As the last of you climb into the pit, Xuuvosic picks it up and a moment later the rest of you find yourselves climbing out onto a mountaintop that has somehow been flattened*. The chilly air at the lower altitudes has turned absolutely frigid up here, but the splendor of the scene laid out below partially makes up for it at least. On one side, the moonlight reveals the dunes of the Anauroch spreading endlessly to the horizon. On the other, Cormanthyr forest lies like a dark green rug, seemingly unfurled to welcome hapless visitors into its foreboding depths, where they will likely never return from. It crosses your mind that at least in this section of Faerun, the residents are likely happy about the loss of the sun. Neither the Empire of Shade in the desert, nor the Dark Elves that have taken over the forest are likely to miss it in the slightest.
As the imp flies out of the opening of the pit, your peaceful reveries are broken by his loud complaining "So you decided that we should conduct our negotations in the frozen depths of Cania? Do I look like a frost imp to you? Ah well, at least there is incentive for us to get it over with quickly, before we all freeze to death.
So... here is the deal. My Master will provide whatever resources you need, as appropriate, if you but agree to two simple terms.
1) You must never take... the artifact... forward in time to a point where... you know who... could reach it. It is currently beyond his grasp, as it lies in a time before he was born, or so we surmise. If it didn't, he'd have already seized it for himself, or at least to prevent anyone else from using it against him.
2) When you're finished with your... agenda... the artifact will be handed over to my Master.
The resources provided will consist of unlimited numbers of Wishes, provided by me, and perhaps other items in the future. However anything beyond the power of a Wish will have to be requested ahead of time and will take time to procure.
I will provide you with this amulet to contact me with, and I will be available as you need, even if you travel into the past as I have had my current position for some time, but I may not be able to respond immediately upon being called. So you shouldn't rely on me to come and get you out of a bind.
I am also not here to fight for you at all. Despite my ability to produce Wishes and use dimensional travel, my combat abilities are extremely limited. I do have several defensive contingencies in place on my person to defend me against those who might seek to abuse my gifts against the will of my Master, though. So don't get any bright ideas about double crossing me."
*[spoiler]The cities of ancient Netheril were made by cutting the tops off of mountains, inverting them, and then imbuing them with the ability to fly. Those of you with ranks in Knowledge: History, or who have had personal experiences with ancient Netheril, might guess that this is likely one of those mountains that had its top removed.[/spoiler]