"I'm glad you asked!" Hobnob said in response to Kayden's question. Hobnob pulled out a blueprint and unrolled it on the table. "Say hello to The Obstacle Flattener Mark 4!" Hobnob said "This little beauty is a perfect blend of advanced enchanting techniques and modern technology. It has 1 purpose: Flatten all in its path. And it's previous incarnations have all excelled in doing just that...until they exploded. But I can assure you that The Mark 4 will not explode for a least 7 years, by which time The Mark 5 will be ready for constriction and will - by my calculations - last for at least 7 decades. But I digress. Construction of The Mark 4 began the moment we got settled in, and we've been making excellent headway, especially with Jex providing some high quality Drabarian Fire for all of the metal work. And I believe we could make even better headway if we had the help of some fellow inventors, artificers, and/or enchanters who know what they're doing. Don't consider this too high a priority though. My crew and I are doing just fine on our own. Why even now I imagine Titch, Pint-sized Pat, Small Benjamin, and the rest of my crew are chugging along with Gnomish efficiency as we speak".

[hr]
Meanwhile at Hillcrest...

"CATCH THAT DOG!" Shortstack yelled as he and the rest of Hobnob's crew present at the fort pursued the small white dog that Hobnob had used in his bandit trap the other day. They were chasing him because the dog had stolen an important spanner believing it to be a bone, and was now looking for somewhere to bury it. Needless to say, the Gnomes were none too pleased by this turn of events and sought to retrieve the tool from the fleeing canine.