55

Lang shrugs, shifting the weight of his heavy robes. "If he has been receiving threats, they have not come from myself, as much as Kashif wishes to implicate the Tremere. I find his persistent badgering tiresome. If only I were able to extricate myself from the situation entirely."

"What do you mean? Can't you just walk away and leave him alone?"

Lang shakes his head. "My associate, Trevor Haidt, arrived in recent nights, sent by the Prince of Quebec City. She wishes for our clan to reestablish a presence here in Ottawa."

Unfortunately, the issue which resulted in most of us leaving Ottawa remains unresolved." Lang casts a side-eye glance at Kashif. The Banu Haqim is relating some amusing tale to a small group of Kindred. Maybe there's something to Lang's concerns after all? It's impossible to know.

"So you're stuck in the middle," you say. "If you want the other members of your clan to return, you need to make Kashif disappear…"

"Trevor is anything but a murderer," Lang says. "The young lick thinks he's everyone's friend. Prince Annabelle sent him to convince Kashif to leave. An unlikely scenario."

"So the accusations of attempted murder and harassment are fabricated? Trevor's appearance had nothing to do with it?"

"Oh, I wouldn't presume to say that Kashif is lying, only that his perceptions are misaligned. I think he underestimates the levels of enmity certain elements of the Camarilla have for the Assassins, and that distaste is hardly limited to the Tremere. There are dozens of potential sources within this city, alone." Lang swirls the blood in his glass before finishing it in a single, prolonged gulp. "Ah!" he proclaims. "A simply delicious flavor! I must ask our host where she procures her vintage."

The conversation takes a turn away from the political for several minutes as Lang expounds at length about the qualities of his local research facility and his inquiry into various relics and esoterica. Neither area is something you have a great deal of experience in, but you use your time with him to whatever advantage you can.