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
The group had succesfully repealed an attack by the creatures that had killed the soldiers and engineers.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 Barricade
(Ferah, Rill, Tetra, Paki, Daiyu)
Ferah followed the tracks of others who had already tread their way to the locomotive, keeping her feet fairly free of the snow. Instead of heading in to the train's interior, she kept on till she reached the very front. "No wonder they needed help with this," she murmured, eyeing up the track blockade.
Rill came outside and glanced around, glad to see that Ferah had come to help. He then immediately looked toward the frozen forest, looking for any of those strange hostile creatures. (Notice) "I heard a gunshot a while ago. Did that escaped creature come back?" he asked while peering around.
"Yes," came
Tetra's matter-of-fact voice, walking up behind Farah and stopping next to her. "One came back, managed to take out three more of us. Luckily, we injured it and it ran off," the girl blatantly lied, her expression as serious as ever. (Bluff) She spent a quick glance towards Ferah, attempting to silently convince the woman to agree with her. (Charm) The last thing any of them needed was the death of two Royal School officials on their hands, no matter the dirty deeds they had committed. Ulysses fluttered a little on her shoulder, looking around curiously.
Stepping outside to join the others,
Paki overheard Tetra's bluff, having no idea what she was attempting to do. "Huh? When did this happen? All I recall about a gunshot is when that rude man tried to shoot...Oh, yeah...She's dead..." In an instant his grin faded and the large man had a melancholy air. "Such a sad thing in such a dire situation...I nearly forgot..."
Rill stared at Tetra as she replied. He thought her explanation was off for some reason, but he couldn't really deduce anything directly. Honestly speaking, he didn't want to know what was off, either. He glanced at Paki but didn't pay him much heed since he didn't seem to know much more than Rill did. He didn't want to spend time talking about the issue. "The creatures are still out there, moving quickly at the edge of the forest. I can see movement but I can't count them." He looked again at the group. "What? Is no one else coming?" he asked. He shook his head a bit. "The Royal Guards were ambushed there. I'm sure we'll be too. You two look strong so you should clear the barricade," he said to Ferah and Paki. "I have good eyes and a bow, so I'll keep an eye on the creatures." He glanced at Tetra. "And I suppose you'll need to do that too. If they attack, we all withdraw into one spot and hit them until they're dead or flee. Do you two have weapons?" he asked from Paki and Tetra. "If not, I have a staff and a dagger I can lend."
Ferah put on her best grimace. "The creatures, both the foul ones from the forest and those despicable ones from the city, died by my hands. Anyone not wanting to meet the same fate should keep their mouths shut and their minds on the task at hand" (Intimidate). She wouldn't let the child be branded the same way she had, though younger than when Ferah had committed murder. With a final imposing glare at the ranger, she went to the blockage on the tracks and braced a shoulder against one of the felled trees. Straightening her legs she attempted to push the great weight from the train's passage.
Daiyu trudged along behind everyone, reaching the barricade after everyone else. She noticed sourly that the whore was no where to be seen and guessed the girl had left them to deal with the work even though she had been the one to get them outside. She had reached the others in time to hear the explanation for the gunshot but it didn't surprise her. The daguerrians were savages, of course they would shoot one of her own. For now she was more interested in looking out for more creatures as she scanned the landscape (notice) and tried to listen for anything. (Listen). She wasn't sure what to do, her face was rapidly draining of color as she felt drawn to the creatures that she could see moving into position to ambush them. This was not something she expected and she hurried forward until she had reached Ferrah, "We are under attack. The creatures seek to ambush us. 2 come forward and 2 from the side." She said and gestured in the directions she'd seen them. It suddenly occurred to her that she may be able to do more and she closed her eyes and concentrated on the wrong feeling that seemed to alert her of their presence. She was scared of the sick feeling that filled her but she was curious enough to see if her apparent sensitivity to them would lead to anything else, even if it only meant to confirm the numbers.
Pulling back from the log at Daiyu's words,
Ferah clenched the fist wearing the tesla gauntlet. "Then I will defend our front. Stay behind me if you can, lady," she added to Daiyu before taking up a defensive stance, ready for the creatures to join them in combat (Block).
"Good," replied
Rill to Ferah. When Ferah went ahead, Rill couldn't help but shake his head, just because her odd attempt seemed much more suspicious to him than if she'd kept quiet. Rill bluntly did not want to get drawn into any more trouble than he was in with the supernatural creatures he still hardly believed existed. When they moved to the barricade, he kept his eyes at the edge of the forest. He was a little put off by Daiyu's statements. Wasn't he supposed to see things like that? He looked sullen and tried to position himself so that he was in the middle of the others but not in their way. "Gather round." He glanced at the gauntlet Ferah had but said nothing. He then aimed at the edge of the forest, one direction where Daiyu had pointed, ready to shoot once he thought he had a clean shot. (Aim?)
Tetra turned sharply towards Paki when she heard his moronic statements behind her, and her fist balled up. She resisted the urge to pull out her dagger right then and dig it into the oaf's flesh, and instead she turned back to Rill, who obviously knew she was lying now. Her thick eyebrows furrowed in irritation - those damned creatures had already cause enough of a ruckus, and now they were coming back for more. The girl knew this could only end badly. She watched as Ferah made her was up towards the barrier, frowning at the old woman's apparently futile attempt to move the log on her own. Looking back at Rill, the street urchin gave a curt nod, reaching behind her with her good arm to pull out her dagger and show him the blade. "I also have a firearm," she stated simply, though left out the part where she had never used a gun before. Placing the dagger back in her waistband, she looked at Daiyu, who had suddenly rushed off to Ferah's side and was spouting off something about more creatures in the woods. Tetra swore to herself as a wave of dread washed over her. It seemed they were back to reap their vengeance. Looking at Ulysses, she shrugged her shoulder sharply urging him to take flight. "This is no place for a bird," she stated to the animal as he fluttered up into the air. As he flew away, the girl followed slowly behind Rill, reaching up to rub her left arm. (Recover) It was no longer numb, but still rather useless as she couldn't move it. Looking around for anything, cover or whatnot, that might be able to help them, Tetra noticed the lumps of something lying around in the snow. Instead of following the old man to where the other women were, Tetra took a sharp right, approaching the pile of things closest to her (2) and leaned down to quickly rummage through the pile, looking for anything useful. (Search) She only hoped there was something to help get rid of the barricade.
Oblivious to Tetra's displeasure at his commentary,
Paki moved to follow Ferah to the blockage. Now this was something he was certain he could handle! He was mere steps from the logs when he heard Daiyu's warning. After a moment of surprise--he was so focused on the logs and train he had dropped his defenses--he shifted the falx in his hands and moved in preperation to fight.
Seconds after Daiyu's warning, as if realizing they had been discovered, four of the creatures suddenly appeared from the forest, though from the chilling screams coming from the darkness within, there were many more lurking around. On the group's left, one of the creatures wore armor much like the one that had wounded Dakai earlier, it shambled forward more slowly than the others, with another ancient scimitar clutched in its hand. Next to it was a nearly naked creature, a black mane of dry hair, almost frozen, flowing down its back. It carried what seemed to be a light spear made of the same ashen wood as the forest around it. Another one of those naked beast stood across the tracks, to the left of the characters, stealthily moving towards them with its weapon in hand. This one was nearly bald and one could see the skin on his face clearly, pale and cracked from the cold, its lips had dried and receded back until they were almost gone, revealing lines of yellowish, putrid teeth. Where its eyes would be there were only black pits. Next to it was a creature with a bow, probably the same one that had fired at the luxury cart earlier and then retreated. It had come back with reinforcements to finish the job.
Combat!
Turns are as following!;
1. Daiyu (3/3 Endurance, 3/3 Stamina)
2. Ferah (6/7 Endurance, 8/9 Stamina)
3. Creature 1
4. Creature 2
5. Dakai (8/8 Endurance, 6/8 Stamina)
6. Paki (9/9 Endurance, 10/10 Stamina, 0/3 Willpower)
7. Creature 3
8. Creature 4
Rill's turn!
Rill shivered and tried not to show it when he finally saw the things coming at him. He wanted to run away. Still, he didn't, but took a step towrad the close tree trunk so that at least his feet were covered from the arrows of the creature with the bow. He then shot at the bow-wielding creature. (Attack)
It was easy now to see the years of experience Rill had out in the fields, even if he had never been formally taught how to use the bow his skill with it was still considerable. With steely determination, Rill aimed the bow a bit higher to account for distance and let loose an arrow at the creature on the far right. With a whistling sound, followed by a loud thud, the arrow struck the creature squarely on the chest and came out of its back, dealing massive damage. On the position, the least Rill could expect of the hit was for the creature to have a collapsed lung now.
Tetra's turn!
Tetra picked up the bottle of... whatever it was that she had found in the piled of rubble and slowly stood straight. As she reached a standing position, however, the shrill screams, frightening and familiar, sent an ice cold chill down Tetra's spine. She was frozen for a split second before she looked around to see the creatures surrounding them. The girl swallowed hard, gripping the canister of liquid, before backing up slowly towards the group gathered near the logs. "This is startin' ta look like a bad idea," she murmured, wondering if maybe she could sway the others to turn tail and run. (Persuade) She certainly didn't want to have any part in whatever was about to happen, but in case she had no choice, the street rat pulled the gun and ammunition from her clothing pockets, attempting to reload two of the bullets quickly before the creatures could advance on them and while Rill fired on one.
"What's that container?" asked
Rill after glancing at Tetra.
"Not sure,"
Tetra replied, holding her gun in one hand and pulling out the canister from beneath her arm. "Some sort of liquid. You can check it," she added, holding the container out with one hand if Rill wanted to retrieve it.
Daiyu's turn!
Oh no.
Daiyu wanted to freeze as the attackers broke cover and started to rush them. She clenched her fist around the fu Tao that she'd been carrying around. This was not her place but she would be damned if she allowed herself to be killed without a fight. Though her skills in the weapon were largely untested and certainly sub par, she frantically searched through her mind (memory). She had seen the weapon wielded by others and she was hoping if she could remember the movements she would be able to copy them.
Ferah's turn!
Ferrah struggled internally with what to do. On one hand she had promised to protect Daiyu, but on the other she wanted nothing more than to tear these fiends apart. Within a second, her heart was decided: she would do both. "Come on, you dogs!" she called as she strode towards the distant armoured creature (she assumed was their leader) and placing herself between the attackers and the Shah. Nearly half way between them, she halted and took up a defensive stance (Block). "See how an old crow pecks!"
As Ferah walked towards the armored creature, the monster with the bow regained its footing, Rill's arrow still sticking straight through its chest. Oddly enough, the creature seemed to show little discomfort or pain, and quickly notched an arrow of its own on its bow. The bow was different from Rill, smaller and made of many different materials somehow held together. Finally, it fired the arrow at Rill. Almost as if it was payback, the projectile pierced cleanly through Rill's clothes, thrusting into his side. Sharp pain radiated from Rill's side as the arrow bit into his flesh. He quickly assessed the damage, he had been hurt before and this was only a flesh-wound, he'd be ok if he stopped the bleeding and didn't get any more holes poked into him.
In the meantime, the armored creature readied its blade. Though its face was impassive, Ferah could almost swear she saw a blood curdling smirk curl at its lips as if it was accepting her challenge. Over a split second, the beast rushed towards her, jumping effortlessly over a huge falling log as he charged the woman.
Immediately afterwards, the two other creatures grabbed their javelins and headed forward towards the group, each seeking cover for now.
Paki's turn!
These creatures were more dangerous then the ones from earlier, that much was obvious from how they bore weapons and seemed more organized then the ones Ferah slaughtered.
Paki was not certain if they could win this fight. Perhaps it was safer to retreat back into the locomotive...B
ut if they did that, it would have to be all of them. Not about to run off and leave the others behind, Paki held the falx in an unpracticed defensive position as he saw the two creatures rush towards them. He was not expecting to see a lethal shaft hurling towards him, but reacted accordingly anyways.
Rill's turn!
Rill stifled uttering in pain and made the quick decision that he wanted to get rid of the archer creature before stopping to tie up the wound. Therefore, he clenched his teeth and let loose another arrow at the thing, hoping he would hit it in the head, just in case that would prove more fatal. (Attack)
Even through the pain, Rill's senses were focused and clear. Granted, he had never fought strange snow creatures, but he had fought through pain and frost and still soldiered on. With deft accuracy, he fired another arrow and stuck it right into the archer creature's head. The beast was knocked back as if it had taken a hammer to the face before falling into the snow, apparently dead.
Tetra's turn! -
Did people really insist on fighting these things again instead of running? Tetra mentally sighed as she finished loading ammo into her gun. She had never used one of these things before, though she had witness them being fired enough to understand the idea - put the bullet in, aim, pull the trigger. Glancing around her quickly, she saw that the nearest target was being engaged by Ferrah. If she could get closer so that the old woman wasn't in the way, maybe Tetra could take the thing out before it did any damage to anyone, and maybe they could get out of there faster. Taking a deep breath, Tetra moved towards the pile (1) of junk in the snow, holding her weapon low and hoping the creature, distracted by Ferrah, would not notice her (Sneak). Settling in a spot nearest the mysterious pile, Tetra raised her weapon, pointed it at the creature's head, and pulled the trigger (Aim).
Moving stealthily, Tetra moved towards the other pile of junk lying in the snow, gun at the ready. Once she had cleared Ferah, she quickly lined up the sight of the gun with the creature as it rushed the older woman. With a loud bang and the pungent smell of gunpowder hitting her in the face, the creature's shoulder suddenly tore up. The bullet had gone through the shoulder of the armor like it was butter and shattered the thing's shoulder. It's arm now hung from his body by a few burned, stinking strips of sinew and flesh while the creature held his sword with the other hand, staggering backwards as his charge was interrupted by the gunshot.
Daiyu's turn!
Daiyu was feeling particularly useless but since Ferrah seemed to be occupying the creature she took advantage of the moment to go to the closest pile (3) And looked through it (search) she didn't seem to notice Tetra until the gun went off and she visibly jumped. This was not what she had imagined when she'd left her parent's house and she felt like she would be sick, her heart was beating so fast.
Ferah's turn!
The armoured monster had taken a major hit, but Ferah could see it was still up for the fight ahead. She flexed her hand in the tesla gauntlet and swung her first at the creature with all the strength she could muster (Strike). With any luck, the electrical power in the weapon would travel through the creature's armour and disable it.
Unfortunately for Ferah, she realized too late she had taken a weapon she had no idea how to use. The woman didn't even know how to turn the electricity on in the Tesla gauntlet she was holding, so when she lunged at the heavily damaged creature her fist simply smacked against the monster's chest with a dull thud. The creature staggered backwards a bit and looked down at its chest for a second.
Immediately afterwards, the creature raised its empty, black and hollow sockets and lifted his scimitar with the one good arm it had. With a supernatural, bone chilling hiss, it brought down the blade straight at the woman's chest. The woman tried to get out of the way or block the attack, but it was too late. She felt the blade push against her padded armor as it ran down her chest and was pushed back by the blow. Luckily for her, her armor held and blow left nothing but a nasty bruise.
Right after, the monster that had been hiding by the barricade jumped over one of the large logs, javelin in hand and made a beeline for Rill. It was common predatory tactic to gang up on the wounded and it seemed these creatures knew it. Stopping a good 15 feet away from the ranger, the thing hurled its spear which, luckily for Rill, hit his cover instead of his body.
With one javelin stuck to the tree behind which Rill had taken cover, the other javelin wielding monster leapt out from behind the large pile of snow that had been hiding it. Holding a light spear of his own, this creature hurled it at Daiyu, who had just retrieved something valuable from the pile on the ground. Though the woman tried to get out of the way, the spear was too fast for her and her clothes offered little protection. Daiyu felt a sharp enough pain to make her scream as the head of the spear stabbed into her thigh. Blood began to seep through her clothes, but it seemed that no major arteries or blood vessels had been hit.
Dakai's turn!
Dakai Could see the field from his spot behind the tree. There just past a pile of snow there was one of those... things. It was facing the group which was good for him. He clenched the wrench tight as he decided to make his move, take out the thing and that was one less to mess with the group and clear the debre. He carefully kept the snow pile between him and the thing (sneak) as he tried to make his way behind the pile and out of its sight, which shouldn't be hard since he was behind it, then when the time was best he would strike.
Paki's turn
Perhaps... Paki grimaced in thought as he lowered the falx, perhaps if I time it right...put enough force behind it...I can take out the creature and the barricade at once! "Terra RHO!"
Paki pushed forward, focusing on his compass and called upon Terra, the words that came out of his mouth came not with Paki's voice, but as a chorus of a dozen different voices, speaking in unison. First, Rill, who was in front of Paki, felt the ground beneath him shake as if someone had pulled a rug from under his feet. Luckily for the ranger, he managed to hold his ground without being knocked down. Immediately afterwards the pile of logs seemed to jump up for a second, one side of it shifting forward as the logs toppled on top of each other!
Rill's turn!
As he regained his footing, Rill stared at Paki and the pile of logs in disbelief, with his mouth open. "WHAT?" he said. He managed to concentrate on the creature now rather close to him and decided to try to take care of it first since that was the simplest thing he could do. So he took another arrow and shot it at it. (Attack creature 1) He winced as the wound in his side stung at the strain. "What did you do?" he then demanded from Paki. "Can you move the logs completely from the tracks by doing that? If you can, we could retreat almost immediately." He didn't have time to think about Tetra's container at the moment.
Ignoring his injury, Rill notched and arrow and aimed it at the creature by the barricade that had just hurled a javelin at him. However, the monster was quick to duck out of the way and the arrow flew harmlessly. Had the creature been unable to dodge it would have been struck directly on the chest.
Tetra's turn!
A sharp breath escaped Tetra as her bullet collided with one of the monster's shoulders. She looked at the gun briefly in disbelief, hardly expecting to have actually hit the thing. With wide eyes, she looked back at the creature stumbling backwards, then quickly shoved the gun back into her waistband. Now actually facing the thing, and having probably called its attention to herself, the girl desperately wanted to get out. A loud noise to her right distracted her for a second, and she looked to see Paki standing, facing the pile of logs, which had moved considerably. She looked again to her left, at the pile of junk still laying and the snow, and, gritting her teeth, decided to go for it. Kneeling down, Tetra quickly searched through the objects, looking for something useful, pocketing whatever she had found and dropping the mysterious canister she had found earlier in the snow. (Search) After finding whatever she could in the pile, another sound jerked her head upwards, and she caught sight of Ferah's fist colliding with the same creature's chest. The street urchin figured that right then was the best time to make her exit – the logs were somehow being moved and these things were nearly taking people out.
The young girl dug through the stuff on the ground, this time it seemed like random belongings that may have fallen in the middle of a struggle, most of them broken and useless. She did, however, find a mostly empty bandoleer that still had a half dozen gun cartridges in it.
Daiyu's turn!
Daiyu pulled the carbiner out of the pack triumphantly and turned just in time to see the spear coming her way. Her best efforts to avoid the attack were wasted and she screamed as she felt the sharp point go through her clothes and into her flesh. She was breathing hard but she wasn't going to sit around and play the helpless female, although essentially that was exactly what she was. She confirmed that the wound was not life threatening and then chocked back a scream as she pulled the spear head free. She tore another strip from her dress and quickly wrapped it around her thigh in an attempt to stop the bleeding (heal). Once this was done she turned her attention back to her find (decipher/identify) and examined it in an attempt to find out if it was loaded and how to use it. She did notice when the logs jumped out of the way but missed seeing who had been the cause and she quickly glanced around trying to see who had used the magic.
Daiyu promptly managed to rip some off the cloth from her dress off and apply a crude tourniquet to her leg, which would stiffle the bleeding. The leg was still extremely painful to stand on, though, and the girl would be unable to run or walk very fast until the wound had time to heal.
Ferah's turn! -
The attack she'd launched at the creature had been pitiful without the electricity behind it, and she'd been lucky not to lose her life to the counter-attack. Ferah silently cursed the Gods before twisting knobs and hammering switches on the gauntlet. Hoping something she'd done would have activated it, she swung another attack at the monster before her (Strike).
Luckily for Ferah, Tetra's earlier attack on the armored creature had slowed it down considerably and made it hard for it to defend with a single arm. Swinging at the monster, she felt the snap and crackle of electricity in the air, reaching out in all directions. The first blow struck the creature squarely on the arm and seemed to bounce harmlessly off its armor. However, the electricity suddenly jolted to the creature and pushed it back with a screech of pain accompanied by the horrible smell of a burnt flesh. Seeing her opportunity, Ferah struck again, this time straight at the face of the monster, she felt the creature's jaw crack under her fist before a powerful jolt of electricity flowed straight into its head, frying the creature as it stood. With billowing smoke coming out of the seems between the armor, the monster keeled over to the side, definitely dead!
Right away, the other creatures turned to the older Majai woman, as if they had identified a threat. The first creature that had gone after Rill now turned to Ferah and, with a javelin in hand, retreated towards the logs as it hurled it at the majai. Luckily for Ferah, the javelin went too high and flew right over her head, close enough she could almost feel the tip brush against her hair!
The second monster, in the meantime, seemed to have shifted its attention to Paki. Pulling out its last javelin, it hurled it at the large Kkala man. Luckily for Paki, his massive build and resiliency came in handy as he managed to swat away the incoming projectile with a swing of his massive arm.
Dakai's turn!
With the creatures full attention on the group and all the commotion going on with gunshot, electrical discharges and the clashing of metal Dakai doubted the brute would notice him as he made his way (sneak) up behind it in its blind spot. He had the wrench at the ready knuckles white in anticipation. Then he swung with all his power(smash attack) aimed right at the side/back of its head. He hoped to break the thing's neck or bash its skull in the process or if nothing else stun and confuse the hell out of it.
As Dakai approached the creature, it seemed to hear the man and immediately turned around. Dakai barely had time to lift the large wrench and swing it at the monster. Unfortunately for the man, Dakai's attack was slow and clumsy. With a quick movement, the creature sidestepped Dakai and prepared to strike back at the wounded man!
Paki's turn!
Holding the falx in one hand, Paki took the compass from his pocket and rubbed his thumb over its face, inhaling deeply. One more shot... He gave the half-moved logs the most intense stare he could muster. "Terra RHO!"
Unfortunately for Paki, the winds of magic were not on his side this time around. As he cast the spell, he felt something was wrong and the ground slid once more, but towards him. The man almost felt himself fall forward, managing to keep his balance at the last second!
Immediately afterwards, Paki heard more screeches coming from the forest as new creatures appeared, naked from the bottom up and wielding spears, much like the ones the group was currently fighting!
Rill's turn!
"Try again!" said Rill to Paki, not understanding that the man probably couldn't just keep doing the strange spell thing over and over. Rill felt odd about the contraption Ferah was using but it wasn't like he should ask anything about it right now. Seeing that Dakai had just appeared from somewhere to help them but hadn't hit the creature he had attacked, it would probably be best to help him. However, Rill thought Dakai was too close to the creature and he didn't want to accidentally hit Dakai. Therefore, he concentrated on ignoring his wound and attacking the creature still standing alone, shooting another arrow at it. (Attack creature 1)
Once more, Rill nocked an arrow and aimed at the creature standing by the barricade. Yet again though, the darkness and weariness of the fight seemed to affect his aim and the arrow missed it's mark, this time flying too far to the right.
Tetra's turn!
Once more, Tetra pocketed her findings and stood. She glanced over to where she remembered spotting another pile of junk, but instead of a white expanse stretching behind the pile, there was another creature. She looked to her left quickly and saw yet another, and with a unhesitating "Nope," the girl decided she was finished and retreated as fast as she could back to the train, running away from the fight. She'd let the others deal with that.
Daiyu's turn!
Well... She was dead. Daiyu came to the startling realization. She couldn't move very fast even though she'd managed to bind the wound. She gritted her teeth against the pain and forced herself up enough to be able to aim the gun at the closest creature (aim) but didn't pull the trigger. She had one bullet and she was going to get the best shot possible. She couldn't help but look around, "Has anyone found any ammunition?" She shouted to the others. Ugh. Stupid foreigners. She thought to herself as no one seemed to even give her a glance. She didn't want to waste her last bullet so she carefully studied the creatures for a chance of a shot (notice). Well the two further ones were not a threat... she looked at the one fighting Dakai and the one next to Rill. It was obvious which was the greater threat but it was also easiest to tell which would be the riskiest shot. She chewed her lip and then carefully took aim at the one close to Dakai. It was the most dangerous and if she did miss then only a Daquerrian would be hurt, though it was the one Daquerrian that she could see herself tolerating. Finally she pulled the trigger (shoot) and prayed that she would hit the right target.
Daiyu had never even held a firearm before, and thus had no idea how to use the device. All she knew was to squeeze the trigger, so she aimed the weapon in the creature's general direction and fired. To her surprise, the Carbine kicked back like a mule, hitting her in the gut and almost making her fall back onto the snow. The shot deviated as the weapon kicked back, to the point she had mostly fired into the sky.
Ferah's turn!
With one beast down, Ferrah was feeling a blood rush. Turning to see how the others were getting on, she spotted one of the javelin flinging creatures near the barricade. She trudged towards it, flicking switches and turning knobs again. As she came abreast of the pale skinned monster she threw a strong right-hander at the thing, hoping that her luck with the gauntlet would hold out (Strike).
Ferah rushed the creature standing by the barricade, the gauntlet in her hand buzzing with electricity as she brought it down on the monster's face. She felt something crack as smashed in its jaw and powerful shock caused all the muscles on the beast's body to suddenly tighten. Taking her chance, Ferah attempted to strike the creature once more, but the gauntlet seemed to suddenly go off once more. Disoriented and spastic, the creature lashed back at Ferah with a strange set of metal claws attached to its knuckles. Luckily for the Amiri woman, the shock had made the monster slow and spastic and the blow was easy to deflect with a backhand smack.
In the meantime, the second creature which Dakai was fighting also produced a pair of claws affixed to its knuckles and raked at the man's face! Immediately, Dakai brought his large wrench to bear, holding it up with both hands so the claws hit it instead of his skin. With a couple of sparks and a horrible screeching noise, the metal claws scratched along the wrench, sparing Dakai of any damage!
Dakai's turn!
The creature suddenly produced claws from no where. It was all Dakai could do to instinctively block with the wrench. Sparks flew from the contact of metal on metal, and the engineer hardy believed his luck, he wasn't exceptionally handsome but he sure as hell didn't want sliced salami for a face. It was all he could do to hold the strike at bay, but it also meant that the creature was close enough for him to hit. With the wrench still being used for defense he let loose a straight out stomp kick aiming for the side of the creatures knee(smash attack). If the thing had a busted knee he could run to the group after it was disabled.
Lifting his leg, Dakai kicked in the creature's own leg with a powerful straight kick. With the monsters claws caught on his wrench, it could not move away as its leg was kicked to the side and the creature fell on the floor on one knee!
Paki's turn!
Paki knew full well he could not cast the spell, yet. But what went wrong last time? Paki held the falx defensively once more as he scanned the landscape around him, mentally cheering Ferah on as he tried to keep track of how many creatures were attacking and where (Notice).
While Paki looked around, the two new creatures that had appeared rushed inwards towards the train tracks, javelins in hand! Before they could attack, however, high pitched, whistling sound came from the locomotive, a couple hundred feet away. The powerful sound was followed by the rumbling of the massive locomotive's engine revving up.
Rill's turn!
Rill was about to question Paki about why he hadn't done the tree-lifting again or to go for one of the creatures, but the whistling caught his attention more powerfully. "They started the train! We need to go!" He looked at the tree trunks and hoped that they were off the tracks just enough to make it easier for the train to push them off completely. He turned and headed for the train but grabbed whatever gear there was laying around on his way – if there wasn't anything better, he took the container Tetra had previously found.
Daiyu's turn!
Daiyu gasped in pain as the gun hit her in the gut and had to bite back a shout of agony as she stumbled back and made her previous injury worse. The train was coming, however, and she forced herself to move. There was no way she would make it in time though, she couldn't run. She was desperate when she looked at Paki, "O...Help! I can't move!" She shouted, managing to catch herself before calling him by the name he'd managed to earn in her mind, Oaf.
Ferah's turn!
Hearing the whistle, Ferrah hoped it meant the train was active. Still, she was damned if she was going to turn her back on one of these foul creatures. She hopped off the tracks, circling the pale beast before striking at it with her electrical gauntlet (Strike).
Once more, Ferrah tried to use the gauntlet but its inner mechanics were all but a mystery to her. The electricity fizzled as she missed her blow against the beast! Immediately, the creature replied with a double slash against. Even though the monster was under the effects of the earlier shock, it was still able to hit the warrior woman. Luckily for her, the short stubby claws failed to get past her armor!
Dakai's turn!
As the creature hit a knee Dakai could feel how stout the damn thing was. He decided to take off towards its now weaker side since it would be hard for it to cut him off without falling over. As he side stepped to a decently safe distance he swung at where the creatures arm would be if it tried to reach out to he just to protect himself. His plan was to use the simple swing to parry any swipe and dash to Daiyu, hoist her up and take off to the other side of the tracks and down to the train so it couldn't cut them off.
Dakai managed to sidestep the creature and rush towards Daiyu! The creature Dakai had been fighting could do little, but the third monster quickly hurled a javelin at the young engineer's back! Luckily for Dakai, the javelin flew right over his shoulder, missing him entirely.
The last creature aimed a javelin at Ferah, who was circling one of the other monsters. As the woman faced away from it, the creature hurled the short spear which struck Ferah squarely on the back. The woman immediately felt something behind her bite through her clothes and onto her back, and soon enough warm blood was making its way down her back, making the clothes stick to her skin!
Daiyu's turn!
The Locomotive (Interior)
(Thaddeus, Zahrah)
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.
"All right," replied Rill to Zahrah. After she had gone, he looked at Daiyu ja Dakai and wondered why Daiyu was there. He didn't say anything about that, though. "While she's gone, we could try to dress that wound better," he said at Dakai. "But that requires some real bandages... hm." He thought it was unlikely but not impossible that there was a healing kit around in the train somewhere, but since he didn't have much to do at the moment, he decided to look for one in the locomotive. (Search) "I'm Rill Taskinger, by the way. Who are you?" he asked from Daiyu and Dakai.
The engineer swiftly lowered his goggles to cover his neck as if hiding something as soon as he had removed his coat. He didn't want to rudely introduce the Shah and choice to let her speak for herself. Dakai patted his wound a bit with a slight wince. "Im doing ok i think, probably cant do a whole lot better with out a doctor." He tried his best to look fine in front of Rill after Zahrah accepted his coat. "Im Dakai," He paused as if pondering to say his family name or not, "its a pleasure to meet you." His eyes quickly scanned the controls of the engine as he introduced himself to see if he could figure out how to work the thing along side Thaddeus after he meet Rill's eyes and did his best to bestow his respect upon meeting the man.
Standing there by the controls for a few moments, Thaddeus released a breath he was holding in a long, slow exhale and he patted his chest, searching for where he had last put his pad and pencil. Apparently Zahrah had already left, which was a bit of a disappointment, and when Dakai approached, Thad offered him a small but bright smile, as if to say hello!. Not long after he started his search, the engineer had produced what he was looking for, having to reach into a pocket in the lining of his cutaway coat, and, flipping to a new page, he started to write something. Cannot guarantee safe maneuver of train over such a short distance. Better to walk to barricade. was what he wrote in his beautiful script; when he was through, Thad dipped his head in a silent excuse me, stepped away from the gear-head and towards the ranger with an apologetic look written upon his face. Thad held the pad out toward Rill so he could read it.
"Daiyu" She replied as she stood up, she did manage to smile even though as she felt a spark of anger. It was a culture shock, this train. She was used to the stiff politeness of the Shah but even she knew now was not the time to nurse a grudge. She was moving towards the door to step out, her robes were not enough to keep a normal person warm but she didn't seem to notice as she stepped outside to follow the other woman's footsteps.
Though Dakai seemed to be trying to make a good impression on Rill, the older man just looked through the compartments and barely acknowledged his communications, grunting an affirmative at his name. "Dakai, right." He seemed more preoccupied than impolite. He would have done the same for Daiyu but didn't since she turned to leave. Rill looked displeased when Thaddeus showed him his notepad. "Darn it. Oh well..." He then searched the last shelves and though he didn't find what he wanted, he did find a set of tools. "Thaddeus, are these of any use to you?" he asked, offering the black leather package to the mute.
It was an amazing short span of time when Zahrah reappeared, a huge glowing smile on her face when she entered. "They are headed here, probably outside now," she said, mostly to Rill. Looking at Dakai, she made to shrug off the coat. "Did you want this back?" she asked before taking it off to hand to him. Thankfully there was no blood left on her outfit as she crossed to Thaddeus, all activity now that they might be able to get underway. "What can I do to help? I will not be much use out there, however I can help in here."
Giving a small, apologetic tip of his head to Rill, Thaddeus retracted his notepad and looked adequately regretful that it was not the answer for which the man was understandably looking. Then, with the benevolent smile of a person politely declining what was offered to him, Thad held his left hand up, the open-palm toward Rill, and he shook it very gently from side to side. With a fleeting smile, Thaddeus bent over his pad again and composed another couple of sentences. We are all but good to proceed. Once the tracks are clear, I shall activate the ignition. He swept his pencil-weilding hand up through the fringe of hair that had fallen over his forehead as he look-up to make eye contact with Rill to see if he understood. The young man looked to Zahrah after she reappeared and returned Dakai's coat; he shook his head no, as there wasn't anything left to do but wait, really. Rill and Dakai had already loaded the furnace, and there were people headed out to deal with the blockade. Thus, Thad motioned for her to take a seat and, if and when Rill had read what he'd written, he tipped it toward the courtesan so she could see what he had written, too.
Rill put the tools back and then read what Thaddeus had just written. "Right. Just wait until we get back in the train," he said with a faint smile. He looked at Zahrah when she returned. "Good. Well, we could use extra eyes outside looking out, but if you don't have warmer clothes... Then again, it'd only be for a short while, so the cold wouldn't hurt you." Rill didn't try to convince Zahrah or Thaddeus or anyone else not up to clearing the track to come out since he figured they'd do what they could and if he argued about it with them, they'd just waste time. He then adjusted his coat and went outside.
Without much of a roll to do since Thaddeus seemed to have set himself at the controls and everyone considered him a burden with his injury, Dakai didn't know what to do himself He could recognize the basic controls of the engine but some of the obscure dials and levers he wasn't familiar with. He turned to the mute, "So you think you got everything here with the controls or do you need any help? Or should i go help with the barricade?" The later half of the question was aimed at Rill.
"I can't tell you what to do," said Rill just before he went.
Zahrah watched Rill go and turned back to Thaddeus, aware that he wanted her to sit. But she had a little too much energy now that people were being cooperative. It seemed to give her a little bounce. Dakai's question sounded and she turned to him. "Are you certain you should go out with your injury?" she asked, looking at him. She wasn't particularly worried about him, but it seemed needless to waste someone just because there might be some trouble.
Nodding succinctly to Rill, Thaddeus returned the older man's smile and watched as the ranger disappeared out the door to help the others clear the tracks up ahead. When Dakai asked if he was prepared to helm the locomotive, the engineer smiled with magnanimity and nodded his head once-- yes, he felt prepared to proceed at the controls. When Zahrah spoke-up, Thad glanced in her direction then back to Dakai. He agreed with the courtesan that Dakai should take it easy, and as Zahrah questioned over-exerting himself due to his injury, Thaddeus turned to his notepad to write Please, remain seated and rest. If more help is needed, I can go outside. Let us wait a few moments to see what happens. then he tilted the paper toward the gear-head so he could read it. With eyebrows raised in anticipation of the fellow Daguerrian's assent and understanding, Thad smiled warmly down at Dakai.
With his answer taken into account and Zahrah's apparent concern Dakai nodded in understanding and walked a back a bit to lean against the wall a bit behind Thaddeus ready to help out if the fellow engineer asked.
"No," came Zahrah's answer. "You will stay here." She looked levelly at Thaddeus. "I cannot get this train running, you can. You need to stay. If they need more help I will go out there." (Persuade) This wasn't something that even should he disagree she was going to take no to. "I am superfluous here. You are not." She looked at Dakai and gave him a quick nod. "You stay here as well."
With his mouth pulled gently to one side, Thaddeus cast a careful gaze over the locomotive's interior again as Zahrah spoke. It might have been out of convenience, but he actually was looking for some vantage point, perhaps on the upper level, where he could maybe get a decent view to watch the passengers who'd gone ahead to clear the barricade (Search). Even though her comment had merit, he was a conscientious individual, and it would be difficult for him to allow the delicate-looking and underdressed woman to venture back outside. Fortunately, he didn't have to say anything in response because he couldn't, so he peered back over his shoulder at her, offering a noncommittal smile. His brow knit slightly when she referred to herself as superfluous, however, and his smile waned as he looked away from her and toward Dakai, who, despite his injury, apparently insisted upon standing.
Thaddeus turned around and quickly headed to the upper level, from there, as was evident to the others as well, he could get a good vantage point to try to see what the barricade group was doing.
Just in case he needed something to defend himself with if the creatures came back Dakai looked about the cabin for anything that he could use as a weapon(search). He wanted to be sure they weren't caught off guard again. Just to be sure he rummaged through all the crevasses and nooks he could find(search)
In the meantime, Dakai began to look into all the compartments he could in the cabin, trying to scounge for something. Though most of what the young man produced was junk, Zahrah and Thaddeus saw him pull two promising things. One of them was a large monkey wrench, the adjustment mechanism on it was rusted shut and the wrench was old, however it could make an effective club. The other was a large tube, around the length of Dakai's leg. It was the kind used to carry plans and maps and bound in dark brown leather. The top, however, was locked tight. One could attempt to pick the lock with the right tools, look for a key, or try to break the tube and risk damaging anything inside.
Zahrah had nothing more to do than wait. She did stand on tiptoes to try to see out the high windows, tempted to climb on one of the seats to get a better vantage point. But that was unladylike and probably unnecessary. So she simply stood by and watched Thaddeus, waiting for some sign that they did need help. It wasn't as if he could really stop her from going out there.
"Hmm where did that street girl go? I bet she knows a thing or two about locks and such." Dakai dropped the wrench into a loop on his belt before holding the tube up. He had seen these before, the academy kept plans and blueprints in tubes like these, well any documents of importance really, maybe even a map. "Anyone know how to pick a lock? I kind of want to know whats inside. Or maybe carry the wrench here. It's useless as a tool but it can crack a skull if we need it."
After making it to the second level Thaddeus situated himself in front of the window that granted him the best view of the barricade, and he leaned his face toward the frigid glass. As the young man focused his attention on the dark, snowy landscape ahead, it took him a moment to comprehend at what he was looking. His breath fogged the window up and he hastily wiped it away with the surf of his coat sleeve as his eyes darted from shadowy form to shadowy form in the distance. He did a quick calculation, his mouth forming soundless numbers as he counted. Taking his pad out, he scribbled down the number 9, circled it, then HOW MANY WENT UP AHEAD? Faster than he had climbed up to the upper level of the locomotive, Thad scrambled back downstairs looking paler than usual and exceedingly concerned, the paper held out in Zahrah's and the wrench-weilding Dakai's direction.
Zahrah was about to answer Dakai when she noticed that Thaddeus was scribbling something very quick. She watched him approach and frowned at what she read. "Five, four from the cart and Mr. Rill," she said after a moment before looking at Thaddeus. "Why? There are more out there?" That could only mean one thing in Zahrah's mind, and that was trouble. She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself. "Should I...go out there? And help?"
Since neither one took the wrench when he offered it Dakai decided to keep it. He didn't really know how to responded when Thaddeus first came down with his note pad. then he realized something was wrong from the expression on his face. "Um I don't know; four maybe?" He guessed as he clenched the tube in his hand.
Since Thaddeus had been upstairs when Dakai found both the wrench and the mysterious locked tube, and he was in such a rush to get information from them, he didn't realize the gear-head had them until now. He shoved his pencil and pad into his inside coat pocket and shook his head emphatically when Zahrah asked if she should go outside. He forcefully gestured his hand toward the women and the other man then just as strongly pointed to the seats. Then, after thumping himself on his chest once, he jerked his thumb toward the door. He wanted them to stay and he would go, as he was more adequately dressed than Zahrah and uninjured, unlike Dakai. Then, Thad reached for the wrench, which appeared to be useful as a makeshift weapon; assuming there would he resistance, Thad put some oomph behind it as he tried to take the tool (Pull).
Thaddeus seemed to not like her offering to go out and help. And Zahrah wasn't sure if he had his own weapon as he seemed intent upon going himself, she took out her small stiletto and held it out. Even with a big wrench he might need something sharp. "Thaddeus, take this," she said, holding it out to him. "It is not very strong, but it is extremely sharp." She glanced at Dakai before she leveled her gaze at Thad. "And you better bring it back to me," she added, not quite able to bring herself to tell him to be safe and come back himself. Zahrah could not admit any attachment to people, even one brought on by sheer proximity during a crisis.
Approaching Dakai, Thaddeus reached for the Wrench and pulled it, but it would not budge. Tugging at it with all his strength, Thaddeus' feet slid on the metal floor for a second, causing him to almost lose his balance while the wrench sat firmly in Dakai's hands.
Dakai watched trying not to chuckle as the clearly stressed out boy tugged on the wrench then fell flat on his bum. "Hold on, ill go out there, im about up to 80% or so." He looked about the cabin for anything that was flattish and would serve as a makeshift shield. "You run the engine, look about for anything that can take a bit of a blow that i can use as a semi shield." He told the two as he himself looked around as fast as he could(search), if all else failed he would rip the wheel of the wheelbarrow and take it out there to provide cover for what ever Thaddeus was frantic about.
After regaining his balance, Thaddeus looked and felt fully chagrined at his inability to even take the wrench from Dakai. He waited a moment for his red-faced embarrassment to subside a little before he even dared to look at what Zahrah was offering. Knowing when to admit defeat, Thad simply drew a sheepish glance from the woman to Dakai and he gestured with a sweep of his hand that she should just give the stiletto to him, instead. He then made a somewhat agitated movement with his hands, hoping to get the other man going since their cohorts outside probably didn't have time for the gear-head to fashion himself a full set of armor out of found goods.
Rather than attempt to stop either of them from going, Zahrah carefully placed the handle of her stiletto in Thad's hand and stepped up close to him. "Bring it back to me. I am rather fond of this one." She leaned in close and, pushing back her own distaste, gave him a kiss on the cheek before releasing her small dagger and stepping back again. Men seemed to like that sort of thing, not that she ever did, but she liked Thaddeus enough to not want to see him die out there.
"You stay here brother, we might need you to move the train." Dakai placed a hand on the mute's shoulder before stepping to the next cart. He had an idea he hoped would work, the engineer or the creature had to have had a gun, sword or something on them he could use. He quickly shuffled though the bodies layers of clothes trying not to breath in the horrible smell(search). After that he was going to slip out the side door and try and carefully scope out what was going on ahead of them at the barricade.
With only shear will Dakai managed not to gag as he did a quick search but only came up with a small rubber container that he stowed away. He placed the tube that might have had something in it on the inside of the door to the cart with Thaddeus and Zahrah in it. He poked his head out and set off into the snow, trying to take in what was going on in front of him while doing his best to go unnoticed with his big wrench in hand.(sneak)
Keeping surprisingly quiet, Dakai managed to sneak forward towards the barricade while keeping anyone from noticing, hugging the treeline as he walked forward.
Thaddeus dropped his eyes to the slender blade that Zahrah deposited into his hand and he pursed his lips as if he found the weapon itself distasteful when it was, in fact, his own delicate constitution that he was mentally cursing. With the exception of his disability, the young man had lived a fairly charmed life, and Thad hadn't ever had to deal with anything remotely similar to the current situation in which he found himself. While his greatest asset, his mind, had proven useful, the engineer though he could be of even more use, if only he weren't so physically insubstantial. He went from briefly allowing himself to wallow in self-pity to being taken aback when Zahrah kissed his cheek. Women didn't tend to be so easily familiar with him, especially beautiful women whom he'd only been acquainted with for a couple of hours. Well, not unless money had exchanged hands. His eyes slid quickly toward Dakai as he finally took his leave, and Thad nodded very slightly at the other man's words, looking like he had resigned himself to staying inside. Holding the stiletto awkwardly in his hand and slightly out in front of him, it looked like he was offering it back to its original owner.
Zahrah let out a breath of disapproval as Dakai actually went back outside. He shouldn't have, being injured. She turned back to Thad and frowned as he held the stiletto out again. Her hand came up to wrap around both the small dagger and Thaddeus's hand, holding it for a moment before she pressed it tighter into his grip. "Keep it for now," she said with a nod. "You should probably prep the train so we can leave when they are finished out there." She had a bad feeling that whatever was going on outside would lead to them needing to get far away quickly. "What can I do to help?" She let her gaze travel over the inside of the train, taking in what she could before she looked back at Thaddeus, trying to figure out where she would be most useful. (Notice)
Managing a wan smile, Thaddeus dipped his head slightly, a half-nod to indicate that he would comply, and carefully and safely stowed the stiletto away in his engineer's bag. When Zahrah asked what she should do, Thad thought for a moment, and his face brightened a bit as the figurative light bulb went-off. With his index and middle fingers held in a 'V', he pointed at his eyes, then gestured up at the second level, in the general direction he'd gone to look out just a few minutes before. He paused, got his pad out and jotted down Let me know when they are on their way back, then held it out for Zahrah to read. As soon as everyone was safe he would get the train moving.
With a nod and a quick smile, Zahrah hurried to her post, pulling her clothing close to her body as she moved. Just looking at the snow was enough to make her feel cold again. But this was something she could do at least. Watching. And she surmised that it would keep her out of Thaddeus's way as he prepped the train. Getting into a place where she could see outside, Zahrah covered the side of her eyes so the light from inside wouldn't blind her as she attempted to see those outside. (Spot)
When Zahrah left to go upstairs, Thaddeus took it upon himself to head over to the conductor's seat. He looked down at it, then quickly glanced around the interior of the locomotive, looking as if he might get reprimanded for even thinking of sitting down. Instead of doing that, he mentally rehearsed what he needed to do: Hit the gas and ease the speed lever forward. He checked the gas gauges again, even though he saw that the gas levels were adequate earlier. He exhaled a breath that he didn't realize he was holding and waited.
When it became obvious that Zahrah couldn't see a thing, she turned back to the main area of the train, intent upon finding something that might help her see. She was already sliding back down to the lower deck when she remembered that tube Dakai had held up. Knowing a little about picking locks from listening to people in disreputable areas, Zahrah moved over to pick up the tube and looked it over, curious as to what could be inside. What would an engineer put in such a device? That answer lay inside, whether it could be opened or not. Without much more thought, she headed back to her watch point, just in case something happened outside she could see, and pulled a hairpin from her head, bending it so she could attempt to pick the lock on the small container. (Finesse)
Zahra grabbed one of the hairpins from her head and began meddling with the lock atop the container. Unfortunately for the woman, though they might have worked on a poorer quality locked, this one proved quite formidable. Soon, the hairpin snapped in two and the lock made an ugly noise. Another failure at picking it could run the risk of jamming it for good.
Eagerly awaiting word from Zahrah, Thaddeus looked over at the woman as she descending from the second level, but it didn't seem that she was urgently trying to indicate anything. His eyebrows raised in curiosity as she proceeded to fiddle with the locked tube, and he flinched when the hairpin snapped as she jimmied the mechanism keeping the lid shut tight. Next, the engineer glanced back down at the controls and gauges before looking up to the second level, as if considering whether or no he should go see what he could.
Zahrah wasn't too surprised when the hairpin snapped. She looked at the tube before carefully setting the tube aside as she straightened again, attempting once more to see what was going on outside. (Spot) Zahrah was tempted to press as closely to the glass as possible because the darkness was making it near impossibly to see, but the cold was a mighty deterrent. Knowing that whatever was happening outside might have meant the death of one of the others, she did her level best to see out there.
A small figure could be seen approaching the train at an alarmingly high rate, but as it drew closer, it was obvious that it was the malnourished street urchin girl, Tetra, retreating from battle, a cloud of white powder trailing behind her. The girl dashed through the snow as fast as she could, straight towards the train. As soon as she reached the locomotive, she slid to a stop, then nearly jumped inside. "You... wanna go ahead and get tha train movin' now," she ushered whoever was in the cabin, out of breath from running so hard. She leaned against the wall, her chest heaving with every breath she took. "Those things came back. They're everywhere and I don't think ... they'll be givin' up this time until we're all dead."
When scraggly little Tetra burst through the door of the locomotive, the engineer's lanky form twitched violently in apparent and total surprise. Thaddeus pressed a hand to his own chest, as if to calm his now rapidly palpitating heart, and he exhaled an unsteady breath as he rested a gaze tinged with uncertainty and fright upon the girl. After she was through speaking, his hands still trembled as he reached for his little tablet and pencil, and in a slightly shakier script than his usual tidy handwriting, he wrote Is everyone inside? Are the tracks cleared? then turned it toward the street urchin.
Zahrah, staring out the window as she was, was already slipping down to the main floor of the locomotive just before Tetra arrived. She didn't much care if the others were back, they could start out slow enough for them to get on the train. So it didn't occur to her that Thaddeus would worry about such a thing. Once the escort was nearer where the urchin was, she let out a breath and shivered involuntarily. The woman stayed silent, waiting for a decision.
Tetra clutched at her rapidly beating heart with her right hand, still leaning against the interior of the locomotive and trying to calm herself. She was tired from running and her nerves were on the fritz, so calming down seemed almost impossible at this point. Leaning forward, she squinted at the notepad in Thaddeus' hand, then slowly shook her head. "Ev'ryone's still standin' out there like a bunch of lost kids. Dunno if they'll clear the tracks or anythin', but I know if we don't get movin' soon, things 'll end up bad," explained the girl in several breaths (Persuade). She glanced briefly at Zahrah, then looked out the door, into the snow covered wasteland. Drawing in one deep breath, Tetra raised her hand and placed her thumb and forefinger between her lips, giving a long, loud and sharp whistle, calling Ulysses back to her side.
As Thaddeus listened to Tetra, the bit down on his bottom lip, looking rather boyish in his uncertainty. Other than being slaughtered outright by the creatures, he was deeply concerned that irreparable damage could be done to the train if it were to simply try and power-through the barricade, and then they'd all definitely been up the creek without a paddle... or the tracks without a train. His red-rimmed, tired eyes flickered between the raggedly-dressed girl and Zahrah a couple of times, and he flinched when the former's whistle cut through through the air. With a sigh, Thaddeus turned away from the females to sweep his gaze over the interior of the locomotive, looking for perhaps a whistle or horn, anything that might herald the movement of the train (Search) as one of his hands finally came to rest on the ignition button and the other on the speed lever.
Zahrah's response wasn't needed as she saw Thaddeus doing the very thing she had wanted to do in the first place. She left him to it and instead moved towards the door, shivering a little. "You should go sit," she said gently, wanting the girl out of the door when the others started entering. (Persuade) She felt that the young one didn't need to be exposed any more than she was. Zahrah was fully prepared to pull the others on board once they got moving.
"Hold on," came Tetra's stout reply to Zahrah's persuasion. She was't planning on standing at the door all day, but she wanted her bird before she went anywhere. She stood at the doorway for several more seconds, staring intently into the sky, before the fluttering of wings heralded the raven's appearance. Tetra held out her arm and the black bird landed, clinging safely to the girl's limb, and the street rat promptly retreated inside, finding a better seat than right by the open door.
Glancing over his shoulder to Tetra when she implored he wait, Thaddeus paused, keeping an eye on the other two until the younger girl and Zahrah appeared to be more settled-in. Then, stiffly moving his right hand up toward the whistle's chain pull, Thad wrapped his fingers around the wooden handle and pulled down on it to sound a warning. Afterwards, the young man drew a breath in and held it as he pushed the gas ignition button and returned his hand to the speed lever, easing it forward as gently as possible-- he especially wanted to give the others a fighting chance of getting back onboard, and he didn't want to harm the train when it would inevitably breach the barricade.
As soon as Thaddeus pulled down the cord to the whistle, they could hear the powerful, high pitched noise boom from atop the locomotive. The good news was that it definitely worked, the bad news was that everything within a couple of miles now knew where they were. Luckily for Thaddeus, as he inched the lever forward, the locomotive came back to life and began to slowly crawl forward, gaining a bit of momentum and speed with each passing second.
Staying near the door, Zahrah kept it partially open, ready to throw the thing fully open when they neared the people. She took up a position that would steady her when the train finally started moving and looked towards Thaddeus for a moment, also ready to slam the door shut should any of the creatures attempt to break inside. This would take timing. Her eyes went back to the small crack in the door and she simply watched and waited. (Notice)
As the train began to pick up speed and move towards the Barricade, Zahrah saw Rill running through the snow towards her and the door of the locomotive. She could try to reach out and help the ranger onto the locomotive, or leave him to find his own way onto the moving train.
Seeing the man coming towards her, Zahrah pushed the door all the way open, a shiver going through her as she got hit by a blast of cold air. She reached back to grab onto something to hold herself still and put an arm out the door so Rill would have something to grab onto, holding herself in place along the door. (Strength/Pull)
Rill ran toward the door where Zahrah was positioned, but he couldn't help but glance back at the others who for some inexplicable reason had stayed behind. He didn't let that stop him, though, and attempted to take Zahrah's hand and hop into the train.
Thaddeus sat with his gaze straight ahead as the train lurched forward, his knuckles white as he clutched the speed lever. It looked like it would take some effort to prise the young man's fingers from the equipment. When Zahrah opened the door to lend Rill a hand, Thad felt the cold air across the back of his neck, and he very warily glanced back over his shoulder, turning his head only enough to see what was happening behind him. It didn't last very long, as scarcely had he looked back, the anxious-looking engineer returned his attention forward, in order to keep an eye on things up front.
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