Mission Eau

Heat. (live:2s)[(transition: "fade")[Dust.(stop:)]] (live:4s)[(transition: "fade")[Blinding sun.(stop:)]] (live:6s)[(transition: "fade")[Paris is a dustbowl, ruined by the war, and you wish you had never come. But here you are. Your entire body aches. Your throat feels like sandpaper. Just one drink of water, you think, and you'll be able to continue the search a little longer. No sign of water, though. Only thing to do is keep moving. Or is it? [[Keep walking.]] [[Lie down and die.]] (stop:)]]

You turn a corner, leaving the main avenue, keeping to the shade. There is less rubble on this side road, which is lined with unwelcoming homes. You recall the mission brief. "Locals not assumed to be friendly." Well, they never are. Improbably, you spot a cheerful red-and-white striped canopy overhanging a corner shop. A plank of wood leans against the wall beside the open door, painted with the word "Café." [[Go inside, of course!]]

Exhausted, parched, and resigned to the uselessness of your role here, you drop your backpack to the ground, nearly falling on top of it. Each wheezing breath is a searing pain in your chest. You manage to prop your head on the pack, eyes blinking at the hazy, scorched sky. No. This can't be how it ends. You push yourself back to your feet. [[That's it, you can make it a little further!|Keep walking.]]

You enter the café and pause just inside the doorway, briefly enjoying a respite from the intense heat. Your eyes take a moment to adjust to the darkened interior, and you take a careful look around. Not more than twenty feet long and half as wide, this cramped space bears a half-dozen tables, all empty. The chairs are nothing more than overturned wooden crates, and there is little to suggest this is actually an eating establishment. You can smell meat cooking, however, and a pair of voices drifts in through a door at the back. [[Sit down at a table.]]

You drag a crate over to a table and sit, the scraping sound getting the attention of a young woman who looks out from the back room with an unreadable side-eye. She emerges a moment later, setting a scrap of paper down in front of you. "Menu," she says with a jerk of her chin. It's handwritten and in French, which you don't speak. [[Ask for some water.]] [[Order today's special (looks like something with gravy).]]

"Water," you wheeze. "I'm dying here." The young woman gives a slow blink and looks off toward what must be the kitchen. Maybe she doesn't understand. [[Repeat yourself politely.]] [[Repeat yourself with urgency.]] [[Repeat yourself loudly. More volume always helps.]] [[Try saying it in French.]]

You point to the item at the top, which looks to be about the right price for a full meal. You have cash to cover it; that's not a problem.(set: $orderedSpecial to true) The young woman nods, and says something in French, looking at you expectantly. When it's clear you don't understand her, she heaves a dramatic sigh. "To drink?" [[Ask for some water.]]

"Water! Please?" You manage a half smile, hoping she takes pity on you and your tremendous thirst. She frowns. "HydroTab." She flicks a plastic packet down on the table and begins to walk away. [[Hydrate.|Well, this is better than nothing.]]

"Uh... do low?" you say, more of a question than a statement. You hope you got that phrase right. Her face shifts to another equally blank expression. A flurry of French follows, accompanied by sharp hand gestures, and eventually she stops when you don't respond. She gives a snort of amusement and looks directly at you. "//De l'eau//. Sure," she smirks. "And would you like golden goose to go with it?" [["Why would I want a golden goose?"]]

"Water!" you say loudly, rasping and coughing to get the point across. You grasp your throat with a pained expression, which is not actually exaggerating, because it still feels like someone poured needles down it. The young woman rolls her eyes and tosses you a small plastic-wrapped packet: a HydroTab. [[Well, this is better than nothing.]] [["I said I need water! Not this goo."]]

She laughs. "You ask for the impossible, why not order a golden goose too? You want the queen's jewels? A space ship?" [["Yeah, yeah, okay. I get it. Water is scarce."]] [["Come on, this is a café. You have to have water somewhere."]]

You tear open the packet and pop the gummy into your mouth. It's gross, but at least you don't feel like your death is imminent. The woman heads back toward the kitchen. [[Let her go.|Wait.]]

You shove the packet back at the young woman, slamming a fist on the table for good measure. The effort makes you feel a little woozy, and your head starts throbbing. She takes a step back and narrows her eyes. "Not good, outsider. You always get what you want, acting like //un blaireau//?" [[Did she just call you a badger?]]

"Water! Wa-ter! WATER." Finally the young woman looks at you. "You sound like infant," she says with disdain. "Wah, wah, wah. Have HydroTab." She tosses you a plastic packet. [[Well, this is better than nothing.]] [["I said I need water! Not this goo."]]

She snorts. "Scarce? You could say that." "Here. Have a HydroTab." She flicks a plastic packet onto the table. You know the goo inside will provide the bare mimimum to your body but it will do nothing to soothe your throat. [[Hydrate.]] [[Try to intimidate her into bringing water.]]

She glares at you and shakes her head. "Where have you been, outsider? Nobody has real water anymore. And if they do, is not for sale." [["So you do have some water."]]

You let out a string of curses to the empty room and stop as your head continues to ache. Not the time to lose your cool. You still have a job to do. Voices murmur quietly in the back room; a door somewhere slams shut. [[Wait.]]

She narrows her eyes before pulling a plastic packet from her apron pocket and flicking it on the table. "Here, take HydroTab. Is good enough, no?" [["Fine, I'll take it."|Well, this is better than nothing.]] [[Try to intimidate her into bringing water.]]

After a few minutes the young woman returns(if: $orderedSpecial is true)[ and sets a plate of food down in front of you]. She busies herself by straightening the tables and wiping them off with a grimy cloth. [[Ask about the water.]] (if: $orderedSpecial is true)[[Eat the food.]]

Without a word, she walks to the back room and returns with a bottle and a glass. She sets the glass down in front of you, glares, and fills it from the bottle. The liquid is a murky brown color and you can see something floating around in it. "Fresh Parisian water," she says dramatically. "You want to drink?" [["Uh... no. Better be going."]]

Lukewarm vegetables fill most of the plate, topped by a gray slice of some kind of meat and a thin brown gravy. You eat quickly. [["That was a great meal. Thanks!"]]

Getting to your feet, you shake your head and make your way back out to the street. A wave of dizziness washes over you just as the heat hits, and you stumble, falling weakly to the ground. Your energy is sapped; your time in Paris - or anywhere else on earth - is up. Should've taken that HydroTab after all. [[Ready to try this again?|Start]]

Adjusting your position at the table, you let your hand rest on the pistol tucked into your belt and give the young woman a pointed look. Her eyes grow wide. [["I'll have that water now."]]

She puts her hands up and moves away into the back room. You hear water running from a tap. It is not long before she returns, but this time she is leveling the barrel of a shotgun at your face. This certainly escalated quickly. [[Time to go!]] [[Time for a gunfight!]]

Realizing you are seriously outgunned, you make a hasty retreat from the café, tripping backwards over the threshold and tumbling out into street, where you lay square on your back. "I've made an error here," you think, before a shot rings out nearby and your life is swiftly ended. [[Ready to try this again?|Start]]

Bullets fly, fast and furious, for only a brief moment. You are able to squeeze off a few rounds before you are thrown back by a powerful punch to your gut. Reeling, you slump to the floor. You look down only to see that you are bleeding heavily from a gaping hole in your abdomen, and the lights are rapidly dimming... [[Ready to try this again?|Start]]

You run right into a young woman. "//Merde//!" She looks accusingly at you with more than a little menace in her eyes. [[Blush]] [[Lie]] [[Watch where you're going]]

You tear open the packet and pop the gummy into your mouth. It's gross, but at least you don't feel like your death is imminent. [["What's going on with the water, anyway?"]] [["So is this your place?"]]

The young woman raises an eyebrow and simply nods, coming over to take your plate away. She disappears into the back room, and you stand up from your makeshift seat. You adjust and tighten the straps on your backpack and head back outside, ready to continue your search. [[That was a little anticlimactic. Want to see what else could have happened?|Start]]

The young woman shrugs. "//Oui//, I guess so," she says. "I ran it with my father before the war. He... well, he is not here anymore." [["I'm sorry to hear that. What was he like?"]]

Her face softens, and the flicker of a smile touches her lips. "A good man, //mon père//. He helped others, taught me to always look out for your neighbor." She shakes her head sadly. "But he was too kind for what this world became." [["It's a hard world out there."]]

She nods and gives you a long stare, her brow furrowed in thought. "Wait here." She is gone for a moment, but soon returns with a bottle and two glasses(if: $orderedSpecial is true)[, as well as a plate of food which she sets down in front of you]. She pulls over a crate and sits at the table with you, pouring a crystal clear liquid from the bottle into the glasses. [[Have a drink!]] (if: $orderedSpecial is true)[[Eat up!]]

Lukewarm vegetables fill most of the plate, topped by a gray slice of some kind of meat and a thin brown gravy. You hungrily take a few bites, and the young woman watches you with mild disinterest. [[Have a drink!]]

As you pick up a glass, the young woman raises hers and looks you in the eye. "I am Jeanne," she says. "//Santé//." "//Santé//," you repeat, and you both drink. Cool, crisp, pure water. You haven't had a drink like this in months. "Now," she says, leaning forward and resting her elbows on the table, "tell me why you're really here..." (align:"=><=")[*] Congratulations, you got that drink of water and even made an ally! Perhaps she will help you in your search. [[Choices matter. Curious to see where your path may have led, had you made a different decision along the way??|Start]]

The young woman grimaces. "Poison. Contamination from the sewers. Too many dead bodies in the Seine. All of it is ruined." She is gone for a moment, but soon returns with a pitcher filled with a murky brown substance(if: $orderedSpecial is true)[, as well as a plate of food which she sets down in front of you]. "//Mon dieu//, not even recognizable as water," she murmurs at the water, holding it up to the light. You think you can see something swimming around inside. (if: $orderedSpecial is true)[["I think I've lost my appetite."]]

The young woman smirks at you and takes the plate away. "If dirty water turns your stomach, outsider, you will not last long in this world," she says as she heads to the kitchen. "Be on your way, and //bon courage//." She does not return, and you rise from the table, ready to continue your search. [[That was pretty uneventful. Try it again?|Start]]

You may not know much French, but you do know that badger is equivalent to asshole. You're quite obviously being ignored now, as the young woman disappears into the back room. [[Get angry.]]