"It's harder to do anything big when everyone you rely on could disappear without leave," Blai agrees mildly. "Regulations in general are made up. But there is a history behind any one of them, the same as with any other made up thing. Someone made it up for some kind of reason."

Well, sure, but the Family is also relying on its people not just selling them out to Irabeth when they get a good opportunity. ...It would not actually be a good idea to keep picking this fight.

"Hello?" says a faint voice from inside the store. "Is someone there?"

"Hello, I'm Select Artigas and this is my adventuring party, is everything all right in there?"

"Adventurers! Thank the gods. I'm stuck under some rubble, I'm afraid I'm not strong enough to dig myself out."

"Coming. Where are you?" In he goes toward the voice.

"Under here!"

The voice is indeed coming from underneath a pile of rubble, with bits of broken glass all around it. It doesn't really look big enough to have an entire human underneath it; even a halfling or a gnome would be a stretch.

(On the other side of the shop, the construct Woljif mentioned earlier seems to have fallen over as well; it's wedged between a wall and a half-collapsed bookcase.)

"I don't see you," Blai says. "Are you... invisible?" Someone could maybe have their leg wedged under some of this?

"I'm not invisible, I'm just stuck underneath all this! It's a wonder I haven't been crushed yet."

...Blai will gesture Woljif in the direction of the construct, and start picking stuff up and putting it on shelves.

Sure, Woljif can try to sort things out with the construct while the Chief deals with whatever this is. (He needs help from Nenio a few times — apparently the guy who owns the place put some kind of magic password on the construct — but she's much more enthusiastic about helping him uncover the secrets of a magical construct than about lifting heavy objects.)

After Blai's cleared away enough rubble, he'll see... a sword?

"Thank you!" says the sword. "I thought I was going to die under there. I'm Finnean, adventurer and warrior. And yourself?"

"I'm Select Artigas."

"Pleased to meet you, Select! Say, do you know what's going on in the city? It sounded like there was some kind of battle, but no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't dig myself out."

"...there was a very serious demon attack. Dig yourself out with... what?"

"...My arms, of course? I'm not as young as I used to be, but I haven't lost my touch completely!"

"I'm afraid I just don't seem to be able to see them, and you've claimed not to be invisible."

"...Select, do you need to get your eyes checked? I assure you, my arms are perfectly visible! Here, I'll wave them right now!"

(This does not visibly involve arms of any sort.)

"Is this some kind of surfacer prank?"

"What? No!"

"If it is it's not one I am aware of. I hear a voice and it appears to be coming from an otherwise unattended sword."

The sword laughs. "You're messing with me, right? I promise you, I'm as human as they come!"

"Would you care to demonstrate by walking a few paces, perhaps?"

"Sure, no problem."

There's a pause.

"I'm afraid my legs must have been injured in the fall. I don't suppose you've got a Cure spell to spare?"