself, although it could easily be mistaken as a response to Dakai's question as to whether or not he could handle the repair himself. Similarly, he was lost in thought when Rill mentioned the coal car then wandered-off. Ready to get to work, Thad slipped the strap of his work bag over his head and rested it on the snowy ground, before nudging Zahrah toward the door to the engine then physically pulling away from her, as he wanted her to go inside to get warm, and he couldn't work with her tucked under his arm, although, under different circumstances, he wouldn't mind her staying there. In the moonlight, Thad selected the tools from his bag that he deemed necessary and useful, then set to work on making the repair (Engineering).
Thaddeus worked dilligently on the locomotive, managing to repair the connections within a couple of wires, but the machine seemed unresponsive, not coming back to life as he worked.
Rill headed to the space between the engine car and the coal car and tried to get in to see whether there was enough space. Through the window he saw that there would be space, so he tried to open the door.
Grabbing a hold of the handle to the door, Rill tugged on it once to loosen the ice keeping it close. The door to the coal cart was different from the other ones, it was much large and designed to slide to the side, which would allow the engineers to get coal easily to the engine. With one more pull, the ice shattered and the door slid to the side with little effort.
Once the door was open, Rill went into the snow again and went to look at the closest body of the strange creatures. He hesitated in picking it up for various reasons. Eventually he decided to just examine it to figure out if there was still something dangerous in or on it. He tried to avoid getting its blood on his clothes. (Heal, Notice)
Daiyu met Rill's glare with one of her own but allowed Dakai to get up without interference. He was not her responsibility. She gathered up her robes and made her way towards the train. She found the sight of Zarah freezing amusing but she made sure not to give it away as she climbed into the cart.
Uttering some sound of disgust, Rill examined the dead creature and seemed to be more in thought than he should be. They looked like frozen people, for the most part, but still not really. He held the broken scimitar for a moment and looked at it intently but decided to delay wondering about it until later, so he took the broken hilt and put it with the rest of his equipment. Then he kicked some snow over the creature and tried to rub the worst blood off it with his foot. Once that was done, he grabbed its legs and dragged it into the coal car.
Dakai took Thaddeus' nod for a confirmation before turning back to the train. If he didn't have it in a few minutes Dakai decided he would come back out to help. He followed behind Daiyu, the one who had urged him to go inside and hoisted himself into the cart behind her with a slight grunt of discomfort.
Outside, while Rill moved the body of the creature through the snow, the train suddenly seemed to come to life. A powerful electric hum could be heard coming from inside the train, but Rill and Thaddeus did not have much time to reflect in what it could mean. With his hands still holding onto the cables, Thaddeus suddenly felt a powerful electric current on his work gloves and, with a powerful spark, was sent flying into the snow several feet away. As he touched down, the smoking body of the young man melted a couple of feet of snow. Other than being extremely shaky, stiff and sore, Thaddeus seemed to be ok, only showing burn marks on his work gloves.
Rill watched in amazement as Thaddeus flew back. He dropped the creature in the snow just beside the train and went closer to the boy to check if he was all right. "What was that? Oh, you can't reply. Uh..." He tried to come up with a "yes or no" question. "Was that supposed to happen? Do you know what it was?"
As the minutes ticked by, Thaddeus made a regretfully infinitesimal amount of progress. He flicked at a bothersome tuft of his bangs that had fallen in his eyes, then delved back into the intricate wirework. He closed his eyes and turned his head so his ear faced the exposed mess of wires, and he leaned forward, as if he were listening for something in the beautifully-crafted piece of machinery. The young man opened his eyes, wearing a look of stalwart concentration, and he pondered how he might get some juice flowing in the machine, but before he knew it, Thad was flying rather inelegantly through the air. He laid wide-eyed and dazed, momentarily reclining in the drift of snow where he'd landed before he realized that Rill was addressing him. Turning his attention to the grizzly-looking man, Thaddeus gave no response other than to flail his arms as he tried to get to his feet, and he looked a bit like a turtle as he rolled back and then forward.
As Thaddeus just rolled around, Rill figured the boy must've been disorientated by the shock. Rill then leaned in, took his arm and helped him up if he didn't put up a struggle. "Are you okay?"
Accepting Rill's help, Thaddeus shakily pulled himself up. Was he alright? He looked down at his snow-dusted coat and pants, his singed leather gloves. He was still in one piece so Thad hastily nodded his head, sending a bit of snow that was in his hair flying. Trying to use Rill as leverage, Thad pushed off of the ranger and staggered forward to return to the damaged portion of the engine's body. This time, the young man was exceedingly careful not to touch any of the wiring and he leaned forward, hoping to get the machinery to speak to him (Engineering).
With the train now seemingly alive, Thaddeus had a much easier time understanding how the complicated wiring was supposed to work. That and he remember which cable he had been holding when the power had gone back on. With his work tools still at the ready, Thaddeus patched up the cables the best he could, running a length of wire through what seemed the most important cables so electricity would flow once more. As he did so, the train's hum got stronger and the massive lights at the front of the locomotive suddenly blinked a couple of time before coming back to life.
While Thaddeus worked on the train, Rill finished carrying the creature into the coal car and then took the engineer's body there as well, putting them in separate sides since he was quite sure that no one would want to have the human's bodies polluted by the creature. He didn't think about it much, but he was somewhat used to corpses. Usually not so freshly dead and with such terrible wounds, though. (Fortitude not to puke!) Having done that, he looked around at the locomotive and peeked inside to see what was happening.
It looked like Thaddeus was trying to laugh, or maybe it looked like he was going cry when the train finally became illuminated; either way, no sound issued forth from his open mouth, but his breath puffed out in forceful, vaporous clouds. He gathered his tools, carefully packing them, along with his work gloves, back into his bag, which he shouldered, then he picked his way through the snow toward the door to the locomotive's cab. He reached to place a polite hand at Rill's elbow to indicate that he'd like to pass to go inside.
Rill stepped aside. He then wondered where the dead guards were since they had definitely heard them cry and most likely die, so he looked up and down on both sides of the train to check where they were. (notice)
Offering Rill a tired-looking smile in thanks, Thaddeus stepped onto the locomotive and shut the door quietly behind him.
Rill stared toward the block on the rails and decided that he was not going to go there alone. Who knew, there might be more of the horrible creatures about and they just hadn't bothered with them at the moment. Having made up his mind, he closed the door of the coal car and went into the locomotive as well.
Hurrying from the front of the train, Zahrah paused outside the cart and looked around. She swallowed back a little shock at seeing the outside and when she didn't see anyone standing, she decided to go into the train. Stepping into the doorway, the woman paused as she looked at those inside. "Hello," she said in greeting, her eyes traveling from Paki, who was closest, to Ferrah, and finally she looked back at the small figure practically hiding in the back. "We are...attempting to get the train moving again, but need some help. If you could assist us in removing the barricade blocking us from getting started again...that would be...so appreciated." She put on her best charming self (charm/persuade) in her attempts to get them to help, figuring that even if they didn't give into her, they would still want the train to be moving.
Before Zahrah even finished her request, Paki was nodding in agreement. "Yes, yes! Of course! Getting this train moving and ensuring we move along safely is our first priority! I will do all I can to help." He grinned happily at the young woman.
"This body has worked hard enough today. Let the machine do what it was meant to and smash through," Ferrah said loudly, crossing her arms and fixing a scowl on her branded face. "Anything we could move by hand surely the train can manage." She was tempted to tell the kkala to sit down and shut up, as the child had, but he'd earned a sliver of her respect during the fighting.
"Then you stay here," Zahrah said, finally letting some of her annoyance through this whole experience show. "And when the train breaks, I can expect you to fix it and get us all back to civilization and safety. Or we can go check to make certain nothing too rough is out there to bar the way." (Pursuade) She wasn't about to stand there and argue with the woman. And wasn't going to wait for the child, who she already knew was petulant. Instead she gave her smile to Paki, who seemed eager to be helpful. "Any help would be appreciated." She held her hand out to him in a gesture for him to follow her out the door again.
Daiyu reached the others just as Zarah was getting ready to leave. "I will asist you." She said carefully as she looked into the compartment but did not bother to come inside. She wanted only to finish this, to leave this place and reach the city.
Tetra wasn't exactly comfortable alone in the cart with Ferrah and Paki, neither of whom had done much to keep her from being taken away by one of the train guards. She had no doubts, now, that one of them, if not both, along with that Shah woman would try to turn her in once they got back to the city. She figured they would blame the Royal School officials' deaths on her, as well. Either way, the girl planned to make a run for it as soon as the train's doors opened at the station. Scowling a little at all these thoughts, Tetra jumped a little when the door opened and the other Majai woman stepped in. Tetra thought for sure the girl was going to ask about the three dead bodies outside, but instead she avoided that topic, asking for help with the barrier blocking the train. So that was why they had stopped. Tetra didn't like the woman in the least, but she had a point - they had to get going at some point, especially before those creatures came back again. However, Tetra wasn't too sure, herself, as she could barely lift a sack of flour, even if she put her all into it. The street urchin was quiet for a moment, contemplating her choices, and she finally stood. "She's right, ya know," Tetra spoke to the older woman, resisting addressing Zahrah as a whore, which was simply what she considered the Majai woman to be. "If we go n' damage the train, we ain't goin' nowhere. Best to get 'er movin' before those things come back." (Persuade) The girl turned to Zahrah, Ulysses standing on her shoulder and pecking playfully at her matted hair. "I'll be yer lookout. I can't do a lot to move a barrier, but I can let ya know if those fiends come back." Tetra heard another voice and looked out the door to see Daiyu, and her scowl grew even deeper, but she did not revoke her offer. "Better hurry," she added, her eyes trailing back up to Zahrah, "'fore they do come back."
With a long sigh, Ferrah stood and headed for the door. "This ain't because you asked," she said to Zahrah as she passed the woman. Out in the cold again, she jumped down to the snow before trudging up to the front of the train.
Daiyu wasn't pleased to see the thieving little brat that had tried to steal her coins, she didn't give a sign of her thoughts, however, skimming over the urchin as if she simply wasn't there. She was relieved to see Ferrah, the older Majai was reassuring to be around and Daiyu managed to give her a welcoming smile, "You are a welcome sight." She said quietly to her, "I am glad for your company." She said formerly. She did not know the woman well enough to feel right talking at ease, as she followed the small group towards the blockade.
At first Paki froze somewhat when Zahrah held out her hand. He spent some moments debating whether or not she intended for her to take it until he heard Tetra and Ferrah's conclusions. "Ah! Perfect! With all of us working together, the train will be back on its proper course in no time!"
Zahrah gave everyone who agreed a winning smile before reaching out and taking Paki's hand, pulling the young man as best she could out the door, which wasn't that difficult considering. She didn't care how they won everyone over, just so long as they were all together. "You go ahead," she told Paki with a nod. "I have to go get the others and tell them that you all agreed." With that she cut through the train towards the locomotive.
Good. The more hands they had at the front, ready to fight, the better and safer they'd be. Looking straight ahead so as not to make any sort of eye contact with Daiya, Tetra followed the others up to the outside of the locomotive.
The Locomotive (Interior)
(Zahrah, Dakai, Daiyu, Thaddeus, Rill)
The gentle nudge moved Zahrah in the direction of the door to the engine, and she glanced over at Thaddeus as he pulled away. He had work to do, and she was holding them up. Stepping up and opening the door to the engine, she wanted to see if there was still a fire burning. She at least knew that much about the train. It was warmer in here as well, and she let out a breath, finally feeling the shivering slow down. She didn't close the door all the way, still wanting to keep an eye on the woods, not trusting it at all and not wanting her newly found friend to get injured out there while she was safely and warmly tucked away. (Memory (Engineering))
The heavy metal door leading to the the inside of the locomotive was slightly ajar as Zahrah approached it. The inside of the locomotive was cold and dark, but still better than the chill out in the snows. All windows were small and high up for some reason, and only a couple of small windows faced forward towards the track. Strange machinery, buttons levers and all kind of belts and cables lined the side walls, neatly organized with black leather seats on each side. She didn't know how many engineers had manned this in optimal conditions, but there were at least four of such seats. The space inside was divided into two levels. In the front on the bottom level was a large, open furnace, but it had gone cold by now, with only a few embers lit. Up top, on the second level was a strange device; it was a sort of pillar, humming with power, and stuck in the middle was an orb the size of a man's head, gold and copper plated. Dozens of large, thick cables ran up and down the pillar, coming out of the sphere. On each side of the pillar were the small windows peering out towards the front.
She moved forward, towards the device she was seeing. It was by far the most important looking thing in here. And Zahrah was curious. Always curious. It helped that she was the only person in here at the moment. Taking a few slow steps forward, she analyzed the orb, her eyes scanning over it quickly and decisively. If she couldn't figure it out, she would leave it alone. But this was information, valuable information, that she wasn't about to pass up. Even if she didn't understand it, she could at least remember it all. Stepping up as close as she dared, Zahrah paused to study the device for a moment, racking her mind as to what it could do.(Memory(Engineering)/Identify)
Zahrah approached the orb, a strange chill ran through her skin as she came closer and she could feel a sort of static cling on every hair on her body, but the machine gave no more clues as to what it could be. The only obvious thing was that it was valuable and it was probably indispensable for the functioning of the train. On the 'pilar' connecting the orb to the roof and floor of the train, right below the sphere itself, she noticed a dial. It had been turn so an arrow on the rim was pointing down, towards a small black glass sphere about the size of a fingernail. Above the dial was another glass sphere, this one with a blinking red light.
There was a massive amount of uncertainty, but that was clouded over by curiosity. Zahrah let her hand move over the dial, running her fingers against it for a moment as she looked around to make sure no one was watching. If anything bad happened, she would just turn it back to its original setting, no one the wiser. Hopefully. Her eyes wide, she looked around one more time before grasping the dial firmly and turning it slowly towards the blinking light, keeping her ears open for any change in the engine. (Listen)
Daiyu suddenly climbed into the cart through the slightly open door, once inside she wasn't quite sure what to do so she glanced around (notice) to make sure she was in no danger.
Dakai had hauled himself into the cart after Daiyu's arrival and plopped down into the first empty chair. He took a moment to peek beneath the bandage since he didn't have the luxury outside. It seemed nasty but luckily it wasn't to deep, he would be fine he summarized, but it would leave on hell of a scar. "Thank you for you help and concern." He smiled at the Shah who had rushed to help him outside.
Daiyu, followed by Dakai walked into the locomotive to the same scene Zahrah had seen earlier, just in time to see the Majai girl messing with the strange device on the second level inside the locomotive. It was obvious none of them were supposed to be there, since Majai in general were never even allowed near Lonetrain locomotives. Even within the engineers, only the most experienced and trusted ones were permitted to enter the locomotive of a Lonetrain, let alone work on it. Of their group, though unbeknownst to Daiyu and the others, the only who could have gained the authorization to work on a Lonetrain locomotive through his lifetime was Thaddeus. When Zahrah turned the dial up, the device up top began to hum much louder, and many of the cables around it trembled with electricity. Small sparks snapped between Zahra's skin and hair and the pillar, but other than that, not much seemed to happen inside.
Zahrah turned, looking around for any signs that she was on the right track with this dial. Leaving it turned to where she had it, she took a step back and looked over at the other two who had entered, her features attempting to stay steady. "That did something," she said quietly, but was uncertain as to what it did. She wanted to go out and see if Thaddeus had made any progress on getting the train moving again, since she had no idea how it actually worked from inside here. Passing by the other two, she went to the door and peaked outside, looking for any signs of the others. (Notice)
Sticking her head out the door, Zahrah saw the corpse of one of the dead monsters had somehow moved much closer, until it was almost by the very same door she was. The pungent rotten smell coming off of it was beyond compare. Farther ahead, she noticed Thaddeus, standing on the snow and looking a bit wobbly, with Rill nearby.
Daiyu glanced around and actually felt a small bit of awe upon seeing the orb. The feeling was quickly eliminated as she realized that a woman was messing around with it. It hummed to life but she was not reassure as the sparks flashed around the woman. She lifted her chin just slightly, when Dakai suddenly spoke to her and she nodded. "I followed only what my ancestors demand." She said quietly. Her careful response was truthful but the words kept it from being obvious that she would've preferred keeping her skin untainted by impure blood. She knew, however, that it would be best not to make enemies and she forced herself to give him a small smile (charm) "It pleases me to see my effort was not in vain." She added as Zahrah brushed past them.
A few seconds later, the lights inside the locomotive suddenly went on, illuminating the cold and dark metal interior.
Zahrah looked up as the lights came on. "Oh." She smiled, looking around properly at the space she was in, giving both Dakai and Daiyu a small nod in acknowledgement before she looked back out the door, searching for Thaddeus. She would congratulate him properly when he came inside for getting it to run again, completely unaware of her own hand in the matter. She knew that she did something, but it was Thad who got the train up and running again. With a smile, she waited for the man to join them so they could get underway again, given that the rest were inside as well.
The look of concentration on his face might indicate that Thaddeus was thinking, and indeed the engineer was trying to figure out the next step to get the train moving again as he stepped into the cab's tight quarters. He was also curious to see what, if anything, in particular had happened inside (Engineering) the complicated piece of machinery. The young man looked a little more disheveled than he did before, with his hair mussed and streaks of something black smudged across his forehead and the side of his nose; the snow that had stuck to his clothing and hair was melting into little droplets where it sat, and his cheeks was flushed a bright red from being out in the cold. He realized that he wasn't alone in the cab, although his mental preoccupation kept him from offering much more than his weary smile in greeting to Daiyu, Dakai and Zahrah.
The woman near the door smiled in a dazzling manner at the young man as he joined the small group. "You fixed it," Zahrah said, her tone brighter than it had been since the lights had gone out. She saw his distraction, though, and pointed to the dial she had played with. "Perhaps you should look at that. It sparked when I turned this." Her hands went from the orb to pointing to the dial, not wanting to admit that she had done something that might have been bad. But she was just happy that there were lights and maybe they would get closer to the city once more.
"Xishei." Dakai did hid best to thank her in her native tongue. He, unlike most Daguerrians, found the other races fascinating and enthralling, he could tell the Shah from the Majai and was a bit ashamed his fellow Daguerrians could not do the same. He looked up, though not to meet her gaze as he didn't want to offend her and was stuck silent for a moment. She was quite blessed in terms of her beauty, not in your face but a gentle soft beauty like the moonlight upon fresh snow. Before he could gather himself the surge of energy ran through the cart as he glanced back to look at the strange device that had emitted it. He had never seen anything of the like before. Even in school something like this strange device would have been reserved only for the professors to study or design. What was it? He wondered desperately wanting to get his hands on it.
Rill came in and closed the door again. He didn't give much thought to whether a conversation was already taking place or not. "The barricade is about 200 metres ahead and there are more bodies there. But I don't think we should try to pick them up. Are we ready to go? I can try to help with something if I can..." (Memory: Trains)
Taking a moment to view the sight before him, Thaddeus swept his gaze over the interior of the locomotive's cab with an expression of awe and appreciation written on his face. His eyes lingered on the immense machine heart that Zahrah had pointed out to him, and the engineer nodded at the suddenly sunny Majai woman, indicating that he heard what she said. Nothing appeared to be amiss with the machinery inside, so Thad set his bag of tools aside on one of the four seats for the time-being, and he swept his hand, open and palm-up from one of the other seats to Zahrah and then back again, hoping that she would understand that it was an invitation for her to sit. Next, he glanced back at Rill, nodded his comprehension, gestured toward the furnace, then stepped toward it. He wanted to check the store of fuel (Engineering?) and something he could use to reignite the fire (Notice).
Well then. Daiyu was surprised to hear her language although it was a clumsy attempt she was able to appreciate the effort. After all, not everyone could achieve perfection and the pursuit should be encouraged. Her smile was almost genuine as she dipped her head in acknowledgment of his words. Her attention was then drawn by the Majai woman who had so rudely brushed past her. An escort. Nothing more than a high priced whore who spread her legs for every man with some coin. It wasn't long before more people had entered the cart and she felt more bitter with each new man. Of course she should've realized that the Daquerrians would stay in a warmer cart. After all it was their disgusting race that had brought her own line down and each moment that passed that they did not bother to even acknowledge her presence felt like a slight against her race. She was gracious enough, in her mind, to spare Dakai from some but not all of her resentment. She was so lost in her thoughts that she almost failed to hear the gunshot but when she did her head went up as she glanced towards the door and searched for a sign of someone trying to come in.
Understanding Thad's pantomime, Zahrah moved over to a free seat, next to his tools, and watched them work. Her mind was going into overdrive as she paid as careful attention to what they were doing as she could. (Learn) It wasn't every day a Majai had a front row seat to the secrets of the trains, and she wanted to know everything. Her eyes did travel once to Daiyu, who seemed to be less than pleased with her surroundings. Or perhaps she was one of those who believed race held worth. An annoyance at the small mindedness of others danced in Zahrah's mind as she turned back to watch Rill and Thaddeus, who she had unexpectedly found herself clinging to. At least this one didn't seem the type to try to force anything on her. The shudder that went through her at the thought could have easily been a shiver due to the cold.
Somehow Rill realised that there were now two people around whose names he didn't know. He was about to ask their names when he took a look at the engine and thought of something else. He turned to look at Zahrah and Daiyu. "You don't know any magic, do you? It's just that engines don't work properly if there's some weird stuff going on... But well, I don't think it matters if you don't actually do any magic around it," he said, not intending to sound insensitive but most likely failing. Just when he was again about to ask the others' names, he heard a gunshot and jerked his head toward the door. "Did you hear that? Someone shot. The creature that ran away has probably come back." He wasn't sure whether he should go help there or stay here. "When do you think you can get this going?" he asked Thaddeus. "Um... how many minutes?"
Nodding to himself ever-so-slightly, Thaddeus inspected the buffet of gadgetry before his eyes and deduced what it was he thought he had to do to proceed. He hadn't heard the gunshot Rill spoke of, and when he looked back at the ranger, his brow furrowed and he shook his head no. Maybe the older man was just hearing things. Thad's mouth pulled into a tight line when he asked how many minutes it would take him to get the train up and running, then he made as best a motion he could to pantomime the shoveling of coal into the furnace before looking for the locomotive's coal bin to do just that (Notice), providing there was an adequate amount of coal available.
And if magic was indeed what was blocking the machinery? Daiyu thought to herself indignantly as she listened to Rill. "I have none." She finally answered. In a way it was true, though she had dabbled, she had yet to achieve any sort of real connection or power. She turned and noticed Thad's pantomime, "Perhaps a lack of coal is your problem." She offered instead. She was not able to shovel the coal, nor would she if she could. To dirty her hands with common labor, her parents would be ashamed. As it was both her clothing and her slender form, with no visible muscles, made it obvious that she would not do any good.
Having watched Thaddeus, Zahrah did look up at Rill's question. But she didn't hear a gunshot. So she just shook her head. Turning back to Thad, she saw his motions and knew what he was asking. "Right. Coal. For the furnace." She didn't have the strength to be shoveling coal, but if Rill got some from the coal car, Zahrah didn't mind volunteering to help. "Is there not a coal car?" Her eyes went to Rill as she stood once more, not moving from her seat as she waited for his answer.
Rill stared at Thaddeus and seemed pretty dumbfounded. Luckily Zahrah and Daiyu understood what he meant, so Rill turned to look at them instead. "Oh, right. Well, I probably have some coal on my boots, so yes," he said, referring to how he had put the two corpses in the coal car. "I can get some." He needed a container for it, so he looked around for something to carry it in, and a shovel. (Notice)
Dakai had fallen silent as he watched Thaddeus go to work. The man was quite skilled to be honest, on par or better than himself. His eyes followed his movements(mimic, learn?) trying to absorb anything he could. He knew most of what was going on but the mute man knew a good bit more on the intricacies and fine points than he himself and he never missed an opportunity to learn. Thaddeus' sudden stop and look made him realize what he wanted about the same time as the others. "Cant get power without burning some coal." He sighed heaving himself up. Even though he was injured he knew he was one of the few capable, or willing, do such a task.
After spotting the shovels by the door, Rill went and took one. "Wait a moment," he told the others. He then opened the door carefully and peered outside to see whether the escaped creature was about. (Notice) If not, he went outside and into the coal car, where he took the wheelbarrow he had seen earlier and filled it with coal. Having done that, he pushed the wheelbarrow outside and into the locomotive.
Dakai followed behind Rill picking up a shovel where he had found them, his other hand still applying pressure to his wound which seemed to bearable at least. He made sure not to venture out in front of Rill like he had last time and looked over his shoulder for any sign of danger himself(notice). He was at least going to try and help the group by shoveling a little coal.
After a few seconds, Rill came back into the locomotive, followed by Dakai, still bleeding lightly through Daiyu's makeshift bandage. The ranger had at hand a wheelbarrow filled with coal.
Wearing his tired, half-cocked smile once more, Thaddeus looked back at Dakai and Rill upon their return from the coal car; he knew that the gear head had been injured, but, from his vantage point, he didn't realize that the young man was again bleeding. He motioned with his left hand for the wheelbarrow to come forward, and then, glancing back to the furnace, he reached to open the door, hoping to expedite the process of getting the train moving. He presumed the other men could take care of loading the coal while he stepped toward the ignition switch by the conductor's chair.
With a slight huff Dakai made his way into the coal cart. It would be no problem to load a wheelbarrow of coal but they where going to need a lot and as fast as possible so they could get the train going. He shoved the shovel deep into the coal and tried to muscle more than a shovel full(strength). He turned and dumped what he managed to get into the wheelbarrow.
As Thaddeus opened the furnace, Rill figured that they should get the fire going. He started shoveling the coal, making sure to not put too much in. He also turned to Dakai and said: "I don't think you should try to do too much with that wound. At the least it should be dressed better first."
Every time Dakai sunk the shovel into the coal and brought it back up, he seemed to wince in pain radiating outwards from his wound. Still the gear-head persevered, and in about a minute or two, the two men seemed to have the furnace loaded with enough coal to get the train going.
Zahrah took her seat once more, watching the men as they worked. No one had listened to her offer to help, so she laid her hands in her lap and waited. If they got this train underway, she wouldn't be stuck here so long. But she vaguely wondered how the people at the platform would react to passengers controlling the train. That was a matter to be dealt with later. In the meantime, she watched the others, her eyes scanning everything that could be of use later. (Notice) After a moment of looking, Zahrah stood and went over to Rill, hesitating before putting a hand on his shoulder. "Should we not...do something about that barricade before we try to get the train moving?" She put on her best persuasive manner even though she knew that she was right. (Charm/Persuade) Better to let the boys think that they were doing their own thinking sometimes.
Proud that he had managed to haul a decent load of coal Dakai straightened up to wipe his brow only to wince in pain and see a fresh circle of blood bleed through his makeshift dressing. However through his pain he happened to notice something in the distance about the same time as Zahrah. "Hey guys the barrier...." That is when the charming lady spoke up, "Yeah what she said. I mean we could push through it but we would need to hit it a full speed, but look how charging face first into things has turned out so far." He joked pointing to his own chest and leaning against the wall compressing the bandages(recover).
For all his lack of subtlety or refinement, Dakai was a tough man. He had gotten out of worst injuries before and he always bounced right back. As the daguerrian leaned back against the wall, he tightened the bandage as much as he could and stifled almost all of the bleeding. As long as he didn't overexert himself, the cut would probably not open again.
"You're right..." admitted Rill when Zahrah spoke. "I checked, or looked at the barricade and we might be able to push through it. But it'd be safer for the train if we cleared it. Still, it's big, in an exposed area and the royal guards were killed there. If we leave here, we'd just be walking into another ambush, unless those creatures have run away. We need to go there in a large group. And I don't think we can leave the train unattended either." He felt a little helpless as he pondered the options, but tried not to let the others see his vacillation.
With his hand paused next to the ignition, Thaddeus glanced over as Zahrah stood and approached Rill with her question. His eyes lingered on her until Dakai spoke, and Thad looked to him, and then, finally, Rill and Zahrah again. The young man pursed his lips thoughtfully. The suggestion held merit and he eventually nodded in agreement – they should clear the track before going any further. And, yes, they should stay in a group, although the idea of such manual labor didn't exactly appeal to the less-than-strapping, weaponless engineer.
"Some of us can go," Zahrah said with a nod. She looked over at Thad and couldn't help but giving him a bit of a grin. "Thaddeus can stay, since he knows the most about the train. In case something happens, at least it can get moving again." She didn't even want to think about something happening to them, but she figured her logic was sound. Thaddeus had gotten the train operational. "And we can go clear the blockage. Maybe not me, unless someone has something warmer I can wear." She gave them a slow, slightly self deprecating smile, trying to find an excuse to not go with them. (Charm)
"Wild shot in the dark here but we could need some help." Dakai kept his hand on his chest as an idea occurred to him. His free hand scratched his chin before he spoke next. "Weren't there more people in the back cars? If we can get them to help us, if any are alive, it would even the odds if any more of those things show up." Without another thought he slipped his jacket off with a bit of effort. "It's got some blood on it but it's warm." He offered it to Zahrah honestly expecting her to refuse due to the stains but it was the offer that counted in his mind.
"Yeah," commented Rill when Dakai mentioned other people. "And that Majai warrior woman seemed effective, maybe she'd help. Would it be a good idea to get the train next to the barricade? At least then it would give us cover and we wouldn't be as exposed out there." As Dakai offered his coat to Zahrah, Rill finally thought that he could have offered his coat as well. Well, it was too late now, unless Zahrah refused the jacket. "Will anyone go fetch some people to help with clearing the barricade?" he asked. He would go himself if no one else volunteered
Daiyu watched and listened to the others discussing what they were to do. For now she was content to stay silent as tried to learn from the others as much as possible. Apparently, they seemed to be discussing how to get rid of the barrier and she was silently wondering to herself if it would even be possible to move the train closer to the barrier and stopping good. When the other woman spoke up, Daiyu felt scorn curl in her stomach although she was careful to keep her face formed in an unreadable mask. It was just an example of how the whore could weasel items from a man. She would never admit it, even to herself, but Daiyu could even be considered a tiny bit jealous. As it was she spoke up, "If help is needed, I will give what assistance I can provide." She offered steadily. She had no reason fear the cold and though she disliked the idea of getting out of the train she wanted to continue on her way.
Thaddeus looked sidelong to and returned Zahrah's grin with a delicate half-smile of his own; of course he preferred to stay inside, but if he was needed outside, well, he would go when asked to do so. Looking like they had at least three to go work on the barricade, Thad left the others to figure out who would go where; he figured it wouldn't make much sense to send the mute to try and rally help from the other passengers, anyway. The young man pushed a hand back through his wavy mop of hair, looked briefly to Daiyu, Dakai and Rill, then took a sweeping perusal of the intricate machinery to deduce the degree of ease and efficiency and what exactly it would require for him to safely nudge the train just far enough on the track to make it closer to the barricade (Engineering).
With a hesitant motion, Zahrah took the coat and looked at it for a moment. "You...you should stay here. And help Thaddeus." She didn't want the injured guy out in the snow. Slipping into the coat that was far too big, she wished there was something she could do about the blood. But too late for that now. "I will go and ask the others, if you will wait to start the train moving until I return. It seems unfair to leave them in the cold if we actually do start moving." That seemed just silly. So without much more thought, or any more words, Zahrah gave Thaddeus a small nod and moved from the cart, hurrying back towards where she remembered the rest were.
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