RQG 94 - Justice

## Content Warnings

Arguments, mind alteration (discussed), arrest

## Summary

The party continue to work through Hamid's family issues. They finally get the whole truth from Saleh and Howard Carter. There's some group tension when it comes to a discussion about justice, during which Sasha loses control of her motor functions.

## Synopsis

The party is all still reeling over Saleh’s revelation that he didn’t murder anyone. Grizzop asks what did happen, and Carter and Saleh exchange a look before Saleh starts to explain, looking a little awkward. Azu is trying to seem open and accepting, and Grizzop is trying to be intimidating.

Saleh explains that Barret promised to wipe away his debt from his gambling addiction, without telling anyone, and all he had to do was break into the high-security VIP consultation rooms at the bank. There’s a way through into the consultation rooms via the tomb underneath the bank, and from there it is possible to access Meritocratic vaults. Carter tries to minimize his own involvement in the failed heist, saying that as an archaeologist, the job was mostly by-the-by. No one buys it, and Grizzop demands to know the facts about what happened. Carter says that he didn’t go to steal anything, and Grizzop asks who he enabled. Saleh says that Carter was there to help them navigate the tomb. Saleh’s only job had been to get them into the rooms, and that would be it. There was a guard with them who had been bought off, and she was the one who had died.

Grizzop asks how she died, and Saleh says that he isn’t sure. Azu asks how he can’t be sure, and Saleh explains that there were a number of traps in the tomb below that Carter was supposed to help with. He must have missed one, because suddenly there was a supernatural darkness around them, and the guard attacked Carter. Saleh thinks her plan was to dispose of them once they'd accessed the vaults. There was a scuffle, and some stone thing from the darkness clonked her on the head; they ran, and must have hit something to trigger a warding alarm.

Azu is excited to hear that they aren’t murderers, but both Grizzop and Sasha are less enthused, saying that they were still involved, even if they didn’t strike the killing blow. Hamid says that it sounds like the guard died in the course of robbing the bank, and Grizzop asks who else was there. Saleh says that it was just him and Carter, and that she was the one known as the muscle; Grizzop says that she was breaking into the bank as well, so fair play, and Hamid is confused (considering the entire argument they had) but lets it go.

Saleh explains that the three of them were getting into the vault and then it all went wrong. He says that there were arrangements for someone to pick them up at the other end, but he only met Carter and the guard. Nothing had actually been stolen during the heist. Hamid asks Carter to explain about the tomb, and Carter explains that he believes its the tomb of Pharaoh Khufu. It predates Meritocratic rule by a significant margin; Carter explains that the significance of Khufu’s tomb is that there’s not simply one tomb - there’s another underneath the Meritocratic vaults, and he wants to study it. Grizzop asks what it has in it, but Carter doesn’t know, saying he just wants to study it. According to him, what Barret wanted was to get into the vaults, not the tomb, but that the tomb was the only way into the vaults.

Grizzop says that, basically, it was a failed attempt by Barret to get into the vaults since nothing was stolen. However, he does tell Saleh that his father took the fall for the murder he apparently didn’t commit, and that he needs to sort it out and face the consequences. Saleh’s face pales, and he says that Grizzop is right. He says that he needs to go make this right, and Sasha comments to Hamid that Saleh seems really interested in doing the right thing. Saleh asks where their father is, and they tell him that he’s in Meritocratic custody for the murder. He decides to go and straighten this out, and Grizzop tells both him and Carter that the party be escorting the two of them to the jail.

Carter asks why he’s coming along, and Grizzop says that he still broke into a bank. Carter tries to push all the fault onto Saleh, saying that he was just a hostage invited into a VIP room, but Grizzop is refusing to let him avoid the blame. Carter says that he didn’t break into a bank (technically) but Sasha and Azu say that he was an accomplice. Hamid says that the only crime they might be charged with is attempted burglary, since they violated security rules but not actual laws. Grizzop tells Hamid to stop trying to weasel his family out of facing consequences, but Hamid says he’s just trying to think through the situation. Grizzop says that they can let the officers figure it out, and Sasha comments that Hamid will just find a way to pay it off anyway. Saleh, however, says that there’s been enough of that, and stands. He seems sobered and pretty much with it. He apologizes to Hamid for being dragged into it, and Hamid says that he’s just glad that Saleh is able to deal with it. Carter says that he’s wrong, and Hamid asks what he means. He asks if they all assume that people are just going to believe that Saleh committed the crime instead of his father, considering that they don’t have any evidence. They say that they’ll have the confession, and Hamid brings up the fact that there are truth spells that they can use.

Grizzop says that it’s no wonder Carter got hit with a curse, considering he forgot magic exists, and Carter just looks at Grizzop. Grizzop threatens to shoot Carter in the knees, and Carter says that that would make him an accomplice as well. Sasha, tired of this, leaps over and steps really hard on Carter’s foot multiple times, yelling multiple times about how she tripped and lost her balance (it’s incredibly over-dramatic). Hamid asks if Sasha can not, but Sasha continues, and Grizzop laughs at Sasha’s antics, trying to keep it under control as he tells Carter that he’s under arrest. Carter says that if they can get him back into the tomb, all of her items are still there. Grizzop and Azu refuse, and Sasha asks how much the items are worth before following their lead.

Grizzop says that the bank can handle the tomb themselves, and Hamid says that the bank would probably hire a mercenary group to handle excavating the tomb. Carter says that if they end up going, they’ll need an archaeologist with them, and offers himself for the job. Grizzop yells that Carter got cursed when he went into the tomb, and he blames Saleh, who does admit that it was his fault. Hamid tells Carter to shut up. Sasha points out that as long as you run with paladins, you’re probably going to end up arresting someone sometime. Hamid says that that’s fine, and that they should take Saleh and Carter to the Meritocratic offices.

They all head down to the offices with Saleh and Carter in tow. It is clear that a new sandstorm is on the approach - something of that scale is in the distance. Sasha mentions that Carter said that he was responsible for the weather being strange, and asks when it was that he went into the tomb. Carter says that it was a few weeks ago, but the weather has been acting up for months. He adds that he may have said a few things, and Hamid says that he has an over inflated sense of his own importance, and Carter admits that’s fair.

Carter then tries to distract them from going to the offices again, and Sasha stumbles, stepping on his foot again. Hamid tells Sasha to stop, and Saleh is ignoring all of this. There aren’t many people on the street; children are being brought inside, buildings are being boarded up. The sandstorm seems as though it’s going to hit in the next few hours.

The offices are large, but they’re not on the actual Cairo strip. Saleh insists on walking, and because of the imminent sandstorm, there aren’t the typical crowds. The offices are similar to a town hall or embassy versus a domicile of the Meritocrats. Saleh steps up to the guards, and looks back at Hamid. Hamid puts his hand on his shoulder, reassuringly, and Saleh says that he wants to turn himself in. Azu picks up Carter and says that they want to turn him in as well, placing him in front of the guards. Carter agrees that he also wants to turn Saleh in, and Grizzop says that Carter is an accomplice and just as guilty.

Hamid and Azu hear the guards saying that they thought they already got the culprit in Arabic, and then start to try and send them off. Hamid and Azu tell them that more information has come to light, that there’s been a false confession and that they need to get the full story from Saleh and Carter. The guards ask if any of them have any official paperwork, and say that it’s not a normal situation. They don’t have any paperwork, although Grizzop taps his breastplate. Hamid says that they normally don’t need paperwork to confess. Saleh is starting to look uncomfortable, while Carter has a smirk.

The guard pulls Hamid aside and says that they already have the person who did it, and asks if they will just head on. He says that they can process them if he wants, but it’s going to take a long time. Grizzop asks what’s going on, and Azu explains what the guards are saying. Grizzop says it’s a stupid attitude to have, and Sasha tells Hamid to mention that his father’s confession was false. Grizzop says that now is the time to use his name and power, and Hamid explains that he was about to but they paused to explain what was going on to Sasha and Grizzop. He goes up to the guards and says that the person they have arrested is his father, and that this is his brother, and asks if this won’t be credible. The guard grabs Hamid and Saleh and says that everyone needs to stay here, and one of the guards runs off, starting to panic.

The doors burst open and about four guards come out, saying the Tahans have come up with a massive conspiracy. Pikes are pointed at the entire party as Grizzop asks again what’s going on. The guards demand for them to come inside, and Hamid is trying to get everyone to calm down. Azu wants them to go inside, but Sasha has no desire to go in as a prisoner. Hamid tells everyone to take a deep breath and listen to him so that they can get this all cleared up. He explains that his brother and Carter (Hamid points at Carter, and Carter continues his pointing so that it goes to Grizzop - Azu slaps his hand) were involved in the incident itself, and want to present their statements to the investigators. It’s clear that both of their minds were affected by a curse they found in the tomb, and Hamid says that they will need to take a full statement to contribute to the investigation, and that his father’s statement may be cast in a new light upon this new evidence.

The guards loosen up a bit at that, and Hamid says that Saleh, Carter, and his organization are willing to head inside the jail and straighten everything out. Azu asks what Hamid means by ‘his organization’ and Hamid explains that his name is just on the Meritocratic paperwork for the contract, but that they can deal with the admin later if Azu wants.

It’s clear that the guards in the jail are a skeleton crew, since the rest are helping with the sandstorm outside. They ask for the party to wait out front, and show Saleh and Carter into different holding cells. The guard asks for Hamid to sign a habeas corpus on behalf of both of them.

After the paperwork is filled out, the guards say that they probably need to leave, since the sandstorm is coming and they don’t have the available facilities to hold them here. The guards seem on the level. Hamid invites them back to his house, if they are interested, and Grizzop decides that they need to plan out their next steps. Hamid says that they were attending a funeral and then dealing with a crisis, and Sasha mentions that she only has probably 28 days left. Hamid says that if they want to talk to Saira and schedule an appointment with Apophis, they should head back to the house. They take the camel back to Hamid’s, with Grizzop sitting on Azu’s head. By the time they get back, the sandstorm is getting even closer. The house is being boarded up, and as they get in, the sandstorm really starts to hit, meaning the party are stuck in the house. They decide to plan out some next steps. They want to go speak to Saira next so that they can schedule an appointment with Apophis.

The butler is waiting outside the office as they head up, and he asks if Hamid wants to be announced. Hamid says yes, and the butler does so as they head into the office - it was his father’s office. Saira is sitting behind the desk, and she doesn’t look like she’s going to pieces, but she’s surrounded by reams of paperwork. Hamid asks how she’s doing, and Saira mentions the paperwork and that she isn’t really sure what they’re going to be able to do until the trial is complete. She asks if Hamid knew their father was going to do this, and he says no, saying that it caught him by surprise. Saira says that it’s all rather pointless now, anyway, and asks why their father did it.

Grizzop explains that Saleh had been cursed, and Saira asks what he means. Hamid explains that Saleh broke into a tomb, and Saira says that she’s getting a bit lost. He says that they were attempting to get into the meritocratic vaults through a tomb, and Saira stops Hamid, focused on the fact that there’s a tomb under the bank. Grizzop mentions that they built in a pyramid, but Saira says that they thought they’d mapped it all out already.

Saira asks if there’s any other huge news that people want to tell her, and Hamid asks if she would be able to schedule a meeting with Apophis. Saira says that she’s going to need a little bit more to go on than just that, and Sasha tells Saira that she, Sasha, is dead. Azu and Grizzop say that she isn’t yet, a familiar argument, and Hamid explains to Saira that they’ve been through a lot of rough situations on their travels and that it’s been on behalf of the Meritocrats. He asks if they would be able to meet with Apophis to discuss some of the issues that have cropped up - Sasha being undead one of them.

Saira says that normally this would be impossible, but she’s recently been visited by a Meritocratic agent who’s been asking for basically the same thing. Sasha asks if it’s Wilde, and Saira says yes. Hamid also mentions that there’s the fact that they’re descended from Apophis; Saira is shocked to hear it.

Time skips forward - the explanation has come out, and they’re all currently sat on the floor, surrounded by paperwork. Saira is leaning forward on the desk, holding a drink. Sasha says that being undead isn’t that different, she’s just more tired now. Saira says that this is a lot to take in, and apologizes for focusing a bit more on the Apophis revelation. She asks if Hamid is certain, and he says yes; Saira asks him if he really knows how bad this is, and Hamid says that he thought he did but maybe he underestimated it.

Saira explains that the Meritocrats have never shown an individual person favouritism, and that this undermines a solid amount of their rule; this has officially never happened before. Grizzop says that it might have been casual, and Hamid says that he isn’t sure if Apophis even knows. Saira asks who else knows, and Hamid says that only the people in that room do. Grizzop tenses, saying that that was a dangerous thing to say, and warns Saira that if she tries to assassinate him, he’ll assassinate her right back. Hamid tries to calm him down; Grizzop and Sasha are immediately suspicious, but Hamid and Azu don’t think it’s an issue. Hamid says that those kind of methods isn’t how things happen, and Grizzop brings up the entire Eiffel’s Folly debacle, but Hamid says that they’re two entirely different things. Sasha says that Hamid has a lot of faith in people and Grizzop corrects her, saying that he has faith in power.

Saira says that she has zero interest in covering it up, but asks if Grizzop and the rest think that anyone could handle knowing this right now. She’s genuinely asking, and mentions that the weather is a mess, the banks are broken, the Meritocrats are barely able to keep up, and London is a veritable war zone. Hamid and Sasha cut her off, asking what she means, and Saira holds out a Times paper to him, with the headline LONDON IN CHAOS.

While they’ve been travelling, riots started in other London a few weeks ago. Rather than being contained, it’s spiralled throughout London and it’s getting out of control. There’s open street warfare happening, and reports from Other London have stopped entirely. No one knows who is actually fighting - it seems to be arbitrary chaos. No one has a handle on why it’s happening. Sasha says that they need to go back, but Saira says that undermining the things that are keeping the world together can’t help.

Grizzop says that they need to go talk to Apophis, and figure it out; Hamid says that it might be Apophis’ decision regarding whether or not it should go out. Saira says that she doubts Apophis knows, and then decides to schedule them an appointment. She says that they won’t be able to go today, but should be able to make it tomorrow. She offers to show them to where Wilde is staying, but Hamid says that they can see him tomorrow. Hamid asks if he can help Saira with anything, and she just asks him to not give him any more news. Hamid agrees, and then goes to give her a hug.

Sasha says that this has got to be Barret trying to take power, and Hamid starts to comfort her, saying that after they’ve seen Apophis, they can go back to London and see what’s going on there. He mentions that he’s also got people he cares about there. Grizzop says that they do need to track down the Simulacrum, and make sure Sasha doesn’t die in 28 days. Hamid says that he did say that they’d do that first, but that with Einstein’s help they can travel quickly. They don’t have to spend multiple days travelling to London. If the entire city is in chaos, there’s not going to be a lot that they can do, and Sasha realizes that they don’t have Bertie to shout down a crowd about it. Hamid says that there’s nothing they can do right now, not until they handle Sasha’s current situation, and Sasha agrees. She starts to wander off, and Hamid tries to convince her to come and have a drink with them. She takes a bottle with her, taking a drink, but still leaves.

The rest of them don’t go to bed. Hamid asks Azu and Grizzop if he can offer them brandy or anything, but Grizzop says that he’s okay. Hamid wants to talk about earlier, and Grizzop says that he will, but Azu says that it’s all been resolved. Grizzop clarifies that they want to talk about Hamid’s attitude toward the situation. Azu asks what Hamid wants to say to them, and Hamid hesitates. He says that he doesn’t know how to make it right, and Azu and Grizzop look at each other. Grizzop says that he needs to do better next time, and Hamid says that he doesn’t understand why what he did was so wrong. Grizzop and Azu say that he was shielding his own brother using his power and privilege, and avoiding any consequences. Hamid says that he wasn’t intentionally doing that, and was waiting for Saleh to be in a state where he could deal with it. Grizzop says that if they hadn’t interfered, he would have sent Saleh away, still cursed, and his father would still be in prison, and they’d all be worse off.

Hamid asks them if they’ve never seen the head of an organization take the fall for someone in the company before, and asks if a trainee in a temple messed up, would the higher-up take the blame. Azu says that the head would not get punished, the trainee would be. Hamid asks what about if the teacher was at fault, for teaching the trainee wrong - he asks who you blame for that. Grizzop says that Saleh had gambling debts and broke into a bank to fix them; this isn’t doing something wrong because he hasn’t learned his lesson, unless Hamid is trying to blame his father for all of Saleh’s mistakes. He adds that normally, the high priest wouldn’t be the trainee’s dad - the Tahans are a family, not an organization, protecting each other. Hamid asks if Grizzop’s family wouldn’t protect him, and everyone falls silent. Grizzop says that he doesn’t know, and sarcastically thanks Hamid for bringing it up (Grizzop’s entire clutch died). Hamid apologizes, saying that he didn’t mean it in that way.

He says that he hasn’t had friends like Azu and Grizzop before, and that he wants to protect them, but he also wants to protect his family. Grizzop says that he can’t protect people by lying, especially when murder is involved. He explains that this isn’t a situation where they can convince Hamid what’s right, or to do right - the change has to come from Hamid himself. Hamid asks what he should have done, and says that his family has been through so much, and his instinct was to protect them. Azu says that he can’t protect people from their own actions. They needs to learn from their mistakes.

Hamid says that in the emotional and mental state that Saleh was in previously, he wouldn’t have learned from being sent to a prison. Grizzop says that he would have sent him to exile anyway, and that that wouldn’t have helped either. Hamid tries to tell him that he was trying to find a different way, and that he came to Grizzop and Azu for advice; Grizzop cuts him off, saying that he didn’t want advice, he wanted support. When Grizzop and Azu told him what they thought, Hamid didn’t want to hear it. Grizzop says that Hamid didn’t want to change, he wanted to be told he was making the right decision, and then says that he’s done with the conversation. Hamid apologizes, but Grizzop walks away, leaving Azu and Hamid alone.

Azu puts her arm around Hamid, and Hamid apologizes again, saying that he didn’t know what he was doing and wanted help from Azu and Grizzop and Sasha, but that the second he said anything, Grizzop was only going to run off and arrest Saleh without speaking to Hamid. He apologizes again, and Azu accepts the apology, saying that Hamid knows better now. Hamid says that he doesn’t, really, and isn’t sure why Grizzop still won’t talk to him. Azu says that she’s only known Hamid for a short time, but that she thinks he still has some more maturing to do, and Hamid says that he’s trying. Azu says that she can see that, but adds that Hamid made a decision about justice by himself.

Hamid asks Azu what justice means to her. Azu remembers nothing from her teachings on justice in the temple of Aphrodite, and says that justice means that people get what they deserve. Hamid starts to cry, and Azu begins to panic, saying that she didn’t mean that Saleh deserved to be punished, but that they thought that he was a murderer. Hamid says that if Azu believes that, then Hamid didn’t get what he deserved either. He thinks that maybe Azu and Grizzop should have to arrest him too, and Azu tries to comfort him, but Hamid leaves to go off to bed instead.

Time skips to the morning: at some point in the night, Sasha opens the window to sneak out but sand just blows in, and so she does some exercising instead. She takes 4 damage as she worsens in her condition.

Sasha sleeps okay, Grizzop doesn’t sleep well, Hamid has nightmares, and Azu is fine. They all wake up - they have a few hours before Saira will bring them to Apophis. They’re all eating breakfast together, and Azu asks Sasha how she’s feeling. She says that the nice place about Hamid’s is that they do all the laundry quickly, so they’re able to get the blood out of her clothes quickly enough. Azu can tell that Sasha clearly feels terrible, and isn’t happy about it. She says that hopefully they’ll be sorting it out soon. Sasha mentions that at least Bertie can’t fall on her anymore, but then hesitates, asking where the flaming poo dimension is, and if it’s above her. Hamid and Grizzop say that probably not, and Azu says that she will protect her. Sasha asks how their discussion was, and Grizzop says he doesn’t know, asking Hamid instead. Sasha says that she might not be able to understand, because she doesn’t have a lot of people in the world who haven’t done stuff that would get them in prison, and wonders if it’s maybe a family thing. Hamid says that he accepts that what he did was wrong, and that he’ll try to do better in future. He’s worried that if Grizzop feels that way about his brother, he’ll feel the same about Hamid as well. Sasha says that they’ve all killed people; Grizzop says that in the end his brother did the right thing, and that he’ll judge Hamid on his future actions. He tells Hamid to think about what he learned, and to not disappoint them. Azu says that this sounds like progress; Hamid says that the only reason he’s able to do future actions is because he isn’t in prison.

Grizzop says that he knows that, and Sasha says that you can still do good stuff in prison - one of her cousins went to prison and ended up started a really good pie shop, handing all their catering inside. She’s been kept in prison too, and says that she learned quite a lot of skills, including lock picking. Grizzop says that Hamid is already paying for what he’s done, since he’s extremely guilty about it. Sasha asks what Hamid actually did, and Hamid takes a deep breath.

## Quotes

**Hamid**: "We need to meet with Apophis."
**Saira**: "I might need a little bit more to go on than that, Hamid."
**Sasha**: "I’m dead."
**Azu**: "Dying."
**Sasha**: "Well, no. Dead dead."
**Grizzop**: "Undead."
**Hamid**: "Well, we’ve dealt with very serious situations in both Paris and Prague, and technically the Meritocrats have been employing us throughout that, and we would like to talk to Apophis about some of the consequences of what has happened in those two cities."
**Sasha**: "The consequence is that I’m dead."
**Hamid**: "Which is one of the consequences yes."
**Sasha**: "I know I’m doing a good impression of alive, but…"
―Hamid explains why they need to meet with Apophis.

**Sasha**: "I mean, this is obviously Barret trying to take power. There’s no one else that could stand up to him for that long. I mean, I don’t know what’s happened to my, my family. There’s um…alright."
**Hamid**: "Sasha, Sasha, if we want to go, we can do that. That is something we could do, but we need to be prepared. We’re not gonna rush off."
**Sasha**: "What about Bi Ming? His shop couldn’t survive in a war zone. They’ll have smashed all his stuff."
**Hamid**: "After we see Apophis, after we’ve got the Heart of Aphrodite, we can go back."
**Sasha**: "I suppose I should be alive, I’m more useful alive."
**Hamid**: "We can go back to London. I’ve got people there I care about too."
**Grizzop**: "Don’t you have to track down the simulacrum? And also make sure that Sasha doesn’t die in 28 days."
**Hamid**: "I did say we’d do that first. I mean, the simulacrum thing, it’s gonna take a long time. If we take a few days to go back to London. We can travel there very quickly now and we can travel anywhere else we want very quickly."
**Azu**: "And if the entire city is in chaos, there’s very little that four people can do."
**Sasha**: "Well, I mean, we don’t, I suppose, have Bertie to shout everyone down now. He was useful for that."
**Hamid**: "There’s nothing we can do right now. We’ve got a more urgent problem to take care of first."
**Sasha**: "Right, right, okay. Yes."
**Hamid**: "But we can do this Sasha."
**Sasha**: "Yeah, that’s fine. Yep. Can’t get more dead. Well, I suppose I could. We’ll see, won’t we. Talk to a dragon! Talk to your grandpappy. Yeah, that’s gonna be fine."
―Sasha is distressed by the news from London.

**Hamid**: "I…I don’t know. I don’t know how to make it right."
**Grizzop:**: "Do better next time."
**Hamid**: "I don’t understand…I want to understand why you felt what I did was so wrong. I’m completely confused."
**Grizzop**: "You were shielding your brother from the consequences of his actions."
**Azu**: "And using power and privilege to do it."
**Grizzop**: "Your brother had the right attitude, as soon as he realized what had happened, he wasn’t affected by a magical curse, he went, “I’m going to take responsibility for my actions.” If we hadn’t fought you on this, you would have just sent him away, still cursed. Your dad would have gone to prison thinking that his son was a murderer. If it had gone your way, and your family just avoided the actual situation and tried to work around it, then you’d all be worse off."
―Grizzop attempts to make Hamid understand why he was in the wrong.

**Hamid**: "Has this never happened? Has a situation where the head of an organization has taken responsibility for some sort of screw up in the organization, you’ve never seen that? If the head of one of your temples, if one of the trainees does something wrong, does the head never, is that just now how your religions work? I honestly don’t understand it."
**Azu**: "No, the head would not get punished for something the trainee did, the trainee would get punished because then they would learn."
**Hamid**: "What if the teacher is at fault? If you’ve been taught wrong and you don’t know what to do, who’s fault is that if you then do it wrong?"
**Grizzop**: "He got gambling debts and broke in to a bank vault. I don’t get how this is doing something wrong because he’s not learned a lesson. Unless you’re saying all of his screw ups are your dad’s fault."
**Hamid**: "It’s a very complicated situation."
**Grizzop**: "Also, the high priest usually isn’t the trainee’s dad. You’re not an organization! You’re a family, protecting each other."
**Hamid**: "And your family would never have protected you, is that…"
**Grizzop**: "…I don’t know. But thanks for bringing it up."
**Hamid**: "I’m sorry, that’s not what I meant, I…You guys, I haven’t had friends like you before. And I, have this, I want to protect you, but I also feel that same way about my family, and there’s…"
**Grizzop**: "Then don’t do it by lying. Especially when murder is involved."
―Hamid tries to explain why he defended Saleh.

**Grizzop**: "This isn’t the kind of situation where we can just convince you. This change needs to come from you. You need to learn from this situation. And if you can’t…then, I misread you."
**Hamid**: "What should I have done, I just want to…my family has been through so much and my instinct was to protect them and I thought that’s what I was doing."
**Azu**: "You can’t protect people from their own actions. They have to be able to learn from the mistakes that they make."
**Hamid**: "I agree. But I don’t think…my problem is, in the emotional and mental state that Saleh was in previously, I don’t see how being sent away from his family, being sent to a prison could have helped him learn or improve, and I do…"
**Grizzop**: "You were gonna send him into exile. How would have that helped? He’d have just drunk himself to death."
**Hamid**: "I was trying to figure out a different way. I didn’t know what…I came to you for advice because I thought you might have advice."
**Grizzop**: "No, when we gave you advice, we didn’t tell you what you wanted to hear! You didn’t want advice, you wanted support. You wanted two people who you thought had power to back you up and give you more power! You didn’t want to learn, you just wanted to get what you wanted! I am done with this conversation right now."
**Hamid**: "I’m sorry if you feel that…that’s not…I’m sorry!"
**Alex**: "And then there were two."
―Grizzop removes himself from the conversation.

**Helen**: "Azu puts an arm around Hamid."
**Hamid**: "Azu, I’m so sorry. I didn’t, I honestly didn’t know what I was doing, and I thought that you would have a better idea, and it seemed like as soon as I told you that all Grizzop wanted to do was rush off and arrest him without talking to me. I just wanted…I’m sorry."
**Azu**: "Apology accepted. Now you know better."
**Hamid**: "I don’t know better, I still don’t understand why Grizzop won’t talk to me."
**Azu**: "I have only known you for a short time. I think that perhaps you have a lot of maturing to do?"
**Hamid**: "I’m trying. I really am."
**Azu**: "I can see that. But you did make a decision about justice by yourself."
**Hamid**: "I don’t understand…what does justice mean to you? I thought I knew what it meant and it just seems like you and Grizzop have this completely different idea."
**Azu**: "Justice means that people get what they deserve."
**Bryn**: "Hamid begins to cry."
**Azu**: "No, I didn’t, I didn’t mean that, you know, that he was going to deserve to be, but we thought he was a murderer, and so…"
**Hamid**: "But I haven’t gotten what I’ve deserved, Azu. If, if that’s what you think he deserves, then that’s what I deserve as well, and maybe you and Grizzop just need to arrest me too."
**Azu**: "No!"
**Hamid**: "I’m going to bed, let’s talk about it in the morning."
**Helen**: "Azu sits by herself in the room."
**Alex**: "And then there was one."
―Azu tries to comfort Hamid.

**Sasha**: "So, how was your discussion last night, guys? How was that?"
**Grizzop**: "I don’t know. How was it, Hamid?"
**Bryn**: "Hamid just looks miserable."
**Sasha**: "Maybe the thing is, I can’t really understand, because…I don’t really have anyone, aside from you guys, that I would, oh and Gragg, and I suppose a few of my cousins, and Bi Ming. But like, the thing is, if any of them did stuff that needed to get ‘em in prison, like…I mean…Gragg didn’t start out as a bouncer for nothing, you know, like, that’d be quite hard to cover up what he’s…well, you know, what he’s done. Maybe it’s something about families, it’s a bit of a mystery, I guess…"
**Hamid**: "I just…I accept that what I did was wrong. And I will try to do better next time. But, I’m worried, Grizzop, that if you feel that way about my brother you feel that way about m-me too, and maybe…"
**Sasha**: "Oh Hamid, we’ve all killed people."
**Grizzop**: "In the end, your brother did the right thing. I will judge you on your future actions. Think about what you learned here, if you learned something, and don’t disappoint us."
**Azu**: "This sounds like progress!"
**Hamid**: "But the only reason I have the opportunity to make future actions is because I’m not in prison."
**Sasha**: "A lot of people do good stuff in prison. Like, one of my cousins went to prison, he was in for like years, he came out, he’d learned to read, and like, yeah, he started a really good pie shop. He was handling all the catering inside, it was a good prison though, that is true, not all of them are like that. And like, I was kept imprisoned for quite a few years, that was quite hard to…but I learned quite a lot of skills. Lockpicking. Obviously not very good lockpicking at first, but they had a magical lock once I got good at lockpicking. That’s the problem when you’re trying to imprison a thief to use as a thief, right? That became quite complicated by the end."
**Grizzop**: "So, from what I can see, Hamid, you’re already paying for what you’ve done, because you’re obviously extremely guilty about it, right? So…"
**Sasha**: "What…what was it Hamid?"
**Alex**: "And I’ll close the episode there. Not because I hate you, but because I want you all to hate me."
―The party is tense after their disagreement.

## Dice rolls and Mechanics

* Hamid makes a Diplomacy check: 27.
* Azu makes a Sense Motive check: 18.
* Azu makes a Knowledge (religion) check about justice: nat 1.
* Sasha makes a Fortitude save on waking: 14.
* Everyone makes a Will save: Sasha gets a 13, Hamid gets an 11, Grizzop gets a 13, Azu gets a 20.
* Azu makes a Sense Motive check to see how Sasha feels: 16.