"With you?" Khessa's blue eyes look into Jasper's "Any time".

Jasper once again casts Vigilant Blessing on Khessa as they all walk through the cave passage to the workshop. Staying to the middle of the group. 

'Shapechangers...' ponders Khessa in her mind, whole procedimento to the workshop 'and the king sick... A coincidence? Or are the two things related? Oh, well, let's just start by listening to those gnome leaders....'

As you approach the workshop, you begin to hear what sounds like two gnomes arguing in the Common tongue. Entering the workshop, you see it is cluttered with half-completed gnomish inventions, as well as worktables strewn with tinker’s tools. A 10-foot-high ledge overlooks the room, set with a wooden pedestal on which sits a leather-bound book. There are two gnomes in the room, both wearing smocks.

The male gnome is speaking animatedly to his companion. "It's perfect! There is no way it can go wrong. Just imagine it, Dabbledob, a ray for inducing sanity! I'll call it the Sanity Ray!"

Dabbledob, the female gnome, just shakes her head. "Too much chance for things to go wrong, Fibblestib. I think we should use my invention instead." She holds up a piece of parchment on which she has drawn elaborately detailed plans for what looks like a straitjacket.

"But how does that solve the king's sanity problem?" Fibblestib cries.

Dabbledob looks like she is about to reply when she notices the party enter. "Fibblestib, we've got visitors!" she exclaims with obvious excitement.

"Indeed you've got!" confirms enthusiastically Khessa, smiling openly at the two gnomes "Khessa," she brings a hand to her chest, to indicate herself, then points to the others as she presents them "Jasper, Echo, Katarina and Aura, from Phandalin, sent by townmaster Harbin itself, at your service! We hear you have some problems with your king and with shapechangers? We'll be glad to help you with that! And maybe you could help Phandalin with the dragon in return. In this times of trouble, only cooperation can avoid us all to succumb!"

"A pleasure to meet you both, it is," Katarina says with a friendly smile, giving a graceful curtsey that speaks to a surprising level of sophistication for a savage warrior.

Jasper gives a friendly gesture to the gnomes and stays vigilant at Echo’s strange words that ordinary objects could be the shapeshifters. He keeps his hands on his amulet. Readying himself. 

 Echo does a little wave at the two gnomes after Khessa introduces them, "hi! We didn't mean to eavesdrop, but were you two talking about an invention to help your king? We heard he's sick, what going on with him?"

Jasper continues to look around the workshop. He asks, “Has there been an attack by this shapechanger? Attacked the king maybe?  If so, can you show us where it happened?”

"Shapeshifters!" exclaims Fibblestib. "Is that what he thinks?"

"Gnomes have been going missing," Dabbledob points out. "Still, our greatest concern is our kings!"

Fibblestib shakes his head, as if to clear it. "Yes! Yes! Korboz has gone crazy. He has locked his husband, King Gnerkli, in their room, and he won't let him come out! Says it's too dangerous."

"If you help our kings, we will give you inventions! Might help against dragon," says Dabbledob. She beckons you all over to a table where an inconspicuous pole and a copper amulet lay and points to them excitedly. 

"So," Khessa summarizes, "that of the shapeshifters is just a hypothesis! The facts are that 'Korboz has locked his husband, King Gnerkli, in their room, and he won't let him come out because he says it's too dangerous'. How strange!" the blonde arcane warrior thoughtfully puts a finger to her lips "Korboz didn't explain what this sudden 'danger' should be? And since when, anyway, has he behaved like this? Did something different than usual happen to him (or to King Gnerkli) before he started to worry so much?"

”We can search the tunnels and rooms for any danger. If we find anything, we’ll take care of it for you.” Jasper says to the gnomes while looking at those items. ‘I wonder what they do…’ Jasper thinks to himself. 

Katarina glances at the straightjacket design and can't help but giggle.

"And if needing help to subdue a crazed king you are, Katarina is sure she can be of assistance," the feline says to Dabledob. "Though only a temporary solution it might be. But please now, tell Katarina and her friends about these items that you show us. What do the amulet of copper and the other item do?"

Fibblestib rubs his chin. "Some gnomes have disappeared recently," he explains. "King Kurboz must think a shape changer is responsible, but no one has seen a shape changer! And the King refuses to let Gnerkli leave. He's gone completely mad."

Dabbledob shakes her head and holds up her blueprint for the straitjacket. "I still think my invention would work best here," she declares.

Fibblestib nods his head enthusiastically at Jasper's offer of help. "Thank you! Thank you! You can prove to the King there are no shape changers, and maybe he will go back to normal."

Dabbledob joins Katarina at the table and points proudly at the amulet. "I call it a Clockwork Amulet. It can tell time down to the very second!"

Fibblestib grabs the pole excitedly. He demonstrates how it collapses down to a tiny unit but then expands once again to a full, 10 foot pole. "Very useful!" he declares. Pole of Collapsing

Khessa is impressed by the magical objects that the gnomes show Katarina and is strongly tempted to take notes... but, aware of the threat that Cryovain poses to Phandalin and of the help that the gnomes could provide, she forces herself instead to concentrate on the problem of the king.

So the blonde arcane warrior looks thoughtfully, in turn, at Aura, Echo, Jasper, Katarina... reasoning in the meantime aloud: "If King Kurboz is so frightened as to push his friends to experiment a 'Sanity Ray' on him, I seriously doubt we'll be able to make him listen to reason... Jasper has a point, it's better to go and investigate the area where the gnomes have disappeared. If we can find the guilty (whether shapechanger or not), it will be much easier to reassure the king afterwards!" the tall adventuress turns her blue eyes to Dabbledob and Fibblestib "Where did gnomes disappear recently? Is there a specific place or area where the disappearances have occurred? (Just to avoid searching blindly - which we'll do anyway if needed)".

“Well, if this workshop was in danger, it may have already showed itself.” Jasper suggest to the others. ”We should check the passages and rooms we missed on the eastern side of the rope bridge.” Cringing at the thought of crossing it again. Jasper walks to the workshop entrance and waits for the others. 

Katarina looks at the clockwork amulet... it's so shiny, almost mesmerizing. She reaches out to touch it, then remembers her manners.

"May Katarina pick it up?" she asks the gnome.

Echo 'ooooh's as the gnomes show the items, but finding the idea of exploring more of the Gnomengarde more interesting, she nods to Jasper's suggestion, "we can take a look around! But are there more of those dangerous crossbow-shooting machines, or something like it, in these rooms?"

Dabbledob nods at Katarina to say go ahead.

Meanwhile, Fibblestib looks alarmed at the mention of the crossbow. "Crossbow machine? Oh no, what did Factore do this time?" he frets. "She is a brilliant gnome, very brilliant! But she's just as crazy as the King, probably crazier."

Dabbledob pauses to think about the missing gnomes. "I'm not sure where they went missing, but starting on the other side of the waterfall would be a good idea. It's less patrolled over there."

"Okay then" Khessa sighs - she would have preferred to have a more precise clue on where to start, but okay, already limiting the search to only half of the complex is a help "we can start from the first fork or room after the bridge that we don't have yet explored".

The blonde arcane warrior asks Dabbledob one last thing: "Exploring the complex, we will meet other gnomes, who, not knowing us, could stop us for question - or attack us, if particularly tense or frightened. You could provide us with a document or a distinctive sign that allow us to be recognized and left in peace? Otherwise, our work may be slowed down more than necessary..."