#earthrunes

"Mostly growing very dizzy disjointed.. I thought. .I thought I heard...something about no one should know i was missing?"

She does not sound sure

Sparrow nods and frowns. "They were trying to sneak you out. Why... well, I am going to ask them."

"As you wish, Regent. I am ..sorry to be so addledd. I should have noticed..." A soft cought

"Shhh... nothing to apologize for. I'll find the pooka and send her."

"Thank..thank you" A nod "Emma's very good at what she does. Oh.. make sure her great aunt... or is it grandmother? hard to think..make sure if she is tending me, that a space or extra room is prepared for her relation ...not fair to keep the girl from family."

A smile. "Always thinking of others. You're such a good person, Delores. Now - rest, okay? Let us take care of you, for a change."

"As you.. as you command, Regent" she manages a smile

"Exactly. It's an order." A tweak of a smile. "Be careful, I might start ordering the infliction of ice cream, next."

"heh, save it for the childlings... they love it" her eyes start to close as exhaustion, even more than the drugs, takes her

She pats the boggan's hand before going seeking - Emma takes over. Without an "audience" she tends to be quiet and serious at work - making sure the woman is hydrated, kenning for lingering dark magic, monitoring for changes in status...

Emma finds the boggan is free of dark glamour, but water and maybe a cleansing juice will help speed that drug out of Delores faster. Time will too but the steward might want things sped up. However, this is the one time Emma might outrank the steward soi t's up to her.

Sparrow goes down into the dungeon. The sluagh is under watch, Rollo watching him like a hawk.

Better patience than court complications... meanwhile....

The sidhe flicks her wings to her back - the thanes have seen her angered before, how she glows like the sun. "Have they said anything?"

Rollo, normally a cheeky kind of tough guy, is not immune to sidhe ire and says politely "Tried to bribe me. I told him if he tried to pay me off I 'd shove it up his ass and see if he could 'squirm' it back out, Regent"

A savage grin. "Nice."

Well, the sluagh just went a bit paler. "look..no harm, the drug wears off completely in 8 hours"

"What drug?"

He names it, the pharmaceutical term. It sounds familiar, until sparrow realizes why. It's used by some as a roofie

Her nose wrinkles. "Oh, charming. What a winner we have here. Who sent you?"

"don't tell her anything else" a snap from another cell. The troll of the duo.

"Oh, please." She steps over to shoot a haughty glare at the troll. "I'll have you sing. Maybe first, since you think to intimidate your peer. Confess."

Lightly said, but again - a command.

Trolls are strongwilled! They are stubborn... they are...still commoner kith. And the troll begins to babble "We were hired by a woman claiming to represent the Shadow Court. said if we did this, it would prove our bonefides. Said they had someone ready to slip into the hold and replace Delores the Steward once we created the vacancy. Wanted her alive. Learn the secrets of the hold. I agreed. Pay was good, and a chance to join the court? I thought it was just a legend. "

A sniff. "Not a legend. But just willing to cloak their exploitation of commoners in the rhetoric of liberation. You'd lick the boots of Ailil and Balor instead of Gwydion and Fiona. And you would hurt a fellow commoner to do so. Charming."

"Shit" the sluagh says with a whisper "she said that in the court, commoners could advance"

"But never to the top. No, they seek their own power, at any cost. This woman - describe her."

It is the troll who answers, looking surprised. He had thought the dictum over.. oh no. Confession is good for the soul, and he's getting a work out in it "A redhead, like you, a sidhe.. she tried to diminish it, but they never completely can. Wore a lot of dark purple, which really didn't suit her, had long opera gloves... about Five foot, for inches. Willowy side."

"Did she say why she was after Earth Runes?"

It's the sluagh who says "Justice. She said it would be justice"

"Justice. What interest, do you think, does the shadow court have in justice? They were humiliated here, because they sought a coup and were exposed. Here the two of you are, imprisoned, because you were recruited to be a catspaw for a sidhe's wounded ego. I am a sidhe, and I know that arrogance well. Some would see vemgeance for a slight as justice. At any price - and two hired blades? You will not see them come to your aid now, I would guarantee. You are expendable."

"Maybe, maybe not. Maybe they got a plan b?" the troll says "And when they take over this place, they set us free."

"You think two failed mercenaries are worth a rescue effort?"

"Shit shit shit" the sluagh hisses hands in his head "We fucked up."

"Shut up. " The troll tells his sluagh friend then says "i'm not saying anything else" He clams up.

She turns her emerald gaze on the sluagh. "You did. But... I am no Balor. No Leanhaun. There is room for actual justice."

"what.. you could maybe... get me a deal?" The sluagh hopes

"Don't be an idiot" the troll says , apparently forgetting HE was not going to say anyything else "If the SHadow Court hears you are selling them out...they'll do a lot worse than imprisonment"

"And if you are devoted lackeys of the Shadow Court, there is no reason for me to plead clemency. You only poisoned the Fiona Baroness's beloved Steward, but also one of her oldest friends. We all know how measured and restrained the Fiona are when their loved ones are threatened."

"Christ" the sluagh hisses as he's reminded. "It..it wasn't lethal. We wanted her alive."

The troll crosses his arms and goes back to saying nothing.

"Do you truly believe the Shadow Court would have returned her, intact? You are no fool, friend."

The troll snorts. He doesn't care

The sluagh says "I figured once they got the mission done..maybe?"

She draws up a stool, and sits down to watch the sluagh from the other side of the bars. "Of course. It's... easy, I think, to hope for the best. To tell yourself something to make it easier to justify a vile act. The troll spoke of the court - but what about the pay? Did she offer you good money?"

"yeah... paid 200 bucks up each front. said more would be coming"

"200? It sounds like that kind of money would really help. You having trouble?"

"not me.. my.." he stops "What the fuck do you care? you're a noble. why..why would I trust you?" the sluagh says . Oh, ,now he finds a spine, but then sometimes sluagh are like that. They guard their secrets even when it keeps them from getting aid for them...or the ones they care about.

"Because taking $200 for something this dangerous is either the act of a fool, or a desperate man. Because I've lived hand to mouth, and been homeless, and know that it's much easier to have high ideals with a full belly and a warm bed."