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Here is a bar. At it is a girl, late teens - ? - dressed in wide bands of black silk tied ragged edge to ragged edge in a neat pattern. There's a small owl on her shoulder and a stack of napkins at her elbow and she's nursing a cup of something steaming and spicy.
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the-nightmare-of-my-choice
David has given up arguing with Bob, and is holding open an erotic novel for him to read while they wait. He lays it down on the desk when he hears her at the door.
"Welcome back. How do you like Chicago?"
"Welcome back. How do you like Chicago?"
make_opportunity
"It's a city," she shrugs. "I haven't gotten to know much about its individual character." She glances at the novel, raises an eyebrow, takes a seat, and says, "So what's the story?"
the-nightmare-of-my-choice
"This particular story," he says, indicating the novel, "is godawful, but I was bored. The story regarding the skull may need to wait until I, and by extension my brother, know somewhat better what you intend to do with it. For instance, I'd rather not aid and abet someone looking for the Word of Kemmler."
the-nightmare-of-my-choice
"It does take a certain weight off my mind. Not the only potential problem, though. A repository of arcana held for almost half a century by the most vile necromancer in recorded history is the kind of thing you want to keep very, very secure."
make_opportunity
"I appreciate that. If you only want me to talk to it while in designated locations or something I can work with that."
the-nightmare-of-my-choice
"Mm. Only communicating with the skull under supervision by one of us seems like a reasonable precaution, to me."
make_opportunity
"I can live with that, if you want, but it seems like it might take up a lot of your time. I'm expecting my project to take a long time even with the skull and my work ethic. If you can't put in eight-plus hours a day of skull interrogation supervision this isn't the goldmine I was hoping for. I mean, I can pay you, but not your PI rate for that much time, not easily."
the-nightmare-of-my-choice
David sighs. "I was under the impression this would be a minor consultation. What exactly is stopping you from just telling me what you intend to research?"
the-nightmare-of-my-choice
"I find myself at a loss for how a project of this magnitude could be personal enough that you won't explain it to someone trying to keep Kemmler's Archives from misuse. I can keep a secret, if that's what you're worried about."
the-nightmare-of-my-choice
"The Laws, like your proposed rules, are an excellent start. Despite my late mother's ill-advised lobbying, they do not cover, for example, magically cursing someone unto the seventh generation to suffer incredible agony on the fifth day of every month. Or magically flaying someone and keeping them alive through fouler magics still. Perhaps you could swear neither to break the laws, nor to use the knowledge you gain to harm another?"
make_opportunity
"I can do that too. Will that suffice? I don't like to go around making magically binding oaths only to find they simply won't do after all."
the-nightmare-of-my-choice
"If you have no objection to the principle, then I'd rather write up a formal magically-binding contract and allow you to read it over at your leisure. It's a bit more work for both of us, but I prefer to be airtight when it comes to this sort of thing."
make_opportunity
"That's fine. ...Can I swear that I am not setting out to acquire knowledge with the goal in mind of harming others? I don't get into very many fights but I feel like that would be the wrong time to remember exactly which information I learned from your brother's talking skull."
the-nightmare-of-my-choice
"That kind of detail is exactly what I am talking about, yes. I'll iron it out in the contract."
make_opportunity
"Thanks. Oh, and I am also willing to promise not to tell the White Council except under extreme duress that you have an illegal talking skull."
the-nightmare-of-my-choice
"Yes, that too. If you said anything I was fully prepared to inform them that, actually, I was working in an effort to catch you attempting to acquire access to a highly illegal necromantic artefact, how funny, as you can clearly see there is no skull here and there has been no skull here for all of two hours, when I was informed that the Wardens were coming and I buried it in the Nevernever across from Shanghai. Also, I will wholeheartedly deny that I said that as well, naturally."
the-nightmare-of-my-choice
The next day, a contract is delivered to Bella's hotel room. It reads like a pretty standard legal arrangement, apart from the subject matter, the box reading [ BLOOD HERE ] next to the signature line, and the fact that it appears to contain no hidden clauses, obfuscation, or anything else designed to fuck her over if she signs.
It comes with a note reading Call if you have any questions or concerns. -D.D.
make_opportunity
Bella reads the entire contract, twice, has a look at it with Sight, and eventually signs and bleeds and brings it in to the office.
the-nightmare-of-my-choice
David is once again lounging in the poor, abused desk chair. He looks up. "Excellent, the soul harvesting clause got through. I was worried about that one."