RQG 82 - Hostile Work Environment

## Content Warnings

Unreality, Graphic sound effects (injury)

## Summary

The party continue their intrepid journey across the study floor. Sasha and Grizzop play I-Spy, Hamid takes a tumble, and the group face their tallest challenge yet.

## Synopsis

As they walk, Grizzop and Sasha start playing I-Spy to pass the time. They’ve been making their way toward the desk for roughly a day and a half, and Hamid notices some movement on top of the office desk. He casts *dancing Lights*, and waves them around to indicate where they are - the movement stops, and then whatever it is backs away from the edge of the desk. Climbing the leg of the table is going to take a long time, so they start wondering how they’re going to be able to do it - in perspective, the table leg is about seven miles high.

Time accelerates a bit - Sasha correctly guesses ‘lamp’ for I-Spy and Grizzop cheers. It takes them the rest of the day to get to the base of the table leg. They decide to set up camp at the base and get started climbing the next morning.

When the next morning comes along, they realize it’s going to be about a day’s climb, if not longer. If they can make it up about 50 or 100 feet, the leg of the desk has a spiral, making it a spiral staircase for the rest of the way. Sasha tosses some rope around her shoulder and starts to climb, saying that she’ll toss it down to Grizzop and Hamid when she’s up there. As she goes up, she hammers pitons into the wood so that they won’t be plummeting to their death if they do fall.

Sasha makes great progress, and tosses the rope down to the rest of them. Hamid and Grizzop climb up after her. Grizzop and Sasha are still playing I-Spy as they climb up the now-spiral staircase of the desk leg. It takes them a full day to climb up this part of the table leg. As they start nearing the top, something strange happens - they start getting way more tired than they should be. They think it might be altitude sickness, but the air isn’t getting any thinner. Hamid and Grizzop eventually realize that gravity is getting stronger the higher up they get. It’s been incredibly gradual, but they start to realize it eventually. They are able to make it to the top of the leg, but once they get there, they all feel heavier than they should. Each of them are completely spent, and so they decide to stop there for a rest before scaling the next overhang.

The next day, they still feel heavier than they should. Sasha wakes up and loses another hit point as her wounds open a bit. They’re all still tired, but not exhausted like they have been for the past couple of days. Sasha grabs the grappling hook to toss it up; the weight feels all wrong, regardless of how many times Sasha has done it before - she takes extra time to get used to the different momentum, and then throws it up, and it latches above the overhang. They attach a safety rope on the bottom to catch themselves just in case. She makes it up over the overhang, turns around, and slips, falling off the edge. The safety line is still there, so she won’t fall to the ground; Grizzop and Hamid both reach out to grab the safety line, Hamid’s hands turning into claws as they do so.

Sasha is caught, but still takes 12 damage. She falls at a slight angle, slamming into the side of the wooden leg. For Grizzop and Hamid, she feels incredibly heavy, but they’re able to pull her back up. Grizzop reaches out to heal her but immediately pulls back, remembering that positive energy would hurt her. They don’t have any potions with negative energy, so they won’t be able to heal Sasha.

Sasha tries to climb again - she’s able to make it to the top, and doesn’t injure herself. She’s atop the desk, and feels even heavier up here. Just moving is difficult. At the far end of the desk is a lamp, with some paperwork and a paperweight on the desk, including the snowglobe they saw earlier. She doesn’t notice anything that would have caused the movement Hamid noticed earlier.

Hamid is the next one up the rope. They get a harness together so that falling won’t be as detrimental. However, about halfway up the rope, Hamid has to stop - he’s getting even heavier, and he physically can’t complete it. He bails and controls his fall to get back down with Grizzop. Grizzop lays on hands, which removes fatigue, and Hamid tries again. Again, he isn’t able to make it.

Grizzop decides to go up next so that he and Sasha can pull Hamid up on the next go. It’s easy enough for him, and he joins Sasha up on the top of the desk. He also feels heavy.

It’s Hamid’s turn again; he starts climbing, gets halfway, and knows he isn’t going to be able to do it again. Just by fluke, Grizzop clips the grappling hook, and it disconnects, dealing 8 damage from the grappling hook. Sasha tries to grab it but misses, taking 8 damage as well. Hamid releases, thinking his friends have him, and Hamid falls hard, taking 20 damage as he hits. He’s hanging over the edge by the safety line, and Sasha and Grizzop don’t have a way to grab him. Hamid crawls back onto the ledge, fatigued. Grizzop and Sasha say that they’ll figure out a way to help.

They then notice someone else is on the desk with them, standing near a ledger and watching them. The individual has a big coat and a hat. Grizzop takes the dagger that Sasha gave him and sticks it into the wood, wrapping a rope around it and the other end around an arrow. He tells Sasha to grab his legs, and fires an arrow near Hamid. The rope catches on the arrow and it explodes into splinters.

Sasha begins to feel a slight tremor on the desk. She thinks someone normal sized might be coming, and mentions it to Grizzop - he starts to feel it too, and he and Sasha back away from the edge of the desk as Hamid crawls up the steps. The steps begin to move and rotate, acting like an escalator, and Hamid is pulled up to the top of the desk and the tremor ends. Past Sasha and Grizzop, Hamid can see a figure walking toward them. They seem very coordinated for how heavy the gravity is. They’re wearing a very nice big coat with a chest plate, leather trousers, and a head scarf. As they approach, the figure stands before all of them, asking how they are and if they have any injuries. They say yes, and then Grizzop lays on hands, healing Hamid for 4 hit points, and he is no longer fatigued.

The figure gestures for them to follow - and introduces himself as Isaac Newton. All of them are shocked, and ask if he trapped himself in his office on accident or on purpose. He doesn’t answer, but starts heading toward the snowglobe. Grizzop runs back, and grabs the dagger out of the desk. Newton doesn’t converse with them as they walk, but Hamid starts to geek out a bit, saying that he’s read a lot of his writings and that Newton is one of the most powerful wizards in the world. Grizzop asks if Newton is aging, and he says that they age out there, but not once they get into the globe. Grizzop starts running toward the globe, and Newton follows behind. It takes them a few hours to get to the globe, and one they get there, Newton walks through the glass without saying anything. Hamid shrugs and turns around, walking through the globe, and the other two follow as all of them step into the glass.

## Quotes

**Alex**: "So, you all sleep, and you all awake the next "day"."
**Ben**: "Yup, I'm gonna be checking my spells."
**Alex**: "Like a good Paladin."
**Ben**: "*Ugh, prepared spellcasters*."
**Alex**: "You keep picking them, and then complaining."
**Ben**: "That's because there's, like, a lot of classes with them. Other people are playing the classes that aren't prepared spellcasters."
**Alex**: "That's on you, I'm just saying."
**Ben**: "*I just want to have party diversity, Alex. I suffer for the game*."
**Alex**: "No, *I* suffer for the game."
**Ben**: "Screw you."
―Episode introduction.

**Sasha**: "Look, I’m livingly challenged right now."
**Hamid**: "Wait, do normal potions work?"
**Grizzop**: "No, no, it’s positive. You need a potion of inflicting wounds and that will heal her."
**Hamid**: "I didn’t…I didn’t get any of them."
**Grizzop**: "Noooo…me neither…sorry."
**Hamid**: "We can get that next time though! We’ll definitely get some."
**Grizzop**: "I’ve usually got it sorted…so. No, I’m really sorry, I’m just used to being able to…you know."
**Alex**: "Yeah, you’re right, it’s Sasha’s fault."
**Grizzop**: "Shut up, sky ghost! You’re not helping!"
―Sasha is unable to be healed by potions of cure wounds.

**Alex**: "You sure that's the dice you wanna use, Bryn? Has it served you well in the past? Has it served you *too* well? Has it run out of 20s?"
**Ben**: "Come on ... he has *five* d20s here."
―Alex and Ben tease Bryn.

"Ah, I thought that was a 1. Oh, I was gonna bully you."
―**Alex**

"Your adventure continues with no escape ever!"
―**Lydia**

"You do it super easy and you're like, "Hamid, what did you mean?""
―**Lydia**

**Bryn**: "I rolled an 11. That's—"
**Ben**: "TWO NATURAL 1S!"
**Bryn**: "That's not two 1s!"
**Ben**: "*How many 1s are on the dice?!*"
―Ben fixates on a nat 1.

**Alex**: "Hamid, your strength gives out, and you release, knowing that your friends have you."
**Bryn**: "Oh god!"
**Ben**: "No! You’re a monster."
**Alex**: "They don’t have you. You fall hard."
―Hamid is unable to climb up the rope leading to the next level of Newton's desk.

**Grizzop**: "Hamid! Hamid!"
**Sasha**: "Is he alive?"
**Grizzop**: "Hamid!"
**Hamid**: "Owwwwwww."
**Sasha**: "He’s alive."
―Hamid falls and crashes into the leg of the desk.

**Ben**: "So, that is a ... 13."
**Alex**: "You have angered your God—"
**Ben**: "No, no, no, what?! Now, hang on a minute!"
**Alex**: "You fire your arrow, the rope catches—"
**Ben**: "Wait, no, look, I've got history with this, have I actually?"
**Alex**: "What? Fired the arrow?"
**Ben**: "Angered Artemis."
**Alex**: "No, no, you've angered me."
**Ben**: "You're me, you're my games master—"
**Alex**: "Eh, close enough."
―Grizzop shoots an arrow with a rope toward Hamid, to help him get up to the next level.

**Alex**: "The figure approaches and then stands before of all of you."
**Lydia**: "My name's Max, and i'm mad!"
―Isaac Newton appears to greet the party.

**Newton**: "How are you all? All right? Any injuries?"
**Hamid**: "Yeah."
**Grizzop**: "Yes."
**Sasha**: "Yeah, quite a lot actually."
―Isaac Newton appears to greet the party.

"Alex is doing an excellent walking mime, while sitting in his chair, on this audio format. Just so the listeners know."
―**Bryn**
## Dice rolls and Mechanics

Everyone makes a perception check: Hamid gets 22, Sasha gets 21, Grizzop gets 18.

Everyone makes a perception check: Hamid gets 15, Sasha gets 13, Grizzop gets 15.

Sasha makes a number of climb checks to get up the table: 21, 19, 11, 23, 11.

Hamid and Grizzop take 10 to climb up the table leg.

Everyone runs a wisdom check: Grizzop gets 17, Hamid gets 19, Sasha gets 9.

Everyone makes a fort save: Hamid gets 12, Grizzop gets 21, Sasha gets 8.

Sasha makes two will saves upon waking up: 5, 6.

Sasha rolls attack on throwing the rope: nat 20.

Sasha makes a climb check: nat 1.

Sasha makes a reflex save as she falls: 21.

Grizzop and Hamid take 10 as they pull Sasha up.

Sasha makes a climb check: 22.

Hamid makes a climb check: 8.

Hamid makes another climb check with Grizzop assisting: Grizzop gets an 11, Hamid gets a 6.

Grizzop rolls a climb check: nat 20.

Hamid rolls another climb check, with Grizzop and Sasha assisting: Hamid rolls a 12, and both Grizzop and Sasha roll natural 1s.

Sasha makes a reflex save to grab the grappling hook: 14.

Hamid takes 10 to crawl onto the ledge.

Sasha and Grizzop make perception checks: Sasha gets 21, Grizzop gets 25.

Grizzop rolls an attack to shoot the arrow near Hamid: 13.

Everyone rolls a perception check: Sasha gets a nat 20, Grizzop gets an 11, Hamid gets a 14.

Hamid gives a perception check: 24.