Hawker baits Tegan with mercenary offer

In the Hall of Mirrors, Hawker exploits Tegan’s altered state for his own profit, proposing a sinister partnership where her ventriloquism and uncanny presence would manipulate patrons into paying for fear. His proposition leverages Tegan’s growing instability under the Mara’s influence, offering apparent financial gain while drawing her deeper into the entity’s schemes. The encounter sharpens the immediate threat to Tegan’s psyche as the Mara tightens its grip, using human greed as a tool to further corrupt her. The scene underscores Hawker’s opportunism while escalating the cosmics stakes of the Mara’s plan to reclaim physical form through her mind’s fragility. key_dialogue: [ HAWKER: Highly convincing, young lady. A trick, of course. Voice projection, the art of the ventriloquist perhaps, but in different registers. Oh, very original, all in all. Various possibilities present themselves immediately, should you be, er, along the lines of a partnership. A booth, perhaps and so forth. And me outside enticing the passer-by. Talking them in, relieving them at the door of some small token of their sincere interest. You inside in the half dark, talking away to yourself and scaring them all half to death. Highly satisfactory all round. What do you think? ]