Chapter 1: A Chance Encounter
The story began with a group of adventurers gathered together in the dining car of the first Sydonian steam train's maiden voyage to the town of Brookstone. They had each been hired for security, but did not know each other previously. The group was made up of four adventurers: a human rogue named Dox, a dwarven artificer named Thrain Blasthammer, a kenku bard named Rasper and a human cleric of Thor named Torbjorn Lundberg.
As they sat together at the bar drinking elvish whiskey (except Thrain who brought his own dwarven whiskey), the train came to a sudden screeching stop. They heard hoofbeats outside, soon followed by gunfire from the cars ahead. Before they could gather themselves, four men entered the dining car from outside. They wore bandanas over their faces and pointed pistols at them, commanding them to hand over their valuables. The nervous bandits soon regretted their actions, as battle erupted between the two groups. Furniture was knocked over to provide cover as the bandits fired shots at the party. Torbjorn was badly wounded, but Thrain healed his wounds as Dox fired crossbow bolts at the bandits and Rasper used their bardic magic to weaken the enemy. With Torbjorn back in the fight, he launched himself into a melee with the bandits and unleashed thor's fury with his warhammer as Thrain rained down fire bolts from his arquebus. Eventually, the bandits were slain and the group collected themselves.
After peeking out and seeing bandit riders further ahead and a cache of gunpowder barrels, the group climbed up onto the roof of the train and made their way up stealthily. Thrain fired a firebolt at the explosives, and a massive fireball engulfed 2 of the bandit riders and their mounts. The survivors alerted others, and battle soon ensued atop the train. As the groups traded shots, the bandits were eventually slain but Torbjorn was left badly wounded and unconscious.
The remaining party concocted a plan to split up and come at the remaining bandits inside the last train car from multiple angles. After learning about explosives in the engine room, Thrain went to disable the bomb while Rasper and Dox prepared to ambush the bandits. The ambush succeeded in killing one bandit while Thrain disabled the makeshift bomb in the engine room (and found the conductor dead). The last group of bandits included a wizard who unleashed fire bolts at the group. After a protracted fight, the wizard blasted Dox with magical flames and sent him unconscious. Rasper was able to bring him back into the fold, while Thrain finished off another bandit. Finally, Dox and Rasper slew the wizard and ended the threat.
After returning the passengers' valuables, they secured the unconscious Torbjorn while Thrain drove the train back to Dragonwatch. Back at the city's train depot, the constabulary helped the passengers and congratulated the group on a successful counter attack. The officer asked them to visit the constabulary in the morning to collect their commendations and commission, suggesting that they worked well together and should continue to do so. After a night of frivolity and rest, the group met up at the constabulary to collect their payment. The constables there suggested they visit the dragon's hoard in to find jobs to do in the city. The group traveled to the inn and found a rowdy establishment with questionable accommodations but valuable information. They picked up a job posting from the barrow boys to investigate giant vermin in the sewers attacking their members.
After a brief outing in the merchant district for supplies, the party visited the barrow boys in the slums. Dox led them to his former gang's territory, where they were brought to a boy named Tommy. They agreed to clear out the sewers of the vermin and investigate the missing boys in return for 50 gold per person (and managed to haggle in a healing potion as well). Another barrow boy named arthur led them to the spot in the sewers, and they set about clearing it of monsters. As they made their way through the sewers, they found traps and vermin throughout. Spider swarms, giant spiders, giant rats and swarms of rats ambushed them several times as they made their way. A giant spider poisoned Torbjorn and paralyzed him, and they were forced to wait out the poison after slaying the beast. After their brief respite, they encountered a pair of gray oozes and managed to destroy them (but not before damaging their weapons and armor). Thrain was able to repair the gear, and they pressed on deeper into the sewer lair...
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