Session 07

### The Winter Express

We open after the party’s escape from Lowmarsh and the lockdown of the Red Hand.

[…]

As they went to board the train, Drizella messaged the skeletal conductor and received a static, musical response in her head. The conductor then produced a hole punch and asked for their tickets. They punched a number of letters into each ticket, letters which didn’t seem to mean anything. With this strange exchange completed, they boarded the train.

The train was filled with what appeared to be magical shadows of people slipping in and out of existence. As the party took their seats, the train lurched forward, and the Greenwoods became a blur outside. Mordred excitedly pushed his face against the window in awe. Memphis appeared comfortable with the situation, while the rest of the group was curious and somewhat uneasy about the train. Sibylla, likewise, seemed comfortable in the strange vehicle and told the party that they were riding in what was known as a “train”.

An elderly woman soon appeared with a cart, serving green tea and cakes to the party and their companions. After enjoying the tea, the party heard the voice of their skeletal conductor, who announced that the train would be submerging. Nik and Mordred seemed terrified, gripping the tables as the train passed underground.

They felt themselves dropping into the earth below. As the train descended, they saw that they were travelling on a suspended metal track, surrounded by an enormous cave system filled with crystals and dwarves mining the cave walls. They recognised that they had passed into the Underdark.

Mordred questioned Memphis about his familiarity with the train and the Underdark, learning that he had visited the underground regions of Arrnonland. Sibylla inquired further about their quest, and Memphis revealed that he would be interested in hiring the party to retrieve a number of items of importance to his employer. He noted that these items - a ring, a looking glass, and a wand - could be found in the Glade of Salasarglumm, in Kerrithungle to the southeast. The party recalled that six years ago, the ruling family of the glade was exiled or killed, and a rogue wizard took over the glade with a small army of constructs. This wizard was said to be skilled in the art of alteration and had transformed themselves into a shape with the strength of ten men, the ability to fly and to see in the dark. They had taken the moniker the Beast King. According to Memphis, his employer, Queen Maeve, was a collector of magical items and trinkets and was very interested in retrieving the items. He offered them 10,000 silver for each item and letters of introduction at the University of Rymes to assist in their quest.

### Mint Condition

After this conversation with Memphis, the party felt a sense of unease. Suddenly, the back door of the carriage flew open, and the smell of peppermint filled their nostrils. An enormous creature of peppermint appeared in the doorway, flanked by peppermint soldiers. The party was plunged into combat.

During the battle, Nik fell unconscious, and Mordred seemed to overflow with emotions that he channelled into his magic, bringing his friend back from the brink. After bringing Nik back, Mordred fell, only to be fed an *Elixir of Life* potion by Drizella. In extremis, the group finally seemed to work together as a team, supporting each other.

The battle also saw Nik’s unusual lineage show itself. After Mordred fell unconscious and driven by the urge to protect Merida, Nik’s eyes began to glow with fiery light, and two horns sprouted from his forehead.

Soon, the party overcame their minty foes. Exhausted by the fight, they took free drinks from the Winter Express and were offered a number of gifts on behalf of the train for their services. According to the conductor, the living peppermint creatures were known to occasionally emerge from the mines in Gumdrop Canyon. The party then turned to their new gifts.

Nik was the first to open his gift and found a small brass coin embossed with a face he didn’t recognise and two strands of wheat locked in a circle. The coin filled him with calm, and he recognised it as a trick coin. Bigby was gifted a silver badge decorated with snowflakes and holly, which read “detective”. The badge filled the party with a sense of trust in the investigator. Mordred received a pendant-like charm of feathers and holly leaves. Tapping into the charm’s magic, he summoned a small finch onto his finger, which he used to send a message to Drizella, thanking her for healing him during the battle. Sibylla was gifted a wooden staff decorated with three dragon heads of varying ages. She recognised the staff as one of great magical ability, capable of casting spells of different elements. Finally, Drizella was gifted a preserved hand in formaldehyde. She opened the jar, and the severed hand scuttled out. It seemed to obey her commands and acted like a magical familiar.

After a while, Nik noticed a rose-gold pocket watch on one of the chairs in the carriage, and the party heard knocking on the window. A “different” skeletal figure appeared, wearing fingerless gloves and a ragged coat. After the party let the figure in, they described themselves as a hitchhiker. Noticing the pocket watch in Nik’s hand, they claimed to be the conductor’s brother and suggested that the party return the watch to the front of the train.

### The Engine Room

The party passed through many strange carriages - storage rooms, fine dining carts, and bars - filled with nothing but the spectral traces of people. Finally, they emerged in the train's engine room, a room filled with the glowing-hot pipes and furnaces of the great locomotive. The conductor was missing, and the door at the front of the train was ever so slightly ajar. When an automated voice warned them that they would need to brace as the train reached the surface, the party rushed to secure themselves to avoid landing on the scalding pipes around them. Drizella, Nik, and Sibylla ran back to the previous carriage; Bigby transformed into his wolf form and locked his claws into the floor, and Mordred secured a rope to a pipe and held him and Merida in place. As Sibylla ran to the second carriage, her foot slipped, and if not for Drizella’s quick reflexes, she would have fallen from the train.

As the train surfaced, the conductor reappeared, and the party reconvened. But they weren't safe for long. The train suddenly began to break. Nik lost his footing and sailed through the window of the train. The train seemed to be travelling across an icy lake, and the party glimpsed a writhing mass of limbs and heads in front of the train - a horde of tens of thousands of reindeer blocking the tracks. Nik crashed into the furry figure of a reindeer and fell unconscious. The conductor brought Nik back to life while Mordred healed the injured reindeer.

They spotted a red-nosed reindeer attached to a sleigh with a broken runner. A large figure with a white beard and a red coat stood nearby, perplexed. The party recognised this figure as the Winter Giver and offered him their aid in fixing the sleigh. He explained that he had seen a group of soldiers bearing the sigil of a golden lion, and, trying to "teach them a lesson," he flew down and accidentally clipped the ice, crashing his sleigh. The party quickly repaired the damage, and Bigby handed the man some rations "for the road". The Winter Giver returned the favour by blessing the investigator's sickle. Before disappearing into the night, he wished them farewell, and a skeletal, horse-like face warned Nik not to trust his coin. With the path ahead clear, they resumed their journey.

Back aboard the Winter Express, the party saw the skeletal hitchhiker disappear, Memphis reclining, and Savvan scrutinising a number of animated tarot cards. Somewhat inexplicably, the train transitioned from the wintery wastes back into Greenwoods towards the city of Rymes.

*Merry Christmas and a very happy new year to everyone!* - B