RQG 35 - The Exposition Box

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## The Exposition Box

### Players

Ben Meredith as Zolf
Bryn Monroe as Hamid
Lydia Nicholas as Sasha
James Ross as Bertie

## Content Warnings

Deception/betrayal by a friend, intense pain, branding, mention: eternal damnation as real possibility

## Summary

The Rangers go into a magic-proof room, where Bertie tells them of his contract with *Harkness, Harkness, Darkness & Sphinx*. The party open the envelope from Brock which gives details of 7 people.

## Synopsis

A mechanical man arrives and Sasha hands it Brutor, who is very dignified. The Rangers agree that they need to discuss what's going on, but that Barret's ring might be listening. The receptionist suggests that they have a magically sealed room if they want a private conversation.

The party head up to the Presidential suite, which is immaculate with exquisite views and a banquet set up. The party are attended to by various servants and have their every need seen to.

Later, they are guided down to a magically sealed room. No magic will work inside the room. Bertie is very keen and ushers the party inside.

Sasha goes to open the envelope, but Bertie explodes that he is under a curse from *Harkness, Harkness, Darkness & Sphinx*: he must be a valiant knight at all times to pay off the MacGuffingham's crippling financial debt. Whenever he talks about the curse, it sets him deeper in debt, as does doing 'un-knightly' things. Should he die, he will be sent to a horrible poo-fire filled dimension, or something.

Sasha realises that Bertie only helped her to begin with because of the curse, although Zolf and Hamid didn't. Zolf explains that he really doesn't care about Bertie's situation, although agrees that he would help him, as would Sasha and Hamid.

Sasha opens the envelope from Brock, which contains a list of names:

* Jean-Luc Bolieau - Ordinatist
* Amélie Rose - Investigative reporter
* Paulette Loup - Archaeologist
* Sélène Souchet - Church grounds woman
* Jacques Piaget - Delivery driver
* Vivianne Messier - Hydraulics engineer
* François Henri - Director of l'Académie d'Ordinateur

Sasha considers that they might all be involved in making The Simulacrum. They decide to send François Henri a message saying they will call on him tomorrow. The Rangers step out of the magically sealed room, Bertie screams in pain as there is a searing pain on his left forearm. Pulling his gauntlet off, he sees a symbol or brand burned into his skin: a pair of interlocked rings in a square: the symbol of *Harkness, Harkness, Darkness & Sphinx*. The man who guided them to the room arrives asking if he can help, and Hamid takes him aside asking him to forget what he saw.

The Rangers return to their room where they eat. There is another knock at the door, behind which are two well dressed gnomes. They say it's time that they talked with the rest of the party.

## Quotes

"I don’t understand though, if he was doing all right he would’ve come back for me. It doesn’t make any sense. Like, he was just another slum kid like me. In fact, he was, he wasn’t as good at, at my professional services."
―**Sasha**

**Sasha**: "So, when I was in that alleyway, and people were, like, trying to kill me, and you came along and stabbed some people, and I didn’t die – although I could totally have looked after myself, you weren’t doing that to be, like, friendly? Or whatever. You were just doing it because if you didn’t, you’d get killed."
**Bertie**: "Well, I mean, I enjoyed it, if that helps."
**Zolf**: "Also ‘cause I was paying him."
**Sasha**: "It’s good to know that the first friends I ever had were doing it under duress."
**Zolf**: "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Don’t lump…me, us, in."
**Hamid**: "I haven’t done anything under duress."
**Sasha**: "So you’re not gonna suddenly say that the only reason that… we’ve been…"
**Bertie**: "Oh, eternal exile to a screaming poo fire dimension isn’t enough for you? That’s not figuring in the motives here?"
**Zolf**: "That’s kind of very much based around you, and just you. It’s a little problem…"
**Bertie**: "It’s not all about you, Mr. Smith!"
―Bertie reveals the real reason he's an adventurer.

**Zolf**: "Well, thank you for sharing. And I, you know, I feel bad that obviously this debt and this situation is not your fault. I am shocked at the lack of perspective it has given you."
**Bertie**: "Screaming fire poo dimension for all eternity, Mr. Smith."
**Sasha**: "Yeah that sounds pretty much like what you might deserve. You lying…I thought you were my friend! Didn’t have any friends before. *(To Zolf and Hamid)* What curses are you guys under?"
**Hamid**: "No! Sasha, you are my friend."
**Zolf**: "Yeah, I did it ‘cause, well…I stuck around with you ‘cause I liked you."
**Sasha**: "Oh. All right."
**Hamid**: "Same."
**Zolf**: "Yeah. Not everyone’s purely motivated by themselves."
―Zolf and Hamid reassure Sasha that they're there because they like her.

"Apart from that curse of you being a gallant knight…you’re a terrible human being. Stop it. If you can be forced to be a gallant knight against your wishes, stop being a terrible human being, at least around us. Once we break this curse and get rid of you, then you can go back to being it. I’m not going to condemn you to…dying or your flaming poo dimension, ‘cause I’m not that kind of person. But, just…try being less awful! Honestly!"
―**Zolf berates Bertie.**

**Hamid**: "Telling him what time we’re planning to call, I mean it’s polite as well as anything else."
**Sasha**: "Threatening. That’s what it is, when you tell people where you’re gonna be in advance."
**Hamid**: "Is…why would that be threatening?"
**Sasha**: "Well, if it’s your mates, you just drop in, but if you’re gonna beat ‘em up."
**Hamid**: "Well no, I mean, if it’s…but it’s polite to let people know, so they, they expect you and they can prepare."
**Sasha**: "You’re letting someone know that you know where they live. Right? So…"
**Hamid**: "I mean yes, obviously you, you know where they live so that you can call on them. I mean. What…what if they need to…you know, buy some food or something, to host you?"
**Sasha**: "…buy…some…food to…"
**Hamid**: "Anyway."
**Sasha**: "You bring your own eels!"
―Sasha and Hamid have different ideas about hospitality.
## Dice rolls and Mechanics

* Bertie makes a Bluff check for Brutor: 18
* Zolf and Hamid make a Knowledge (arcana) check: Zolf gets 20, Hamid gets 11
* Hamid makes a Bluff check to hide his past: 14
* Zolf casts cure light wounds on Bertie.
* Hamid makes a Bluff check on the concierge: 27