At the Asylum

Sir Jonathan found a diary with an appointment in two day’s time for “Lady Henrietta, London, 7:30 p.m.”  In the safe, Stone found various papers and letters spelling out the plot to acquire Lord Cotterill’s latest weapon designs by any means and return them to Germany, where they will be transferred to Transylvania and handed over to the “Master of Night.”

They returned to the infirmary, where Jacobs was now bandaged.  Collecting the books and notes, the team made haste to the coach house, where they tacked up the asylum’s carriage and horses to pursue the fugitive psychiatrists.  They had perhaps a one hour lead, but the next train did not leave Moreton-Hampstead until 10PM.  It would take about three hours to get to town, so there would be several hours until the train arrived.

The afternoon was rainy, and unusually dark and foggy.  They could easily make out the tracks of the carriage they were pursuing, and they could tell that it was traveling dangerously fast for the conditions.

As they desended into what should have been the River Weber basin, the found themselves in a barrow pocked countryside where Afghan riflemen attacked them.  Warren inferred that it was an illusion pulled from Trombley’s memories of the 1880 Afghan War.

Before he could even act, Trombley was shot and knocked off the drivers seat.  The shooters missed the others in cover of the carriage.  Stone climbed out and deftly leapt onto seat to regain control of the carriage and pull Trombley back onto the seat.

Warren stayed in the cover of the carriage.  Stone attempted to get the horses moving faster, but they resisted.  Stone was shot at, but unaffected.  The others were not hit.  Sir Jonathan cast Deflection on Stone and stunned himself.   Trombley recovered from the shock of being shot.

Stone was still unable to affect the horses.  Sir Jonathan recovered from his shock.   The others continued to hide. The horses continued on their way.  They rounded a bend, and Dartmoor returned.

Continuing down the road, they discovered that the bridge across the River Weber at Higher Noteworthy was destroyed.  Stone noticed a large boulder in the middle of the wreckage.  Sir Jonathan determined that Telekinesis had been used to drop the boulder onto the bridge.

They unhitched the horses and wandered upstream to find a shallower ford. They had to leave the books and other materials in the carriage.

They found the remains of an old dam upstream at Heytree and crossed with the horses.  Once across the river, the going was quicker through the more populated areas.

They arrived at Moreton-Hampstead around 8PM.  They went directly to the train station to find a train about to depart, but not the scheduled 10PM train.

Warren, Stone and Sir Jonathan leapt from horseback onto the rear of the train. Trombley, who was still wounded, did not attempt it.  He pledged to wire ahead for support in London, and took himself and Jacobs to see a doctor.

On the Train

Upon entering through the rear door of the car, which was a sleeper, the conductor informed Warren that their compartments were ready for them.  Sir Jonathan cast Detect Arcana and determined that the entire train was magical, but of a different variety than the previous encounters.

The conductor led them to two compartments in the center of the car. Stone and Warren took one.  Sir Jonathan had a compartment to himself.

Warren asked where the two doctors could be found.  The conductor said that they were in the dining car.  Sir Jonathan asked where the train was heading to.  They reply was to London, arriving in two days.

They crossed into the next car to discover that it was an empty freight car.  Only four hobos were present.  Stone found a newspaper indicating that the date as September 13, 1934.  The hobos said that the train was heading to Portland, Oregon.  Outside, it was daytime in a snowy, mountainous environment.

Sir Jonathan started piling up boxes to gain access to the overhead hatch.  Warren looked out the side door and noticed that the train was a 12 car freight train.  The hobos took umbrage at the heroes moving the cargo around.  They threatened the team.  Sir Jonathan cast Stun and knocked three of them out.  The fourth kept his distance.

Stone and Warren piled crates to gain access to the roof hatch.  Once piled up, Stone looked out to see the train passing through a series of tunnels.  They quickly climbed out and between the cars.

The next carriage had ivory interspersed with fine woods, rich carpets, and an organ. A fierce fire burned in a potbellied stove, with the chimney exiting through the roof.  Thirty wealthy men and women, all beautifully dressed in the late Victorian manner. smoked, played cards, and drank tea from a huge samovar, speaking passable French and Russian.  Warren rationalized that this was more of Lowe and Muelhoffer’s sorcery, and the three politely passed through to next car.

The third car was a third class carriage.  There were close to sixty jammed into the small wooden car. Most of the men had heavy moustaches in the European fashion. They were mostly Germans and Scandinavians.

The high ceilings aided ventilation, but there is little else of comfort. Wooden slats rested between some of the bench seats, and many slumbered on them.  The wood grain of the walls is whorled and knotted, concealing dozens of leering wooden faces. The children delighted in counting the scary faces, and discovering new ones.

Outside was sprawling prairie, broken only by marching telegraph poles, an occasional wide, shallow river, or an isolated water tower.

The next carriage was constructed of wood.  A piano can entertained the fifteen men and women and a handful of children. All were British, upper and middle class. The Victorian opulence inside contrasted sharply with the rugged countryside without. Lions, wildebeest and zebras could sometimes be glimpsed in the grassy plains.  Unpreterbed by the change of scenery, the three continued on to the next car.

That wooden carriage was occupied by over fifty soldiers, all in the blue uniforms of the French artillery and infantry.  Most were wounded. Some huddled in corners and babbled nonsense to themselves.  Others hacked out their lungs in barking coughs.  The carriage was filled with the buzz of conversation and the pall of cigarette smoke.

The soldiers sat on rough seats, back to back. Card games were being played between the seats, and in the aisles. The soldiers wagered cigarettes and argued vociferously in French about the honesty of their fellow players.  Outside, craters dotted fields like some moonscape.  The skeletons of horses and various war machines lay discarded in the endless mud.

One of the soldiers, upon seeing the team, greets them while telling his comrades in French “These are the British I was telling you about.”  Warren inquired as to what he meant, but the soldier did not answer him.  His name is Henri Montclair, and he was a nineteen year old private who had served most recently in the Battle of Verdun.  He believes he is on a troop train, taking him to the Mediterranean for well-deserved leave.

Montclair asked what the team was doing on a troop train.  Warren replied that they were pursuing some German spies.  Montclair volunteered to assist in their search.  The team informed him of their reality: that the train was jumping around in time, with each car in a different time period.  The Frenchman did not seem disturbed by this information.

Showdown

With their new ally in tow, the team moved on to the next car, which turned out to be the dining car, and in their own time.  Every table was full of diners.  Stone spotted Lowe, Muelhoffer and their guard seated at the table on the opposite end of the car.

The team tried to advance stealthily, but the guard caught sight of them and shot his pistol, hitting one of the diners.  A panic ensued as the team shot back.  Henri Montclair tried to vault over to behind the counter, but failed.

The doctors tried to cast spells, but stunned themselves in the process as Lowe incited passengers to attack the newcomers ineffectually.  Eventually, the guard was killed and Lowe was subdued.  Muelhoffer disappeared before their eyes, but the team determined where he was when shots fired in his direction did not visibly strike anything.  They continued firing until Muelhoffer eventually reappeared, unconscious and bleeding on the floor.

The Heroes

  • Inspector Alabaster Warren, Scotland Yard
  • Gravner Stone, notorious playboy and consulting detective
  • Sir Jonathan Dennis Braun of Eatin-over-Heywoods, peer of the realm and wizard
  • Clancy Trombley – British Intelligence Service