Some Stops along The Trans-tundra Express
The fastest way to cross Antarctica is to Teleport. The second fastest way is to take the Trans-tundra Express, a pitchblend-powered high-speed train that hurtles over the interior tundra at roughly 100 miles per hour. With stops factored in, it covers all of its 414 hexes in exactly one day.
The Trans-tundra express runs on a five-foot gauge track. In most areas, the trackbed is elevated on a 10' mound of ballast, situating the line slightly above the monotonous flatness of the Antarctic interior. A bridge is present at every waterway crossing, but bridges of substantial size (such as might serve as landmarks for those traveling by foot) are marked as points of interest.
This is roughly 3/4ths of the planned POIs (the tundra is quite sparse). I'm also working on writing up a keyed map of the train and some canned situations that might occur while aboard.
Stations
Stations are indicated with a π emoji. At these locations, the train typically stops just long enough for passengers to embark and disembark. Β
Tickets can be purchased at any any station and cost 1,000gp per stop (to a maximum of 17,000gp for a full journey between Terminus Knorth and Terminus Psouth).
46-322 Town of Terminus Knorth π
A town of red brick buildings, population 516, is surrounded by a rectangular wall. The wall has two gates: one faces knorthouest to meet the trail from Zurth, and another faces psoutheest to admit the Trans-tundra Express.
The Trans-tundra Express once stretched all the way to what is now known as the Lilac Waste, but in these latter aeons it concludes its journey here. In truth, this town owes its whole existence to the rail line -- in its isolation it produces little of value, but were the Express to be shortened any further it could no longer reasonably be called "Trans-tundra". Thus, the owners of the train bribe, bully, and cajole the people of Terminus Knorth to remain where they are.
Under the circumstances, the townsfolk have made the best of it. The town is quaint and tidy and offers a range of tourist attractions such as a spa, artisanal bakeries, and a community theater where the works of Pothos the Poetaster are performed every weekend.
The train station is the most splendid building in town -- it has a stately clocktower and a glass roof supported by graceful steel girders. A faded but beautiful map depicts the entire route of the Express.
47-325 Village of Cragmere's Vale π
247 villagers live in mastodon-hide yurts surrounding an ancient nutrient synthesis vat attached to a geothermal vent. They wear elaborate green turbans and voluminous woolen robes.
Cragemere's Vale is led by The Most Silver One, a Grey Alien disguised as a human. He issues telepathic decrees to his enforcers, Vimvar and Dakstew, Swordsmen.
49-328 Village of Eest Auburn Ridge π
427 villagers subsist on foraged roots and berries. They dwell in scrap metal hovels, and dye their hear bright gold using steppe daffodil extract.
50-331 Castle Starkness π
The train tracks pass by an austere stone tower. The "platform" here is just a mound of dirt next to the tracks topped with a wooden sign that reads "Castle Starkness".
The castle is empty. The last owner was Stan Rhizome, black Enchanter. Guests from Ux Qorath (Hex 50-304) that arrived via the Express found his body shot through with 27 iron bolts. The vaults were looted, his workshop was smashed, and a pile of ash was all that remained of his books.
A sign in front of the castle reads:
CASTLE FOR SALE
5,600 sq. ft.
Quaint, private lodgings on the beautiful tundra. Starting price: 900,000gp
Contact Bekhtar Tybal at TERMINUS REALTY, 90998 Ulfire Ave., Terminus Psouth, Antarctica
52-333 City of Pallidpoole π
Pallidpoole sits at the heart of Antarctica's tiniest empire -- a single city lording over three neighboring towns.1 It is said that long ago, Pallidpoole's reach extended all the way into Lower U. But whatever lands once paid it tribute are now forested over, and the boundaries of its domain are easily visible from the Ambivalent Tower.
Certainly, the city retains a quiet grandeur. Graven giants buttress the smooth, mossy stone wall -- their eyes contain sconces in which watchfires burn the winter long. The cobblestone streets are dense and narrow, a maze that winds between tall-timbered houses and dusty mansions where helmeted guards stand erect at wrought iron gates. Β
The people of Pallidpoole wear rich robes of dyed wool lined with mink fur (or in rare cases, that of the fabled Tekeli-li).
| d6 | Sights and sounds in Pallidpoole |
|---|---|
| 1 | Street vendors roast whole gentus on spits over glowing coals. The birds are served on wooden skewers along with a clay goblet of warm ale mulled with juniper and laurel leaves. |
| 2 | Rival gangs of street urchins have a snowball fight, weather permitting (otherwise a mud fight). |
| 3 | A charcoal-burner sells his wares from a wagon, towed by a pair of scrawny-looking merychips. |
| 4 | A woman strums a zither and sings a song detailing the tribute that would be delivered to Pallidpoole in days gone by: tortoiseshells from the Gelidian Strand, blue honey from Quelesquoine, tea from Tesvara, fragrant wine from the Aradi Asif, mammoth ivory from the Munduk Highlands. All these lands are now lost. |
| 5 | A priestess carries a flaming brazier through the streets, rubbing hot ashes onto the lintel of each doorway she passes. |
| 6 | A basket of provisions is sent up to the Old Souls in the Ambivalent Tower. |
The Ambivalent Tower
At the heart of the city, an octagonal tower of smooth metal plates looms over a sea of slate roofs and chimneys. The streets are so dense that one tends to forget the tower is there, at least until one turns a corner and is confronted with its size and silence that are so unlike the rest of the city.
The tower has no doors at street level. One 250' above the street was once met with a delicate stone walkway, but the stairs collapsed several centuries ago and were never rebuilt. The tower can now only be accessed via a winched basket, which is rarely lowered.
Those who dwell in the tower are known as the "Old Souls". They wear threadbare yellow jumpsuits and shave their heads. They are forbidden from procreation and sustain their numbers by welcoming one or two initiates every year.
The tower, as you may have guessed, is a rocket. Though it has withstood many winters, the uranium salts in its reaction mass tanks have retained enough potency to heave it back into orbit -- all that is needed is a signal from Orbital Command. Liftoff would, of course, annihilate Pallidpoole once and for all.
The Old Souls have preserved knowledge of the Ambivalent Tower's functionality through the generations. There was a time when they attempted to ward off the city as it coalesced around the rocket's base, but their efforts were in vain. It has become a kind of faith; the Old Souls spend their days praying that the liftoff signal will never arise -- hence their standard blessing: "may you elude your duty, as I have mine."
Merchant
There is a branch of the Portage Bank here (34-299).
52-334 Town of Oil Fast
485 villagers live in longhouses. They grow tundra rice in neat fields but are also renowned as hunters, venturing far into the woods after mastodons, woolly rhinoceri, and megatheres.
This town was once a major military and administrative center in Pallidpoole -- the villagers still wear ceremonial epaulets over their woolen coats and hide jerkins.
53-332 Village of Krang's Lake
314 villagers live in log cabins. They maintain agroforests from which they draw large quantities of acorns, hickory nuts, and bitter cherries. They wear woolen vests dyed a deep indigo, presumably a vestigial Pallidpoolean tradition of some sort, though when asked they will explain that it is to placate the invisible gods that hide in the darkness between the stars.
53-334 Town of Rex Rise
498 barbarians live in stone cottages within a walled hilltop fort. They wear heavy fur-lined robes and are led by The Star of the Bloodless Book, Champion.
They eke out a meager existence by farming einkorn wheat during the brief growing season and hunting Mastodons during the long winter.
54-336 Village of Eunicehope π
259 villagers live in log cabins built along the crumbling walls of an ancient cathedral. They are lead by Varzan, a Kobould with 5+1 HD. Visitors are expected to compose a limerick in praise of Varzan's prowess.
The women of Eunicehope wear dark-tinted glasses; eye color is seen as an intimate detail that should only be revealed to one's close family.
65-358 Trestle Bridge
A rusted trestle bridge spans the river. Nomads have hung painted mastodon skulls from the girders.
89-364 Suspension Bridge
A grand suspension bridge spans several miles over the meandering floodplain below.Β
112-367 Trestle Bridge
A high trestle bridge spans a gorge. 6 Ogres live beneath it. One of the Ogres, "Fox Skinner" has a box in which he has placed three fossilized sea shells that he found among the rocks (10gp). He does not know what they are and cannot even conceive of a sea or ocean (he will react violently to anyone who tries to explain the concept). But the shells exert an uncanny fascination on him, and when the other Ogres area away he stares into his box and runs his bloody fingers over their ridges.
131-374 Pitchblend Mine π
A tunnel passes through a lone mountain that towers over the steppe. Midway through the tunnel, the Trans-tundra express stops at a subterranean platform and loading dock.
A tunnel connects the platform to a complex of reinforced shafts and tunnels, all lit by electric lights. 24 engineers operate digging machines to extract chunks of uranium ore from a deep, rich vein. When the psouthbound Trans-tundra Express stops here, the Ore Hoppers are filled with ore to be processed in Terminus Psouth.
9 Heroes stand guard, equipped with sub-machine guns, flashlights, and kevlar jumpsuits.
141-388 Tower of Triguna Macoites π
A tunnel passes through a dormant volcano. A slim tower belonging to Triguna Macoites, white Wizard, is perched on the rim of the caldera. A staircase links an underground train platform with the basement of the tower.
The tower is defended by 87 suits of Animated Armor.
Triguna's workshop has:
- 3,384cp
- 2,295sp
- 1,045gp
- Copy of The Star of Astaroth, in which the spell Substitutiary Locomotion is printed.
- Nubivagent Besom
- Potion of Healing (x5)
- Potion of Longevity
- Potion of Heroism
Monster: Animated Armor
1+1 HD, AC as Plate. Reassembles itself 1d3 rounds after being reduced to 0 HP unless defeated with a magic weapon.
Spell: Substitutiary Locomotion
Level: MU 5, Duration: 1d6 days, Range: 36". Turns 3d20 suits of plate armor into Animated Armor, bound to serve the caster.
Triguna Macoites, white Wizard
A shy, good-natured Mage who enjoys the solitude of life on the tundra. Despite this, she loves a good adventure and will gladly assist those on a reasonably altruistic quest.
Prepared spells:
- Cure Light Wounds (x2)
- Hold Portal
- Purify Food & Water
- Bless
- Knock
- Locate Object
- Obnubilant Nebulation
- Ballistic Barrier
- Dispel Magic
- Haste
- Invisibility (extended)
- Cure Serious Wounds
- Occult Oculus
- Hallucinatory Terrain
- Brass Barricade
- Dispel Evil
- Pass-wall
151-405 Institute for Antarctic Climatology π
At the apex of this snowy inselberg, an icosahedral weather radar dome rests atop a drab concrete building. It looks a bit like a mushroom, specifically a mushroom that somehow adopted the salient qualities of the surrounding tundra -- size and greyness.
The rails of Trans-tundra Express pass through the mountain via a dark, narrow concrete tunnel. A rickety elevator connects the building to a narrow platform inside the tunnel.
The building houses the Institute for Antarctic Climatology, an affiliate of the Scholars' Tower in Hex 303-371. The leader of the Institute is Ricardo Pusilanimo Nechaev, red Wizard. Additionally, eight graduatue student apprentices live at the Institute:
- Junimer Plantagenet, red Seer. She wants to unionize the apprentices but doesn't know whom she can trust.
- Sadak Xylac, red Medium. Extremely ambitious, he will gladly undermine the other apprentices to curry favor with Dr. Nechaev.
- Philippa of Tar Ashrakemet, red Conjurer. Counting down the days until her dissertation (Permafrost Methane Emissions: A Revised Perspective) is finished.
- Xarles Enterrer, red Seer. An enigma; on the rare occasions when he speaks, the subject is exclusively the nuances of deep-ocean heat circulation.
- Hilargi Van Lotus, Village Skywatcher.1 Dr. Nechaev usually only takes on red Mages as mentees, but Hilargi's previous mentor cashed in a favor.
- Mendebal Sord, red Seer. He is intensely homesick for his village in the Cordillera but doesn't know what he will do if he doesn't finish his degree.
- Panpoxa Blanche, red Conjurer. She has an interdisciplinary interest in the relationship between meteorology and musicology, but Dr. Nechaev keeps trying to downplay the latter.
- Eigart Nechaev, red Medium. Ricardo Pusilanimo's nephew, an obvious beneficiary of nepotism. He has absolutely no talent for weather magic and spends most of his time doodling in his notebook.
NPC Mage: Ricardo Pusilanimo Nechaev, red Wizard
A huge man, ponderous and dignified. A rich robe of red velvet is draped over his ample body. Tiny silver arrows are embroidered upon it, spaced evenly but facing different directions -- a continuous vector field. Nine ruby rings grace his thick fingers (each 250gp).
He is a world-renowned expert in weather-related magic and can teach the spells Wind Current, Hailstorm, and Meterological Mastery.
As an academic mentor, he is famously demanding and capricious. He runs the Institute as a miniature fiefdom and demands that his mentees work 12-hour days without weekends.
Spell: Wind Current
Level: MU 3, Duration: 1 day. Creates a wind current spanning a number of hexes equal to the caster's level. The Current may curve but may not cross itself. Wind-powered boats and airships may use this travel at maximal speed, likewise it may be used to impede wind-powered movement.
Spell: Hailstorm
Level: MU 3. Causes a thick deluge of large hailstones to rain down in a circle with radius 18", centered on the caster. Those equipped with plate armor or shields take 1 point of damage, otherwise they take 1d6-1 if they have a helmet, 1d6 without.
165-432 Trestle Bridge
A trestle bridge spans the river. Nomads frequently use it as a perch from which to fish -- they pointedly ignore the train as it whips by.
194-474 Town of Druckenbrucken π
183 villagers live in precarious wooden houses built on and around a steel trestle bridge. They subsist by catching fish in the river below, and they wear heavy capes and crocheted hats of rhinoceros wool.
The Mayor of Druckenbrucken, Jadwiga Drucken, is hoping to enroll her bright but unambitious son Helmuth Drucken at the Scholar's tower in Hex 303-371. She will gladly pay 250gp for a letter of recommendation from a mage, scholar, or one who has sent in a scientific discovery.
Helmuth, for his part, just wants to live somewhere warm.
199-476 Village of Glassblower's Crag π
Village, population 147, ruled by a Transparent Dragon named The Perpetual Icon of all Sighs. The villagers dwell mudbrick pueblos built into the courtyard of an ancient villa.
The villagers host photosynthetic symbiotes that allow them to subsist entirely on sunlight during the summer. In fact, they consider it taboo to consume food with one's mouth when the sun is visible -- this applies to all, with or without a symbiote.
During winter, the villagers wear Mastodon hides. During summer, the men wear loincloths and the women wear suits of ornate glass plates.Β
237-482 Village of Luthorsping π
129 villagers live in stone huts constructed beneath the hull of a crashed starship. They are led by Wisteria Drake, green Enchanter.
The people of Luthorsping do not practice agriculture, subsisting instead on a vast stockpile of nutrient cubes (as ferrous foodstuffs, but 1coin-weight each) recovered from the starship's cargo pods.
Merchant
The villagers are willing to sell nutrient cubes for 5gp each.
243-482 Village of Larval Circle π
367 villagers live in canvas tents within an enormous circular hall. They live on algae farmed in shallow lakes and wear tunics of pink silk beneath fur cloaks.
The leader of Larval Circle is Wenzel Aufhebung, red Sorceror.
248-482 Village of Cyanton π
178 villagers live in thatched huts. They subsist primarily by catching fish in the nearby river, and wear roughspun tunics and sashes of maroon hemiauch wool.
Cyanton is led by Yasmin Lemniscate-Barquentine, an outlander green Conjurer.
252-473 Ice Tunnel
The tracks pass beneath a massive glacier. Icicles hang from the tunnel ceiling, and during the day eerie blue light filters through from above.
252-474 Ice Tunnel
See 252-473.
253-472 Ice Tunnel
See 252-473.
271-451 Disc Town π
387 villagers live in log cabins built beneath the ribs of an ancient megatherian. They wear carefully-preserved space suits that have been decorated with carved mastodon bones and patched up with auroch leather.
The mayor of Disc Town is Judas Eldritch, blue Enchanter. He is dying and has yet to name a successor.Β
334-417 Village of Vulcan's End π
362 villagers dwell in scrap-metal shanties. They are led by The Creeping Puissance, Champion.
They subsist on farmed quinoa and wear turbans of black linen.
337-416 City of Terminus Psouth π
The Trans-tundra Express joins a tangle of defunct rail lines. Sickly grasses sprout from ore piles in rusted hoppers that have remained stationary for decades.
The City of Terminus Psouth is a scene of post-industrial desolation. The outskirts are a maze of chain-link fences and broken-down warehouses. The skyline has more smokestacks than buildings. Housing takes the form of uniform residential blocks.
Little grows here except for a fast-spreading species of bright blue lichen, thanks to the presence of the Cosmodrome. Β
| d6 | Sights and sounds in Terminus Psouth |
|---|---|
| 1 | Grubby pitchblend refiners trudge home in their lead-lined coveralls. |
| 2 | An irritatingly upbeat voice recites civil behavior codes and production quotas over a loudspeaker. |
| 3 | Street vendors sell hand-pies stuffed with hydroponically-grown tomatoes. |
| 4 | Four Terminusians clad in black coats, pale red trousers, and ruffled cravats walk toward the downtown to enjoy a few hours of tasteful conversation over a glass of trendy Miirish wine. |
| 5 | A four-masted wooden sailing ship docks incongruously beneath a towering steel cargo crane. |
| 6 | Sirens sound, causing the locals to run for the nearest rad-shelter. There is a 19-in-20 chance this is only a drill, otherwise the Cargo Barge will land in 12 hours, delivering a lethal dose of radiation during its descent. |
The Train Station
The Trans-tundra Express begins and ends its route in a lofty multi-track station. The glass roof overhead is so stained with soot that it only admits a wan yellow light, but the platforms beneath are clean and tidy.
Signage in 10 Antarctic languages steers disembarking passengers toward an efficient customs checkpoint where guardsmen in kakhi coveralls and steel helmets register the name and citizenship of each arrival. Firearms, magic scrolls, uncaged monsters, and similar dangerous paraphernalia are confiscated until the special dispensations can be procured from Municipal Administration.
Those using the station to leave Terminus Psouth can purchase tickets at the station's ticketing desk and may retrieve their confiscated items shortly before boarding. Goods transported out of the city must be pre-registered at the Municipal Administration Building, at which time a 10% tariff is charged.
Downtown
A handful of Terminus Psouth's signature grey brick rectangles are more graceful than the others -- perhaps graced by an arcade, or a few blocky pilasters, with glossy shop windows at ground level. This is the city's downtown business district, where one can enjoy a nice meal at a Zurthine restaurant or select from hundreds of imported Cholachni hats. Since legalization, once can even visit a dispensary to select from a bewildering array of Martian, Venusian, and Jovian cannabis strains.
Merchant:
There is a branch of the Portage bank here (see Hex 34-299).
Merchant:
The offices of Terminus Realty, run by the Zurthine immigrant Bekhtar Tybal, occupy a second-floor suite on Ulfire Avenue. Several rentals in Terminus Psouth are listed, as well as Castle Starkness in Hex 50-331.
The Blocks
Most Terminusians live in rows of uniform apartment blocks. In truth, these aren't so bad -- unlike much of the continent, they enjoy running water and electricity, and most even have a 12" video screen with which to catch the latest Chronodramas broadcast from Callisto.
The Cosmodrome
Terminus Psouth has one of the few active Cosmodromes in Antarctica, situated on an artificial island just off of the harbor. Once per year, a cargo barge arrives from Proxima Centauri to carry away 138 pods of refined pitchblend.
During take-off and landing, the citizens of Terminus Psouth must withdraw into underground rad-shelters -- the nuclear motors of the cargo barge are sufficient to sterilize nearly all of the city's exposed surfaces.
Merchant:
A cryogenic berth on the cargo barge can be purchased for 500,000gp.
The Harbor
Ships from around Antarctica and the lands beyond are able to dock at a large, well-equipped harbor. Passengers wishing to go farther than the docks must pass a customs checkpoint similar to that at the Train Station. Β
Goods transported out of the city must be pre-registered at the Municipal Administration Building, at which time a 10% tariff is charged.
The Municipal Administration Building
The square checkered flag of Terminus Psouth flies in front of a drab grey brick building with glass windows. The interior is lit by fluorescent lights mounted in a drop ceiling.
Bureaucrats clad in pale blue jumpsuits and black skullcaps type quietly at blocky cathode-ray computer terminals. The zszzt-zszzt-zszzt of a dot matrix printer can occasionally be heard.
There are a few reasons one might come here:
- Procuring a dispensation to carry a weapon or scroll costs 1,000gp and takes 1d4 weeks to process.
- Fines for violating various municipal codes must be paid in person:
- Littering: 50gp
- Loitering: 25gp
- Operating a vehicle without a license: 250gp
- Jaywalking: 100gp
- Breaking curfew (12:00 AM): 150gp
- Goods transported out of the city must be pre-registered, at which time a 10% tariff is charged.
Oil Fast (52-334), Krang's Lake (53-332), and Rex Rise (53-334).↩