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Message: <blockquote data-quote="gideonpepys" data-source="post: 6249153" data-attributes="member: 79141">Session 98d - Modus OperandiKorrigan came home to find that there had been a  disturbance during the night: Bernard met him at the door and took him  inside, where he found a Kell Guild assassin impaled on the briars that  surrounded his wife and child.  Clearly Lorcan Kell and his gang didn't  read the newspapers!  Bernard told him there were three assassins - two fled after he surprised them inbear form and shoved their accomplice onto the giant thorn.  Korrigan recognised Kell's modus operandi from his earlier kidnap of Lynn Kindleton and kicked himself for having done nothing about it sooner. Rumdoom returned to Hildegaard's townhouse to find lights on.  At five in the morning this was unusual. He entered to find Hildegaard sitting in the lounge with Kvarti Gorbartiy.  She ran to Rumdoom and threw her arms around him and kissed him.  She had been frightened by noise outside, only to discover that Kvarti had chased off some suspicious looking types who had been trying to gain access. Kvarti had come to make delivery of the weapon he had fashioned for Rumdoom: an Eschatologist's Craghammer.   Rumdoom abandoned all reserve and head-butted Kvarti in the dwarfish expression of fraternity: Hammer aside, given his tragic past, Rumdoom was far more grateful to Kvarti for his protection of Hildegaard than he could express in mere words. Messenger winds flew hither and thither and an animal messenger from Uru reached Matunaaga before he came home; his journey down the Stray River to his secluded dwelling was longer than most.  It seemed unlikely that the guild could have traced him there, but he approached with caution nonetheless.  Sure enough, he heard low voices and advanced with even greater caution, until he came across a surprising sight: Three maustin youths - a stocky young man and two women, all dressed in the garb of caji initiates - were sat outside his front door.  Matunaaga listened to their talk, and the speech of the maustin people made him long for home. They were waiting for him and appeared nervous.  Matunaaga stole as close as he possibly could and only made his presence known when he was almost within arm's reach. The young man was so surprised he staggered back and fell into the cinders of the small fire they had set for their comfort, and which had thankfully now burned very low.  When they had recovered their wits the youths introduced themselves as Worness, Seyna and Manfor.  They addressed him as Caji Dobra (a name he had not used or heard for a long time) and said that they had come to learn from him: Roshna and Tosin had returned home with the tale of how they were both beaten in a fair fight by the master of the Palimpsest, and had inspired these three to seek him out. "We can learn no more from our elders," said Worness, breathlessly. "They have aged since their oath was broken.  Caji Dobra, your own father is grey-haired and liver-spotted and can barely wield the brightblade."  Matunaaga told them he could make no decisions now, and that he needed to rest. They accepted his words and withdrew a distance. Uru decided to look for Malthusius before he slept.  He discovered that Malthusius was seen leaving the Governor’s island by ferry, disembarking and getting into a carriage at the docks.  The driver was tracked down easily enough: he dropped the deva at the clergy church in North Shore.  Uru got Bishop Antonescu out of bed. Cranky and tousled, the bishop said he had had a meeting with Malthusius, but that he was behaving oddly.  He showed no interest in their chess game (he always arrived with his next move planned), claimed to have been followed from the docks, and asked to leave by a rear exit.  After the church, the trail went cold.  No one had seen Malthusius after that. Despondent, Uru made his report to Korrigan and retired to his garden to meditate.DM's Note: I had the Obscurati pressure Kell to send his men after Unit A to throw them off Stanfield's scent.  Unbeknownst to them, Kell already had a plan to target unit B, and didn't want to waste valuable minions tackling Korrigan & Co, so he fell back on an old trick and sent some low-ranking hirelings after their friends and family.  t didn't work out for them (but it did confuse the team as I had hoped). The trail Uru was following was not the real Malthusius.  A henchman of Stanfield's borrowed his boots of reliable style and went for a walk in his guise. Heh heh heh...</blockquote>

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