Professor Olfenstein looked over his shoulder as the train came into the station. He was disguised in a bowler hat and dark glasses, hoping to keep any Valsharran agents from recognizing him. The four women followed closely, though kept quiet to keep from attracting attention. Each of them was dressed in heavy clothing that hid their pregnancy as an additional measure to throw off trackers.

The station was a bustle of different species who ambled about trying to find their train and get on board quickly. Smells of train fuels and food filled the morning air with the feeling of being at a carnival or exposition.

Yasya and Al-Rashida took the rear guard, waiting until all the passengers had boarded before joining. They hoped this scientist and his arcane knowledge could help solve the mystery of Al-Rashida's insanity. Al-Rashida, in her cloak, seemed aware of the danger, but glanced about as if she were completely witless to the whole ordeal. Yasya took her hand and led her onto the train, taking two adjacent seats within the mid section.

As the train prepared for takeoff, they looked about for their other allies who had decided to assist them.

Vanelm. It is said that here 1 in 10 people are planning on backstabbing you, and the other 9 already have. Akichouko was inclined to believe it too after what had happened to her party after entering it's borders. Her caravan had been suddenly stopped by a patrol of Vanelm soldiers looking for some outlaw, a man in the process of kidnapping a group of women, but upon finding out who she and her escorts were the soldiers attacked without warning.

Despite her wishes, she was sent away as her soldiers nobly distracted the attackers. She had seen a few fall, and would have went back, but she was forced to keep moving by her personal maid, Kokoro. After escaping the two of them had kept to the shadows, Aki's purse quickly draining by doing so, until gaining passage onto a train heading south. In such time they had heard the supposed outlaw was none other then one Professor Ofenstein, a genius seeking asylum in Kyuriko due to his personal opinions clashing with the new found ones of the country.

Boarding the train was no trouble compared to what came before, a mother and her sick child in a blanket heading out to the country. However after entering the car Aki's Insight quickly caught onto the other incognito travelers. An older man with a harem of women, and a man surely worth that of three. If her instincts were right, the Divines were having a field day with fate.

She toughed at Kokoro, forcing them closer to the group, and apparently passing them, until suddenly "tripping" in the other group's aisle, nearest to the gentleman she was assuming was Ofenstein, while leaving Kokoro slightly confused and apologizing for her 'daughter's' rambunctiousness to everyone around.

Cypranos tried to enjoy what little sunshine there was as he briskly walked towards the train, backpack in hand. “These northern countries and their crazy weather. You’d think that with all these scientists running around, one of them would have discovered heat.” He made his way to the car indicated on his ticket as quickly as he could and dropped into his seat. Taking a deep breath, Cypranos tried to calm down and process what had happened in the last few days. He hadn’t even been in the city for a week, but was already on his way out: he’d met a skilled doctor who had promised to help him, been hired as his bodyguard, and was about to leave for Kyuriko all in the span of 72 hours. Certainly an efficient use of time, but the young adult was far from prepared for the sudden change in pace after spending so many leisurely months at sea.

A few moments passed before he noticed that the Professor’s entourage was already aboard. The pregnant women that he had been briefly introduced to the day before were all wearing heavy clothing, and he hardly recognized them. Though Cypranos certainly admired the effectiveness of the disguise, he couldn’t help but feel excluded: someone should have told him to bundle up too, Vanelm was freezing. He was about to make a remark, but a loud crash interrupted his course of thought: a child had tripped into their aisle, and her mother followed closely.

Cypranos held back a laugh as the child’s mother began apologizing to everyone in the aisle. She was Kyurikese by her looks, and if Cypranos had learned anything during the time he spent with his father’s family, it was that the constant over the top formality of the culture was always hilarious. A child tripping in Brindos would be met with tongue-in-cheek suggestions that they’d had too much ale, not some kind absurd apology from their mother. The ordeal greatly lightened Cypranos’ mood, and he found himself actually looking forward to what had previously promised to be a long and dull ride out of Vanelm.

Cypranos stood up as best he could in the limited space of the train car to place his backpack in the space overhead. He went to sit back down, but noticed the other two women Ofenstein had briefly introduced sitting together in the row across from him. Realizing that he hadn’t learned their names, he finished placing his pack and went over to introduce himself.

Abner Mason worked feverishly to make the final preparations required for departure. Sighing heavily, he wiped his grimy hands on the legs of his jumpsuit, then dabbed at his brow with his neckerchief. The engine of a train was no simple thing, but he knew the ins and outs of one about as well as any person in the country. Still, that didn't mean he could take it easy. This wouldn't be an ordinary trip, and he wanted to do his utmost to make sure there were no hiccups. Everything had to be perfect.

Tacita found herself in another city, she felt out of her element in her human form. It was time for her to spend some time among her own kind. As she was wondering around learning about the recent events, she discovered a certain professor needed some help. Tacita thought her sense of nature and herbs could become useful to the doctor but she never expected that she would end up on a train. She hated trains. She stayed in her seat and massaged the weasel that was sleeping in her lap. "I have no idea how you do it kindred. These mechanical beasts do not belong in this world." Tacita heard the loud crash. She glanced over as Kindred sprung to life. The weasel quickly vanished into Tacita's cloak. She stared for a moment. The women appeared to be alright and the small girl appeared unharmed as well. Tacita turned her gaze to the window as she waited.

Al-Rashida pulled Yasya's cloak in a startled manner as the train started. Men dressed in black took up point positions around the car and looked over each of the passengers with a steely gaze. Yasya clenched her first around Al-Rashida's hand and put the other on the hilt of her sword. "Don't worry," Yasya said. "I can overcome them if they start trouble."

The professor noticed the young girl fall, and reached out to help her up. But before he could, the girl suddenly rose up in the air seemingly by herself, and was righted to her feet.

If one were listening closely, they would hear Al-Rashida giggle.

As Akichouko was righted, she was rightly irritated that her plan for an introduction was foiled. The gems tipping her eyelashes briefly flashed as the light hit them when she turned to cast a glare at the giggling girl, though the glare rather fell on her obvious protector. Though it was unlikely they would immediately know who she was from said gems, a person familiar enough with the Kyurikese culture just might be able to.

But she did not waste too much time with them, instead turning to the hat and glasses wearing man, "Excuse me mister, it's just your window seems to have a much different view then most windows on this train. Is that true?"

Abner allowed himself a satisfied grin as the locomotive lurched into motion with a pneumatic hiss. The marvels of modern technology never failed to fill him with a sense of joyful pride. His work was far from done, however. As the train began to pick up steam, the engineer opened the firebox and began to shovel coal inside.

Cypranos took little notice of the black-clad men looking over the passengers. "Must be for safety or something." he thought as he finished walking over to the other side of the train car. After all, the Professor had been reasonably careful in concealing his identity, it would be hard to imagine that someone had already tracked him down.

Al-Rashida tugged at the shining gems on the girls eyes with a psychic hand, meanwhile Yasya's grip on her sword became tighter as the men began to move.

The professor tipped his hat down as the men passed by and approached the girl.
"Are you well?" One of them asked.
Another stopped in front of Yasya's seat and spoke into a strange crystalline object. She quietly stood up and slit the man's throat with her sword. and used an illusion spell to disguise him.

The woman Cypranos approached seemed nervous, but talked to Cypranos with a practiced voice. "I don't think they're concerned with anyone's safety," she muttered as the professor caught Yasya's eye. He looked out the window and saw they were at the edge of some mountains.

Yasya clapped twice, the signal for Al-Rashida to begin, and she laughed as she held her hands together, causing a missile of large force to strike the train, sending the front careening off the side of the mountain.

The Professor stood as people screamed and the men in suits armed themselves. "Anyone who wants this world to continue, stand and fight!"

As Al-Rashida’s projectile rocked the train’s engine, Abner’s body flew forward. He cried in pain as his arm plunged into firebox, recoiling sharply. Suddenly, the locomotive was careening toward a cliff. No time to nurse his singed limb, he immediately jumped for a lever in the corner of the engine room and yanked it with every ounce of his strength.

The cars all shuddered violently as the brakes activated, rapidly decelerating the vehicle. The train screeched to a halt a mere fraction of a second before it would’ve plunged into the ravine below. Disaster had been averted by the slightest of margins.However, the engine car now teetered precariously over the edge, prompting the rattled driver to hastily grab his shovel and vacate. Once he was back on solid ground, he quickly took stock of the surroundings. There was no sign of attackers on the mountainside, leaving few possibilities as to the missile’s origin. Abner began making his way to the passenger cars, and to any who witnessed him, it would be clear that he was furious.

"Who are we fighting?!" Cypranos yelled, confused. He was still processing the events of the past few seconds: Before he could even ask the women's names, another man had approached them and had swiftly been... killed by the blonde one? It was hard to tell, that part of his memory was hazy at best. The part that followed was just as jumbled, and between someone laughing, two claps, and a tremendous impact, his thought process was in about as much commotion as the train car he found himself in.

Forcing himself to come to his senses, he stopped attempting to understand the situation and rushed to the section of the car where the pregnant women sat. Whatever it was that was going on, his mission was to protect them, and he didn't intend to fail.

At a local restaurant, Kharios was thinking of some food to before he leaves Selsoi. But he then remembers what happened 2 days ago when he met a young girl and her family who, at the time, seemed poor. "Hmm..I wonder if they have some biscuits or maybe cinnamon buns..." , Kharios thought with a curious expression on his face as he looked at the menu."I think I need to buy some food and water to help that girl. Her family doesn't need to go through this...", he thought to himself. "Excuse me, are you alright?", the waitress asked. "Yeah, I'm alright. I'd like to order some hash browns, some cinnamon buns, some sausage biscuits, 2 slices of pineapple, and a cup of orange juice m'am.", Kharios said politely to the waitress. As the waitress took the order, she noted that he was being very polite unlike the other costumers. "Anyways, your order will be ready in a few minutes.." , the waitress asked. "Thank you waitress.", he said with a charming tone and a friendly smile. "Okay, Kharios, you'll have to wait a little while maybe 8-1 minutes..." the waitress said as she walked away. And so Kharios, waited for his order while thinking of how to help the girl and her family.

Tacita sat and listened. She began to catch the scent of blood but she couldn't find the source. So she continued to sit there and stare out the window. Upon hearing the professor she decided to allowed to him stand there and waited for the people's response.