Chapter 14

Carl and his team test the rail system's electrification and prepare to derail a train using improvised Jelly Bombs (landmine-style explosives). Meanwhile, Katia demonstrates her new shapeshifting ability and Donut attempts to ride Mongo the dinosaur with mixed results.

The chapter opens with Katia returning to base, having used her upgrade coupons to enhance her Makeup Table to level three, allowing her to better match appearances for her 'Walk in Their Shoes' ability. She has achieved a 65% match to Hekla's appearance, which impresses the group. Donut arrives with assassin armor and a skull icon above her head, having killed a crawler during a previous incident. Carl spends his training hour improving his Bare Knuckle skill to level nine and his Powerful Strike ability. Donut practices Dodge and levels it to seven. While working at the sapper table, Carl experiments with deconstruction and bomb modification. Donut attempts to ride Mongo but the dinosaur bucks her repeatedly onto Mordecai's alchemy table, scattering supplies. The group then travels to a platform on the ochre line with Imani and Bautista to test and prepare for a train derailment. Carl confirms the third rail is electrified by throwing wired hob-lobber fuses onto the tracks. He uses Donut's Clockwork Triplicate spell to test with robot dinosaurs, which are destroyed on contact with the third rail and by an incoming train. Carl spray-paints an X on a passing train as a warning signal to Meadow Lark and Bautista's crew. He then carefully places two custom-built Jelly Bombs (spike-covered contact mines filled with hob-lobbers and dynamite) on the track at measured intervals to derail the incoming train. The group retreats to a safe position as the train approaches. An unidentified ram-headed cleric watches them from Club Vanquisher before retreating inside. Elle contacts Carl via message, mentioning they encountered three neighborhood bosses and discovered a borough boss named Krakaren, whom Imani claims is an old acquaintance of Carl's.