#earthrunes

"........ noooooo..."

and the cantrip ends

She smiles, folds the paper...and says, "Shhhhhhhhh," to Isis on her shoulder, then returns to the men. "Good sirs, I have some information, and I'd like to pursue it first. But tell me...how willing would you be to participate in this endeavor? I've already asked Sir Dubh, and he's been very gracious. The cause seems to be good, both for cash and for dross. So...what do you think?"

"I think it's ridiculous, but.. mm.. "The Seer says seeming to tink it over, "yes, I suppose that might help reveal who is behind this."

Sir Sergei sighs "I will obey any order you give, but I am no buck wilder"

Coradel raises an eyebrow at him. "Sir Almandine, I hereby grant amnesty to the author or authors of these letters." Firmly. "It's harmless, and...if you participate, you may find you enjoy yourself. That goes for you, too, Sir Sergei." A smile.

"Yes, Baroness. I obey even this" Sir Sergei says like a old hunting dog expected to play with pups. Mmmph, compliant but clearly seeing this as undigified.

"Amnesty, of course , I certainly wasn't thinking revenge" Almandine assures

"Perhaps you weren't." Coradel agrees easily. "I suggest that the three of you clear your calendars for that day. Now...Isis, will you release me from your supervision for a bit?"

Isis mews, and hops off gracefully.

The kkitten heads of, and Enri starts to follow

"Thank you!" She watches the boy go with his sister without stopping him. "Now please excuse me, Sirs." And she heads off into the manor.

The three bow, no doubt they'll resume their talks about this later when she is gone among themselves. //The manor itself bustles with the usual activity, the sidhe shine brightly like butterflies while the boggans buzz about like bees of industry. Trolls go almost unnoticed as they stand stoic guard.

She waylays one of those boggans. "Do you know where I might find Sir Magnus right now?"

"Oh yes, lady. He's posing in the art gallery"

"Posing?" She nods, and goes to track down her son.

There he stands, her son, dressed in one of his better swashbuckler like voiles.

And a scupltor is chipping away at a block of stone

She enters the gallery and peruses the scene. "Excuse me, I don't want to disturb you, but...I need to speak with Sir Magnus a few minutes."

the Sculptor turns, it would appear the fellow is a troll, that extra muscle must be handy in this line of work. "Of course, Baroness. I shall have lunch" He bows to her first, then Sir Magnus, and with draws.

"What can I do for you, mother dear?"

She smiles. "A statue? Really?"

"One must save onself for posterity" He reminds

Then with a wink "Also, Vestby is a good crafter. He's giving me a discount hoping that if I do it other nobles will want it t done as well"

"Well...I'll confess to being a bit jealous I didn't come up with the idea first." A brief pout, but then she points a mock scolding finger at him. "You, my dear son, are an instigator."

"Moi? " He says

"The innocent act? Really?" She shakes her head. "You and your co-conspirators have some explaining to do."

"Ok. I am an instigator, but you'll have to narrow it down" he says

She folds her arms. "Perhaps the words 'bachelor auction' will nudge your memory?"

"Yes, but I haven't been to one of those in years" he says "Why would you..wait, are we having a Bachelor Auction?"

A narrowed look. "Magnus...you were heavily implicated. You weren't involved in arranging several single gentlemen to get letters directing them to participate in such an auction?"

"No..>" He laughs "But that's ..that's funny. I... oh you think I..wait, heavily implicated? how?"

"I whispered one of the letters. It said that there were three involved -- "a joker, a wildcard, and someone whose freedom soon is ending" -- and I took you for the last, though I don't agree with the description."

"I...oh dear.." He looks sstunned "Ah.. ..yes, well, you got me dead to rights. It was me." He changes gears, "Completely me. So if the lads are offended you tell them to talk to me"

"Magnus...dear...do not lie to your mother." A bemused smile. "Or your baroness, for that matter. So there's also Shalimar and Jack? I thought Vince might be involved, but not according to what I heard in the cantrip."

"Well, will you at least believe I was the mastermind?"

"That I will believe. What brought this on?"

"Oh well, me and the boys were getting a bit tipsy, talking about the wedding, joking around how 'the miserey loves company' but admiting that most of the hold was dating at least...." As he talks, she realizes something. He's lying...and making this up on the fly. He really wasn't involved at all "Little scrolls handed out ..." they are't in scroll form, it's formal leter. Why is he taing the blame for this? And if he didn't do it, who did?

Another narrow look as she listens. "I see.... Interesting." And then she just watches him for a several long moments, arms still folded.

"...and that's how I came up with the entire plan, the others egged me on a bit" He never named 'the others' just 'the boys' or 'the lads' or the other fellows

"Magnus...just...stop." She shakes her head, getting impatient. "Look...nobody's in trouble, as far as I'm concerned. I think it's kind of a fun notion, and I'd like to see people participate, but I need to talk to the people who started it to make sure nobody's going to be asked to do anything harmful or against their will. So please, just tell me."

"You promise you wont' bring any punishement against her? or..or him?"

the other tacked on

A pause, and a blink, and...."It's Claire?!"

He winces and muters "yes"

"I mean..it has to be. For one thing, the whisper aboutl osing freedom, that joke doesn't just apply to the groom right? Also.. ah.. I may have h..without realizing it, cchallenged her"

A sigh and a smile. "I suspect that wouldn't take much. Okay...no, Magnus, she's not in trouble, not with me anyway. But I do want to know more about what she's trying to achieve. I'll find her and talk to her. Am I right about Jack and Shalimar, though?"

"I have no idea" he says "Shailmiar is likely, she'd recruit the best"

A smile. "True. Okay...go back to being turned into stone." She kisses his cheek. "I'm off to find your beloved for a chat."

"I had to tell her she was reliable and it was okay being predictable" He sighs "At least, I'm pretty sure that's what I said that did it. "