Hard Times

**Hard Times** is an optional mission in *Dragonfall*. It is given by Gunari Mettbach.

## Synopsis

It is a short train ride to Gesundbrunnen. You exit the subway car, stepping onto the old, grungy platform. The place is deserted, though signs of life are everywhere. A gaping hole in the ceiling filters cool, hazy light in from above. To your right, a small plot of crops struggles to endure in the cold and the limited light of the station. Trash and junk litters the platform. It's clear this place hasn't had anything resembling a janitorial staff in quite some time.

Somewhere in this old, run-down U-Bahn station lies the entrance to Gesundbrunnen kiez, and hopefully some leads on the whereabouts of the Rabengeister and Gunari's missing shipment.

## Walkthrough

* Welcome to the run-down Gesundbrunnen station. Head forward into the technical corridors to meet the local law enforcement. With Charisma 4, you can easily talk your way through into their market. Don't name-drop the Rabengeister or you'll have a harder time getting in - requiring bloodshed or a Strength check.
* Talk to Quorin down there to get your bearings. He doesn't offer much beyond mere speculation. Talking to him about the kiez, and you offering to help will lead to him telling a story about Schinderhannes (a German Robin Hood), which might be surprisingly useful in the near future.
* You can see Goldfish at the bar. Talk to her and she'll confuse Rabengeister with Robin Hood. Hmmm....
* The other side of the tracks contains the once grand market of Gesundbrunnen, with merchants offering an assortment of interesting, though mostly low-grade gear. The troll merchant can be confronted about the crate with the Kreuzbasar tag on it and will reveal that the Rabengeister have delivered it. With Etiquette: Gang, you can also gain more information about them. Finally, you can pressure him to pay you for the goods he stole, to the tune of ¥400.
	+ If you demand the 400 credits from the troll merchant, the dwarf guard will confront you after a few steps. You can either return the credits or start combat, which will force you down the violent solution to this run.
* Beyond the (unhelpful) militia captain lies the a small room with a public access information terminal. You can learn about the station's past or input a custom query. Terminal also contains a password-guarded section. Has someone perhaps mentioned something (or someone), which qualifies as a good password? SCHINDERHANNES
* Make sure to look at the scuff marks. With enough Strength (or with either Glory or Eiger), you can forcibly open the hidden entrance.
* Return to the militia captain. Once you ask about the scuff marks, she will reveal her true colors and offer to take you to the Rabengeister - blindfolded.
* Talk to the leader. Your options are:
	+ Be sympathetic to him and agree to leave while abandoning all claim to the shipment.
	+ Shoot him in the face, recover the shipment, and doom Gesundbrunnen.
	+ With Charisma 4, you can negotiate an amicable compromise:
		- Form a truce and exchange rations for the shipment.
		- Give the Rabengeister access to Altug's data taps in exchange for the shipment (Decking 3 required - this option is available if Blitz is present, even if PC lacks any Decking).
* Return to the Kreuzbasar.
	+ While leaving the Rabengeister hideout, you can loot a bottle of beer from the cooler (Director's cut: talk to the leader to get it) and give it to the parched Ork guard at the station entrance (if he is still alive) in exchange for 1 karma point.
		- If you chose the truce, the Militiaman standing there will also hand you a bottle from the cooler. It will be called "cold one" in your inventory.
		- Another way to get the bottle of beer is to have Goldfish buy it for you at the bar on your way out.

## Trivia

* By the train tracks inside the lair is a piece of graffito in green saying ''Soykaf ist menschen.'' This means Soykaf is people and is a reference to the movie line ''Soylent green is people.''
* （In the German dub of "Soylent Green," however, the line is "Soylent Grün ist Menschenfleisch.")