Why a fortress? And why at Harry's old boarding house location?

[morriswalters]

At 4 am these questions started running through my head.  I hate me at times.  But, why?  While JB doesn't call it a castle in has all markers to make it sound like one. It isn't really fortress in a modern sense, since no wall will stop modern weapons.  And I'm pretty sure that they would run afoul of zoning laws in a residential neighborhood.  If it is simply Marcone thumbing his nose at Harry, or his memory, why not a McDonald's? 

[Avernite]

I think it's a two-part decision.

The rise of the Fomor together with the fall (later rescinded) of Harry Dresden means Marcone needs a more sturdy headquarters to be able to respond rapidly to supernatural incursions (and to impress the Raiths). Hence, he wants a more fortified base to stuff his Einherjars.

And second, by putting it on Harry's spot, he implicitly calls on Harry's erstwhile allies, who Marcone needs to really run the supernatural side of Chicago against Lara Raith.

I think thumbing Harry in the eye if he should have survived despite all indications is just a minor bonus.

[peregrine]

While it won't stop modern weapons, it does provide some protection against certain magical ones.

Related to Harry's allies, it's a place that they all know and can readily find.  Plus, it's a now empty spot of land in Chicago that's ripe for building on.

[Carl]

At 4 am these questions started running through my head.  I hate me at times.  But, why?  While JB doesn't call it a castle in has all markers to make it sound like one. It isn't really fortress in a modern sense, since no wall will stop modern weapons.  And I'm pretty sure that they would run afoul of zoning laws in a residential neighborhood.  If it is simply Marcone thumbing his nose at Harry, or his memory, why not a McDonald's?

I doubt it's a full blown castle, but if it was it would seriously impede modern weapons. There where a number of fortified monasteries and old castles that gave the allies all hell when advancing through italy because you needed serious heavy artillery to even scratch them, and even then it wasn't remotely quick or easy.

That said i think others hit the nail on the head. It's as much a political statement to anyone watching about Marcone's stance on the Formor as it is a practical place.

[groinkick]

Gard may have examined the location and found that it had magical protections on the NeverNever side (That leah had placed), and told Marcone that it was a secured area worth having.

[Wizard Sibelis]

You realize it almost directly matches up symbolically to Mab's fortress in CD's then? It's Harry's apartment AND a giant fortress at the same time...

[Snark Knight]

Gard may have examined the location and found that it had magical protections on the NeverNever side (That leah had placed), and told Marcone that it was a secured area worth having.

The mapping between physical address on earth and location in the NN is based on what kind of place it is, though, not just a 1:1 mapping. Burning it down and rebuilding a castle over Harry's old place couldn't help but chance what kind of place it is. Leah's garden wouldn't protect Marcone's building.

Also based on SG, the mapping between realms is even somewhat fluid based on who's creating the opening, and even down to their state of mind when they cross over. The commonly used Ways seem to be points where the NN is particularly close and gates connect the same locations with a high level of reliability, but in the case of the vault heist, it was functionally important for making the connection that Harry believe it was a sincere robbery rather than a setup with the connivance of both Marcone and Hades to hurt Nic.

[Wizard Sibelis]

no, it was necessary the vault in question actually BE a secured one and not blown wide open lest it change the integrity of the way... had nothing to do with harry believing it was a heigst or not.

[exartiem]

Just as the intellectus of Demonreach creates a field to make people want to avoid it, perhaps that location has something similar that draws people of a defender's type.  Maybe because of what Harry was doing there or perhaps Harry was drawn there himself, but there is something about that spot that people subconsciously want to defend.

Perhaps it is a thin spot between this reality and another.  It drew Lea to plant her garden there in the NN.  Odin, when Harry was gone, may have given a 'suggestion' to Marcone to build a fortress there and Odin manned it with Einherjar.

[Snark Knight]

no, it was necessary the vault in question actually BE a secured one and not blown wide open lest it change the integrity of the way... had nothing to do with harry believing it was a heigst or not.

Even if you read it that way - and I'm not convinced one should, given Harry's narration that two practitioners might hit different parts of the NN opening a gate from the same earth location - it still means the site isn't going to connect to Lea's garden any more after burning down and then having a castle built over it by new ownership. The connection only existed in the first part thanks to fairly significant work on Lea's part. Once she was no longer required to put in the work to keep up with changes by her bargain to protect Harry, the connection would be lost.

[Wizard Sibelis]

Even if you read it that way - and I'm not convinced one should

You can simply go back and read word for word the interaction in SG. It's simply what was said. Quite directly.

[Kindler]

Hmm. In Cold Days, Harry goes off on a tangent about how bad guys tend to keep using the same locations, like the Full Moon Garage in Fool Moon and Proven Guilty. He's specifically talking about the warehouse Mac and Pals are held hostage by the Redcap, but it makes me think that the reverse might be true; the Good Guys might want to use the same locations as well. It could very well be a product of magic in some regard, though I think Marcone was primarily motivated by self-interest. They needed a symbol of unity and resistance to the Fomor/Other Bad Things incursions, and setting up shop on Harry's old plot makes sense.

It's also a residential area, which is a mild deterrent. Plus it's right by Mac's, so there's already a hub of magical community activity near at hand.

All that aside, I imagine that Marcone felt particularly smug about handing Mrs. Spunklekrief a check for several times the value of the land (unconfirmed, I just have a feeling that he did something like that).

[groinkick]

The mapping between physical address on earth and location in the NN is based on what kind of place it is, though, not just a 1:1 mapping. Burning it down and rebuilding a castle over Harry's old place couldn't help but chance what kind of place it is. Leah's garden wouldn't protect Marcone's building.

Also based on SG, the mapping between realms is even somewhat fluid based on who's creating the opening, and even down to their state of mind when they cross over. The commonly used Ways seem to be points where the NN is particularly close and gates connect the same locations with a high level of reliability, but in the case of the vault heist, it was functionally important for making the connection that Harry believe it was a sincere robbery rather than a setup with the connivance of both Marcone and Hades to hurt Nic.

Maybe, maybe not.  If this were the case entirely then Leah would have to make big changes every time the home underwent any kind of renovation, or even the mindset of the different tenants.

[peregrine]

Well, we don't know that she didn't.

Also, we don't know how much granularity there is.  Going into the NN from the upstairs may be different from going into the NN from Harry's apartment.

[groinkick]

Well, we don't know that she didn't.

Also, we don't know how much granularity there is.  Going into the NN from the upstairs may be different from going into the NN from Harry's apartment.

We know one thing.  Marcone chose to build his fortress on Dresden's former residence.  The question is why?  I doubt he did it for petty reasons.  He did it for a significant reason or Jim wouldn't have bothered writing it in the story.