Leave Mertz to Liens

You weren't sure how a tradeswoman like Liens had any chance of overpowering Mertz, but if she was confident, now was the time to find out. You nodded, giving her the go-ahead to tie up Mertz like she'd requested.

"Great. For a guy that stinks like him. Two answers. One. Take a bath. Judging by his smell. He won't do that. So two..." Liens approached the man, holding up two fingers. "Incinerate. Burn the smell. I'm used to that smell. Burnt. Sparking. Let's do that."

"I don't know what she's on about. The elven bitch babbles as though she's possessed. You have low standards for your saintesses, eh, squire?" Mertz grunted, readying himself into a charging stance. "I don't see a weapon anywhere on your person, wench. If you're planning to take me out with a crafting hammer or a carving knife-"

"Stow it. I'm an inventor. Of course, I'll use an invention. Not going to dirty my hands." The elf paused for a moment, reaching to the pockets of her apron at her belly, then pulled free a small, brassy gold box. With a surprisingly adept pitching arm, she threw it towards Mertz. It went further than you'd imagined, but it was nowhere near hitting him. You half expected some sort of explosion, but that didn't happen either.

Mertz began to guffaw, relaxing his sword grip and placing one hand on his forehead. "Bloody hells! That's good for a laugh, elf!"

The box, once it finished rolling, began to transform, unfolding itself almost like one might unfold an origami animal. The sides of the box became metallic armor around a sort of creature, like a spider, but made of connected metal rods, springs, and gears. White sparks-- the woman's namesake-- spat out from inside it, making it look as volatile as any invention you'd seen in her workshop. Perhaps that was the goal, considering it now scurried towards Mertz, coiling its springs back for a jump.

"Aw, shite," the man muttered, raising his sword to defend himself. It seemed he'd be well distracted while you and your ally turned your attention back to Nil Riiche.