With Mana being in front and not having time to fully react (and the lack of anyone else posting anything yet that might change this and wanting to keep the story moving), the bird flies right on target. Mana does have time to speak, but not to sidestep. That being said, the bird makes an "attack roll" so on a miss Mana just manages to sidestep. To hit: 16 Damage: 2. (was a 9 to hit and 1 damage. But I don't want to do a separate post so having a manipulated roll warning)

So the bird narrowly misses Mana, instead colliding with the floor, breaking on impact. You all look up from the site of impact just in time to see the figure on the roof quickly ducking away and vanishing from sight.

Mana barely steps to the side in time to feel the air rush past him as the bird shatters in a metallic clank upon the flagstone entry path. Mana stoops to investigate the now mangled device, looking for evidence of contact poison, or possibly an unexplored “bead of fireball”. Could this have been the mode of delivery of the fireball back in Trollskull Alley? Surely not, otherwise we’d all be crispy right now.

Investigation:23

It looks like a basic construct, very flimsy and almost gives vibes of a child's toy. Nothing sinister about it at all.

Mana pinches a busted wing with thumb and forefinger and lifts it slowly from the ground. As he transfers it to his other now cupped hand, he conveys to the party, “Not very well made, almost child-like in its construction, if not in its ambition. Controlled flight is no simple thing. I don’t think this was released with bad intent, just bad results.”

Mana hangs onto the pile of debris with the desire to give it back to its owner.

”Shall we proceed to the House to inquire about nimblewrights?”

"By all means, lead the way..." says Wagner.

"Well."

Sterling had only been a short distance behind Mana, and this... bird-thing nearly hitting him was a bit worrying. But it seemed harmless, and no one else seemed concerned. So with a shrug, the bard followed the others onward.

The temple of Gond is open and abuzz with activity during daylight hours, then closes from sunset until sunrise. At night, acolytes retire to their private quarters to work on pet projects.

Hall of Exemplary Inventions

The main hall of the temple holds two dozen marble pedestals. Each one bears a prize-winning invention or a miniature model of some other extraordinary creation. Among the displays are several that stand out:

• A 4-foot-tall working model of a clock tower rings at the top of every hour. It is made of wood, iron, bronze, and glass, with brass bells and delicate hands formed from solid gold.
• A wooden flying machine has wings that flap when it becomes airborne.
• A miniature model of a mechanical dragon turtle has a brass plate affixed to its pedestal that reads, “Big Belchy. Sank in Deepwater Harbor on the Day of Wonders in 1363 DR.”
• A functional “waking helmet” equipped with small, articulated metal arms and hands that gently slap the wearer if he or she falls asleep.
• A miniature model of a red submarine shaped like a manta ray has a brass plate affixed to its pedestal that reads, “The Scarlet Marpenoth. Lantanese submersible. Launched in 1489 DR.”

While taking in the sights, a female bronze dragonborn comes over to you. "Hello. I am Valetta, a priest of Gond here. How may we be of assistance?"

“Thank you Valletta, for taking some time with us.” Mana begins. “My name is Mana and this is Oriace, Sterling and Wagner.” Nodding to each as he makes the introductions.

”We are here primarily to learn more about the automatons called nimblewrights, but first I would like to alert you about an unexpected greeting we were subject to outside, just before we reached your door.”

Mana slowly lifts the remnants of the metallic bird. “A figure on this very roof let loose this contraption at our approach. I am not saying it was sent at us in malice but its guidance did make me the target. Only a quick reaction allowed me to sidestep and avert injury, although the subsequent impact on the ground did damage this device quite badly.”

Mana turns the device over with his other hand, demonstrating how catastrophic the crash had been.

”I was hoping to return this to the owner in person and encourage them to continue perfecting their skills. This setback shouldn’t discourage them. Would you know who could have been on the roof just a few moments ago?”

She sighs. "The good news is, everything you spoke about is related. The figure on the roof would be Nim, a nimblewright gifted to the temple by a Lantanese wizard. Nim should know better than to test inventions around members of the public." she leads you up a spiral staircase towards an attic, then frowns." There is a new lock on here. Nim seems to have made one himself."

Mana looks at the locked door but hesitates to approach it.

”Before we disturb Nim, can we ask a few questions about the nimblewrights in general. And maybe a couple about Nim in particular?”

"I can definitely answer some questions about Nim. I'm not overly familiar with their general construction though, but if I can answer the questions I will."

“We’re the proprietors of the old Trollskull Manor over in the North Ward, just off of Saerdoun Sreet, right at the North Entrance to Trollskull Alley. We fancy ourselves to become the premier entertainment hub in the North Ward and eventually beyond, and we’ve already begun by securing some of the most elite talent in all of Waterdeep (shameless self referencing to present company). We’d love to see you visit us and would gladly give you and a guest a first time discount, especially if you can help us in our little investigation.”

Mana smiles and flourishes a polite bow.

”I do not know if news has traveled this far, nor if you have been visited by the authorities, but there was a dreadful incident outside of our establishment a morning ago wherein a fireball was cast upon some citizens, killing many. It has come to our attention that a figure, believed to be a nimblewright cast a bead of fireball from a rooftop in our alley. I am not accusing Nim, as his “toy” was harmless enough, just noting the similarity of circumstances.”

Mana glances to his group to see if he has over shared, if they would like to speak up, or if he should continue.

(IRL not comfortable in the spotlight and don’t want to be hogging it in game. Just have been available to propel the story. Please interrupt our exuberant Verdan if you feel it’s appropriate.)

Sterling raised an eyebrow at Mana taking the initiative, but hid his slight smile. He wondered if his young companion had revealed too much, but figured there was no point in quibbling about it at the moment. The would-be jeweler waited for Valetta's response before making any interruptions.

"I can assure you that it was not Nim if your question is about if he would do something like that. You see he is magically bound to this temple and can't leave the temple grounds. The wizard who gave us Nim did have other Nimblewrights but he took them with him when he went home. We could ask Nim what he knows about other Nimblewrights. He likes to sit on the roof and look out so he might have seen something."

“Yes, that is wonderful. I was just going to ask if you could vouch for Nim’s whereabouts recently.”

(Can Mana detect any hint of deception in Valetta’s claim? Insight: 18)

Insight: 5

Not noticing any clues of deception, Mana continues.

”From what you know about nimblewrights, do they have the autonomy to ‘go rogue’? Or would they have to stick to their programming from their creator? Just wondering how deep we have to dig to find the motivation to firebomb a peaceful neighborhood.”

"They are quite autonomous but will follow instructions if given them. For example, Nim wasn't told they should create a bird and throw it off the roof. But they also weren't told not to. In fact, the reason they created that is because they asked for tools and materials becuase having seen others tinkering, they wanted to do their own. So that shows you the sort of autonomy they have."

"Sounds no different than anyone else. Even if the can fall prey to different undue influences than a flesh and blood person, it's not like charms that could affect us don't exist.
Maybe he knows the nimblewright we are after?"

“That’s good information, Valletta. Thank you.”

Mana turns in appreciation to Wagner. “Well said, Wagner.”

Turning back to Valletta, “Perhaps your voice will convince Nim to unlock this door. You could also entice him by saying ‘friends are here to return his clockwork bird.’ If that fails, I might have something here to pick the lock, with your permission of course.”

Mana transfers the remnants of bird to his right hand and smoothly reaches his left hand across and under his cloak to a breast pocket containing the folded leather wallet containing the team’s Thieves Tools. His empty hand retreats to his side after his fingers confirm that the tools were readily available in a moments notice.