RQG 115 - Rome is Where the Heart Is

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## Rome is Where the Heart Is

### Players

Helen Gould as Azu
Ben Meredith as Grizzop
Bryn Monroe as Hamid
Lydia Nicholas as Sasha

## Content Warnings

Kidnapping (adults & child), hair pulling, graphic description of injury, very hostile elements

## Summary

Grizzop angry-cries some more, Azu attempts to keep calm and Sasha is disappointed in everyone.

## Synopsis

Azu is still shouting Grizzop’s name, but he doesn’t respond. She runs down the corridor and finds him in the middle of the factory; his bow is illuminated with a holy light and he’s firing flaming arrows into every corner of the factory he can, doing some serious damage. He looks incredibly angry and is openly crying. He doesn’t let Azu speak before he tells her that he knows what’s happening but that he isn’t going to stop destroying the factory. He says that they need to finish it, and Azu runs down the stairs. Hamid appears at the top of the stairs and starts casting *acid splash* on everything he can find; his expression matches Grizzop’s. They continue smashing everything; Sasha stays in the control room and starts stabbing everything through to sever the wires.

   Azu says that they need to go to save their families, but Grizzop disagrees, saying that they need to stay here and work on it. Sasha finishes up and comes out of the office, showing Grizzop that the entire place is destroyed; they just need to flood it. Suddenly, someone appears in the middle of the factory floor, and Grizzop turns and shoots, hitting Einstein. Einstein cries out, dropping to the ground, and Grizzop uses lay on hands on him. Einstein disappears, and Azu and Sasha yells at Grizzop. They hear Einstein’s voice coming from the mobile stone and Azu picks it up; he tells them to get out because they’re being attacked, and Azu and Hamid explain that it was an accident, and tell him to come back.

Around them, the entire factory has stopped moving, completely still. Grizzop goes over to the pipes, and Azu says that they’ve done their job. Grizzop, still crying, says that they need to flood the factory and get the river back and save Damascus. Sasha asks what was down the conveyor belt, and Grizzop says that it’s already blocked.

Azu hears the voice again, and this time they tell her that if the party floods the factory, they’ll kill one of the hostages. She relays this message to the rest of them. Hamid yells that they’re going to kill the hostages anyway, and tells Sasha to flood it. Azu thinks that they should get there in time to stop it, but Grizzop also wants to flood the factory. She says that the factory is already broken, but Grizzop doesn’t budge. He says that Azu can go, but that they still have a job to do. Hamid says that they’ll leave after flooding it, but Azu clearly wants to leave and get the hostages now. Grizzop asks if she’s a paladin, and reminds her that it’s her job to help others despite her personal issues. He says that it’s bigger than all of them, and that he cares about the person they kidnapped, but that they can’t just run off when they have a more important job to do. Sasha steps in, saying that they can tell Wilde and that he can finish this out for them. The voice reappears, and Sasha and Hamid can both hear them now as they say that they’ll start with Emeka. Hamid tries to keep Azu calm, telling her that they can’t simply give in to these people’s demands. Azu says that she doesn’t have that many people, and Grizzop apologises, saying that they have to finish this. She agrees to flood it, but Sasha says that her vote is to go and save them, since they can leave someone else to flood the factory. Grizzop refuses to leave, and Azu hears the voice in her ear again, saying that they can pass along a short message to the hostages. She warns the party that the hostages are going to be killed, and Grizzop tells them to leave, but he won’t be going with them. Azu is clearly distressed, and tells Emeka goodbye, and that she loves him, before asking if anyone else wants a goodbye message. Grizzop tells Sasha to give him a bomb and get Einstein and go; Sasha doesn’t want to leave Grizzop behind, telling him again that they have people who can help them flood the factory. Hamid reminds her that Wilde is out of resources, and Grizzop says that this is the oath he swore - he tells Sasha again to give him a bomb and to go, because this is bigger than them. Sasha tells him that just because she’s calm, it doesn’t mean she doesn’t care. Azu tries to contact Einstein, and he says he needs a few seconds. Hamid goes over to the pipe to start destroying it; Grizzop helps. They start pulling out the bolts, but don’t speak.

Einstein appears with a bandage on his shoulder, and Azu recognises the handiwork. He asks about the simulacrum, and Sasha explains until Grizzop reminds them that they’re on a bit of a tight schedule. Einstein explains that he’s never done this before, and Sasha explains that he needs to transport into the town to tell them that their river’s been nicked. Grizzop tells them that he’s going to stay behind and do all this, and Sasha and Azu try to convince him to come with them. Einstein realises that more than just Emeka and Ishaq have been taken, and Hamid, Azu, and Sasha all decide to go, with Einstein bringing them as close as he can. He explains that Rome is weird, with monsters and strange magic that they can’t predict.

Grizzop stops working for a moment and comes back over, healing Azu, and then goes back to his work. Sasha says that teleporting 100 miles away from Rome won’t help, but no one really has any other ideas. Einstein says that he’s going to be able to bring them there and back, but he’s going to have to stay with them. Azu thanks him for everything. Azu and Hamid are going without any reservations; Sasha thinks they’re all mad for losing their heads just because someone’s been kidnapped, but she’s still going (even if she’s convinced they’re just all going to end up on a mountain somewhere). Grizzop is not going. They all hold hands, and Hamid calls good luck to Grizzop as they teleport off. Grizzop turns around as they leave, still crying, and repeats it.

The group that has teleported to Rome appear in the remains of a city; there are no buildings standing anywhere, and a few mountains on either side of the city. The sun looks strange - it’s very big and very red; there are dust devils flying around, and an acrid smell in the air. Sasha sees in the distance, something flying around in the distance. She immediately pulls everyone into the shadows of a wall to get out of sight. Hamid can tell that something is wrong with magic here, but can’t tell what it is. Einstein is almost amazed to be here, and Sasha reaches out and covers his mouth, pulling him back into the shadows. She tells him that there’s something flying over there, and she doesn’t think it’s friendly. Einstein chokes a bit in her grip, and Sasha only lets him go when he promises not to scream. Hamid says that they need to start looking around and that they need to stick together. Einstein says he doesn’t know where they are, so Hamid just says that they need to look around. Azu is incredibly on edge, and turns down how brightly she glows. Sasha looks around, picks a path heading deeper into the city, and they start to walk. She tells everyone to be quiet as they follow her; Hamid stays close to Einstein, and Azu brings up the back.

[Meta note: due to the separate parties, Alex warns that the timelines may not match up completely but that he’ll do his best]

Back to Grizzop - he’s still continuing to smash the pipe. After a bit, he grabs the arrow and starts shooting the bolts off. Because the arrows are adamantine, they cut through the metal easily and loudly. It’s becoming clear that the room is about to be filled with a lot of water very quickly. The last few bolts ping off, and the pipe begins to shake, before water explodes out of it. Grizzop keeps his footing and runs away from it, going up the stairs that they came in through. He can hear the machines behind him creaking and breaking, and the water is continuing through the factory and the tunnel. It’s easy enough to avoid the traps on the way, and makes it back to the T-junction that they’d passed through, and heads toward the way out.

In Rome, the sun is blazing hot, and the shadows are freezing (colder than they should be). Everyone seems to be handling it well, but Azu’s armour, anytime they’re in the sun, is boiling hot. Hamid asks how people are doing, and starts to cast *endure elements* on people. He casts it on himself first, but can barely control the magic. He glows with a purple haze, and then it dies down. He realises it’s been augmented, somehow, but knows he won’t be able to replicate it. Sasha refuses the spell, saying she can handle it. Hamid offers to cast it on Einstein, who pulls out a coin and then says the coin is hot and asks for the spell. He casts it, but the spell goes wild, and in the distance, there’s a small explosion from Hamid’s spell. Hamid offers to cast it again, but Einstein turns it down. Azu tries casting it on herself; the magic feels wrong, though. Nothing appears to happen when she reaches out for the divine energy. Hamid offers to cast it on her as well, but Azu declines, saying she’ll be fine. They continue heading down the road into Rome.

   Grizzop, meanwhile, makes his way back into the cavern and climbs out of the factory, through the illusion of the dry river. He’s about a day’s walk away from Damascus, and makes a camp on the banks of the river to make sure that the factory is still being filled with water. After he’s set up, he pulls out a photograph of him and another goblin, whispering, “please be okay.”

Back to Rome - Azu is doing good even with the armour, but Einstein is really struggling, although he’s trying not to show it. Sasha is also not having a good time trying to endure the weather. Hamid offers it to them again, but Sasha says she’d rather be uncomfortable than exploded. They keep making their way, and Einstein trips. Azu goes back to help, and Einstein accidentally pulls her down; her knee hits the dirt, a clang echoing off the buildings, and in the distance, they hear a long, drawn-out howl. Two more howls respond to it, both from a great distance, one to the opposite side of them, and one behind them. Sasha grabs Einstein and runs into cover away from the howls, telling them to follow her quietly. Everyone apart from Sasha sees the air tear behind her, and the howl is immediately upon them as a beast appears, long-limbed and dog-shaped, and leaps at Sasha. It dives, tackling her to the ground as it growls. Sasha is able to get out of the way, but Einstein takes the hit as the beast tears his flesh away; he screams, dropping to the ground.

## Quotes

**Ben**: "When you arrive at the bottom, you see me standing in the middle of the factory floor, my weapon is glowing with a holy light, and I’m firing flaming adamantine arrows into every single piece of machinery that I can find. I’ve gone berserk in here. I’ve been working really hard and really energetically to destroy things as quickly as possible. And my face is like, when I was shouting at Sasha. So, I look extremely angry and I’m openly weeping."
**Azu**: "Grizzop?"
**Grizzop**: "What? I know what’s going on. We...I’m not having it, no! We’re finishing what we started. They're not gonna win. I don’t care what they’re gonna do. We just, no, we’ve gotta finish this."
―Grizzop refuses to go with them to Rome.

**Wellington Jr**: "If you flood the place we’ll kill one of them."
**Azu**: "They'll kill one of them if we flood it, we can’t, we need to go and rescue them."
**Hamid**: "They’ll kill them anyway. They will get everything paid back, flood it Sasha!"
**Azu**: "Let’s get there in time to stop them!"
**Grizzop**: "We need to flood it."
**Azu**: "It’s all broken anyway, we’ve done..."
**Grizzop**: "We need to flood it."
**Azu**: "No, I’m not leaving him there."
**Grizzop**: "Then go, but we have a job to do."
**Hamid**: "We will go as soon as we are able, which will be very shortly. The last thing we do before we leave is we’re gonna flood this place."
**Azu**: "I feel like they’re in more immediate danger."
**Grizzop**: "Are you a paladin?"
**Azu**: "Yes."
**Grizzop**: "Right, so what have you spent your entire life doing?"
**Azu**: "Helping people."
**Grizzop**: "Yes! Helping people, despite your personal problems. This is bigger than us. Yes, I care about the person that he has, and if they kill them, then they will have gone and...but this is more important. We can’t just give up everything, otherwise you are a bad paladin!"
―The party argues about whether to flood the factory.

**Wellington Jr**: "We’ll start with Emeka."
**Hamid**: "Azu, if they know they can get us to do whatever they want by killing these people they’ll never stop. And we will become the tool that they want. We have to show them that we cannot be changed from the course."
**Azu**: "I don’t have that many people for them to kill."
**Grizzop**: "Azu...I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, but we can’t do this. We have to finish what we’re doing, otherwise they win."
**Azu**: "They’ll win either way then... Then flood it."
―Wellington, Jr., threatens to start killing the hostages.

**Wellington Jr**: "If there’s anything that you’d like to tell them, I’ll pass along a short message. "
**Azu**: "They’re going to kill them, they’re going to kill them."
**Grizzop**: "Then go, and I will stay here. I will finish this. Go!"
**Helen**: "Azu has both of her hands on her head and if she had hair then she would be pulling it."
**Azu**: "Tell Emeka I...tried. And that I love him. Anyone else want a goodbye message?"
―Wellington, Jr., threatens to start killing the hostages.

**Hamid**: "As close as you can get us will be okay."
**Einstein**: "You say that now, but when you’re in a cave, or you’re in the sky, or in an octopus, suddenly it’s Einstein’s fault, okay?"
―Einstein teleports Azu, Hamid, and Sasha to Rome.

"Once they’re gone, I turn around, still very crying, ‘cause I haven’t stopped since we started, wipe my nose and go “Good luck”, and go back to work."
―**Grizzop remains in Damascus.**

"Sometimes, when it comes to drawing divine energy it’s almost like you’ve got the feeling that there’s someone else in the room that you know and like, you haven’t seen them but you kind of know they’re there. No...no they’re not. Nothing appears to happen. There’s a big empty hole where there should have been a person that you called to. There is no one on the other end of that prayer. And you know it."
―**Alex narrates, as Azu attempts to cast *endure elements* in Rome.**

"You know, like, this isn’t my first rodeo, you know, sometimes you’ve gotta just be cheerful ‘cause it’s that or cry."
―**Einstein arrives with the party in Rome.**

"After I’ve pitched my tent, I sit down, fish around inside my coat, pull out a magical photograph of me and another goblin smiling happily at a cafe table, al fresco, and just go “Please be okay.”"
―**Grizzop stares at a photo of Vesseek.**
## Dice rolls and Mechanics

* Grizzop rolls an attack on Einstein: he hits on an 18 and deals 8 damage.
* Grizzop uses lay on hands on Einstein: he heals two damage
* Everyone makes a Perception check: Sasha gets nat20, Grizzop gets 10, Hamid gets 30
* Hamid makes a Disable Device check: 22
* Grizzop assists Hamid with the Disable Device check: 15
* Grizzop uses lay on hands on Azu: he heals eight damage.
* The teleportation party makes a Perception check upon reaching Rome: Azu gets 18, Hamid gets 25, Sasha gets 32
* Hamid makes a Knowledge (arcana) check on Rome: 18
* Sasha makes a Knowledge (local) check in Rome: 24
* Azu makes a survival check: 10
* Grizzop makes a Reflex save in the factory: 19
* Grizzop makes a Reflex save in the factory when the water comes out: 21
* Grizzop makes a Perception check in the factory: 25
* The Rome party make Fortitude saves against the weather extremes: Azu gets nat 1, Hamid gets 23, Sasha gets 20
* Hamid casts *endure elements* on himself.
* Hamid makes a Knowledge (arcana) check on Rome: 19
* Hamid casts *endure elements* on Einstein.
* The Rome party make Perception checks: Azu gets 20, Hamid gets 15, Sasha gets 23
* Azu casts *endure elements* on herself.
* The Rome party make Perception checks as they continue into Rome: Azu gets 10, Hamid gets 15, Sasha gets 18
* Azu and Sasha make Fortitude saves against the weather extremes: Azu gets 22, Sasha gets 11
* The Rome party make Stealth checks: Azu gets 8, Hamid gets 19, Sasha gets 36

## Plot Notes

The party splits as Grizzop stays in Damascus and the rest of the party teleport to Rome with Einstein.