"Missing supplies?" Ambre asks, curious.

The Dwarf nods as he takes a long sip from his mug. "Yeah, supplies. Some grimy mother ******* kobolds stole some supplies from my employer. He tasked me to get them back."

(He might know some things. He might not. With all the strange scars on the left side of his face it's not as easy to read as a normal face)

"I dont think Kobolds make a habit of doing that," Ambre says, "but what kind of supplies did they take?"

"I wasn't given a full list, but I believe it was a couple sacks of coin, some weapons and some explosives... Now I'm aware ya won't give me information for free, but I don't have a lot of coin, but maybe I can pay ya in muscle?"

The Dwarf asks, offering what he knows.

“I don’t need more than an hour.” He answered Josias, looking at the rest of the group. To his eyes no one seemed hurt enough to not be recovered after a short rest. “And I agree that it looks like a third party, but this party said to be allied with Zabriss’ commander in the note Emberwind found. I would rather not take any risk of arming the enemy if we can avoid it.” That or the risk of the elf catching their target before them, snatching the gold. But that he left unsaid. “Besides, when it comes to finding someone it’s best to act as fast as we can.” Or at least that was what Klaus used to say. For all the problem his demonstrations of friendship seemed to bring the man’s skill as a Scout was indisputable.

They followed to the Sootswallow Lodge. There they seemed to be found by Tinkertop instead of finding him.

“I can’t speak for everyone, but I do believe we need as much muscle as we can get.” Fritz say looking to the red bearded dwarf. “Master Maker Cleff Tinkertop, I presume?” He turns to the gnome. The old man seemed to recognize the strange dispositive in their hands and was accompanied by a woman that just called him “dad”. As far as descriptions went, that was the pair they intended to find. “We were hoping you could give us your opinion about those same devices.”

"Where were the items stolen from, maybe there are clue still there. Also, Frtiz any word from your familiar?" Quill asks.

 (@DM: Did Fritz get something from his familiar?)

"Yep, that's me! At your service! And this is my daughter, Rissa," He gestures to the young woman, who waves hello. Cleff then looks to Bjorn. "And this fellow is... ah, I'm sorry young man, I've forgotten your name... Anyway, let's see that construct, shall we?"

(Nothing from the familiar yet.)

Ambre pulls it from her bag. "Got it right here!"

"Names Bjorn, and I work for an alchemist as security... We were setup in the Lower City, but after we were robbed, we moved to the Upper City on the Idleworks Shelf." Bjorn takes another long sip from his mug. "I was working on tracking them down, but have been having trouble... Ya' see, I'm not really the.... investigative type."

Finn speaks up, having observed the conversation, "This meeting certainly seems more that coincidental. Some force seems to have brought us together, and I am not one to ignore such gifts." He pauses for a moment collecting his thoughts. "As the incidents we are investigating seem to be aligned, I would welcome having another set of eyes... not to mention another strong shield arm."

Bjorn looks around his person, and after not seeing a shield by him, he'll respond to Finn. "I don't carry a shield, but you'll have my hammer."

Finn smiles, "A simple turn of phrase, just to mean one who would be useful in a fight."

"Well, I'm definitely useful in a fight, if it comes down to that." Bjorn will say before finishing his mug of ale, his attitude barely changing as if he hadn't drunken at all.

Quill feels a bit uncomfortable at what seems like manipulations going on, and will move over to a corner of the tavern and sit and what the others in the room.

Perception: 7

 Though the sunbeam coming through the window seems to have attracted his attention and his eyelids grow heavy.

"See, now that's sensible! Some jolly cooperation," Cleff says, clapping his hands together. "Ah, what were we doing again?"

"The construct, dad. You wanted to see it?"

"Oh, yes! Thank you, Rissa. Let me see the construct, my friend," Cleff reaches out and takes the strange crab construct from Ambre, then sets it on the bar next to his drink. He takes a slurp of his drink, more foam sticking to his beard, and slips the goggles around his neck up over his eyes. He flicks down a few magnifying lenses and gives the contraption a good once-over. "Odd. This looks like... Rissa, why does this look so damned familiar?"

"It's one of your old designs, dad. It's a vox seeker..." Rissa states, narrowing her eyes at the ruined metal crab.

"By the Allhammer, you're right, my dear... it is a vox seeker!" Cleff inspects it further, turning it over and peering into each nook and cranny. He drops it on the counter with a scoff. "This is a poor copy of one of my old contraptions. I called it a vox seeker. A simple construct, but relatively effective. It attacks the nearest creature it can hear speaking; perfect for causing chaos behind enemy lines. They aren't used much anymore, though. Empire wants their big, fancy siege engines instead. But this craftsmanship... it's shoddy. It reminds me of someone I used to work with; Huron Stahlmast. A brilliant talent, but impatient as all get-out. He'd always copy my work and create a poor product just to get it done. But... he hasn't been seen in Hupperdook for years. It is odd, though, that this very vox seeker turned up at a destroyed cell in Gearhole Prison..."

He slips off his goggles. "This is badly damaged, but if you so desire, I could repair it in but a few hours. I doubt it will tell you much about who delivered it, but it could prove useful in dealing with these kobolds I've heard so much about."

"Forget the contraption, they can have it if they want. Tell me more about this... Huron... Where does he normally frequent or spend his time?" Bjorn asks, having his first lead since being tasked with this.

"I couldn't tell you, young man. He left Hupperdook years ago. We used to work in the Builder's Plot together, but any of his things were either taken by him when he left or destroyed. I wish I could be of more help."

"Really," Ambre is very excited. "Do you think you could show me how to make them sometime... no, wait... I'll try to make my own version. But repairing it would be great! Thank you."