Zensuon: Crystal Age

A deal is a deal is ideal

Where we find what happened to Mica, and what stands between him or inevitable demise.

It was darkness all around. Mica wasn't even sure there were walls, it was just like the void became more solid at certain places to simulate walls, and a floor (thankfully so he wouldn't be falling eternally into it), and thankfully someone was thoughtful enough to also provide the void with a chair and table.

He was sitting in what could constitute a decent little office. There was a nice thin table, a pen at the front, and even a flower. Sure, the flower was dead, but it was a start.

Before him was a creature that was more razors and daggers than anything else. He was bipedal, but lanky and twisting in a way that reminded Mica of a lizard.

"Mr. Michael Hershel Hershfield," It said with a voice like the cracking of stones.

Stones not small enough to be called pebbles, but not big enough to be actual rocks. They seemed like they were rolling inside the insidious creature's throat as it talked, and moved its piercing green, slightly glowing eyes toward the halfling.

"Yes?" Mica the smallman fidgeted a bit in place.

Mica wasn't sure anymore what prompted him to get into that void and in here, usually, he'd run, but somehow he felt he had nowhere to run from this situation, should he want to or not.

"You are under one of our ongoing contracts, I believe, is that correct?" The greyish creature, now looking blacker than before given the nothingness surrounding the two, was shuffling paperwork in front of it and giving it a look Mica knew as the:

'I'm pretending I have only a vague understanding of why you are here so you'll think I'm too important and have many other more higher-priority things ongoing than you'.

"Was under one of your contracts. My-" Mica pondered how to call him for a moment, and then proceeded "- Contractee died under fortunate circumstances."

"We shouldn't hope otherwise." The creature said in its terrifying voice meant likely to frighten small children in nightmares to soil their beds, and somehow it was also perfect when conducting business, who knew?

"There we go. Your full contract. Yes." The monstrous creature of sharp edges beheld the scroll that while seemed to have a start and an end to it in its deadly clawed hands, rushed past Mica in such a way that the halfling suspected it was a lot longer than he wanted it to be.

"Might I have a look?" The halfling attempted.

"You didn't get a copy?" The creature asked, while not even sparing a gaze.

"No, I was near death when I signed the contract. I wasn't in the right state of mind to ask for it, then." Mica tried to explain diplomatically, hoping the creature would appreciate the gesture if nothing else.

"It's stated here that the contractor may ask for a copy of the contract from the contractee at any point." The monster meticulously pointed out.

"Great, so might I have a copy of the contract?" Mica asked cheerfully and smiled under his mask, which he has yet to remove in the knowledge that a possibly very dangerous being is sitting before him and he'd like to be prepared for the worst.

"I'm afraid not, your contractee is very much dead, after all." The creature explained with a sign of remorse in its voice as if its hands were tied.

Mica glanced at it awkwardly, fidgeting a bit, wanting to shout back at the ridiculousness of it all, but he was in no immediate position to go into a frenzy, after all, where was he going to run, even if he defeated this creature?