8: The One with the Train Heist

The group return to the Derelict Ark to debrief with Athen Ligrant, receive payment, and recuperate. They reveal the details they discovered from the Endleston Estate . Shahana Zinvalur speaks with Hunter who soon after is convinced to draw a channeling ritual to Lord Lendosh who sets up a potential meeting on the coast of Falong. Zherris additionally reveals a piece of their past they've held onto, that they may have been in a reeducation camp and a variety of unpleasant visions.   During downtime, Dorian sets up a number of group activities, including the burning of old mementos of her past with Charlie Anderson along the summit of the Prismatic Mountains. With some conversation she uses some of her newfound abilities to scry on Nikovan Jainstone II, who seems to have made it to another plane of existence and Charlie's mentor Nikovan Jainstone I, discovering him aiding the Legion Marred. A mental message sent to him with an attached inside joke seemed to briefly rouse him from his trance however, managing to pass along the note:   With her duties finished and feeling the loss of her fathers, Dorian opted to step down from the Reclaimers and use her skill with forgeries back at the Derelict Ark. Additionally Jent Evans offered a position as a merchant if coin was her intention.   Zahiri Sapir gambles along with Marcus James Clark Jr, Charlie Anderson, Shahana Zinvalur, Sebastian Hayden, and Langly "Snaketail". The group make off with a lot of coin and Zahiri makes out with Langly.   Mal Auvryani spends some of his time between researching and socializing. He learns small but significant details about the Allfather of the Rites of Divinity as the "God of Gods" who has humbled the gods after the Sundering. He also learns more about the batch of new recruits being trained by Athen. Flaurence Tull'ra being an explorer from Terre-coval, Shaltic Illburd accompanying Agnale Poe'tale from the Underdark and Agnale being the last of her family line and voluntarily mute. They end up playing Canjam within the Derelict Ark's training room.   Following downtime the remaining group was assembled before Ome Samayo alongside Marcus James Clark Jr and given their newest assignment. The primary objective is determining the activities done by the Legion Marred within the Lierie Pass, discovered by Team Winners at the Endleston Estate. However, little is known about the activities there so the group was advised to use some time to prepare themselves and weaken the Legion Marred's position onsite. Two additional potential methods of attack were placed before them: rob a supply train intended for Lock which was likely being used in their activities undersea as well as potentially make off with supplies or meet with Lord Lendosh and establish any allies they might intend to make before their ultimate assault. Mark is intended to assist the group onsite with his technical knowledge and capabilities learned from Orwin Knuckle. The Reclaimers decided to take up the train heist and were pointed to the Crows' Nest to link up with contacts of Tomes the Changeling.  

The Heist

The Reclaimers made their way by train up to the Crows' Nest. Shortly before entering the village they looted the trees of assorted baubles suspended in the branches, encountering what appeared to be a large raven with a strong magical aura. They progressed on into town but prior to entering the tavern encountered a group of strange characters whom they determined to be tourists from the Feywilds and through them they discover a mysterious guest who has appeared with gifts in the Autumn Court in the wake of the infiltration of the Endleston Estate.   The group entered the Pleasant Swan tavern and met up with a Dwarf Pall Silverfist who pointed them to a small band of expert thieves, a Kenku named Whippoorwill, a Gnome named Don "Powderkeg" Nackle, a Human Poro Elethin, and a Human(?) named Sind Quallick. They present some information about the supply trains and the groups work together to determine the stakes, skills, and setting for the heist to occur. The plan would be to infiltrate the train while en route, seize control within an hour or so and stop the train at a determined location to offload loot onto provided carts. The thieves agreed to accompany the Reclaimers and assist with the heist, per the agreement with Tomes. Afterwards Shahana Zinvalur correctly determined that Whippoorwill was the large raven they encountered earlier and the Avatar of Mask, God of Thieves, having a short one-sided conversation.   The two groups made their way to the nearest Railroad to prepare for the next supply train with multiple empty carts provided by the thieves. The night after their setup Marcus James Clark Jr gets in a prank battle with Don Nackle who, in a side conversation with Shahana Zinvalur reveals that they are the Avatar of Garl Glittergold, the God of Tricks. Mark fares well against Don despite this fact.   With their preparations set and most evidence of their presence hidden away, the groups awaited their target to begin their heist, only having to wait until roughly midday before the next supply train passed through the area. With a mix of magic and prowess, all members managed to land on the second to last cart, after the caboose and set their plan in motion: infiltrate from both ends of a cart simultaneously, cut the alarms, subdue any guards, and progress from cart to cart to the front.   The first cart contained a handful of guards among a strange smooth stone obelisk with an embedded blade that closely resembled the structures in the Derelict Ark and other ruins as well as covered plates of smooth stone and rough obsidian resembling the surface of Xiroth the Marred's airship at the Endleston Estate. The obelisk was protected by what seemed to be a hallow spell, and the groups decided to handle that later on.   The next cart held predominantly crated raw and unrefined materials for a large scale construction project such as raw ore. The group had few issues with subduing the guards here and progressed to the next.   The third cart presented the first significant problems to the group with separate chambers that cut the groups off from one another while still being well guarded. Despite some members' best intentions, the entirety of the guard was killed in the conflict, including a high captain. The cart otherwise contained more materials for a construction project but were largely further refined materials like gold ingots, tools, and rations.   The next cart held what seemed to be the guard quarters for extended trips, Charlie Anderson and Mark made their way through the cart in disguise as one of the slain guards and invisible respectively, disabling the alarms but left the rooms untouched.   The fifth cart held the lavatory in a section, a small dining room and ration crates in another, and a sealed armory on the far side. The guards were left on their own while the group gathered in the armory, gathering a handful of magical items and gems though they left a massive longsword, a crumbling sculpture of a woman with many arms, and assorted nonmagical accessories behind.   The remaining cart held the main offices of the commander of the guard, a Green Dragonborn Fin’dire Talurth, an armor modification station, a strange cask-like machine, and a treasury. Despite some clever maneuvering by Charlie while in disguise to attain a shipping manifest, an initial attempt to get Fin’dire to leave the cart caused too much skepticism and caused her to pull the alarm before it was fully disabled, alerting every cart but not providing the context of the issue. Mal Auvryani made an attack against her but she was seemingly able to shrug off the damage and return with attacks.   In the following confusion Fin’dire was booted from the train by Charlie's Bigby's hand, the treasury was largely looted, the back most carts were cut from the train while in motion and cleared of remaining guards by Shahana Zinvalur, the cask-like machine turned out to be a submersible apparatus seized by Zahiri Sapir, Mark took control of the train engine, and the group made their escape allowing the front sections of the train to continue while leaving the largely unguarded cargo carts to be looted.   Rushing to make off with their loot before encountering any sort of reinforcements, the groups fled to a safe position in the woods to make camp and prepare their return to their respective homes. Overnight the thieves appraised their wares and began the negotiations on how to divvy up the loot, ending with a greater split of money for the Crows' Nest in exchange for a lesser split of raw materials and larger platinum deposits.   Don decides to join Lifewood Labor though Whippoorwill wishes to remain with the Crows' Nest, though agrees to respond if requested down the line. The Reclaimers awaken the following morning, gather their hauls and take a teleportation circle back to the Derelict Ark for debriefing and redistribution.

Contract

We’ve caught wind of numerous supply chains funneling directly into the Lierie Pass though are unaware what resources they contain. We believe that a supply train travelling routinely between Kalom-kalom and Lock is one of these chains and the one we have easiest access to. Tomes says he has a contact up in the Crows' Nest that would be willing to assist in… retrieving these supplies for our own use. We may additionally learn more about what is occurring in the Lierie Pass.   Note that while this is a covert mission, it is likely we will alert the Empire that we are aware of what is occurring in the pass upon retrieving these supplies. This may make it more difficult to determine their actions on location.  

Objectives

• Meet with Tomes's contact and plan with their assistance
• Infiltrate a travelling shipping train along the Railroad prior its arrival in Lock
• Investigate the supplies for clues regarding what is occurring in the Lierie Pass
• Commandeer the shipment for our own use should we have use of it or otherwise sabotage the supplies

Rewards

• 10,000 gp
• Salvaged supplies during heist