Heading towards where Arthasis & Keaton are sitting, Aeros leans in close and in a loud whisper says, "It seems Eryn may have found a clue regarding our missing Goliath friend."  pointing not so subtly at the aforementioned half-elf, "We're going to question him while he's still here if you'd like to join though you should probably be on guard regardless in case events go sour."  Aeros will then rejoin Eryn with anyone else who decided to join in on the questioning.

(OCC: As Aeros has been drinking a bit, I'm going to say that he's not being as subtle as he thinks he his lol)

He didn't quite understand why a random half-elf in this tavern should have vital information about the prison break, but Arthasis was well past caring by now. "Sure. Do as you like.", he said listlessly. "I'll cover you from here. You go and question this ... witness.", a small chuckle escaped him. He was dead certain that the only thing going sour would be his mood, if he had to stay here any longer. He hoped that the wine would make up for the fact, that he was stuck here for a little while longer. From where he sat, the half-elf looked like nothing special and Arthasis hoped they were soon done with this farce so he would be allowed to sleep.

"It would be no trouble at all," she nods at Eryn, glancing down briefly at the equipment. Menodora will try to look inconspicuous and partake in her beverage at the bar, while they approach the half-elf.  She'll be ready to intervene or distract, though, whatever might be needed if things go south. 

As Eryn and Aeros approach Udoth and the gnomes, they hear Udoth attempting to placate the gnome fellow while the other one snickers behind their hand. 

"C'mon Cleff, you've got plenty 'o these things, I've seen 'em!" Udoth argues, gesturing towards the automaton on the table between them. "Surely you can part with one of 'em for a few coin." 

"I tol' ye, I ain't sellin' fer under 1500 gold! It's me custom design," the gnome -Cleff, apparently- replies heatedly, crossing his arms over his chest. "If'n yer seein' more'n this one, then it's a substandard copy and ain't worth pigshit!" 

Ellomeera gives Arthasis his next drink, looking sympathetic to his plight of just wanting to get some sleep. 

Having told Menodora of what is about to happen, Eryn approaches Aeros once more.

"Do you want to do the talking, or should I?" Eryn asks. "I suggest you do it. You have examined one of those contraptions before... And you are the more impressive of the two of us..."

"Umm sure," Aeros replies to Eryn though if truth be told he was rather buzzed after celebrating a little Carpe Noctis with the guests at the Lodge and wished that Eryn would've taken the lead.  Accepting the responsibility though, he walks up to the group and asks, "Hi, sorry if we're bothering you, but, uhhh we couldn't help overhearing you discuss this interesting contraption.  Have you sold any of these recently?  I could've sworn I've seen that recently somewhere."  before looking to Eryn to confirm his story.

Persuaion check if necessary: 19

Deception Check if necessary: 7

"Yes," agrees Eryn, and then—while keeping an eye on the gnome that the half elf called Cleth—he adds, "It was over near the prison."

Insight check on Cleth to see if there is a guilty reaction to the mention of prison: 23

(Perfect time for a Nat 20!)

LOL. Eryn seems to be a one for extremes, he has rolled lots of 20s and lots of 1s.

Cleff looks up, eyes narrowing. "Another one? Why, I was just tellin' this lout that this is me custom designs! Another'n shouldn't exist," he exclaims, turning so as to look both Aeros and Eryn up and down. The gnome leaning against the wall steps closer, setting one hand on Cleff's shoulder. It seems to settle him, some. "I got some older models - were it older-lookin', this other'n you seen?" he asks, reaching up to scratch behind his ear, thoughtful. 

(Eryn sees no guilt in Cleff - he is genuinely surprised that one of his designs might be out and about.)

"Unfortunately, the one we saw was pretty busted so it's hard to tell.  There were quite a few of them if that helps at all." he replies to the gnome though he makes sure not to mention exactly where and how he found the matching models.

Eryn will now turn his Insightful gaze on the half elf. [OOC: Insight check: 12 ]

(Udoth is hard to read and has a good poker face.) 

For the first time, the other gnome speaks up. "Do you happen to have this model with you," they ask curiously, stepping closer to Cleff. "We could tell you more if we could examine it."

Cleff nods, gesturing towards them. "Exactly so," he agrees.

(It was unclear rereading if we took one of the devices so I'm going to say we did unless someone feels otherwise)

"I think we grabbed one of them," Aeros mumbles to himself as he heads to grab his pack he had left behind at the bar.  After returning and rummaging through it for a moment, making a mess of the neatly organized contents inside, he'll pull out the device from the jail cell that the group had found earlier.  "We found a bunch like these," he replies to the gnome as he places the device on the table.

Cleff eyes the device, his brow furrowing. "Hmm, certainly looks like one 'o mine," he mutters, glancing up towards the other gnome. "What do ye think, Riss?" 

Rissa leans closer, eyes narrowed. "Aye, Da' it looks like your design," she confirms, a note of confusion in her tone. "An older model, perhaps?" 

Cleff takes the device and inspects it further, turning it this way and that, poking at its various pieces and parts. After a moment he returns it to the table and scoffs, frowning. "This is far too poorly made ta be one 'o mine," he explains, gesturing towards it. "A poor copy 'o me own design, but ye know," he trails off, a thoughtful expression taking over his face even as he reaches over and smacks Udoth's hand when the half-elf goes to reach for the automaton they'd been negotiating over. "I tol' ye no," he hisses, taking it and handing it to Rissa. "Now, back to this piece 'o junk," he turns back to Aeros and Eryn. "It reminds me 'o work I seen a'fore. An ol' colleague, if ye could call 'im that," he says, rolling his eyes. Rissa snorts derisively from his side. "Name was Stahlmast. Huron Stahlmast, an' he was prone to copyin' but his execution was always bad." He scoffs again, pausing to take a hearty drink of his ale. 

"But Da," Rissa cuts in, shaking her head, "Huron ain't been in Hup for years. Not since...Y'know." She ducks her head to avoid their gazes, seemingly not wanting to actually say what happened to Stahlmast out loud. 

"Oh right," Cleff mutters while Udoth snickers from across the table. 

"Yeah, since he was driven out ya mean?" Udoth laughs, rolling his eyes. "Old man was practically thrown out of the city with nothing but the clothes on his back; do you really think he's still out there copying your designs, Cleff?" 

"Well, I certainly ain't made such a poor thin' as this," Cleff counters, defensive. "An' the craftsmanship practically reeks o' Huron." He huffs, shrugging. "Any rate, I could probably fix the thing if'n yer of a mind, but it'd cost ye about 15 gold and a few hours' time." 

Arthasis sat at the bar and zipped his wine. It wasn't a particularly good vintage but he didn't expect to find a good wine outside the Menagerie Coast. It served its purpose though and in combination with the sleep deprivation that slowly settled in, he began to feel lightheaded. He observed the conversation the others had but couldn't hear anything from where he was located. It certainly didn't look like they were coming to blows any time soon. It most likley was a waste of time. "A refill, if you please good lady.", he said to the innkeep.

On the lookout for guilty or negative reactions, Eryn shows the group the badge he was given by the Watchmaster and says, "We have been given a commission by the Watchmaster to investigate the explosion that occurred at the prison, so any help you can give us would be appreciated... This Stahlmast person, did he perhaps have anything to do with explosives? I know little about them, but from what I understand, such knowledge is not common."

[OOC: Another Insight check, if the change in direction of the conversation allows for it: 14 ]

Taking Eryn's lead, Aeros will also show his badge to the group in front of them as well.  He'll also wave the rest of the group over to the conversation thinking that it would be beneficial to have the entire party hear what they had discovered so far.  He'll then wait to see how the gnomes respond to Eryn's question.

None of them look very impressed by the badges, though they're overall demeanors don't change. "Tol' ye what I know," Cleff says, shrugging. "Huron an' I weren't what ye'd call friends, so I don't know much beyond the fact he copied me work a lot," he adds, scowling at the thought of Stahlmast's transgressions. "S'far as explosives, ye'll want the Firemark for that; s'the only place ta get that sort of thing here." He doesn't seem to be hiding anything, simply losing interest in the conversation. 

Ellomeera happily refills Arthasis' drink, then leaves the bottle for him with a sympathetic grimace. 

"Guess we'll head there (The Firemark Facility) then in the morning.  Thanks for your time."  Aeros will reply before looking to Eryn to see if he has anything else to add.