Striding out of a sunken cave--the remnants of a temple which served not the goddesses, but something far more foul--came a certain merchant. Gustav gazed into his palms, seeing the bottle which contained the floating, chaotic essence of an undead being. It twisted, contorted, at once both malicious and sorrowful. The undieing soul of a Poe. He was to think of it as a commodity, as his future profits, but there was something... entirely unsettling about keeping a soul prisoner for the sake of personal gain. "No," he mumbled to himself, trying desperately to ignore the shiver down his spice. "This deal is too sweet. I will not falter so easily." He spoke to no one but himself. His face tried to put on one of resolve. The bottle was hastily stowed away in his satchel, as he hoped desperately to get his mind off it. Poes were highly lucrative, with a huge profit margin... His contact, the hermit in a cave, was willing to provide a ready shipment for chump change. Even as he signed the contract, however, Gustav remembered how chilling it felt with the Collector's singular, glowing red eye glared down at him. It felt as if his soul was being sucked out, exchanged as some unseen part of the deal. But it didn't matter. Gustav smirked, slightly, as he caught up to the caravan which delivered him here. The young woman, a beautiful blonde woman with red eyes, smiled at him deviously. "Did it go well...?" Alice was one of Gustav's most highly-trusted contacts, and knew his practices all too well. "It did," Gustav answered with false confidence. He floated up into the seat behind her, "I'm glad you had faith in me." "Of course," Alice admitted, "...Who else would be so shrewd as to barter nickels for souls?" A gulp ran down Gustav's spine. "N-No... I... suppose... not many," yet... how did Alice know anything about the Collector? She had been waiting outside the entire time. Turning over his shoulder to look up at her, Gustav's visage froze in stupefied horror. With Alice's face half-turned in his direction, Gustav could only see one of her irises. One singular, glowing red eye glared down at him. ... (Let this post serve as proof that Gustav is giving up 100 rupees to acquire a Poe License.)
