Belowground Transit System

Members of the Thief Knot on a train of the Belowground.

The ****B******elowground Transit System**, sometimes abbreviated **BTS** or **Belowground**, is an underground railway system thought by many to have shut down, but secretly still running.

## Information

### Origins

Nagspeake had created the Belowground Transit System as an experiment, but had then shut it down. Ezra Cormorant and Padraig del Olmo are known to have worked on the creation of the many stations. However, they had not removed the lines or stations, and after a few years, some people, such as the predecessor of Brandon and Padraig del Olmo, secretly brought it back up. One train began to run on the old lines, conducted by Brandon Levi.

### *The Raconteur's Commonplace Book*

Madame Grisaille told a tale of Pantin, noting that he'd been having nightmares about the time he had fallen through a sinkhole into an old abandoned tunnel built for a railway. She instructed Maisie to feel the rails to make sure there is no train coming and then ask the old iron in the tunnel to help her get back to the surface, if she ever fell into a belowground tunnel in Nagspeake. Maisie wondered if the High Walkers had come from a land below even the tunnels under Nagspeake.

### *Greenglass House*

Brandon Levi and Fenster Plum arrived to Greenglass House by way of the Sanctuary Cliff station. Milo noted that the Pines knew about the BTS because Brandon, the conductor of the only Belowground Transit train, was a regular guest at the inn and had come to trust the Pines. The denizens of Greenglass House had heard a loud noise, and Mr. Pine, Milo, and Georgie had gone out to investigate. Mr. Pine had sent Milo and Georgie to check the pavilion while he checked the woodshed and outbuildings. This confused Milo; they were made of snow and couldn't be hurt by a falling branch. He then realized where Mr. Pine had actually gone, and after dealing with the new guest that had arrived, trooped out into the snow toward the outbuilding that hid the entrance to the Belowgroud Transit station. When Milo arrived, Brandon Levi was apologizing for having to kick down the door of the station, which had been frozen shut. Brandon had brought Fenster with him, and the two returned to Greenglass House to stay. Brandon, since the Belowground was a secret, did not tell the guests about it.

After learning that Mr. Vinge was a customs agent, the Pines attempted to get Fenster, who was a smuggler, away to safety on the Belowground Transit System. However, the control system had been damaged by the cold. Brandon worked most of the day attempting to fix it, but it could not be done quickly.

Brandon, Fenster, and the Caraways left Greenglass House on the Belowground Transit System. So did Georgie, to Milo's surprise, because he couldn't see how she could have learned about it. Georgie reminded Milo that she was a professional thief, and had found out (she didn't tell Milo exactly how; that wasn't something thieves did, she said, but there had been a clue in *The Raconteur's Commonplace Book*), and then convinced Brandon she would not tell anyone else. Brandon, Fenster, Mrs. Caraway, and Lizzie said their goodbyes too, then they all left on the BTS.

### *Ghosts of Greenglass House*

Georgie and Clem arrived to Greenglass House by way of the Belowground Transit System, brought by Brandon Levi. There was a new bell that rang when someone had arrived to the Sanctuary Cliff station. Clem and Georgie came out of the station and entered Greenglass House, where they stayed, and Brandon stayed for dinner. Georgie noted that they had already told Brandon of their situation, on the Belowground. Milo could believe that Cantlebone or Gilawfer had followed Georgie and Clem, even though the BTS was quite secret. Brandon later left, presumably via the Belowground.

### *The Thief Knot*

Emmett Syebuck arrived to the Liberty of Gammerbund via the Belowground. Ciro noted that his grandfather had designed a lot of Belowground stations to blend into their surroundings. Marzana mentioned the Belowground again, and told J.J. that it definitely did exist. Ciro said that there were two stations in the Liberty, and planned to get his grandfather's notes out of his attic. Marzana wondered if Peony Hyde, the girl who had been kidnapped, could have been brought into the Liberty by the Belowground. Marzana thus called Milo to ask how to contact Brandon Levi.

   Ciro found his grandfather's stuff in his attic. He brought all the papers to the meeting and the members of the Thief Knot tried to recognize where each one was located. Meddy identified the Sanctuary Cliff station to be near Greenglass House, Whitesmith's Row to be in the Quayside Harbors, and Coup de Grâce/Hacker's Bluff to be in Shantytown. Emilia identified Horneblende Park to be in the Liberty, and Marzana identified Ottomy Stalls, which they thought was in a market. The old iron, Marzana said, interfered with the stations and made it so that they had to place the stations to avoid the iron. Nialla then discovered that Cotgrave Wall Station was in the Library at Marymead, her school, and Emilia was baffled because there should not be room for a station there.

Marzana, Meddy, and J.J. went to check on Marzana's missing math teacher, Mrs. Agravin. They found that Mrs. Agravin lived above the Ottomy Stalls station, and in Mrs. Agravin's house they found the missing girl. Marzana mentioned to her mother what she'd thought about the Belowground. Mrs. Hakelbarend wondered if Hickson Blount, who probably did not know that the Belowground was still operational but might try to walk a tunnel.

Emilia explored Cotgrave Wall Station. When Marzana realized that the girl they had rescued had not been Peony Hyde, Emilia had the Knot come to the station, which she thought was somehow connected to the kidnapping. They entered the station, where they found a complete map of the Belowground Transit System, with little bits of old iron having displaced the glass and showing the iron interference throughout the whole train line. They discovered that Peony's house was built over the old hub of the Belowground, Mergenthaler Street Station, and Emilia theorized that the kidnapping had been to get the Hydes out of their house, so that the kidnappers could get into the station from above; the iron on the map showed that the iron had blocked access from the other tunnels.

Meddy heard a rumble. Marzana realized that a train was coming, and Emilia had pressed the call button by accident. Brandon Levi arrived, and Meddy and Marzana introduced the group to him. Brandon agreed to take them to Mergenthaler Street Station, via a service tunnel that the iron had not interfered with. The group promised that they could keep the Belowground secret.

Marzana, Emilia, J.J., and Meddy entered the train (Nialla and Ciro stayed back to get the adults). The four took seats on leather benches, and Brandon entered the cab and started the train. They discussed how they had found out about the Belowground. Soon, the train arrived at Mergenthaler Street Station. They found the iron everywhere, having messed with all the structures, with the train tracks in waves and waiting-room chairs suspended from the ceiling. Brandon turned on the emergency lights, and the Knot positioned themselves around the station in preparation for the kidnappers' arrival.

The kidnappers managed to break through the ceiling and come down into the station. Eventually, the kidnappers were stopped and reinforcements arrived. Brandon took the Thief Knot and Marzana's parents back to Cotgrave Wall Station, where Nialla and Ciro were waiting, then exited the station to go to Marzana's house.

## Physical characteristics

Each Belowground station is built to blend into the background. There are four train lines, and once upon a time more trains ran on the Belowground, or were supposed to, but currently only one train is operational. The train has one large headlight on its front, and inside of the cars (there are four) some seats are leather and others woven cane, some benches, and poles for standing passengers to hold onto. There are many windows, and glowing lights on the inside that flicker like candles. The outside of the train is deep brown, and above it the metal is painted brick-red with yellow stripes. Old iron is throughout the stations, notably quite messy in Mergenthaler Street Station, where the tracks are in waves, chairs suspended from the ceiling, and plumbing spilling out everywhere.

## Known stations

### Mergenthaler Street

Mergenthaler Street Station is the hub of the Belowground Transit System, located in the Printer's Quarter. The station was never fully operational, as the Belowground shut down, but the infrastructure remained. The station was rendered inaccessible from the regular tunnels due to the old iron, but one service tunnel still allowed access. A house was built over the station, causing a kidnapping in order to get the house's members out so that the station could be accessed.
The trains all run on the same level, and the switching could have caused many crashes, but the station was built that way to avoid the old iron, though it did not end up working. The station is full of old iron. The train tracks are in waves where they have not been reconfigured, the arrivals-and-departures display has been made into a sculpture of a garden, and the chairs in the waiting area hang from the ceiling, swinging slightly. The information desk is held up like a treehouse, and the plumbing spills out of the restrooms. Only a few tables, staircases, and shops have been left untouched. The floor has blue tile and mill wheel icons in it (it is near Watermill Street), and the stairs are designed to look like water is flowing over them. There are rows of lockers in the station.

### Sanctuary Cliff

The Sanctuary Cliff station is a station on the grounds of Greenglass House. It was designed by Padraig del Olmo to look like one of the red stone outbuildings along the hill. Inside the station, there is a button to call the train, and a map of the entire Belowground Transit System.

### Ottomy Stalls

Ottomy Stalls is one of the three stations in the Liberty. It is near other market stalls in Ottomy Market, on Cop-Bone Way, and Mrs. Agravin's house is built above it.

### Cotgrave Wall

Cotgrave Wall is one of the three stations in the Liberty of Gammerbund. It is a private station for the Cotgrave family, built inside Marymead and masked by large paintings (of 'weird nudes'). The station is lit up in dusty violet light, and steep stairs lead down from above. The chandeliers, lights, and ceiling are made to look like plants with petals and green glass whorls, and the floor is decorated with stars and planets. There is a small bathroom and closet, and a drinking fountain and benches that the old iron has clearly messed with. The station contains a button to call the train, and a map of the entire Belowground Transit System, with the old iron depicting its pattern of interference throughout the train lines.

### Horneblende Park

Horneblende Park is a station built in a cemetery, presumably to avoid the old iron. It is designed to look like a mausoleum.

### Oldeye Overlook

Oldeye Overlook is a station designed by Padraig del Olmo. It appears to be a pavilion made from saplings.

### Whitesmith's Row

Whitesmith's Row is a station in the Quayside Harbors, where there is a metalworkers' quarter. Padraig del Olmo proposed two different designs for it.

### Coup de Grâce/Hacker's Bluff

Coup de Grâce/Hacker's Bluff is a station in Shantytown designed by Padraig del Olmo. The river line Coup de Grâce presumably runs past the station.

### Misericorde

Misericorde is a station designed by Padraig del Olmo.

### Yellow Inlet

Yellow Inlet is a station that Padraig del Olmo designed. The river line Inlet Pale presumably runs by the Yellow Inlet station.

### Coldside Farm

Coldside Farm is a station that Padraig del Olmo designed.

### Salton Square

Salton Square is a station that Padraig del Olmo designed.

### Saint Horace Rye

Saint Horace Rye is a station that Padraig del Olmo designed.

### Caton/Ingleside

Caton/Ingleside is a station that the train passed on its way from Cotgrave Wall to Mergenthaler Street.

## Members

* Ezra Cormorant
* Padraig del Olmo
* Previous conductor
* Brandon Levi

## Trivia

* The Belowground Transit System was already abandoned when *The Raconteur's Commonplace Book* took place, around 1930.

## Gallery

**Take a look at our **gallery for Belowground Transit System****.