Woo-woo!
A black-and-red steam train raced through the countryside, a column of white smoke billowing from its enormous chimney.
Inside a first-class carriage.
Aaron, Clark, and Bruce occupied a small compartment, sitting across from each other with a little tea table between them.
Once the compartment door was shut, the room became a private space, sealed off from the outside.
"Even so... there's no avoiding the slow pace and vibrations of these trains."
Aaron gazed at the scenery outside the window and sighed to himself.
After thinking it over, he had agreed to Clark's request.
The history professor had immediately taken leave, and the three of them had boarded a steam train together, bound for the Tangila Mountains.
At the time, train seating was divided into first, second, and third class. First-class tickets got you a small compartment like this, while second class had only seats, packed together in rows.
But all in all, both were better than third class.
Especially the carriage behind the coal furnace. If you didn't keep the windows shut tight, clouds of coal dust would blow inside. Many third-class passengers got off the train looking like Black people.
Aaron's cane rested to one side. He held a newspaper in his hands, yet couldn't shake the feeling that a female attendant pushing a cart full of sweets might come strolling down the corridor outside the window at any moment.
Clark drew the curtains, then tossed out a silver talisman.
A wall of spirituality appeared, separating the carriage from the outside.
"All right, now we can talk about our destination."
Clark cleared his throat and packed tobacco into his pipe. "The ruins we're visiting are an abandoned mountain village in the Tangila Mountains. According to my research, it's over three hundred years old. It was once the