Adventure 04 - Horror on the Orien Express

Horror on the Orien Express

Played September 6, 2004
Dateline Sharn, 26 Dravago, 998 YK (Late spring)
Featuring Jory, Kirin, Metal Guy, and Quarion

(writeup by Robin/Kirin)

After traveling together for almost three months, the intrepid adventurers have settled into a companionable routine, each being able to read and interpret most of the others’ body language. Thus, when Kirin begins noticing the telltale signs of trouble ahead, she merely raises her hand to halt their progress. Sure enough, about four hundreds yards ahead, the troupe spies two young children trapped in a tree surrounded by two goblins and a wurg creature. Apparently, the creatures notice the party about the same time for they all send crossbow bolts at Kirin. She crumples to the ground in a heap as three bolts found their mark, piercing her light hide armor easily. She lies on the ground bleeding and unconscious. The rest party quickly drops into combat stance and readies themselves for the battle ahead with something akin to relish. It has been a fairly dull journey to now and some of them are itching to flex some muscle. Or in “Metal Guy” ‘s case, flex some alloy.

One of the goblins mounts the wurg and spurs him to charge at “Metal Guy” who uses two incredible martial kicks to injure the wurg and send the goblin flying in a few directions simultaneously. Second Story Jory, in an equally impressive swing of her masterwork shortsword, closes on the other foe and slices cleanly into his abdomen, leaving him still standing but badly wounded. Not to be outdone, Quarion attempts to finish this goblin off with his longsword but the creature narrowly dodges the blow. Before it can recover, Quarion’s dagger punctures its throat. A low gurgle precedes the goblin to its death. Beak, flustered that his human lay with her blood seeping into the earth, manages to unfold the flap of Kirin’s pouch and grasp her small bottle of healing potion in its talons. Somehow, using its beak and talons, the small owl manages to uncork the stopper and pour the shimmering green liquid down Kirin’s mouth. Within seconds, the green potion seeps into her wounds and binds them together, leaving no trace of even a scar. Then it gives what can only be described as a scathing look to the rest of the party. Coming to, Kirin is able to grasp her scimitar to destroy the wurg before it has a chance to attack her again.

Just as the party began to catch its breath, four more goblins run into the clearing, shouting obscenities in Goblin. (One can only assume it is obscenities, given that most of the Goblin language consists of series of guttural noises strung together. Even if they were only asking for directions, it sounds to the adventurers as if these creatures had just insulted every last member of their families.) “Metal Guy” throws his javelin at the obvious leader, but his aim is slightly off. The lance merely grazes the arm of the goblin for which it was intended. Jory and Quarion, however, have even less aim. She watches her dart sail harmlessly out of the clearing and he sees an arrow embed itself into the ground, quivering with the impact. Kirin calls upon the forces of the nature around her, feeling her energy sink deep into the roots underneath them as she concentrates on the piece of bark in her hand. With the final command word, the plants, brush, roots and shrubs begin to writhe and grow, entangling three of the four creatures in the natural snare. Fortunately, with their movement hampered thus, the second goblin throws a morning star that misses her completely. “Metal Guy” stomps on the wounded goblin and kills him with a splat. Jory tries to charge the freestanding goblin but misjudges the distance slightly and misses the creature, which taunts her. Quarion, having little luck with his longbow, again misses his target. He groans in frustration. Kirin drops her scimitar and takes out a bow, knocking an arrow efficiently in one swift motion. Pulling all her strength into the string, she lets the arrow fly, deftly piercing the third goblin in the heart. It dies instantly. “Metal Guy” uses another javelin to dispense with the fourth goblin. The remaining goblin, the only one not ensnared in the overgrown underbrush, tries to shoot a crossbow bolt at Quarion but misses widely. Quarion tries again with his longbow but is only rewarded with a scrape. Kirin “Metal Guy”, and Jory all miss this wily creature. Shaken, however, it also misses Jory. Quarion’s last arrow goes wide. Finally, Kirin is able to send an arrow true and kill the miserable goblin.

The terrified human children in the tree above look to be no older than ten years old, as they slowly climb down the tree. From the woods come two adult humans, one wearing chainmail with the guard uniform of the Aundair Royal army. The older man, with striking blue-black hair wears only a cloak but has a commanding presence. With suspicion, he introduces himself as Cheron Kesco, court mage and explains that the children are the 2nd and 3rd born niece and nephew of the Queen of Aundair. After a brief discussion, the party learns that this was an expedition for the Luke and Lynell’s training. The party offers to escort them back home and is offered a reward for saving the royal family.

The long journey consists of first a boat ride then a Lightening Rail ride of several days. The party notices coffins being loaded onto each vessel as they board. Cheron informs them that these are the bodies of dead soldiers being returned home after the war. The boat ride is without incident, as is the first day on the train. In the dining car that night, however, “Metal Guy” is forced to intervene when a disgruntled hunter accosts the children and insults the crown. He is very drunk and leaves grumbling when faces with the might of the party. That night as the entourage slumbers in their bunks, “Metal Guy” and Jory stand guard at each end of the car when the same hunter enters and attempts to engage “Metal Guy”. A scream pierces the night from Lynell’s car, awakening every one. Kirin rushes in to find zombies in the bunk but no Lynell. With her scimitar blazing, she swings for its head but misses and lops off its arm at the elbow. She yells to her travel companions, “We’ve got zombies!” And readies for another attack.

Meanwhile, “Metal Guy” politely informs the disgruntled Aundairian that he can leave or be killed. When face with the choice, he decides to put political feelings aside in favor of his longevity. “Metal Guy” quickly scales the ladder of the train to reach the roof, where he can hear the sounds of multiple creatures. Jory also climbs to the roof, but without taking the time to run to the end of the car, merely swings out her window and scales the side of the train. As fast as the train is moving, however, this is a harrowing task and takes her some time. Quarion rushes into Luke’s cabin in time to see a zombie crash through the window. He slices into the undead creature with his longsword and follows this with a blow from his dagger but the creature continues to advance.

Kirin once again strikes a blow at her zombie but again is frustrated to deal a minor wound. She is able to dodge the swipe of its arm as it flails at her. Up on the roof, “Metal Guy” finds three zombies, a shapeshifter and an albino cleric. Two of the zombies flank him as he clears the top of the train but miss their blows. The cleric finishes the last words of a spell when suddenly a large dire rat materializes out of thin air. The shapeshifter slashes Lynell’s throat and she falls to the roof in a slump. “Metal Guy” declares the fiendish rat his dodge opponent and attacks with a flurry of blows because of the swaying train, motion, however, his fists to little damage to the evil rodent. His martial kick to zombie 1 is more effective.

At the other end of the car, Jory has managed to reach the roof and uses her healing potion to revive Lynell then instructs her to stay out of harm’s way. The traumatized child quickly scampers to the far end of the car and cowers in terror. Down below, Quarion again slices into sword into the zombie and then stabs him with his dagger. It looks very wounded but makes another attempt to attack him. Zombies move slowly and elves move fast so Quarion is deftly able to sidestep the blow.

On top, the dire rat and Zombies 1 & 2 attack “Metal Guy” simultaneously. He misses Zombie 2 but the rat bites his leg and Zombie 1 hits him. The shapeshifter stabs Jory with a poisoned knife but gratefully, her constitution is strong enough to fight the effects. She does have a gash in her side, though. Because of this, she is unable to connect with the shapeshifter for her attack. The cleric casts another spell and watches triumphantly as an electric bolt arcs from his hands, hitting “Metal Guy” squarely in the chest. He feels weak as the ray of enfeeblement takes its toll on his strength and stamina. Attempting to elude his foes surrounding him, “Metal Guy” tumbles forward and knocks into the cleric, injuring him in the process.

In her battle, Kirin once again slices the scimitar into the zombie but still cannot slay it. It is very wounded however with no arms, and therefore cannot effectively attack her. Quarion has less luck with his zombie and misses with his sword. The train makes a sudden lurch as he is attacking with the dagger and he watches in frustration as is flies out the broken window to be lost in the night. All the while, above them, the cleric quickly pulls out a scroll of parchment and begins to read the strange words as they burn away into the night, forming an opaque cloud above him. In an attempt to break the cleric’s concentration, “Metal Guy” attacks him. And while the blow finds its mark, the spell is not disrupted. “Metal Guy” receives a jolt from the cloud, which has taken the form of a battering ram. He is thoroughly shaken (though not stirred). Jory sees the shapeshifter pull out a hand-held crossbow and attacks him while he is distracted. Unable to get her footing secure with the swaying of the tray, however, she misses again. She is hit in the arm with a flaming crossbow bolt for her efforts.

Finally, on the bottom level, Kirin is able to slay her zombie and she makes her way toward Quarion in time to see him heave a final killing blow to his foe. They make their way to the top of the train, Quarion via the window (a la Jory – though with much more success), Kirin via the ladder (more time consuming but far less likely to end in falling from the train). “Metal Guy” once again uses a flurry of blows to attack both the cleric and the shapeshifter. He misses the second but deals a solid punch to the former. His intent, however is not to kill the albino but maim him. Jory stabs the shapeshifter decisively his thigh with anger in her eyes. Quarion, reaching the top, deftly grasps his longsword and slashes the cleric in his back. Once again, the colorless man attempts to cast a spell but Quarion and “Metal Guy” are ready for it. Quarion is unable to connect again but “Metal Guy” ‘s fist connects with the cleric’s temple and the spell is lost.

From the other end of the car, the zombies begin to move toward the battle but are slow and, well, zombie-like and are unable to reach the party for some time. The shapeshifter, wounded as he is, is unable to hit Jory again with another flaming bolt. She does manage to stab him again, though. Eventually, Kirin makes her way to the top of the car. After a prolonged battle, the party eventually successfully kills the undead and the shapeshifter while “Metal Guy” renders the cleric unconscious.

In the aftermath, Kirin heals first Lynell and then her wounded compatriots while Cheron repairs “Metal Guy.” For the remainder of the journey, Kirin spends much of her time with Lynell, healing her traumatized mind as much as she can. The rest of the group massages sore muscles and tends to bruises and cuts. The remainder of the journey is, thankfully, uneventful. The party disembarks in Fairhaven with pomp and circumstance. As a measure of her gratitude, the Queen deeds the party a tract of land, granting them minor titles and stature in Aundair.

Loot, Experience, and other notes:

• The party fought one Worg (which had already been injured) that had a Challenge Rating of 1. It also fought five goblins which total had a Challenge Rating of 1.667. Total experience of 800.
• On the train the party fought Delerus Semnus, a Changeling Aristocrat/Rogue with a Challenge Rating of 2 (600 experience points); Vone Jaal, the evil priest with a Challenge Rating of 2 (600 experience points), and four zombies, each of which had a Challenge Rating of ½ (600 experience points). Total experience 1800.
• The party gained an overall total of 2600 experience points, or 700 each (my I was generous ). Total experience for each party member is therefore 1588. This brings you each to 2nd level and are about a quarter of the way to 2nd level (3000 experience points).
• Jory and Quarion both purchased healing potions (cure light wounds) from the druids for 40 gp each. Jory used one to save Lenel.
• The royal family has granted you the loot the bad guys were carrying:
  340 gold pieces of treasure
  a masterwork hand crossbow (sort of like a
  crossbow pistol)
  5 ordinary hand crossbow bolts
  4 magic crossbow bolts
  (+1, flaming, cannot reuse after firing) [worth 167 gold each, 668 total]
  7 magic crossbow bolts (+1) [worth 47 gold each, 329 total]
  two scrolls of cure light wounds [worth 25 gold each, 50 total]
  In addition to your loot you have managed to obtain some land in the Kingdom of Aundair.