#earthrunes

Thane Oswald searches for the Baroness. Besides him is a stable girl, there are at least four stable boys and girls, the childlings love the job and they learn how to work with animals. This one has a guilty look on her face and the Thane, normally amiable for a troll, is looking stern.

Coradel has only just returned from an art gallery jaunt and is entering the manor through the front door.

She didn't bring any paintings or sculpture home with her this time, but she does have a few promising artists' names to keep tabs on.

She recognizes the girl, a boggan name of Eugenia. Eugenia works the stables with chatty companionship and gets things cleaned though she's not the only girl at the stables.

Oswald bows "Baroness, pardon the .. less than steller welcome."

She's setting aside her driving gloves on the little tray provided by one of the staff and turns to blink curiously at Oswald and the guilty-looking boggan. "Not at all, Thane. Is there a problem?"

The boggan hangs her head, and Oswald says "Yes. The stable boys and girls have broken security protocals. And... risked the right of ignorance."

She looks surprised and right on the edge of anger. "Eugenia, yes?"

"Yes, Baroness.. I handle the noon day shift for the stable. " She seems surprised to be remembered, and would be pleased if she didn't look so guilty "Anyway, this is all my fault and I take full responsiblity, the other stable boys and girls did nothing"

While not a Gwydion, Coradel can tell the girl is not practiced in the art of lying. Eugenia is clearly trying to take a bullet for the whole team.

"Hmm." She's skeptical, but patient for the moment. "Come," she gestures for both of them to follow to her private audience chamber. No need to chastise the girl in the fairly public front hall.

And they follow.

Once there, and the door closed, Coradel says, "Tell me what happened." It's not gentle, but also not furious. Walking a line somewhere in between.

"There's a summer camp for autistic children nearby," Eugenia blurts "We.. 'I' I have been enchanting them and letting them ride some of the horses."

Her eyes go VERY wide.

"For how long?" There's the anger peeking through.

"Well, well, the autistic camp is only a week long so...about three days, three different children?" Which means she must have help, that would very draining for the young boggan, "Spells to distract the adults are cast."

Coradel's jaw clenches, and she paces a bit. After a few moments of silence, she says, "Tell me this..." she ticks the items off her fingers "...how have you gotten them here, how have you returned them, and is there any chance any of them are potential chrysalids?"

"We slip them through the property fence to the east, the camp is VERY close. We returned them the same way and sometimes use cantrips. And... MAYBE.. one had an odd tell but when we put glamour in her it made a funny horn like sound but she didn't chrysalis or anything"

Possible pooka there, she thinks. She glares at the childling. "Did you bespell the staff here, as well? How else could this have happened with nobody else noticing?"

Mumble mutter hang head childling tactic

"Tell me.

"We used chicanery to make them think the kids were still there, we left effigys and such. The folks running the camp aren't MEAN or anything, but they do the barebones and make money from it." The girl says "Also we may have gotten some dross, it helps."

"It's not unusual for Steward Delores to give dross without too many questions if she thinks it is for the stables," Oswald suggests, "The Steward knows how much you love your horses."

"So at the very best, you misled. At worst, you used chicanery or some such to cajole funds from the Steward. Regardless, you betrayed her trust, and mine." Her voice has gone hard and sharp as steel. "Worse, you have endangered all of us, risking exposure to the banal and autumn-minded. Worst beyond that, you have risked the welfare of children who are already endangered. How could you be so stupid?!"

The girl SHRINKS "I... I wanted to help. THey.. they do better with us, they...we made them feel better."

"And how will that serve them when they go home from the camp? How will that help them when they are less understood than before, because they have been fae-touched?"

"We were hoping they would.. it would inspire them to enjoy the world, touch the horses, the trees... to engage more?" Eugenia looks tearful, "We thought they'd maybe be inspired to join the mortal world by touching the fae one. Some seem to have improved."

(PAUSE)