Overview
Marnie Stout is a badger baker in Claudia Braun and the Disappearing Sable. She hires Claudia Braun to find a sable she knew as a child after seeing him briefly at Plumwald Station.
Marnie works at Butterhammer’s Pretzels on the regional platforms. She wears a baker’s apron and a name tag reading “M. Stout,” and she carries the floury, sweet smell of her work. Her circumstances are modest. She tells Claudia that rents in Barenstadt are high and that she cannot afford a detective’s fee.
Connection to Aleksei
Marnie attended Saint Erpel boarding school with a sable boy she knew as Zobelein. At the start of the game, she does not remember his full name, but she recognizes him years later at a masked dance in the station exhibition hall.
During her lunch break, Marnie sees the sable wearing black and a grey coat with a pale scarf or kerchief. He exchanges a few words with the coat-check worker, leaves quickly, and disappears into the station. Marnie follows him but loses him before she can speak with him.
Marnie’s memory becomes important once Claudia learns more. When Claudia eventually discovers the name Aleksei Oblaka, Marnie recognizes Aleksei as the first name she had forgotten.
Role in the story
Marnie’s request begins the central investigation. Because she cannot pay, Claudia takes the case pro bono and treats it as her chance to prove herself as a detective.
Marnie remains at Butterhammer’s while Claudia searches the station. Her manager berates her for lingering, which emphasizes that she cannot freely conduct the search herself. If Claudia solves the case, she returns for Marnie and brings her to Duchess Haselschwanz’s private rail car.
Outcome
In the successful ending, Marnie reunites with Aleksei and learns that he is Prince Aleksei of the Khomyak Empire. The two remember their childhood connection at Saint Erpel. Marnie throws her apron onto the Butterhammer’s counter, leaves her station job behind, and accepts Aleksei’s invitation to accompany him during the rest of his Dormouse tour.