Hmm.  A secret meeting in opulent settings with a shadowy benefactor who only communicated to them via a special magic item from some unknown location...  If Ellen didn't know better, she'd have suspected that she was in one of the games already.  That didn't seem to be the case, though, and instead it seemed as though this mysterious man, 'The Minister', wished to act as the sponsor for this group of people and enter them all in a competition against a number of other adventuring groups.<br/><br/>It all seemed a bit fishy, though.  There was some subterfuge involved, the man arranging for them to appear to be sponsored by another patron, and giving them a bit of information about the competition that, though small, was still something the other competitors didn't know, and thus an unfair advantage...  There was definitely much more to this situation than met the eye, though whether that was a good thing or a bad thing was impossible to determine at that point.  Logically, it was probably safest if she simply turned him down...<br/><br/>...But with other people depending on her to bring in money, she couldn't always rely on logic to see her through every situation.<br/><br/>"I'd have to have a few conditions met, before I accepted."  She spoke up, making sure to stand apart from the group so that it wouldn't look like she was trying to speak for them.  "It's nothing too big, mostly some notes on finances, but it is important enough that I'll want it in my contract, whenever we get around to signing those.  If those conditions can be met, though, then you can count me in."<br/><br/>After all, if this ultimately turned out to be something bad, then with all the secrecy surrounding these proceedings, it would be easier to take it down by working from within, rather than trying to stop it from the outside...  And if it was something good, then she could make money and support her family without any trouble.