The Shattered City: Chapter Four

[DocBeard]

And lo, the dead rise. They made much better time than Tomas had thought, though! Yep, go Team Malchance! Drawing his sword and forcing his body to stomp through the filthy coal and freezing night, Tomas attempts to get to the edge of the cart, shield and sword in the air!

"I have no quarrel with you, dead men!" Tomas shot out, slicing Ivorsen along the edge of the coal cart as if to mark a spiritual line in the sand. "But these men and women are under my protection. Yield!"

He will freak out about the strange metal men and how the hell they're going to get out of this later. For now: battle!

((I was gonna wait a bit but holy snap I got a 24 on my initiative roll. Fluff later.
Move+Standard: Move to Ae10
Minor: Divine Challenge on B3. I think I can juuust reach him.))

[Kaitou Kage]

Rex sniffed disdainfully at the coal mess. It was so dirty and left such trails and got all over everything. Fortunately, he wore mostly black, so it didn't show as much. But it was still going to make a huge mess. His snakes and frogs didn't like the coal dust, so he'd have to figure something else out.

The pharmacist scrambled, almost catlike, across the coal, past Mercator, and leaped into the air. Halfway across, tendrils of shadow began swirling around him. He landed neatly on the other side, swathed in a swirling cloud of darkness, and lashed out at the nearest boilerman. The hapless boilerman was caught unaware by Rex's speed and efficiency and the pharmacist's blade cut a narrow, but deep gash across the boilerman.

Rex bounded back from his victim and skittered away, clinging to the traincar with gecko-like tenacity while the swirling shadows obscured his form.

Minor: Shift 2 squares using Shifty and Risky Shift. Rex grants combat advantage to enemies.
Move: Run and jump across the gap to I guess AB-9? Athletics of 21 to make the jump.
Free: Use my Shadowcraft Armor daily power:

In bright light, your space and all adjacent squares become shrouded in dim light until the end of your next turn. If you were already in dim light, your space and all adjacent squares become dark, blocking line of sight, until the end of your next turn. You can see perfectly in this area of dim light or darkness.

Standard: Killer's Ambush vs. B2: 26 vs. AC
14 damage + 15 Sneak Attack = 29 total damage

Rex shifts two squares to AB7 and makes a Stealth check 20 to become hidden.

Rex will use Slippery Mind to gain +2 to Will against the first attack where it makes a difference.

Also, if anyone would care to join me over here, especially melee, I'd be much obliged.

[Rock of the Fraternity]

Lia's eyes narrow in calculation, and she moves forward, staff whirling in one hand. Her other hand flashes down towards her belt, pulling out the wand that she has been carrying around lately. The wand's tip starts to glow with cool, blue fire, which Lia uses to sketch runes on the air. They are simple markings to start with, but instead of dying out, the fire grows, the runes becoming more elaborate, a network of glyphs.

"Furor tempestatis vos fovet," Lia chants, and the crystal atop her staff flares into red, furious life. There is a brief rumble of thunder as the glowing runes swirl and spiral into the crystal, which Lia holds up against the Boilermen and their master. "Surrender to us while you still can," Lia says, her eyes fixed on the creature that commands the Ghost Train -- and a thunderbolt leaps forth from the crystal, enveloping the three Boilermen. One escapes most of the attack, but the two others are wreathed in lightning.

(OOC: Move action: Lia moves to Ai 10.
Standard action: Lia casts Shock Sphere at Y10, catching all three boilermen in its area (I'm fairly sure it hits thanks to Mr. Agale's work), but missing Rex.
Attack roll vs. First Boilerman: 14. Miss; takes half damage.
Attack roll vs. Second Boilerman: 29. Hit.
Attack roll vs. Third Boilerman: 21 Hit.
Damage roll to Boilermen 2 + 3: 13 electricity.
Damage to Boilerman 1: 6 electricity.)

[Nerit]

Initiative 26
Move: 3 squares up (Aj11)
Standard: Dancing Lightning on B2 (29 vs 18R)
24 lightning damage, and each creature adjacent to the target takes thunder damage (+4).

[The Whistler]

“Quite so!” Celeste craned her neck to get a better look at the occupants of the engine cabin, doing the “hand over the eyes as sunshade” bit more for form than for function. It was night-time, after all.

“We mean no disrespect, nor to interfere with your appointed route, good sirs—fear not for your passengers nor your timetable! Only a small diversion in your I say oh that looks quite unsafe.” The three boilermen, having been shoved into rough alignment with each other before Lia’s electrical assault, were currently doing a wonderful impression of a tripartite Van de Graaff generator—with their heads acting as the little metal balls. It’s truly astounding what can happen when all of the copper-plated bits of a warforged team line up with each other for no discernable reason.

“Should it really be— Quite an unexpected effect…ah… Our apologies, sirs! Perhaps—oh, perhaps you had better sit down?”

Celeste moves considerately to AH10. Lia’s attack has an aftereffect that looks an awful lot like a Thunder Bomb (Burst 1) centered on Boilerman 2, because thunder and lightning are clearly very similar. It hits all Fort saves for all three with a 25 (Man 1) 22 (Man 2) and 20 (Man 3), and does 12 thunder damage to each. Because it is rather difficult to move when one’s heads are being connected by coruscating arcs of electricity, Man 2 is immobilized until the end of my next turn, and Men 1 and 3 are slowed until the end of my next turn.

[NeoTiamat]

1 Days, 0 Hours, 42 Minutes
Aboard the No. 5 Lamplighter, Late at night on April 23rd, 770
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Player Actions
Agale hits all three Boilermen for 12 Psychic and -5 to attacks, and B1 attacks B2, hits for 8 damage.
Tomas moves up and whacks B3 with a Mark that does not stick.
Rex hits B2 for 29 damage.
Lia Shock Spheres B2 and B3 for 13 damage, and B1 for 6
--Since the square you moved into was previously occupied by Agale, you are shifted off
Nerit Dancing Lightning's B2 for 24 damage, and B1 and B3 take 4.
Celeste Thunder-Bombs B1-3 for 12 damage, immobilizes B2 and slows B1 and B3.
--Since the square you moved into was beyond your move distance, you are shifted back
Kerrian does not make his Initiative
Nicolas does not make his Initiative
Mercator does not make his Initiative

Finnsen laughed manically as his feet cleared the gap, his sealskin coat billowing out behind him as he landed on the engine cab. "Ahoy!" the boatman called aloud as he crashed down by Rex, black eyes flashing. There was a gleam of ivory from his boot as he pulled a scrimshaw handled knife out, flicking it open with a snap of his wrist. It was a blunt, nasty looking thing, looking more suited for cutting rope than men. Whether the wiry sailor could do anything to a man of metal with it was a serious question, but Eric Finnsen seemed quite willing to try, if it would help Rex.

Behind you, Remy raised his hands, speaking words that seemed to scratch at your brains, words of power - but the words were whipped away by the whistling winds screaming across the train. The professor gripped his mask to his face, his green eyes narrowing behind it. With a different word, Lessard turned as pale and transparent as the ghosts aboard the train. Then the speeding winds ripped his fragile outline away, and he vanished completely.

Finnsen makes his initiative check. Finnsen decides to go join Rex, double-moving over and jumping easily.

Remy makes his initiative check. Remy scurries up closer, uses a Seeking Wind on B2 (missing with a roll of 6...) and then a Minor action to go invisible).

The boiler-men watched impassively as you attacked. They showed no more emotions than machines at the sudden fury that greeted them, even as the barrages of energy gouged chunks of metal and scoured the burning coal from their hides, revealing mechanisms of brass and iron.

In perfect unison, they scooped up burning coals from the furnace, red hot and searing. Still without missing a beat, they threw the coals at you, creating a holocaust of heat and flame.

B1 uses Burning Coals vs. Reflex on that lovely clump of Mercator, Agale, Lia, Kerrian, Celeste, and Nerit. Hits Agale and Celeste, who take 16-9=7 and 16-5=11 fire damage, and half damage (8) to the rest, except Lia who takes none.
B2 uses Burning Coals vs. Reflex on that lovely clump of Mercator, Agale, Lia, Kerrian, Celeste, and Nerit. Hits Celeste and Nerit, who take 14-5=9 and 14 fire damage, and half damage (7) to the rest, except Agale and Lia who resist.
B3 uses Burning Coals vs. Reflex on that lovely clump of Mercator, Agale, Lia, Kerrian, Celeste, and Nerit. Hits Mercator, who takes 12 fire damage, , and half damage (6) to the rest, except Agale and Lia who resist completely, and Celeste who takes just 1 damage.

Mercator: 8+7+12=27
Agale: 7+0+0 = 7
Lia: 0+0+0
Kerrian 8+7+6 = 21
Celeste: 11+9+1= 21
Nerit = 8+14+6 = 28

B2 also uses Fortitude of the Machine. Tom, B1 and B3 gain +6 Temp HP and +2 to AC and Fort till the end of the next turn.

"Thieves."

Tom Fields turned from his controls, the train floor rippling as he moved toward the back of the cab. It seemed as if his legs and feet were a part of the train itself, gears and bars twisting as he walked. The two spotlight eyes fell on Finnsen, and the engineer shot out a bronze hand, billowing steam blasting out of his joints. Finnsen, still laughing, slipped under the boiling stream, shrugging off the hot mist that fell upon his skin.

Old Tom fails his Perception check to see Rex, and so moves down and uses Scalding Steam on Finnsen. He makes three Steam Jet attacks vs. AC... then proceeds to miss all three of them.

It was at this point that something passingly peculiar occurred. A black cat appeared on the railings of the coal car, having jumped up there from the coals. Perhaps you had simply overlooked the black cat, previously. Or perhaps there had been no cat there before. In any case, now there was a black cat.

It could not be said to be an extremely beautiful or elegant cat. An alley-cat, some yowling street moggie whose dark fur was coated in coal dust and stuck out in odd tufts. Port-a-Lucine was thick with them, squabbling for scraps in the cobblestone avenues. Except for the eyes. It had green eyes, this cat, and they were very clever eyes. Eyes that contained worlds within them.

The cat sat down upon the railing and regarded the scene of burning flames and striking lightning before it. Then, without any particular hurry, the cat blinked... and disappeared.

It reappeared beside Tomas's feet a moment later, a scrawny black cat with uncanny green eyes. Without so much as deigning to divert any attention to the Lamordian, it blinked again, disappearing from sight. When it reappeared, it was in the engine car.

A black cat appears from seemingly nowhere in the coal bin. He then proceeds to teleport first to AG11, and then again to AA12 in a double move.

Victory Conditions:
Part 1: Find the Breath
--Get Finnsen to the controls (squares W7 or W8) and see to it that he stays there for three rounds. They do not need to happen all in one chunk, however.
--Help speed the train by shoveling coal into the engine (stand at squares V/W 9/10/11/12 and make a DC 15 Athletics check.) Each success grants a cumulative +1 to rolls to catch the Breath in Part 2.
Part 2: Catch the Breath
--????

Lose Conditions:
--Die. (This is obvious)
--Let Finnsen die. (He's the only one who knows how to actually pilot this thing).
--Let Old Tom die. (Bad things happen to a Domain when a Darklord gets killed. Best case scenario, you find yourself in an utterly unmagical train coming to a slow halt while the Breath runs off. Worst case scenario... I hear Necropolis is lovely this time of year.



Miscellaneous Mechanics

Coal: The coal (columns 7-12, rows AF-down) is difficult terrain. Also, any fire attacks directed at a target standing on the coal deal +5 fire damage.

The Engine Cabin: The train cabin (columns 7-12, rows V-AB) is enclosed from the top and sides. Those are walls. It is open from the bottom, and you may enter freely through that area, and shoot freely from the coal-car to the engine cabin, or vice versa.

Crossing the Gap: You may either jump directly across the gap (rows AD-AE) which is an Athletics DC 30, or DC 15 with at least 2 squares of a running start, bear in mind that the terrain is difficult and so you need a speed of 7 in order to make it, or you may shimmy across the connector (Column 10), which is an Acrobatics DC 20 check.

Falling off the Train: If you fall off the train, either by failing the above Athletics or Acrobatics checks, or by being pushed, pulled, or slid, you take damage and are slammed into the top row of the coal car (row AF) by the speed of the train.

PCs

Tomas Eisenwald (T): +2 damage
71/71
AC 26, F 19, R 19, W 22; Resist All/1

Prof. Lia Mournswaithe (L):
54/54
AC 21, F 17, R 19, W 18

Celeste Viardot (Cv):
40/61
AC 19, F 19, R 21, W 23

Kerrian Mauganson (K):
43/64
AC 19, F 21, R 18, W 22

Kerrian's Spirit (Wolfish Outline):
Special
AC 19, F 21, R 18, W 22

Mercator Melanchthon (M):
38/65
AC 20, F 21, R 20, W 23

Rex Alistair Prescott (R): (Stealth 28)
59/59
AC 23, F 17, R 23, W 19

Mr. Agale (A):
45/52
AC 20, F 17, R 21, W 23

Nerit Doherty (N):
24/52; Bloodied
AC 18, F 15, R 18, W 22

Nicolas Etienne de Castaigne (Nc):
67/67
AC 23, F 20, R 22, W 24

Friends

Remy Lessard (Blue R): Invisible
AC 23, F 21 R 22, W 21

Eric Finnsen (Blue F):
AC 25, F 19 R 23, W 25

Foes

Tom Fields, the Engineer (T):
+6 HP
AC 25+2, F 25+2 R 21 W 22; All Push, Pull, or Slide effects reduced by 2

The First Boiler-Man (B1): -5 to attacks, Slowed
-34+6 HP
AC 19+2, F 20+2 R 18, W 19

The Second Boiler-Man (B2): -5 to attacks, Immobilized
-98 HP; Bloodied
AC 19, F 20 R 18, W 19

The Third Boiler-Man (B3): -5 to attacks, Slowed
-41+6 HP
AC 19+2, F 20+2 R 18, W 19

Who knows?

The Black Cat:
AC ??, F ??, R ??, W ??

[Rock of the Fraternity]

Lia falls back from the group, narrowly dodging burning coals -- apart from the ones she slaps away with her staff. As she backs away, closer to where Nerit is holding position, the Mage is again scribing words on the air. "Manu hiemis, inimicum meum perfringe," she chants, leveling her staff against the distant figure of Tom Fields, the engineer.

The words swirl into the crystal's staff, the same as before, and the stone glows brightly. But no magic seems to issue forth. For a moment, it would be perfectly understandable to believe that the magic has failed. Then a five foot tall, floating hand of ice and frost appears behind the engineer, and takes him in a crushing grip. Cold fog rises where ice and scalding metal meet, but the hand holds on.

"Get the others out of the way!" Lia shouts. "I'll try to hold this one fast as long as I can!"

(OOC: Move action: Lia moves back to AI8.
Standard action: Lia casts Bigby's Icy Grasp at Y7.
First attack roll vs. Ref: 13. Fail.
Re-roll: New attack roll: 27. Hit.
Damage roll: 20 cold.
Tom Fields is caught -- for the moment. Lia will sustain the Hand.)

[Nathan of the FoS]

Despite being in the lead as the group approaches the engineer, Mercator does not leap immediately to the attack, slipping on the coal and rising in time only to get a triple blast of fire from the engine car.

As he gets up, scrambling away from the knot of combatants making such a convenient target, he grinds out, “I don’t want to do this.”

He shudders, and then begins to speak in Darkonese.

“Hail, ye bearers of the lamps, your servant stands before you.
Ye who rule on high and whose eyes are on eternity,
Give ear to your bondsman. I too am a bearer of the light,
Crowned in strange glories. Let all who stand against me burn.”

As he speaks, his face changes. His pale skin becomes white—white as paper, white as bone—a mask overlaying the black of the space between the stars. His hands flash like two fallen stars as he gestures, a thin pale blade in one hand and his cane, now gleaming strangely with a weird silver-green light, in the other.

“I…see…you,” he whispers, pointing. A spark passes within the two orbs of black which have replaced his eyes, and a strange light brushes the nearest of the boiler-men. A corona of faint purple-white light twines around Mercator’s brow as he opens his mouth, revealing that that it too has become a pit of darkness.

“SEE…ME”.

The corona around Mercator’s brow becomes a series of spikes seemingly emitted from his very flesh, and a beam of light lances from some unimaginable height to strike the boiler-man, weird coruscations dazzling across its face.

Move: Move to AG9.
Minor: Warlock’s curse on B2.
Standard: Crown of Stars, attack roll 20 vs. Reflex, on B2. Damage 22 (dice)+7(bonus)+1(curse)=30 radiant, and the boilerman is blinded until the end of my next turn.

[lostboy]

Nicolas stood open mouthed for a moment and watched the mechanical men, mechanical men piloting a ghost train, mechanical men who obviously weren't best pleased at their presence, mechanical men who were throwing lit coals at them, and oh was that a teleporting cat? The poet nearly retreats into shock and lights a cigarette, but then remembers a) he's standing on a coal pile whilst said men are flinging said burning coals b) they have a job to do and c) there's no way he'd get a match lit in this wind. Guess there's nothing else for it then....

Shaking himself into action he ducks forward, scrambling towards Mercator and the front of the coal pile, pausing for a second as he does to blow a kiss in Nerit's direction "Up Cherie, I'm not about to have you dying on me, at least not until I've bought you dinner anyway..."

"And you Miss Viardot, a great shot my dear, my plaudits on your aim" he adds dashing past Celeste giving her a brief friendly squeeze on the shoulder.

Arriving at the front of the cart he glances at Mercator with a raised eyebrow "Nice look mon ami, suits you, we should talk sometime at a venue less conducive to dying." The n turning his attention to the drivers of this train he continues. "Now I am afraid this is indeed a stick-up my mechanical friends, it would be best for all concerned if you stepped aside and let us borrow the train for a few moments. We'll hand it back in one piece I promise, and there's ... ah... free.... oil in it for you." He finishes with a mock grimace of pain at the rather poor offer.

"No? Ah well c'est la vie, in that case I propose a dance, I've always been fascinated by machines, time to see if they can move to my tune." Finally falling silent (mercifully) he smashes the sword cane against the edge of the coal cart, sending out a pure ringing tone, a note clear and true that reverberates from the sword like a tuning fork floating across the scene, a note that insidiously controlled even bolts and gears. "Come hither mon ami, come and join my dance." he suddenly shouts in a tone perfectly in key with the vibrating sword he holds aloft, beckoning the boiler-man forward.

"Monsieur Finnsen if you would care to step forward and pilot this good ship..." The poet calls across the gap.

OOC:
Nicolas swaps a standard action for a move action and doubles it to AG8
Minor Action: Majestic word on Nerit for healing surge + 10 hp back (5 dice + 5 Cha)
Action Point spent for one more standard action
Compulsion on B1 - 22 vs Will hits
11 Psychic Damage and target is slid to AC8 at the start of its next turn (save ends effect otherwise rinse and repeat) target cannot take move actions on its turn until it saves(and I'd like to lodge a protest about charge not being classed a move action right here and now)
Free action virtue of Valor - for bloodying B2 Celeste gains 3 temporary hitpoints

[Nerit]

Move: up 3
Standard-->Move: Fey Step to AB11
Minor: Deep Shroud
Until the end of your next turn, the space you occupy and each square adjacent to you are heavily obscured. (Sustain Minor)
Rex can hide next to me!
@Nick, heal at your leisure, I think I'll survive now that I'm off the coal.

[Kaitou Kage]

Whatever Rex did, it was hard to see. A little cloud of darkness writhed and shifted across the train car, and moved to the other side where it merged with Nerit's darker cloud. When it passed, the boilerman had another gash that was not there before.

"I am here," Rex's soft voice was barely audible to Nerit over the rush of the wind and the chugging of the train.

Standard Action: Lurker's Assault.

Rex may shift 2 squares before the attack and remains hidden during this movement. So he shifts to AA9.
Attack roll 21 vs. AC hits B2.
Damage = 16 (weapon) + 9 (sneak attack) = 25 total damage

Rex may shift 2 squares after the attack, so he shifts to AA11 and may make a Stealth check to become hidden since he has concealment from Nerit's cloud.

Stealth 22 -- the dice still hate me

Minor Action: Shifty: Rex shifts to AB12

Rex will ready Slippery Mind and gain a +2 power bonus to Will as an immediate interrupt against the next attack where it will make a difference.

I find myself in the odd position of having a move action and nothing to do with it so I guess I'll draw a healing potion out just in case.

[yalenusveler]

Fire was never a good thing to be on. Especially when you coupled it with being on top of a pile of coals. It was a delightful combination of flammable and flammable. No, delightful wasn't the right word.

Incredibly unpleasant worked far better. Kerrian didn't have time to be spending wondering about turns of phrase at the moment, being involved in a fight for survival against the denizens of a ghost train.

His spiritual wolf manifested into reality adjacent to one of the strange boiler creatures, and with a howl that was more found on a thunderhead, the spiritual wolf tore into the boilerman, at the same time filling Finnsen with the sort of speed found more often amongst lightning.

Scrabbling over the Coal, Kerrian tried to get past it, so he wouldn't be quite so flammable, he took a moment to rest and recover

OOC: Summoning my spirit companion to Aa9, then Call to the Howling Storm on B2, Hit vs reflex with a 27, for 11 lightning and thunder. Finnsen may then shift 5 as a free action, preferably up to those controls he needs to be near. Move up to Af11. Ready a Spirit's Shield against B2, in case it isn't dead.

[Cronax]

The flames wreath Agale's body, but do little harm, giving the Borcan a diabolic halo. Impressive though that may have been, Agale recoils visibly at the sight of Mercator's transformation. Making a valiant effort to reclaim his composure, he refocuses his attention on the mechanical men.

"What my flamboyant colleague means to say is that per article 5, paragraph 3 of the Four Towers treaty, 'In times of acute duress, citizenry of a member state may impose eminent domain upon the material means of national survival.' to be reviewed by special judicial council after the crisis of course." Never mind that the clause was intended for militias confiscating farm implement weaponry to repel invasion. "That being made clear, I must respectfully ask again that you submit. A responsible leader must deal with unruly subordinates, don't you think Mr. Fields?" The latter question's tone sounded more a command that an inquiry and was backed up by whatever eldritch energy Mr. Agale seemed to marshal.

Standard: Augment 2 Betrayal on Tom
21 vs Will so close but no cigar.
Move: Going to AG12
Minor: Distract against Boilerman 3, the first person to attack it next round gains combat advantage for that attack.

[The Whistler]

"And you Miss Viardot, a great shot my dear, my plaudits on your aim."

Celeste looked extremely confused at this last, turning and running a few steps after the poet. "I beg your pardon, M. de Castaigne, but I have shot nothing at all, nor have I the means to do so! Oh, I should invest in some manner of personal firearm, were I not dreadfully certain that I should put it to mis--"

It should be pointed out at this juncture that Celeste was not confused at the fact that she was not on fire, despite having had fire thrown at her, and standing on fire, and generally being proximate to demonstrably flammable things for an extended period of time. It wouldn't have been suitable for Celeste to have been on fire just then, so she wasn't.

Actually, let me tell you who was on fire: the heavily damaged boilerman in the center of the train platform was on fire. This was because an errant spark had drifted through his broken faceplate, found a two-centimeters-long alcohol-based coolant nodule amid a morass of insulation, and caused his head to explode.

Well, come to that, he was on fire, but he wasn't very much of a boilerman anymore, so it hardly counted.

Celeste moves to AG11 and an explosion happens at Boilerman 2, with one reroll to hit reflex with a 31. 19 fire damage finishes him off, with any enemies moving (or starting) adjacent to him next turn taking 4 fire damage. If they have fire resistance, 5 points of it doesn't count.

[NeoTiamat]

1 Days, 0 Hours, 41 Minutes
Aboard the No. 5 Lamplighter, Late at night on April 23rd, 770
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Player Actions
Agale tries to attack Tom, does not succeed, so Distracts B3 instead.
Tomas
Rex hits B2 for 25 damage, stealths for 22.
Lia uses a Bigby's Icy Grasp on Tom, who takes 20+5 (vulnerability) cold damage and is grabbed.
Nerit Fey-steps and Deep Shrouds.
Kerrian Summons the hound, deals 11 damage to B2, and shifts Finnsen up 5 squares.
Mercator deals 30 damage and Blinds B2.
Celeste blows up B2 very thoroughly, but no spill-over due to the Boilermen's fire resistance. No more B2.
Nicolas heals Nerit for 23, deals 11 damage to B1, and gives Celeste +3 temp HP. Nicolas also tries to throw B1 off the edge. B1 saves, however, and instead merely falls Prone.


There were a few strange, supernal words, and glowing winds streaked overhead to join the spirit wolf's thunder; you could catch a glimpse of Remy behind you in the coal car, before he vanished once more. Finnsen was still laughing as he reached the controls, riding the lightning like a sailor would ride a howling storm.The boatman grabbed one of the levers, yanking it back. Somehow it seemed that the train sped up, the countryside around you becoming nothing more than a misty blur. With his other hand, Finnsen reached out to the whistle cord and pulled it hard. "All aboard!" he yelled, grinning wildly as a blast of steam and sound blew forth from the engine, the whistle wailing into the air.

Finnsen is now at the controls. He uses them. Find the Breath is 1/3 done.

Remy scoots over so as to be able to hit B1, and uses Seeking Wind vs. Will. Hits, dealing 9 cold and thunder damage and B1 is now Remy's Quarry. Also knocked prone, technically, but B1 is already prone. Then Lessard uses a minor action to go back to being invisible.

One of the boiler-men exploded at the barrage of arcane lightning and energy. Bits of twisted metal and bent gears flew about the engine-cab, dusting you with coal dust and the odd jets of hot steam. The very creature's own internal boiler had burst, leaving two of the boiler-men where there had been three.

The remaining boiler-men ignored their comrades demise. They didn't even seem to notice it. The closer one dug his shovel into the floor of the engine-cab, falling and twisting to prevent being thrown from the train, even as the other appeared from around the smog. They lifted their shovels, once more as synchronized as a pair of watches, and hot coals appeared at their silent commands. They sprayed the burning coal towards you, and once more it felt as though you were inside the very furnace of the train, burned from all sides. And then they did it once again.

B1 uses Burning Coals vs. Reflex, area burst 1 which attacks Agale, Mercator, Tomas, Kerrian, and Celeste. Hits Agale (8+5-9=4 fire dmg), Hits Mercator (8+5=13 fire dmg), misses Tomas (4-1=3 fire dmg), misses Kerrian (4 fire dmg), hits Celeste (8+5-5=8 fire dmg)
B1 uses an action point and uses Burning Coals vs. Reflex again, area burst 1 which attacks Agale, Mercator, Tomas, Kerrian, and Celeste. Misses Agale (4+5-9=0 fire dmg), hits Mercator (8+5=13 fire dmg), hits Tomas (8-1=7 fire dmg), misses Kerrian (4 fire dmg), hits Celeste (8+5-5=8 fire dmg).
B2 uses Burning Coals vs. Reflex, area burst 1 which attacks Agale, Mercator, Tomas, and Nicolas. Misses Agale (4+5-9=0 fire dmg), misses Mercator (4+5=9 fire dmg), hits Tomas (9-1=8 fire dmg), hits Nicolas (9+5=14 fire dmg)
B2 uses an action point and uses Burning Coals vs. Reflex again, area burst 1 which attacks Agale, Mercator, Tomas, and Nicolas. Misses Agale (5+5-9=1 fire dmg), hits Mercator (11+5=16 fire dmg), misses Tomas (5-1=4 fire dmg), hits Nicolas (11+5=16 fire dmg)

In total
Agale takes 4+0+0+1 = 5 fire damage
Mercator takes 13+13+9+16 = 51 fire damage
Tomas takes 3+7+8+4 = 22 fire damage
Kerrian takes 4+4 = 8 fire damage
Celeste takes 8+8 = 16 fire damage
Nicolas takes 14+16=30 fire damage

B1 also uses Fortitude of the Machine. Tom and B3 gain +2 Temp HP and +2 to AC and Fort till the end of the next turn

Old Tom was captured by the icy fingers of Lia's spell, ice meeting with the hot metal in clouds of steam and vapor. For a moment, it seemed as though it held, but then the gears ticked onwards, and the machinery strained, and the Engineer burst the frigid cage apart as though it were not even there.

Tom Fields moved to the edge of the engine cab, his feet merging with the train even as he did so. Wires ran up and down his legs, gears and bars and all manner of ironmongery that linked Tom Fields to the vehicle that had been his life and was now his death. The wheels on Old Tom's shoulders spun and gave off steam, and then there was a sudden screech, like a train whistle amplified to some hideous frequency. You felt it tug at your soul, try and pull it from your body. This was the Last Whistle, the blast of sound that announced the very end of one's life.

Tom Fields uses a Move action to break free of the grab (Athletics 30 vs. Lia's Fort of 19). Tom then proceeds to spend another move action to lumber on down to AB7. Tom Fields then proceeds to use an action point and uses Last Whistle vs Will, attacking Nicolas, Mercator, Agale, Tomas, Kerrian, and Celeste. Rolls dismally, but hits Agale and Celeste. Agale uses Intellect Fortress on his Will to squeak out and turn that into a miss. So that's 16 Necrotic and Thunder damage to Celeste, and she is Dazed (save ends). Apparently his Darklord Curse is to roll really, really badly.

"What in-" Finnsen blinked comically. The black cat had blinked right in front of him, standing on the engine controls. It was holding a little black bag in its mouth - had it had that before? - and as the boatman tried to shoo the cat away, the jostling opened the bag up. Hundreds of silver beads spilled out, bouncing along the rattling train floor. Finnsen stared for a moment, a transfixed gleam in his eye, then ran after them, scrabbling at the floor to try and scoop them up. He was not so careless as to run toward the boilermen, instead darting off to the side in pursuit. But the train car hitched and rattled in its flight, no doubt aided along by the cat fiddling with the controls. Finnsen stumbled, eyes wide, his sea legs no use on this strange vessel of the land - the shaking of the train sending him staggering toward the boiler. You could hear, over the roar of fire and winds, the sound of the cat laughing.

Perception

The Unknown Cat jingles some silver. Finnsen is now dazed (save ends), and each round that he is still dazed, the Unknown Cat can slide him up to four squares.

B1 fails his save versus Nicolas's effect

Victory Conditions:
Part 1: Find the Breath
--Get Finnsen to the controls (squares W7 or W8) and see to it that he stays there for three rounds. They do not need to happen all in one chunk, however.
--Help speed the train by shoveling coal into the engine (stand at squares V/W 9/10/11/12 and make a DC 15 Athletics check.) Each success grants a cumulative +1 to rolls to catch the Breath in Part 2.
Part 2: Catch the Breath
--????

Lose Conditions:
--Die. (This is obvious)
--Let Finnsen die. (He's the only one who knows how to actually pilot this thing).
--Let Old Tom die. (Bad things happen to a Domain when a Darklord gets killed. Best case scenario, you find yourself in an utterly unmagical train coming to a slow halt while the Breath runs off. Worst case scenario... I hear Necropolis is lovely this time of year.



Miscellaneous Mechanics

Deep Shroud The space Nerit occupies and each square around her are Heavily Obscured.

Coal: The coal (columns 7-12, rows AF-down) is difficult terrain. Also, any fire attacks directed at a target standing on the coal deal +5 fire damage.

The Engine Cabin: The train cabin (columns 7-12, rows V-AB) is enclosed from the top and sides. Those are walls. It is open from the bottom, and you may enter freely through that area, and shoot freely from the coal-car to the engine cabin, or vice versa.

Crossing the Gap: You may either jump directly across the gap (rows AD-AE) which is an Athletics DC 30, or DC 15 with at least 2 squares of a running start, bear in mind that the terrain is difficult and so you need a speed of 7 in order to make it, or you may shimmy across the connector (Column 10), which is an Acrobatics DC 20 check.

Falling off the Train: If you fall off the train, either by failing the above Athletics or Acrobatics checks, or by being pushed, pulled, or slid, you take damage and are slammed into the top row of the coal car (row AF) by the speed of the train.

PCs

Tomas Eisenwald (T): +2 damage
59/71
AC 26, F 19, R 19, W 22; Resist All/1

Prof. Lia Mournswaithe (L):
54/54
AC 21, F 17, R 19, W 18

Celeste Viardot (Cv): Dazed (Save Ends)
11/61; Bloodied
AC 19, F 19, R 21, W 23

Kerrian Mauganson (K):
35/64
AC 19, F 21, R 18, W 22

Kerrian's Spirit (Wolfish Outline):
Special
AC 19, F 21, R 18, W 22

Mercator Melanchthon (M):
-13/65; DYING
AC 20, F 21, R 20, W 23

Rex Alistair Prescott (R): (Stealth 28)
59/59
AC 23, F 17, R 23, W 19

Mr. Agale (A):
45/52
AC 20, F 17, R 21, W 23

Nerit Doherty (N):
47/52
AC 18, F 15, R 18, W 22

Nicolas Etienne de Castaigne (Nc):
37/67
AC 23, F 20, R 22, W 24

Friends

Remy Lessard (Blue R): Invisible
AC 23, F 21 R 22, W 21

Eric Finnsen (Blue F): Dazed and Slide 4 (save ends)
AC 25, F 19 R 23, W 25

Foes

Tom Fields, the Engineer (T)
-19+2 HP
AC 25+2, F 25+2 R 21 W 22; All Push, Pull, or Slide effects reduced by 2

The First Boiler-Man (B1): Cannot take Move Actions (save ends), Prone, Remy's Quarry.
-48 HP
AC 19, F 20 R 18, W 19

The Second Boiler-Man (B2):
DEAD

The Third Boiler-Man (B3): Distracted (first attack gains Combat Advantage)
-41+2 HP
AC 19+2, F 20+2 R 18, W 19

Who knows?

The Black Cat:
AC ??, F ??, R ??, W ??