Adventure! RPG: Heroes of Our Time - episode 5: Walking in the Valley

[Andrew Murphy]

Jameson peers down between the two cars, and seeing the remainder of the group (plus one) gathered below begins to climb down, motioning for Janos and Locky to stay topside, "Keep and eye out I'll talk to the others and formulate a plan.

"Afternoon, coming down!" Jameson says as he climbs down the ladder. "Looks like that slimy Arab took a shortcut to the next car. If we're going to catch him we have to do this smart, there's only so much train and we outnumber him by ... umm," Jameson realizes that they have been joined by another one of the passengers and drifts off, "... umm by seven of us apparently. Do I know you?" The last is directed at the newcomer. The look on Jameson's face is a cross between bewilderment, surprise and delight.

"Winston is that you? ..."

[Winston Holmes]

Winston looks quickly off into the Texas landscape, trying to understand what might have happened while holding his bush hat to his head. He turns back around when he hears a man coming down the ladder, his eyes narrowing with thought and recognition, "James...?" His eyes spring back open and his expression turns to a subdued look of excitement, "Ha, it is you! I knew I'd find cowboys and trouble in Texas but I didn't think both of them would be you!

"So what's with the Arab? Did he say something bad about your guns?"

[Surya Lanadhra]

"An explanation would be much appreciated indeed," Radha agrees flatly, her dark eyes narrowed.

[Andrew Murphy]

"Ha, it is you! I knew I'd find cowboys and trouble in Texas but I didn't think both of them would be you!

"

Jameson looks almost hurt at Winston's words until he bursts out laughing, "Well Professor if anybody could find trouble it's you!! Still carrying around that old bag of junk eh?" Jameson gives his old freind a handshake and a hug.

"Lets move into the adjacent car and let me introduce you to my friends here..." Jameson quickly climbs up the ladder and calls Jano and Locky down and into the next car.

Jameson quickly introduces everybody with a brief occupational description. "Everybody this is Winston Holmes, an old freind of mine from back in Africa. He and I got into more trouble than I care to remember."

Jameson turns to Winston and Rhada, "Well as for Luqmani that Arab, the rest of us have had dealings with him before, he tried his best to make sure that our trip to Cairo last year was our last trip anywhere. He's trouble that much is certain but without knowing exactly what we're doing for Tony or whom Luqmani is working for I can't say if this happens to be more than coincidence."

[Count Janos Rakozi]

Janos looks on with wry amusement at the reunion of old comrades.

"Don't forget that Kate and Jozef are alone, Jameson," Janos shouts down and then gives a tip to the brow toward Winston. That done, he starts blithely strolling back down the roofs of the train in the direction Luqamni went, beckoning Locky to follow.

[Andrew Murphy]

Jameson nods to Janos as he sets off, "... Well as I was saying Luqmani is trouble. I'd like to corner him and find out why he is here. I'm a little suspicious that he just happened to approach you at the train depot Rhada."

[Locky McKenzie]

"Coming right down," Locky calls as he very quickly follows Janos.

[Dr. Mystery]

"I have a more personal qualm with Luqmani," says John, fading in for a moment from the shadows, "He shot me."

As Locky and Janos head off, he follows after them, soon fading from sight to any who do not pay close attention.

Shouting ahead to Locky, "I'm coming along"

[Alex Craft]

Janos leads the way across the tops of the train cars with Locky and John close behind. The air hisses and roars around their ears, and the train clatters and sways beneath their feet. They see no sign of Luqmani - it would appear that he has managed to get back into the train.

The trio pauses at the end of the car, wondering what to do.

* * *

Back a car length, the other half of the team discusses the situation with Winston - both Radha and Winston getting filled in on the relevant background.

[Locky McKenzie]

"You know Count Rakozi, I don't think this is gonna do us much good." Locky remarks as the three stand around at the end of the car. "Maybe we should let him go for the moment, you know? At the very least we know he's around, so we can be on the lookout for, well, whatever he's wanting to do, and there's a lot of places you can hide in a train..."

[Count Janos Rakozi]

Janos turns to Locky.

"If he is alive, it makes me wonder. One of two possibilities occurs to me. One, the Baron must have survived and it that is the case, someone should tell Anthony ... Herr King real soon. Two, someone else has inherited the Baron's network, which is even more of a concern, as they would be a complete unknown to us."

Janos shrugs.

"Its a train. He is a creative, educated, military trained man, with a criminal mind and God knows what material back there in storage. What could be the harm in waiting to see what his next move could be? Shall we return to the dining car?"

Janos seems sincere in his invitation to return to the dining car.

[Andrew Murphy]

Jameson turns to his old freind, "So what exactly brings you to Texas? I'd wager one of two things. A) Something old and of great value, or you missed the arid heat of the desert."

[Surya Lanadhra]

"Oh yes, after I've thrown a steak knife," Radha says with some sarcasm, "I'm sure the great and honoured sahibs will let me back into the dining room. Just how are we to - "

She mutters a Hindi curse under her breath. "My papers, Mem'sahib Schaefer's papers! Would not al-Luqmani seek them out?"

[Winston Holmes]

Winston smiles and shakes his head at Jameson's guesses, "Sorry, Cowboy, no treasure this time and it's not a pleasure visit either. See, Marcus Watkins, the man mostly responsible for getting me into the antiquities acquisition business, decided to settle down in this area and now... well, I'd like to make sure he's ok." He shrugs and his voice takes a resigned but comfortable tone that sounds like he's used too many times, "Now you're here I know something big is going to happen. Fortunately, it couldn't be any worse than that time in Tunis."

Once the Doctor expresses her concern about regarding al-Luqmani, Winston falls silent and waits to see what direction the group takes.

[Andrew Murphy]

"Don't get me started on Tunis!" Jameson's exclaimation is most definately not genuine but he quickly moves on. "Janos and the others are up top and we're here. There's no way that Luqmani could get past us to get to our compartments. We should head back however, we'll be much better off if we mind our own buiness first and Luqmani's second for the time being..."

[Dr. Mystery]

Reaching Janos and Locky, John fades back into sight, scowling, as he speaks.

"I suppose you are correct, Count Rakozi. There is little else the group can do at the moment. Due to the nature of my abilities, I, however, will scour the train unless there are any objections."

[Count Janos Rakozi]

Janos nods to Frederick.

"We need to do some scouting before we confront him again. I will go tell the others. Good luck to you."

With that, Janos will hop down at the next car seperatation and join the others. He gestures Locky to follow.

[Locky McKenzie]

Locky nods, and follows Count Rakozi down. He slides down the ladder and casually walks through the door, on the way to the meal car.

[Count Janos Rakozi]

Janos drops down and spotting the newest addition to the chase group, introduces himself.

"Count Janos Rakozi, Graf von Kadar," he says, clicking his heels.

"Jameson, I think Luqmani has some gear back there that he might be causing mischief with. Frederick is tracking him. I doubt he came to your American Southwest with just a briefcase, after all."

[Blaine]

Blaine nods and growls his assent to all the discussions and ideas.

"I say we get the train's help, tell them the guy don't have a ticket or something, and then do a slow, car by car search for him. We gotta start soon, before the train makes any stops. Then, well he's a reasonable guy. We might be able to keep things from becoming hostile maybe."

[Surya Lanadhra]

Radha colours with some embarrassment as she glances at Winston Holmes. "Doctor R. Radha Kolani," she introduces briefly before looking down at her skirt. "I fear I will need to go and change into my clothing and check on my papers. I trust that you can keep things reasonable?"

With those words, she turns and walks away with a surprising grace, slim brown legs showing under the slashed fabric of her skirt.

[Alex Craft]

The team, with the exception of John, steps back into the previous car and makes its way toward the dining car. The two passenger cars they make their way through hold nothing special - a few passengers have stuck their heads out into the corridor to check on the running feet they heard going past, but the team backtracks without remark.

Our heroes step into Winston's car to meet Kate, with Jozsef following behind and showing frown at Kate's pursuit of the team. Her eyes flick over the group, dismiss John's absence (he often is nowhere to be seen), and land on Winston for a moment before she speaks:

"Alright. Who was that? He had something to do with, um [glances at Winston again], Cairo?"

It doesn't take much to clarify the situation regarding both Luqmani and Winston, and the needed time is spent getting back to the team's compartments. While the others are gathered in one of the men's compartments, Radha continues to the compartment she shares with Kate - checking on her notes before diving into her duffel for a change of clothes.

Radha can't be certain that Kate's notes have not been disturbed, but it doesn't look like it. Kate has taken to snapping a couple of rubber bands around her stacks of papers when not using them (simply to keep them from getting mixed up with Radha's notes), and it does not appear that those packages have been disturbed. Likewise, Radha's own material seems undisturbed - not unexpected, given their esoteric nature.

Thinking back, it occurs to Radha that Luqmani could not have brought anything onto the train - at least, nothing more than he could carry in that briefcase of his. She saw him arrive at the station, she saw him board the train, and she and Jameson were the last to board. If he has anything beyond his briefcase, it would have had to have been brought aboard through other means - stored at a previous stop, or perhaps held by an accomplice on board.

By the time she returns to the other compartment, Kate is fully updated, and Winston has had a few points ironed out for him, as well. He, in particular, is still getting used to the idea that Kate is the technical boss of this mission. Young, slight of stature, and simply not possessing much in the way of leadership skills, she seems an incongruous choice.

Kate is saying:

"As much as I'd like to let this go, this isn't likely to be entirely coincidence. We'll have to find Mr. Luqmani and work out what is going on - I'll speak to the stewards about getting their assistance. Hopefully, Luqmani will be reasonable."

"What are you going to be doing? I suppose I have rank here, but I'm not really prepared to direct you ... it's certainly not something I am qualified for. I do need to know what you're doing though - I already have a stack of paperwork I'm going to have to do to keep Leslie happy about this incident."

[Andrew Murphy]

"Much as I'd love to hope that the stewards would be helpful considering the trouble we had back before we picked up Rhada I expect that there's already somebody "asking" for their help ... detaining us.

"I think it's a safe bet that Luqmani is not here by coincidence. Partly because of our past with him and partly because of his interest in Rhada back at the depot. Why don't we give John 20 minutes and hopefully he can come back to us with some information regarding Luqmani's location and possibly even his plans.

"We'll be better off making a sound plan of action if we have a little more information to go on. In the meanwhile I think we should stay in our car and mind our own buisness before we give the stewards some other reason to lock us in our cars ..."

[Dr. Mystery]

John goes as quickly and quietly as he can through the cars, headed in the direction of Luqmani. His sharp eyes scan the crowd and cars for anyone or anything that seems out of place, baggage with nobody attending it, perhaps.

[Alex Craft]

John moves unnoticed through the train, passing through much of the train (the remainder of the second class cars, as well as all of third class) without seeing anything amiss. He grows more cautious as he reaches the baggage cars - if Luqmani had something packed away here, the Egyptian might now have some unexpectedly nasty tools at his disposal.

There are three baggage cars - mostly open space, with the baggage held back from the narrow center aisle by rope strung down the length of the cars. The first car is dim (lit only by two small windows set into the roof), but nothing seems unusual. John leaves this car and steps across the landing to the second baggage car.

The wind hisses and roars in the space between the cars, making it difficult to hear anything happening in the next car, but a tiny, grimy window lets John peek in - first rubbing at the glass to clear away some of the grit. Luqmani is there, though John's arc of vision is too limited to really tell what the mercenary is up to. He looks pretty agitated, going through the baggage in search of something.

John thinks a moment, then turns the side of the door and climbs the ladder bolted to the car there. If the baggage cars are all the same, this car should have a couple of skylights as the previous one did. His guess is right, and he makes his way carefully along the roof of the car - crouching to peer down through the first skylight.

Luqmani is almost directly beneath John, darting off to the side occasionally to root through a pile of bags and boxes. Even here (with the wind of the train's passing whipping around him) he can here the clatter and crash of luggage as Luqmani carelessly rummages around. The Egyptian actually looks pretty angry at the moment, though John has no idea of whether this is due to the field team's involvement, or something else.

A few large pieces of baggage are already open at his feet - large, reinforced boxes with padded interiors. There are cavities left in the padding which are clearly supposed to hold objects of some kind. However, the boxes are currently empty, and John doesn't see anything laying around that might have fit into the cavities.

Luqmani disappears from sight for a moment, then returns carrying another, similar piece of baggage. Undoing snaps along the side of the box, he throws it open to reveal more empty padding. He says something in loud, angry Arabic - probably a curse - and proceeds to close up all of the boxes and toss them aside.

The Egyptian glances around the car again, then starts to head back toward the front of the train, pausing to check the landing between cars before stepping out. John goes to that end of the car, looking down onto the landing as Luqmani leaves the baggage car and makes to cross to the next car.

[Surya Lanadhra]

Radha emerges from the other car, dressed in a long tunic, loose trousers and wide scarf that are clearly 'native dress' - she looks much cooler and more comfortable in it. The tunic and trousers are made from the finest cotton, dyed saffron and amber respectively and embroidered with tiny scarlet flowers, while the scarf is gauzy scarlet silk.

"I might be able to help with that. Mem'sahib Schaefer, I think that you are well enough to do without my medical aid, and so I shall go to the third-class car like a good little coloured woman. Perhaps I may learn more there than here - and this Luqmani might approach me again. One never knows what they will learn from a man."

[Dr. Mystery]

John heads into the car to take a quick peek at the bags Luqmani was searching through before darting back off toward the group, again moving as fast as possible while maintaining a degree of stealth.

[Count Janos Rakozi]

Janos looks over at Dr. Kolani,

"Perhaps you are right, Doctor, but were you not throwing a steak knife at the fiend just a few minutes ago? Of course, I am not versed in the etiquette of my supposed inferiors, either."

[Winston Holmes]

Winston swings his Legionnaire pack down onto the floor, flips open the large flap, and starts to rummage through the heavy bag, "The locals might think that's the natural order of things, mem'sahib, but I've been told that's a foolish way of living life. But I think the Grof has a point: Luqmani probably won't willingly approach you again."

He pulls out a book, bound in leather and labelled with an exotic script, and he stuffs it back into the pack with a shake his head, "It's likely Luqmani's presence is related to our respective trips, but there is also the real possibility that Luqmani is stopping off somewhere else. Or if he's really that much of a rouge, he could be casing the train or passengers for a heist. Granted, with Cowboy being such a trouble magnet I think the Arab's purpose is linked to ours. Or at least yours."

Another book comes out of the bag, this one battered and labelled "Frontier Cooking" in English, and Winston shoves his arm, past his elbow, into the pack once again while mumbling, "I could've swore I packed 'Lonestar Locations'..."

[Andrew Murphy]

"...Granted, with Cowboy being such a trouble magnet I think the Arab's purpose is linked to ours. Or at least yours."

Jameson scowls, "You make it sound like everything fun we ever did was dangerous and stupid and all my fault. Granted everything we did was dangerous and stupid but your love of the finer antiquities was a deciding factor in a great many stupid acts.

"Regardless I think I agree with you, Rhada may not have be directly connected to us before but Luqmani is certainly going to connect the dots and figure it out." Jameson turns to the others as Winston rummages through his pack full of junk.

"I think Sherlock here is going to go and see if maybe he can do some information gathering where the rest of us are unable to at this point. We all know Luqmani isn't dumb but he hopefully didn't see Winston join the chase."

He turns back to Winston, "Do you have a pistol? Or do I need to lend you the End? I'm not so sure I should after the last time you got your mitts on it, but you should have protection."

[Winston Holmes]

""You make it sound like everything fun we ever did was dangerous and stupid and all my fault. Granted everything we did was dangerous and stupid but your love of the finer antiquities was a deciding factor in a great many stupid acts..."

Winston pauses for a moment while digging and gives Jameson a confident smile, "Perhaps, but I can't think of a better partner for those great many stupid acts.

"But as for protection, you know I would never go anywhere without my Adia," he says, indicating the butt end of a stock sticking out of his pack, "But who knows if the conductors would appreciate me openly carrying a her around."

[Count Janos Rakozi]

Janos looks over at the gun butt and shakes his head.

"Americans and their guns," he muses.

[Surya Lanadhra]

Radha laughs softly at Janos' words. "You have a point, but it might draw the little rodent out if I were in third class, Count Rakozi."

She made a derogatory noise in the back of her throat. "In India, I am a Brahmin of the purest blood on both sides, descended from the princesses of the Rajasthan on my mother's side. I would be on the first class carriage of every train with servants of lesser castes to tend my needs, even if I was as poor as I am now. Here, I am just another little coloured woman, at the bottom of your caste system. And yes, you Americans do have a caste system, you are not just as honest about it as we Hindus are."

[Andrew Murphy]

Winston pauses for a moment while digging and gives Jameson a confident smile, "Perhaps, but I can't think of a better partner for those great many stupid acts."

Jameson laughs, "Agreed my freind!"

Janos looks over at the gun butt and shakes his head."Americans and their guns," he muses.

"We aren't all fit and skilled enough to bring a sword to a gunfight my freind. None the less, I wouldn't dream of going into a fight without a highly accurate ranged weapon with which I am comfortable with."

"...And yes, you Americans do have a caste system, you are not just as honest about it as we Hindus are."

"You are only partly right Rhada. While we do have ... levels, which delinate our society it is possible for those of lower stature to, through hard work, rise above their station and make a better life for themselves. Can the same be said of your caste system?"

[Blaine]

Blaine scratches his stubbly pate and growls. "Alright, can we move this along? Doc? Nice meetin' ya', Blaine MacAllister." Blaine offers his huge and knotted hand to Winston. "We gonna get the train workers to help us out on this or what? Whatever Luqmani is up to, we owe him, and I wanna collect."

[Surya Lanadhra]

"Oh, yes, a coloured woman can become President," Radha retorts with some sarcasm, "I never said that the Hindu caste system was right, but I was saying we're more honest about it."

The Hindu woman wraps her scarf around her slight shoulders. "I'll get my things and go to the third-class carriage. Luqmani may try something, and I am capable of protecting myself if he should."

[Winston Holmes]

Winston takes Blaine's large hand with a subdued, appreciative smile, "Good to meet you."

He gives Janos a calm and confident look, "I don't need Adia, a knife, sword, club, or a good table will work in a pinch. But there's no harm in being prepared. Each to their own, I suppose."

Once Radha starts to get up he stops rumaging through the pack and addresses group, particularly Radha, with a thoughtful expression, "Cowboy and the others are right: Luqmani probably won't recognize me, hence it'd be a good idea for me to go into the third-class cars. I should definitely go back there, be it alone or with you." He seals up his pack with Adia's stock still sticking out and gives shrug, "And it'd be nice to brush up on my Hindi anyways."

[Surya Lanadhra]

"It'd be nice to speak a civilised language," Radha replied with a faint smile as she returned to her room to get her things.

[Alex Craft]

John drops lightly to the landing between the two baggage cars shortly after Luqmani disappears from sight. He rises and steps into the car that the Egyptian just left, making his way through the narrow aisle toward the discarded baggage.

Luqmani had thrown the boxes he'd been going through back into the clutter of clutter of luggage on either side of the roped off aisle, but they are easy enough to pick out - each one a large, reinforced box of a unique style. Picking a pair of them at random, John hauls them off the pile and pops them open on the floor.

They are, of course, empty. The cavities in the heavy padding were definitely intended to hold some kind of delicate objects, with each box holding three objects of varying size (ranging from the size of a pen to the size of a basketball). Judging from the shapes of the cavities, each box held one of the same set of objects.

Taking another look around the car, John figures that he is unlikely to find anything of use here. Thus decided, he turns for the door and begins heading back to join the others.

Back in first class, Radha and Winston let themselves out of the mens' compartment, followed closely by Kate and Blaine. The former two start toward the rear of the train (intending to make their way to third class), while the later two turn to find a steward at the front of the train. Inside the compartment, the others get together the tools of their respective trades in preparation for a second confrontation.

* * *

Unexpectedly, a shrill whine rises all along the length of the train - the cars vibrating slightly in resonance. The whine rapidly grows to a shriek as the vibration turns into an abrupt and violent deceleration, throwing unprepared passengers off their feet and scattering loose object across cars and compartments.

The train just made an emergency stop, for reasons unknown.

In the team's compartment, everyone manages to keep from taking a fall. The same cannot be said for their belongings, and the contents of the room are handily tossed about by the sudden stop.

Radha, Winston, Blaine, and Kate are still in the same car when this happens, having barely taken ten steps from their compartment door. They all keep their feet, either recognizing the sounds in time to brace themselves or grabbing ahold of something as the train lurched to a stop.

John is further afield, having been on the landing between the first baggage car and the last third class car when the train decided to break. He managed to stay on the train - bracing himself in a doorway as the train rapidly decelerated. Now he steps to the edge of the platform and glances down the train's length.

He doesn't see anything wrong with the track ahead ... there is only empty desert in every direction. It seems that the emergency is on the train itself - either something went wrong at the front, or someone pulled an emergency cord in one of the cars.

A general murmur begins to rise throughout the train as the passengers wonder what has happened. It will probably grow more irate before long - nobody is likely to be happy about this.

[Andrew Murphy]

The rasp of gunmetal on leather accompanies an audible click as Jameson draws the Beginning and makes his way toward the nearest exit to the car. "Looks like our old friend isn't going to stick around for coffee after all ..." Jameson mutters as he swings between the two cars and looks down the length of the train first checking the right side and then the left both forward and behind their car.