"You'd have to negotiate with the individual fairies, but some medium quantity of food and trinkets are usually enough for your average fairy. I asked for a magic plant because I knew it'd take a lot longer than normal. A hundred or so could do it in a day. A dozen could do it in two or three."

"I prefer a dozen, sounds more manageable. Any reason why I couldn't rotate them? Use fairies in turns and take a week total or so?"

"You could do that, sure. I've already smashed out a wider chasm around the entire border of the dead city - there were a few spots where the infection had crossed the chasm, by the way. But there's a lot of dead city."

"No need to tell me that." Temple snorts. "Do you want to take a nap or another snack break? Or summon the other fairies? I need to finish my train of thought if we do the latter."

"I'd just as soon have more tea than a nap, but if you need to protect your supply I understand. And we may as well hash out the summoning plan now."

"I'm going to need to resupply anyway. Let me finish this first." Temple makes notes and re-organizing charts, it doesn't take long.

More tea is made, more snacks are served as needed.

Tea is delicious. Snacks are delicious. Nick looks up a few things on his tablet. His notes on fairy-summoning circles.

Temple is curious about these notes, also about angel and demon summoning.

"Hm, not sure I should explain it fully. You said my lifeforce is a potential disaster. Less than ideally competent summoning is, too. You already know it involves drawing circles then negotiating deals. Usually the circles have bindings, defining things the summoned daeva cannot do. The summoner and daeva work out a deal, when it's agreed to the bindings relax enough to let the daeva do their part, then the daeva cannot be unsummoned until the summoner's part of the deal is fulfilled. I decline to explain how to design summoning circles at this time."

Temple nods along that explanation. "I understand. I grew up with the dead city story - it was an acident caused by a research team - nineteen people got their lifeforce completely drained out and the magic spit that city out. You should wait until a better lifeforce analyzes before deciding if you really want to learn."

"Nasty stuff. I'm pretty sure about wanting to learn, but caution is definitely the order of the day."

"Indeed. How is the fairy summoning going to take place? Remembering diagrams is one of my fundamental work skills. Do I need to be blindfolded?"

"Seeing one valid diagram does not necessarily lead you to figuring out how to make more. But I was thinking invisible ink if you have any."

"I will have it if you give me two minutes to cast the spell."

"By all means. I still have to find a binding that fits the task at hand." Read, read, read. If Temple does sneak a look at the notes they're not in any language he recognizes.

Temple is good enough at body language (and basic politiness) to figure out that Nick doesn't want someone reading over their shoulder. He is busy casting with the invisible-ink spell. This one actually involves speaking in broken latin and making complicated gestures. The ink changes by the end of it.

Nick can't help but think they he only has Temple's word the ink will stay invisible. But mistrust is impolite, and he seems sensible enough.

"Right, I'll draw the diagrams and mark out a spot for you to complete the circle. Don't say 'yeah' or 'okay' in front of anyone you've summoned until you're done negotiating, they can take it as acceptance of a deal. For a big job like this most fairies will probably want something significant. Either a lot of food, a nice decoration, or some kind of electronics. But your laptop is unlikely to interest them, so the first two will have to be it."

"I will be careful. And I can get a literal truckload of food in less than a day."

"A literal truckload of food will probably do it."

"Perfect. Lets get started."

"You'll probably want a down payment on top of your literal truck for later, coffee, teas, cookies are old stand-bys. I'll go prepare the circle."

Temple gets the down payment, he lives alone but it is a sizeable quantity of assorted snacks and beverages. The summoning can begin.

There is a little spot marked out for Temple to draw in the invisible ink. "Remember, don't agree to anything until you're done negotiating. They won't be able to use their powers destructively until the deal to destroy things is in effect, I chose an elegantly minimal but still safe binding."

Temple nods solemnly and then he draws with the invisible ink.

And another fairy appears. This one is an asian-looking woman with incongruously blonde hair, dressed in what looks like leaves. It does seem well-made, just aesthetically odd. "Summoner." She glances at Nick and asks hopefully, "Big job?"