The two sphynxs stood across from one another, their strikingly similar appearances plain to see; with Grayham lacking the stripe down the middle of his face and his skin being a few shades darker. Once Casper shook his hand, Grayham nodded and laughed, then with a long bony finger, motioned to the entrance to the inside of Terminus. “Come now, mark, let’s chat inside, this one has a proposition for you.” Grayham then looked Wells in the eye, humming, “As for you, young scholar, follow along if you so wish, although it is the marked one I wish to speak to.” He then left, moving at a quick pace, making a loud tap with his cane with each stride he took. Definitely a man that cared little about what others thought.

Turning back to Wells, Casper shrugged and followed after Grayham without so much as a word; what else could he have said about such an event, other than 'that guy's weird.'

Wells tailed behind, not wanting to be left alone.

“So, why are you interested in me?” Casper asked, scratching his head, more confused than anything, while also trying to keep up with the rather fast eccentric.

Grayham rremoved a thin, black smoking pipe from his coat, without a single word out of his mouth. Then, using his magic to light it, the pipe emitted a sickly green smoke. After a quick smoke on it, he commented, “You’re not suppose to smoke in the halls…” He said, looking around the sterile, metal walls of the base, “…Oh well…”

Casper continued to wait for Grayham’s response, even as the trio went down a flight of stairs, lower into the belly of Terminus. “Um… Why are you interested in me? Uh, Grayham is it? Master Grayham?” He made sure to pronouce his name correctly, in hopes of getting a response.

“Interested… Interested isn’t the word I would use.” He laughed, “I’ll explain at the Blood Font. In the meantime, you want?” He said as he handed the pipe over to Casper, addressing both him and Wells.

With the gross color of the smoke, a weird puke green, Casper shook his head, turning down the offer. “I’ll pass… As you said, no smoking in the halls. Plus, Wells is a kid.”

“Teenager,” Wells chimed in. “But I’ll have to refuse anyways, Master Grayham.”

“Suit yourself, the foul taste of this smoke… An acquired taste that I’ve acquired.” He shivered as he smoked with each puff.

As the group continued to pass through Terminus, passing by several colorful individuals, there was little conversation between them. As they walked on and on, Casper distanced himself from Grayham, partially to talk with Wells, partially because of a horrid smell coming from Grayham’s pipe. Wells then leaned up to Casper, speaking in a hushed voice, “Yeah… Uh… He’s a bit strange, safe to say. Everyone here is familiar with him and how he acts. He’s hard to click with I know. But trust me, he's one of the best people that Terminus has when it comes to slaying Amalgamates.”

“I can see that, the weird part that is. But is he really the leader of the Holy Divers?” Casper whispered back. Grayham was only a few feet away yet he hadn’t even looked back at the two as they spoke. “Is it really okay to be talking about him when he’s right there?”

“Whispering should be fine.” Wells said, “He is a bit out of sorts all the time, even more when he smokes that stuff.”

“What even is it.” Casper said, holding his nose. The best way he could describe the scent was acidic. A sour, smell that burned his nostrils even from far away. A smell that was similar to nail polish remover or gasoline.

Wells smiled, “Finally I get to show my knowledge… It’s something the Holy Divers all imbibe upon their initiation. I think it’s called Mind Chisel. It… Is a powerful drug that sends the mind’s fear receptors into overdrive, as well as making them hallucinate vividly. Upon breathing it in, they’ll be in a state of panic and delirium. A Holy Diver recruit must endure it until it passes out of their system it if they wish to join. It can be easily cured by water of all things, but if the recruit calls for water during their initiation, they fail the test…”

Casper nodded along, watching Grayham constantly puff on the pipe, without so much a care in the world. This meant Sprag, Cho, and even the constantly mellow Vram both went through such a test.

“The thing is, Master Grayham has been through the test over 1000 times… He’s done it so much that he’s completely immune to the effects of Mind Chisel. It only gets him high now. He wasn't forced to do it or anything. It's just something he imposed on himself 'for the challenge.' he said.”

Finally the group came to a large red door, the text above it reading BLOOD FONT in neon letters. From the path they took from the roof, they were at the bottom of the case, a floor below them and they’d be on ground. Putting the pipe away, Grayham laughed, exhaling deeply, “We’re here. Welcome, to the Blood Font. As I said, I have a proposition for you, Marked One.”