RQG 209 - Shades of Red

## Content Warnings

Underground tunnels & claustrophobia. Discussions of: death & murder (inc. character deaths), classism. Mentions of: memory loss, loss of consciousness, poison & drugging, blades, human remains, bombs, innuendo. SFX: bubbling & tinkling, clanking, crashing, humming, occasional beeping

## Summary

Join Alex, Helen, Bryn, Lydia, and Ben as they set out on their final mission.
This week Azu destroys the doorbell, Cel double-checks, Zolf has some insights, and Hamid recalls past explorations.

## Synopsis

As Ada has a conversation with Babbage, the rest of the party reconvene. Hamid asks if they should search for Einstein, but Zolf claims that it’s a waste of time. Azu agrees, saying that splitting up would not be a good idea. Zolf insists that their mission is the most important goal, other issues like finding Einstein and figuring out what happened to Barrett must take a back seat. Hamid’s memory is hazy because of the poisonous gas, Azu summarises the fight for him. She knows for sure that whatever attacked them also killed Tesla.

The party hears a ringing noise, Cel tells Ada, asking if there’s a doorbell somewhere. Zolf and Azu find a series of bells in the corner of the lab, they are labelled ‘main door’, ‘internal pull’ and ‘alarm.’ It appears that the main door is ringing. Zolf asks Ada if they should answer and she looks confused. She opens a hatch and answers it, but there’s no reply and the bell continues to ring. Ada rapidly hangs up. Zolf tells her that it’s very likely their location has been compromised and there’s an intruder at the door; the bell begins ringing wildly and Azu rips it off the wall, stamping on it. Zolf advises that they should leave as quickly as possible.

Ada gets to work, connecting the last elements as Cel fixes the fault they found in the machine. Zolf asks Ada if the base needs to stay safe for their plan to work, she tells him that she will need to stay behind and operate parts of the machine, but there are powerful protections in place to ensure her safety. Zolf begins guiding everyone to the passageway that Hamid discovered. Skraak mentions that he saw a gate further down, and wonders if it’s a good idea to lock it behind them.  Zolf says that he will take extra precaution by blocking up the passage with stone once they go through.

Ada assures everyone that there is a communication system set up through Babbage, so they will be able to contact her if anything goes wrong. Azu begins investigating the entrance to the passage, she sees unfamiliar mechanisms and sealants at the entrance. Further on, the tunnel is made of heavily worked stone that slopes downwards, she will have to stoop slightly as the tunnel was clearly made with average-sized humans in mind.

Ada tells the party that she will not need any more reinforcements. Zolf notices that Wilde seems distracted by the dead bodies, but he manages to cast an illusion over the lab as an extra safety measure. Zolf volunteers to carry the Babbagge array and everyone proceeds down the tunnel.

Further down, they come across the gate that Skraak mentioned. Zolf deduces that it is made of adamantine. He finds a small panel at the top and Skraak pulls it open, finding a strip of parchment saying “apologies for the deception, it was necessary- Nikola.” Everyone realises that Tesla was aware of the secret entrance in the lab. Skraak unlocks the door and Zolf stands back, encasing the gate in stone behind them. Azu is significantly more uncomfortable in the enclosed space. Hamid notices, squeezing her hand before dropping back into their marching order.

*(Editors note: the players establish that party members without darkvision- Hamid, Cel and other npcs- have acquired night-vision goggles that show things in shades of red. Cel has altered theirs to look more spooky.)*

Further on, the tunnels twist oddly and level out into passageways with crudely worked stone and carved buttresses. They appear to have been left undisturbed for a very long time, perhaps even since mediaeval times, judging by the architecture. The party deduce that Tesla may have known about them because of his work, he must have carried out underground surveys for the lightning rail. Azu knows that the tunnels were laid early on in the foundations of London to allow wealthy people to get around the city secretly; the tunnels will likely get denser the closer they are to Westminster.

*(Editor’s note: here Bryn argues that Hamid, having attended Westminster School, would know about the tunnel system. Alex agrees, saying that the tunnels definitely look familiar to him. Lydia also gives an anecdote about their father working with the TFL and having to submit plans to the MI5 for building permission)*

As the tunnel levels out, Zolf is sure that they’re heading in the right direction. It then splits off into a y-junction. There is a pun in ancient Greek chipped into the stone, it is poorly structured and doesn’t translate well, but implies that they should take the tunnel on the right. As they head on, Hamid falls slightly behind and hears a faint howling from the passageway behind them.

## Quotes

**Alex**: "I quite like the idea that he (Hamid) does full-blown travel missives even though they’re only five people away. 'Dearest Azu, I find myself at the back of the group, I'm considering my life as I do so.'"
**Helen**: "Hamid and Azu in a magical WhatsApp group chat!"
**Alex**: "'Dearest Azu, did you see that left turn! I haven’t seen anything like that in at least ten minutes!'"
―Hamid and Azu communicate telepathically
**Alex**: "The tunnel has almost a kink to it, it’s not very well made"
**Lydia**: "don’t kinkshame the tunnel!"
―the tunnel is kinky
## Dice rolls & mechanics

* Sense motive on Ada: Zolf (28), Azu (17), Hamid (21), Cel (18)
* Perception check to investigate the tunnel entrance: Azu (24)
* Sense motive on Wilde: Zolf (20)
* Perception check for the tunnels: Zolf (31), Hamid (18), Skraak (21), Azu (15), Cel (nat 1)
* Knowledge nobility: Azu (nat 20)
* Knowledge engineering: Skraak (24)
* Knowledge history: Zolf (17)
* Knowledge engineering: Cel (19)
* Survival check to sense the right direction: Cel (nat 1), Zolf (18), Hamid (11), Skraak (15), Azu (2)
* Perception check to hear noise: Cel (21), Zolf (20), Azu (25), Skraak (23), Hamid (36)