More blurs, more burbles, more hallucinations. Graham was slowly but surely becoming acutely aware of the bean's effects, even if he could do nothing to stave them off. He caught bits and pieces of Lethe's explanation amidst sounds his drug-addled hearing found far more worthy of his attention, such as the slight clinking of the metal parts on Lev's lantern, the dull thud of Jaege's lumbering footsteps on the ground, and the bickering of the two brothers over some such tomfoolery. It would appear that he had finally worked through the most vivid of the visual effects of the bean; no one's face saw fit to melt as he finally sized up the rest of the group, something that he was quite thankful for giving how visually unsettling some of his would-be companions turned out to be. Most of what remained was a general vibrance of color and blurry afterimages accompanying fast images, as if his mind was struggling to keep up with the many visual stimuli around him.

He took particular note of the other hooded figure who, despite being very suspicious himself, was even more suspicious of Lethe's warnings and even had the gall to ask what the Goddesses could offer him for this undertaking. Although Lethe treated this question as a ridiculous interjection, Graham felt the inquiry was more than justified given the circumstances. Inviting yourself into someone's head to deliver cryptic messages and then expecting them to embark on an epic quest for you without any promise of compensation up front sounded like a horribly unfair arrangement to the business-minded Subrosian, although he wouldn't dare speak up about it so directly in his current state. He would certainly make an effort to get to know this "Magus" fellow a little better, at least in the interest of staying chummy with the shadiest character there should the metaphorical shit hit the metaphorical fan. I mean, at least he looked like a Subrosian.

He immediately became disenchanted with the Poe and the skull child, whose respective strange visages did little to offset the sudden rush of total spookage Graham had encountered upon finally contextualizing the implications of hanging out in a graveyard and venturing further into the even spookier Shadow Temple. Subrosians were very superstitious about all things undead and occult, and had always been incredibly wary of evil spirits in particular. When a Subrosian died, it was customary to cremate their remains within an active volcano's crater to remove any possibility of reanimation further on down the line. This also lead to the widely circulated myth that eruptions were caused by restless spirits stirring within the volcano's base, a belief that Graham still held to this day. At the very least Graham made note of their potential value should this whole thing end up being a bust; in his line of work, he knew of several collectors who would pay top dollar for both Poe Souls and the petrified wooden heads of skull children.

Graham kept mostly to himself as he stumbled forward, absently following the others down the steps into the shadow temple's antechamber. The Subrosian had now entered into the second phase of the bean trip; a euphoric afterglow in which he felt as though everything was going to turn out okay. His glowing white eyes had softened to a delightful rose pink shade to signify his unexpected comfort with his surroundings. Even as the ghostly cold and dismal decor enveloped him he remained absolutely calm; had he been sober, he likely would have nope'd out of this whole affair hours ago, but the bean's calming influence pushed him forward with inscrutable aplomb. He shuffled up next to Magus as he looked over the room full of unlit torches.

[color=fff79a]"Magus, was it? I'm Graham. I am absolutely [i]thrilled[/i] to make your acquaintance,"[/color] he began, introducing himself in a hushed but enthusiastic half-exclamation so as not to attract too much attention in their direction. He extended his hand for a handshake, and although one might expect Graham's ghastly appearance to be accompanied by a similarly cold and lifeless handshake, Magus would find the Subrosian's hand to be freakishly warm as a result of his naturally high internal body temperature. [color=fff79a]"To be honest, big cat, I'm completely with you on this one. A businessman with his head on straight should never enter into a deal without knowing the terms up front,"[/color] noted Graham, shaking his head in feigned, sarcastic disbelief.

[color=fff79a]"I'm mostly sticking around because of that Poe over there,"[/color] he continued, leaning in close to whisper a bit more discretely. [color=fff79a]"I know plenty of collectors who pay upwards of a thousand rupees for 'distinguished' Poe Souls, and that guy seems to fit the bill. If you help me catch him, I'll give you half of the reward. But that's only because I'm such a nice guy, alright?"[/color] he offered. Did he actually plan on slaying the Poe? Probably not, he wouldn't risk the possibility of being haunted for eternity. But he might as well show this other spook that he was worth keeping around; it would stand to reason that one might wish to endear themselves to the kinds of people who are crazy enough to argue with the will of the Goddesses.