One by one, he met with them. Listened, discussed, offered terms. Replaced the mugs of tea with fresh, hot, clean ones. A strange bubble of silence surrounded each meeting, such that others could not listen in. It even grew cloudy, obscuring the faces of those who spoke.

At the end of each meeting, a contract was presented: one that they were to press a hand, paw, or other appendage to the bottom of in order to "sign." A signature imprinted it in searing smoke, painless, curling up and away and leaving a black mark upon the page. Payment, the contracts all clarify, will be delivered upon completion of an unknown second task; each task's two parts each have two weeks to be completed.

The fine print read as such: that those who forfeited the terms, severing the contract or abandoning it in other ways, or betraying the terms set forth (etcetera, etcetera) would be required to provide one (1) still-living gemstone in forfeiture.

Failure to provide would result in the Collector arriving at an unspecified time and date to collect their own.

In other words, it would be unwise to sign this contract, and then abandon it, without paying the cost. Doing so would be fatal.

---

Please clarify clearly if your character is signing their contract in your post.

The second half of tasks will be set forth in two weeks' time; participants may return at any time to report their success and request the second half of their task. As usual, these tasks are likely to be brutal, cruel, and possibly hilarious.

Forfeiture of the contract will 'cost' one still-living (as in, lost/revivable) gemstone, which can be searched for & found on-screen in any thread. Inactivity on an OOC level does not count; a chance to make amends will be offered as well if a character is forced into chrysalis, etc. Characters may choose not to pay the forfeiture cost; at the expiry of the agreed-upon time frame (another two weeks after they fail their task) the Collector will appear to take their own, killing them. Don't worry; this will essentially only happen if you, the player, decide that it will.

---

@Aurelle

The tea was peppermint. A hot, black coffee was placed beside it, though who knew where he'd gotten the beans; certainly he had access to odder supplies. "Hmm. There are spells for that sort of thing, you know... but of course, they do have drawbacks."

The Collector briefly studied Aurelle's blind eyes, then leaned back and turned, shuffling in a newly appeared file cabinet for something or other. He slid a paper up, put the spectacles on, and read. "One of them accesses another timeline where the injury did not occur... in a sense. It transfers the wound or illness, instead, to the caster. At least, that's what's chronicled here;" (he tapped the paper) "and it may be wrong. The other..." (shuffle shuffle) "imparts the caster's own health. Both are limited. Both harm the user in some way. That is the nature of such things. A balance, between help and harm. What I can offer you is the same."

He paused.

"And it requires the same. I can grant you an item that will teach you one of these spells, and enhance it. You may choose which spell. And in return, I will give you two tasks. The first... will be to befriend someone who needs healing. Ill, injured, that is your choice. Someone... vulnerable. Do not heal them yet. Learn everything you can of them, and then return to me for your second task."

He unrolled the contract, setting it down before her.

"If you agree... just sign here."

...tap, tap, tap.

Aurelle is being tasked with befriending someone who needs healing, but not healing them yet, and then performing an as-yet unspecified second task. In return, she's being offered an item that'll grant and enhance either Failed Timeline, or Blessing of Pisces.

@The Piano

The tea was Earl Gray. A splash of milk, a tiny pinch of sugar, its complex notes something to savor in a typically bland "meat or fruit" sort of world.

The Collector certainly looked interested. Fascinated, even.

"Hmm. It certainly does sound tempting. Appealing. Of course, you'll need to prove that your Organization is up to the task." His tone was reasonable. His crimson pinprick eyes, however, followed the Piano's movement as it drank the tea. For a moment, he was silent, rapt, and then he cleared his throat and went back to business. "Since your offer is a group endeavor, you may wish to enlist the aid of your allies--I will allow that, certainly. Let me think." He leaned back, claws drumming on the desk. And then his eyes widened theatrically, one claw jutting upward, as if he had just the thing! A contract appeared, unrolled, and was turned toward the Piano, already filled out. He pointed toward the still-wet ink.

"Your first task would be to cultivate a business. Set up a shop, perhaps, or cultivate other business partners on your own. I will give you two weeks' time to truly begin, and then assign a specific second part to this task to prove that the business you are running is truly fruitful."

He slid the parchment toward the Piano, his voice a purr. "Do we have a deal..?"

The Piano is being offered a business contract (™) for The Organization. Its first task is to create a shop or gain other partners willing to trade, buy, etc.

@Luna

The tea was dark and fruity, something with mysterious undertones and a rich, earthy flavor.

The Collector was suitably dramatic and emotional, his tone rich with feeling here and there as he addressed his favorite... moth... person? In any case, he enjoyed Luna's drama, and honestly, the temptation of more was too much to pass up.

"I will gladly grant you such an item. And, perhaps, a list of those I deem aware enough of the cave's more recent histories, that you may question them yourself..? They are relatively trustworthy, I assure you, though should be approached... with caution."

He cleared his throat, and the contract he unfurled was DRAMATICALLY laid before Luna. He leaned forward, tone growing subtly darker and softer. It was theatrical, and just this side of sinister.

"Of course, such things have a price..."

He stared for a moment, until it was just dramatic enough, and then leaned back a little. "The price would be as follows: a task in two parts. A proving of loyalty, of intent, of dedication to your cause. For the first part of this task, you must cultivate a new romance. A blossoming of love, of passion, of wide-eyed lash-fluttering adoration." He paused. "Or if that isn't your thing, a new best friend. But that's far less interesting," he sighed. "Once you've gotten them wholly in love--or trusting allegiance--or in two weeks' time, whichever comes first--return to me for the second half of your task."

This time, the "Do we have a deal..?" came with smoke curling up from his claws, for some reason.

Luna is being offered an item to aid in uncovering the caves' lore, as well as a list of well-informed and probably trustworthy other Gembounds. In return, her first (of two) tasks is to get someone to fall DEEPLY and COMPLETELY in love with her--or to make a new good friend.

@Hog

For Hog, the tea was subtle, a simple black with cream and sugar, rich and delightful. Algol thought about her request, studying her, and then made a humming sound as he withdrew and examined a contract. "I believe that I can find you something. Something to help you learn to read, to grant you an advantage in gaining knowledge? That is rather my specialty," he informed her.

"And in return, you will perform a two-part task for me, should you agree."
He turned the contract toward her.

"For the first part of this contract, you will have two weeks to gain three loyal followers who agree to learn whatever you will teach them. Allies, friends, or simply students. Do you agree to these terms..?" he asked, and despite the glow of his eyes, there was something distinctly dark in them.

Hog is being offered something enchanted to help her to learn faster, and to learn to read and probably even turn pages in books. In return, her first of two tasks is to gain three very loyal followers.

@V-Chaos-Fourteen

V-Chaos-Fourteen was presented with a light green tea, subtly flavored with honey. The Collector listened to it intently before nodding and withdrawing a contract from the desk. He slid it over for the Valkhound to read.

"On its face, your request is simply impossible. It is the nature of Chaos to tempt one toward its namesake. But," he added, mischief in his words, "'putting your mind at risk' is a malleable phrase, is it not? It needn't be true madness inflicted on you. A guard against temptation would be helpful, would it not? Of course, that begs a question." A second contract was drawn forth, and placed beside the first; the only difference was the reward listed. Algol tapped the pages with his claws.

"Would you prefer an item enchanted with a Chaotic spell? Limited, and it will inflict you with its touch, but you might rest in your stone to remove its effects before you use it too often, again. Or..." (the other paper got a tap) "an object enchanted to help you to ground yourself, as you embrace true Chaos?" In case V-Chaos-Fourteen, presumably, wanted to engulf itself in that element, and corrupt itself beyond return.

"Ironically, either shares some similarity with that magic that you carry, which taps into Chaos without--ahh, but technicalities. In any case, the price would be the same. Master Nemean is hosting a play some time soon. A musical, if I'm not mistaken. Find her, and make yourself useful. Get permission from your own Master if you must. But return to me when she has entrusted you with some preparations, or even acting, and when you know where this event will take place." If pressed, he'd assure Chaos-Fourteen that the second half of the task would not be too dangerous. Hell, Nemean would probably find it funny.

V-Chaos-Fourteen is being offered either an object enchanted with a Corruption spell, or an object to help mitigate the effects of actual Corruption should it choose to later become Corrupted itself. In return, its first of two tasks is to become involved in setting up Master Nemean's musical, and to gain as much of the Master's trust as possible.

@Faceless

Faceless was offered a delightfully light both rich and fruity Rooibos tea. "A wonderful request! Ahh, but I do approve. I have just the thing. It isn't always one hundred percent accurate, but it hears things others cannot, and it certainly provides the juiciest tidbits I've ever heard. Of course, such a thing has a related cost! A task, in two parts. For the first half of your task, I would like you to select any organized group within the cave, and befriend them. Even join them, if you wish it. Can you do that, do you think..?"

The Collector steepled his fingers, leaning over intently... the contract awaiting Faceless where it perched, tempting, between them.

Faceless is being offered something questionable to help them get the JUICIEST gossip. In return, their first of two tasks is to gain the friendship or trust of any Group, or at least a couple members of it.

@Eleanora

Eleanora was offered an herbal infusion, tasting just a little green. The Collector tilted his head, and for a moment sounded more like a doctor than a businessman: "Hmm, and is she stabilizing herself enough..?" He then listened, nodding along, and continued when it was appropriate. "Your request is a difficult one. Chaos is, by its nature, violent and chaotic." It was an unintentional echo of his conversation with Fourteen. "I know of no way to remove it, bar to recreate her and I very much doubt that is your preference. I can offer an item enchanted to grant some solace, though it will be little more than the sort one would gain after a few hours' meditation. A glimpse of peace. Perhaps worth the cost?" He spread his hands, palms-up, as if to say this was up to Eleanora to decide.

"The cost would be a task performed in two parts. For the first half, I would request you find, and befriend, someone who desperately wishes to bear young. Spend some time in gaining their trust, affection, or the like. Can you do that?" he asked, and pushed the contract across the desk.

Eleanora is being offered an item to mitigate the effects of Corruption somewhat, at the cost--in the first of two tasks--of finding someone who wants badly to create children. A family.

@Horizon

Horizon was given a rich black tea, filled a little too far with sugar, pale with cream. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Horizon. Your request is a difficult one. My bargains always have a price, you see. And to remove someone from the Hive... once they are in, they wish to remain. There are two methods that might get you what you want. The first... would be to kill him, and remake his stone, with a few of his memories returned. But he would not be your father any longer, but a new person. For the other... I would need to bargain, deeply, with the Hive Mother in an attempt to procure him back. I would need his name, of course. And this is a risk to my life. Even if I succeed, it is likely that they would still belong, in their heart, to the Hive. I might make that attempt on your behalf. To the best of my ability. But I cannot guarantee success. I will try, and you have my word that I will do my best. In return... you will make a payment in full."

He paused, and drew forth the contract.

"You will make a new friend. Earn their trust, for a future task, to take place in two weeks' time. Whatever that task may be."
Once again, the contract was pushed across the table of bones. And once again, the Collector crooned, "...Do we have a deal?"

The Collector is offering to petition the Hive for the release (isolation and rejection) of Cyneweard. Regardless of his success, in return, Horizon's first of two tasks is to make a new friend and earn their trust.

@Ruse

Black tea, exactly as the Collector drank it: the tiniest smidge of milk, the littlest splash of honey. Delicious. It tasted like betrayal.

Metaphorically. Somehow. Listen, it was very poetic.

"A pleasure to see you, Ruse!" and his enthusiasm was real, only intensified once he heard his child's offer. "I am glad you understand the nature of the business we are doing here. Of course, you will still need to sign a contract."

He pushed one forward. The fine print at the bottom included a line that none of the others held: please do tell me you read the fine print, Ruse..?--this despite the fact that he'd just whipped it out from a closed drawer.

"Mind you, I do not need your aid. And don't make it impossible for them; I'd rather they all succeed. Perhaps even... help them if they're failing. Ensure they can complete their tasks. It's the second half where it gets interesting, hmm? In return... certainly. I will teach you, just a little. But yes. Please, do report back on their progress and detail how you've helped. I will assign you a second half to your task in two weeks' time."

The Collector laid the contract out, almost reverentially, watching Ruse with expectation.

And a little hope, and a little worry. You do read the fine print..?

Ruse will be given all contract information and requested to help various others complete their tasks, while reporting back on their progress and personalities, then given a second task later on. In return, he'll be given some knowledge on how to enchant Curses.

@Audland

The tea was a sweet berry, bright red and light.

The Collector leaned across the table, fingers steepled, staring at Audland for a time.

The thought was running through his mind. This Valkhound had... learned the spells of Chaos, knowing full well the drawbacks, but--also, had not? Had not been informed? ...Damn. That was a rough life, even by his standards.

"No. Well-... Not entirely. You know," he went on, leaning back and looking around at the mostly-departed potential clients, "You are not the first, nor even the second, to ask something along those lines today? Tsk, but the magic of Chaos must truly be punishing." He mused for a moment, then took a breath as if dismissing all of that dramatic thought. "But so it is. I can offer, as I offered others, a minor object to mitigate the urges toward Chaos... but in terms of the individual magics involved? No. However..." (claws drummed on wood, thoughtful, here--and beneath that the bones echoed the sound) "I can either remake you entirely, which would kill you and is likely not preferable. Or strip you of all but one of your spells, and your affinity toward magic. You could the learn to fight with your claws, perhaps, instead. Or your mind--my favorite," he added, one red eye winking with amusement. "It is a very serious offer, and one you would do well to truly consider. It isn't often that one can unlearn what Chaos has to teach them."

He paused, studying Audland again and considering.

"Alternatively, I can give you a pair of sunglasses."

He shrugged.

"If you choose any of those three things as a reward, then I would demand the following: two tasks, the first of which would be to make a new best friend, or even a romantic interest. To gain the trust, even the love, of another. Are you capable of such a feat?"

The paper was pushed forward--if even Audland found the Collector's offers to be of interest.

Audland is being offered an item to mitigate the chaotic urges of Chaos, plus a pair of sunglasses, or being killed with his stone being revived in another element, or having all but one Corrupted spell removed and being reset to Fledgling, with no magicka reimbursement, but he would be granted one Tactic or Technique of his choice. In payment, his task's first part would be to gain a new good friend or romantic interest.

Gembounds have one week to post to accept the terms. Other characters may still join the thread and make requests. Each task, once accepted, must be completed (and the character reported back) within two weeks' time.

The Collector's fascination with the way it drank its tea, black-and-white keys resting gently on the rim of a comically-undersized cup, did not escape The Piano's notice, and it basked in the attention. Setting up a business... that certainly sounded like something it could do. In fact, it sounded less like a price and more like a mutually-beneficial endeavor, which The Piano supposed was also true of its request! However, as any self-respecting member of The Organization would tell you (it assumed), it was always a good idea to read the entire contract before you signed it. The Piano would never go back on its word, after all, which meant it needed to know what its word included.

A low, (ominous?) hum rose from its innards as it considered the words written on the contract. It liked the idea of a price of forfeiture; that was a nice term to, ah, motivate clients that it would have to rip for The Organization's own projects in the future. However, just because The Collector had a good idea, and because it had a generally positive impression of him, didn't mean that it could let something slip that could possibly let it be taken advantage of. No one took advantage of an Organization member, least of all its Piano.

"I like the creativity you put into your contracts, Collector," it began, keyboard twisting and flexing in a cacophony of grim creaks and cracking sounds. It appeared that it was trying to give him... a toothy smile? "But I must clarify some things first. First, the second task. What is it? If I am to commit to completing both here, I should have an idea of what it involves so that I do not make promises I cannot keep! And, perhaps I can keep it in mind when setting up our business, all the better to facilitate its completion later on."

"Second, the price of forfeiture." A dark glimmer of delight entered The Piano's voice. It seemed as if it truly admired the Collector for coming up with such a clever, wonderful thing. "An ingenious insurance against loss and wasted time! But I must admit, it seems I have more to lose here than you, if I completed both your tasks but received nothing in return--although I am sure it would never come to that, as we are both people of our word." The alien script on its side glittered. Why? Possibly so it could aura farm some more. "I would suggest a change to the terms, so that if the tasks are completed but our business contract left unsigned or unfulfilled, we--The Organization--may collect an item of our choice from your Collection as compensation. What do you say?"

"Of course," it added, "as I have never known you to be anything but an excellent business partner, this would just be a few extra words on the page as insurance. No loss to you at all, should everything go according to plan."

The Piano has not signed its contract and is asking for clarification on the second task, as well as a change to the terms so that the Collector has to pay something extra if he is the one to break the terms of the contract.

Faceless hesitated, body involuntarily leaning forward but caution barely holding it back, like a drooling dog on an influencer's short-form video content with a raw meal in front of it, waiting for the word that tells it it can eat. This item the Collector was promising sounded exactly like what it wanted!!!!! On the other hand...

"Groups?" it asked nervously. "Can I, uh... have some hints? On what groups there are?" Its social life was woefully inadequate. One might even say nonexistent. "I haven't been kuh- keeping up. With everything." Which was, of course, why it had asked for something like this in the first place.

As if afraid the Collector would suddenly change his mind upon realizing it was kind of useless, Faceless added hurriedly: "I bet I can do it, though! I'm so useful! Yes, I can-" Before the Collector could have any second thoughts and withdraw his offer, its mantis-arms shot out and grabbed the contract. It pressed the tip of its arm to the paper and dragged its signature--a meaningless scribble, as it could not read or write--across the bottom so hard it would nearly rip the paper, assuming it wasn't magically rip-proof. "Yeah!"

Faceless signs its contract and asks for a hint (or a few) on what groups there are.

FRUITY, YOU SAY.

Luna took a decadent sip of the brew, having never actually tried tea, mirroring the Gembound around her who were clearly more experienced. While the effort that went into a personalised flavour for each client was mostly lost on her, she made a small, appreciative hmm, taking a moment to study the dark liquid within. She hadn't tasted anything quite like it.

They were largely quiet throughout the explanation of the terms, but OH, did they enjoy returning to the theater of it all. The long pause? The suspense before the true price was revealed? Masterful. Luna's coat prickled. But then the rest of the terms where revealed, and...

Girl.

What.

After the simple, straightforward price of the last deal, this was a complete shock to the system. Cultivation of romance???? What they were truly in love with, was the work. The DREAM. Could Luna even pretend that another could measure up to that?

They smoothed their fur with their paws, which had fluffed with surprise, and thought hard on this. Well, it wasn't impossible. They had magic to help where words failed, but they still held faith that they wouldn't need to lean on it too hard. AND... This could be fun, actually. It could be really fun.

Think of the drama, Luna! The turmoil of an old flame! This is character development!

"Fair terms. I intend to deliver." She said simply, signing the contract with a playful wink.

It took Aurelle a moment to even realize there was a chair-- the Collector would have had to tell her it was there and to sit (and she would politely and sincerely apologize before finding it), but once she had, she sniffed out something sweet, and something bitter.

Obviously, she hadn't noticed the newly appeared filing cabinet, either. Maybe she'd have thought twice if she could see it, or even what teapot the tea was being served out of. As it was, the peppermint had caught her attention and she sniffed it out carefully. She was familiar with cups, and she knew spilling would be embarrassing. She had a feeling the Collector might not enjoy it if she accidentally knocked either cup and spilled it, so she began casting quietly while he spoke.

She could sense it, now-- the two cups and the little handles they had on them. Oh! So that you don't burn your fingers. She took the peppermint tea and had a sip while she listened, letting the Collector finish before she asked her questions.

Magic was... well, she didn't know a damn thing about how it worked. She knew dimly that all magic was different, though some could do very similar things. She'd never met anyone who sense little crawlies or sterilize things before, and she could manage a few fungal-type spells after spending so much time with Lichen-- but how any other kind of spell manifested, she had no idea. Not until she simply tried to do them some day.

Maybe she could turn and walk out, and one day she'd try either spells the Creator offered, and maybe even manage them. But the word enhancing caught her attention. It was so... vague. "Ahh-- how does it enhance them?" She asked gently, politely. "Will it hurt me more to cast them while they're enhanced?"

A wounded or dead healer was totally useless, after all.

"And, ahh... what do I do with them?" She asked, then elaborated-- "What if they die if they don't get healing when I meet them? Ahh, should I bring them anywhere? Can I care for them without directly healing them?"

A beat. "I do not mean to come across as, ahh, looking for loopholes, or to be difficult on purpose. It's not my intention. I just want to make sure I understand without breaking any, ahh... agreements."

Stupid. Sincere. Smiling.

Aurelle hasn't signed yet-- she's asking some questions first.

Hog's face dropped. Three people? In just two weeks? Her eyes dropped to the contract, even though she had no hope of reading it.

In lieu of answering, she took a gentle slurp of her tea. It was delightful, and she let her host know by humming a pleased note. Three people, two weeks. They'd have to learn from her. The conundrum worked its way around her head; she chewed on it, sipped more of her tea.

Then, like any child who had yet to know hubris and the consequences of the real world, she nodded. "Okay." After all, knowledge was her new friend's speciality; she couldn't afford to miss out on this. "I agree."

Finishing the final slurp of her tea, she stamped her trotter onto the page without hesitation.

"Thank you, this was nice." Hog's tail swished, apparently pleased, and blissfully unaware of the darkness within her host's eyes.

-

Hog has signed the contract. Without asking anything. No clarification. Nothing.

Audland didn't understand the liquid in the cup. He stared at it for a while in the middle of their conversation, as a means to potentially direct the Collector's own eyes off of him. Was he supposed to drink it? What if it was poison or something? And so, its sweet berry notes might go ever untasted by their intended recipient.

Audland listened carefully (for once) to the offered choices. To make a long story short, two of them sounded so obviously stupid that it had to be a trick, even if the Collector made it seem like it wasn't. Work for a guy twice, for two weeks each, only to get killed and remade? Or stripped of all power? To lose everything he was, and everything he knew how to do, just to be forced to do stuff he could already choose to do? No. There was a reason Audland had spent all that time honing his magical ability despite its cost to his body and mind. Call him selfish, or greedy—you'd be right. He wanted to have his cake and scarf it too.

So that left only the sunglasses. A humorous dig at Audland's plights that the valkhound failed to find quite so amusing in the moment. Partly because he didn't know what sunglasses were, and partly because it seemed like the root of his issue was being passed over almost entirely. But he was keeping it together. "Do the sunglasses... do anything particularly magical?"

Audland would peruse the document set before him despite the attempt at reading being completely ineffectual coming from him. He'd abstain from the solicitation of his paw-hand until he knew for certain that the Collector could make this worth his while.

The condition for the first task—in particular the way it questioned Audland—itched at something internal, something Audland couldn't quite scratch. He suspected that was deliberate. Given how shady this whole ordeal felt, he also felt that it was not unrelated to what the second task was going to be. It just didn't suit this guy's whole "vibe" to start asking people to hold hands and sing... whatever it is people sing when they hold hands. The caves only had one song, and that was Call Me Maybe on a gramophone in Gemini. Not that Audland knew this.

"I... believe I can do that, yeah. Though I s'pose they'll be used for somethin' in the second half of this deal?"

It wasn't the shadiness of everything that put Audland on edge. That, he could have expected. He wasn't so entitled as to believe that surpassing the binds of his own oilstone would be a straightforward, checked and balanced affair. Playing Master didn't come with audits. What ruffled his fur was, in part, the crushing feeling of phantom wind battering his ribcage, and also the unknowability of all of this. The way the greater purpose of this quid pro quo eluded him. What could the Collector stand to gain? Did it say somewhere, right on the page, where Audland couldn't read it?

The shivering feeling of ghastly fingers noctambulously creeping up Audland's spine wasn't the only thing making him grit his teeth.

Audland wants to know if the shades are magical before he accepts.

During their spoken agreement, Ruse was all nods and smiles. Even when the Collector told hym that hys service wasn't necessary—well, Ruse couldn't be surprised about that. Unimaginable cycles of doing this work solo made one far better than a grandmaster. But their relationship was one of learning, and that had never needed to be competitive. Not yet, anyway.

Hy was happy to agree to playing Chekhov's gun. The road to hell is paved with good intentions, after all. "I'll see to it that not a one eludes their second task," Ruse would respond with an inescapable grin. "Not a problem. I'm very sweet."

Ruse took a moment to sip at hys tea. Were it not for that little note of sweet amidst the sharp bitter, Ruse would've struggled not to spit it back out. Such a subtle maneuver, but Ruse was aware that the Collector knew hys diet, hys favorites. It was in Ruse's nature to seek out honeys and nectars, and in the Collector's to deceive.

The mounting yet unspoken pressure coming from hys father's unremitting gaze only added to the peculiarity of this environment that Ruse, now realizing, could not put hys finger on. There was a set of thoughts scratching at the back door of Ruse's mind; something along the lines of 'Was it a birthday? An anniversary?' It made it hard to focus on the words swimming patiently on the document below.

Glancing over the papers once more, Ruse barely hid the gulp that betrayed the test anxiety hy was experiencing. This was a test, was it not? There was something he had to be...

Ah! Yes! Forgetting!!

At the bottom of the page, so easy to forget—or not notice. The fast-talk at the end of the medical commercial. The liabilities and legalese. Ruse stared hard at the little symbols trying to swim together into some recognizable shape, but... goodness, he could barely even recognize hys own name! Cycles in the chrysalis seemed to have done a number on his mind. Ruse's grin turned sloppy and sheepish. "Aha, you wrote it so small! What does it say...?" At the end there, hys eyes upturned to timidly check hys father's face for some sign of mercy.

Ruse tried his best to read the fine print before signing :]

Fourteen eyed the cup of tea presented to it. Was this a joke? The cup was minuscule in comparison to it- how would it even pick up the cup without breaking it? It would glance at The Collector, then back down at the cup, and then caaarefully pinched the handle with its claws. It slowly lifted the cup to its face and then unhinged it's jaw and unceremoniously dumped the contents of the cup down its gullet.

Hm.. Tasty. A shame that there was so little.

It would listen carefully as The Collector explained the terms and conditions of the deal. Either reward was enticing- the ability to resist chaotic impulses was that it originally had in mind, but the process of getting corrupted was a long and grueling ordeal- not to mention absolutely miserable. An item enchanted with a single spell would be far more limited, but it wouldn't have to abandon it's original magic, which was useful in its own right.

"I would like some time to deliberate on my choice of reward, if you'll allow it. Regardless, I will assist with Master Nemeans with her 'musical.' By the time I return to report my progress to you, I will have come to a decision. It was... a little hesitant to potentially earn the ire of a Master, but if Nemean found it funny, then maybe she'd be more likely to forgive it. It would certainly be worth it, anyways, to obtain the power that could complete it.

Fourteen is agreeing to the contract, but asking for more time to decide between the two proposed rewards. It will come to a decision when it returns for its second task.

She took the tea gratefully and sipped it - it was nice, reminding her of some of the brew Adam would make for her on an autumn's evening. Where they would sit in the garden and watch the sun setting over the mountains. She was grateful for the difference, though. She much preferred to keep memories where they belonged.

She listened to the Collector, tossing it over in her head, and gently allowed some of her thoughts to branch over the connection between her and Lilith. She could feel her wife on the other side stiffen, briefly, and a mild accusatory What are you doing? But Eleanora calmed her and promised it was alright. This was for both of them. Lilith backed off after a moment, but continued to listen.

She lowered the tea once he was done and thought, with an unpleasant feeling, if he intended to hurt that gembound in any way. She was quiet as she considered the request. She had told herself she would do anything for Lilith. Well...this was anything.

"No, I don't want her recreated." The very thought was sickening. But his answers were about what she expected. Better, really, knowing that there was something that she could do to help.

She shrugged. "Doesn't matter the cost to me. If it helped her, then I'll do it." Oddly noncombative about it, she took the contract. Lilith pressed in from the back of her mind and urged her to read the entire thing, so she did, carefully reading each line, including the fine print as best she could.

Eleanora is accepting but hasn't signed yet, instead carefully reading over the entire contract.