Green Flame Rising (Exalted vs Dresden Files)

Arc 14 Interlude 13: Doors of the Broken Hall
Doors of the Broken Hall

18th of February 2007 A.D.

"Is that what we're going...?" I did my best to sound confused, which I had plenty of practice over the last few months and insulting, not really a hard ask when the guy compared himself to a tapeworm. "Lamp all rubbed out."

Instead of getting angry or at least bewildered himself the horror standing across from be in a fancily of a Guatemalan eatery just leaned back in his chair with a creak and waved his left hand at me as he continued to devour the hot dog with his right. "Go on then, get it out of your system so we can talk."

"You make a real bad genie. I don't think I'll be using my third wish to let you free."

"What makes you think I'm making an offer?" The blandest face of evil I'd ever met looked up at me with mild interest, like I was a new species of bug he was eager to pin to a cork board.

"Experience. It's what all you wanna be Darth Vaders do." There was no way to be sure how up this guy was on modern culture, but if there is one thing I had learned over my rewarding career it's that the bad guys did not like being painted with the same brush.

"That is where you are wrong, I do not have to buy men's souls, they give themselves to me." The whole scene pulsed like a tumor seeping poisoned light. In a more normal tone he added: "Because they come to agree. As for my question I asked it for the same reason you didn't answer: because you don't know." he motioned to the street where the girl —what was her name?— was arguing with the woman next to her about ice cream before lunch...

"...but I've never ruined my appetite before and papa got me ice cream at least six... no seven times." She held out the appropriate number of fingers, much to the man's chagrin.

"Listen to that, does it sound of innocence to you? Or is it just that children are powerless. When I was young Dresden I had a cat, also several daughters and a son, but the cat was more memorable. I saw it scavenge the dead once after a riot and I knew than that if I died in such a manner that would not poison my meat." He took a large and greedy bite of of his food. I felt like puking. "The cat would eat me, first the tongue and the lips, then the eyes and the ears. A child would too, if it is hungry enough. We are all agents of sentience moving though a world of meat, like a haunted mincing machine. Who knows what she will be hungry for soon... They are coming for her, the Red Court, they know who she is and they have a use for her. In this the leeches have still the power to take and the wisdom to find."

"What did you tell them?" My hand closed around the familiar surface of my blasting rod, though what good it would do here I couldn't say.

"Now you flatter me Dresden. Vampires find a girl in the middle of vampire country? Truly a marvel and a horror. It must be a conspiracy."

Without meaning to my eyes jumped to Susan. Why did she think Maggie, it felt wrong to learn that name from the monster, would be safer here under watch of a few Fellowship agents than back in Chicago where all the big guns were. Did she really think I was that much of a problem, that I would put my daughter in more danger than bloody Red Court in their own back yard?

The Hollow Man reached out to a neighboring table and snatched their paper napkin causing the man to look down confused and Susan to look over at him suspiciously, scanning for threats. For all that good that does... wait?

"Oh yes, this is mere passing vision, the Labyrinth is real, I would hazard to say it is reality and all the rest built upon its foundations, but you are not the man for such airy musings. Reach out your hand and pull the girl though and she will be with you in time. Who knows, she might even learn a thing or two."

He could still be lying, of course he lies... That is when I noticed the man at the next table was wearing skin color gloves, the heavy jacket and pants were not just being a clueless tourist. That was a vampire, one old enough to be in the sun, if not quite as confident in his flesh mask as he might like.

What does Harry do?

[] Pulls someone in
-[] Maggie so she will be safe
-[] The Vampire for interogation

[] No, let it go, the vampire isn't just going to attack a family on a busy street in broad daylight (Willpower DC 7)

[] Open his sight to get a better look at all of this, all he has so far are gut feelings and the word of a monster.

[] Write in


OOC: Welcome to the Labyrinth where the worst things you can see are true ones.
 
@DragonParadox do these look okay doing something a bit new with the perfected metals.
These are along the same lines as the gemstone bones internal Alchemy meant to reinforce existing body structure and bring it to new heights to refine and strengthen what is already there.

●●●● Apogee of Poise Culmination

A light quirk of the lips (happiness, amusement), a minute clench of the hand (aggression, anger), the slightly bowed head (depression, submission), the lilt of tone (Smug, schadenfreude), a slight twitch (trauma, readiness), A tense of the abdomen and shoulders (aggression, attack). All signs of communication, emotional, physical and reactive, instinctively given and instinctively interpreted. These pills by boosting and enhancing the bodies and minds natural interpretation and instinct about implicit communication can grant a near preternatural instinctive grace and readiness.

Similar to Enhanced Pheromones (●) (Mage The Ascension 20th Anniversary: Pg. 660) The character gains two additional dice for a certain Social-based dice pool, provided that he's got an opportunity to turn on the charm and let micro expressions and provocations do the work. Although such Alchemy experiments don't confer Talents and Skills he does not already possess, they can add to his attempts at Etiquette, Expression, Intimidation, Leadership, Style, Subterfuge, and, of course, Seduction.

As well as granting a heightened Appearance and Wits cap as dictated by the quality of the pills. 1 success grants both an Appearance and Wits potential increase of one to a possible 6 in both attributes; further successes are divided between Appearance and Wits potential to a maximum of eight in both stats.

Further successes can be allocated to time between pills. The initial interval between doses is Weekly and is set by successfully crafting the pills. The second is a Monthly, the third interval is quarterly, the fourth interval is Biannual and The fifth interval is Yearly intake.

Failure to keep on this regimen grants a negative dice penalty equal to the Attribute over the Mortal cap and they increase difficulty by the same amount for a number of days equal to the number of dots over the mortal Attribute cap. After a number of weeks equal to the above mortal attribute it fades away back to Mortal standards. In that intervening time the character's social impact is particularly debilitated, reducing the difficulty to ignore or resist their influence by two.

●●●● Superlative Organelle Dissolution

This powder, meant to be taken with food once fully digested and distributed throughout the body, improves and reinforces the organs and organelles of the body. The rods and cones of the eyes, the hair cells of the ears, the olfactory organelles of the nose and the organs of the cardiovascular system though these perfected viscera require double the intake of calories to keep functional.

Similar to the Sensory Enhancers (Mage The Ascension 20th Anniversary: Pg. 661) this ingested dust sharpens sight, smell, hearing, and in some cases touch. It gives a -2 difficulty to relevant Perception rolls. However, any bright flashes and other major stimuli can overload the heightened senses, which will blind, deafen, or otherwise debilitate for a full round per success. A difficulty 6 Stamina roll prevents the temporary overload. This powder also grants one additional bruised health level as a result of the organs improving.

As well as granting a heightened Stamina and Perception cap as dictated by the quality of the powder. 1 success grants both a Stamina and Perception potential increase of one to a possible 6 in both attributes; further successes are divided between Stamina and Perception potential to a maximum of eight in both stats.

Further successes can be allocated to time between meals laced with the powder. The initial interval between meals is Weekly and is set by successfully crafting the dust. The second is a Monthly, the third interval is quarterly, the fourth interval is Biannual and The fifth interval is Yearly drinks.

Failure to keep on this regimen grants a negative dice penalty equal to the Attribute over the Mortal cap and they increase difficulty by the same amount for a number of days equal to the number of dots over the mortal Attribute cap. After a number of weeks equal to the above mortal attribute it fades away back to Mortal standards. For any purpose other than soak, stamina is considered halved until it fades back to Mortal standards.
With level 5 Alchemy you're able to use three dot Supernatural powers and at matter three you're capable of perfecting metals. Plus I was hankering for some materials that just weren't nondescript stronger than titanium metal that have distinct elements to them that tie into the greater World itself.

I wanted to put a note or something like when Molly either learns or studies or makes these that they have names like orichalcum and Luna Argent but it doesn't feel right to call them that because they lack the depth or feel necessary or something along those lines. I gave them different names because of that but that's what true silver and Auruamite are.

Something like they're a half step away from being those things but one's lacking the unyielding elasticity of purpose of the wish metal and the other lacks the protean touch of the moon goddess.

Same with perfected iron something along with missing the touch of the strands of Fate wound it tight or something like that.

●●●●● Auruamite (Perfected Gold)

Is a heavy golden material that is perpetually warm to the touch and almost seems to glow with an inner fire. It is soft enough to twist with the hands, but elastic enough to retain its given shape once set. Its luster and color are similar to that of gold, except it presents more red and warm hues than gold in even its purest forms. Like gold, it can be spun out to fine, thin threads or hammered into thin leafs. This Greater Gold is still gold, and has many of the qualities that regular gold has, like superconductivity and malleability, but enhanced. Any electronic device using Greater Gold circuitry may also grant -1 difficulty on relevant rolls. It is completely impervious to corrosion and is considered chemically inert.

Greater Gold, due to its Purity and nature resonates particularly well with magics granting a -2 difficulty to enchant, enhance or have spells cast upon itself by its owner acting as a unique and specialized instrument (Magickal Difficulty Modifiers Mage the ascension 20th anniversary Pg. 503).

When used as a Magical Tool/Focus for Hellfire, Shadowcasting, Pyrokinesis, Psychokinesis, Conveyance [non-teleportation], Weather Control (Forces) or Mana Manipulation, Ectoplasmic Generation Enchantment (Prime) spells, the sorcerer reduces the difficulty by one on her spellcasting. Any spell cast from an imbued item crafted primarily of Auruamite Reduces the difficulty by 1.

●●●●● True Silver

is a soft metal that has the same gleam and luster of polished silver. It is cool to the touch, and shines brightly beneath the light of the moon. It has an almost liquid sheen that reflects its protean nature; it can be molded into nearly any shape or form with a minimum of effort, although only in the hands of a master craftsman is its true beauty made manifest. It has a bluish color not normally associated with its mundane equivalent, and has a mirrored surface. It is sturdier than silver, and can be forged into weapons that do not lose their edge easily, Like silver, it can be spun into thin threads and is deadly to Theriomorphs, usually dealing aggravated damage to Shapechangers and the like.

Due to having resonance with vision quests and crossroads so True Silver behaves as a unique and specialized instrument (Magickal Difficulty Modifiers Mage the ascension 20th anniversary Pg. 503) for spells associated with seeing - such as other places, other times, and across the Gauntlet.

When used as a Magical Tool/Focus for Shapeshifting, Healing, Biocontrol, Psychic Healing (Life) or Summoning, Warding, Conjuration, Psychoportation, Clairvoyance, Conveyance [teleportation] (Correspondence) and Oneiromancy spells, the sorcerer reduces the difficulty by one on her spellcasting.

●●●●● Kypris (Perfected Copper)

It shines brightly and is fiery red in color. It can also have a rich green hue that tends to hold and catch the light, glowing with an ocean-depth. It is a superconductor, perfect conductor of heat and electricity and is chemically inert. It offers up absolutely no electrical resistance whatsoever. Even when it is melted down, the electrons are led through its substance without a single joule being converted to heat. Any superconductor has the capability of being a far more potent magnet than any other permanent magnet. Therefore Kypris can have magnetic ratings which are usually only possible with electromagnets.

Due to having resonance with thought and protection Kypris behaves as a unique and specialized instrument (Magickal Difficulty Modifiers Mage the ascension 20th anniversary Pg. 503) for spells associated with that deflect, protect with and from, or redirect magic.

When used as a Magical Tool/Focus for Alchemy, Cyberkinesis (Matter) or Fascination, Illusion, Cyberpathy, Animal Psychic, Anti-Psychic, Mind Shields, Psychic Hypnosis, Psychic Hypnosis, Psychic Invisibility, Psychic Vampirism, Synergy, Telepathy (Mind) spells, the sorcerer reduces the difficulty by one on her spellcasting.

●●●●● Siderite (Perfected Iron)

Siderite is the least lustrous of all the perfected metals and appears the same as normal worked iron. Siderite is exactly like iron; it is usually a dull matte black,not susceptible to rust. It is heavy, soft, and brittle. Siderite is not generally magnetic, but the shaping process almost always causes it to become so, especially if an iron or steel hammer is used. It never suffers metal fatigue - siderite can bend like rubber and spring back with no creep or deformation at all. Siderite holds an edge that never dulls. Siderite has a grey gleam that may glitter a bit more than ordinary iron, but other than that nothing about it makes it look particularly special at all.

Due to having resonance with purpose and existence or Fate. Siderite behaves as a unique and specialized instrument (Magickal Difficulty Modifiers Mage the ascension 20th anniversary Pg. 503) for spells associated with that strengthens and or reinforces the purpose or existence of an object.

When used as a Magical Tool/Focus for Binding, Astral Projection, Channeling (Spirit) Fortune (Entropy) or Chronomancy, Divination, Precognition (Time) spells, the sorcerer reduces the difficulty by one on her spellcasting.

Remind me in the morning please, it is almost midnight for me.

Sorry for the delay, but I do not want to risk making a call when I could miss something obvious because I'm tired

Rolls
First Round of pissing off the Nephandus: Harry vs Hollow Man
Second Round of pissing off the Nephandus: Harry vs Hollow Man
*Some rolls Hidden* Harry could tell he got to him by the way he cracked his facade for a moment.
 
[X] Open his sight to get a better look at all of this, all he has so far are gut feelings and the word of a monster.
Yeah, Harry is impulsive enough that the idea of his daughter being endangered would definitely have him opening his third eye to see what the hell is going on.
 
Sorry for the delay, but I do not want to risk making a call when I could miss something obvious because I'm tired
No problema get some good sleep thanks for the chapter.

Anyway I'm leaning for open the sight and it's a horrific idea.

Like I can't get behind do nothing it feels both out of character and makes me feel gross personally.

The maybe pulling the vampire can be a thing that happens but we got to leave the little girl there one I don't actually remember if Maggie speaks English or not at this point. Two he's way too excited that we might try to pull her here and you don't generally want to pull your possibly magical daughter into a caul-lite.
 
Yup. The Labyrinth is just the Three Anchors. I say just, but I mean that outright breaks most people and leaves them less in every sense of the word.
 
Taking anything here seems like a fantastically bad idea; it lets the labyrinth evil genie whatever you try to do with it.

More than that, the law of reciprocity has been very important to how this thing functions. If Harry allows it to give him something what will it take?
 
Ok, I don't trust the timing at all. I also kinda trust White God, Leanansidhe (a bit), and providence. There's no way for this to have been plausibly arranged in time. And Red Court should have a good enough psychological profile of Dresden, and, more importantly, Molly Carpenter, to know that Maggie Dresden being rhampirized ends up with their souls being eaten. No way. Not buying it.

Now, taking the rhampire is an interesting idea. But I wouldn't trust it at all, even if it was summoned here.

@DragonParadox is Dresden can reach to take something, can he reach out to put something there instead?
 
I think the problem with truth is the light you shine changes it. Ultimately, nature is a cycle of murder, violence and death and nothing more. But that's not the interpretation most people will give you. Same here. The facts remain the same, their interpretation changes. Here we see classic cynicism about the nature of the world and so on from someone who is clearly trying to remake the world, at least in words.
 
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Ok, I don't trust the timing at all. I also kinda trust White God, Leanansidhe (a bit), and providence. There's no way for this to have been plausibly arranged in time. And Red Court should have a good enough psychological profile of Dresden, and, more importantly, Molly Carpenter, to know that Maggie Dresden being rhampirized ends up with their souls being eaten. No way. Not buying it.

Now, taking the rhampire is an interesting idea. But I wouldn't trust it at all, even if it was summoned here.

@DragonParadox is Dresden can reach to take something, can he reach out to put something there instead?
The point of this from the perspective of the hollow man is to make Dresden engage, to make him doubt, to make him change. I don't think using the power of this place to try changing his life one way or the other is a great idea.

To get out he needs to stand his ground as a human being living in and connected to the world. In changing it by his own power and owning his own nature instead of trying to use the Outside to do something he couldn't.

Edit:
[X] No, let it go, the vampire isn't just going to attack a family on a busy street in broad daylight (Willpower DC 7)
 
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Anyway, concerning the situation:
1) I am almost certain that at least parts of it are fabrication. Like, the rhampire was at the cafe, but not now, or he's genuinely not here for her. Or it's a trap for him, or something like that. The timing doesn't work.

2) Assuming it's true, however - can Susan and co. take the rhampire? It's sunny outside, which benefits them.
The point of this from the perspective of the hollow man is to make Dresden engage, to make him doubt, to make him change. I don't think using the power of this place to try changing his life one way or the other is a great idea.

To get out he needs to stand his ground as a human being living in and connected to the world. In changing it by his own power and owning his own nature instead of trying to use the Outside to do something he couldn't.

Edit:
[X] No, let it go, the vampire isn't just going to attack a family on a busy street in broad daylight (Willpower DC 7)
That's arguable. In a sense Dresden is already using the power of the Labyrinth by undertaking its trial. Letting go might be letting him "cut parts of Dresden off".

I am leaning towards letting go, but I am leery, and want to be smart. Opening up the sight is an obviously stupid choice. So is taking Maggie (my guess? The situation might be real, but faceswapped. Ie it's a completely separate family in there). Taking the Rhampire is possible, but dangerous, it's inviting the danger in. how about creating a circle around the rhampire?
 
[X] No, let it go, the vampire isn't just going to attack a family on a busy street in broad daylight (Willpower DC 7)

In the event that this is really happening right now, which I doubt, the reds are smart enough to know that grabbing Maggie is going to bring hell down upon them. It might still be worth the trade if they think they can lure Molly/Harry/McCoy into a trap or get the bloodline curse up and running fast enough. But regardless I doubt Maggie's going to be in a bad enough situation that we can't simply rescue her after this is resolved.

I think that using the Labyrinth to reach beyond our means is a mistake.
 
[X] Open his sight to get a better look at all of this, all he has so far are gut feelings and the word of a monster.

The test is about being yourself and Dresden is rather free with his sight repeatedly attempting to use it on Angels despite them every time telling him don't do that your brain will melt and he uses it on everything despite the frequent warning he receives from beings that his brain will melt.

He is still alive and still relatively sane so fuck it go. Don't use the power of the labyrinth to pull anything in and don't turn yourself away and let the Labyrinth change who you are look and see the truth of the matter pierce through the fog of deception wizard Dresden.
 
That's arguable. In a sense Dresden is already using the power of the Labyrinth by undertaking its trial. Letting go might be letting him "cut parts of Dresden off".

I am leaning towards letting go, but I am leery, and want to be smart. Opening up the sight is an obviously stupid choice. So is taking Maggie (my guess? The situation might be real, but faceswapped. Ie it's a completely separate family in there). Taking the Rhampire is possible, but dangerous, it's inviting the danger in. how about creating a circle around the rhampire?
Being here is taking a trial that has to allow the possibility of victory, so the risk is already accounted for in the basic premise.

Using the Labyrinth on the mortal world would be deliberately using the power of the Outside to shape the world to his liking. That should be a massive red flag for a reciprocal change.

The hollow man wants to make him believe that the world is wrong and the power of the Outside is an acceptable way to make it do what you want. This is essentially conceding part of that point.

Remember that DF magic places inherent personal danger on the act of working your will in a much less material way than WoD's paradox does. Even if from a purely rhetorical standpoint it's not the same as accepting his argument wholesale if Harry does this he'll be opening himself to the same sort of feedback that makes black magic dangerous.
 
Remember that DF magic places inherent personal danger on the act of working your will in a much less material way than WoD's paradox does. Even if from a purely rhetorical standpoint it's not the same as accepting his argument wholesale if Harry does this he'll be opening himself to the same sort of feedback that makes black magic dangerous.
Basically this. Your definitely supposed to hold your ground here if nothing else. Using the power of the Outside is bad.

Pretty sure this is how Outsider cultist are made.

[X] No, let it go, the vampire isn't just going to attack a family on a busy street in broad daylight (Willpower DC 7)
 
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[X] No, let it go, the vampire isn't just going to attack a family on a busy street in broad daylight (Willpower DC 7)
 
Don't be stupid, Harry.

[X] No, let it go, the vampire isn't just going to attack a family on a busy street in broad daylight (Willpower DC 7)
 
I do not buy that anyone could vanish Harry away from Ebenezer. He should have been able to scry him using their shared family connection if nothing else. Not to say he wasn't hidden, but that maybe the Blackstaff did not look as hard as he could have because he thought 'if he's lucky he'll never know'.

Anyway vote closed, time to see how hard Harry can annoy a two thousand year old once-human horror.
Adhoc vote count started by DragonParadox on Oct 18, 2024 at 2:31 PM, finished with 44 posts and 10 votes.
Nope, doesnt follow.

1) Family connection/cosanguinity would give McCoy a bonus to his search pool, whether extra dice or bonus automatic successes or a DC reduction. It doesnt translate to a perfect effect.
It can and will be contested by other effects.

Harry couldnt find Maggie despite having his own blood and that of her mother in Changes; he got a brief vision of her face, but that was it. And his only opposition were secondline Rampire spellcasters, hardly the magical powerhouses of the setting.



2) Justin DuMorne deliberately hid the existence of his two Starborn/presumed Starborn apprentices from the White Council, just like he hide the existence of the White Council and its Laws from the kids. Never brought them to any meetings like you are supposed to do.

Something that you only do for nefarious purposes.

That would not have been possible if the fuckmothering Blackstaff knew the whereabouts of his grandson and was able to scry on him. Certainly DuMorne wouldnt have kept the Blackstaff's grandson around while practicing black magic.
And yes, DuMorne had access to enough secrets to figure out who his lineage was.



3)As for who? Winter could do it trivially. And are my personal favorites.

The Leanansidhe is Harry's rightfully appointed godmother, a relationship as close or closer than that of a grandparent and with additional magical authority. She is also the second most powerful Sidhe in the Winter Court, and someone that we know was around during his childhood, and who Ebenezar acknowledges as his elder in Changes.

She promised his mother she'd protect him.
If she didnt want him to be found until he came of age, he wouldnt be found.
Not by McCoy; for all their power, they're still mortal.


And from the timing of his vanishing into the foster system according to Donald Morgan in the Journal microfiction, Lea is the prime candidate to have first realized Malcolm's death, and then arranging to hide Harry away

Besides, the fact that Ebenezar never realized that Thomas Raith was his grandson as well until Harry told him in Peace Talks straight up tells me that he's either a stupendous actor willing to risk killing a member of the White Court royal family, or you are overestimating his willingness and capability of checking his family tree for new branches.



4)I will also point out that when Harry got shot in Changes, to the best of our knowledge Ebenezar McCoy didnt find his body; didnt know he was alive both when he was wandering around as a ghost, and when he was undergoing rehab in Arctis Tor.
First Senior Council member to realize he was alive was Rashid.



5) This is in line with the Fae Courts known ability to hide people and things.
When Summer Lady Aurora stole the Summer Knight Mantle, she managed to hide it from even Titania despite Titania's fundamental link to the Mantle. And Titania found it plausible that Winter had done it.

Similarly, in Turn Coat, the collective White Council could not find Donald Morgan, despite having his fresh blood from a stab wound, his hair, clothes and other effects from his home.
Why? Because he called in a favor from Summer.
=====




He has limited reach inside reality, which is why he needs minions in the first place. In any case, he didn't actually care about the knowledge collected. That was Shaw's personal project they happened to be exploiting for the bio weapon.
Does he? And is it a meaningful limitation?
He was turned by his masters for his expertise with humans and access to the real world, as opposed to the other Outsiders who can already be summoned to reality and make their way around it just fine.

Dude's on the board of the Thule Society; I doubt thats a work from home job.

Only the people immediately with Molly know the details of it though. Masking the follow up as investigating the damage done by mind control and other evil wizard stuff wouldn't be completely out of line.
Maybe.
We'll see I guess.


It's the quote I gave you earlier in regards to why Molly killing a Fallen Angel isn't completely out of the question for our timeline.
Oh, this one.
I remember why I ignored it, for breaking too many elements of all three settings in this crossover.
Thanks for digging it up again.
 
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