Chronicles
Decision
Prelude
Conductor: Tickets Please for the next stop. Tickets please.
The Adventure
The posse, now aware of the game being played with their lives, opted not to debark the train in Machine. There was a philosophical argument, followed by Mook being dry-gulched and hog-tied to avoid having anyone leave the train. Our old beaten-down girl came by but no one answered.
The train started up again, the dream sequence started, but wasn't quite right. Mook was untied and immediately dove out the window of the train. Emmons demanded the right to choose and disappeared out the back of the train. The posse decided to ride the train to the bitter end and that's what happened.
Emmons dug Ardale out, then Ardale dug out Professor Grim, Hunter, and Milton in that order. Once everyone was out, they investigated a nearly abandoned rail camp. There were two men there, one of whom fired several shots at them in the mistaken belief they were grave robbers. After dispelling that misunderstanding, the posse joined them for lunch.
During the meal they learned that most of the workers had been spooked by a ghost train which ran through the camp and caused havoc. The men had scattered and run. The posse, while sympathetic, didn't see much they could do. They agreed to take a message to Imagination, the nearest town, and send it back to the rail office. The rail line was called Twilight Rails and belonged to Meeks.
The walk to town was uneventful, save that the Professor's trunk somehow managed to arrive there ahead of the group, even though it had been deliberately left behind. The posse split up, each moving to tend to their own interests. Things were progressing well enough until a train pulled up at the station - it had come from the incomplete end of the tracks! Needless to say, the posse investigated.
As they arrived, they found a number of walking dead exiting the train. One of them, sounding suspiciously like Mook, ordered the undead to find and kill them. The posse assumed they were them. The battle was joined and Ardale acquitted himself particularly well, his ranger badge protecting him while he slammed the fragile undead with a nearby bench. One of them, looking a lot like Po (only deader) and sounding like Mook (only scarier) commands the undead to kill the Professor first.
As he draws his sword, Hunter finds his range and blasts away at the Mookish one. When the smoke clears, that one is lying on the ground and the rest of the walking dead, are just regular old dead. In typical fashion, the town sheriff arrives and demands an explanation. Ardale, drawing himself to his full height, explains that they attacked us. The sheriff doesn't want to believe the story, but he definitely doesn't want to contradict Ardale, so he lets the subject drop. The posse helps him and his men get rid of the evidence, in accordance with the sheriff's standard direction to "cover up anything weird".
Although no one knows where it came from, the rail line assigns an engineer and a fireman to the train and orders them to bring it up to the next town. Reluctantly, the group decides to board the train and make sure nothing strange happens.
Quotebag
Steve: Cool! Evil is bored by our conversation
Joe: Sorry, I was trying to come up with something else since you wouldn't leave the train.
Joe: Give the players freedom of choice and what do you get?! Mushrooms
Tim: Oh, it's you. Closes lidSteve: schik, schik, schik (buries coffin)
Steve: Oh that's right, he's lame. Plus he has a limp.
Mike; Is there another deck around?
Steve: I got a big one. Oh! You said deck.
Noteworthy
The game was ten days ago - I think I'm mostly right, but I might have missed a few things - let me know.
Ardale's Ranger star affords him some protection from the supernatural.
Hunter's guns and ammunition are mystical.
The Professor's swordcane and trunk are mystical
Milton's cane is mystical.