Preparing for the hijacking (1)

"Well, for starters, let's climb this locomotive. I hope you'll end up boarding it from the trees but who knows where you will land. So, follow me!"

I take the lead for now, hoping to at least show them the ropes. I begin to climb up the locomotive, using whatever handholds are available. To be honest, I'd expected them to put a seamless and aerodynamic hull on the entire locomotive with only the chimney looking out.

{According to the notes we have, streamlining the locomotive was tested but the benefit was negligible and it made maintenance near impossible. Needing to remove the streamlined cover without extensive use of heavy equipment proved very difficult.}

I arrive at the top of the locomotive and climb onto the chimney. The size of the chimney will be a limiting factor to our entry. For me, it's an easy fit. However, the orcs will definitely have to squeeze a bit. That'll slow them down and give the adventurers in the train time to prepare.

But that for later. I jump into the chimney head first and land inside the engine. This place will then be filled with burning coal so that'll be another obstacle.

I leave the engine for the engine room and listen to the first orc get stuck and complain. Turns out, the orcs find a rather easy way to solve the blockage. With a thud, the orc suddenly gains downward momentum and plops down into the engine where he stands up rubbing his head.

One of the orcs up top must have simply hit the stuck one on the head with enough force to push him down. The orc who's been hit doesn't seem to mind and recovers from the head trauma in moments. These seconds might cost him during a real fight but it's better than being stuck in the chimney.

The engine room outside the engine is narrow and has little to no light. In the real thing there will probably be a light source so that won't be a problem.

As the orcs head smash each other down the chimney, I go on and enter the first wagon. The space is still cramped but there's barely enough room for the orcs to attack with the wide swings they are prone to use. However, since they will be fighting in narrow spaces a lot, it might be a good idea to get them some pikes.

I lead the orcs through the two wagons and we exit at the end. The whole thing isn't particularly interesting or difficult but that's because there is no opposition. Guess I should also tell them that there will be more wagons.

"Listen up! A real train has more wagons so you'll have to be prepared to push further. Now, you need to have this route down. I want you to repeat this three more times without me. Got it?"

The orcs nod looking like they are a bit confused. However, they obediently return to the locomotive at the front. I'll check on them later.

I grab a few branches and make four wooden spears by sharpening them on one end. I also get a thicker branch that looks like some of their clubs but can also represent a sword.

With that, I go to check on them and see that they are indeed repeating the same thing I showed them.

I stop them and take the lead again. This time, I stop in the middle of the first wagon and gesture for them to focus on the wooden club I'm holding.

I swing the club in a wide berth and as expected, it isn't impossible to attack like this but it would put me at a disadvantage in a fight.

Then, I switch to the spear and show them a few thrusts. Since the wagons are built in order to be traversable, there's always a straight path forward. Any opposition can be directly attacking with the spear. Better yet, they can hardly evade and unless they have a similar range of attack, the spear's advantage in reach will leave them on the defensive.

I hand the orc closest to me a wooden spear and motion for him to try. He gives it a few thrusts and seems to grow excited at the prospect of being able to attack so freely despite the lack of space. The other orcs also getting excited, seeing one of their own use the spear just as well.

I leave the spears I made with them and set out to make more while they keep practicing. This is going smoother than I expected but I'm not really asking much of them yet.

After the spears are done, I usher them out of the train and have them fight one another using the spears. Some will get hurt but monsters improve the most when in actual battle.

While the orcs keep repeating a few thrusts at different angles, I go check on the other group. The orc shaman has been putting my request into practice in a unexpected way.

I had asked him to make them climb trees and stay hidden for up to five minutes before jumping down. He actually divided that task! He split his group once again and seems to have one group hide in the tree tops for five minutes while the other group's orcs madly climb trees and throw themselves off again.

Every five minutes they switch.

I say five minutes but neither of us is watching the time. Still, the task has been accomplished and with that I order the groups to switch. While they are switching, I have my original group show the new group how they solved the getting stuck in the chimney. This saves a lot of time and I quickly get the second group up to speed and equipped with spears.

We switch the groups around a few more times and by the time we are finished, even the orcs seem a bit tired.