A telepath in Borrowton reported that the 'train' had arrived and had picked up wounded soldiers and prisoners going to Brandon's Rest. Wicket from Braavos chimed in after that, they had hired 1000 more fighters to come over to Westeros to help. That they would be arriving in a few days and would need transportation to any front, as she finished sending the message, a very loud mental voice said, "Wicket! Is that you?" "Sam?" came Wicket's response, "Where are you?" An agitated Sam responded, "Chained in a ship cabin. The door is open, and green fire is everywhere. Save me, Wicket!" Wicket heard the response that she must be in the Bay of Ice in the wildfire zone. Wicket sent, "Arya, please rescue my childhood friend held captive in wildfire!" Arya said, "On it." She sent out a strange little metal boat they had made earlier in the year, with three brave souls aboard. One was a telepath brave enough to help them locate Sam.
The small metal boat survived the wildfire and began searching for Sam's ship. In the middle of the 7-8 ships burning in the wildfire, the telepath pointed to one. The two soldiers clambered aboard the vessel and found the girl in an open cabin. They slashed her chains and quickly descended to their small craft. They had also managed to free 4 tree-kin wind users. Their sail was badly singed and threatened to burst into flame, but they made it to the wharf intact.
Samantha and the 4 tree-kin were treated for malnutrition and some burns they received escaping. They were all ushered into the intel building and debriefed. Samantha said, "It is not safe here. The Zonian general made me describe the bay and the city, and all its defenses in detail. He still has almost 400 ships, and they will be focused on this place soon."
Till's trip across the barrow lands west was easy enough, but when they turned north, and the land began to rise, it became difficult. The load they were carrying began to strain the train's' ability to hold speed on inclines. They had to burn more water to maintain a speed that would get their wounded to healing facilities in Brandon's Rest. At a troop bivouac a ways up the coast, they had to stop for water, and since there was a decent field hospital here, the lightly wounded soldiers got off, which lightened the load somewhat. When they got to Fort #3, there were two cars of prisoners and more wounded waiting for them. The 'train' took on more water, and the two new cars were attached. It was a struggle, but they got moving again. Slowly, they crept upwards towards Brandon's Rest. The engine was getting less efficient as they went, and Till began to wonder if it would hold together all the way there. But it did. 6 hours from Fort #3, they pulled into the roundhouse at Brandon's Rest. There was still fighting going on; guns could be heard firing, and the clash of steel on steel rang out. But the wounded and the prisoners were unloaded, and a small group gathered to look at Till's engine.
Thomas and Gendry were there along with many stone-kin forge masters. They began discussing the engine and the issues it was having. The fire was put out in the fire box, and as the engine cooled, they all went over the design, piece by piece. The stone-kin were amazed by the design, and they kept slapping Till on the back at each piece they looked at. He started flinching as they went over new parts. One wanted him to make it move slightly when it was unhooked from all the cars; there was still some steam pressure in the boiler. But the engine gave up the ghost, one of its cylinders locked up, and she would move no more.
Later, in a small office at the roundhouse, Till sketched out a full schematic of the engine parts. It was decided that they would all take part in rebuilding the engine, and each began offering changes that might make it more functional. Gendry offered a new thing they had developed, roller bearings instead of simple races for the crankshaft. It would allow the engine to heat up and cool down without seizing and would require less maintenance in the long run. It would require grease, though. One stone-kin stated that these changes would increase the engine's weight and might cause trouble, as the tracks had been laid with lighter vehicles in mind. Thomas said that the engine needed two more drive wheels to allow it more pull on inclines. They all agreed. One suggested a sandbox and feed pipes to allow automatic sanding of the rails when they were wet or on an incline. In the end, the men started breaking down the entire engine car to start their rebuild. Several sketches were made and discarded before a final design met all their conditions and requirements. Till was amazed at the ingenuity these fellows possessed. All this took place in a few hours while pitched fighting was going on quite near to them. They were oblivious to it, so engrossed in the mechanics and novelty of what they were attempting to build.
The fighting was fierce, too, on three fronts now.