Orien Offers Bounty on Lightning Rail Raiders

VULYAR, KARNNATH — House Orien has announced a bounty of 5,000 gold coins on a gang that has been sabotaging lightning rail service between the Karnnathi cities of Vulyar and Irontown. The gang, known by the “Three Fingers” moniker, has robbed the lightning rail three times in the last six months, eluding House Orien guards each time.

Three weeks ago, House Orien blamed the Three Fingers gang for the temporary suspension of rail traffic between Vulyar and Irontown. The shutdown lasted for three days, then additional delays extended it for two days beyond that.

Citing security concerns, the leaders of House Orien refused to discuss the exact reason for the shutdown. But a villager in Yellow Pass, a hamlet near the rail route, stated that a lightning rail carrying ingots from the Mror Holds derailed after dozens of conductor stones were removed from its path. “The officials grabbed every horse and every able-bodied worker in Yellow Pass to help with the cleanup,” said the villager, who asked that his name not be used. “Several rail cars were tipped over, and some of them were still on fire, but no ingots remained as far as I could tell.”

The villager refused to speculate on how the ingots might have been removed. “If it took dozens of horses and a second lightning rail to haul off the wreck,” he said, “I don’t know how the Three Fingers could have gotten items as heavy as ingots away from the wreckage.”

The bounty should substantially improve the chances of bringing the perpetrators to justice. If would-be bounty hunters don’t capture the gang, one of the national armies or dragonmarked houses still might. Karnnath has dispatched extra patrols, including the Company of the Skull, into the area to search for the raiders.

In addition, several dwarf clans within the Mror Holds are negotiating with Korth to provide pursuit parties. “That lightning rail line is our primary connection to the rest of Khorvaire, and we take threats against it as threats against the holds themselves,” said Baron Juri Deepspring of Mror.

Meanwhile, House Deneith has offered the services of its Sentinel Marshals to protect the rail line. House Orien officials have assured the public that the lightning rails running the Vulyar-Irontown route now have “unparalleled security.”