Fiona takes a look at Stultus to make sure he's okay, then after the fleeing men. Are they such that she can take them down with a Charge of the Angry Winds? (Basically, she's taking a quick look. If so, she will cast it. If not, she will run them down and hope she doesn't give herself a black eye.)
They ducked around a corner almost as soon as they took off. Nothing's stopping Fiona from looking down the street/alley. She could cast the spell and try and knock them down. It might knock down others, too.
Stultus stomps after Fiona, staggering a bit. "Come... on. Let's get out of here, before we attract fifteen kinds of wrong attention. Let them go. Those momzers don't know anything."
Stultus and Fiona make their way to Mathieus's house, and knock on the door. "Ahh, master Sultus, Mallory, Mathieus's steward says with an amused chuckle, "your arrival was expected. Mathieus and some others are in the parlour enjoying brandy and conversation. However, his guests are not magi, and he requests that you and your guest be shown to quarters and he will entertain you in the morning." Stultus immediately recognizes this for what it is, that sometimes, Mathieus hosts parties for his cover as a nobleman in exile, and he carefully limits guests to only the Gently Gifted.
Stultus nods, frowning slightly. "Of course, Mallory. We would not wish to intrude. By the way... who is the other magus who is currently a guest under Mathieus' roof?"
Mallory smiles, "Ahh, his guest is not a maga, he dotes on her like a daughter, though. She seems to know a fair bit about Hermetic society." Stultus knows that Mallory's duties generally preclude him from being involved in or knowledgeable of Hermetic society, as mostly he serves as Mathieus link to the nobility, which, in addition to seeing to the overall function of the house, keeps him rather busy. "Is this, I presume, the maga Fiona who Mathieus indicated would want to know about his guest?" he says indicating Fiona in her disguised form. "She's shorter than I was told."
"This is, indeed, the maga Fiona. Fiona, please meet Mallory, Mathieus' steward." Stultus seems singularly distracted: the attack a few minutes ago makes less and less sense the more he thinks about it, and he's frantically trying to figure out what he's missing.
(( Also, I assume he said Hermetic and not Heretic? ))
"Pleased to meet you, maga Fiona." He says it cheerfully, and it is almost imperceptible that it appears forced (need a folk ken check of 12+, no subtraction for the Gift on this one) to be noticed. Mallory notices Stultus's distraction as he ushers them inside, and down the stairs to their quarters in the basement. "My lord magus, you appear to be discommoded, and not your typical self. Did Benoit come at you again?" He shows the two to their rooms, well appointed, and with subtle markers of Hermetic symbols that indicates these quarters are generally only given to Magi. "i will remind master Stultus, and explain to maga Fiona that the floor below is the sanctum of Mathieus. And it is his hope that you find your stay here comfortable. Should you need to work magic, you will find the lacuna located here in the basement to be much more amenable to that end, I am told that it neither enhances or diminishes your magical capability. I will send someone along presently to see to food and any other needs you might have." Looking at Stultus with a serious and slightly exasperated expression, "After our last experience with you, the chamber pots in these rooms are now self cleaning."
((Per 1 + Folk Ken 4 + roll of 7 = 12))
Stultus sees Fiona to her room, and beards Mallory outside. "I'm distracted," he explains, "because of something untoward and severely disturbing that happened to us on the way here. What's got you upset?" As Mallory opens his mouth to pretend to a stiff upper lip and claim nothing's wrong, Stultus quirks his head to one side. "C'mon, Mallory. It's me. You know me. The unfortunate matter of the chamber pots aside, I thought we had a pretty decent working relationship, no?"
(( Mallory would definitely know that Stultus pays much more attention to mundanes than most magi do, and can generally be trusted with a confidence. ))
((Mallory is very good at hiding his reaction to the Gift, is all I was getting at. Stultus noticed Mallory working at it.))
"I'm not terribly upset about anything. Perhaps you have just picked up on my reaction to most magi?" Mallory takes a deep breath, "But there has been a series of murders, of late. Men of low station, thugs and ruffians, in pairs, and left in what appears to be, well, compromising positions. None of them are familiar to us, either. They seem to have run off." He further muses, "And simultaneously the streets feel safer and more dangerous. We've suggested people don't visit after dark, or are well escorted. This isn't exactly the best part of the city, anyway, so it's not hard for some of Mathieus's guests to accept the need."
Stultus nods quietly. "Decadence, immorality, chaos," he mutters thoughtfully, "and it is the job of all God-fearing men to clean up the streets, by any means necessary. That fits. Or might fit, anyway -- I thought that fellow spoke awfully good Church Latin..." He glances up at Mallory. "Let me guess -- knife wounds? And when did this start?"
"What? On the dead men? No. No apparent signs of death. Well except they seemed to have or maintain an erection after they passed. And all appeared to be in the throws of either agony, or passion. It's difficult to tell which is which, you know?"
Stultus snorts. "True enough. Difficult to tell which is which when one is alive, sometimes, much less dead. All right. I'll follow up with Mathieus in the morning. Thank you, Mallory. It is a pleasure to see you again."
"Good evening, sir magus." And he walks off.
The next morning, well after sunrise, there is a gentle knock on the door and Mallory can be heard outside, "Mathieus invites you and Fiona down to break your fast. He suggests that Fiona come down as herself."
(( Giving Peregrine a chance to get a word in edgewise here. 
))
[color=blue]"As am I," Fiona says as she curtsies politely. [color=blue]"This is but a fraction of my normal size, in most regards. I felt that it would serve us better if there weren't a Giant roaming the streets of Paris." ((Folk Ken is Per 0 + Folk Ken 1 + (die roll of 0, but not a botch) 0 = 1.))
Fiona thanks Mallory and settles herself into her room, spending a good bit of time checking it out. After a little while, she finds an open space and touches the floor with her talisman to create a stationary illusion of sight and touch of a man (who may be recognizably intended to be Valerian), about as much smaller than she as he would be compared to her normal size.* She then spends a good while practicing some of the basic moves with her talisman that Alexei has shown her over the past year and a half**.
Fiona does come down, in her Hermetic robes and in her normal form.
- ((CrIm, base 2, R: Touch +1, D: Sun +2, T: Individual, for a Spell Level of 5. Her CT is Sta 3 + Cr 6 + Im 5 + die roll of 7 = 21, halved is 11. Her Finesse Roll is Int 1 + Finesse 3 + (die roll of 1), followed by a die roll of 2, for a 4) = 8.
** ((This wouldn't be her first choice of ways to pass the time involving a staff, but it'll do.))
Stultus waddles into the room behind Fiona. "Hello, Mathieus."
Stultus, Fiona. Please accept my apologies for not greeting you last night. I was entertaining the Count of Montmarte last night. He and his retinue stayed quite late." He stands while speaking and moves to Fiona, taking her hand in his and kissing it. I'm afraid you'll have to wait a bit longer for your surprise. She was up entertaining later than I would have thought.
Turning to Stultus, "So, you're entering the pit of vipers that is Confluensis.
Stultus drops into a chair. "Yes -- and Paris is proving to be a perfect training ground. You've got a problem, Mathieus."
He gestures with one hand. "Five blocks up, three over -- you know where the Rue des Forgerons makes a dogleg? We were ambushed there last night as we were on our way to you. It's an Infernal lacuna, or I'll eat my hat, bells and all."
"Yes, and I am partly responsible for it." He looks displeased. "I'm sure Mallory has told you of the murders. The positioning of the bodies. I believe it might be my house guest. In fact, I'm nearly certain of it. She has so much rage within her, rage that I have not been able to help heal. I've even had to take the additional step of having my house warded against demons. You see, she lost her husband a few years ago, and she's never been the same since." He says the last while looking at Fiona.