RQG 55 - In Seine in the Membrane

## Content Warnings

Mass panic/rioting, societal collapse, drowning, thalassophobia, emotional crisis, physical violence towards civilians, pain, graphic description of injury, medical intervention without consent, body horror, inappropriate touching, gang violence

## Summary

The party continues to work out how to proceed in the wake of Mr. Ceiling. Sasha is a Hero, Zolf has a very important meeting, Hamid is inspirational, and Bertie...helps?

## Synopsis

Paris is rioting. Zolf is having a breakdown in his room, Hamid is not sure how to help Zolf and has fallen asleep against Zolf’s door, Sasha is “Batman-ing” to see how she can help the city, and Bertie is attempting
to be Batman poorly – both of them are trying to fight criminals. Sasha does a better job of it than Bertie.

Zolf has a lucid dream: he is on the choppy ocean in the boat
they crossed the channel in. He tries to speak with Poseidon, who doesn’t respond. There’s an enormous storm on the horizon, and time moves quickly as it gets closer and a cyclone builds, coming up right in front of Zolf, then stopping. He continues to yell at Poseidon, and a humanoid, water-sculpted figure materializes, walking toward him; Zolf is on the edge of being terrified. The figure reaches its hand out and a trident materializes, which it tosses into the boat; then it steps onto the boat and disintegrates. Zolf is thrown into the water, struggling to swim with no legs and one arm. He stops swimming and sinks below the waves, staring at the figure the entire way. He wakes up the next morning and throws a nearby decanter of water at the window, breaking the glass.

Sasha is fatigued, but gets back to the room and hears it, and goes to bed. Hamid is woken up by the noise, and rushes into Zolf’s room. He’s wearing the same clothes as the day before, and his eyeliner is running down his face. Zolf hides under the covers while Hamid asks if he’s okay. Hamid sits next to his bed and talks about why he became an adventurer; Zolf is sulky, Hamid references some mistakes he’s made, and Zolf doesn’t want to hear it. Hamid talks about how they have to keep trying, and says that they can’t give up on doing good. Zolf basically stonewalls him.

   Sasha and Bertie both sleep through the day, Zolf remains in his room, Hamid heads outside to see if there is anything he can do to help. He asks the concierge of the hotel how much food they have left, and asks them to distribute it to the people of Paris; one of the staff members stole a bunch of it, so they can’t really help. Hamid isn’t really able to do much, but he is able to stop some shops from being looted. Bertie finally wakes up at 10pm, to an apparently empty apartment. It is raining outside, and a damp Hamid walks in as Bertie is monologuing about being a superhero.

Sasha and Bertie both go out again to stop crime.

Zolf has another dream – it’s the same as the previous dream, but the figure is holding the trident instead of tossing it on the boat, and is larger this time. It offers Zolf a hand to pick him up, and Zolf has some complex feelings about religion before reaching out and taking the figure’s hand. He wakes up to a searing pain in both of his legs, Hamid hears Zolf screaming and rushes into his room. The sink in the room is overflowing and there’s water covering the floor. Hamid pulls the covers off of him and Zolf wakes up to see Hamid over him, and the pain stops as Hamid grabs his hand. Both of the sockets that had been on Zolf’s legs are gone, and he now has “shapely” briny water legs. Zolf yells that he doesn’t want this and Hamid sits there and hugs Zolf. Time accelerates to the next day – everyone hears the sounds of rioting outside: cries, yells, combat, etc. A stone comes in through a window, which wakes them all up.

Hamid, Bertie, and Sasha all decide to go out to see how they can help, and get food. There’s not a lot of it around, as Sasha’s nighttime activities have shown. Zolf leaves his room and Sasha and Bertie have a lot of questions about the new water legs. They don’t leave wet footprints, and Bertie pokes Zolf’s thigh a couple times; Zolf gives him a dirty look. He’s still not best pleased about the legs, and is confused about why Poseidon gave them to him. Says he doesn’t know if he has a lot of faith in Poseidon anymore.

   They discuss leaving Paris to get some food and also to avoid the riots, or heading toward La Gourmande to see if they have any stockpiles of food. They end up deciding to wander around a bit, to see what’s going on, and Zolf asks Hamid to stay behind while Sasha and Bertie go on ahead.

They have a quiet conversation. Zolf apologizes to Hamid for how he’s been acting, and says he appreciates Hamid speaking to him. Hamid says he thinks Zolf’s been given the legs so he can choose what to do next. Zolf still sounds despondent and lost, says he doesn’t think he deserves them. Hamid says he does, and that everyone else would agree. Hamid definitely doesn’t cry.

Cut to Sasha and Bertie: Sasha notices Oscar Wilde standing by the front of the hotel, blocked by the gargoyles, and slips past them to ask what he’s doing here. Wilde asks where the rest of them are, and then Bertie, who had been checking the front desk to see if any post had arrived, spots Wilde and storms over, clearly angry. Hamid and Zolf make it downstairs, and spot Wilde as well. Wilde goes to make a joke and Zolf cuts him off before he can. Wilde says it’s time to leave, and spins on his heel expecting everyone to follow him. They do. Sasha gestures to the gargoyles to let Hamid and Zolf through but not Bertie, at first, and then lets him go.

Wilde is tense and guarded – very different than normal – as they walk down the street. Every mechanical man on the street has been vandalized, tipped over, etc.; the streets are a mess as a product of the riots – looting, destruction, etc. Sasha notices that nearly every building that has been looted once stored food. Sasha thinks La Gourmande is holding the food to keep power over Paris. Hamid wants to go after La Gourmande, Wilde discourages him and says they need to get out of Paris and get to Prague. Hamid disagrees and turns around to go after La Gourmande, and Zolf tries to get him to stay. Wilde gets angry, casts *hold person* on Hamid, and says there are bigger things at play here, and that they need to leave. Hamid’s hand turns into a claw and grabs Wilde as they argue.

Everyone apart from Bertie sees four figures step out from the buildings, and they’re completely surrounded.

## Quotes

"I made mistakes, I did ... things ... people got hurt ... stuff I regret. I'm trying to make up for them. And we've made mistakes, since we started working together. I know that. I know you feel, like ... the things we're doing aren't good enough. And I know ... you know I feel the same, and I've ... failed, and I've got hurt, and I've got other people hurt, and I haven't ... helped when I wanted t-to help. But ... that doesn't mean we should stop trying—we're just people, we're all people and we're not perfect. It doesn't ... matter if we make mis—what matters, is that we don't give up, is that we keep trying to do good, is that we keep trying to help, that we ... make up for the mistakes, we don't let the mistakes become all we are, we don't let the mistake be the final thing, the final word on us, we don't let the mistake be the only thing we ever contributed to this world. Shutting off that computer was *not* a *mistake*. It's led to some ... consequence—some *horrible* consequences, but that doesn't mean it was wrong. And the thing that *would* be wrong is giving up on that decision, is letting that be the last thing we do. If we go out there, if we keep helping, then that's ... that's what matters."
―**Hamid**

"I don't know if I can agree to anything right now. I don't—If you're looking for some kind of- holy crusader to spread the word, I—you're, you're looking at the wrong dwarf. I, I don't know if I can do this anymore. I—You know how much I screwed up before ... the only ... thing that ... redeemed me was trying to help my friend but that was just because I got them into a mess! That wasn't ... that wasn't ... noble that was just *guilt*. Right, f-fine, just gonna keep doing this aren't I?"
―**Zolf**

"Well, gentlemen and lady, it would appear that Paris has fallen, once again, into disorder. It becomes one man's duty to spread law and order where there is chaos. That man is—Falcon Man! Yes, I, Sir Bertrand MacGuffingham, shall stride out manfully into the streets and resolve this crisis in Paris himself! You are, of course, welcome to join me!"
―**Bertie**

"Y'know there's something different about you, Mr Smith, can't quite put my finger on it. Oh yes, you've got legs made of fiddlesticking water! What the sugar is up with that! What the sugaring fiddlestick!"
―**Bertie**

**Zolf**: "Um... sorry. For... dismissing your—"
**Hamid**: "You don't need to apologise to me, Zolf."
**Zolf**: "Yeah... just—appreciate you being honest but a pep talk is—this is not the kind of situation that can be solved by that. But, I appreciate that you also have... things that you need to work through yourself. Just been... spending far too long trying to hold things together."
**Hamid**: "You've done... a lot, and... maybe you don't wanna hear my opinion but I think you've been given those legs by Poseidon because... He wants you to have a choice about what to do next. He's not deciding for you, but now you can choose whatever you think is right."
**Zolf**: "Just... don't feel like I deserve them... I don't know why I have them, I don't know why He's given them to me... I just don't know."
**Hamid**: "Maybe it doesn't mean anything to you, but... I think you deserve them, Zolf, and I think anyone except yourself would say the same if they knew everything you'd done."
―Zolf and Hamid have a quiet conversation about Zolf's new water legs

"Bigger things at play here, Hamid. We don't need to be at each other's throats, but we do. Need. To leave. *Now.*"
―**Oscar Wilde**
## Dice rolls and Mechanics

Zolf makes a will save in the dream: 17.

Perception checks to hear the decanter of water break the
window: Bertie gets a 4, Hamid gets a 22, Sasha gets a 20.

Sasha makes a will save to sleep: natural 20.

Bertie makes a perception roll after waking up: 4.

Hamid makes a perception roll to hear Zolf screaming: 16.

Hamid makes another perception check (not sure for what): nat

Everyone makes a perception check upon waking up: Bertie
gets a 15, Hamid gets a 23, Sasha and Zolf both get 20.

Sasha makes a knowledge local check: 13.

Sasha makes a perception check when they go to leave: nat 20.

They all make a perception check again when they’re walking down
the street: Bertie gets 8, Hamid gets 13, Sasha gets 20, and Zolf gets 16.

Wilde casts *hold person* on Hamid, Hamid gets a 17 on his
will save and is held in place.

Everyone rolls perception again: Bertie gets a nat 1, Zolf
gets 17, Sasha gets 23, Hamid gets 26.