Arcanum: Of Steamwork and Magick Obscura is copyrighted by Sierra games. The Zubarra creature is from the 3d Poser website, Daz3d to which I did not create or model. All Characters in this series are my creations and are copyrighted. All other settings and locations are from the game, but the background history and storyline has been altered to make it more interesting.
June 5th, 1885
It has been five days now since leaving Tarant on this assignment to Shrouded Hills. I was assigned to investigate the wreckage of the IFS Zypher which was the first true airship built by the Caladon Shipyards backed by Tarantian Investors. A telegraph was sent by the sheriff of Shrouded Hills stating that there was a witness if not in fact a survivor of the crash. I found this hard to believe and if so, impressive considering since the airship was filled with a volatile and explosive gas known as "Hydrogen". I was traveling by stagecoach since there was no train line to the frontier town with two other passengers. One of which is a beautiful and stunning woman by the name of Ms. Alysia Jacobson, who was traveling to take over the position of schoolteacher since the last one up and quit for no apparent reason. The other passenger is a rude and uptight businessman, who for some odd reason only referred to himself as Mr. Hawkins.
Burlane paused from writing in his journal as the stagecoach jolted from hitting a dip in the uneven road, which had become even more frequent as it got closer to the bridge leading to Shrouded Hills. Looking up he noticed Ms. Jacobson reading the Tarantian newspaper again for the fifth time. He could just make out one of the headlines which took place two weeks ago and was still a hot topic among readers: "Train derailment at Vermillion Station".
From what he gathered and doing a side investigation, a pair of no-named wizards got into an argument and started casting "spells" at one another, one that was apparently powerful enough to interfere with the train as it was entering the station and caused it to derail. The police had yet to catch them and the accusations of what really took place were getting wilder and wilder as the weeks went by.
He was so intent on his thoughts he barely took notice as she put the newspaper down and started speaking to him.
"If you wanted to read the newspaper, you could of asked me instead of reading it from across the cabin, Mr. Avengard." she stated.
Shaking his head from random thoughts, Burlane took notice of Mr. Hawkins next to her shift slightly from the nap he was taking and started to wake up. Dressed in a fine suit which looked like it came from Thurston's, he looked out the window and tried not to listen in on the conversation.
Burlane grinned before replying "You have to forgive me madam, I was just thinking about that article and sorting out my thoughts on what really took place. Forgive me if I seemed rude."
Ms. Jacodson tilted her head and smiled "And what sort of thoughts were you thinking about, Mr. Avengard?"
Mr. Hawkins stifled slightly at her words and Burlane tried not to grin " Ones that would naturally get myself into trouble in proper society."
She raised her eyebrows and blushed deeply and was speechless as to what he just said. Looking in Burlane's direction with a frown upon his face, Mr. Hawkins interrupted. "Surely that sort of talk is best left to ones that frequent lowly bars and brothels, Mr. Avengard, and not for proper folk like Ms. Jacobson and myself."
Arching an eyebrow, Burlane looked back at him "And what would you know about lowly bars and brothels, Mr. Hawkins?"
"You dare refer myself to one such as yourself, you lowly half-breed?" Hawkins replied in anger. "You and your kind are an embarrassment to the pure race of man and should of never happened if..."
Before he could finish, Burlane had drawn his pistol, pointed it straight at Hawkins head and calmly stated "I've heard of your "kind" Mr. Hawkins, and if it was up to me, there would be one less of them right now, but I do not think Ms. Jacobson would appreciate having your brains splattered all over her dress."
Stammering and desperately trying to keep his cool in the face of possible death, Mr. Hawkins replied "You...you will regret this...Mr. Avengard." and turned away from the gun pointed at him and looked back out the window.
Sliding the pistol back into his holster, Burlane looked over at Ms. Jacobson who had turned white from fright and was slowly returning to a normal color before looking back at him.
"Were you really going to kill him over a racial slur, Mr. Avengard? I didn't notice that you were a half-elf until he had said "your kind."
Letting out a slow breath. Burlane nodded. "Yes I was, Ms. Jacobson, and I would of not thought twice about it either."
Hawkins looked back at Burlane in discontent and sneered "You wouldn't dare kill me Burlane, for my "kind" shall soon get rid of all those who are not of a pure race and mankind will rule this..."
He never finished as Burlane leaned forward and knocked Hawkins out with a punch to the side of the head. Gasping and covering her mouth in disbelief, Ms. Jacobson looked at him quite differently and in awe of how calm Burlane was during the whole encounter. He was about to finish writing in his journal when the stagecoach slowed down and came to a stop. Burlane withdrew a mirror from his jacket and extended the rod attached to it to where he could see in front of the stagecoach without exposing himself to a possible gunshot or "spell" casted at him.
Burlane looked up just as Ms. Jacobson was leaning her head outside the window, and said: "That is a good way to get yourself shot or worse, now would you kindly not do that?" To which she leaned back and went white again.
Before he could make sure no one was in front of them, the stagecoach's gunman dropped down and came back to the passenger cabin and spoke to them. "Looks like we have a dead body not too far in front of us, heaven knows what else is up there and Bill asked if you and I could take a look, Mr. Avengard, considering you are an Investigator, correct?"
Nodding as he got up and climbed out of the stagecoach, Burlane winked at Ms. Jacobson and looked over and made sure that bastard was still out. Following the gunman, Burlane asked. "I take it the horses smelled it long before you saw the body, Mister...?"
"Blacktear, Adair Blacktear, and don't be calling me Mister, neither. I'm just a hired gunman and nothing more, Mr. Avengard."
"Call me Burlane." he replied as they made their way up the body with Blacktear holding a Looking-Glass rifle loosely in his hands as Burlane held his revolver to one side and pointed towards the ground.
As they approached the body, Burlane knew it was not going to be a pleasant sight. He knew from experience what the dead looked like and it was never easy, especially in his line of work. Blacktear followed suit as he pulled up his bandanna to cover his mouth and nose from the smell, which fortunately for them, the wind shifted and carried the smell of decay away from them. The body was lying on its back and from the looks of it, he could barely make out that it was a gnome from what was left of remains.
Out in the plains, the scavengers were mainly feral dogs and wolves, but sometimes something larger and more dangerous feasted upon the dead. From the look upon Blacktear's face, he was used to death and knew it well.
"It is hard to tell what killed this man." Burlane said as he knelt down to examine the remains. "But looking closer it is a good guess he was killed by multiple gunshots, even with all the damage."
Blacktear was about comment when Burlane held up a few crumpled and bloody bullets. Dropping them into the dirt, he checked the only remaining pocket on the gnome's coat for any clues as to who the person was but came up empty.
"I guess the dead really don't give up their secrets. You think it is best we bury the remains so this poor man's soul doesn't wander this world? Adair stated as he made gesture over his heart to ward off evil spirits.
Nodding, Burlane clapped the bloodied sand from his gloves and stood up. Shaking his head as if he sensed something, he was about to turn around when they were attacked. Spinning around Burlane saw something massive hit Blacktear and let out a curse.
Hawkins was not in a very good mood as he made his way though the grass and away from the stagecoach. Rubbing his sore jaw, he spat out a broken tooth and cursed at what that half-breed did to him. Dropping his suitcase next to the tree he was leaning against, Hawkins pulled out his robes and placed them on and began to draw an intricate arcane symbol in the dirt with a broken twig.
Looking around to get his bearings, and also to make sure no one was following him, especially after tying up that whore, Ms. Jacobson, who flirted with that filthy half-breed. He almost decided to take her with him as a sacrifice to his god, to purify her of her evil ways. After taking care of her and making sure she was tied up, he casted a spell to paralyze the stagecoach driver to make his escape.
Kneeling in the circle, Hawkins started praying to his god to get revenge and ask for help to kill that half-breed bastard in the most horrifying way possible. He felt a chill run through him and knew that his god heard and answered him. Laughing out loud, Hawkins heard and felt something move through the underbrush and head towards the stagecoach at a rapid pace. Getting up, he made his way back to the road to see that bastard get what was coming to him.
Burlane winced at the sight before him as the creature held Blacktear in its maw. Standing close to ten feet tall it looked like a cross between a lizard and a bug, he knew what it was and began shooting. Cursing as he drew aim at the creature's eye, Blacktear let out a guttural scream as the Zubarra bit down, it's hide deflecting most of the bullets that hit it.
Screeching as it dropped Blacktear from its fanged maw, Burlane knew that the gunman was dying or dead. From the amount of blood pouring out of the wounds inflicted by those massive teeth, there was nothing he could do to save the gunman's life. Burlane realized his revolver was no match for the creature and had to get his hands on the fallen gunman's rifle. Dodging to the side, he ran towards the side of the road and nearly ran over Hawkins.
Eyes wide in surprise, Hawkins' mouth dropped open as Burlane grinned as he knocked him over and didn't look back. Cursing as he stood up and wiping the dust and dirt off of his robes, he failed to realize the danger he was in until it was too late. All Burlane heard was a loud scream as the Zubarra tore Hawkins apart, and for the first time that day, he smiled.
Burlane managed to get across the road and get his hands on the rifle as the Zubarra fed on the remains of that bastard Hawkins. The glass sights on the rifle had shattered in the fall, as well as the stock cracking, but the rest of the weapon seemed fine. Checking to see how much ammo was in the rifle, he knew that he would probably get off a handful of shots before the creature was upon him. Letting out a slow breath, Burlane took aim at the creature's eyes and opened fire.
Struggling in the ropes and gag that held her, Alysia let out a muffled curse and instantly blushed at her slip of properness. Even in her predicament, she managed to remain calm and at the same time furious at how Mr. Hawkins treated her. Her face still stung where he had slapped her and even more so at the words he called her. Never had she heard such anger from someone, and to think she was starting to like the young man.
Looking up she saw the stagecoach driver Bill opening the door to the passenger cabin. "Let's get you untied Missy" he spoke in a drawl.
"What happened? All I know is one minute Mr Hawkins was knocked out and then he attacked me." Alysia exclaimed.
"I would of came to help you, but the bastard caught me off guard and paralyzed me with Magick." Bill replied.
"That's quite alright, sir. I wonder where Mr. Avengard and Mr. Blacktear are?" she asked.
Stepping out of the stagecoach, Alysia opened up her parasol to shade herself from the sun and looked up to see Mr. Avengard walking towards them with a limp.
"It looks like part of your question has been answered Ms. Jacobson." Bill said and then frowned. "I don't see Blacktear though."
Alysia took a closer look at Mr. Avengard and nearly fainted as she seen that his clothes were covered in blood. "What...What happened?" she asked when he finally got to the stagecoach.
Burlane staggered for a moment and sighed "A Zubarra attacked us out of nowhere, Blacktear was taken down before I could save him. Then that bastard Mr. Hawkins showed up and ended up getting what he deserved."
Alysia thought she saw a slight smile at when he said that about Mr. Hawkins. "What else did you find out Mr. Avengard?"
Burlane looked over at Bill and saw that his shoulders droop at the mention of what happened to Blacktear. "The body we found was that of a gnome, no clue to who he was or how he ended up way out here. I think it is best that we head to Shrouded Hills as fast as possible."
As the stagecoach made its way to the bridge to cross over the river leading to Shrouded Hills, she managed to catch a glimpse of what happened to the creature and shivered at the sight of the blood and gore. In the last five days since taking the stagecoach with her other two companions, the more mysterious Mr. Avengard became and she wondered if the man she came to know was really who he said he was, or something else entirely.
1: Looking-Glass Rifle – Marksman rifle with a looking glass attached to it. (Arcanum game weapon)
2: Zubarra - Poser creature from Daz3d.