War Report #2

My dearest Auntie,
 
Our meeting with the Prince did not go quite as I had hoped. He seemed receptive of my suggestions but ultimately left the issue in the hands of our coterie who are committed to direct acts of violence. It did not seem to concern his majesty to learn that there was a small army rallying on his door step. My first instinct was that this man is a fool and that we have chosen poorly by attempting to do business in his domain but I reminded myself of our discussions of the man and that fools do not live long enough to rise to such stations. Having taken the time to reconsider I must assume one of two truths about the Prince. 1.) He is troubled by some greater concern than the second inquisition or 2.) He has full faith in the members of my coterie to resolve the issue, even should it come to direct conflict. If the first is true our investments in this city may still come to naught should such problems prove to be impossible to resolve in a profitable way, but if such problems can be overcome with a helping hand from The Family it would certainly do wonders for any attempts to build trust and friendship within the city. I am not so averse to risk as to squander a possibly worthy reward but we will need to assess and judge these matters as our understanding of the Kindred situation in the city expands. The second option seems like wishful thinking, but it's true that I do not have an accurate assessment of my coteries strength. As I have mentioned before the Dragon seems quite old and I'm certain their power is great. I have made the acquaintance a two returning veteran members as well. One seemed to be familiar with our family name and carried themselves with a level of grace and confidence that I would neither be surprised to discover they were a trained killer or had simply spent a majority of their unlife perfecting ballet. The other, though a bit distasteful, is open about their combat experience and current occupation as either simple muscle or killer for hire. They have marked and desecrated their flesh in such a way to pay homage to serpents and reptiles. It is possible that they may have some connection to The Ministry but the way their demeanor calls to mind the Gangrel. Either way, when it comes to a fight I do believe they will offer a great deal to our efforts. The wildcard is the Malkavian, (Imagine...) They seem absolutely undaunted by the idea of raiding a fortress head on or that we recently discovered our enemies have armed themselves with incendiary rounds and have at their disposable holy weapons that burn a kindred simply by contact. I cannot tell if this bravado is a mark of confidence and strength or if their judgement has been simply warped by a lust for revenge against wounds the inquisition has struck against them. Either way, they have committed us to our path and now it must be walked.
 
As you can imagine I am less than pleased but no situation has ever been improved by dwelling on what it could have been. If I am to be of use to this coterie, if I am to build the trust and friendship that our Family requires I must be able to offer a meaningful contribution to their plan. I gave my word to the sheriff that I would help and watch over them but I did not promise to throw my unlife away in doing so. Thankfully I believe I have come up with a solution that will produce meaningful results without putting myself in danger...at least not danger from the second inquisition. Despite your insistence that such things were no longer necessary I have chosen to keep up with my study of the occult and the arts practiced by our Giovanni cousins. I believe that with some preparation I will be able to not only summon but bind a spirit to my will. However, a spirit that can easily be bound to my will likely not turn the tide of our battle or make much of an impact at all and even if it were I would have gained a powerful enemy in the spirit world once it had finished it's task. With this in mind I believe my best course of action is to seek out a spirit that is likely beyond my ability to control and in the true nature of our family make a deal with it., attempting to force my will on such a being only as a last resort. Finding a suitable spirit and uncovering a suitable payment for it's services will take time, time I can only hope to have, and is likely outside of my ability to manage alone. With that in mind I have shifted my priorities and have moved meeting with Adler Quinn to the top of my list. He seems to have been in the city for some time, if anyone could direct me to what I need or offer assistance in completing the necessary rituals and dealing with a powerful spirit it is him. I can feel your judgement as I write this, please understand that I know how reckless this course of action is but that I am left with little in the way of options.
 
Speaking of Mr. Quinn I managed to sample his miraculous method of making alcohol suitable for kindred. For the first time in over 80 years I tasted the peat of Islay. I felt the burn in my throat and the warmth in my belly and I thought for a moment that I would see the sun rise again. If the Family could replicate this method we would find doors open to us in every city. I can understand why the local kindred seemed so protective and possessive of Mr. Quinn when they spoke of him. He has gifted Chicago an unthinkable treasure.
 
Unfortunately my actual duties have been forced to the back of my mind with the inevitable battle but I have not been totally remiss in my duties. I am still mapping Mr. Goetz holdings in the city. I am eager to see if he has developed his holdings solely within the territory of the coterie or if he has reached out into the affairs and domains of other Kindred and at what cost. As I mentioned before his focus seems to be on nightclubs and hotels. Not wanting to step on the toes of our potential ally I believe our best course may be to start in businesses that are similar but purpose-adjacent. Attached to this missive you will find several suggested purchases in local transportation and courier businesses, messenger services, cab companies and the like. If nothing else they are the sort of business that you can always sink money into and have fail should we need to funnel our assets out of Chicago.
 
 
Your loving Nephew,
 
A. Dunsirn.