Barlowe Station

"Now Deputy…" Dirt starts, as the man gets ready to depart with them. "You saw how many of those things there were on that train. You got anyone else both willing and able to take up arms? Hell of a thing to try gun down so many of them by ourselves.

As a matter of fact, we ought to recruit the preacher! He seemed to do the trick!"

Kane didn't take too well to highfalutin words like alchemical, and he still doubted that Ruby's potions were anything but hocus-pocus, yet he humored the woman with a nod of feigned interest.

"You're right. We best be on our way. Recruitin' a preacher is a mighty fine idea, Dirt."

With the Preacher offering to join you, you've got a fast ride across the prairie to try n cut off the train as it goes around a long corner.

Several of you have horses, but if you don't, you can double behind someone, or you can waste a bunch of time trying to find another horse in town that's rideable.

First, Dirt and DD had horses. Don't think Ruby or Kane did. One of you could take DD's horse, then there others could double. Either way, everyone will have to make a roll, whether they're ridin (Ridin at-2) or passengerin (Athletics at -2) to not fall off.

"I do not have much skill in riding. If one of you gentlemen would kindly let me ride with you?" While she waits for the horses she quickly prepares a small satchel to take with her since she won't be able to take her whole trunk on the horse. She smiles at the mental image of riding a horse with her steamer trunk lashed to the horse's rear.

"Well Ruby, why don't you hop right up behind me and we can get going. You'll want to be putting your arms around my waist or you'll fall off and get mud in that pretty hair of yours and that would be a cryin' shame."

Kane removes his foot from the stirrup, smiles and waits for her to offer a hand to him. "Put your foot in the stirrup, and I'll pull you up. I promise I won't chew while you are up here with me. Truth be told I don't partake while in the saddle. Horses don't like it. And you don't neither. Might be best if you leave your satchel with Dirt though."

"You got yourself an animal, Padre?" Dirt calls out, as the priest busies himself with gathering a few things to go out on a run.

"Sposin’ you might, seeing as how you probably visit all them folks out in the land." Dirt drones on, just talking to fill his mind with something, so he doesn’t have to wonder if any of them will come back from this.

He wasn’t so worried about himself, but the rest of these folk seemed fine enough.

Reverend James Turner is grim-faced as he leaves the church. He's just said last rites over that pretty young Marshal and a number of his neighbors. Turner is a man with a past, and though he walks with a limp and has a wheeze in his lungs, he has put more men in the ground over his life than he'd ever care to admit. It's time to dig deep and become that man again, if he can.

God had started speaking to him directly lately, having quiet conversations at night, when he was out for his walk. It must have been a sign. That the Reverend had to step forward and do something about these devil-spawned vampires. And so the man buckled on Dillon's gunbelt, took her shotgun and shells and headed for John Jacobs's stables. John was dead, his throat torn out by a vampires, so he wouldn't miss his horse none.

"Ya, come on son!" Turner shouts as he rides up to Briggs, a silver cross hanging around his neck, gleaming in the moonlight. When he catches sight of Ruby on the back of Kane's horse, his rough cheeks color.

"When this night of terror is all done," he says to the air, "someone get this lady some proper clothing, cover her up! But now, time's a wastin', let's ride!"

"Ms. Ruby here is a force unto herself! She ain’t shy about lashing you with her tongue neither!" the man says, setting off on his horse and letting himself a wry smile. The Padre was in for a whipping tonight if he thought Ruby Reyes would take that kind of take lightly!

You quickly set off, riding hard across the prairie grass in the darkness, chasing a train that's picking up speed, but trying to catch it by riding the shorter way against the uneven prairie.

Everyone will have to make a roll, whether it's Turner, Dirt, or Kane ridin (Ridin at-2) or Ruby passengerin' (Athletics at -2) to not fall off.

Kane snorted at Dirt's remarks. He wouldn't want to be on the woman's wrong side, especially with her right behind him.

Ruby arches an eyebrow at the padre. "Anything that I put on my body is 'proper.' You worry about matters of the soul and leave matters of the flesh to those of us who enjoy it." She snorts and turns her head away. She focuses on staying atop this beast.

Reverend Turner only looks at the woman as she admonishes him, and then she's gone as Kane kicks his horse into motion. Cutting the train off at the pass will be no small feat, and will require galloping hard. "I know, Lord Father, I know," he says to the voice in his head as he spurs forward as well.

It has been a hard night riding as you thunder across the plain. The four of you on three horses soon come across the Night Train. It's steaming along, powered by Ghostrock, the diabolic scent catching your air.

The locomotive is a huge, iron behemoth. Its black iron seems somehow darker than the night, and its jagged cow catcher resembles the blood tipped fangs of some enormous monster. Ghost-rock vapor streams from its stack, wailing in agony as it pushes the iron monster forward. Behind the engine sits a coal tender. Behind that, two sleeper cars and a freight car.

It's going fast, not as fast as a horse can go, but pretty fast.

Turner is Fatigued from the ride, the rest of you are fine.

What's the plan?

"So, what's the plan?" Ruby has to yell to be heard over the sounds of the thundering horse hooves and the howling wind. "We can't exactly just stop a train even if we get ahead of it! We might just have to board it!"

Behind the engine sits a coal tender. Behind that, two sleeper cars and a freight car.

Finding a spot to board the train will be no cakewalk. The options are a ladder at the back of the freight car, between any of the cars themselves, or at the locomotive.

The back of the freight car has an entry portal, but it is welded shut and has no platform beneath it. There is a side door on the freight car, but it is currently closed.

There are no lookouts or windows.

The Reverend has struggled to keep up, and grimaces as old injuries and wounds begin to act up — just as the train comes into sight.

"God Almighty, she’s steamed straight out of hell itself!" he shouts to the others as they close in, and as they see that there are limited way to board the fearsome thing. More shouting follows.

"What’s the plan? Board from the rear?!"