The route on The Holy Rail carried us past The Divinorum towards Verdania. The landscape transitions to the lush green veil before an abnormal darkness fell upon us.
A disturbance followed from the forward carriage, the one containing Ainsley and Professor Alderdice. Sounds of chaotic violence could be heard through the sealed train doors. Charles and Mazarin exited through the rear and traversed the roofline. I dispelled the ambient darkness affecting our car. Moments later, Mazarin dropped between the cars and teleported an injured Alderdice into our compartment. Charles breached the attacked car from the opposite side. Mazarin then repositioned us into that carriage.
A revenant was present. Charles was struck with a force that left him unconscious and near death. Ainsley and her mercenaries were already dead. The revenant’s shadow withdrew and vanished.
I stabilized Charles with little healing I had avaliable.
There were eight remaining passengers and staff. We proceeded under the assumption that the revenant’s tether was aboard, concealed. Enoch questioned a tiefling woman, Kessaria, who responded with hostility and accused him of prejudice. Mazarin questioned Father Rillik and Sister Olyss Thorne. Sal, delayed in registering that hostilities had ceased, deployed an explosive into the carriage; Mazarin neutralized it before detonation. Charles, impaired by injury or judgment, discharged his weapon in Sal’s direction, causing further panic.
I questioned Captain Halden Marrick and the prisoner he was escorting, Loren Vey. I requested documentation regarding prisoner transport. The records stated the prisoner had been transferred from the Divinorum to the Aetherforge with a plan to dispatch him in Verdania. The route taken by the Holy Rail made the itinerary redundant and illogical. Mazarin established mental contact with the prisoner, who reported that the guard had oddly stood up just prior to the attack. This detail shifted my suspicion toward the escort which I communicated to the others.
We isolated Captain Marrick under the pretense of further questioning. He attempted an immediate assault. I held against the initial barrage. When he attempted to flee, Mazarin restrained him and Enoch inflicted injury. Marrick’s expression was briefly vacant, disoriented, as if something behind the face had been interrupted. I paralyzed him and ordered him disarmed.
Charles entered and executed him with a shot to the head.
I reprimanded Charles. We had lost our primary source of information, and his justification did not meet any operational standard. The prisoner then attempted to free himself. For a moment, I considered allowing it. That inclination passed when I recalled the guard’s expression and re-evaluated the transport records. The documentation could have been forged to place the prisoner on the train, not the guard.
I injured the prisoner deliberately. If he were the host, the revenant’s shadow would be forced to surface to preserve him. He pleaded for his life. There was no fear in his eyes.
The shadow emerged immediately.
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