Nooo.... Oh no..
Did you miss it? Don't worry, most likely you aren't the only one. I was thinking about adding sort of "lost and found" vendor who will sell stuff you can miss in optional zones. Though, it's best to clear them out as the chance arrives since I don't have an estimate date. This won't be in v0.2.5, but v0.2.6 has a decent chance.
Oh... Fuck me, no easy debug then. Alright, I'll try to find some time to double-check it on my side with different entries.
just to be sure, you have both the blade and the guard from the temple, upgraded the smithy and aside from the introductory dialogue from the mage-smith, you can't advance the quest, right? Also, what version of the game do you use?