Barbs and Browsing
22st of July 2006 A.D.
She is never going to be weaker than she is right now, not knowing what you can do, not even knowing that you are an enemy, the thought passes through your mind like fire racing through dry grass. If you could sway Matthews to help that would be two against one and he in the place of his power, a place Katrina was not minded to assault. If I could catch her between hammer and anvil... The thought cuts off with a sudden jolt.
Then what? We kill her and have to deal with the body while who knows how many of the locals could place Matthews or you as being the last people to speak to her?
Usum notes that you
could try to capture her as you did Gorfel and 'dispose of her' in some more discrete way. Quite apart from the proposal of cold blooded killing which is not exactly something you want to have as plan A that assumes you can safely capture someone like her, someone the bearer of Thorned Namshiel calls an equal.
So slowly, reluctantly you nod not so much for her as for any spirits Matthews may have on you. As you get in your car, hidden by the humming of the engine you say for the benefit of ethereal ears:
"Don't worry, I'll help you get her back."
"Keep an eye on Black Rider Clippy," you say as you cross the creek and make the turn onto the freeway.
"Confirmed."
"See if Cindy had a MySpace account or something and pull up a picture..."
A few minutes later the image of a dark haired girl looking maybe four years older than she had in the pictures at the Matthews place, around twelve pops up on screen, just her goofing around with friends. 'Driver's Ed' one picture is captioned and it's her and a friend in bumper cars at a fair.
You feel your desire to stab the people responsible for kidnapping her right into a
wall only getting more intense.
By the time you are back in the city Katrina is still on the freeway, she had not tried to overtake you on the road after all. Maybe like you she had chosen to be cautious in the face of an unknown threat. Unsurprisingly Matthews is in the back seat, though they do not talk much about whatever 'agreement' the Thule society had forced on the old man only that the sorceress seems to have made an oath to let the girl go free unharmed in body and mind once Matthews task is done. What that task might be you do not know, only that his safety is not assured.
Then, just as you pull in to the parking lot nearest to Saint Mary's Rider picks up the telltale signs of Katriana fiddling with her phone and while she is distracted Matthews asks. "So then will Capricorpus be joining in the Black Feast you have planned for the Eldest Ankou orto you just plan to use her for bait?"
"A mantle divided is a mantle lessened vitki, not that I expect one of your stature to understand. A pity you were not so curious about these things in your youth else our meeting might have been different," Katrina answers.
"Pity... I find it hard to believe you even know the meaning of the word my lady," the old man replies anger flaring like the last flickers in a cold hearth.
"A waste then," she replies uncaring of the jab.
So they are trying to trap the Ankou Harry had been set to look for by Mab for something called a Black Feast, from context consume his power, but it sounds like they do not have him yet, so why can't Mab find him? Had she deceived Harry in order to get him to help against the Thule Society? On the one hand you do not doubt that Mab could do the 'literally true lies' thing better than almost anyone else but why would she have to? It feels like you have the edges of the puzzle done and are still missing the center. Is this how Harry feels all the time?
What do you do next?
[] Go see Harry along with Father Forthil as he shows the tape to the CPD, if you are going to spring him before Monday it's going to take some fast talking especially since the argument is 'this is weird supernatural stuff you do not want to get mixed into'
[] Call Gard, ask her if she has a sister with a sideline in kidnapping children and trying to eat retired death gods. You could use some backup even if it is gangsters
[] Get your dad, this might not be the business of the Knights but the Sword will shine regardless where there are innocents to be saved
[] Get more information from Bob, maybe he knows who Capricorpus is, that's a new name
[] Search for Cindy with the Crown if you can get her out Katrina loses her leverage on Matthews
[] Write in
OOC: Regardless of what you choose here you will of course give Forthil the tape. 
