.
When you enter the room you can see The Colonel sitting, reading the newspaper. He stands up and salutes you, and then returns to the newspaper.
Can you believe this? our last colony in the continent is to be abandoned next month, We are returning the land to those uncivilized savages. The council be dammed for forcing us...
The colonel's speech is interrupted by some knocking on the door. A woman in her late twenties or early thirties and with a very formal demeanor enters the room.
Perhaps you already know Lieutenant Evans- The colonel says as she salutes you - She will be the commanding officer of your unit for this mission.
Evans: As you know, every four or so years the Svirfneblin of Dol Thurim celebrate the festival of the stone rose. This year some members of our high class, including the daughter of the chancellor are going to the festival, and we have been entrusted with her safety.
She draws a map that you already know by heart if you have some points in Knowledge local and proceeds to show you the railway line from Draikar to Dol Thurim.
The journey will take two and half days. The actual distance is not that large, but the train has to take a long detour in order to avoid a big lake and some mountains. The actual distance can be traveled in less than a day on an airship but Dol Thurim in an underground city in a mountainous location, it is only connected by the railway.
The colonel: . We have some reports of unusual movements in the darklands and that made uneasy some people in high positions, so the chancellor insisted for tighter security on their behalf...ah, that woman, so easy to bend to other people's demands, if it weren't for her we were not abandoning our colonies overseas...
Liutenant Evans *coughs* a little to stop the political ramblings of the colonel
Anyways, don't worry, the sons and daughters of politicians are always an annoyance, but it is a routine trip, nothing to worry about, almost a paid vacation for you. Evans will explain your assignments to you
Mazel the gnome Salutes the Cornel upon Entry. Outside his suit; which is currently docked back at the Garage. He is a thin bearded Gnome in his middle ages, Dressed in standard uniform fatigues with a small pistol sidearm at his hip.
"Evening Cornel, Heard the news. Damn shame the state of things these days."
Mezel slates the Lieutenant as well, with a respectful "Ma'am" listening silently to their orders, and nodding in understanding.
"The Stone Rose Festival, got to go to it once as a young man, They have beautiful crafts in the Market for the tourists, It's a crowded Affair but we will manage, Can we rely on the local law enforcement for support?"
" Can we rely on the local law enforcement for support?"
Colonel:Yes, Once you get there, yes. The Intelligence reports all point out that the Svirfneblin are really interested in maintaining the best diplomatic relations with us.
Sylas stands at relaxed attention. He wears his red and gold burnished breastplate with a simple coat over it emblazoned with the cupped hands and spark evocative of The Order of the Nurtured Flame.
"Colonel, Colonel...You have to let the politicking go. Let the eggheads and brown nosers play their games. Folks like us just need to keep the country together in the meantime." Sylas straightens his clothes a bit when the Lieutenant enters.
"In any case, I'm more than happy to keep a close eye on the Chancellor's daughter. I'm a deft hand at conversation to boot. I'll look forward to the vacation."
Sir William stands at the back of the room, looking impatient to get going. When the Lieutenant enters, he gives a very token salute.
"Shouldn't be any problems. I'll make sure nothing touches her."
The clockwork man vents a bit of steam as he locks his body in a ready position.
"Any known threats to be aware of? My specialty, as you know, is...preemptive defense. I don't often get palced ona s imple bodyguard detail."
"Any known threats to be aware of? My specialty, as you know, is...preemptive defense. I don't often get palced ona s imple bodyguard detail."
Evans:No, there is no known specific threat. However, as you can imagine, - she says pointing to the newspaper - the chancellor is not the most popular person at the moment, so the chance that somebody tries to do something stupid is non-zero.
Colonel:Random bandits and denizens from the darklands, are always a possibility, though, however unlikely.
========================
The next morning in the train station.
The chancellor, while a quite important figure, is still not royalty, so no personal train for her or her family. In any case, there is a wagon for VIP, so You are a little away from the bustle and chaos of the large numbers of people rushing about, bumping into one another.
You don't have to wait much for your protegee, she, Evans, and the chancellor arrive at the platform.
Evans: Gentlemen, the chancellor Abigail Glazebrook and her daughter, miss Maureen
The chancellor friendly greets you one by one, by name, though she seems a little more cautious and out of character with Tremero. She entrusts her daughter to you and leaves as political business await her. In general terms the chancellor is well-spoken and very likable in person.
Maureen is a fifteen years old spoiled brat, *ahem*, I mean, a fifteen years old well-educated lass. As a teenager in her first trip outside the city, she most definitely will not sit still and quiet.
How do you want to approach the bodyguard thing?
Temero gives Maureen a small bow.
"A pleasure to meet you, Miss Glazebrook. I'm sure you're used to the routine by now. Your safety is out number one priority."
Mezel has since yesterday suited up in his suit, a complex metal suit of bronze with pressure pipes running along the outside frame, All of it connected to a single pressure steam tank on the back, connected to a small but efficient coal furnace that occasional every half hour or so fires up and belches a cloud of smoke. It's not a quiet machine. Mezel looks almost comical his tiny head poking out the top of his suit that is equal in size to most common humans.
Mezel salutes the Cornel and turns to greed the Chancellor with a nod.
"Good Morning Ma'am, And Chancellor an honor to meet you. Be assured we are well equipped to deal with any number of situations that could arise. Your Daughter is on good hands"
Sylas blinks in surprise that the chancellor actually knows his name. He feels a rush of national pride that'll likely make the rest of his week.
"Chancellor Glazebrook, you look well! It's an honor to meet you. Have no fear, your daughter is in capable hands." Sylas says with his fist over his heart and a bow of his head.
After the Chancellor leaves, he claps his hands.
"Well! This is a fine day. Miss Glazebrook or should I say Maureen if you prefer...? I'm sure you want to enjoy this trip as much as possible. We'll try to keep out of the way unless your safety would be compromised. Please let me know if there's anything I can get for you." Sylas winks conspiratorially.
"Temero, Mezel, Shall we leave guarding the entrances to the car to you gentlemen whilst Sir William and I take point within? Unless you gentlemen have any better ideas?"
Sir William settles into a seat not too far from Maureen, and nods at Sylas. "Good idea. With the machines placed at the far ends of the car, they won't be quite so disturbing for our esteemed guest. Not that we'll need them, anyway." He pats his holstered revolver with a cocky smile. "This is all we'll need."
"Please let me know if there's anything I can get for you." Sylas winks conspiratorially.[dice=Diplomacy to leave a good impression?]1d20+10
Yeah, sure -"old people makes me cringe" - she thought
===========So, Mezel and Tremero wait at the entrances while Sylas and Sir William follow miss Maureen more closely.
The regular Wagons are full of merchants, Svirfneblins returning home to visit family, and lost tourists from the working class. When the coal is ignited in the engines, and the train starts moving, you can hear the cheers from these simple people, some of them still marveled by the progress of the era of steam.
The VIP wagon is much less vibrant since only posh people (and some bodyguards) are there. A haughty politician here, a retired general that snores a lot there, etc. Miss Maureen was initially quite excited, but with the passing hours, she became bored, the bane of the rich people.
"Keep an eye open Temero, Don't let any of the riffraff past."
Mezel stands opposite of the doorto Temero, eyeing anyone tries to pass through the cars. He looks specifically for anyone who does not look like they have business rubbing shoulders with the uppercrust, Tipping his stylish bowler hat at any gentlemen and ladies who pass his wordless inspection.
So far as Mezel is aware, nobody else enters the VIP wagon, though not for the lack of trying, there is always the random dude that gets lost or the random Karen that thinks she is more important than she actually is. However, no treats are detected by that 13 and 9.
Your interaction with the populace does reveal sightings of flying creatures in the horizon.
=================
In any case. Inside the VIP wagon, Maureen stoically endures boredom like for five minutes, and then....
Sir William watches the flying creatures for a moment and then saunters toward Temero.
"I believe we're being followed. Would you happen to have a telescope in that eye...thing you have?"
"No. I have a very specialized design. My organs are mostly organic."
"I see the things you're talking about though. Can anyone shoot those down?"
" Can anyone shoot those down?"
Looks at the distant figures and sighs.
"Can't whip up anything to help on such short notice, I'll keep an eye on Whatever they are"
Sylas watches William and the rest confer before focusing on his own greatest challenge to date...keeping a teenage girl mildly entertained.
"...Are you hungry Miss Maureen? I can call one of the stewards to bring up some treats if you would like."
"Could I though....I could perhaps redirect the main from the joint pistons, Put a focus compressor nozzle at the ankle joints..."
Mezek begins to mutter to himself about somthing mechanical, then looks up at his companions.
"Do they look like they are heading this way? How long do we have?"
Sir William shakes his head at the gnome, visibly frustrated. "From here, there's no way to tell what they're planning. They might follow us all the way to our stop, or they could be preparing to attack the train right now."
"I say we keep an eye on them, and be prepared to fight at any moment. We may be at a slight disadvantage without long-range options, but that's better than one of us being completely unable to fight in the case of a sudden attack."
To clarify the situation, and to somewhat answer Mezel question, the train is currently on open country land and it will remain so for several hours at least. Any ambush in such terrain is unlikely since you could spot it from a mile away.
=======================
Lt Evans:It seems the creature is only following us for now...Unless it is able to survive a rain of bullets, the chance of a frontal attack against the train is small. Though, things can change once we approach the mountains.
=======================
Sylas
Sylas
Among all the old and boring people in the VIP wagon, there is an "apparently" young man that catches Maureen's attention. It is good looking a swarthy man with blonde hair dressed in a foreign parade uniform. The gray and red colors of the uniform reveal his affiliations, it is from an ally city-state. But an ally can be a fleeting thing
Or if you roll higher
The above information is true, you heard it from a very reliable source.
In any case, you succeed in maintaining Maureen entertained for a while.
For everyone
- You have the option to stop the strain at any moment if you think there is a valid reason for that. Though it is not something to be taken too lightly as the train have its schedule and the passenger want to be on time for the festival of the stone rose.
With the train stopped or in motion, I can think of three paths
- You wait to see if something happens
- Evans can provide you with a casting of communal mount spell (via scroll). That would give you 6 hours/divided accordingly to go an investigate the flying creatures
- There is an emergency balloon in case you want a closer look to the flying creatures, but there is only one and if it gets damaged odds are you would not be able to use it in the future.
Gets out if his suit to begin altering it, hunched over the bronze steam pipes with a ratchet and a spanner. Speaking as he works.
"It's best to stay around the young Miss, plenty of beasts fly no reason to assume these beasts are after us, and unless they present a clear immediate threat I think it is unwise for us to leave our young ward for any reason."
Once Maureen is busy with lunch, Sylas will check in with his compatriots and get brought up to date.
"Hmm. I must agree with our Engineer. If they rapidly approach, we can begin arrangements then. In other perhaps less or more interesting developments...that lad there seems to have caught Miss Maureen's eye. I'm no boor to deny a lady her infatuations, but mayhaps one of you gentlemen might recognize the lad?"
"Afraid not. But if he can keep our ward from wandering around in her state of boredom, he is most certainly an ally to me."
"More importantly: I still find it odd that these things would just happen to follow our train's exact route. But I do agree that we're still not in a position to start attacking them. No need to cause a panic yet."
A couple of hours pass and the flying creature can still be seen from time to time in the distance following the train path.
Other than that, everything is normal for a couple of hours. Mezel can complete the modification to his suit without interruptions and Sylas can entertain Miss Maureen. In the VIP wagon, the posh people talk about politics and other gossips. In the regular wagons, most people are minding their own business in silence, or chatting a little with nearby passengers.
The next following happens when the train leaves the open country and enters a sparse little forest.
The calmness is interrupted by unpleasant shrieks, immediately accompanied by the sound of flapping wings. A black cloud of hundreds of wings and fangs lashes on the train.
In the VIP wagon, people had time to close most of the open windows and other entrances, and you can see how dozens of enraged bats crash themselves against the reinforced glass of the windows, dying from the collision. One window is the exception, as an evil-looking big bat (medium-sized in game terms) can force its way inside the wagon before the window was closed.
Besides the natural confusion and natural fear of being attacked, you all are affected by an unnatural angst
30 ft. of an unholy creature automatically takes a –1
penalty on all attack rolls, checks, and saves. Awful
presence is a mind-affecting fear effect.
===============
I don't want to draw the situation so, to summarize
- The VIP wagon is about 60 ft long and around 15 ft wide. There is (more or less) a 5 ft passageway in the middle of the wagon where you can move normally, otherwise you would be moving/jumping on the passenger chairs (difficult terrain)-
- Mezel, William, and Temero are 15 feet away from the bigger bat. And Sylas and Maureen are about 30 ft away.
- Regular-sized bat can bite, but they are no real danger for the passengers, for now at least. But if the window stays open for too much time you could face a bat swarm or other medium-sized bats.
- The big bat is right next to the open window. Closing the window is a move action that provokes. And it has soft cover from the nearby passenger seats.
- Area effects would most likely affect some passengers.
Your turn.
"Get that gods Damned Window Closed!"
Shouts the suited gnome as he suddenly jumps, releasing a gout of steam from his ankle nozzels and makes a B-Line for the window. Hovering right over the seats leaving a trail of steam.
He lands saftly right beside the window, and grasp it ready to slam it closed. In the meantime he uses his suit to body block the evil bat, to try and prevent it from getting into the Cabin.
- Mezel gets biten, but he is successful in closing the window.
"Get down Miss Maureen!" Sylas makes a cutting gesture with his free hand and his right draws his pistol. He narrows his eyes as he focuses on the MAN-SIZED BAT.
"Return to ash! Sylas chants, half a prayer and half an oath. The glow of fire licks the barrel end of his pistol before bursting forth!
In an effort to quickly dispatch this unexpected threat, Temero spits a glob of venom at the bat creature, which explodes into a small pinkish-purple cloud in its face.
That's a miss too.
Sir William leers at the bat. "Finally! You certainly took your sweet time making your grand entrance. Now you'll pay for making me wait!"
He takes two hasty shots at the bat.
He then backs away from it until he is 10 feet in front of Miss Maureen, ready to shoot down any projectiles that might come her way.
That's one hit from William.
With the window closed the only real danger is the man-sized bat. Lieutenant Evans nods to you in agreement with your tactical choices, she then proceeds to utter commands to move them out of danger and to how to better deal with the normal-sized bats. .
So, Temero, Willian, and Sylas preferred to maintain the distance with the Bat, the only one in melee range is Mezel.
- That's a hit.
While the bat is biting his mechanical arm, Mezel can clearly see in the eyes of the bat that you are dealing with an unnatural and evil creature.
Maureen screams and hides behind her seat, though for now there is nothing that threatens her.
Sylas glances at his pistol and rolls his eyes. I was never a great shot anyways.
Instead of firing his pistol again, he holds his hand up and puts his faith in a higher power to make it connect instead.
"Though my hands are weary, the flame hungry, we suffer naught for the flame provides plenty."
Satisfied that his charge is safe from immediate danger, Sir William keeps hammering away with his revolver.
That last bullet from William blows the bat's brains out. You then have no problem clearing the VIP wagon. Some passengers have some scratches here and there, but nothing serious.
More bats clash themselves against the window (and die), but it doesn't seem to be any risk of intrusion as the reinforced glass resists well those hits.
At this point, you can secure yourselves and the vips by locking the doors of the VIP wagon, or you can try to go to the other wagons to see if anybody needs help.
Sylas flicks the guttering flames out from his free hand.
"Excellent shot Sir William. Mezel, my good man! Are you all right over there? Is anyone hurt?" He then turns to Miss Maureen and kneels down to check on her.
"The wagon is secure Miss. It'll be alright. We're professionals after all. With your and Lieutenant Evan's leave, we'll begin to clear the other wagons, check on the rest of the passengers and make sure the engineman is still in condition to operate this gift from the flame." Sylas pats the young woman on the back, hopefully comforting her a bit. It wouldn't due to bring her home traumatized.
Maureen: What!? no!, stay with me and protect me! I'm your priority! -
Sir William, looking obnoxiously pleased with himself, reloads and holsters his revolver before approaching Maureen.
"You have nothing to worry about, m'lady. These fine gentlemen will secure the rest of the train to make sure there aren't any more potential dangers, while I stay here to effortlessly shoot down anything else that comes after you."
His smug attitude does nothing to help.
"The rest of the train doesn't have a squad of protectors in every cabin, If the train comes to a halt you'll be in more danger, I will help sweep the train and clear out any remaining virmin, Miss Glazebrook, You will remain in the VIP cabin with Sir William, Lets go."
Mezel isn't heartless to the girl's fear but he's a military gnome, He's not going to let the assignent put herself in danger, So he states what he is going to do in as authoritative as he can, If Maureen accepts then good, If she continues with the Hysterics then she can try and physically hold him back, though she is liable to hurt herself before she can stop him in his suit; He reckons.
Well, he has always had trouble getting the macho military man style down, usually the artificial muscle carries the day, This time though it seems to have failed him.
"Sylas, Teemo, you with me?"
He asks as he marches towards the door.
"Secure the Cabin door once we leave, We'll signal you when it's all clear Miss Glazebrook"
"Yes. The glass seems more than up to the task of protecting the train now that it's closed. We should search for further breaches."
He makes no attempt to comfort Maureen.
Realizing she can stop you, Maureen grudgingly accepts to let you go. William and L.t Evans stay to protect Maureen from any surprise.
- William
The order inside the VIP wagon is restored by the crew and by the few passengers that don't despise manual labor.
Evans examines the dead man-sized bat, pocking it with her saber.
Definitely an unnatural creature. Probably one of the many taints of the Darklands
The young-looking foreign soldier (age around 18 or 19) makes a prayer and releases an aura that heals all the small bits and cuts in the passengers. Earning short applause from the crowd.
Maureen:did you see that? how cool... - She says while fangirling.
The reports from the outside are good, but then you hear a loud and piercing Shriek coming from somewhere in the front of the train.
- Mezel, Sylas, and Temero
You advance through the wagons, helping the crew to cleanse them from the regular-sized bats and to shut all doors.
You reach the last wagon before the locomotive when you are surprised by the sound of a heavy load hitting the ceiling. The sound comes from a large creature, as you can then hear its steps toward the locomotive, just before a loud and piercing Shriek that make you cover your ears with your hands to not get deaf
Will save, DC 15 or be shaken for
rounds
From the windows, you can see that is a Large bat that is trying to enter the locomotive. From now the iron doors of the locomotive are resisting the pounding. The bat is surrounded by a swarm of regular sized bats.
Sir William points at the dead bat with his nose upturned. "Someone burn that wretched thing immediately! Unless you'd all like to see what happens when its corruption spreads."
He rolls his eyes at Maureen's fangirling. "Yes, so cool. Much cooler than helping to kill it in the first place."
When he hears the shriek, he briefly considers rushing to the front of the train, but decides against it. Someone still needs to make sure Maureen is safe (and not making a fuss about being left alone), and if the others really need his help they can send someone back for him.
- William
Evans nods and proceeds to cover the corpse with a blanket. She then instructs the passenger to stay away from it.
Evans: We can't burn it in here, we would be exposed to tainted smokes. We have to leave the bats behind and stop the train in order to burn this one outside.