Fandom Dresden Files AU (Accepting)

[Deadeyelee]

Dresden Files AU - Manchester

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Manchester England, a former economic powerhouse, and a current Association Football juggernaut. The birthplace of the western industrial revolution, England's second city. Home to the wonderful Heaton Park, and host to a grizzly crime scene, again. The mangled body of a street kid found by a biker up at the Temple near the crack of dawn. The morning's victim was only one in a string that has the city on edge, police baffled, and the supernatural community bristling and quietly demanding answers. A bloody pentagram, a twisted corpse, and mysterious symbols all point to a warlock known as the Green Man that the White Council executed almost half a century ago. But that clearly isn't possible. A copy cat? An impostor? Some kind of false flag? Or something far more sinister? The culprit is seemingly yet to make a mistake, until recently only targeting members of the supernatural community, just like the Green Man of old.

With many of England's wardens entangled in a scuffle across the pond, the rest of the Manchester supernatural community is losing faith in the Council's ability to control this, and others seek to capitalize on the chaos. Vampires of all creeds are acting more boldly, and lycanthrope packs grow their numbers. Practitioners are banding together in communes, and changelings are retreating and consolidating to sections of the never-never. And the mortals? They're starting to take note. No matter which way you skin it, the situation is devolving, and the fear of open conflict between members of the Treaty, or even the mortals is only adding fuel to the fire. This is the state of the city and it's only getting worse.

So what are you going to do about it?


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Rules:

First of all, Follow the RPNation rules and Guidelines.

Lore: This setting occurs in an alternative universe of the Dresden Files series. Creatures, Systems, and everything short of story lore will be taken from the series. Rulings may be made on an individual basis, but in general the Dresden Files Wiki, along with the books themselves will serve as the guide for this Roleplay.

Characters, Villains and Plots: I fully intend to run an initial plot or two before handing over a bit of control to the collective. I'm a big fan of collaborative roleplay. HOWEVER, I plan to keep a tight leash on the power level of player characters, in order to preserve the Urban Fantasy feel. NPC's may overstep these bounds, but I do not plan on handing that power to anyone until I am confident they are strongly familiar with the lore, and role playing etiquette. This extends to powerful villains. I may be running the show to start, but I want to play too!

Number of Characters per Player: Two characters per Player to start. This may increase as the RP continues.

Number of Players: The number of Players will be capped at 6 or 7 for the sake of avoiding bloat, and increasing inter connectivity.

Post Length: One paragraph, four sentences minimum. Dialogue is a key component of the Dresden files series, and I've found that requiring absolute walls of text impedes that. That does not mean that they are banned, only that I wish to provide flexibility and facilitate better dialogue.

Maturity: While obviously sticking to the rules of RPNation, the Dresden Files series covers serious and dark material. I do not plan to change that.

 

[bhuss]

Adalvulf rose early, before the rest of the inhabitants of the tent camp he had helped establish when he had first returned to Manchester. Rebuilding from the remains of the camp across the University, he had carefully curated those most vulnerable to predators, the single mothers, the LGBT+ youth, and secretly, those with magic. More than once a supernatural predator had come to his camp looking for an easy meal... and tasted fire. The homeless Practicioners of this city knew him well, calling him "Street." After checking on everyone, he set out towards the latest " Green Man" site, hoping to pick up on something. He made his way through the city, and outside a pub, bumped into someone. Muttering to himself, Adalvulf looked up, carefully avoiding eye contact.

"Sorry bout that."

 

[Elenion Aura]

Helena had been in the city of Manchester for all of five minutes, and she already disliked it.

“Watch where you’re going,” she shot back, equal parts contemptuous and dismissive. She didn’t look up from her phone. She’d heard tell of the string of murders in the area, and how they bore striking resemblance to the long thought dead Green Man. Worth investigating, Helena mused, if only to apprehend the copycat and lay him before the Council.

 

[bhuss]

Adalvulf raised an eyebrow, and muttered as he headed towards the crime scene.

"Heh, says the lady glued to her phone" One of "his" Practicioners, a teen girl who went by Saph was waiting for him, cup of cheap coffee waiting..

"It's bad, Street, real bad. Cops've cleaned up but.... you can feel it still. It lingers, like... cough syrup, thick and nasty, but on your soul, right?" Saph had a gift for feeling the energies of workings after they'd been done, but Adalvulf wasn't going to push the girl.

"Aight, thanks, Saph, I'll take it from here. Have a fiver, get yourself something to take your mind off it." The girl flashed him a grin and ran off.

He took the coffee, black, no sugars, way he liked it, and began drinking it as he walked around the as sanitized as possible scene. He kneeled by a barely still there blood stain, and after checking for people, tried to get a sense for any magical workings.

 

[Elenion Aura]

Helena stalked the streets of Manchester. Drawn by the familiar pull of magic, she headed toward the crime scene, taking a long, winding way to get there, all the while studying the twists and bends of the city streets.

When she arrived, she cursed quietly but emphatically under her breath. The mortals had come in and mucked it all up already. She risked a glance with her Sight. One look – she was careful not to let her eyes wander too far afield – told her, among other things, that she was not the only one here. Well, there were plenty of humans muddling about, but they were inconsequential.

 

[Deadeyelee]

The faint bloodstain grants him few clues, if any. The scene still carries a strong lingering feel of black magic, but aside from that, there seems to be very little to go on, much like the last three crime scenes. However this one is different in one way. The victim appears to have been perfectly mortal.


As for Helena, there are indeed non mortals lingering about the temple. In fact, the only mortal hanging around is a beat cop who's decided Adalvulf has been hanging around the bloodstain too long. She notes there's a large, densely built man with ankle weights and athletic wear who carries the unmistakable trace of the never-never. Gazing out from the railing is a boy, a practitioner, or perhaps even a wizard staring out over the city. Within the Sight he appears to have a gaping head wound, like one from an axe. Jogging up the hill towards the temple, along with a young mortal woman is what judging by his Adonis like figure is probably a Raith.

 

[Moomba]

Will stood some ways away from the temple, gazing at the scene of the crime. A streamer of smoke drifted out of his pipe, following the wind up into the sky. After a moment, he took the pipe out of his mouth, blowing a smoke ring into the air, which quickly lost its shape in the wind. The wizard smiled, clamping the pipe between his teeth. As he gazed at the crime scene, he recalled a poem. Not the entire thing, which was rather long, but only the last stanza, which still gave him goosebumps.

“The bark of the elder makes whistles for the children, to call to the deer as they rove through the snow. ‘I was born in the dark’ says the Green Man, ‘I was born in the dark’ says he.” Will said quietly. He rubbed the carvings on his pipe absently, smiling slightly. In various mythologies, the Green Man represented new growth, the change from winter to spring. The warlock Green Man, however, could be seen as the opposite of that.

Will turned to look outward, over the city. Leaving wouldn’t be a bad idea with everything going on. He could go back to Canada for a while, up north where he wouldn’t be bothered. No, I can’t leave now, not with someone killing supernatural beings. Even to him, that sounded paradoxical, but leaving his kin to die wasn’t right. Plus, the mystery of the Green Man was interesting. A warlock that had been executed seemingly back from the dead? It was too fascinating to pass up.

 

[Deadeyelee]

Robin grunted as the shitty radio on his toolbox noted that the cops have yet to find a single lead in a new string of Green Man killings. The mortal authorities never caught the Green man killer, and the talking heads were speculating the likelihood of a 60-80 year old man having the ability to commit these grisly crimes. Most were convinced he had taken an accomplice or had acquired a copy cat.

Robin rolled back beneath the car after grabbing a 10mm socket. He was a mechanic. What did he care? Not much. He was more concerned with tightening this bracket into place, so the he could finally drive this heap without smoke filling the cabin. He felt a little bad at removing an original part, but the situation with the exhaust was simply untenable. The rust had won and fixing the damned thing with magic was out of his wheel house and simply asking for trouble.

Still, even if he wasn't going to get entangled in the same type of shenanigans in his father, he could still keep his ear to the ground. He'd just be testing his newly street legal exhaust. He threw open the old garage door, slid in through the window, and leaned under the dash. "Come on..." He carefully brought two wires together, and with an angry spark, the car turned over, and started with a warm rumble. "Atta girl."

 

[Elenion Aura]

Helena had no time for children. She’d rather tangle with a possible being from an alternate and horrifying reality than be required to speak to anyone under the age of eighteen at any length (especially the ones with things to speak at length on; judging strictly on appearances, Helena discerned the boy by the railing had more to say than she cared to hear). And so that’s exactly what she did.

”Such a tragedy,” Helena said to no one in particular. But if a particular someone just happened to be in earshot – she’d taken the time to sidle as close to the dense man as she could risk without appearing impolite – then they’d possibly glean from the way she said the words that they were not only meant for them, but also inviting, and by the same token expecting a response.

 

[bhuss]

Adalvulf's situational awareness kicked in and he closed his eyes, clasping his hands and murmuring a prayer for the dead. He rose from his position and flashed a charming at the cop.

"Awful tragedy, innit, sir? I just comes to pray at most sites o' death in greater Man when I can. I figure something must as well be listening, eh?" He quickly began to walk away, and stopped when he saw Helena again... and this time recognized her, and wandered by her and whispered a word in Russian quietly, ensuring only she could hear what came next.

"Surprised one of your family is bold enough to show themselves around a scene like this, miss Farron. I know you ain't here on official business, so why're you in my city?"

 

[Moomba]

Will sighed, his eyes wandering back to the crime scene. There were several others at the temple other than him, one police officer, a young homeless man, a heavyset man, and a woman. As he turned back to the city, he spotted someone else, a child leaning on the railing, gazing out over the city.
He walked over to the kid, standing a few steps away from the railing and watching the city for a moment before speaking.

“Certainly a dramatic place for a murder.” Will said simply, rubbing the bowl of his pipe, “This is the highest point in the city, isn’t it? Our killer definitely has quite a bit of showmanship. Not only does he want to kill, but he wants to show off.” Will smiled, “He wants to scare everyone, not just us.” As he spoke, he turned to watch the scene of the crime, more interested in those who had come to see the body than the corpse itself.

 

[Deadeyelee]

The cop seems sufficiently mollified, confident that the transient sufficiently respected his authority, and is no longer a threat. He returns to his post just outside the temple, pulling out a cigarette and a lighter, and nursing it to life.

Helena damn near gets the cold shoulder from the bulky fellow who stinks of the never never. Actually, that's not true. He almost looks disgusted. His cold grey eyes peer to the side to look at her. He rolls his knuckles and they pop sequentially. "I'm going to pretend I didn't hear you, for your own sake. Don't ask questions unless you are willing to pay for answers." Probably makes sense coming from a being associated with the fae. At that point Adalvulf approaches her.

Meanwhile the boy looks slowly toward Will. He wears a blue soccer jersey with a little fox head logo over his right breast. "Is it?" He asks softly, looking up at his eyes as he seems to come slightly out of a daze. "A murder? The murder. Right... I'm... not from around here. This place...or this city. But it certainly feels wrong up here. Ah... " He fidgets. "This might be a strange question, but do you have any idea how long I've been standing here? Or... have you seen my bike?"

Meanwhile, Robin strolls through the park, his hands jammed in his pockets. He can't believe he's doing this. The fucking cops and the White Council can't do a damned thing on their own? It's been two weeks. He shook his head in frustration. The crime scene was probably crawling in spooky folk, scared or desperate, or wanna be heroes. This was going to be a drag. He tightened his jacket around him.

 

[Elenion Aura]

Helena’s face was a mask. She knew better than to press the issue. It wasn’t worth her time – or his – to get too entangled in a grumpy Fae’s (or Fae associate’s) games, especially since she’d yet to exhaust all of her options. Luckily the perfect excuse to recuse herself from the big man’s presence was, as fate would have it, another fairly large man.

“Your city?” She parroted his own words back to him, in her faux-surprised-with-a-dash-of-pseudo-reverence voice; it was an old favorite of hers. She usually reserved it for when she wanted to make it abundantly clear how little she cared for the recipient, or their silly little city.

“I had no idea they let vagrants own entire cities. At least that explains the smell.” She wafted a gloved hand in front of her nose to belabor the point. She’d said all that without giving him more than a fleeting glance. But when she spoke again, she did him the courtesy of looking him in the eye.

”I’m here on my own business. Free country, and all of that.” She punctuated this with another wave of her hand. ”But while I’m here, I’ll consider lending your city a hand with it’s little, eh... Shall we say, ‘Green’ problem?” She smiled at him but there was no mirth in it, no kindness behind her eyes. ”But then again I’m sure you have it all well in hand.”

 

[bhuss]

Adalvulf laughed.

"You really don't know who I am or what my role is within the Council, do you? My, my how the mighty have fallen. I don't own Manchester, you've apparently never heard of the concept of "loyalty to one's own home. And besides, this thing is more a problem for the Wardens, I'm just doing my job trying to provide them with... leads. IF you really want to help, meet me at midnight at the tent city by the uni. I'll give you a little taste a to what we're up against , as a olive branch. This vic? not magic, far as I can tell, just a plain human. Anything else you want to know, find out alone, or meet me at the tents."

Adalvulf walked away, and pulled out his phone. speaking of Wardens, He thought, as he texted Abdul, the Warden investigating the killings.

"New twist in the tale, meet me, tent city, 30 mins before midnight."

 

[Moomba]

Will glanced at the boy, curious. "Sorry, friend, but I have no idea of how long you've been here.” he smiled slightly, “And no, I haven’t seen your bike.” he watched the homeless man walk off thoughtfully. After a moment, he tapped the ash out of his pipe and stuck it into his coat. The boy was fascinating, but there were others he needed to speak to. He looked at the boy once more before sticking his hands in his pockets and walking away.

Will shelved the boy’s appearance in his mind, since he likely had something to do with the killings. He walked with some purpose over to the woman, getting a better look at her than he had before. He recognized her as one of the Farrons.

“The Green Man coming back from the dead would be apt, wouldn’t it?” he said, gazing at the body calmly. He was well within earshot of the Farron woman, and the heavyset man. “Then again, it isn’t like he disappeared.” Will smiled, his hands absently going to his pipe before he stopped them, instead keeping them in his pockets.

 

[Deadeyelee]

The boy runs his fingers through his hair, pushing it from his brow. He studies Will for a moment, clearly concentrating on something, before he sighs. "Oh, alright. I guess I'll still be here. Good luck finding the pair of them." He goes to sit on the rail, and continue to stare off into the distance, vacantly.

Adavulf gets a response to his text rather quickly. 'who isthis?-wardenHG'. In the meantime, he's approached by the White Court who had been jogging up the hill. He smiles showing his pristine pearly teeth. He's feindishly handsome, his athletic form annoyingly still perfectly photogenic after what appears to have been hard exertion. "The Bobby up their given you trouble lad?"

The heavyset man's eyes flash in recognition of Farron's name. He just shakes his head, and starts loading his workout equipment into a drawstring backpack. He's clearly leaving.

 

[Elenion Aura]

Helena, in a truly Herculean display of restraint, held her tongue. ”Alright, perhaps I shall.” She said noncommittally. The last place she wanted to go was anywhere that could be aptly described as a tent city.

”What strange times we are living in, eh?” She shot back wryly at the newcomer now. The space of time that passed between being shot down by the fat never-never man, to being accosted by the Wizard Hobo, to now could hardly have been longer than a few minutes. And yet Helena felt exhausted already of these men and their quips and witticisms.

 

[bhuss]

Adalvulf sighed, and shot another text. " Adalvulf, Maximoff's apprentice." He then flashed a trademark friendly smile at the vamp.

"Nah, nothin' I can't handle at least." As subtly as possibly, he slipped his enchanted coins between his fingers and tightened his grip on his cane-focus. " How was your jog, sir? Wonderful day for it, though I imagine it made you... hungry? Not really any quick and easy meals around here though." He cast his whisper spell so only the Raith would hear him.

"If you catch my meaning?"

 

[Deadeyelee]

The White Court puts on a mock pout. “Now that’s quite presumptuous, now isn’t it. I’m no animal. When I’m hungry, they come to me.” He eyes the man up and down. “But let it not be said that I don’t pursue what I want.” The corner of his mouth rises in a cheeky smirk. “The best things in life are those that are the hardest to obtain. I don’t think I’ve met a wizard like you before.”

Adalvulf’s phone buzzes again. ‘OKAY’ is written in all caps. The Raith tilts his chin up at the noise.

“A busy bee, too. I don’t know why you’re so keen to meet at your little camp. If I were you, I’d find neutral ground. Otherwise? Might as well talk it over drinks with me. “ He taps his ear with his finger. “Not that I’d be opposed to that. I know people who know people. This town has some decent clubs. If you’re into that kinda thing.”

 

[Moomba]

“Indeed. Is that why you’re here, Madam Farron? Finding the Green Man would certainly help your house on its way back to its old status.” Will glanced at the Farron woman for a moment. He wondered if she really cared about catching the supposed warlock before he killed again, or if she was just here to gain House Farron’s standing back. “Well, I won’t berate you for coming to Manchester, even if it’s for selfish reasons. The Wardens could certainly use help.”

Will took his hand out of his pocket, checking his watch. There were some things that deserved looking into, and a friend to call. The Green Man had taken his name from a nature spirit, one that represented regrowth. There were several possibilities there. Will snapped his fingers suddenly, thinking of something. Since the Green Man was a spirit, there could be Fae that had some relation to him. He groaned internally. He hated dealing with Fae, they were one of the only things that could exhaust his patience.

 

[bhuss]

Adalvulf smiled, but it was oddly feral, showing lots of teeth. He inclined his head to the Raith.

"See this is why I like you lot, you speak plain, and don't hide your intentions from those who outright ask you. I don't like 'neutral ground' just means you give up an advantage in hopes the other SOB gave up his. m uch prefer either having them walk into my lair, or walking into theirs. Makes it clear where we stand. Speaking of which... I wouldn't mind drinks and sharing useful information, if your clubs don't mind a scruffy hobo in them. To make it clear, that's all I'm interested in sharing, drinks and info, understand? No insult meant, but I prefer to be clear in my dealings with everyone."

 

[Elenion Aura]

"I'm sure that's none of your business, Mister...?" She smiled at him prettily, but she didn't mean it. She knew it and made sure he knew it, too. They weren't buddies. They would never be. She wasn't here to help him or the Wardens crack the case, or whatever, in the interest of sparing Mr. Green's next victim - even less so, if that victim happened to be mortal. That much he'd gathered, which was fine by her. "I notice you spoke to that boy. Over there." She pointed at the boy, overtly enough that he'd take notice too. "Did he have anything interesting to say?" Helena wasn't sure if this other Wizard - she was somewhat sure that he was one, and not merely a practitioner - had used his Sight on him, if he could see the way the boy looked to her eyes. Though she loathed the thought, Helena imagined he would be her next stop.

 

[Moomba]

"Malone, Will Malone." Will glanced at the boy, a thoughtful look coming over him. "He said that he had no idea how he got here, and that he wasn't from here. I believe he meant Manchester." Will said quietly, returning his hands to his coat pockets, his steady gaze again moving out towards the city spread around them. "Very intriguing. I'll have to find him later, when I'm not a crime scene." he felt a little bad for the child, and he wanted to help him. More importantly, Will was sure that he had something to do with the Green Man, and if he could return the boy's memory, it would be intrumental in finding the killer.

 

[Deadeyelee]

“Oh, I can assure you, my cousins will only be so direct when it’s time to feast. I will not begrudge them their need to eat, but they are a disturbing lot. My siblings may be predators, but we have standards.”

He rolls his shoulders, totally inadvertently flexing his muscles against his shirt. “And that’s what most of my partners say when they are aware of my nature. I will respect your wishes, but there’s no shame in it when you eventually change your mind.” He offers a confident smile. “I’m simply irresistible, and inevitable.” He snaps and a buisness card appears inbetween his fingers. It’s artfully embossed. There’s actually gold leaf on it.

Jean-Rene P. Raith
Inraith Holdings

It also includes an office and mobile number.

“Call me when you want to go for drinks. You keep me in the loop, alright? It’ll be better for both of us that way.” The last bit is nearly a threat.



As for the boy, he’s still sitting on the rail, gently swinging his legs, as the two wizards talk. He sings quietly to himself, a mayday song. In his lap he etches in a wooden dowel with a pen knife.
“Have you seen Jack-In-The-Green?
With his long tail hanging down.
He quietly sits under every tree ---
in the folds of his velvet gown.”
He’s not going anywhere.


Meanwhile the cop moves to intercept some jokester who’s parked his definently probably non-road legal rust bucket on the curb.

 

[Elenion Aura]

"Intriguing, indeed..." Helena said in a faraway tone that meant she was finished with the conversation. Her eyes were on the boy, now. As if an afterthought, she turned back to the man. "Pleasure to meet you, Mister Malone. I somehow doubt this'll be the last time we speak. Now, if you'll excuse me..." She didn't wait for his answer.

"That's a funny song!" Helena said. She was going for sincerity. Time would only tell if the attempt would fall flat. She brushed her hair out of her face and leveled her eyes on the boy. "What's it about?"