Zeke nods and hands over his blade to Ethan, only a moment's hesitation before he releases the blessed weapon. 'I don't suppose you have something I can hang onto while you work on this? An old blade tucked in that glove of yours?'

Elra seems to be furiously writing in her book, looking up when Ethan mentions her. She waves, then goes back to writing.

Tarja looks over at Quinn.

Hmm, aren't you a curious little creature!

Keep an eye out for Krikket, Arvel's familiar. He's also small, and we don't know whether he's also turned evil with Arvel...

Ethan nods agreement with Tarja,

"Yes, Krikket is about your size Quinn, with a similar style of wings, but he can turn invisible, so be careful."

As Zeke hands the weapon over, Ethan pulls the tiny pin and releases the clamp that holds the blade in place.

Pulling the cross guard clamps open, Ethan pulls the blade from the telescoping handle, handing the sword back to Zeke.

"Here, you can keep hold of the sword, I only need the special handle."

"If you want to come back in an hour, I should have everything recorded by then."

Ethan heads back to his room to start extracting the magical spring mechanism from inside the handle, so he can record all of the sigils.

Zeke solemnly takes the blade from Ethan, giving the artificer a respectful nod for his thoughtfulness and ingenuity, and then quickly sheaths the blade.  He was happy to have the Master Artificer work on his gear - grateful for his help, but relieved to have a blade at his side in case things go wrong.

Upon their return, Fae would give a polite nod to Ethan and Zeke, appreciating the update shared. She'd smile politely as Ethan introduced Quinn to the others. Then when Ethan would address her about their introduction in front of everyone, the wizard would shift a little, trying to avoid the urge of tucking her hands in her sleeves again. "It's..." She'd exhale a soft breath to gather her thoughts. Although she obviously has insecurities about her hands and scars that she's trying to get better with... it wasn't that.

"Who is the shifty looking one with the strange hands? Why is someone so untrustworthy here with us master?"

"You need not fear master, I will keep a close watch on her. I will make sure you have warning before she betrays us."

The words would play over in her head. "It's okay... "Fae would look up from her hands to Ethan. She appreciated his efforts to try to sympathize with her by showing her his hard working crafter's hands. "But it's not about my strange hands or the burn scars that cover most of my body." She'd look from Ethan to Quinn. The scholar truly admired Quinn and what their Master Artificer achieves, but she'd be lying if she said she felt comfortable in his presence now. Fae would look back to Ethan. "I could understand Quinn at the time." And maybe it was none of her business to eavesdrop... "So I know he does not trust me." And maybe this whole thing with Arvel didn't help. As tempted as she may be to reactivate her spell so that she could understand what Quinn was saying even now, perhaps about the others, Fae decided she would not go out of her way to listen in on them. She trusted Ethan, and would have to become accustomed to Quinn in his ear. She wouldn't stop Ethan from excusing himself to work on his projects for the evening, bowing her head in farewell and good night.

Before extracting the blade from the handle, for Zeke:

"Oh, yeah I figured that was what you had cast."

Ethan looks at Quinn,

"Yeah, he seems to think everyone is out to get me and him."

"I keep telling him that my friends can be trusted, but he doesn't quite believe me."

Ethan frowns.

Quinn, looks from Ethan to Fae and then at the others, before looking back at Ethan.

"Έχω αποτύχει ο δάσκαλός μου; Δεν εννοούσα, παρακαλώ συγχωρέστε με αφέντη."

Quinn's tone of voice has a mournful whine to it.

"It's ok Quinn, you haven't failed me, I'm just not sure why you think everyone you meet is out to get us."

"It's possible I didn't do as much as I should have when putting together your personality shell."

"Όχι αφέντης! Η δουλειά σου είναι τέλεια, δεν υπάρχει τίποτα λάθος, λυπάμαι αφέντη!"

"Don't fret Quinn, my work is not always perfect and nothing is your fault, it will all work out in the end."

"Εντάξει κύριε."

Quinn seems a little sad, and flies to Ethans back and clamps on and transforms.

Fae had casted the spell in order for her to be able to understand the language Ethan worked in, in order to be of assistance when she was helping him. The spell had remained active when Quinn was created, so it wasn’t as though she purposely chose to eavesdrop on their conversations. And with Quinn at his side, not only did Ethan gain a permanent assistant, but he also had someone who could readily work in his native study language. She didn’t intend to cause any offence to the artificer or Quinn.

With Elra and Tarja available to watch over Gundren and Sister Garaele, Fae would politely excuse herself from here. It appeared to be the time to break for the evening and the Wizard felt restless. She wouldn’t find sleep right away. So instead of continuing on to her room to retired for the night, Fae would make her way downstairs and leave the establishment. She’d go for a walk outside to look out at the sky.

Eventually, Fae would make her way towards where they locked Arvel up. She thought to check in to see how he, Sildar and those watching him were doing. 

Elmar and a few trustworthy locals agree to check in on Arvel from time to time in a rotation with Sildar and Daran to help the party out.

During all of the activity and people going in and out of the Stonehill Inn, Zeke, Ethan and others suddenly find Vincent perched on a post just outside of the inn, a rolled up note for Elra tied to his leg.

Zeke ducks his head inside to alert Elra to Vincent's return and then settles back into a position outside od the inn where he can keep an eye on the streets.  Now that the Redbrands were out of business, it was easier to see who was a potential trouble maker on sight.

Zeke spots very little cause for concern amidst the crowd at the Inn or the central streets of the small town as afternoon turns to evening.  Despite the recent battle in the town center that included a fiery elemental and for a brief moment a  strange spellcaster the townsfolk's spirits are high as they seem to see that incident as the dying breath of the threat that had plagued them for months thanks to the party.

Those still around Gundren's room after Arvel is taken away witness sister Garaele heal her head wound a little bit with divine magic.  She then asks to sit with Gundren for a bit and is happy to keep an eye on his for a few hours into the evening after such an unexpected threat to his life.

Most of the notable townsfolk the party have met remain at the Stonehill Inn through dinner time and beyond, keeping the Stonehills very busy serving soup, meat, cheese, vegetables, bread, wine and ale but the family seems happy for the work and the good cheer of the community.  A pair of teenagers, the son and daughter of a local farmer, assist them in serving the food and drink in exchange for a bit of coin eventually when the crowd dies down.

Zeke and others witness Sildar and Daran occasionally slip out to go check on Arvel, or nod at Elmar Barthen to take his turn to go check in if they are busy in conversation, but no trouble is reported from the townmaster's hall.

Although most townsfolk are too polite to push the newly arrived local heroes too much, it is clear to all who mingle with the locals that they are wondering what else the party might be able to help them with.  The group is subtly yet again reminded of orcs on the road to the east and little safe passage to and from Triboar, Yartar and other settlements in that direction.  Murmurs of missing livestock in the area persist as usual, and from there stories become even more obscure such as certain mines in the hills people think are haunted, dark shadows being seen around the hill upon which stands the ruined Tressandar manor, and on and on...

(no rush here time wise, do whatever crafting and other activities you desire)

Elra smiles and gets up, rushing out of the room to meet Vincent, leaving her book and everything else behind. She takes Vincent back into the inn and sits down, petting him while she reads the letter.

Zeke's ears perk up when he hears talk of orcs on the road - eager for a straight forward fight with foes he knows and understands.  'The roads to the east you say? Might be worth looking into.'

While out for her walk, Fae would catch Sildar during his round. She'd give him a bow of her head in greeting. "Thank you for watching over Arvel." She'd look up to him. "The townsfolk remind us of the concerns outside the village, and I'm sure we will set out to assist where we can." The wizard would hold out her hand for Edgar to hop down her shoulder onto her forearm. "Send Edgar for us with a short message he can mimic should you need our swift return." If the guard held out his arm to accept the raven, Edgar would hop along. If he preferred not, Edgar would flit off to the nearest perch to keep watch over Sildar. "Please do let us know if you hear anything else." With a soft smile, she'd wish him good night and part ways.

Making her way towards Stonehill Inn, just at the edge of her view, she'd catch Elra rush out to meet Vincent. Fae could feel the cleric's excitement from here, and she'd feel herself rock up on her tiptoes sharing a moment of glee for her. Elra had been looking forward to Vincent's return for some time, and after today, it was encouraging to see her smile and run back in with such buzz. They could all use a little comfort right now. Fae would continue her way towards the Inn.

If Zeke was outside she'd give a small wave. "I do have notes that clearing the roads to the east would make routes safe for passage and better trade." Before heading inside though, she'd pause once again to stare a little longingly out at the sky. Fae would start to nibble her lip and rock up and down on the balls of her feet. She could justify them scouting from up above...

Ethan, with Quinn's assistance, extracts the coil-spring mechanism from the telescoping handle. Laying it out, Ethan records everything, every sigil and connecting line.

Once he is confident he has all he will need to replicate a similar mechanism for the device he wants to create, Ethan carefully restores the mechanism back into the handle. Once tested and working again, Ethan puts the handle aside for when Zeke returns for it.

Ethan then pulls out a couple of lanterns from his gauntlet, along with more tools and materials and with Quinn's continued assistance, begins working to combine the features of the lanterns into a new design.

After a few hours of work, Ethan holds up his finished design, a combination hooded/bullseye lantern that can also be completely shut to hide the light altogether.

Taking out the shards and fragments of ruby he purchased from the miners exchange, Ethan proceeds to crush them into a fine dust. Ethan then takes out a device he created the night before and loads the ruby dust into it.

Taking out a small disc from within the lantern, Ethan activates the device with magic. The device hums with activity and small wisps of smoke come out of it as the dust inside is magically melted into a paste, much like melted sugar. Ethan then uses the device to apply this paste to the disc from the lantern.

Once the ruby red paste is applied and begins to cool and harden, it bursts into flame. The flame gives of no heat and as Ethan runs his hand through it, there is no pain either.

Placing the disc back inside the lantern, Ethan tests the various mechanisms, starting with the full open mode, allowing light to spill out in every direction. Then Ethan pulls the hood down, bring the light down to a small area just around his work mat. Next Ethan closes the hood completely, cutting off the light altogether. Lastly, Ethan opens the flap over the bullseye cone, allowing the light to spill out once more, but only in a cone shape, in one direction.

"That should do it."

"Είναι το πιο εντυπωσιακό αφέντη, αλλά μπορώ να δω στο σκοτάδι για τον κύριό σου, δεν χρειάζεσαι τέτοια συσκευή, θα σε βοηθήσω."

"Actually, I can see in the dark as well, when I need too."

Ethan taps the goggles on his head.

"This is for someone else, so they will always be able to have light when they want it."

"Ω πολύ καλό αφέντη, θα πάρετε πολλά χρήματα για ένα τόσο υπέροχο σχέδιο;"

"No Quinn, this is a gift, it will given away for no return."

"Τι !? Αλλά κύριε, γιατί;"

"Because I have what I need and I enjoy helping others. Because it is a good thing to do."

"Δεν είναι καλό να αποζημιωθείς για τον κύριο της δουλειάς σου;"

"Oh, I have been most generously compensated in this life so far Quinn. I would say I owe a debt of graduated and this is a little I can do to pay back my good fortune."

"Its called 'paying it forward'. Its an idea that if someone does you a good deed, you return the favour by doing a good deeds to someone else."

"Professor Zeldwiky taught it to me. If everyone does this, everyone will be helped and the world will be a better and kinder place."

"Αλλά κύριε, ο κόσμος είναι γεμάτος με αναξιόπιστους ανθρώπους, που δεν αξίζουν τις καλές σας πράξεις!"

"Δεν πρέπει να χάνεις τις πράξεις σου πάνω τους!"

"Quinn, why do you believe everyone is out to get you?"

"Επειδή είναι προφανές αφέντη."

"Δεν το βλέπετε;"

"Your reasoning seems faulty to me Quinn."

"While there is evidence for what you say with a few people, many in this world are not like you say."

"Αν το πεις αφέντη, θα προσπαθήσω να σε πιστέψω."

Quinn does not look or sound convinced.

Ethan ponders his strange homunculus, before getting back to work, on ever more devices and designs, working long into the night, before falling asleep surrounded by his half finished work.

Sildar is happy to have the company of Edgar as a potential means of messaging the group once they depart for whatever their next endeavor might be.

"Thank you, Fae.  I'll take good care of him.  Ah, does he eat?"

"Fae, do you think we could find Tharden and Nundro for Gundren?  Unfortunately I never bothered to get a good look at their maps to the mine.  Have you recorded any other clues?  I hope they are not in danger."

After a few minutes, Elra looks up to Vincent, "What do you think buddy? Should we go check the braizer to see if Loremaster Altervast was right?"

Back with Sildar

A soft chuckle would escape Fae's lips at Sildar's question about Edgar. "His favour can absolutely be bought with treats, or even shiny items." She'd smile. As a raven he was an omnivore, preferring morsels of meat, but good seed or grain accompanied by a coin or gem to play with was just as good.

The wizard would inhale a breath. Her violet eyes would stare up at him for a moment. They were swift enough to find Sildar of sound mind and Gundren still alive. The groups coordination came through once again when 'Arvel' attacked. "I hope so." Fae was optimistic of finding them, she just wanted it to be before anything terrible could happen... That was the truth. The scholar would then pull out her notes and leaf through the pages. "Perhaps we have more clues than we know and just haven't put them together yet." She'd ponder out loud as she'd flip through. That was always a possibility.

"There are a list of strange happenings and to know which ones..." Fae would turn to a rough sketched map, pointing out and circling some points of interest. There was of course Phandalin, but she'd mark the manor up on the hill. Then she'd guesstimate the northern forest and Thundertree based on anything Tarja could have shared with her. Next she'd draw in the Triboar trail that cut along. "There are orcs compromising the route." She started with the trail because it appeared to be 'low hanging fruit'. Would they actually find or discover anything related to Gundren's brothers along the trail? "Then there's the druid Reidoth and 'strange and scary things in the ruined town of Thundertree', the forest to the North he was said to investigate." She'd glance up from the pages to Sildar, "Truthfully, I'm suspicious of the large opening we found deep in the crevasse within Tresendor Manor..." She'd admit, pointing at the manor on the map.

To entertain some thoughts, Fae would then try to guess the direction the tunnel went. It felt obvious because it was a hole in the ground. But that was the thing, it was dark and underground. One thing she knew for sure was that it wasn't man made, but did that mean it wasn't a mine? It could go in any direction. Using a wild imagination, it could be a maze beneath Phandalin, it could even stretch out beneath the trail, beneath the forest and connect to Thundertree, maybe even go deep within the mountains, or no where at all. It could even be another dead end.

Tarja waves to vincent as he arrives, offering him a treat. She's much more interested in the owl than in any missive he might be carrying.

Hope you have some good news for Elra! Good that you got back before we left.

She'd start packing for the trip out, unsure of where to go next. Orcs on the road? Look for Reidoth in Thundertree? Where would they be most likely to find Gundren's brothers?

Sildar smiles at Fae and thanks her once again for all of her help, as well as the rest of the party's, of course.  "When the time comes, I could go with you, although I'm no young man any more and, well..."  The retired soldier gestures towards his now mangled hand.  "You know, speaking of going with you, if we can ever get Gundren back to his old self again, he'll want to go too.  You all might want to decide ahead of time if you'll let him, or what you might say to dissuade him.  He tends to get in over his head a bit.  You may have noticed.  Then again, who knows what is locked inside that head of his that might be helpful in figuring out where to go."

Later in the evening, Sister Garaele takes a break from sitting with Gundren, perhaps finding another to keep an eye out after the day's surprising incident, and gestures to Fae that she'd like to chat privately.