Strange dreams on the Nightfall Express

From his seat in a comfy armchair near the back of the pub, Tracker listens intently to the tall tales being shared by ~teacup and ~ew. Quite unbelievable they seemed...and yet, this wasn't the first time he had heard strange stories about the Nightfall Express. Maybe there was more to all this after all.

Making a mental note to take a train ride soon before the weather gets too cold, Tracker stood up from his chair and stretched, letting out a yawn.

Hi, folks. I quite liked your stories about the Nightfall Express. If you're still up for talking, I'd be glad to hear more of your adventures on the train and around Nightfall City. I've been away from the pub for awhile, but I just had this feeling like I should stop in today for a bit. I'm glad I did. But first, I'm parched.

~bartender, could I get an iced mint tea with a bit of simple syrup? That'd be just the thing to slake my thirst right now.

Oh. And has anyone seen Smudge? I could have sworn he was curled up by my feet earlier before I dozed off, but now he's up and disappeared. I hope he didn't get any wild ideas from your train stories and head off to the station himself!

Tracker chuckled at his own joke as he walked up to the bar, stretching against the countertop after his recent nap. Within moments, his drink was placed before him and we was sipping away contentedly. Yes, he was glad he had stopped in at the pub today after all.

Howdy!

~bartender? Hot chocolate with spices? That would be nice.

It has cooled off at last and rain seems to be coming. Not bad for a dried up land.

Me turns to the almost abandoned jukebox. Someone has dusted it off on added a menu to get to yt. How nice. Let's see, there is a strange tramway at least in this video

See?

Nightfall Express, you say? Yupp. That is a rather strange train to be on. I fell asleep one day and woke up faaaaar away on a Station that is not even on the train schedule. There was a sign:

[ Welcome to "El Alto" --- 4097 m above sealevel ]

Welcome traveller!

Whatever brought you this far, we kindly suggest that you take a deep breath of fresh air, let your eyes wander around, marvel at the sky of deep blue during the day, or the spectacular sight of the night sky. Take your time, oxygen is a bit sparse. Be sure to overlook the gorge of Rio Frio and its strange sibling Rio Caliente. Notice the scent, and the sounds of insekts and birds, the sound of the wind ruffling the grassland.

The station itself is abandoned. There is still a train coming here approximately twice between consecutive full moons, however, exact times are not known. Neither do we know, which nex line operates up to here, nor do we know, which stations are served along the way to Nightfall City. We do know, that the train passes through a long tunnel, and the ride takes about 4 hours. It is rumored that somewhere in the tunnel the train passes through a rift in the delicate fabric of space and time. Only the ancient would know, but they refuse to talk.

A few years back a small group of aspiring scientists set out to measure the length of the journey in time and space, the approximate length of said tunnel and the difference in elevation. They brought with them smart devices to help them in their endevour. However, their devices turned out to be not as smart as they wished for. Their quest failed. They returned with empty hands. And they lost Pablo Vincente somehow along the way back. He was never seen again.

You might consider to turn around now, while the train is still waiting.

Isn't that utterly strange? Needless to say, I hopped back in before getting into trouble and took the long ride home. And after that it sort of vanished into a dream. But now, that you mention it ...