Elysium Backroom (Scion) - Alixandra's Meetings

She led him to a private room that had more than ample seating.

"So. That was awkward. From your look I am guessing you don't know what that was all about."

Scion looked around the room at the general surroundings.

It was a well-appointed room with several large plush chairs. It almost had the look of a sitting room or a room designed to have a comfortable small meeting. It seemed, like most of the rest of the floor, to have a gold-toned theme. From what he knew of the little Ventrue, it was most likely not her choice of venues for Elysium.

She settled herself in one of the many cushy chairs. She shook her head. "No, I don't. And from the look on yours, I suspect you don't quite either. We can look into it later."

She smiled. "How is your Family? Last I heard, the whole flock of you were in Barcelona."

Scion took one of the seats opposite Alixandra making sure his back was not open to any doors.

"Well we survived it. Worst siege I've been involved in since the Pyramid. The problem was that Barcelona had been so contested for so long there wasn't much solidarity there, so those with any real muscle or clout were often, well tourists - only there to curry the most favor with Justicar Lucinde that they could manage while doing the least amount of work or taking the least amount of actual risk possible."

Scion seemed lost for a moment in memories of a horrific battle.

"The way the Tzimisce in Europe fight... they are not concerned about the Masqerade in the slightest. They directed Packs of Malkavians... they had poisoned and ghouled whole subway trains and ground the underground railways system to a halt, filling the Barcelona underground with madmen and killers. The clogged the harbor with debris, grounded airports by having Lasombra unhinge the landing gear to whole fleets of planes. One whole sector of the city was all but cut off from the outside world where the remaining Camarilla had holed up. That was in addition to Tzimisce Szlacta War Ghouls and Vozd and... other things roaming the streets at night."

Scion sighed.

"It was a mess. Still is, but at least they've gained some ground. The head Tzimisce is dead, their Cathedral of Flesh destroyed, and the Cam gained some ground against their forces because of that. The underground is still a mess though."

He smirked.

"And the funniest thing was, I owed Jean-Lionel a bunch of boons. The only reason I got involved.... and now he's.... I may not be Cam anymore, but I pay my debts. Just wish the bastard had been around to absolve me of them."

Scion seemed to realize he was off on a tangent.

"But yeah, Cordi and Razor are back on the West Coast, it's basically just me Max and Jonathan out here, with Blake as the occasional peanut gallery."

She winced at the mention of the Sabbat Malkavians.

"The Fiends here have little concern with the Masquerade, but they are not as blatant as the European ones have ever been. There was a worrisome encounter the other night. Three packs, two Fiends and a Lasombra. We were lucky enough to have encountered unexpected assistance that happened to be inbound. Resourceful, too. I certainly never would have thought to utilize lye and concentrated enzyme cleaner to dissolve a Fiend in blood form..." She sounded as if she rather admired that idea.

"As for Lasombra...in case you have not been forewarned, our Seneschal, Dalia Ramirez, is one of the antitribue. Pretty little Spaniard, looks about the age I do and is about an inch taller than me. She is the only Camarilla-affiliated Lasombra in the area."

Her expression darkened. "Jean-Lionel...A loss that was felt by a large portion of the Camarilla. A Setite that was once the Harpy in Seattle, one Father Augery, was the culprit. Apparently, after one of his clanmates had supposedly killed Ethan, he went into hiding...somehow masqueraded himself and hid in the sewers with the Nos and planned his strike on JL. I understand there were Sabbat, at least one of which was a Lasombra, involved. These are the details I was able to garner from one of the Brujah there. Henrietta was ready to go on a hunt for blood, but unfortunately the Setite in question was already ashes." Something in her tone indicated that she would have very much been with Henri in that hunt. "That Domain has claimed the lives of too many."

Scion nodded grimly.

"There are certain places in the world where death comes more naturally than others. Seattle was one of those."

He peered at Alixandra as she spoke, seeming eager for news.

"Lasombra Seneschal. That always goes well."

"Jean-Lionel killed by Setites in Seattle. When will they ever learn? A snake out there is inevitably full of delusions of grandure and plans for the same. Sometimes I think the only way to stop the Setites would be to raise Set myself just so I could beat him down in front of the lot of them," The last said mostly in jest.

"I'd heard about Ethan too, but Raz0r shared a bond with him, so when it didn't break, we had an idea it was a ruse. I hope he had the sense to get out of that town."

"Lady Ramirez has a hatred for the Sabbat that is nearly daunting. She is...also His Highness' wife. I don't quite know how this worked out, save that they met in the Emerald Domain. I chose not to ask questions about it. She pulls patrols same as everyone else, and I have seen her fight. She is a bit of the cliche Spanish Lasombra pirate, but I do not mind having her at my side in a battle.

"As for Ethan...he is out of that town. I have heard rumor of a new arrival in town...a Nosferatu by that name. I have not yet had an opportunity to see if this is indeed him."

At the mention of Ethan's name, Scion shook his head, saying out loud, but quietly, a bit of his inner thoughts.

"And I thought Cordi was embellishing a bit about the Powers needing me here."

He suddenly looked trapped, and then a touch forlorn, and then finally resigned.

"Miami seems to have a plan."

She smiled grimly. "Miami." She made a disgruntled noise. "That's a nastier mess than New Orleans ever was."

She looked at him curiously. "What is it that has you interested in Miami?"

Scion seemed to regard Alixandra with the kind of appraising look that had a lot of weight behind it, as if deciding whether to trust her with the truth or not. He had to hand it to her that she hadn't expected the story he'd given the Prince to be the end of it. She had to know Scion hadn't come her for his health or a vacation though. He seemed to sigh and let a little weight off of his broad shoulders.

"We've fought together, and bled together. We've watched good people die together, and that means I can extend you more trust than most, so understand that what I say to you here doesn't leave this room. If you're still the same Alixandra I met a few years ago, you might even be one of the good guys."

Scion stood, pacing the room.

"We're going to get Gunn back," he said. "Back from the Shadowlands. We think somewhere in Miami is the text we need to do it, or at least to lead us to a Necromancer who can."

She straightened and looked surprised. "The Shadowlands? Gunn was lost in the Shadowlands? I had heard that he had been lost, but there was little information on it. This wouldn't have anything to do with Albrecht and his obsession with trying to cleanse the Gaslight, does it?" She had been close with few Ventrue in Seattle save two...Goldwyn and Albrecht. Both were now dead.

Scion nodded.

"Yes, that's exactly where he was lost."

Scion's face seemed to go paler as he remembered it. He hadn't realized that she and Massovia had been close. Being that this was the case, he recounted the story of it to her, how he had originally thought that Seattle had be Lost to the Shadowlands, and how he, Gunn and Charissma Starr had Heeded Massovia's Call. He told her about how he, Gunn, Massovia, a Caitiff and a human priest had entered the Shadowlands and become trapped as the spectral doors of the Gaslight Lounge closed behind them. He described the fight against the wraiths of the city founders that lead to the Death of Massovia and the last harrowing week Lost in the Shadowlands... where Scion had been forced to bury Gunn near the shifting sands of the Tempest, with only a Battle Axe for a headstone.

"I saw Massovia fall," said the champion, "but Gunn's body was safe, torpid, as was the Caitiff's. I have to find a way back. I have to save him."

Scion resumed his pacing.

"Before I left Seattle, a Necromancer told me that the shores surrounding the Tempest, the storm at the center of the Deadlands were ever-shifting, and that the location of them wasn't as relevant as the connection to them. In other words, I don't need to enter the Shadowlands from Seattle to find Gunn, I just need something of his - something he cared about in life, and I think I have that. Now I just need to find a way to open a portal and follow that connection, wherever it leads."

Scion stopped pacing.

"Jonathan says there used to be an old Arcanum library out in Miami, full of texts that mortal watchers have collected on the occult over the centuries, sort of a book repository for occult knowledge. He says the cache was abandoned when the Sabbat took over South Beach, but it might have what I need. That's why I'm here... well, one reason anyway."

"I'm sorry. Just...please be careful. We've got enough trouble around here without bringing the full attention of Miami on us. Not yet." She clasped her hands with her forefingers steepled in front of her lips. She watched him with those sharp green eyes.

"You realize that being in a Domain such as this one that is only barely stable means that every hand is needed to assist."

Scion frowned.

Here we go.

"I'll pull my weight Alixandra, but I'm not here to play war. And I know how to move around without bringing the hammer down by now. I'm also independent remember? The Sabbat know I hate them, they hate me just as bad, probably worse considering that to many of them I'm a traitor. I'll make sure to tell the Sabbat that survive any encounters with me that I'm operating on my own."

Seeing that the conversation had turned to Domain business, Scion folded his arms and got the message.

"Look I've wasted enough of your time. Stuff I do, the Cam doesn't want to even believe is possible, or exists most of the time, I get that. I just thought that if you and Massovia were friends that you deserved to know that the men he fought with are still behind enemy lives, and I don't leave people behind."

"You may not be here to play war, Scion...but you and yours have walked into the middle of a war zone. Independent or not, they don't care and you know that as well as anyone. I'm not asking you to play Cam." She pulled open a drawer on a small end table and pulled out a pen and a small piece of paper and started writing.

"I get that the Camarilla has a tendency to bury their heads in the sand. In my life, both mortal and not, I have seen and done things that they would immediately dismiss. If you need assistance, I can offer some but I am currently stretched a bit thin." She slid the piece of paper toward him. "There is my number at the top, and Evelynn's number at the bottom. I recommend earning her trust. It will not be easy, but you might find it well worth your time to do so."

Scion smiled at that remark about the place being a war zone.

"Fight never ends Alixandra. There are always Sabbat, Cathayans, pissed off ghosts or angry demons. The only thing that really matters in this mess are the people you fight beside."

He pulled out a card that said Scion Investigations on it and handed it to her. The old address in LA had been crossed out and replaced with one from Seattle, which had also been crossed out and the words 'coming soon'. On the back were a similar list of crossed out numbers with a new local number written in. The image on the front of the card looked like a... an owl? A lobster? Oh right, an angel. Sort of.

"Thanks for the help. Here's my number. Feel free to pass it on to the court, whomever needs it. I'll be there."

Scion moved to the door to leave...

She rose gracefully from the chair she had settled into. "Scion...It is good to see you again. Familiar faces have become fewer in number these nights."

Scion nodded, still facing the door, and left.