>>5968635Guided by a hunch that secrets lay buried within the bowels of the train, Clay made his way to an old office car nestled near the rear, its presence almost an afterthought among the string of passenger and freight cars. The door creaked ominously on its hinges as he pushed it open, revealing a room that spoke of long neglect. Dust motes danced in the slivers of light piercing through the grimy windows, settling on every surface like a shroud. It was clear this space had been forgotten by all but time itself.
Inside, amidst the disarray, were remnants of what once might have been the administrative heart of the train. Desks lay overturned, drawers agape and spilling their contents into the surrounding decay. Clay sifted through the detritus, his fingers grazing over faded invoices, crumpled receipts, and letters that bore the mundane transactions of a bygone era. The papers, though numerous, whispered tales of trivialities - schedules, supply orders, complaints. Nothing held the answers Clay sought; it was akin to rifling through a stranger's mail, each piece as disappointingly irrelevant as the last.
The air in the room felt thick with the dust of irrelevance, each document a testament to the mundane realities that persisted even in this place of mysteries. Frustration knitted Clay's brow as he realized the futility of his search. The promise of discovery had led him here, but the chaos offered no revelations, only the echo of administrative ghosts.
New Options on How to Proceed:
1. Confront the conductor
2. Rally the Passengers
3. Make a point to get off at the next stop no matter what
4. Talk to Aiyana and ask what she's found, who he met in his previous adventure ("The Cost of a Song", issue #6 of IDDQD Magazine)
5. Make up your own.