As I entered railcar 95, I was met with a wave of heat. The other side of the subway door turned into a an old-style wooden door made from 4 planks of wood with metal braces keeping it together. The inside of the “railcar” was what appeared to be the inside of a dungeon. There were stone walls with torches lining up to provide the light to see. There was no swaying, no train sounds, this could be mistaken for anything but a train car.

The room was rather large and square with a hallway leading elsewhere where I could hear the banging of metal on metal. The room was adorned with workstations with various tools and equipment strewn about and what looked like a crest with a large “95” on it hanging on the stone wall. On the opposite side of the room were three doors. The one on the left showed “94” carved out of the back of the planks. The middle one had no markings but there was a large keyhole beneath the handle. And the last one on the right showed an “88” carved on the back. 

With the banging becoming more frequent, I decided to go down the hallway to see what was happening before moving on to the next railcar.

As I walked down the hallway to the next room, the heat wave got thicker and thicker. I could see a red-orange glow shining from around the corner. The banging noise got louder and louder. On the wall that was visible I could see various weapons and tools.

Once I reached the room, I looked at the source of the banging and I saw a tall purple woman hammering away at an anvil with a smithing fire burning in a nearby fireplace, red hot and raging. The woman had horns that lined the top off her head in the shape of a crown. Black hair was flowing out around them and pulled back into a braid. She was thin and muscular and wearing a black shirt with an apron that had several tools readily available inside it. I could see that she noticed me entering the room, but she did not look up from her current task.

“Hello.”

She didn’t respond.

I didn’t know what else to say, so I started browsing the room. On some of the workstations I could see hilts being made next to strips of leather. There was a pile of damaged swords in a bucket that looked like they were ready to be melted down. On one table there was an old tome opened next to a small chest filled with various rubies, diamonds, and other gems.

What sounded like a distorted growl and hiss came from the purple woman.

The sound startled me.

I stared at her blankly as she made the same noise again.

“I don’t understand.”

She walked to a nearby wall and grabbed a bracelet and put it on. She then looked back at me.

“Think about stealing those and I’ll have your hands.”

“Oh! No, I would never. The thought didn’t even cross my mind. I was just looking, trying to figure out where I am.”

Upon closer inspection, I saw she had slits for pupils with emerald green irises. She had a thin double-tail swinging about behind her that both ended in points sharp enough to stab and kill.

“You’re in my workshop that’s where.”

“Your workshop? And where is that exactly?”

“Here.”

This conversation was going nowhere.

“What are you doing in my workshop? You don’t look like my normal customer and you don’t look like you have anything to offer for my services.”

“Services? Can you make me a weapon?”

“I might. If you had something to offer. I used to make weapons for the highest of royalty. Got paid handsomely and given whatever I needed. But I’ve moved on from that, so I don’t need much.”

“I have this wrench I picked up a few cars ago, maybe I could trade you it?”

She seemed confused at the word “car”, but otherwise examined the wrench I had just held up.

“It might not serve me any purpose, but the steel it’s made from can be reworked. I can give you a basic training sword for it. They may not look like much, but I make quality weapons here, so they will hold their own. Pick one out from those on the wall.”

She had pointed at the wall to the left of where I had come in.

On the bottom of the wall were five swords. Three of them were short swords, one was a longsword, and the other more of a bastard sword. All five of them had the same silver pommel engraved with a “95” on it. Above these swords were other weapons. From what I could identify there were scimitars, spears, halberds, and even a mace. Those had pommels set with various gemstones. I had assumed those were not basic swords and not worth the value of a wrench.

The first weapon I grabbed was the longsword. It took two hands to carry and was not very agile. I wanted a sword that I could handle with one hand, just in case I needed to block something. This sword was not it.

The second sword I grabbed was the bastard sword. I understood that bastard swords could be handled with one hand or two, so I gave it a try with one hand. It was much too heavy for me, at the moment, and would require the use of two hands. Which was not what I wanted.

The remaining three short swords were all visually identical, so I grabbed the one closest and gave it a few swings. It was light enough for me to carry in the one hand and it looked incredibly sharp. It felt like a huge upgrade compared to the wrench.

“Do you have anything I can use to carry this on my hip?”

“Do you have anything else for trade?”

“No. That wrench was all I had.”

“Then no, I don’t have anything for you. Carry it in that bag of yours until you need it.”

“Carry it in my bag? It’ll cut a hole right through it. Or cut the back of my head if I place it hilt side first!”

“No, no it won’t. I’ve seen a bag like that before. That’s a spatial bag. Go on, give it a try.”

After looking at her hard for a moment, I decided to try it out. I took the bag off my shoulder and opened it up.

“Wait a minute, I have this spider fang.”

“Hmm. Let me see that while you test out your bag.”

I handed the fang over and proceeded to slowly place the sword inside. I watched the outside of the bag as I continued moving it in and when the sword should have hit the bottom of the bag, it kept going.

“Unbelievable!”

The sword fit all the way inside and when I picked it up, I couldn’t even tell it was in there. The bag was as light as it was beforehand.

 “Yes. This fang will do. I can give you a scabbard I received in a trade. I did not make it, so I can’t say too much for the quality, but it should suit you just fine for now. If you ever run into any more materials like this, bring them my way and we can make a trade.”

She had walked to a chest in the corner of the room and pulled out a worn looking scabbard and handed it to me.

I removed the sword from my bag and placed it in the scabbard at my hip. I was now readily armed for anything to come. If only I had a shield. But I didn’t see any in this room and I also did not have anything to trade for it.

Thinking back to where I’ve come from and what I’ve dealt with, this sword would’ve definitely helped. I could have sliced the spider in half. I would’ve had more of a fighting chance with the hooded beings in the subway instead of being nearly beaten to death. And I now feel more protected if that giant glowbug was to attack me. It did not look friendly.

“Can I ask you some more questions?”

The smith started to walk back to her anvil to continue what she had been doing previously.

“I suppose.”

“Where is this place exactly? What is it doing on a train? How did you get here?”

Maybe if I knew how she had gotten here it would give me clues as to how I had gotten here.

Again, she was confused with my words.

“Train? I don’t know what you mean by that, but this shop is in the land of Agrathea. We are currently in the city of Neron and I settled here after leaving the royal Agrathean court. I could ask you the same question. How did you get here?”

“Well, I came through the door down the hallway, from the previous railcar.”

“Railcar? What are these words you are using?”

She slapped at her bracelet.

“Is this thing broken?”

“We’re on a train. You know, a giant box on wheels that rolls on a track?”

“No. I don’t know.”

“Ok. I’m on a train. I must be a passenger. You must not be. But I seem to be passing through different ‘areas’ and this happened to be one of them. It took me directly to your shop and I’d say for good reason. Now I have a sword, you have a new customer, it all works out in the end. I just don’t know how I became a passenger.”

“I wouldn’t worry about it. All that matters is that you are here now and it seems like there’s nothing more you can do besides move forward.”

“You’re the second person to say that to me.”

“Who was the first?”

“Cornrose. He’s a butler. I met him a few cars back.”

“Oh! I know Cornrose. He was butler to the king. Excellent man. I would take his advice when given and accept his hospitality when offered.”

Cornrose has been in Agrathea?

“Yes, of course. Can you tell me where the three doors in the other room lead to?”

“Yeah, to my living quarters, my kitchen, and a storage room. You have no business there.”

“Right… I will be on my way then. Thank you for the trades. I have no doubts I will find more materials for you on this train, so this is not the last you will see of me. Farewell.”

She said nothing as she continued to work.

I headed back towards the entry room and made my way to her “kitchen, storage, and living quarters.” The middle door with the lock was, of course, locked. With my current goal of finding a way off this train, I decided to head for railcar 88 instead of the next car in the sequence.