Scholar Jessie

"Now, what shall I invent?"

"Perhaps a giant turbine to drill through the mountain? Or even one that also detects hot springs?"

"Surely the ground is too hard for something like that..." Jessie trails off.

You listen intently as she rambles off a list of strange and fascinating items.

"A way to get to Red Ridge? If I were you, I would check the existing routes first."

"One of the passages completely collapsed from the earthquake and the other will prove just as challenging."

"In any case, you would be wise to thoroughly scout out both. Let me see what I can do to help!"

She dives back into her laboratory and you hear strange noises as she rummages around.

"Ha! I found it!" Jessie emerges from her laboratory clutching a small mechanical mouse.

"This should prove very useful to you. It's small enough to easily navigate through the rubble and will reveal a safe route for you to take."

(She hands you two mice, with instructions on how to use them.)

"You must hunt them first in order to gather it. And don't forget to come back and tell me how it went using the mice!"

"I simply can't resist knowing the conclusion to any experiment, big or small!"

"Inventing new and helpful items is my specialty!"

"Given enough time, resources, and information, I can make just about anything!"

(You tell Jessie that once you'd used the mouse, it disappeared into the tunnel.)

"How intriguing! Tara mentioned the same thing happened to her."

Jessie detects your look of curiosity.

"Tara is a wonderfully capable assistant, but she still has much to learn!"

she laughs, though you sense endearment in her voice.

"Not long after you left for the tunnels, I had Tara do a little digging into our records."

"She managed to find some old documents mentioning a Mysterious Instrument located not far from the passageway you found. From what I could gather, its purpose was to activate the properties of Shrinking Potion. One could conclude that it was placed in such a location so that, in the event of a mine collapse, it could be used to help people to safety. Much like the tunnels, however, it probably hasn't been used in quite some time."

"The documents also mention Shrinking Goblin Blood and Goblin Saliva as the primary ingredients for the Shrinking Potion needed to operate the device. I believe these items can be obtained from a Cruel Goblin Butcher and a Goblin Scourge."

"Collect these and bring them to me as quickly as you can!"

"What the documents failed to reveal was who invented this Mysterious Instrument," Jessie mutters, looking somewhat disappointed.

"I can't locate a name anywhere!"

"Still, I somehow feel a closeness to the inventor of this fascinating device. I wonder who it could be?"

"Did you manage to collect the ingredients?" "Leave the rest to us!"

Jessie and Tara stoke the fire in the furnace and place the items into a large pot situated near the flames.

Before long, a rather unpleasant odor begins to waft out of it, the contents now a bright shade of purple.

"I think it's just about ready! It doesn't smell very palatable, does it?" Jessie says, frowning at the bubbling liquid.

"Here you are. Luckily it isn't meant to be consumed directly." Pinching her nose, she gingerly hands you the potion.

"Simply pour it into the instrument to activate the shrinking properties."

"I can't help but feel I've forgotten something... Ah! I remember now!"

Jessie once again disappears into her laboratory, leaving you bewildered.

"Just as I thought! Ha!"

Jessie laughs as Tara looks on apologetically.

"Once the Shrinking Potion has been added, the device must be configured correctly in order for it to function."

"I'll come with you this time. After all, apart from the inventor, I'm the person most familiar with the machinery."

"I'm sure I can get the Mysterious Instrument working in no time!"

"Let's head out to the tunnels!"

"There's been some strange monster activity here recently... very strange indeed," Jessie says with more curiosity than concern.

"Now that Militus is working hand-in-hand with Rift Sprites, their combined power grows stronger by the day...

Quite the curiosity-sparker, if you know what I mean!"

You realize what's coming next and try to make a polite escape, but, before you know it, Jessie has you by the arm and is asking for favors.

"Hey, wait! You can help me! Just a little help--c'mon! Bring me back some good stuff to research!

Not just any stuff, of course. Specifically, I need a Goblin Research Sample, which, incidentally, is being guarded by several Savage Steel Cloned Beasts and a Molten War Wolf. No big deal for you, right?"

"How did they do it, you ask? That's what I want to know, too!"

"No matter how strong the monsters have become, there has to be a limit to their growth. There's no indication, however, that their growth rate will abate anytime soon.

If we can figure out why that is, it'll be a veritable breakthrough!

The key question is this--where did the Savage Steel Cloned Beasts and Molten War Wolves get ahold of these miraculous fragments?"

"These fragments are invaluable to my research! Now I can look more closely into their origin and purpose," Jessie says with the kind of excitement that only a scientist could muster for a piece of rock.

"If you happen to find any more of them, please don't hesitate to collect some more samples for me."