- About 15
- Taxi, Marcone does not have anymore cars in the area
- Yes, still there
- Yup she can do that
- 4:40
Green Flame Rising (Exalted vs Dresden Files)
- Thread starter DragonParadox
- Start date
- Crossover Fantasy
We should have a rough idea of where Cindy's grandfather is from where Holt dropped him off.
Goldfish
Friendly Spider-Fish Abomination
- Location
- Formerly of the Far Realm
Not exactly ideal with bring Cindy and Lydia with us, but it's still better than splitting the party, IMO, and avoids wasting time.
[X] Go to brief Harry to prevent an ambush outside his place.
-[X] Bring everyone; better to keep Lydia and Cindy close at hand for now, and Michael can rest up at Harry's as well as anywhere else.
-[X] In transit, review Black Rider's GPS data to determine the likely location of Katrina's ritual site while also monitoring his position in hopes of keeping track of her current location.
[X] Go to brief Harry to prevent an ambush outside his place.
-[X] Bring everyone; better to keep Lydia and Cindy close at hand for now, and Michael can rest up at Harry's as well as anywhere else.
-[X] In transit, review Black Rider's GPS data to determine the likely location of Katrina's ritual site while also monitoring his position in hopes of keeping track of her current location.
Hmm.
Okay, much as I hate it, we have to split the party. Harry has none of his gear with him. Including his armored trenchcoat.
If Harry takes injury, it puts him out of play. That makes our life harder.
We cant afford that.
My current thinking is:
-Send Gard with Dad to see the two girls home, and take a taxi to Harry's place. Have the Beige Wagon meet us there.
-Call Mouse, tell him Harry's on his way and to put his gear together; we cant afford to get bogged down in a police investigation of even an unsuccessful hitjob.
-Have Clippy check the street map for optimal gunman hides and sniper spots with a sightline to Harry's door.
-Grab Harry and Mouse, return to Casa Carpenter.
-Brief, plot, probably leave Mouse with Michael as backup.
Time is 4:40pm.
30 minute roundtrip to and from Harry's place. We probably dont leave before 7pm.
Has the benefit of consolidating all our defenses, and the people who must be defended, against a fuck you attack.
Any other suggestions?
Last edited:
- Location
- Germany
Lydia wants to act, acted unwisely once already and has the power to be useful.
Better to let her join the more active party than wait for her to act by herself.
Good Lord no.
She's a 15/16 year old whose powers dont come with a manual like ours do, and who might still be vulnerable to mindfuckery
And as far as we know, she isnt bullet resistant, and has no gear.
Its one thing to have her with us in a firefight because we rescued her.
Quite another to willingly take her into one.
Tell her to help guard the kiddies against a spite attack from Kattrin or the Capriocorpus.
Thing is, we know hostagetaking is an established Kattrin strat.
So putting Michael in Harry's place leaves a potential vulnerability.
Still, lemme try to mod your plan
VOTE
[] Go to brief Harry to prevent an ambush outside his place.
-[] Bring everyone. Text ahead to Mouse and tell him guests are coming, as is Harry
-[] Call Charity and update. Make sure all siblings are home and accounted for
-[] Call the Beige Wagon to show up outside Harry's place
-[] Keep tabs on Kattrins car movements, and the location of Agent Wright's phone
-[] Debrief/planning session after Harry shows.
-[] Clorox bath if time permits; you can participate via speakerphone while in the bathroom
-[] Put Michael, Mouse, Lydia and Cindy in the Beige Wagon and drive them to Castle Carpenter. Follow in Hendrick's car until they get home, then move on Kattrin
This should hopefully cut at least thirty minutes off everything
Suggestions?
They already dropped a sniper on his place once, and might be able to do it again.
It's possible they'll avoid repeating themselves out of the expectation that we'll be prepared, but we should still go through the motions of trying to account for it at the very least.
Maybe we could drop Molly and Gard off a few blocks away, and have walk up to trigger any attacks?
She actually does have a pretty good grasp of her powers, like that earth riding trick, she can do that now and even use it as a weapon. Also she can make allies of dogs, crows and ravens and give peace to ghosts.
...We don't actually know how relevant gear is to her, and being vulnerable to Capricorpus describes 99% of even the supernatural population. And she is worried about people after her dad, I don't think 'guard the kiddies' will work, nor will harping about her age when Molly is only a year or two older.
Last edited:
Just as a small point Dresden is vulnerable to Capricorpus. I mean yeah he has mental defenses, but as Capricorpus herself says in Ghost Story the defenses the White Council teaches are kind of terrible since they do not practice mental duels as it is a grey area in the Laws.
Mmyeah.
Clippy doing a look at the streetmap for sightlines to Harry's door and Molly/Gard checking them out might be useful.
Laying ghosts sounds useful.
Is she bulletproof though? Or even sword/bullet resistant?
Because thats what matters here.
If she isnt, I dont think we can take her with us in good faith.
Gear is always relevant. The Reds got the Leanansidhe with a fancy Nemesis-infected athame as a gift.
Even Mab has wargear. Ditto Odin.
99% of the supernatural population has not had the Corpsetaker inside their heads.
I mean, Luccio was vulnerable to the fullpower Corpsetaker, so I dont hold it against Lydia, but I have my doubts about taking her back into potential conflict with the Capriocorpus barely a couple hours after possession.
Last edited:
Goldfish
Friendly Spider-Fish Abomination
- Location
- Formerly of the Far Realm
Two issues, though they might not be too troublesome depending on some factors.
1) A self-driving car with no one behind the wheel is attention grabbing in 2022. In 2006, it would be likely to have people following it out of curiosity within a mile of travel and there would probably be at least two dozen frantic 911 calls before it reached its destination. Might as well just call Agent Wright and tell him supernatural stuff is happening at Harry's. This could be a reason to get the Beige Wagon's Windows tinted to the maximum legal level in the near future.
2) Lydia might not agree with this. After all, as far as she knew, up until just a few minutes she was the plucky heroine from a modern fantasy YA novel on a mission to rescue her dad. It might be better just to bring her with us rather than leave her unsupervised, since DP confirmed she's got a good enough grasp of her abilities to fast travel via earth manipulation.
Bullet-proof no, bullet resistant... about as much as Molly is.
In the sense that she has the same health track size, that she can soak lethal without armor, or that she heals like Molly does?
Actually, on this topic, do baseline mortal champions have the same health track as baby exalts or is that also something that gets juiced up on their second breath?
Doubt that very much. Its evening on a summer Saturday, not Monday morning rush hour traffic.
Cars are not lingering beside each other for minutes at a time here. Visibility into the drivers area is likely to be low, and I fully expect most people to only see what they assume. Or think its some college experiment.
If Molly cant talk her into sitting down and shutting up, I'll be sorely disappointed.
So not terrible.
But no gear. No mail, and I dont think we can buy Kevlar body armor for her off the shelf in Chicago.
..........
Charity did have spare mail sized for Karrin Murphy in Proven Guilty I think. Maybe she still has some?
Last edited:
Daniel when the girlfriend he's been keeping secret gets along with his family:
Daniel when his girlfriend and oldest sister get along too well almost immediately:
Sorry kid, you played yourself.
All humans and most humanoid beings have the same size health track, Lydia has similar resistance in the sense that she can soak lethal and heals as fast
She still does yeah, but that would imply going to the Carpenter home first.
Or when we're at Harry's place, call ahead and ask Charity to get some out before we show up.
Or just call Charity with a description of the girl in question to load some up in the trunk of the Beige Wagon before it sets out.
Probably better to stop at the Carpenter house to dress her; I dont think Lydia has ever worn armor in her life, and I dont see Gard being the type to help a girl get dressed up in party finery.
But first we need to talk to Harry of course.
It might simply be worse to bring Lydia along to a ritual site where the bad guys trying to eat her father and bloodline's power.
She might have unique vulnerabilities.
Probably also a good call since we're talking about Charity "Willpower" Carpenter here. If we tried to get her to just dump chainmail in the car for us to modify she'd as likely as not come along with it.
- Location
- Germany
Given how the enemies seem to favor indirect attacks, guarding her own house is propably more important.
Working plan
VOTE
[X] Go to brief Harry to prevent an ambush outside his place.
-[X] Bring everyone. Text ahead to Mouse and tell him guests are coming, as is Harry
-[X] Call Charity and update. Make sure all siblings are home and accounted for
-[X] Call the Beige Wagon to show up outside Harry's place
-[X] Keep tabs on Kattrins car movements, and the location of Agent Wright's phone
-[X] Using Clippy's Internet streetmap access to identify danger spots, sweep for gunmen on the street with Gard as backup
-[X] Debrief/planning session after Harry shows. Decide then if Lydia is an asset; he's the wizard who fought the Corpsetaker
-[X] Clorox bath if time permits; you can participate via speakerphone while in the bathroom
-[X] Put Michael, Mouse, Lydia and Cindy in the Beige Wagon and drive them to Castle Carpenter. Follow in Hendrick's car until they get home, and armor up Lydia then if she's coming
-[X] Move on Kattrin
VOTE
[X] Go to brief Harry to prevent an ambush outside his place.
-[X] Bring everyone. Text ahead to Mouse and tell him guests are coming, as is Harry
-[X] Call Charity and update. Make sure all siblings are home and accounted for
-[X] Call the Beige Wagon to show up outside Harry's place
-[X] Keep tabs on Kattrins car movements, and the location of Agent Wright's phone
-[X] Using Clippy's Internet streetmap access to identify danger spots, sweep for gunmen on the street with Gard as backup
-[X] Debrief/planning session after Harry shows. Decide then if Lydia is an asset; he's the wizard who fought the Corpsetaker
-[X] Clorox bath if time permits; you can participate via speakerphone while in the bathroom
-[X] Put Michael, Mouse, Lydia and Cindy in the Beige Wagon and drive them to Castle Carpenter. Follow in Hendrick's car until they get home, and armor up Lydia then if she's coming
-[X] Move on Kattrin
Last edited:
Charity
Charity calmly took the jar from my hands, opened it, and put ointment on her own eyes.
"What are you doing?" I asked her.
"I'm preparing to take back my daughter," she said.
"You aren't going with us," I told her.
"Yes, I am."
"No, you're not. Charity, this is seriously dangerous. We can't afford to babysit you."
Charity put the lid back on the jar and dropped it into my backpack. Then she opened the sliding door on the minivan and drew out a pair of heavy-duty plastic storage bins. She opened the first, and calmly peeled out of her pullover jersey.
I noted a couple of things. First, that Charity had won some kind of chromosomal lottery when it came to the body department. She wore a sports bra beneath the sweater, and she looked like she could have modeled it if she cared to do so. Molly had definitely gotten her looks from her mother.
The second thing I noticed was Charity's arms. She had broad shoulders, for a woman, but her arms were heavy with muscle and toned. Her forearms, especially, looked lean and hard, muscles easily seen shifting beneath tight skin. I traded a glance with Murphy, who looked impressed. I just watched Charity for a minute, frowning.
Charity took an arming jacket from the first tub. It wasn't some beat-up old relic, either. It was a neat, quilted garment, heavy black cotton over the quilting, which was backed by what looked a lot like Kevlar ballistic fabric. She pulled it on, belted it into place, and then withdrew an honest-to-God coat of mail from the tub. She slipped into it and fastened half a dozen clasps with the swift assurance of long practice. A heavy sword belt came next, securing the mail coat. Then she pulled on a tight-fitting cap made in the same manner as the jacket, tucking her braided hair up into it, and then slipped a ridged steel helmet onto her head.
She opened the second tub and drew out a straight sword with a cruciform hilt. The weapon was only slightly more slender and shorter than Michael's blessed blade, but after she inspected the blade for notches or rust, she flicked it around a few times as lightly as she would a rolled-up newspaper, then slid the weapon into the sheath on the sword belt. She tucked a pair of heavy chain gloves through the belt. Finally, she took a hammer from the big tub. It had a steel-bound handle about four feet long, and mounted a head almost as large as a sledgehammer's, backed by a wicked-looking spike.
She put the hammer over her shoulder, balancing its weight with one arm, and turned to me. She looked ferocious, so armed and armored, and the heavy black stain around her eyes didn't do anything to soften the image. Ferocious, hell. She looked competent-and dangerous.
Everyone just stared at her.
She arched a golden eyebrow. "I make all of my husband's armor," she said calmly, "as well as his spare weaponry. By hand."
"Uh," I said. No wonder she was buff. "You know how to fight, too?"
She looked at me as though I was a dim-witted child. "My husband didn't become a master swordsman by osmosis. He works hard at it. Who did you suppose he's practiced against for the last twenty years?" Her eyes smoldered again, a direct challenge to me. "These creatures have taken my Molly. And I will not remain here while she is in danger."
"Ma'am," Murphy said quietly. "Practice is very different from the real thing."
Charity nodded. "This won't be my first fight."
Murphy frowned for a moment, and then turned a troubled glance to me. I glanced at Thomas, who was facing away, a little apart from the rest of us, staying out of the decision-making process.
Charity stood there with that warhammer over one shoulder, her weight planted, her eyes determined.
"Hell's bells," I sighed. "Okay, John Henry, you're on the team." I waved a hand and went back to the briefing. "Faeries hate and fear the touch of iron, and that includes steel. It burns them and neutralizes their magic."
"There are extra weapons in the tub, as well as additional coats of mail," Charity offered. "Though they might not fit you terribly well, Lieutenant Murphy."
Charity had thought ahead. I was glad one of us had. "Mail coat is just the thing for discouraging nasty faerie beasties with claws."
Murphy looked skeptical. "I don't want to break up the Battle of Hastings dress theme, Harry, but I find guns generally more useful than swords. Are you serious about this?"
"You might not be able to rely on your guns," I told her. "Reality doesn't work the same way in the Nevernever, and it doesn't always warn you when it's changing the rules. It's common to find areas of Faerie where gunpowder is noncombustible."
"You're kidding," she said.
"Nope. Get some steel on you. There's not a thing the faeries can do about that. It's the biggest edge mortals have on them."
"The only edge," Charity corrected. She passed me a sleeveless mail shirt, probably the only one that would fit me. I dumped my leather duster, armored myself, and then put the duster back on over the mail. Murphy shook her head, then she and Thomas collected mail and weaponry of their own.
"Couple more things," I said. "Once we're inside, don't eat or drink anything. Don't accept any gifts, or any offers from a faerie interested in making a deal. You don't want to wind up owing favors to one of the Sidhe, believe you me." I frowned, thinking. Then I took a deep breath and said, "One thing more. Each of us must do everything possible to control our fear."
Murphy frowned at me. "What do you mean?"
"We can't afford to carry in too much fear with us. The fetches feed on it. It makes them stronger. If we go in there without keeping our fear under control, they'll sense a meal coming. We're all afraid, but we can't let it control our thoughts, actions, or decisions. Try to keep your breathing steady and remain as calm as you can."
Murphy nodded, frowning faintly.
"All right, then. Everyone hat up and sing out when you're good to go."
I watched as Murphy got her gear into place. Charity helped her secure the armor. Her mail was a short-sleeved shirt, maybe one of Charity's spare suits. She'd compensated for the oversize armor by belting it in tight, but the short sleeves fell to her elbows, and the hem reached most of the way to her knees. Murphy looked like a kid dressing up in an adult's clothes.
"What are you doing?" I asked her.
"I'm preparing to take back my daughter," she said.
"You aren't going with us," I told her.
"Yes, I am."
"No, you're not. Charity, this is seriously dangerous. We can't afford to babysit you."
Charity put the lid back on the jar and dropped it into my backpack. Then she opened the sliding door on the minivan and drew out a pair of heavy-duty plastic storage bins. She opened the first, and calmly peeled out of her pullover jersey.
I noted a couple of things. First, that Charity had won some kind of chromosomal lottery when it came to the body department. She wore a sports bra beneath the sweater, and she looked like she could have modeled it if she cared to do so. Molly had definitely gotten her looks from her mother.
The second thing I noticed was Charity's arms. She had broad shoulders, for a woman, but her arms were heavy with muscle and toned. Her forearms, especially, looked lean and hard, muscles easily seen shifting beneath tight skin. I traded a glance with Murphy, who looked impressed. I just watched Charity for a minute, frowning.
Charity took an arming jacket from the first tub. It wasn't some beat-up old relic, either. It was a neat, quilted garment, heavy black cotton over the quilting, which was backed by what looked a lot like Kevlar ballistic fabric. She pulled it on, belted it into place, and then withdrew an honest-to-God coat of mail from the tub. She slipped into it and fastened half a dozen clasps with the swift assurance of long practice. A heavy sword belt came next, securing the mail coat. Then she pulled on a tight-fitting cap made in the same manner as the jacket, tucking her braided hair up into it, and then slipped a ridged steel helmet onto her head.
She opened the second tub and drew out a straight sword with a cruciform hilt. The weapon was only slightly more slender and shorter than Michael's blessed blade, but after she inspected the blade for notches or rust, she flicked it around a few times as lightly as she would a rolled-up newspaper, then slid the weapon into the sheath on the sword belt. She tucked a pair of heavy chain gloves through the belt. Finally, she took a hammer from the big tub. It had a steel-bound handle about four feet long, and mounted a head almost as large as a sledgehammer's, backed by a wicked-looking spike.
She put the hammer over her shoulder, balancing its weight with one arm, and turned to me. She looked ferocious, so armed and armored, and the heavy black stain around her eyes didn't do anything to soften the image. Ferocious, hell. She looked competent-and dangerous.
Everyone just stared at her.
She arched a golden eyebrow. "I make all of my husband's armor," she said calmly, "as well as his spare weaponry. By hand."
"Uh," I said. No wonder she was buff. "You know how to fight, too?"
She looked at me as though I was a dim-witted child. "My husband didn't become a master swordsman by osmosis. He works hard at it. Who did you suppose he's practiced against for the last twenty years?" Her eyes smoldered again, a direct challenge to me. "These creatures have taken my Molly. And I will not remain here while she is in danger."
"Ma'am," Murphy said quietly. "Practice is very different from the real thing."
Charity nodded. "This won't be my first fight."
Murphy frowned for a moment, and then turned a troubled glance to me. I glanced at Thomas, who was facing away, a little apart from the rest of us, staying out of the decision-making process.
Charity stood there with that warhammer over one shoulder, her weight planted, her eyes determined.
"Hell's bells," I sighed. "Okay, John Henry, you're on the team." I waved a hand and went back to the briefing. "Faeries hate and fear the touch of iron, and that includes steel. It burns them and neutralizes their magic."
"There are extra weapons in the tub, as well as additional coats of mail," Charity offered. "Though they might not fit you terribly well, Lieutenant Murphy."
Charity had thought ahead. I was glad one of us had. "Mail coat is just the thing for discouraging nasty faerie beasties with claws."
Murphy looked skeptical. "I don't want to break up the Battle of Hastings dress theme, Harry, but I find guns generally more useful than swords. Are you serious about this?"
"You might not be able to rely on your guns," I told her. "Reality doesn't work the same way in the Nevernever, and it doesn't always warn you when it's changing the rules. It's common to find areas of Faerie where gunpowder is noncombustible."
"You're kidding," she said.
"Nope. Get some steel on you. There's not a thing the faeries can do about that. It's the biggest edge mortals have on them."
"The only edge," Charity corrected. She passed me a sleeveless mail shirt, probably the only one that would fit me. I dumped my leather duster, armored myself, and then put the duster back on over the mail. Murphy shook her head, then she and Thomas collected mail and weaponry of their own.
"Couple more things," I said. "Once we're inside, don't eat or drink anything. Don't accept any gifts, or any offers from a faerie interested in making a deal. You don't want to wind up owing favors to one of the Sidhe, believe you me." I frowned, thinking. Then I took a deep breath and said, "One thing more. Each of us must do everything possible to control our fear."
Murphy frowned at me. "What do you mean?"
"We can't afford to carry in too much fear with us. The fetches feed on it. It makes them stronger. If we go in there without keeping our fear under control, they'll sense a meal coming. We're all afraid, but we can't let it control our thoughts, actions, or decisions. Try to keep your breathing steady and remain as calm as you can."
Murphy nodded, frowning faintly.
"All right, then. Everyone hat up and sing out when you're good to go."
I watched as Murphy got her gear into place. Charity helped her secure the armor. Her mail was a short-sleeved shirt, maybe one of Charity's spare suits. She'd compensated for the oversize armor by belting it in tight, but the short sleeves fell to her elbows, and the hem reached most of the way to her knees. Murphy looked like a kid dressing up in an adult's clothes.
If Harry doesnt veto Lydia coming along? Then Charity can probably supply her with some usable armor.
Lydia has no weapon experience I am aware of though, so at best maybe a knife as a weapon?
Last edited: