Fae would finally blink a couple times as she adjusts to the presence of the shield. Evidence of her dimple would begin to show on her cheek as a small smile creeps up on her face as Elra and Ethan play '20 questions' with the shield. The scholar will keep her ears open to the conversations going on around her while she goes back to inspecting the spellbook that was shared with her. She'll take care as she methodically thumbs through the pages.

Fae opens the spellbook to find that it is all written in Gnomish but is signed in Common by someone named Fablen Wobblewomp.  (info below, and I have also put this in Fae's character sheet inventory) 

 (Paradox what do you mean by 'the hard way'?  An Arcana check?  We might be able to do this with some added time and Detect Magic, I just don't want to devalue the Identify for those who have it.  I believe becoming familiar with an item for the duration of a Short Rest typically can reveal its properties.  Perhaps Detect Magic and successful Arcana could split the difference between the Identify and Short Rest methods?)

The shield responds to Ethan..

"So afraid, for how long..?  Oh, yes, yes...a question.  Focus, focus...  Ok.  I'm dead.  And I'm in a shield.  I am a shield?   Hmmmm.   Ok, the question, yes yes... senses...sense... I can hear?  I can hear!  Yes I can hear you speak!  Focus, focus....so hard to think... senses, senses.... wait, wait... I'm cold!  I'M COLD! YES!  Oh, actually, I'm quite cold.  Hmmm...  Sense, sense... excitement...?  I sense...excitement?  Am I excited?  Or are you excited?  Is everyone else here excited?  EVERYONE ELSE!  YES!  I can sense there are many here!  Where?  Where are we?  Are we excited?  Is there danger?  I feel danger, but less danger now... and less afraid... is there danger?"

"Hmm, fascinating, so you can sense the direct presence of those around you, and you are affected by their emotional state..."

"Oh and yes, we are excited, and there is danger, but at least some of it is contained for now."

"I believe we were expecting more danger to arrive later, um, there was a dragon and I think the raiding party."

Tarja is delighted with the elephant.

I knew you had something to you, marble guy! You'll get to be a real elephant for a while! Well, when we have more space. This castle seems a bit cramped for an elephant.

Tarja keeps an eye on Gundren, too.

I hope Gundren recovers. He's safe now, but he might be better if we get him back to Phandalin, but he looks to be in no shape to travel right now.

"I'm sure with a little bit of time he'll be okay," Elra says, "it seems like he was surprised we found him. Maybe he thought we were playing a joke on him? I'm not quite sure, but it seems like it would be best to let him come out on his own..."

"Hmm... Fablen Wobblewomp." Fae will mutter out loud when she'd come across the owner's signature in the book. "Seems as though it's in Gnomish. Something else to study..."  She'd smile, excited to have some spells she could study and copy during the evenings.

Her thoughts would then go to Gundren as the others. She was guilty of not going in there to check on him like the others. The wizard was very curious about what state of mind he could be in right now. Though, she felt as though there was nothing she could do to help him. Fae briefly considered listening in to his mind, but swatted that thought away as fast as it came.

"Would you like some help with that Fey?" Elra asks, "I learned a bit on how to read wizards spellbooks... mostly cause one day a wizard left his spellbook in the library and I took it back to my room and started reading through the thing. I didn't realize what I had taken until the guy came storming through the place wanting to know who had taken Adele from the library and realized he was talking about his spellbook... most of the acolytes thought he was talking about a child at first. I only ever figured out the ritual spells though, and only a couple at that. It would be interesting to learn more... if you don't mind of course..."

"Sorry for messing with you, Yeemik. I wasn't sure if everything was clear out there.

So what's the plan, friends? I can impersonate Grol if needed and we can wait here for a bit and get the drop on the Spider if they return?"

Elra decides to look at the fancy armor and sword while Arvel talks to Yeemik.

Zeke continues to stand and look menacing in the doorway, careful to keep Arvel and Yeemik in his sight line while also blocking the door and making it clear the other goblins can listen, but they can't come into the room.

He is completely oblivious to the chattering around the shield, but does cast a quick glance at Fae as she studies her new book intensely.

Elra quickly discerns that the half plate armor is not magical in any way but the longsword is enchanted (+1 longsword).

Yeemik relaxes and looks like he might faint at the realization that Grol is not actually summoning him amidst these strange circumstances.  He peers into the room and sees the real Grol dead upon his throne and his eyes grow wide.  "Wow, you killed him."  After a moment of perhaps trying to decide how he feels about that he shrugs, perks up, elbows Zeke in the leg and says "nice work."

"Ok, well, ah, there's more fun in store today.  We'll probably have a visitor soon, and it wouldn't be too smart not have his dinner ready."  Yeemik gestures with some urgency at his fellow goblins and they nod and start taking the goat out towards the main entrance to the castle.  "Oh, and make sure our new friends can't get crushed under all that stone out front."

"And then Targor will probably be back in an hour or two.  You all got a plan for a bunch of hobgoblins and their pets?"

"But first, who wants to meet a dragon?"

((oops, sorry, I meant the chain shirt and the scimitar it was wrapped around... i need to be more specific next time))

Oops...

Elra discovers that the chain shirt is actually enchanted and light weight Elven Chain.

The accompanying item is quite unique, a gold scimitar adorned with tough vines: [Tooltip Not Found].

"Oh, Tarja! You might like this," Elra goes to offer her the scimitar. "It's of elven make, but it's imbued with the magic of a nature god," Elra will proceed to explain all the properties to her. "And the chain mail seems to be of elven make, looks like anyone could wear it without being to bothered by it."

Oh, wow. That is incredible.

Tarja reverently takes it and whispers some words to it in Druidic.

I'll have to spend some time learning to use this. It has so much elemental power, I'll have to be very careful.

Elra smiles at Tarja's excitement, "I'm sure you'll do great, nature and the elements seem to be your thing."

"Can you remember the conditions of you creati..uh, the accident that caused you to be trapped in the shield yet or your name?"

"If you cant remember your name we could give you one, until you do remember, if you like."

Ethan continues studying the shield, he has extracted a couple of tools and is using them to trace the magic in its design.

He appears not to be concerned with were the group is, and what yet awaits them.

Elra perks up, "Dragon? Really?"

(Ethan, go ahead and give me an arcana check on the shield.)

"Dragon?!  How fascinating!  But no, bad... the fear... so much fear... please don't let it hurt him...please..."  (silence)  "Wait, name?  Accident?  Oh, right, yes yes...  I did have a name!  Wait, we knew that...focus...focus... we MUST examine this situation closely... I had a name.  I was afraid.  There was an accident, or worse, theoretically.  I died.  I am not there any more.  Time has passed.  If only I had a quill and some parchment for my notes... this must be studied.  We must have the facts!  If I could only remember... all I remember is fear... what fear?  Of what?  For whom?  If we examine the fear... fear of what?  OF IT!  YES!  it was.... a shadow?  Yes, a SHADOW!  I feel it looming... a shadow of what?"

Regarding Elra's question, Yeemik responds "yeah, he comes most nights."  "Demands we provide him dinner, as if he can't hunt better than any of us.  He's always askin' to meet the Spider, but I don't think he has.  Never seemed too interesting in Grol, though.  We goblins usually talk to 'em.  He ate poor Ziebs early on."  Yeemik sounds somber at the last statement, hanging his head a little.

As the party begins to spread out and explore the castle a bit they see a number of things.  The goblin with the goat returns empty handed from the eastern side of the castle.  He joins two other goblins is shoring up some sort of unstable rock piled up on top of a wall near the main eastern entrance, perhaps disabling the trap Yeemik had spoken of.  The remaining goblins join Yeemik in trying to check on the displacer beast once again.  Two enter cautiously with food to temp the beast, not that it doesn't already have quite the kill of its own to feast on.  Other rooms are full of dirty goblin and hobgoblin sized bedrolls, expired food, and even a few goats locked in one room.  The castle on the whole smells quite foul due to the lifestyle of its inhabitants.

Most interesting to some is surely the largest room near the center of the castle.  Looking like what was formally a great hall or place of worship, it is now covered in the filth of goblins, bones of small animals, puddles from the dripping, damaged second story and other aspects of disrepair.  In one corner of the room an old woven tapestry in blue has fallen and is crumpled up, appearing now as if it's used as a bed.  A dirty but familiar gold lion symbol can be seen peaking out from amongst the folds.  Still clinging to the ceiling by a few strained threads on the opposite site of the room is the same banner, the Lionshield Coster symbol faded but otherwise quite recognizable.

On a stone dais in the center of the room sits a crudely carved stone head of the goblin god Maglubiyet, candles burning in its hollow eyes.  On the floor next to the dais is a four foot ornate brass brasier tipped over on its side. It is made to depict dozens of scrolls at angles wrapping around one another to form the bowl atop a stand which is in the form of two circling stacks of books like intertwined spiral staircases.  For those who would know, especially Fae, Elra and Zeke, the symbolism of Oghma is undeniable.  Other, less significant items strewn around the room only reinforce this;  finely crafted stands that likely once held oversized ornamental scrolls, now empty bookshelves, an old desk, etc.  It appears someone turned this hall into what may have been a somewhat impressive study at some point in the castle's history.

Elra approaches the shrine and touches the bowl, feeling all the edges with her hand, thinking.