SCORCH

"Oh, ok!" Scorch agreed amiably, reaching out a talon and touching it to the empty space. Only after he signed did the rest of the Collector's words catch up to him, and he blinked bemusedly. "Writing? You mean these scribbles mean something? Arbiter? Where did you learn all these words? And of course we're gonna keep our promises!" This last part was half reassuring, half slightly miffed.

He reviewed the task in his mind one last time. Go to Gemini, fly up to the ceiling, find a hole and bring back the plant creature. Simple enough, right? "Oh - one last thing! The plant creature--is it enough of a plant that I can sense it with magic? There's a spell that lets me find plants nearby, even if I can't see it; would that be helpful, or is it more of an animal?"

The touch seared its imprint onto the parchment, a rapidly-blackening space leaving a coil of brown smoke that wisped away into Canis. "The contract... is sealed," the Collector declared, his voice loudly imperious for no real discernable reason. The scroll was waved--as if to dry it, or perhaps let it cool--and then rolled up and tucked almost gleefully into the impossible folds of his cloak.

"As for whether your magic will detect it, and how--that I cannot say. But-... You will know it when you see it," he added, and then offered a sweeping bow. "Until we meet again, Scorch; it has been a pleasure doing business with you." There was a flash--and he had vanished; a strange, soft rustle, audible just barely to the sharp hearing of the owl, continued for a moment where he'd been--and then, silence.

@Scorch

SCORCH

Scorch stared at the spot where the Collector had gone, then chuckled at Sprig. "Dramatic, isn't he? One of these days someone's gotta figure out how he does that." He glanced toward the tunnel the Collector had shown him. "Hey, why don't I take you back through Gemini this time so we don't have to go through that creepy place again? I totally would've if I'd known there was a tunnel. And I think you'll really like it! There's pretty crystals and geodes everywhere, and they're so smooth and shiny you can see yourself in them!"

They could be dizzying, too, if you weren't used to it and weren't careful, but that seemed like a relatively minor concern. "It is a longer way, though, so what do you say about resting up here for a bit? We can take as long as you need!"

@Sprig exit