Holding the large beetle by it's carapace, Socket had been busy examining the spell to see if they had the skill to undo it's magic. Dismissing the watery spear, a soothing mist filled the area and undid the minor damage to Vail, the insects and the poor fool who'd been responsible. The automaton turned, knowing full well that the stunning effect would only effect the insects as long as the electrical field was maintained. The bugs were unharmed but unable to move or take flight.

At Vail's behest, Socket walked over to the pair, holding the beetle out at length and bringing it close to the man, gnashing mandibles pointed at the sun elf laying bound.

"Undo your grotesque magic, such power is wasted on a short sighted and unlearned fool as you... be grateful that the lives of these insects and the recovery of the forest is my goal on this mission..." Said the construct, their tone was cold, even and full of unspoken threat. Of all the types of people Socket had experienced, those who abused nature and life for their own foul deeds were the worst. There was no remorse, no hesitation in the construct, had this been a quest for someone's head, it would have already been delivered. The automaton watched the coward carefully, even the slightest sign of a new spell being cast vs. one being dismissed and they would fry this man where he lay.

"Al-alright... I understand..." The sun elf said after a moment, his voice meek and panicked. A simple gesture and a few arcane words and the markings upon the beetle's carapace began to fade. The spell subsided, and the squirming beetle calmed, the group slowly following suit. Socket moved over to the mass of insects and set the big one down amongst them, dismissing their own magic. As a group, the beetles all stirred a few moments later and took wing for deeper parts of the forest. None stopped to gnaw on a Lantern Light or destroy the vines they grew upon, thankfully.

"Let's haul this one back to town, hand them over to the authorities." Socket said once the beetles had left the clearing, turning back to the men. This had been a most draining adventure, and keeping the destructive might of Lightning magics in check had taken it's toll. All the automaton could want now was to see the woods recover, and do the same themselves.

Vail raised an eyebrow as Socket threatened the sun elf. Apparently, this automaton was capable of attitudes that matched its cold, metallic exterior.

I’m starting to think I made the right choice by not punching my way through these beetles.

It was only now that he noticed the runes present on the beetle’s exterior. This magic was something he’d never seen before, he wondered just how powerful it was. Could it be used on more intelligent beings? He shuddered at the thought.

Lifting the sun elf to his feet, the pair headed back through the bright forest. The sun elf was still recovering from their brief battle and struggled to keep pace with the pair. The occasional kick to the back of his leg reminded him not to try their patience.

The village was more than happy to take the sun elf offer their hands. Vail even received a bonus for the information for revealing he was tied to the lunar rebels. The authorities were likely to have quite a time extracting as much information from the criminal as they could. Once the sun elf was taken away, he gestured to Socket to follow him as he headed to the nearest inn.

He thought for a moment as they walked. Darkveil was on the other side of Charon and Socket showed too much concern for beings outside of itself to ever be connected to the Ashen Fathers. Perhaps he could reveal at least a bit about his condition.

Reaching the outside of the inn, Vail stopped. He slowly undid the wrappings that covered his right arm in a way that was both casual and attention grabbing. Once his hand was exposed, he began to inspect it. He was not looking for anything in particular. If anything, he was just making sure it still worked as he remembered. He pressed his left thumb into the palm, pushing hard enough with his nail to draw blood. He watched as the red droplet ran down his gray hand, and yet he felt nothing, not a single tinge of pain or discomfort came from his right arm. He sighed in a way that signified at least some relief for his abnormalities staying consistent.

He turned to face Socket one last time.

“I appreciate your assistance; this job would have been quite a pain had you not been there. At the very least there would have been a lot more collateral damage taking him in. I’d offer to buy you a drink, if you weren’t a machine of course. I just have one question for you before I depart.”

Vail paused for a moment, debating how to properly word his question.

“Your creator, can you still hear their will? Does it influence your decision making in ways you can’t control?”

"I do not, my will is my own as far as I understand... a cumulation of my experiences, interactions and innate curiosity to discover... that is who and what I am to the best of my knowledge. You have my thanks as well Vail, and you're right about the amount of damage that possibly could have been caused had either of us tried to do this separately. Safe travels, I'm heading back to the Marsh Flats." Replied the automaton, setting off into the evening gloom. The road would be long, but at least the journey should prove uneventful.

Vail's question was intriguing, one that the construct mulled over several times along the way. It was time once again to try and build a device to take them to a new place, to set Charon's experiences behind and find a new adventure amongst the stars. Socket spent the traveling days planning, preparing and theorizing the construction ahead while putting miles between themselves and the Lantern Light Woods. Much had been experienced in this place, and those teachings, wisdom, would guide the construct when they reached the next star, the next place to call home. Charon was in good hands, promising adventurers were popping up all over the land. It was time to move on... to once again leap into nothingness and traverse the unknowable.