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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mal Malenkirk" data-source="post: 4725490" data-attributes="member: 834">[sblock=OOC]LOL, Neostalgia as the bad guys!  I didn't see that coming.  They are just a bit of flavor I threw up on the fly as I wrote the intro.  Otherwise Mirage finally hits the nail on the head with the last part.[/sblock]Mirage approach Kendrick about the necklace.  At first he is resistant but it turns out to be nothing more sinister than a natural tendency to be protective about what he perceives to be his loot and trophies.  He was always more of a freelance adventurer at heart than an agent...  You remember that he has a tattoo in elegant runes on his back that says : 'If I killed it, I own it!'Examining the necklace carefully confirms that it isn't merely identical; it is the very same.  There are initials carved inside that leave no doubt to it.  That strongly indicates that the Bearded Devil was already inside under the disguise of Lars Kinnar when the trouble started.  Presumably most of the legionnaires were too and same with the Cambion.That leaves a very obvious vector of investigation; presumably Kinnar was in charge or at least ranking and so paying a visit to his home should be a high priority.  [sblock=OOC]There really isn't much more to do here but follow that trail.[/sblock]Before leaving though, Mirage hears about what Kendrick was doing. -''You know, if you don't mind, I would like to go with you at Kinnar's home.'' Kendrick says.  ''Akmenos and the Innkeeper lady were related, even if vaguely.  Now they are both missing.  It's a weird coincidence.  I have been drawing blanks the past three days looking for my mystery woman.  I might as well take a shot in the dark and see if this is related.''    [sblock=Mirage]Obviously enough, if Akmenos is a third degree cousin to Hope, he is a third degree cousin to Mirage too.  Mirage barely knows him at all.  Third degree means that you have a great-great-grandfather in common; you are barely related.  You still have heard of him and seen him four or five time in your life.  He is a successful businessman and his father (a human, BTW) is one of the five richest man in the republic and very is involved with behind the scene political dealings.[/sblock]Before they take a final decision, the agents at the inn hear a short, rushed message from Nathan.-''We are following the trail of sniper, we will be out of touch we...''  and the communication is cut abruptly.  The two agents remain silent despite repeated request to come in.---Meanwhile, a few moment earlier.Kern had been growing frustrated trying to locate the exact location from where the sniper had fired.  Nathan was not being very useful in that regard; too much time spent studying magic, not enough hitting the streets, he expected.  Suddenly he had a flash of insight; Beggars.  Across from the general direction from where the bolt had come was a well known beggar spot.  It was well protected from the wind and warmed by a poorly isolate fireplace inside the adjacent building.  It was filled all year long with vagrants.  Obviously they had fled at the first sign of trouble but one of them might have seen something.  A few minutes of hunting and he had scored gold; a one armed man identified for him the building from which the bolt had come.  A posh hotel, no less.Moments later Kern and Nathan were crashing in and demanding cooperation.  An angry manager insisting on the privacy of his establishment was slapped around and cowed, personnel was intimidated, doors were kicked in without warrant across the hotel and ledgers were confiscated.  Eventually they came to a room that was signed in by an  E.Terl.   He was a prime suspect; he was alone, he had been seen carrying large luggage, had spent most of his time in his room and was described as being an athletic looking elf.  Yet he had received a visit from a suspicious man shortly before the attack.  The witnesses couldn't explain it but the casually dressed man had elicited a feeling of intense unease in everyone who crossed his path.Opening the door reveals a disappointingly empty room but the agents became suspicious when a cleaning lady said she thought the man was inside.  No one had seen him leave.  Kern and Nathan set out to thoroughly inspect the room.  Suddenly Nathan cried victory.  Being well versed in things arcane, he discovered a hidden portal.  It is very weak and about to collapse.  Presumably an accomplice had cast a ritual to leave the sniper a simple exit strategy.  But the spell was about to fade from existence any seconds now.  A quick decision was needed.  Kern opted to take his chances and stepped through.  Nathan tries to warn the other agents.-''We are following the trail of sniper, we will be out of touch we...''  but his arcane senses warn him that the portal is about to collapse right now and he jumps through at the last moment...[sblock=OOC]All right, enough chit-chat!  We’ll get back too breaking heads in short order, as soon as I finish building the next encounter(s).[/sblock]</blockquote>

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