With almost any other Kindred I'd find that quite odd. But Michel?" Corliss smiles bloodlessly. "Michel is known for elaborate tricks that eventually turn deadly. Leaving his home seemingly empty so he can watch you nose around is an old trick. Did you find anything interesting?"
"I found a very detailed map of the sewers and tunnels beneath Gatineau. He had it spread over his desk like he'd been studying the tunnels recently. It just struck me as odd."
"Why odd?" Corliss asks. "Surely a Horror has every reason to possess maps of sewer systems."
"An intriguing suggestion," Corliss says, stroking her chin.
You feel somewhat vindicated for bringing the map to her attention. "But even if that was his intent, there aren't any tunnels that connect below the river, are there?"
"I think you'd be surprised how many hidden tunnels the Sewer Rats have had their servants dig below these cities in the last two centuries. That being said, I'm not aware of any tunnel that spans below the river, but its existence wouldn't be entirely surprising."
She taps the desk rhythmically with a perfectly manicured nail. "Enough about the map. Did the old man even show up? What did you learn from him?"
"I wasn't alone for long. He came in while I was admiring a painting of his."
"The Woolford," Corliss says. It doesn't come off as a question, but you answer anyway.
"Yes. He suggested I should be ashamed for not knowing the artist's name."
Your sire laughs; you think it may be genuine this time. "That petty Leper enjoys his song and dance. When I first visited him fifty or more years ago we had much the same exchange. I'm convinced he gets a perverse pleasure from implying that his guests have no sense of culture or history. An amusing affectation for one scraping by in a city sewer." She clears her throat. "But that's not why I sent you. What did you learn?"