Captain Yara, a senior agent of the Thieves' Guild under the Steam Lords' Council, revealed her identity and persuaded the Shield Dwarves to help by telling them the secret of the Halfling underground railway.
After the young man from the Hoffman family brought the news back to Bolut Pass, the current Shield Dwarf chieftain dispatched three hundred griffin riders to help almost without hesitation. The explosives were all ready at hand, salvaged from the crashed airship.
Yara and the others stayed by Lake Delir to wait for the Shield Dwarves to join them, while the players and hunters went ahead.
Once again, they traveled through the dangerous mountain woods in the quiet of midnight, with three Dragon Cavalry machines, outfitted with every available combat component, leading the way.
The sheer weight of those behemoths' six legs pounding across the earth filled the players following behind with a sense of security. Riding his skeletal warhorse, Xu Dog was still pumping up the newbies under his command over the guild channel:
"Brothers, don't be afraid!
"When we run into a tough enemy strongpoint, charge in and blow yourselves up! You've only just passed the Black Iron Trial, and you've barely got any gear. If you die here, it's no big loss. When you respawn at the Maginot Line three days from now, you can catch another airship over here and keep earning money!
"This is a proper military mission, and Lord Qin and the People's Army General Staff are offering a pretty generous reward.
"Once we take that factory, you'll unlock the military rank system.
"The People's Army is loaded right now. Once you reach corporal, you can head to the quartermaster's office and get a set of military armor and matching psionic weapons at a discount. Then, every time you rise