#earthrunes

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It's a warm June morning in the gardens of EarthRunes, and Coradel and August are taking a light breakfast in the gazebo.

Tea, waffles, and berries.....

Coradel frowns over her tea cup, stirring in a bit of honey. "So...what to do with Norm now?"

"I would suggest asking the additional questions. I know you want swift justice, but surely that includes as full an understanding of the scope of his crimes as possible. If he has any information about his pooka victim.... perhaps there is something to be done there, too. And then, his consequences." Calmly.

A sigh, and she sips her tea. "It sounds like 'swift justice' is a...what do you call it? An oxymoron."

He lifts his eyebrows, with a smile. "Perhaps we should say '.... move at the speed of justice."

She sets the cup down and irritably stabs a bit of waffle-and-berries with her fork. "I understand the need to do it right, but...well, the longer it takes to enforce a punishment, the more opportunities for whoever wanted him helped to make another attempt."

A thoughtful look. "I wonder if Magnus could figure out who hired Mr. Layton."

"The Escheat is on your side." Quietly. "You have already done more than many would. I think you should ask Magnus, absolutely."

"Well, I could be far more impulsive and ruthless and the Escheat would still be on my side in this case."

He nods, agreeing.

She looks at him. "There were papers in his safe, records....I know we kept them, and they're mostly about money and such...but do you think he kept any notes about the ones he's ravaged?

"

August frowns, thinking; such a familiar expression.

After a several long moments, he shakes his head slowly. "I don't know. Vince might know more. The police would have any evidence we didn't take out of there ourselves. But if I had to guess.... I would say no. A mortal Ravaged is dead, dry. No reason to keep track of them."

"Yes, but...well, you were talking about whether he planned it. Them. If he kept notes about potential targets...?" Another sip of tea.

A faint grimace. "He might have taken notes, but kept them? I mean, past the point they were useful? Perhaps. We should make him answer that question." <ENTER>

"Yes." She nods. "Well, since we have the bulk of the confession, I don't know that I'm going to go through the whole process with Sir Almandine....I'll just ask, and if he's reluctant, I'll Dictum him."

A faint smile. "Good. All I can do is make him say please and thank you."

That gets a smile back. "It might help you to learn how to do more, you know."

August thoughtfully takes another bite, chews. "He might want to try to cut a deal."

He nods. "I know. I will work on it."

She also takes another bite, considering this. "A deal. I wonder what he might suggest that I could possibly be interested in."

"Information. He tells you things and you verify them, then you offer him a lesser.... consequence."

A frown. "Dammit. That might be valuable. And...oh, dammit...." he fork clatters down. "If he's got somebody watching over him, sending defense lawyers, then the information he could offer might be worth quite a bit."

"Coradel, you're in command. You're in charge. He -owes- you the information he has. He might not want to give it, but that doesn't change the fact."

"You know, it might not be someone trying to defend him." Frowning.

"No? What then?"

"Someone testing you." Thoughtfully.

A frown. "You'd suggested that before. But...Isis and Enri weren't lured out. Isis's capture couldn't have been planned by anybody. "

He shrugs. "An opportunity? When .... whoever.... heard the redcap was taken, they decide to see how you would handle it."

"Hm." Her fingers drum on the tabletop. "That's possible."

He takes a sip of his tea.

"Well...all right, additional questions. But when it comes time to enact his punishment, I'll need someone who can make a Geasa stick, if he refuses to swear on his own."

He nods. "Are you decided on the punishment, then?"

"No," she sighs with irritation. "I thought I had it all sorted out, and then Vince dropped the bomb about re-educating him and...I just don't know what to think now."

Then a sudden blink. "Wait....wait...."

A look at August...and a frown. "Oh, I don't think you'll like what I just thought of. Nor will Vince. I'm not sure how I feel about it, even."

August watches her.

"Tell me." Simply.

"When the red trod opened...Zara was able to give it what she called a nickname, make it into a leap year's day trod. She can reweave. What if...she rewove him to make him permanently seelie?"

August grins, with some relief. "Zara can't reweave."

"What was it she did, then?"

"With the trod, I mean."

"Oh, I'm not sure." He shrugs, looking down. "I haven't really attended to learning much in the way of Arts, as I've said. I'm sure Rover Olgar did most of the, ah, heavy lifting? They worked together. Clem was there too, she's very good at some of the Arts. Zara's -very- good at Soothsay' maybe she changed the Da'an of the trod?"

"Changed the Da'an...that would make sense."

He nods. "And I know Clem is a great healer and I think she's very good at Primal. And Rover Olgar has mastery of the Trods."

"What would it mean to change Norm's Da'an?"

A bit of surprise. "I.... I don't know. I don't study Soothsay at all. We could ask Zara. I'm not sure if she'd do it, mind, but ... we could ask what would mean. I think.... I think it would mean we would irrevocably change his Fate."