She stopped and looked over her shoulder. "A what?"
Hawke put his hands in his pockets and leaned against the desk. "A demonstration. A sample. An example of what we are capable of that will leave no doubt as to why, when it comes to necromantic investigation, we are your best choice."
Liel turned and narrowed her eyes. "And what sort of… example would you be able to give me?"
Em came over to put a friendly arm around her shoulder and led her back to the chairs. "Certainly there is a friend, a loved one, someone on the other side that you would like to talk to? Someone who can vouch for us and show you that we're who and what we say we are?"
"I am aware of the sort of confidence games that street mages can engage in, sirs, and I will not be taken in by your attempts at cold reading or illusions."
Em shrugged. "Alright, fair enough, I did come from a long line of street mages. But I must encourage you to keep an open mind."
Hawke sat down in his chair again and Em pulled up one directly across from him.
"The way that we usually do this sort of thing," Em said, "is that I call the spirit and Theo here serves as the medium. Spirits like him. I think he's gooey inside."
Hawke smirked and picked up the explanation. "But, since you are doubting us, we will not have Em call on the spirits. We will have you do that. Not by word, but by thought. Don't say anything, just think about the person you would most like to talk to from the other side. Em will focus on making sure nothing unpleasant comes through."
Em continued. "And just so you know, the dead are much like the living in that they have moods and feelings. So don't be offended if you catch someone on a bad day. Or decade."
"Or century." Hawke added. He had rolled up his sleeves and was stretching in his chair like someone about to enter an athletic event. Em had his eyes closed and was doing deep breathing.
"So you both do this at the same time?" Liel asked.
"Well, we work on it together at the same time," Hawke said. "It's only safe with two or more mages, but we fulfill different roles. Now, no more talking. Just start thinking about who you want to talk to."
Liel nodded a bit hesitantly.
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