It's a fantasy role-playing game.

DM: You are Percival de Rolo, a human gunslinger . You are the member of the famous group of adventurers. Previously, The next morning, they gather in the dining room for breakfast that is mercifully free of chicken, but initially lacking in bacon. Zahra Hydris soon enters the room and joins them for breakfast as they soon begin filling each other in on recent events.
DM: She comes and sits down and spends breakfast with you guys, catching up on what has transpired and what your current plan of action is.
Player: Zahra, it occurs to me, you come from a family with power, connections.
DM: "Kind of. Let's just say we're estranged at the moment."
Player: Well, we're looking for any ally we could, and we were curious if--
DM: "You will find no allies where you're asking. Believe me, I'd be happy to offer if we could, but no."
Player: I had a feeling. It just felt worth asking.
DM: "It's all right. I'm going to continue with my research, since the rest of the ziggurat clan are now scattered about or maintaining that barrier. Guess who has to do the research in the meantime?" And she rolls her sleeves up; you can see the slightly smudged dirt across her reddish skin. She's been hard at work digging around trying to figure out what the basis of this enchantment beneath the city still is.
