My players will be arriving on Malfi next session, and I'm trying to come up with some events (unrelated to their current mission) that they can take part in during their short layover there. Obviously Malfi lends itself to political intrigue storylines, but everything I'm coming up with would be too elaborate and time-consuming for the short time (a few days) that they will be spending there.

Any ideas for BRIEF episodes that convey the 'colour' of Malfi, without spiraling into a major derailment of their current mission?

If I remember right there's some stuff in Radical's and Disciples of the Dark Gods concerning Malfi that you might grab from.

I would suggest anything from history of Italian noble intrigue

Perhaps they get caught up in a romeo and juliet style story. Or Perhaps the team gets caught in the crossfire from 2 different Noble Houses and/or Gangs fighting over the same area of control.

Block War https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Block_Mania Something like this that the party ends up in?

Hello Adeptubs-B,

how obvious is the characters connection to the Inquisition? If the link is obvious there could be a dinner with vipers : a noble line with some standing invites the characters to dinner for the next day. The dinner is a formal affair where the characters are introduced to a number of other noble families, the host invited the characters to show off and to be on the good sides of the =I= while having the additional benefit that no rival will try anything on THAT DAY, as the =I= is one of the most powerful Adepta and even the Houses of Malfi think twice before they trifle with such. If the invitation is declined, the characters slight the noble house. Again, this will not lead to outright assassination attempts but will make it harder to get good support (no penalties, but reduced DoS).

During the desert, those who are present will make remarks about those who are not… not to the PC but in earshot, effectively -begging- to be heard. Viper-talk over a glass of sherry.

Day of Mourning

While the characters are on Malfi they learn that the local bishop declared a Day of Mourning in memory of some saint or another. This is a one-time event (not a new annual “holiday”) and is in truth a move of the planetary governor: a local feud was heating up to the point that it threatened to turn into a civil war. He used his influence with the clergy for having a day of morning as the two lines involved respect the creed enough to avoid killing another of on such days. If the player group has characters with good social skills some representative of the Arbites might even ask them to act as additional mediators during a meeting. They are only meant to be present while scions of both lines meet in an unofficial meeting at the house of an Arbites Judge.Their presents would help to give both parties involved the feel that they are now closely watched by powers larger than themselves and that they better find a way to limit further escalations or to end all of this.

Masques of the Malfi...

Combine the final act of Tattered Fates and the auction of House of Dust and Ash into a benevolent event, for a "charity" perhaps, one in which the PCs are invited to partake. But things aren't always what they seem...I recall a short story by Dan Abnett, an Eisenhorn tale about a man who takes pictures...perhaps there is a pict booth and the PCs bid on it, perhaps not, and it ends up in someone else's hands. Before the auction the device is displayed, and a few random bidders (and a PC or two..."Can I have some volunteers? You there, good sirs.") are allowed to have their picts taken to show the masterful portraits it produces...because it steals their souls; the portraits become more vibrant over time while the subject(s) slowly withers to death. A couple subjects die, and the PC(s) who had their pict taken need to track down the booth's new owner, or, if they own it, reverse the curse of the Masques of the Malfi!

When my players arrived on Malfi, they've quickly established themselves in the planet's underworld and started making connections within various gangs. It was a great demi-adventure, and it opened many opportunities for other quests.