Raqisat sticks close to Grugga as Cosette suggested.  He finds it curious to hear Aubrey in his head and he doesn't particularly like it but has no clue how he would block him out.  It's nothing personally but a person has a right to some privacy, he fancies, and he suspects if the princeling can put words in his head there's a good chance he can poke around at other things.  

     What you doing? he tries to think back at Aubrey.  Picking fights is my job...  He's not sure if Aubrey can here him back or not but he does his best to keep his more colorful thoughts to himself.

     "Dawn who?" Raqisat asks Grugga but then quickly realizes he's not talking to him.  

     Besides watching his back, Raqisat does his best to keep an eye out for the Elf or any other potential threats.  This may be an illusion but if it's this good perhaps it is good enough to obey the ways of nature and perhaps people can leave tracks here like they can in the real world...

Grugga:

At Grugga's question, the invisible elf snorts.  “The Dawntreader,” she says, as if the name is of little consequence. “That’s a name I didn't expect to be brought up here.  A figure of myth.  A story told to belittle my people and suggest they can be bent to treachery and treason.”

“But I’m curious—why do you ask?  It’s not a name that surfaces often outside the land of Fidelis.  What stories have reached your ears?”

With the other members of the party getting busy with various tasks, Leelan will attempt to locate the table with the skeletons mentioned by the elven lady.

Investigation: 7 (5+2) rolled in dice log

Leelan circles the area, never straying too far from the rest of the party.  Other than the golden shield surrounding the out-of-place laboratory and the sparking crystal, there is nothing else within sight that resembles what the elf has described.

As the party stands amid the illusion of a springtime mountainside, there is a sudden shift in the air—a flicker, as if the fabric of reality itself is wavering. The sounds of the babbling stream and rustling leaves fade, replaced by an odd hum, then an eerie silence.  The colors around them bleed and blur at the edges, the green of the grass and the vibrant blooms of flowers dissolving like wet paint running down a canvas.

Then, the illusion collapses entirely.

The mountainside vanishes, and the party finds themselves standing on loose, cracked ground. The oppressive heat hits hard and sudden, despite the sky above being dark and star-streaked.  They are now in the heart of a vast desert, lit by the off-white glow of a huge, full moon.  The sand beneath their feet feels scorched, and the air is dry.  With each breath, your mouths yearn for a refreshing sip of water.  Around them, broken and weathered columns jut out from the sand—ruins of some ancient, forgotten civilization. 

The golden forcefield, no longer close by, now shimmers at the far end of these desert ruins. 

Closer, under the moon’s pallid light, they spot something else familiar yet out of place—a wide work table, just as the elf had described.  Two crystal orbs sit atop it, dimly glowing.   And lying next to them upon the table are the skeletal remains of two human figures, their bones bleached and brittle as if they'd been exposed to the desert winds for centuries.  

From her prison, the elf woman’s voice cuts through the desert air.  “It’s shifted again.  Look!  The controls.  You’ve found it... Hurry now, before it changes once more.”

Grugga replies back "The Dawntreader? Oh, the myth makes it around. As I said, there used to be a shop here named after him. Aren't you worried you'll end up like him, working with us and all?" He leaves unspoken the obvious other choice that she attempt to betray the party. "Actually it begs the question, how did that myth take root here over a hundred years ago unless your countrymen had been treating with us beforehand? And how did an airship engine make its way into the basement of an Amnifortis college?" He gestures at the artifact. (He doesn't actually know it's an airship engine - just an educated guess).

When the group is teleported away, Grugga takes a moment to collect himself. The rapid illusion changes seem to affect him badly. Once he takes a few deep breaths, he announces to group - not loud enough for the Ancient Elf to hear - "That artifact is concentrated magic. If it's damaged or even hit with magic, it would kill all of us and level the entire district of Amnifortis. We can't risk fighting her around it, and we can't let her have it."

     "Good information to have," Raqisat retorts.  "Umm, do we plan on fighting her?  Or working with her?  Couldn't we just leave her here?"

"You are not leaving us with many options here my friend..." The young noble says quietly with a friendly smile to his artificing companion. "...are you saying we can't use magic at all near the artefact or is it just destructive magic that could set off this reaction? I expect it won't be easy to get the anicient elf away from the artefact." 

"Normally I'd say any magic - not just destructive - that comes directly in contact with it, but I've never seen a sample nearly this large... it could possibly react with magic in its immediate proximity. Clearly the Elf cast some sort of magic to disappear just now and didn't set it off, so if it does have an aura, it's not too large."

"I know this puts a spanner in whatever plans we have, but one false move and I'm sure we're all dead. She probably knows as much, but maybe not. Let's just be careful and try to resolve this without a firefight."

Leelan will carefully approach the table with the two skeletons. He’s half expecting those to rise up and attack at any moment if he gets to close. 

He’ll wave his arms to try and get the attention of his companions. 

"I’m not sure what we’re suppose to do with these, but I’ll stand at the ready if need be."

"Thank you Mr. Dapper." The young noble says, then turning to face the dome with the artefact and the trapped ancient elf. "I believe we are now ready to proceed with our negotiations. Unfortunately we can't let you leave with the artefact, which gives us three options. We could make sure it is destroyed and you with it but that would be our last resort and would not really benefit anyone. We could of course set you free if you accept that we will lay claim to the artefact, or, if that does not sound like a reasonable agreement, we could simply leave until you decide it is." He explains in a quite calm and polite tone. 

Intimidation/Persuasion: 9 Another roll if help is provided: 18
Insight to determine truthfulness in any response: 17

When there's a shift in the illusionary biome Cosette mutters curses under her breath in each language she knows as she adjusts to the new 'reality' of being in a scorching desert, during the night at that. Not to mention they were in quite the pickle. Predicament. Conundrum. Between a rock and a hard place. And she was wayyyy out of her element. But it was cool. She was cool. Cool like a cucumber. On the outside.

Cos wished she had a little more information about those two skeletons at the table that she had been looking at before the shift. Maybe then she'd be better assist Leelan. Right now though, Grugga and his words had her attention. Once again she'd reach a hand out and place it on his arm in support of adjusting to the illusion shift, and in appreciation for his knowledge. They couldn't risk fighting around the artifact, and they didn't want her having it.

Cosette had an idea. Well part of one. And it probably wasn't even a good one. Minimum, Raq would protest with swapping places with her to be right up front with the artifact. But that detail wouldn't matter if it went off in the end, would it? Proximity... How much room would the artifact need? She leans in to whisper a 'hypothetical' in return to Grugga. "So... say a tiny hut were to spring into existence..."

(When Cosette asked, did she ever get the elf's name?)