After her she goes!

This skyscraper has its own subway system.

Clara Alta's mask of professional courtesy is cracking with anticipated excitement as they board, just a bit.

Cooool!

(And it's okay, Clara, Sadde knows how that feels, you can be excited.)

Sadde will need to stay out of the lab itself until her contract is processed, but here's a magic coffee-sipping potioneer asking for Saddemade samples of a few more things.

Sadde has some misgivings about providing materials before the contract has been signed but sure, it's not that much anyway.

"I'm just doing what I'm told," Potioneer says.

Clara replies, "It would literally not be worth my time to scam you out of this little material. Would you like a few hundred Kava as reassurance?"

"Nah, like I said, I'm cool doing this much, I'm mostly just bitter I have to wait to see the lab."

"Eh, ten oh five and the first hall is clean and clear of anything sensitive. I think it'd be fine."

Clara nods. "And I'm trying not to irritate you. Sign a perfunctory NDA and you can see it."

"It is extremely difficult to irritate me, practically impossible unless it involves my mate. I'll totally sign an NDA if it gets me to see secret stuff." Pause. "Except I may be physically unable to keep a secret from said mate if he asks point blank so perhaps that's not the best idea at the moment."

"So long as you agree to the penalties listed if he does ask and you do answer." She fishes in her bag for a paper.

She waits. She can always refuse to sign now, if it's too bad. And she can just ask Terel not to ask. "What if," she asks while Clara finds the paper, "at a later time I also get him to sign an NDA? Will I be able to talk to him about it then?"

"...Not my department, can't make a deal like that in my own recognizance. Sorry."

She produces the NDA. The penalties for breaking it and getting caught are heavy fines and being reported to the ICTFA, whatever that is.

"What's the ICTFA?"

"Intercontinental Cooperation and Trade Fairness Association. They run background checks on sellers, have resources to help companies understand trade and shipping law, and so on."

Well. Alright. That sounds reasonable. She signs it.

They have a look at her temporary ID, too.

They head into the lab. Shiny, white, clean hallway. The lab itself has a bevy of clean, complex looking equipment, and similar isolation magic to the test room Terel borrowed.

Now that that's settled, she can listen to the potioneer give a step by step walk through of what is literally a second year in college potion. "The real trick is the new ingredients. I'll be watching the whole thing like a hawk, and taking twenty kinds of readings."

"Do I have to do anything in specific other than generate various biological products?"

"Might can do research on ingredient properties. That's after though. For now, no."

And he starts asking for duplicated ingredients.

He can have 'em.

He brews the pepping potion with the bored ease of a master programmer writing 'hello world'.

He feeds a drop to two lab rats and doesn't feed two others. Clara watches expectantly as the potioned rats proceed to be much more vigorous and active.

"It may be prudent to do a lot more testing - perhaps try a wand or enchantment as well as a potion - but this is certainly enough to enter negotiations with."

"Awesome! Do you need to wave me at anyone?"

"It would help."

"At whom? Also I ought to go get my official ID at some point, took the exam this morning."

"At my boss, to prove you are not a myth and impress on him that while you are not urgent, it would not do to dally too long. It will simplify things if you're a citizen by the time the final contract is ready."

"Cool. I don't know if there's, like, a time I ought to be there by? They said the result would be ready two hours after I was done."