Author's Note: In my opinion, the story is about to get a lot better. I think my writing has improved some, and you will see dialogue in this chapter. Note that during this time, I had gotten into some stories by H.P. Lovecraft, and that lent to the dark and forboding atmosphere of the coming portions. The journey continues...

Ongoing Studies

I studied a bit on religion, as it had changed a great deal since my time. It seemed that there had been many splits, and christianity was now composed of a considerable number of denominations. My sire had always told me that religious people were dangerous to our kind, for they could destroy us with little effort. Faith was apparently a very powerful weapon against us, and I steered clear of the godly folk. I wasn't much for dealing with mortals anyhow. My appearance would frighten them before I could speak. I asked Grant about these religious people, and he said that they weren't so dangerous anymore. Their numbers compared to the general population had dwindled, and their faith was faltering. This comforted me somewhat, but I wasn't sure it was a good thing. If there was a God, and people stopped believing in him, what would happen to the world?

I did a bit of research on entertainment, as it had become quite an industry as of late. I watched a few movies that Grant recommended I see, and I was impressed with the realism of some of them. Computers played a big part in entertainment, I found out, as well as they did in almost everything else now. Many of the mortals were frightened that computers would eventually take over, but such fears have a weak foundation. Once I found out about the power of an EMP (Electro Magnetic Pulse), I knew there was no danger of any electrical device taking over the world.

I discovered much in my studies that I will not mention at the moment, simply because I don't feel the need for such detail, but I will say that by the time I was done, I knew everything I needed to know.

Something Lost, Something Gained

I took my leave from the city later that year. I thanked Grant for his hospitality and his assistance in my quest for knowledge, and then, without much hesitation, my adventuring began once again. Time was somewhat uneventful for a few weeks, but one evening I awoke in a location I didn't recognize. I had not gone to sleep here, and the climate was completely different from where I was before. I couldn't begin to guess how I had gotten there. It seemed I had a very vivid dream, but it was slipping away quickly, as dreams tend to do. I had a vague memory of some strange creatures, and visions of a man who had a lame leg but was very young…and used some sort of magic. Before I could gain any benefit from these memories, they were gone. I was frustrated, but perhaps I would find out what had happened at some later date. After all, it seemed I had eternity to search for answers.

I noticed I was wearing some sort of amulet. It looked to be made of onyx, but where I got it was a mystery to me. It was quite a simple looking thing, and I soon began to accept it as a lucky charm of sorts. The funny thing was I was scared to lose it, as if it held some sort of power that I didn't know about. I spent some time pondering over it, but I came up empty. Also, I had felt a bit stronger when I awoke than when I went to sleep, as if I had been training…but how could I train in my sleep, and besides, become noticeably stronger in but one night? Impossible at my age and experience. I was puzzled, but I soon gave up on the matter.

After a bit of observation and searching about, I discovered that I was somewhere in a large mountain range. The place had an ominous quality to it, and it was covered in a fairly dense fog. I seemed to have some recollection of information about an area like this that I couldn't quite bring to the surface. I decided to travel on foot until I remembered what it was, lest I pass up some opportunity I would regret after flying hundreds of miles. I found a small path nearby, and I began following it. It wound through the mountains, going higher and higher, and before I had reached any sort of destination, dawn was approaching. I decided to take shelter in the rocks strewn about the area, but I put some distance between my resting place and the path, in case a traveler might come along and sense me. Just before I began the process of merging with a stone, I heard a shrill laugh coming from what seemed to be every direction simultaneously. I searched around for as long as I could spare, but I neither saw nor heard anything else. It was obvious that I wasn't alone here.

I took my rest, and when I awoke, the fog was even thicker than it had been the night before. My mind tried to make some sort of connection with the fog and something else, but it was gone in a mere fraction of a second, leaving me once again frustrated with the state of my thoughts as of late. I continued down the path, somewhat apprehensive, but my curiosity and sense of adventure drove me onward.

An Ancient Evil

The laughter I had heard the night before came again several times, echoing through the mountain passes as if it were simultaneously from many entities, but in perfect unison. I had encountered many strange and frightening things before, but for the first time in many years, I was afraid. I had never heard such a thing before, and it sent chills down my spine like nothing I'd felt in my entire existence. Whatever was making that awful noise either found me very amusing or was completely mad, and my instincts told me it was most likely the latter. I'd never dealt with madness or insanity before, and so the concept of being hunted by something in this condition brought me great discomfort. I hoped that perhaps it would lose interest, but the longer I traveled, the more I doubted that idea. It occurred with great frequency each night I continued my climb, and on the third night, I beheld a castle built into the peak of the mountain the path was currently leading up.

There were no lights visible, but I felt that something was living there nonetheless, and that I was being watched by it from afar. I felt a prying in my mind at times, and I was powerless to avert it. My fear grew with every step, but I kept my course and composure, sure that I could overcome whatever challenge lay ahead within the walls of that ancient edifice. The laughter had ceased whenever the castle came into view, but its silence frightened me all the more. I cautiously made my way up the remainder of the path, and then through the gates. One of these had long since completely fallen off its hinges, while the other hung precariously by its lower one, creaking in the wind that blew incessantly in these mountains. They were obviously quite ornate and beautiful at one time, but had fallen into decay from countless years of wear. The area within the outer wall was mostly barren, but gnarled trees stood in various spots, appearing to reach toward me with their leafless and weathered branches. The castle looked as if it hadn't been tended to in centuries. Stones from the walls lay about at random, and rusted fragments of what were once iron bars were strewn in areas above which windows gaped like dark eyes. If ever there was a foreboding place, this was it.

As my gaze passed over one of these staring arches, I saw a wisp of mist move away quickly, and I knew that I was soon to meet whatever creature inhabited this forsaken abode. I approached the door, which was one of the few things still intact, and upon which a large knocker was mounted, bearing the face of a dragon with eyes of a red crystal. This decoration appeared new, and I was suspicious of it. I reached out to use it, and the knocker receded into the mouth slowly. The eyes blazed as if flames burned within, and the mouth opened, revealing teeth sharper than any I had yet seen. The thing roared at me, and I cringed as smoke began to pour from its nostrils and an orange glow appeared in its throat. Fire leapt at me, and though I managed to keep myself from running mindlessly as vampires are wont to do in the face of such things, I jumped back a few feet. The dragon's head melted and fell to the ground in a heap, smoldering there as I gathered myself.

Some sinister force was at work here, though its source had not yet been made known to me. I pushed the door and it fell in with a great crash, splintering into several pieces and stirring up a great cloud of dust from the floor. The interior of the castle was completely dark, save for the beams of moonlight filtering through the windows and cracks, and I focused my sight, piercing the darkness as if it were never there. It was a complete shambles. On the floor in the center of this huge room was a chandelier, surrounded by pieces of crystal that had come from it. The two staircases leading up to the floor above were all but destroyed, and the landing had fallen in. A portrait was lying nearby, but it was torn and tattered and I could make nothing of it. I wandered about the room, finding no evidence that anything had moved in here for an age, except from maybe the wind that howled through the walls. I heard a scraping noise upstairs and, not being able to locate a cause by looking, I used my ability to see the layout of the building, which would also allow me to see any living or undead creature in it. I had never seen anything like this: the entire place appeared to contain life, but I could discern no definite source of it, and certainly every fabric of it that I could see simply advertised death overall. I quit using this power, for it was no good to me here.

I had observed one interesting thing while I could see the inner layout of the castle: there was a cellar, but it was only accessible through a hidden door in one of the walls. Actually this was no longer so, for there was a hole in the floor which would send someone directly down to it. I decided to make my way down there to investigate further. I walked over and jumped into the hole, hovering down so as not to make much noise, and landed on a very odd surface. It crunched underneath me, and I looked down to see that the entire floor was littered with bones of various shapes and sizes. This would not have struck me as all too odd, but some of them were in such peculiar shapes that nature could not have been responsible. As I looked further, I noticed that the walls were decorated with sculpted ornaments, but upon closer inspection, I discovered they were made of bone. They were actually bent and shaped into these things, and I could not figure how such a thing could be accomplished. Surely I had encountered nothing like this before, but I did not have much time to ponder on it, for I noticed a black mist filtering through the cracks in the walls, and I backed up as it hissed its way into the cellar. As I watched, it began to gravitate toward the back wall, where I saw that there was a large and gruesomely designed throne decorated with skulls and bones of all sorts. The mist focused in the throne and took shape, and soon a humanoid form materialized.

The thing's face looked vaguely like that of a man, but it was somehow altered. It was monstrous, and there were spikes of bone protruding along the jaw line, with one three inches long jutting from the chin. The forehead was elongated, with a ridge running from the bridge of the nose all the way up to the top of the head, where it broke the surface and took on a design like that of a saw blade. The creature was holding in one of its clawed hands a goblet, which was constructed of bone as well and obviously filled with blood. Then the abominable thing spoke, with a voice that echoed and sounded as if it were the voices of many.

"I have been watching you, traveler," it said, speaking in a strange blend of several accents and grinning hideously. "My minions have told me much about you, although I am quite sure you never saw them. They do tend to be a tad loud, however, so you likely heard them stalking you in the night. They do their job well, and they should, for they have been at it for centuries. Naught but a fragment of my lifetime, but still a good stretch as servants go. Oh, but where are my manners? Your name I already know, for I see much with my mind. Allow me to introduce myself. My true name none may know, but many call me the Prince of Darkness, or, if you prefer a simpler name, Dracula will suffice." He laughed then, and it resounded off of every wall in the castle, making me wish to cover my ears.

I replied to him, "The legendary vampire Dracula. I never imagined I would meet such a prominent figure in my travels, though I have wished it. Why have you allowed your castle to fall into such disrepair? It seems so unfitting for Kindred as venerable as yourself to live in such a horrid place. I would have been tempted to think there was nobody here at all if my senses hadn't been as keen as they are."

He frowned and growled deep in his throat, then said to me, "Do not refer to me by that term. 'Kindred'…bah! I claim no kin, and wish none to claim me as such. As for my castle, the point of its appearance should be obvious. If it appears abandoned, nobody will bother me here! I detest visitors under normal circumstances, and you are the first I have entertained in centuries. Congratulations on finding me, but don't let it go to your head, young one. You are in no position to have much pride. Some of the bones you see here are from those who dared to disturb me in my home, and I assure you I took great pleasure in causing them much pain before their death. You would be wise to watch what you say here."

I was a little disappointed in his attitude, but I tried to keep my opinions to myself. "I didn't mean to offend, sir. If you don't mind my asking, what type of vampire are you? I have never seen one such as you, and I am greatly interested."

He grinned slightly. "You speak of clans, young one. I have none. My powers are of my own creation, with no outside influence whatsoever. Before you ask, no, I will teach you nothing. As for your kind, I have seen them before. Most are quite pathetic, trapped by those proud and arrogant Tremere, with their ridiculous magic. I know of your escape, and you garner some respect for that, but there are others like you. I employed one myself many years ago, but he has long since gone. I was not so foolish as to assume he would obey my every command, and when it was apparent that he wished to leave, I allowed him to do so. Independence is a virtue which I promote. I really have no need for spies, as I could do their work myself, but I prefer to stay here. My days of travel are few and far between."

I had so many questions for him, but in the shock of actually meeting him so unexpectedly, most seemed to have slipped my mind. I was at a loss, and said so. "Well, my stony visitor, I can't guarantee I would answer many of your questions in any case. I do not take well to sharing much information about myself. In some matters, my safety depends on it, and my privacy as well. There is also another thing I have yet to tell you, and I'm afraid it may not be to your liking. You see, I have so few visitors not only because I am in such a remote location, but because the ones that have managed to find me do not return whence they came. I trust nobody, and I have found that the best method of keeping someone from telling a secret is to remove them from the world where it matters." Seeing my distress, he chuckled and said, "Oh, no no no, my friend, I am not going to bring you final death, at least not by my own hand. I'm just going to send you somewhere that will be most unpleasant, and where I am sure you will not pose a threat to me. You will be happy to know that your worries of sunlight will be nonexistent, but you will have plenty of others to take their place." At this point, he raised one hand and made strange motions with it. I tried to run, but he dropped his glass and put the other hand out stiffly, at which time all my strength left me, and I fell to the bone-littered floor, helplessly watching as he continued his cryptic motions and began chanting. The room around me rippled, and he smiled as it all faded from sight, replaced by the utter darkness of a cavern.