There was a long delay, this time.
A full few minutes of echoing silence, during which Eythan could be perfectly expected to give up and wander off. Regardless of where he went, however, a voice would call out from behind him after the time had passed.
"Back so soon..?" the voice drawled. The dark-cloaked figure leaned back, one cloven hoof barely visible where it peeked out from beneath the cloth, crossed over the other leg. Arms, too, appeared folded across a chest beneath that hanging cloak.
"I do hope my rewards have not turned out to be unsatisfactory in some way..?"
And as before, the smooth voice, unblinking red eyes, and mild tone were all fixed firmly on Eythan.
@Eythan
There was a long silence--very long--in which the Collector appeared to be a statue, simply carved from the stone upon which he leaned. He did not blink, and did not even appear to breathe, so that his sudden shifting--when it came--was just as startling as if the stone itself had moved.
He pushed off, and paced toward Eythan, the clicking of hooves audible on the stone. One clawed hand drew from his robes, and he spoke in his same smooth voice as he pulled a piece of parchment from the cloth. Upon it were scrawled hundreds of small, foreign black symbols in what looked like ink, all in neat little rows, and at the bottom was a long, black line headed with an X. This line held bare space above it, and the Collector placed this before the hybrid, on the ground.
"I have but one offer for you, and it is its own reward. I can make you the hero you wished to be. Simply sign here. ...Press your claws to the page, that will do. It signifies your agreement to aid in a time of need, in return for my assurance that you will save at least one life."
There was no sign of ink with which to "sign."
@Eythan
The collector paused a moment, perhaps making some sort of expression beneath the hood which could not be seen. He then shook his head. His speech took on a more rapid-fire cadence, businesslike and brisk.
"No, Eythan, I cannot make it so that you can read. Have this era's inhabitants forgotten-... ahh, never mind. I will explain."
He swept one hand's index claw down the page line by line as he narrated. "This contract is a necessity for my work, something I must utilize for tasks such as these. Animus contrahendi, you see. It indemnifies the task-giver--that is me--against any and all damages incurred by the signee--that is you--by your own actions. It assures that all information I provide is accurate to the best of my knowledge, that I am not sending you to your own death deliberately. This line speaks of additional clauses. Clause 'b,' 'c' and--'x,' there, as well as 'twenty-seven d,' pertain to your acceptance that you will attempt to perform the task given to the best of your ability and that failure to do so will not incur penalty on me. It assures that I am providing this information at my own behest and not another's; these clauses here are all incidental, defining word usage throughout the document... Exceptions in the case of force majeure or even casus fortuitus..." After this quite rapid-fire speech he paused, scarlet eyes scanning the page himself. "Definitions of signee, contractee, contractor, document, contract, and so forth. It must all be clarified very clearly, you see, if it's to be accepted by the courts. Now."
He again profferred out the paper, his voice taking on a more intense, solemn tone. "I do hate to put on the pressure, but we have very little time left. If you wish to save the lives I am sending you to save, you will need to act quickly indeed. It may already be too late."
@Eythan
The Collector stared back, equally blankly, for a moment before speaking.
"There's no courts..?" A pause, and then--"Are they gone? Or perhaps they are in hiding? Then you are not-... This is--a mercenary contract. By allotting it to you I affirm that I have done my part, and will not and need not hire others for the work; you agree to take it on. It is a--it used to be a--very common contract."
A slightly troubled tone then followed. "I am beginning to suspect that I was imprisoned far longer than I previously realized."
@Eythan
"Ahh, Nemean yet lives..? Who, though, is the 'shroom stag,' or a tall one with--armor, you say?"
Just then, Eythan's talons met the page. A searing light--painless, but bright--flared red, and when the hybrid removed his talons he would find a charred outline of his footprint, somewhat smudged, on the line.
The Collector would then rapidly roll up the parchment, tucking it away. At once, his demeanor was businesslike again, almost urgent. "Go to Cetus. Near the darker waters, about--" and here, he eyed Eythan critically--"--two minutes in, by flight. An empowered golem is on the march--hunting. I believe it has found prey--your kind, Eythan. You will hear it before you see it. Your task is to disable it. Your reward is that 'hero' status you have been seeking."
A clawed hand then unfurled from the robe, offering out a small stone--small enough to fit into Eythan's taloned fist, and pulsing with a softly blue-glowing sigil of some kind. "Take this. It is risky, but if you fit it into the gap at the chest, it should deactivate. Oh, and Eythan... If you can bring me the likewise-runed stone from somewhere on its body, a matching piece, do so. There should be other inscriptions on that rock that I can study to try and find out why it has awakened--and if any more are coming."
@Eythan