The JournalChapter 35 The B team

“That's a Gorgon.”
We were all standing around Mikey, Geno's new creation that was going to be the housing for the egg on the trip. Marda had of course pointed out a flaw with Geno's creation. I had heard about a Gorgon, A ferocious metal bull that somehow turned things to stone. I had never faced one before, nor did I want to. Thankfully Marda knew about it. Consulting her Guide,”The Helpful handbook of Heinous creatures” she read a description that was very much like the creature before us.
Geno had come through, making this magnificent creature in just one night somehow. Looking like a large metal Bull, it was missing a large ovoid portion in the chest. Presumably where the egg would stay. I didn't want to ask how he had done it so fast. But this new metal creature of his did pose a new problem. How were we going to get it on the train without people throwing a fit? Luckily Marda and Melfina were able to come up with an idea. The Sanctum had been known from time to time to aid in the transport of dangerous animals. So we simply acquired a pass for Michelangelo obtained a special muzzle for him making it look like he may be dangerous, and got him onto the train. Wasn't too much of a fuss anyway. Mikey was loaded in with the mounts including Mittens near the back of the train. What I wasn't thinking about was that our cabins may be quite a distance from the mounts.
The train was much longer than I had thought it would be, although since we were going to be spending a good amount of time on it I guess I shouldn't have been surprised. It had one large complicated machine of some sort on one end, and the livestock car on the other. Behind the front machine were a couple of large wagon-like cars holding combustible materials to fuel whatever fire may power this massive thing. Behind that was the living quarters for the many people keeping the train working. Several sleeper cars followed that for the higher class ticket holders with five small cabins per car, plus a single lavatory. then a lounge car for them. Leona, Max and I all had tickets for those cars, as did Marda and Melfina. We were able to choose what cars we wanted, and as it turns out, Henry, the Tabaxi we were supposed to be watching chose the same car. Even worse, I had locked eyes with him, and was trying to figure out what approach to take when he fled into the cabin across from mine and slammed the door shut. Something tells me that would be a memorable meeting. I would either have to make up with him, or leave the rest of the mission to the others. Either way, not a great start.
The rest of the train was made up of a single dinning car, sleeper cars for the lower classes sleeping eight per car, and seating cars for them. Then the livestock. With all access I was able to go from one end of the train to the other, but I had to wait for it to get moving. We were otherwise asked to stay put while everyone and everything was loaded. Leona and Max decided to stay in one cabin together, as the other option was to be separated on different cars, which they didn't want.
Once the Train starts moving, we are allowed to wander about. Geno and Yun were the only ones in the second class cars, but Yun has a pass that allowed them to go anywhere. Marda and Melfina were stuck up front, but that seemed OK with them for the most part. Eager to check on the egg, I immediately went to go get it from Mikey. Passing into the lounge, I was greeted by a Bar in one corner of the long car, and seating enough for most of the first class passengers. Two large suits of armor were standing next to the door leading to the dinning car. The armor was made of mixed styles, but both were incredibly old. While styles sometimes come back into fashion, these seemed to be from when they First came into being. Before the Caster wars. Why these were here I could only guess, but they had recently been cleaned. Complete with weapons, these should be in a collection somewhere, not here. Maybe they were here to impress the important folks on this first “voyage”.
The dining car was impressively well thought out. Stairs led up to the tables which had bench style seating. Groups of people would eat together. A dip in the middle of the car had stairs leading to the kitchen portions which were under the tables. Kitchen and waitstaff would work under the diners, then bring it up. That way the kitchen and dinning were all in the same car. It would be hard enough moving the food with the constant jostling the train provided, trying to bring it to a whole separate car would have been impossible.
Getting through the remaining passenger cars I find another pair of the old armor standing guard. Continuing on,I find Geno heading for the same destination as I and we find ourselves in with the livestock. Various animals to eat during the journey, and the mounts took a good amount of room. Mittens had be put in with Mikey, as both were technically dangerous animals. I was in a dilemma. I wanted to be close to the egg, but I also didn't want to seem like Geno wasted his efforts making Mikey. I didn't think I would be so far away from the animals. I decided to take the egg back to the passenger car so I could watch over it. Apologizing to Geno, I explain the situation. I guess Mikey was a contingency plan. If we couldn't stay with the egg, there would be a safe place for it. Heading back, I passed Marda in the lounge car with everyone else, but I went back to my cabin. It was a more defensible position, and I simply wanted to read some. Max had been reading to the egg, and I wanted to try.
With all of the passengers on the car, we all had different times to eat in the dinning car. So when our time came, we had a delicious meal. Artisanal Mushroom soup, followed by Lamb with mint chutney with potato and broccoli and banana pudding for dessert. As I was heading back to my cabin, I had an Idea. Knowing that at least one guard had been placed in each car, I asked if I could be introduced to the Captain of the trains guard. Simply wanting to be helpful and offer any cooperation I could offer, I was met by something else entirely.
While The captain knew exactly who I was, I had no idea who they were. Being a political rival of Vlad, the captain seemed to be someone who mistrusted me and seemed somewhat offended that I didn't know who they were. As a person who was “under investigation” they made it clear they would keep any eye on me, I didn't even bother asking what security protocols were. As it would have just made me more suspicious if there was an attack, I simply turned heel and walked away from him. While it would make defending the train a bit more difficult, I would do what I could. Maybe I could salvage this somehow, but I wasn't sure what to say yet.
Geno had of course wanted to see the engine and as he came back, Marda and Melfina came to visit as well. Mentioning the Armor, They mention that Spike had received a nasty shock of energy when attempting to crawl inside it. So they are magical somehow. Melfina also took some time to magically spy on Henry, who as far as we could tell had stayed in his cabin. Seeming rather anxious, he stayed alone the enitre time she was watching him. She was able to sense some sort of magic on him, illusions of some sort, but she wasn't able to determine anything else.
Yun had come forward using their pass, and came to visit as well, and I filled everyone in on the train's captain of the guard. Since we couldn't count on the guards for a fight, we seemed to be on our own until we could gain their trust. Without any more information, we were about to part ways when Melfina suddenly tensed, looking to Spike. We all got quiet.
Thudding comes from above, where no sane person would go. Locking eyes with Geno and grabbing his hand Yun lets off a quick Whistle and they both vanish. With a couple extra thuds above, I start to hear faint yelling. Not to be out done, Melfina starts chanting as she gets up, drawing her knife. By the time she was out of the cabin, her speed had doubled, making her almost blur in movement. With a glance at me, Marda jumped out and started after her. While I would never call Marda slow , she certainly wasn't going to be as fast as Melfina right now. Grabbing the egg, I walked out of my cabin and went directly to Max and Leona's. Looking at the guard who stood at the door to the next car, I told him to warn the other guards that we had visitors. Knocking on the door before opening it, I open my mouth to let Max and Leona know, but they are ready for it, brandishing weapons. By the time I set the egg down on Leona's bed, I start to hear the screams above. I will let my companions venture out to fight, there are things to guard here.
As I summoned my axe, Max went to the front of the car, to guard the door between my cabin and Henry's. Leona and I posted up between their cabin and Marda's. She held her spear in one hand, and her round shield in the other, short sword sheathed in the back of the shield. She kept adjusting her grip on the spear, and I could tell she was nervous. ”Defensive fighting little one. We can hold here just fine, no need to push them out. Our friends are behind them, and Aunt Melfina is out for blood. I mean, she's always out for blood.” A small smile came out, and she relaxed a bit. I recognized her stance, as she readied to strike. As the screams grew fainter above, our door opened and a large hulking figure came through. Wielding an axe, I took only a second to notice it was a Goliath. Dark clothing and obviously not here to help us, we lay into him. When he blocks my blows Leona strikes with her quick speed. Using her shield as as weapon as well, we overwhelm our opponent and with a feinted attack, Leona gets an opening to thrust her spear just below the neck.
Pulling her spear out of her opponent, the body goes limp and falls to the ground. If he wasn't dead, he soon will be. Looking to Leona I know that I need to keep her mind in the present. Not wanting her to dwell on the kill, I sent her looking for additional threats in the next car. If she fixates on her first kill, it may not go well. Let the adrenaline get out of her system a bit first. I know that the screaming meant Melfina was still alive, and I simply had to hope for the rest of the group. Concentrate on what I can currently do. Max's opponent was still up, and I could see that blood was flowing from both combatants on that side of the car. Max's giant metal mace, nearly as long as a glaive barely had room to swing in the train car, but that didn't stop the Minotaur. Noticing his opponent favoring his right side, I call out to let Max know. But before he can act, a Ray of sickening green light comes from behind the mysterious combatant. Taking the opportunity to hit the combatant, Max jabs him in the stomach with the counterweight, twirls the giant mace once, and brings the momentum down on the back of the head, crumpling bone and flesh and spraying the near vicinity in blood.
The remains of the fighter sat in front of the door when Melfina appeared complete with Bone wings. That would explain the screaming. With a quick gesture, she uses a bit of her divine magic to heal Max, and his own blood begins to pull the wound closed, forming a needle to stitch it shut. Just looking at it was uncomfortable, I don't want to be reminded how it felt. Looking at Max, Melfina pauses and touches his chest with a confused expression on her face. It may be all the blood. It is a bit hard to tell with her.
The few seconds it took for the whole thing to happen, Leona comes back to report that no other fights had broken out on the cars behind us. With no more threats, I start to examine the body Leona killed. The Goliath had tattoos from some known fighter clans, but they were also not the best warriors. It seems like we had the second class fighters being sent after us, and the second rate guards to protect the train. As I was examining the body, Marda came back, dejectedly dragging her swords. Going to her cabin, muttering to herself about stupid quick casters showing off. With a quick glance at the others, I go back to searching the body.
Finding a pouch of 20 gold, and an encoded letter, I don't find much else. To my surprise, Yun comes in announcing that they are stuck on this side of the Dinning car. Apparently the suits of armor had animated, and during the fight had obliterated one of the attackers. They also had informed Yun that the lounge was closed for the night, and they weren't allowed past. I guess we were going to have something to explain to security. We also need to check on Henry, but first I think I should figure out what this letter says, to see if these guys were coming for him, or to him. Better start working on it.