RQG 210 - Nuff Said

## Content Warnings

Underground tunnels, being hunted/stalked, undead & skeletons, threats of death & violence, blood & bleeding, violence. Discussions of: classism, non-consensual touch, vampirism. Mentions of: apocalypse, death, fire, freezing, food, animal death. SFX: low drone, dripping, creaking & rattling, hoarse breathing & whispering, fire, occasional beeping

## Summary

Join Alex, Helen, Bryn, Lydia, and Ben as they realize they are not alone in these tunnels.
This week Hamid suggests a trap, Zolf detects a sinister taste in the air, Azu keeps silent, and Cel comprehends something horrible...

## Synopsis

Hamid, having fallen behind the rest of the party, feels a faint gust of air that smells of iron. He tells the rest of the group, and they decide to press onwards with caution. They come to a junction in the corridor, with one passage leading upwards and the other down. They hear a quiet creaking from one of the stairways, it sounds different from the sound Hamid heard before. Skraak investigates the stairway and finds another poorly-written Greek joke, implying in its punchline that they should go down. As the party proceed, Hamid hears the strange breath noise again from behind them; it’s impossible to tell how far away it is, but it definitely seems to be following.

The staircase continues to be worked stone in a seemingly good condition, but it hasn’t been used for a very long time. The passage opens up into a space with more stone buttresses and statues laid between them. The features on the statues have eroded off and they seem to be water-damaged, despite an unnerving lack of water. Skraak checks the area for traps but finds nothing. The party decide that they need to either turn and face whatever’s following them, or continue onwards. Hamid suggests that Wilde cast an illusion, allowing them to hide and see what’s pursuing them. Zolf suggests that they ask Babbage if he feels the stall to their mission is necessary. Cel talks to Babbage, asking if he’s alright with the ambush plan. He tells Cel that continuing on would be a better idea. Zolf disagrees with Babbage, deciding that he’d rather know what’s following them. Hamid casts invisibility on everyone.

*(Editors note: Ben asks if invisibility will cover Babbage, Alex says that he checked the official rules for this situation, but he disagrees with them. Babbage will be treated as a sentient object for convenience, and invisibility will work on him.)*

Each person hides behind a different statue. Zolf hears a creak from the stairway and Wilde begins casting his illusion. It shows the party dawdling: Cel and Zolf have a hushed argument as the group’s illusion slowly makes its way across the room. Zolf feels the temperature rapidly drop as a layer of frost works its way across the floor from the stairwell. A blue, skeletal creature emerges, carrying a spear and buckler that appear to be frozen into its hands. It doesn’t notice anyone, and seems entirely unaware of its surroundings as it follows Wilde’s illusion. The creature was definitely the source of the creaking sounds, but the second noise remains unidentified. Azu casts detect evil on it, the creature appears to be evil, but she can’t tell to what extent. It continues to follow Wilde’s illusion until it moves out of the range of everyone’s dark-vision.

Suddenly, Zolf smells a metallic tang distinct from the creature that just passed. Something else seems to be approaching. Everyone hears the odd breath noises grow louder and turn into whispering, a gust of warm air blows through the corridor and they all smell blood. Azu and Zolf see a fine red mist work its way down the corridor, moving without a breeze like “smoke in a closed room”. People wearing night-vision goggles aren’t able to see it. The cloud seems to be lashing out and exploring nooks and crannies as it moves towards the statues. Azu holds her breath as it stops between her and Skraak. A whispering voice emanates from the cloud in a language no one can understand; Cel casts comprehend languages and hears it say “hiding will do little to assist you.” They drink an alchemical allocation and prepare for combat.

The cloud reaches out to Azu, caressing her face and drawing blood as it makes contact. Skraak identifies the creature as a sapient gas. He breathes draconic fire at it, losing his invisibility. The cloud catches instantly and recoils, seemingly in pain. Zolf steps out from behind the statue and casts searing light at the creature, losing his invisibility as well. The cloud seems to burn off further before dissipating and drenching Azu in blood. There is silence, and then a voice resonates through the room, saying only the word “‘nuff,” leaving the party to puzzle over the meaning.

## Quotes

**Alex**: "I’m talking more like if you have to yell ‘I’m gonna have a look at you sonny, and see if you- see how you interact with my my jellies!’ No."
**Helen**: "How you interact with my jellies?"
**Alex**: "Yeah!"
**Helen**: "Is that what you just said?"
**Alex**: "I watched detective Pikachu recently, yeah. This is you checking your jellies. You can feel it in your jellies!"
―Azu detects evil
## Dice rolls & mechanics

* Perception check to hear strange noise: Zolf (23), Azu (17), Hamid (31), Skraak (nat 1), Cel (33)
* Skraak checks for traps: success, no traps
* Stealth check to hide behind statues: Zolf (40), Azu (49), Cel (75), Hamid (72), Skraak (86)
* Perception check to observe surroundings: Zolf (32), Azu (19), Hamid (18), Skraak (24), Cel (26)
* Cel’s stealth check to cast comprehend languages: success

## Combat Breakdown

**Initiative:** Hamid (28), Zolf (25), blood creature, Wilde, Skraak, Cel (24), Azu (8)

**Round 1**

* Hamid: holds action
* Cel: holds action
* Zolf: readied action: as soon as Azu communicates distress, he will cast searing light
* Creature: continues to drain blood from Azu, extra 6 bleed and con damage at the start of each round
* Wilde: indiscernible action
* Skraak: rolls knowledge dungeoneering: 23, breathes draconic breath: 12 damage,  Zolf’s readied action goes off: searing light (25), dealing 38 damage