The World Dragon's Heir

Chapter 608: Sent Outside

“Do you ever get the feeling that they don’t want us around unless they have work for us?” Trionne joked as they made their way to the forge.

The other advisors who had come to watch Dominic work rolled their eyes at the old woman.

Of course, they were all being sent away while their superiors cut deals.

Either they had messed up at some point in the past, clung slightly too strictly to protocol, or their noble heritage wasn’t high enough for them to be attending that particular meeting.

They might be interested in what Dominic was up to, but it was no secret that they were among the least favoured of those with the credentials to be here.

It was still a lofty position, but not “The King’s Inner Circle” level.

“What are you planning to make today?” The Axbridge Advisor who had followed them out to the forge asked.

“First, I will show Advisor Trionne the mortars that I make. That’s not actually a forge related activity, as I make them with a modified version of the [Create Munitions] magitech orb. But she was curious.

Then, I thought that I might make something fun for the day.

Perhaps some customized pistols? Or perhaps a nice lantern?”

“How are those two things even related?”

“They’re both specialties of Wistover, naturally. I was a gunsmith at the Royal Forges before I was Duke of Wistover, and the large magitech factory near the Merchant’s Guild makes both lanterns and Magitech Fireplaces.

So, if I’m going to make something to show off for you, these would be the best things to start with.”

“In that case, why not show the Advisor your mortar design, and then we can watch how you make the pistols that I have heard are quite famous in the region.

All of the city guards seem to have one.”

Dominic quickly activated the magitech orb to make a batch of mortars and moved all but one of them to his storage cube, while he handed the last one to Trionne.

“They’re usually fired from a tube like this one, or a ground placed version.

Don’t mind the dent, it had a rough day the last time that I used it and I haven’t had an opportunity to repair it yet. But they’ve proven remarkably valuable in combat.

The men of the Natural Son’s Regiment, who make up the vast majority of our Titled Nobles, used them all through the most recent engagement with Dagos.

They performed flawlessly.”

“Oh, this is wonderful. You can just light it with a cigarette, or a bit of rough metal. I like that you made it redundant, in case of damage to the launcher.”

Dominic nodded. “I like to light them on my horn and then toss them. It works very well, and if you put a bit of a spin on them, the rocket at the back will keep them flying reasonably straight.”

Trionne passed the mortar to the other Advisors, who all treated it with much more delicate reverence than the Techno Witch had.

She at least understood exactly how the explosive worked, and didn’t have any fear of accidentally setting it off.

They had no such luxury.

“Now, would you all like a nice custom pistol? It’s a quick process if I’m just making them at a utility level.” Dominic suggested.

Trionne shook her head. “They’re not for me. I prefer something with a bit more firepower.”

More firepower than a level ten pistol with a flaming round enchantment?

Alright.

The other advisors nodded eagerly. “That sounds like a wonderful idea. While we might not share Lady Trionne’s enthusiasm for shooting people, the Cygnian Riflemen have made quite the name for themselves, and being able to see how the weapons are made would be most informative.”

“I take it that you all have at least some skill with Techno Magic?” Dominic asked.

“Not much, but yes.”

“Alright then, we can start from what I’ve already got, instead of confusing you with all the steps.” Dominic agreed.

The other advisors shared a look of amusement. If they hadn’t had any idea what he was doing, Dominic almost certainly would have made one from scratch, just so that they got completely lost with all the small steps.

It was a brilliant way to show someone exactly what they wanted to see, but not give anything away.

Just make it in stages, out of order, and they would be so baffled that they would never understand what you were doing.

But as Dominic began to take parts out of the cabinets and storage boxes in the forge, they realized that he had more than enough for one or two weapons here, this small forge in the back of the Manor grounds was a fully equipped gunsmith’s shop.

“Alright, as the eldest of the group, I will make this one for Lady Trionne.

I don’t suppose that you have an emblem, seal or crest on you?” Dominic asked.

“Of course. What did you need it for?”

“I make the stock with a transmutation spell, and a personal seal or coat of arms can be fairly easily stamped into the surface before I finish. It makes for a nice personal touch, and guarantees that nobody is going to try to steal your rifle.

Most people wouldn’t be brave enough to start taking it apart to remove the distinctive portions, and with it stamped, you can’t simply paint over it.”

The Advisors looked a bit horrified by the thought of painting a complex magitech weapon, especially in an unapproved way.

To most of the untrained, the devices were much more “Magi” than “Tech”, and as such they treated them as an obscure arcane art that must not be tampered with.

Dominic did realize that his method literally would not work for many of the people who tried to emulate him, but still, it was just paint.

Trionne brought out a carved bronze coat of arms, and Dominic took it from her, then gave it a light coating of oil before pressing it into the clay for the stock of the weapon on both sides.

“Yes, that looks good. It will also give a good grip when the weapon is wet.

The soldiers like to wrap them in cloth because the early models were too smooth and got slippery when wet or bloody.

Now, let’s get this started.”