Winning Vote
Green Flame Rising (Exalted vs Dresden Files)
- Thread starter DragonParadox
- Start date
- Crossover Fantasy
Arc 2 Post 41: Porter's Passage
Porter's Passage
22st of July 2006 A.D.
Maybe it's just paranoia, but the memory of just how well that specter had played the part of Lydia sticks to you: "We need to check that thing isn't around anymore..." What you would not give to have Harry's Sight right about now.
"She would struggle to take any of us except the girl," Gard notes. "I confess I know little of the ways of the White God, but I do not think it would allow that in the hand of a thief." She motions at the Sword.
For her part poor Cindy kind of squeaks in shock at the notion, much to her embarrassment to judge from the sudden flush of her cheeks. Nothing's quite as bad as feeling like a little kid when you are just starting to think of yourself as grown up, you remember all too well so instead of adding more reassurance to dad's you just to a business-like once over of her. Gard gets a little more exotic, setting fire to some of the old wood and slicing her palm over it. As the blood falls into the flames you see a faint shimmer in the air, kind of like a mystical lens you guess.
Thankfully Cindy passes the test with flying colors and so does dad, though it leaves the valkyrie blinking rapidly like she had just been staring into the sun when it's your turn she just shakes her head. "No less strange than it was before."
"Gee, thanks for that," you reply sarcastically.
"Do you want to be commonplace?" she asks, the smallest hint of a smile twisting at the corner of her lips.
Admittedly she has you there, not that you say so aloud.
Dad's way of checking for possession is a lot less esoteric, he prays for clear sight and wisdom over all three of you and when that is not answered by any sign or ill feeling he proclaims that you are all fine. He on the other hand is not fine."I can still fight well enough if it comes to it." The bleeding had stopped, but he admits his head still hurts bad and his vision is unsteady.
You look dad up and down critically as you wipe the old blood off his face. "You're not just saying that are you?" Even though you are no kind of doctor, you just know what the effects of being hit by ghosts are when the veil is low. Pcycho-somatic damage, partially informed by the mortal wounds of the specters themselves and partially by where on the body the blows landed. a few hours rest from physical and mental activity should be enough to fix it.
He smiles and shakes his head.
"What?" you ask
"You sound just like your mother."
To be honest you are not entirely sure what to say to that so you choose to say nothing at all.
While you had been seeing to dad Gard had been speaking to the elemental, specifically she had been speaking to him in the language all dragons great and small love, bribery. You are not quite sure what a 'mark of silver' is and Clippy can't get online from down here to check. Regardless it is enough that your new friend to carry you along to the nearest way out 'that won't be too much trouble'.
On the somewhat more sedate journey you find out that he prefers to be called 'Porter' and that he has lived here as long as he can remember, that he is older than the city, though the name isn't. He rambles on in his hissing manner of things past and things he has known, of the days of Prohibition and the gangsters who used to fight the vampires down here for access to the tunnels, of the way the city used to look like before the Great Fire and how he has totally tried to warn the local Warden that it was coming after finding out from a Boneseer that was was going to go down only he had gotten really comfortable sleeping on a seam of soft shale and he'd mixed up moon passes and sun passes so by the time he woke up the people were already rebuilding the city.
Gained 2 Essence -> Essence now 7/12
Apparently the speed of mortal action leaves Porter bewildered at times, but also fascinated as to 'how they can have so much water in them and burn so fast'.
Once of twice out of the corner of your eye you see humanoid figures slinking in the dark at the edge of the orange glow Porter's eyes cast, but ghoul or vampire or worse things they do not dare get close and before more than a quarter of an hour is out by Clippy's measure you make it into the old freight tunnels that make up some of the most accessible parts of Undertown. One mildly alarming ride in one of the old freight elevators that was still 'somehow' working leaves into in a warehouse that is being used by Marcone's outfit. What for you don't know and frankly don't want to find out. You're just glad to see the sunlight again... even if it is rather sliding towards the west.
"Wha... what happened?" Lydia asks as you start to pick her up again to get her into the back of Hendricks' car.
"You were possessed by an evil ghost," Cindly pipes in before any of the rest of you can answer.
"Didn't know she was evil, said she..." she clamps up. "Listen I'm really grateful you saved me from her and Mr Carpenter really not how I wanted us to meet, but I need to know who you are working for or with before I say too much again."
What do you do?
[] Explain that as much as you are working with anyone it's with Harry who is in jail
[] Let dad handle things, he is probably used to the whole post-rescue situation more than you
[] Gard's been doing well with the talking so far let her handle it
[] Write in
OOC: I decided to give you guys the Essence from the interactions with Porter with his stories, but those would not have been worth it on their own, the secret was finding him and his dragon's nest altogether.
Last edited:
- Location
- France
I think you mean exotic
I think you mean exotic
Fixed, thanks.
- Location
- washington
sorry for laughing the idea that this spirit is an avid larper is funny to me though.
Goldfish
Friendly Spider-Fish Abomination
- Location
- Formerly of the Far Realm
I like Porter. He seems cool like a chill dude.
Maybe we could try something like;
[X] "Some teenagers laze around during the Summer and others get a crappy minimum wage job somewhere. I decided to do something to actually make a difference, though, so now I fight evil. I've had some great role models," gesture to Michael, "like my dad here who is literally a Paladin, and Harry the wizard detective, who would be here, too, except Nazi necromancers framed him for murder yesterday. We're trying to get him out of jail, but that's a whole other thing. If that all sounds too ridiculous, I'll remind you that you were just possessed by the ghost of an infamous necromancer."
Eh, that depends on Lydia's opinion of the White God. Her father had to throw his lot in with Winter thanks to Christianity coming along and fucking up existence for him and his people in their part of the world, so I doubt she was raised in a religious household. If anything, she might have picked up something of a bias against the entire concept of religion, especially when it comes to the White God and his minions.
Maybe we could try something like;
[X] "Some teenagers laze around during the Summer and others get a crappy minimum wage job somewhere. I decided to do something to actually make a difference, though, so now I fight evil. I've had some great role models," gesture to Michael, "like my dad here who is literally a Paladin, and Harry the wizard detective, who would be here, too, except Nazi necromancers framed him for murder yesterday. We're trying to get him out of jail, but that's a whole other thing. If that all sounds too ridiculous, I'll remind you that you were just possessed by the ghost of an infamous necromancer."
- Location
- washington
we could probably also mention we know who her dad is and what and why they want him. Good chance even she doesn't really have as much a picture of that than us.
This is both useful info and info she wants to know.
This is both useful info and info she wants to know.
You have a point about the white god, but I don't know if this is the best way to approach it.
I think a more general discussion of the case and our connection to it through Harry would be better, followed by details on what our party members are. Or at least giving them the opportunity to do so.
- Location
- washington
could probably also include we are the guys who don't want evil necromancer nazi occult evil dooers eating her father for power as his death god power are best kept where they are.
[X] Explain that as much as you are working with anyone it's with Harry who is in jail
-[X] That's kinda a start of a long discussion. In short, I am a free agent, and am in this to help a friend and out of the general "stopping nazi necromancers is a good thing" civic duty sense. Dad is a Knight of the Cross, if it tells you anything - they are God's agents protecting people against forces of evil. Ms. Gard is an ally, she's here for personal reasons.
Something like this. I don't think we should be trying to lie to her. That's not how you treat potential future family member.
-[X] That's kinda a start of a long discussion. In short, I am a free agent, and am in this to help a friend and out of the general "stopping nazi necromancers is a good thing" civic duty sense. Dad is a Knight of the Cross, if it tells you anything - they are God's agents protecting people against forces of evil. Ms. Gard is an ally, she's here for personal reasons.
Something like this. I don't think we should be trying to lie to her. That's not how you treat potential future family member.
[X] Explain that as much as you are working with anyone it's with Harry who is in jail
-[X] That's kinda a start of a long discussion. In short, I am a free agent, and am in this to help a friend and out of the general "stopping nazi necromancers is a good thing" civic duty sense. Dad is a Knight of the Cross, if it tells you anything - they are God's agents protecting people against forces of evil. Ms. Gard is an ally, she's here for personal reasons.
I like the direction of the vote but it's worth noting that they're 16 and just started dating; not exactly the time to start evaluating someone through the possible sister-in-law lens.
True, yeah. For the vote, the Gard's part is a bit weak, I feel. On the other hand, it leaves it up to her to disclose stuff about herself. She's really an independent ally, not like our father, for whom I feel we have the right to speak of who he is.
- Location
- Russia
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] Explain that as much as you are working with anyone it's with Harry who is in jail
-[X] That's kinda a start of a long discussion. In short, I am a free agent, and am in this to help a friend and out of the general "stopping nazi necromancers is a good thing" civic duty sense. Dad is a Knight of the Cross, if it tells you anything - they are God's agents protecting people against forces of evil. Ms. Gard is an ally, she's here for personal reasons.
-[X] That's kinda a start of a long discussion. In short, I am a free agent, and am in this to help a friend and out of the general "stopping nazi necromancers is a good thing" civic duty sense. Dad is a Knight of the Cross, if it tells you anything - they are God's agents protecting people against forces of evil. Ms. Gard is an ally, she's here for personal reasons.
- Location
- washington
True though I definitely ship it for our brother she seems like a proper potential party member for us honestly maybe not at the higher levels we'll eventually work at. But, still someone we can call on for help I think so I intend to nurture this friendship.
fictionfan
Please sir, may I have some Meows?
- Location
- Tempe, AZ
[X] Gard's been doing well with the talking so far let her handle it
Mostly because I want to listen to what she will claim.
Mostly because I want to listen to what she will claim.
- Location
- Russia
- Pronouns
- He/Him
We had 5/12 last chapter, @DragonParadox , so it should be 7/12. Unless I miss something?
Nope, I just did the math wrong, good catch.
Maybe mention Harry is doing a favor for her dad's boss?
- Location
- washington
I have no idea why we can't just tell her most of the truth? Other than the demon princess part.
On the Porter - so, he's an old elemental. Not as old as the Age of Legends, obviously, but still old. He might even remember knowing someone who knew someone who lived in the time Exalts walked the Earth. Maybe. Or probably not. Still, he's a good ally to have, I feel, seeming to be at least somewhat benevolent. And we are going to introduce Harry to him. Porter already had relationships with previous Wardens, so getting him to know Harry, and Harry to know him would be a good thing, and we could get Harry's help in rebuilding the Dragon's Nest.
Hmm... Could the Black Feast ritual be reversed? Getting Lydia to take Holt's powers would be poetic justice. It's likely a bad idea, though.
She is a godblooded scion of an old bloodline. She could at least stand in for a dragonblooded ally. She would probably make a good party member, yeah. Especially if she can ascend without getting bound to fae laws, into something like Gard.
Hmm... Could the Black Feast ritual be reversed? Getting Lydia to take Holt's powers would be poetic justice. It's likely a bad idea, though.
From what we know, she doesn't know much of what her father was doing, who he worked for and how supernatural works in general. I definitely got a feeling that her father did not explain to her what he was actually doing. So, this might be a bad idea, as we don't know what she knows or believes about Mab and her father's work.
- Location
- Germany
She hasn't shown any Winter-related abilities so far.
Commanding the Earth, gathering animals and calling a ghost, that all fits with Arawn's original domain, not Winter's power.
So propably not Fae.
- Location
- A place
[X] Explain that as much as you are working with anyone it's with Harry who is in jail
-[X] That's kinda a start of a long discussion. In short, I am a free agent, and am in this to help a friend and out of the general "stopping nazi necromancers is a good thing" civic duty sense. Dad is a Knight of the Cross, if it tells you anything - they are God's agents protecting people against forces of evil. Ms. Gard is an ally, she's here for personal reasons.
-[X] That's kinda a start of a long discussion. In short, I am a free agent, and am in this to help a friend and out of the general "stopping nazi necromancers is a good thing" civic duty sense. Dad is a Knight of the Cross, if it tells you anything - they are God's agents protecting people against forces of evil. Ms. Gard is an ally, she's here for personal reasons.
- Location
- washington
I think your somewhat underestimating dragon blooded sure their the mooks of exalted they still have tremendous bullshit and powerful ones could kill a god. A god turned fae thing scion is at least somewhat under that.