Somewhere, West Virginia, USA.

Edward Jameson walked through the rail yard with misty eyes. His family had owned and run the place since the Duvals first came and began exploiting the coal deposits. Now it looked like he would be the last to run the iron horses.

But maybe it was time, he thought. He was pushing seventy-two and never quite got the hang of managing the station. He stuck with his father's vision of keeping the old and, mostly, reliable Shays and not upgrading to something newer and more modern. Which may have both blessed and damned him. One one hand, it was more and more difficult to compete with other railroads as they invested in more advanced and modern trains. On the other, he was already in a debt pit because of his gamble with the tunnel to Virginia and investing would've just been more money that he couldn't afford to spend.

A blessing, albeit a damn small one. With the coal mine gone that just meant that dumping money into modernizing the trains would've been financial suicide for the railroad. Though it still looked like he would have to close up shop anyway. The local farmers and ranchers didn't produce enough even during bumper crops to afford the fuel it would require to haul it to Pittsburgh.

The old man sighed as he placed an old wrinkled hand against on one of the few Shays still in service and spoke in an old and tired voice.

"Looks like this is it, ain't it ol' girl?"

He looked around the train shed and through the doors at the rest of the rail yard. He doubt he could get much if he tried to sell it. Somewhere wasn't exactly in a prime location. It would've been if the tunnel paid off and he was able to get contracts hauling freight through the Appalachians to the Atlantic.

He sighed once more. He probably wouldn't even be able to sell the Shays either. Pretty much every railroad was using modern trains. He could maybe try to sell it as a tourist ride, but then he would have to outfit the trains with passenger cars. It was money he just didn't have anymore.

He just couldn't do it anymore even if he wanted to. He was too old and didn't have the money to keep it going. The mine is gone and so soon will the railroad with it.

He was brought out of his thoughts at the sound of the gate to the rail yard being opened. He hobbled towards whoever had shown up.

As he left the train shed he was faced with a few hundred people. A dozen or so at the head of the large group were dressed in fine garments while the others were more diverse in attire. A rather short and sturdy man with a thickly woven golden beard walked up to him while running a bejeweled hand through it. He spoke in a deep voice that seemed to vibrate the ground as he grew closer to Edward.

"Are you tha owner o' this rail yard?"

"I am. And uh, who might you be?"

The stout man continued to run his thick and wealth heavy hand through his golden beard as his gaze wondered from the frail and aging form of Edward and towards the depot. While he did that Edward turned his own gaze towards the large assembly of people. Some were like the man that just spoke. Short and stout with thick beards that almost dragged across the ground. Some were shorter still and if it wasn't for their demeanor he would think them children. They seemed to follow the heavily bearded folk around while carrying several bundles of rolled papers and bulging packs on their hips or backs.

Most of the people were average in height though greatly tanned and while some dressed finely many more wore simple and worn clothing. Edward was startled out of his observing as the short man spoke to him.

"Mah name is Ulrin! Son o' Alrin! Son o' Elrin! Head o' tha Olrin Bankin' Clan!"

Edward was taken aback by the overly formal way the man said his name. It kinda reminded him of his grandson up in Harrisburg whenever he would visit. He would dress in a similar manner as these people and speak in a similar way and tone. He would even have a fake beard!

But these folk seemed more professional than his young grandson. Their beards seemed real though. They also had better materials, he thought as he could see the shine and gleam of the jewels and the intricate engravings on the rings and bands.

"And I am Edward. Uhm, son of Edgar. Son of Martin. Owner of the Jameson Rail Yard."

It was weird to do this for grown men instead of a ten year old boy, he thought. But the man seemed satisfied by it regardless.

"What is tha purpose o' this rail yard?"

"Well, it's supposed to haul coal, and maybe a bit of bumper crop or excess livestock, up to Pittsburgh to sell. Supposed to, bein' the key word lately."

"Oh? Are you in financial trouble?" Another of the short men asked as he came up beside the other man. Like him, he also had a blond beard. Though his beard and hands weren't as heavy with wealth.

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"I am, though even if I weren't. The main export of the town, and pretty much the sole reason for the trains to run, was closed down not long ago. So even if I wasn't in financial straits I would still have no business."

The man, Ulrin, stroked his beard in thought as he looked around. He turned to Edward after a moment.

"Hmm, would you be averse ta showin' us yer operations?"

"I don't see why not." Edward said and led the short man, and a few other golden haired folk around the rail yard. The shorter folk followed after them while scribbling on pads of paper as they seemed to be copying down what they were saying as well as observations of the rail yard.

He gestured around the open area they were in.

"This is the main area of the rail yard. It's where the trains would be pulled out and wait to be loaded with freight by teamsters."

He led them towards the Shays as the short men remained mostly silent save for some hushed whispers in a harsh tongue that reminded Edward of stones rubbing together. Meanwhile, the scribbling of the shorter people was constant as they made their way through the rail yard and Edward spoke. They rarely spoke as well save for some occasional muttering.

That all stopped when they saw the Shays. The only sound was Ulrin as he continued to rub his beard in thought. Edward chuckled. It reminded him of when his grandson saw them for the first time. Mouths agape and eyes wide as they looked at the old iron horses.

The questions came at a hundred miles an hour and the scribbling resumed with a frenzied fervor. Edward couldn't keep up with it all. He was grateful and impressed when a rumble came from Ulrin and all the questions ceased.

"These are tha trains?"

"That's right. Durin' the heyday they would haul several tons of coal up to Pittsburgh, from there it would be shipped out to steel mills, coal plants and other factories in Pennsylvania."

The others looked ready to bombard him with more questions, but a simple gesture from Ulrin held their tongues as Edward led them to the main office building.

"This is where all the bookkeepin' and other tedious paperwork is, er was, handled."

The little folk seemed to sprint around the place as they moved and shuffled about as they pored over every document, paper, and map. The last was of more immediate interest to Ulrin. He walked over to a large map on the wall that depicted the US and all the railroads that crisscrossed the country.

"Is this how big yer company is?"

Edward chuckled.

"I wish! No. That's a map of all the railroads. Some are owned by a few large companies. I'm here in West Virginia."

Ulrin glanced at the place Edward had pointed to.

"Why is yer holdin' so small?"

"Well, my family's own financial situation for start. As well as the larger companies not wantin' to throw money at buildin' and maintainin' a line this far into the boonies just for a bit of extra coal."

"And you haven't thought o' expansion?" Ulrin asked as he looked over the map with a thoughtful expression.

"I have." Edward pointed his cane out the window to a collapsed tunnel at the back of the yard.

"I wanted to open a tunnel through the mountains and get some contracts to haul freight from the coast and south."

"What were tha issue?"

Edward groaned.

"Where to start? Tunnel kept collapsin' no matter how much we tried to support it. Legal issues about ownership of the mountain and where exactly we were allowed to tunnel through. Money dried up and I couldn't find any investors that could help cover the mountin' costs. When the tunnel last collapsed, I washed my hands of it."

Ulrin perked a bushy blond eyebrow at the mention of investment.

"So yer lookin' fer capital?"

But Edward shook his head.

"No. Not anymore. I've had enough. Even if I could find some new backers, it would take months if not years to get through the mountain. In the meantime I don't got any contracts to keep the place from bein' a money pit."

"Yer sellin'?"

"Yup. My son and his family has a place in Harrisburg and said that I could stay with them. I thought about it for some time now. But with the coal mine closed, I think I'll take him up on his offer. Been meanin' to see my grandkids more anyhow."

The dwarves huddled around Ulrin as he gazed up at the map of the many railroads. His sons spoke with him in the Dwarvish tongue so as not to tip off the human of the potential fortune he was wanting to sell!

"We could easily dig through tha mountain!"

"The potential alone o' bein' able ta haul so much cargo so far and so quickly would make us wealthier than ever!"

"We could make this whole place a center o' wealth! One part bankin', one part tradin'!"

"Did you see tha town? A bit o' capital is all it would take! Livestock! Lumber! I'll bet mah beard there is a hoard o' mineral wealth in these mountains waitin' ta be discovered!"

Ulrin didn't need to be convinced. Just from the description of the trains and how much they could haul was enough for him. The potential to be able to ship it across so much land and the wealth it would provide was a bonus he wouldn't say no to. But all wise investors needed to know the dangers. Edward already said something about rival competitors. But that wasn't anything new. He also mentioned legal issues. But he didn't say anything about brigands or bandits. Surely such wealth would attract thieves!?

"What about dangers?"

Edward looked back at Ulrin. Momentarily distracted as the dwarves talked amongst themselves and the gnomes were too busy to entertain his curiosity.

"Well, the rails have seen better days. But so have the trains."

"What about thieves?"

"What? Like bandits? Outlaws?" Edward chuckled a little. When he was little his grandpa would tell him stories of outlaws holding up train cars and Indian raids out west!

"There haven't been any train robberies in these parts for many years! Even if there was, they wouldn't be goin' after a train full of coal!"

Decaying or nonexistent infrastructure, bureaucracy, lack of development. Nothing Ulrin hasn't dealt with before.

"Then we will purchase yer rail yard!"

At that Ulrin marched out of the building, leaving a bewildered Edward to try and hurry after him. He was surprisingly quick, Edward thought. As they reached the rest of the assembly Edward noticed that the others were wandering about the place while they were away.

"While I appreciate your interest. How are you goin' to pay?"

Ulrin barked out a command in Dwarvish and several people brought forth heavy chests with secure locks on them. He pulled a keyring from somewhere in his beard and unlocked the heavy locks. It was Edward's turn to go wide eye and mouth open.

Jewels and coins glittered and sparkled as Edward beheld more physical wealth than he could imagine. The traders and merchants of Daele were quite insistent in keeping their wealth from the greenskin invaders. The dwarven bankers even more so. While they weren't able to withdraw all of their wealth from the bank vaults, they were able to secure enough that would now allow them to properly invest in the town. Starting with the rail yard.

"Will this be enough?"

"Y-y-yeah! That'll do nicely!" Edward said as he picked his jaw up.

"Excellent! You'll stay on as a consultant fer tha near future until we are better able ta operate tha trains!"

"As much as I would like to. I think someone else would be in a better condition to help you folks out. I'll give you his number after we settle up."

So that's what Edward did. He gave the dwarves Clive's number, as well as taught them how to work the phone in the office, and Edward and a couple of Ulrin's sons would head into town to officiate the purchase and transfer of ownership while he stayed behind and began work.

Already the gnome clerks were busy organizing, cataloguing paperwork, and itemizing everything while everyone else got to work setting up makeshift shelter until proper company quarters got built.

Ulrin looked at the rail yard and the mountain that loomed behind it. One arm rested behind his back while the other continued to stroke his golden beard. He could already see the wealth that would flow forth from this new center of commerce. The greenskin invasion of Daele was a setback. But now he and his clan had a new world to exploit and new wealth to earn! This land was ripe for the taking and he planned to take it for everything it was worth!