(XXXIV) Contracted

"What are these..?" Alijah asked with curious eyes, leaning against the table as her hand slowly inched toward the closest stack of papers.

"It's a Binding Contract... Jackson, why..? I mean, how do you even have these?" Amelia asked, stepping forward, concern flashing across her face.

"I can't trust anyone..." Jackson replied, raising his head and staring into her quivering eyes, "Just because I just entered God's Tower doesn't mean I'm like these other rookies that aren't with guilds..."

Natane approached the table and grabbed the pen, being the first to sign.

"No! Wait-" Amelia exclaimed but couldn't stop her friend from signing.

"It's nothing! Really, I sign at least a dozen of these a day! Calm down!" Natane smiled, shaking her head.

"You should listen to your friend, Amelia... You know me, I wouldn't put anything in there that wouldn't benefit you and your brother." Jackson sighed, grabbing the signed contract and pulling it in front of him.

"That's true..." Amelia absentmindedly said as Alijah lay on the table, signing the contract and sliding it to Jackson before returning to her chair, "No! Alijah, not you too!"

"Come on! It's Jax we're talking about!" She said, waving her hand dismissively at the concerned woman.

Amelia chewed on her lip, staring at the contract before huffing in frustration, "Fine! Give me a minute!" She shouted, snatching the contract and reading it in its entirety. Once she finished, she looked up at Jackson, who stared back with the same expression of concern.

Amelia rolled her eyes and sighed, grabbing the pen, signing the contract, and handing it over to him. After all, the agreement was actually fair.

The contract mainly focused on preventing the person signing it from betraying Jackson and vice versa; the first dozen stipulations covered the various aspects that protected both parties, such as providing information to others to even claiming to know each other personally.

The final agreements prevented Jackson from forcing the person to do anything they didn't want to, and he wouldn't ask them to do anything illegal.

Jackson grabbed all three of the Binding Contracts and signed his name to each of them as each of the magical contracts began glowing brightly.

Magical letters began to flow off each of the three stacks as they all began circling the four people present. Within seconds, the contracts faded into a translucent blue mist and disappeared without a trace as locks appeared before all four.

Translucent blue chains shot out from the lock's keyhole and wrapped around the arms, legs, and neck of everyone present, tightly coiling around them.

As the ends of the chains exited the lock, the long arrowed tips of the chains shot into their bodies and wrapped tightly around everyone's hearts as the lock shut and exploded into blue pixie dust.

"What was that!?!" Alijah shrieked, leaning against the edge of a table, grabbing her chest as she panted heavily, frantically looking around at the others.

"The Binding Contract is a magical agreement where if anyone breaks the terms, they will die." Amelia sighed, shaking her head, staring at him, "Why, Jackson?"

"I needed people I could trust..." Jackson explained, pulling his Gobbii Bag out from behind his coat, placing it on the table, reaching in and pulling out the journal, and throwing it on the table, "My father left me a journal... It has exceptionally detailed notes from his journey up the tower."

"How far did he go?" Natane asked, grabbing the journal and flipping through it rapidly while Jackson reached back in, holding one of the Common Hollow Spirit Cores and placing it on the table.

"I'm not sure exactly... That journal finishes with the 30th floor, but it doesn't feel complete to me; I think he has another one..." Jackson replied before searching his bag and continued explaining, "Something strange is happening in God's Tower..."

He pulled out a hollow mask, a metallic plate, and a pair of bejeweled insect wings. He threw them on the table, returning the bag behind his coat, "In his journal, he clearly explains all of the challenges and how he would have completed them if he knew how to clear them beforehand..."

Natane's eyes flashed with greed as she dropped the journal and began pawing at all the items in front of her, "You got all this in the first four floors? You're right, that is strange..."

"No..." Jackson shook his head, hanging it and covering his forehead with his hand, "This is about 1% of what I've obtained... That's why I wanted you three..." He said, looking around.

Alijah looked around and squinted her eyes at Jackson, "What does a craftswoman, a broker, and the world's greatest thief hav-"

Jackson walked behind her and smacked her on the back of the head, interrupting her as she winced in pain, "You're nowhere near the greatest thief!! I just saved your life!"

"Everyone has an off day every once in a while!! Sheesh!" Alijah shouted, rubbing her head with both hands, crocodile tears in the corners of her eyes.

"The materials are for Amelia to use to make weapons and armor and anything she cannot use will be sold by Natane through the Black Market." Jackson explained, leaning against the wall and crossing his arms and legs.

"And you want me because..?" Alijah asked, leaning back in her chair, reclining on the back legs again as she looked at Jackson upside down.

"Well, I need you to become a merchant. With that slick tongue of yours, you'd do well. I have Natane for the illegal goods, I'll need a source for the legal ones." Jackson shrugged with a smirk.

Natane and Amelia nodded in complete understanding as Alijah probed again, "Why do I have to become a merchant? I'm a thief, not a merchant! Can't you just have Amelia sell the stuff?"

"No." Amelia interrupted, "My shop is a specialty shop that deals with highly difficult-to-use weapons and armor. Without specialized training, you could injure or even kill yourself."

"I see..." Alijah muttered, rubbing her chin as she stared at the table.

"So what's next?" Natane asked, smiling as she looked at Jackson

"I have a list..." Jackson said, stepping forward, "I have things I need each of you to do, and they must be completed before I complete the fifth floor."