Walking the Path
These are Charlie's travels while he's away from court for the next few months or years. There will be an update every two weeks.
Part 1: Chicago
“There is more to this then just breaking stones,” Alexander stood from his chair and began to walk around slowly. He looked all around the room, everywhere but me. It was almost as if he was reading his thoughts from invisible cue cards as he continued, “To discover your own enkrateia you must first realize what you really are. It may be true that your body has died but your soul still lingers in its shell. A soul left there still capable of choosing. Some claim the Beast gnaws at their ties to humanitas causing frenzied actions to erode their core values. There are ways to put yourself past the Beast, and with time, you will learn.”
He prattled on like this from the moment I met him a week prior. It was like he had been reading some vampiric dictionary and decided to try to fit all the words into every speech. Granted, what he said made sense. Well…most of it…
But we’ll get back to the present later. First I should take you back to where we left off the night of last court.
It was about a week and a half ago and I was on a plane out of New Haven, headed for Chicago. The flight went smoothly as one would expect and when I arrived I was greeted with the usual cavalcade of the windy city’s regulars. One slight difference this time around, they weren’t the Camarilla regulars. As I walked through the terminal I was lucky enough to catch a glimpse of an Uzi beneath a trench coat. Hadn’t these stooges learned that shit has been overdone?
After a quick listen to his chest cavity I noticed there wasn’t a heartbeat. I did the only sane thing I could in a less then crowded terminal, I found the fire alarm and pulled it. That has to be the fastest I’ve seen an airport empty out, actually it’s the only time I’ve seen it happen. I filtered myself into the confusion and got outside to the vehicle in wait. Gerard and Nuncio greeted me with a pair of half evolved smiles. “Time to git, at least one gun toting lick inside there.” And with the efficiency of two very old ghouls, we sped off.
Fifteen minutes later and a whole lot more secure, we arrived at the Sears Tower. Just as I was used to I had to have a ‘Look at me, I saved your ass and I’m back in town meeting’ with the Prince. Fucking Ventrue Princes. I swear if I ever got the gumption to be a Prince I need to take a throne from a Ventrue. But not this one, I did help secure him as Prince once Lodin went down. ‘They need stability,’ she said. ‘Make the city safe,’ she said. One day I’m going to have a shouting match with Kathryn about that whole situation.
Anyways, as I was saying, I went up to the 35th floor of the tower to meet with the Prince of the Domain. He smiled when I walked in. I hate it when a Ventrue is smiling, usually means he’ll want something from you. We shook hands and he offered me a seat. “I can’t, I’m only here for a day or two before I move on. Just wanted to let you know I’m going to be in your domain.”
His smile faded. I knew he wanted something. He sat back and sighed slightly, “I had really hoped you were done in New Haven and ready to return to a real Domain. As it is your Grandsire and the former Archon have decided to only get minimally involved. Something about it being my job to maintain the safety of this fine Domain…It should be all of ours!” What a piece of work. He hadn’t changed much since the last time I stopped by here. I wanted to smack the taste out of his mouth but he just kept yapping on, “When I heard you would be leaving that awful west coast Domain for awhile I had hoped it was to take back your position. The office of Sheriff is currently open…”
I had to stop him there, “I told ya, I’m not gonna be here too long, just came for a few things and to have a brief chat with Ivan. Since I know your giving me hospitality due to me saving your ass from getting your soul ripped apart, I’ll be on my way now.” I stood up and started toward the elevators. It was almost amazing that his big ass ghouls thought they could stop me. I’m only 5’10” and look like I might have some sort of terminal illness but for crying out loud I’m a vampire, they must have been new to the game. I threw them aside with minimal effort and went back downstairs. Gerard and Nuncio were ready to go and we headed towards the Hilton.
Our arrival at the Hilton was as usual. The doormen know me well and I gave a hardy smile to them as I passed. Ivan was no doubt up in his haven with Grandma, probably planning some sort of attack on the Giovanni in retaliation to a long series of back and forth attacks. That’s one thing New Haven lacked, and they were better for it. No Giovanni.
When I got off the elevator the first thing I noticed was their door ajar. They never leave it open. I pulled out my equalizers and readied for a firefight. The door was silent as I swung it open. No one was in the main room and there were no signs of struggle. I searched through the rest of the apartment slowly and quietly. First the guest room, then the bathrooms, next the kitchen and last I opened the master suite.
The two of them were sitting there; Ivan was watching the News and Kathryn was sharpening her blade. After a brief second they both looked up and started to laugh. I put my guns away and Ivan came over to greet me. “Going for a bit of an entrance? Or were you actually worried someone could make it past the monitors, guards, ghouls and the elevator rigged to drop with a code input?” I felt like an ass, but I still think it was the right thing to do. Since it was only an hour before dawn, I retired to the guest room to put my things down and rest a spell.
Before I knew it morning came and my body shut down. I slept well that day and was quite happy the following night when I awoke. After a quick shower I went into the common room to sit and talk with Ivan. He had previously gotten me the lead as to what I might need to do in order to further my abilities. Kathryn had also put out some inquiries to some of the more talented people she knows and trusts. They both got the same answer, not only was there someone out there who could teach me what I wanted to know, but he was also looking for me.
“There’s a man in Greece, specifically on Crete who all of our sources tell us wants to teach you. No doubt he has his price though.” Ivan was nodding while Kathryn talked, “He’s around my age so he’s seen enough nights to have learned a great deal. His name is Alexander of Sitia. I can get you in contact with the Prince of Crete; he should be the best place to start looking. I know I don’t need to warn you but watch you ass out there. And don’t forget that it will be almost like the political climate of London. A whole lot of old Kindred who have all set up shop and been running for centuries. Since the Prince will be expecting you I made your travel arrangements already. You leave in two hours. Better get going.” Then she handed me my ticket. Oh fun, I thought, now I get to see the gun-toting loony again while I make my way out to visit a stodgy old Malkavian Prince and then find some weird hermit Brujah who happens to not only know my name but want to see me as well. I had to take it one step at a time.
“Thank you,” I said, “I’ll try to keep in contact as best as possible. If you don’t hear from me in a year, come and find me.”
I left the building with a hug from Kathryn and a handshake from Ivan and got into same car as before. The two ghouls dropped me off at the airport and without a word drove off. They weren’t the most social ghouls but they sure were efficient. At the airport I managed to pick up a copy of an English to Greek dictionary of common phrases. It wasn’t half bad priced for an airport. Oddly enough I managed to get onto the plane without any trouble, although I had no idea that trouble was already on the plane.
We flew out from Chicago with a destination set for Heraklion, the capitol of Crete. Ten long hours in a cargo hold were not going to be fun.
Part 1: Chicago
“There is more to this then just breaking stones,” Alexander stood from his chair and began to walk around slowly. He looked all around the room, everywhere but me. It was almost as if he was reading his thoughts from invisible cue cards as he continued, “To discover your own enkrateia you must first realize what you really are. It may be true that your body has died but your soul still lingers in its shell. A soul left there still capable of choosing. Some claim the Beast gnaws at their ties to humanitas causing frenzied actions to erode their core values. There are ways to put yourself past the Beast, and with time, you will learn.”
He prattled on like this from the moment I met him a week prior. It was like he had been reading some vampiric dictionary and decided to try to fit all the words into every speech. Granted, what he said made sense. Well…most of it…
But we’ll get back to the present later. First I should take you back to where we left off the night of last court.
It was about a week and a half ago and I was on a plane out of New Haven, headed for Chicago. The flight went smoothly as one would expect and when I arrived I was greeted with the usual cavalcade of the windy city’s regulars. One slight difference this time around, they weren’t the Camarilla regulars. As I walked through the terminal I was lucky enough to catch a glimpse of an Uzi beneath a trench coat. Hadn’t these stooges learned that shit has been overdone?
After a quick listen to his chest cavity I noticed there wasn’t a heartbeat. I did the only sane thing I could in a less then crowded terminal, I found the fire alarm and pulled it. That has to be the fastest I’ve seen an airport empty out, actually it’s the only time I’ve seen it happen. I filtered myself into the confusion and got outside to the vehicle in wait. Gerard and Nuncio greeted me with a pair of half evolved smiles. “Time to git, at least one gun toting lick inside there.” And with the efficiency of two very old ghouls, we sped off.
Fifteen minutes later and a whole lot more secure, we arrived at the Sears Tower. Just as I was used to I had to have a ‘Look at me, I saved your ass and I’m back in town meeting’ with the Prince. Fucking Ventrue Princes. I swear if I ever got the gumption to be a Prince I need to take a throne from a Ventrue. But not this one, I did help secure him as Prince once Lodin went down. ‘They need stability,’ she said. ‘Make the city safe,’ she said. One day I’m going to have a shouting match with Kathryn about that whole situation.
Anyways, as I was saying, I went up to the 35th floor of the tower to meet with the Prince of the Domain. He smiled when I walked in. I hate it when a Ventrue is smiling, usually means he’ll want something from you. We shook hands and he offered me a seat. “I can’t, I’m only here for a day or two before I move on. Just wanted to let you know I’m going to be in your domain.”
His smile faded. I knew he wanted something. He sat back and sighed slightly, “I had really hoped you were done in New Haven and ready to return to a real Domain. As it is your Grandsire and the former Archon have decided to only get minimally involved. Something about it being my job to maintain the safety of this fine Domain…It should be all of ours!” What a piece of work. He hadn’t changed much since the last time I stopped by here. I wanted to smack the taste out of his mouth but he just kept yapping on, “When I heard you would be leaving that awful west coast Domain for awhile I had hoped it was to take back your position. The office of Sheriff is currently open…”
I had to stop him there, “I told ya, I’m not gonna be here too long, just came for a few things and to have a brief chat with Ivan. Since I know your giving me hospitality due to me saving your ass from getting your soul ripped apart, I’ll be on my way now.” I stood up and started toward the elevators. It was almost amazing that his big ass ghouls thought they could stop me. I’m only 5’10” and look like I might have some sort of terminal illness but for crying out loud I’m a vampire, they must have been new to the game. I threw them aside with minimal effort and went back downstairs. Gerard and Nuncio were ready to go and we headed towards the Hilton.
Our arrival at the Hilton was as usual. The doormen know me well and I gave a hardy smile to them as I passed. Ivan was no doubt up in his haven with Grandma, probably planning some sort of attack on the Giovanni in retaliation to a long series of back and forth attacks. That’s one thing New Haven lacked, and they were better for it. No Giovanni.
When I got off the elevator the first thing I noticed was their door ajar. They never leave it open. I pulled out my equalizers and readied for a firefight. The door was silent as I swung it open. No one was in the main room and there were no signs of struggle. I searched through the rest of the apartment slowly and quietly. First the guest room, then the bathrooms, next the kitchen and last I opened the master suite.
The two of them were sitting there; Ivan was watching the News and Kathryn was sharpening her blade. After a brief second they both looked up and started to laugh. I put my guns away and Ivan came over to greet me. “Going for a bit of an entrance? Or were you actually worried someone could make it past the monitors, guards, ghouls and the elevator rigged to drop with a code input?” I felt like an ass, but I still think it was the right thing to do. Since it was only an hour before dawn, I retired to the guest room to put my things down and rest a spell.
Before I knew it morning came and my body shut down. I slept well that day and was quite happy the following night when I awoke. After a quick shower I went into the common room to sit and talk with Ivan. He had previously gotten me the lead as to what I might need to do in order to further my abilities. Kathryn had also put out some inquiries to some of the more talented people she knows and trusts. They both got the same answer, not only was there someone out there who could teach me what I wanted to know, but he was also looking for me.
“There’s a man in Greece, specifically on Crete who all of our sources tell us wants to teach you. No doubt he has his price though.” Ivan was nodding while Kathryn talked, “He’s around my age so he’s seen enough nights to have learned a great deal. His name is Alexander of Sitia. I can get you in contact with the Prince of Crete; he should be the best place to start looking. I know I don’t need to warn you but watch you ass out there. And don’t forget that it will be almost like the political climate of London. A whole lot of old Kindred who have all set up shop and been running for centuries. Since the Prince will be expecting you I made your travel arrangements already. You leave in two hours. Better get going.” Then she handed me my ticket. Oh fun, I thought, now I get to see the gun-toting loony again while I make my way out to visit a stodgy old Malkavian Prince and then find some weird hermit Brujah who happens to not only know my name but want to see me as well. I had to take it one step at a time.
“Thank you,” I said, “I’ll try to keep in contact as best as possible. If you don’t hear from me in a year, come and find me.”
I left the building with a hug from Kathryn and a handshake from Ivan and got into same car as before. The two ghouls dropped me off at the airport and without a word drove off. They weren’t the most social ghouls but they sure were efficient. At the airport I managed to pick up a copy of an English to Greek dictionary of common phrases. It wasn’t half bad priced for an airport. Oddly enough I managed to get onto the plane without any trouble, although I had no idea that trouble was already on the plane.
We flew out from Chicago with a destination set for Heraklion, the capitol of Crete. Ten long hours in a cargo hold were not going to be fun.