RQG 23 - Hedge Your Bets

## Content Warnings

Animal (dog) endangerment, graphic descriptions of gore, violence and mutation, corpses, tentacle (mention), blood

## Summary

The search for Mendeleev continues under Kew Mansion. They find various hostile plants and undead, spore filled zombies guarding the way.

## Synopsis

Sasha hears the scraping further into the room and sees a shambling form. She sneaks after the figure. In the next room she hears another scraping, and sees something that resembles a tentacle. She also sees the mould, and decides to retreat.

Bertie suggests they retreat but Zolf shoots him down, saying he is Bertie's boss and they're not retreating.

Sasha hears a dragging noise approaching from the room and a low moan. Looking through the crack in the door, Sasha sees a humanoid figure approaching. As it gets nearer, she sees the creature: something that was once a human wearing a lab coat but is now covered in growths, picking up dead creatures from the swarm. Bertie bursts through the door, shouting "Hello!" The creature drops what it was carrying and charges at the party.

Zolf swings at the creature while glaring at Bertie, and misses. Bertie destroys the creature. Zolf flings the head of the creature at a wall, where it cracks like an egg, releasing spores.

Sasha looks through the lab coat, which has fused with the flesh. In the breast pocket is a wallet with the name 'Friedrich Holtzmann': the man who originally came downstairs.

As Bertie considers whether to heal Hamid or Brutor with his healing potion, Zolf slaps Brutor away from him, so Bertie heals Hamid. Zolf realises that Brutor isn't dead and stabilises him. Bertie heals him, despite Zolf's instructions not to. Hamid and Zolf argue about whether or not they should stay down here or let the authorities handle the situation. They eventually agree to stay, and Zolf hands leadership of the mercenary company over to Hamid for this mission.

The party head into another room filled with filing cabinets, where Hamid hears a tapping, most likely 'SOS' in Morse code. Sasha taps out a reply, and hears a Morse code response that the party do not understand. They follow the pipe which the tapping is coming from.

Eventually they find a door that has been broken down. The table in front of the door has also been destroyed. The pipe leads into the room. Bertie power attacks the table and smashes it to pieces, revealing more furniture blocking the shattered door. Bertie starts to shift the debris, revealing a toilet covered in blood and a body hidden behind a sink, as well as a broken vent. Poised to attack, he nudges the body, seeing a corpse covered in the mould, surrounded by dead swarm creatures. A name badge identifies this man as 'Jason O'Connor'.

Sasha sees that the pipe goes through the room down into another corridor. They enter another room and prepare for combat. They find that the pipe goes into three different containers. Hamid taps on the first one, where several tiny things with red legs swarm. The second container contains a fern that brushes against the glass as Hamid taps.

As they approach the last one, they see steam escaping from the back where Bertie finds a 5 foot hole in the back of the container. Hamid taps on the glass and a human hand presses itself against the container.

## Quotes

**Lydia**: "I’m trying to stealth after them like cyanide in an almond mix from Sainsbury’s that you might give to some people that you don’t like."
―Lydia makes a troubling comparison.

**Zolf**: "Bertie, you’re not that badly injured."
**Bertie**: "Sir Bertrand to you."
**Zolf**: "No, Bertie. Unless you want to start calling me boss."
**Bertie**: "Sir Bertrand, Sir Bertrand."
**Zolf**: "Subordinate."
―Bertie snarks at Zolf.

**Hamid**: "We’re adventurers, why are we not trying to deal with the monsters?"
**Zolf**: "Because we’re not heroes."
**Bertie**: "I’m a hero."
**Hamid**: "So am I!"
**Zolf**: "You’ll end up dead for that."
**Hamid**: "Well, I’d rather die heroically than live my life as a coward... again."
**Zolf**: "I will ask you that question when you’re in the process of dying, and I think your answer might be a bit different. Get a bit of perspective."
―The party discusses whether or not they should leave the basement.

**Sasha**: "If we follow the thing, maybe we’ll find something that deserves to drown."
**Zolf**: "Oh yeah, that’s one thing. Poseidon is angry. I tried to heal you all..."
**Hamid**: "He’s always angry!"
**Zolf**: "You don’t know anything-! This is a conversation for another time."
**Hamid**: "Agreed!"
**Bryn**: "I stalk off down the corridor, knowing that I am faster than Zolf."
―Zolf shares that his healing is less effective now.
## Dice rolls and Mechanics

* Sasha makes a Stealth check to follow the blood trail: 25
* Everyone makes a Perception check: Sasha gets 17, Zolf gets 12, Bertie gets 7, Hamid is unconscious
* Sasha makes a Perception check to look through the man's pockets: 15
* Hamid is fed a potion of *cure light wounds* and gets 6 hit points back.
* Zolf makes a Heal check on Brutor: 27
* Zolf stabilises Brutor.
* Bertie feeds Brutor a potion of *cure light wounds*: he gets 9 hit points back
* Everyone makes a Perception check: Sasha gets 13, Zolf gets 6, Bertie gets 1, Hamid gets 24
* Bertie Power Attacks a table: 18 on the hit, dealing 13 damage
* Bertie makes a Perception check in the bathroom: 11
* Hamid makes a Perception check to search the person, with Bertie assisting: Hamid rolls 9, Bertie fails to assist with a 9
* Everyone makes a Perception check: Sasha gets 14, Zolf's isn't said, Bertie gets 7, Hamid gets 22

## Combat Breakdown

**Initiative:** Zolf (17), Bertie, Sasha (nat 1)

**Round 1**

* Zolf: Steps back and stabs at the creature with his trident. He misses with an attack roll of 8.
* Bertie: Raises his shield and attacks, hitting on a 19. He impales the creature, dealing 14 damage and killing it.