Derailed

**"Derailed" (1x11)** is the first session of the second chapter of A War On All Sides. The gang heads towards Silvertide via Arc Rail but meets some unexpected turbulence.

## **Synopsis**

The party is interrupted in their private cabin in the Arc Rail by a tiefling outlaw who gave no introduction. He said he was looking for Lightshards, and that his pseudo-dragon familiar had sniffed some out. The party denied these allegations, frustrating the outlaw who already failed to apprehend a haul of Lightshards that had just gone through Menagerie. He singled out Crawmi, who further denied. Nowun meanwhile tried to get him to take the Corrupted Lightshard to no avail. Having had enough, the outlaw counted down from three before he would unleash hell upon the party, however Ivantar quickly used Misty Step to teleport behind the outlaw and steal his wand. The outlaw had his familiar shoot a blast of acid into the air, which he then struck with fire to cause an immense blast in the cabin, injuring several. The battle was over quickly, however, as even the outlaw's friend who later joined in on the fray was unable to overcome the might of the group. Freynor was downed during the battle, but saved via a health potion from Ivantar.

The party, worried they had attracted some attention, quickly cleaned up the hallway and tossed the outlaw's body from the train window. Rather... he tossed himself after Ronwe raised him from the dead. The outlaw's partner, a man identifying himself as Anton, was tied up. Despite this, Nowun approached him stealthily and slit his throat, uttering the words "No honor among thieves". This angered Ivantar, who felt the action was unnecessary and overly cruel as he was already tied up and incapacitated. Nowun tried to play it off by saying his throat "just opened up", but Ivantar saw right through the ruse. While this was all happening, Freynor attempted multiple times to jump from the moving train via the window. Being rather simple, he was not too fond of being on a train after Crawmi's suggestion spell wore off. However, despite his best efforts, Ivantar and Nowun were successful in wrangling him up and keeping him in the cart. Crawmi retrieved some food to keep him occupied. The party finally got some much needed sleep after finally getting Anton's dead body out through the window.

The next morning, Nowun approached Ivantar and tried to clear the tension between them. He talked a bit about his past in Silvertide, and that he wanted to change his killing ways which he was raised in in The Shadow Order. Ivantar asked what Nowun would do once he got back to Silvertide, to which Nowun responded "Be very sneaky...". As the rest of the group was enjoying their breakfast, the peace would not last. Ronwe, looking out the window as they were passing over Lake Kas, saw a large red burst of energy that shot high into the sky. The burst sent nearby clouds racing outwards from the epicenter. Moments later, the shock hit the train with a concussive force, shattering windows and sending several of the Arc Rail's cars careening into the nearby swamp. Crawmi and Freynor were knocked unconscious.

Ronwe shocks Freynor back to consciousness via Shocking Grasp, and the party go to access the situation outside of their car. Nowun uses his possessed decanter to spill water onto Crawmi's face, waking him before Ronwe can shock again. The party discussed what happened, and decided they should investigate the town to see if there is any help they could provide. Ronwe, while he was mulling things over in his mind, determined that the red hue from the energy pulse was similar to that he had seen in the portal in the basement of Freynor Keep. The party shrugged off the advances of a woman in need, and headed on their way towards the rail line to follow the path towards the ruined town, with four rescued survivors in tow.

## **Featured Characters**

### **Player Characters**

* Ivantar
* Ronwe
* Freynor
* Crawmi
* Nowun