Hellfire Express

Auntie sits back in her chair in the open walled room that sat atop her lake house, looking contemplatively over the Oasis of Blood spread out before her.

"This Oasis is mine, we get around, and you can sometimes find it making an appearance across many of the hells. "But everything else" she gestures " the Wasteland beyond, this entire realm, this Hell of Boiling Blood  is the work of one man, Overseer Lucius Vetrini. Though he isn't really a man anymore. He has broken the laws of gods and devils to imprison these million wretches in an afterlife that they do not deserve, a damnation they have not earned. He has forced those cursed folk to carve for him a kingdom out of the very rock of hell. For millennia of their years they have labored here, without rest or comfort, endlessly chipping away at the stone of eternity itself, expanding this bubble of condemnation with no other reason but to increase Lucious' power. And he has become very powerful."

She pauses for a moment

This perversion is enough to even piss me off, and I normally don't get involved in such. Play me something tragic , Ton Ton"

The blind saxophonist begins to play 

"But perhaps his time is ending 'eh? Heroes walk his realm, I feel the relic of a saint on you, Lucius has certainly earned the ire of many gods by stealing away their worshippers and depriving their believers  of their proper afterlife. Any who seek to destroy Lucius will have powerful friends. And Lucius is not doing so well in general, since the Hell of Infernal Machines broke through into his realm and started their raiding. He's been driven back and has lost a third of his domain. That's the way the world turns, one day cock of the walk the next a feather duster. A good time to strike. And I must admit what you did to Lord Humongous was a hell of an audition.  Maybe they can do it, 'eh Ironbar?"

Aunties bodyguard just grunts.

"But first you have to get to him. And that won't be easy, he is still very powerful, and very well defended, compared to him you are nothing but raggedy men. He sits safe and happy in the center of Refinery City , guarded by walls of iron a half mile high, lit by the a thousand flare stacks that burn day and night with the souls of men. And guarded by legions of demons and damned souls. There are only four gates to that place and they are guarded by eyes that do not sleep."

"But Auntie knows a backdoor she does." She leans back with a satisfied grin on her face.  "Lucius was never a creative man but he excels at bending the genius of others to his purposes. He even seeks to use this invasion from the The Hell of Infernal Machines that vexes him. He has learned much from the prisoners he has taken, the clever souls and imps, the builders of machines. He has learned and begins to master the Infernal War Machines that populate that neighboring realm. And he has built one of his own, a great machine that he hopes will revolutionize the transport of the riches his slaves dig, hauling great great cargo from the Perimeter to the City, safely and secretly. 

He calls this machine the Hellfire Express. It runs on tracks of infernal steel and lightening, tracks that have been glamoured to make them impossible to see, impossible to find. Straight from the Perimeter to the city center it runs, through a secret tunnel beneath the walls of iron, right into Lucius' lap.

But Auntie is an old hand at glamour and she has found those tracks. That train runs faster then a horse can gallop, but Auntie has found a spot where it must slow, where it approaches the Hills of the Damned on a steep grade, before it crosses the Iron Bridge of Despair. Auntie will show you the spot, Auntie will aid you. All she askes in return are the two tanker cars of demon ichor that you have no use for anyhow

Be quick, very quick. Take that train for your own. But take it quietly. Ride it under and through Lucius' defenses. Climb the mighty Stalagnate at the center of the realm, and you will find Lucius. Then do with him what you will.       

Do we have a deal?

Now let me show you my plan" 

Auntie motions to three of her goons who nod, exit the room and quickly return carrying a large table on which is tacked a map

Here the Wasteland transitions from smooth and sandy, to rough and broken, as the plain gives way to a low chain of hills. (The Hills of the Damned) A blood red river flows into the area from the south. The hills partially obstruct the flow, and the water widens into a wide, bloody lake dotted with charcoal islands, before narrowing again and cutting a channel through the hills, eventually cascading down a series of waterfalls into a deep canyon. The elevated track cuts across the blood lake, raised on glowing red pylons, and runs alongside the blood red river, before crossing the deep chasm over a great iron bridge. A ruined round tower guards one end of the bridge, other then that there are no signs of any other human structure.  On the far side of the chasm you can see relatively flat highlands opening up. 

The tracks are smooth, elevated when needed and deliver a remarkably constant grade. Still, these unknown engineers can smooth a grade but they could not entirely eliminate it, the land rises steeply here, and several abandoned train cars and even one broken engine line the approach, proof that even the infernal engines struggle to make this ascent. 

The bridge is immense, constructed of massive steel girders, that  connect two tall towers, one on each side of the canyon. At the top of each tower is an enclosed room, through the widows glow a baleful red light. Bright white lights, fueled by some foul sorcery no doubt, brightly illuminate the bridge and it's approaches. 

Per (14): The blood river seems to be a spawning ground for lemurs. You also make out other snake like creatures swimming in it. 

Per (16): One of the islands in the lake glows faintly, there seems to be a small structure on it. You also make out creatures in the lake, two of them quite large. 

Per (18): You can detect movement on the largest of the hills, near the tower.

Per (20) - Adv Artificer: The bridge seems to actually be a drawbridge, though it isn't obvious, several large chains and pulleys probably can raise the spans

What Auntie calls "The Tracks" are three unbroken strips of gleaming metal, each about the width of a man's handspan. These metal strips run parallel to one another and are affixed at regular intervals to stout wooden beams, lying horizontally beneath the metal strips. These beams, reminiscent of the sleepers of a mighty wooden bridge, are carefully placed on a bed of crushed stones or gravel likely to provide stability to the entire structure.

(Inv Roll 18+): You can see what looks like red lightening playing along the inner rail, sparking occasionally in arcs and bolts. 

Whomever constructed the tracks took great care to make them as straight and level as possible, Great girders at times raise them ten or twenty feet above the wasteland, evening out the rise and fall of the ground beneath, occasionally effortlessly bridging lakes or rivers of boiling blood.

Still, these unknown engineers can smooth a grade but they could not entirely eliminate it, the land rises steeply to a broken set of hills, bridging a blood red river and then crossing a great iron bridge over a deep chasm. A ruined round tower guards one end of the bridge, and a derailed train lies rusting off to one side of the track, other then that there are no signs of any other human structure.

Several small islands dot the blood lake, but the one in the center is the most impressive. This island is walled with glowing red rocks, ten feet tall. In the center of the island is a steel cage that imprisons...something tough it is difficult to get a good view from here.

A large glowing pool of blood, higher then the surrounding lake, disgorges an unending file of burning human figures. The figures trudge through the lake in a long line, throwing themselves into the glowing walls and vanishing in a flash of light. They scream and moan as they walk toward their doom but trudge relentlessly toward their doom none of the less. 

A second island fifty feet away hosts a volcano of blood, which seems to be one of the sources of the lake. A large, lizard like creature twice the size of a man perches near the top of the volcano. It sits on four scaly legs and reminds you of a huge iguana.  

You also notice a huge fire elemental aimlessly roaming the surface of the lake

The river is fairly narrow, about ranging from about twenty to forty feet across. It meanders through the plains until it reaches the line of hills, where it vanishes into a deep canyon via a series of waterfalls.

The river is red and boiling hot and appears to contain blood, not water, similar to the rest of the water you have seen in this place. Several places along the river you can see lemure spawns, as the amorphous creatures are birthed under ground and claw their way out of the bloody mud down toward the water. They resembles a molten mass of flesh with a vaguely humanoid head and torso. A permanent expression of anguish twists across its face, its feeble mouth babbling even though it can’t speak. 

Arcana (16): A lemure arises when a mortal soul is twisted by evil and banished to the Hells for eternity. The lowest type of devil, lemures are repugnant, shapeless creatures doomed to suffer torment until they are promoted to a higher form of devil, most commonly an imp.

The river also seems to be inhabited by large snakes, blood red and aquatic, the size of a man, that swim effortlessly through the bloody boiling liquid. 

From your place of concealment high on a hillside, you hear the train before you see it, the piercing shriek of it's steam whistle calling a challenge to the sky. Then, from over the horizon, you see puffs of smoke marking a regularly spaced interval as something approaches.

When the train finally crests the horizon, it reminds you more then anything of a giant metal snake, sinuously glissading across the wasteland. There are ten segments, what Auntie called 'cars' loosely joined together by couplings. The cars are large, between forty and fifty feet long and fifteen feet tall and around ten feet wide. The lead car, what Auntie called "the engine" is a huge steam engine on wheels, belching smore and providing the motive force for the cars that are attached behind it. The whole thing is a good four hundred feet from nose to tail, and is moving quickly, at around 45 mph. 

About half the cars seem to dedicated to hauling cargo (you can easily make out two tanker cars that probably hold the Demon Ichor Auntie is interested in) however some of the cars are dedicated to weaponry and troops. The third car especially seems to be a veritable moving fortress, festooned with cannon and gun ports.  

The sixth car is an enormous flat cat that carries what looks like a gigantic steel golem or automaton of some kind. The automaton is firmly strapped to the flatcar by many thick steel cables. 

Video

(Inv Roll 16+, Artificer only): The automaton may be designed to be piloted, you can make out hatches and what looks like a cockpit in the head.

(Inv Roll 18+, Artificer only): Two of the cars, the second car and the final one, are incased in a mechanism of interlocking gears. The gears are large, some half the size of a man, and whirl quickly. generating what almost seems to be a heat haze, that bends and distorts your vision of them.  

The train consists of eight cars. From front to back, they are

Locomotive

Heavily Armored (30 pts in all facings) the locomotive only has three crew members. They are locked in behind strong hatches however. The hatches can be lock picked (DC 24) or forced open (DC 30)

The locomotive has three main weapons

Three of these are fixed and forward facing. The weapons are designed to not damage the track.  

• The Steam Cannon is capable of emitting a huge cone of scalding steam, in 60ft cone, doing 12d6 fire damage (save DC 18 for half)
• The Electric Arc Cannon channels energy from the track (and is only functional when the track is working). On it's own it does 6d10 lightening damage in a 20 foot cone, however if fired with the Steam Cannon, it will electrify the entire steam cloud adding 6d10 lightening damage to it (save DC 18 for half)
• A rack of forward facing Rockets can fire a single barrage straight ahead of the train. These rockets will deliver 8d6 thunder damage in a 100 foot long, 10 foot wide path (save DC 18 for half).  

The final Locomotive weapon is Gatling Gun mounted on a 360 degree turret. It can fire six times a round doing 1d12 per shot. 

Tender

The tender is a defensive car. In addition to carrying spare coal, demon ichor and water for the locomotive, it also projects a defensive field. The field functions as armor and grants 20 points of armor to each adjacent car, and 10 points to the remaining three forward cars.

In addition, the Tender is heavily armored (20 pts) and somewhat explosive.

The defensive field generators are clearly visible as a set of whirling interlock mechanical gears on the side of the tender. These gears can be directly targeted, and on ly have 30 hit points. If one of them is destroyed the field drops to 10 points of armor and only effects the adjacent cars. If both are destroyed the field stops. 

In addition to field, the Tender has the following weapons

• A single heavy artillery piece and. This artillery is 360 degree indirect fire, it has a maximum range of 1500 feet but a minimum range of 120 feet. It does 8d10 damage to a 15 foot radius, however it still has to roll to hit, apply scatter rules on a miss. 
• Two rear facing steam flamers. These flamers inflict 3d10 steam damage in a 30 foot cone. They can fire on anything in a 135 degree arc facing backwards. 

The Tender is manned by a squad of four lost souls. 

Battle Car

The battle car contains a turreted heavy cannon and a collection of pillboxes. Heavily armored, the car has 30 armor in all directions. A Lost Soul cannon crew and 6 lost soul soldiers man it.  

In addition, the battlecar has an Erinyes in command, supported by two Cambions.  

Note battle car is somewhat a jury rigged affair, built hastily out of an ore car and as such it's center of balance is too high. It can be tipped over via a Str (25) roll. Noticing this requires an Inv (DC 18) check that can only be attempted by someone with either Infernal Machine Driving or Repairing proficiencies .  

Tanker Car 1, 2

The tanker cars are only lightly armored (10 points), filled with Demon Ichor and very very flammable. They have a single flamethrower mounted atop them. These flamethrower shoot flaming demon ichor in a 30 foot cone. The ichor does 2d6 fire and 2d6 acid damage. It also is sticky and hard to put out, inflicting half this damage for the next three turns. 

Ore Car:

This car contains silver ore, it is unmanned and undefended

Flat Car

Two Infernal War Machine Walkers are strapped to the flat car for transport. They are unmanned. It will take one round to cut the cabling and another two rounds to cold start their steam engines. These two activities can happen in parallel. 

Boxcar: 

This boxcar is empty, unmanned and undefended. 

Passenger Car

The passenger car is locked, the doors are barred with six seals. From inside ghostly light and the sound of screams emanate. An Arcana (DC14) roll reeveals the seals are sigils of binding for demonic entities.  

If the first seal is broken, a single Eater of Hope emerges. If the second seal is broken, two emerge. The third disgorges 4, etc. 

Armored Caboose 

The Caboose is heavily armored (30 pts) and carries one heavy cannon. Inside is one cannon crew , four soldiers. 

The tracks the Hellfire Express runs on is heavily glamoured with spells of concealment and illusion. As a result it is extremely difficult to see or find the tracks from outside the route. Truesight will reveal the tracks but lesser spells are ineffective and unless Truesight is employed a searcher would cross over them without even seeing them.

There are three rails on the tracks. The two outer rails serve the normal load bearing purposes for the train, but the center rail is charged with magic. This magic not only powers the glamour and certain functions of the train, but also keeps the track clear of debris. Anything other then the train itself that comes in contact with the center rail, for each round it is in contact, suffers the effects of a 5d8 Shatter spell, and in addition takes 5d8 lightening damage. No save is possible. 

A Per 10+ roll will reveal that something is odd about the center rail, green arcs of eldritch energy can be seen arcing off it. 

It generally takes the Infernal Express an average of six hours to make the journey from Refinery City to a Perimeter Fort. However time and space are strange in the Hell, the distance between any two points over the wasteland is changeable and unpredictable.

Roll 1d10 the result indicates the number of hours a particular trip takes. However the train always takes at least 2 hours to make the trip.  On a roll of "10" roll the dice again and add that number of hours. Subsequent 10's continue to explode in this fashion.  

1. Auntie: "I got a man inside"
2. Nadia Baptiste "Whatever potions you need, I can make"
3. Barry's Garage "If it can be made out of steel and steam, I can make it."
4. Kelvin Alorica "Favors bought, favors sold"
5. A devil freed "Call on me, and I will come"
6. Long rests / spell switching is available