Mike finally woke up from his nap, Rissa had taken the time to go out to the market. She was going to trade several of the sweets at the market that they had made, for different materials. One of the things she was looking for was a particularly dense metal, Mike needed steel or at least something that was strong enough to contain the magic blasts from his new project.
Mike's Rifle was no where near complete and design had left him in a bit of a stump. The function was to launch a beam weapon by use of the crystal it had inside, but Mike wanted versatility and above all he wanted not to have the weapon explode on him. Modeling the Rifle after a science fiction gun from a movie he once saw, Mike felt like he had a bit more options.
Mike fitted each crystal to the size of the inner chamber from the bottom of the main body, its cavity was where the bolt would normally go. If Mike could have cartridges made to house the crystal at the top he could just change them out like tape cassettes. The hard part was the trigger and barrel assembly.
The Triggering mechanism wasn't your usual pin slapper, Mike had to find a non-magically conductive material. It sounds a lot easier than it actually was. The only reason Mike had even decided to let Rissa go out to trade for other materials was exactly because the Prince didn't have what he needed on hand. If they wanted to find those types of building materials, it wouldn't be easy and it wouldn't be from their kingdom.
"The day is still bright, Its a month from winter." Cara stayed at home, she hadn't been feeling too great.
Cara tried poked fun at Jodi who was already grabbing additional layers to cover up.
Mike noticed Cara dragging her feet more than usual and had her go lay down. It was equally important that she not overwork, there were really no sorts of health benefits in the world and hospitals basically didn't exist.
"Mike, Can you come rub my feet." Cara called out to Mike and it was a little hilarious to start with, but when she dangled her foot off the chair in front of him, her slip showed all of her leg.
He wasn't a saint, But he was a man. When a woman was so provocative in front of him, it usually meant they carried an interest. Mike still had a lot of work to do on his rifle designs, but he had some ideas that could work. still, a moaning woman in the background was hard to ignore.
Mike was getting ready to give up on work for the rest of the day, when there was a messenger in the doorway.
The Paige looked like he was panting from exhaustion. The smell of garlic and herbs was all over his body. Mike thought it was weird at first but after the first few weeks, he could smell the faint aroma of herbs all over most of the residents and guards in Poocha City.
"Sir Mike, We have a report from Prince Troeg." Passing over a document and turning to leave, the fat Paige ran off before he got into trouble.
Opening the document, Mike noticed that It was an invitation. The same invitation type of invitation that he had been denied before. Reading it he saw that it was for a meeting among other nations to discuss trade.
"Well, at least some things are working out within the Palace. I don't have anything to do for now though." Mike realized that he could cause a lot of problems if he didn't watch what he said during a diplomatic meeting.
"Prince Troeg is complicated, I can't figure him out." Cara had her own feelings about the Prince.
"Cara, I'll rub your feet for a bit. But... I want you to read while I do it.. okay." It didn't matter if she paid attention, but one of them was going to be doing something constructive if he was taking time out to do that.
"OKAY!" Happily reading a book while getting her feet rubbed was something she hadn't considered, it even made her smile greatly.
Cara picked a book she hadn't started yet and drove her spiritual sense into the book. When Mike's fingertips strode across the bottoms of her foot she couldn't help but lose her concentration and have to reinitialize the book.
Mike laughed, At least it was good practice on focusing. Mike had some dirty ideas that helped stimulate his memory and focus, the act of letting himself succumb to her charm would lead to a lack of work for the day.
Pressing the flat edge of his knuckles and running them up and down her foot, he saw her tail twitch, freeze, way and sway. She was definitely enjoying the personalized attention, and the remaining three girls were entirely jealous as they started debating between themselves over who got to go next.
'Why is it always Cara? She gets all the all the attention..' March felt jealous and hot.
She hadn't gotten any solo time with Mike yet, and now Cara was getting more treatment so quickly.
It really made her unable to concentrate, Mike instructed the other girls to help Rissa out at the Market. "Don't forget to look for materials that won't don't work with react to magic as well."
"AND" Mike stopped them with a single word.
"And.. don't forget to tell them that you're trading medication! Not cookies!" Mike saw how eager the girls were to do things, He was laughing inside.
It wasn't strange, it was soft of heart-warming. The girls were thrilled to asked to do something important. Mike had always thought of himself as a ladies man, but never really put much focus on it. In high school it didn't take effort to get laid, In college he just went out and relationships fell into his lap. When he joined the Army.. it jumped on him whenever the chance arrived. In this world, it actually felt like he was making connections. Mike didn't want to forget such a scene, Cara was fidgeting.
Watching Cara squirm in the chair was blissful. When Mike finished rubbing her foot.
[Omitted]
The others had gone, and they were all alone.
Mike wasn't sure if he was excluding the girls, but it wasn't his intention.
[Omitted]
Tidying up, Mike had Cara go lay down. She was rather quick to sleep. Satisfied she had gotten what she wanted, She didn't resist..
The Rifle pages had been tossed around on the floor.
"I'm going to go back to work, take a nap and then come find me. We can go over some of my notes when your sisters come back." Mike was tucking his shirt back in.
Cara noticed, arched her back in the bed and nearly asked for more when the gate sounded like someone was bashing on it from the outside. The knocking sound was pretty loud and obnoxious, borderline to the sound of someone trying to crash it down with a battering ram.
Jumping up, Cara put her clothes.
Mike was already standing up and was making his way to the window to check on the commotion. Rocks came crashing through the window, threatening to destroy whatever was on the other side.
"What the hell?" Mike picked up a rock and looked below, more people were coming from down the roadway.
Mike went down to the workbench where the rifle parts were. It wasn't going to be of use. Even if he managed to get it working, it was still unable to be accurately fired or even safe to use.
Mike pulled the crystals from storage, grabbed the sap crystal, fire crystal and a cloth. Mike had an idea.
There wasn't much time.
Using the pesto on the workbench, he ground up the beautiful and toxic flower he had almost grabbed before.
Mike had the sash from Po wrapped around his face, it was certainly better than nothing. The herb was dried, crushed and turned to powder. Dumping the powder into the cloth, he quickly bound it with string a few times and ran to the roof.
Mike knew how to handle looters, Angry mobs were pounding on the door.
"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!" Mike yelled out from the rooftop.
One of the people directing others to break down the door looked up and worked to hurry the others.
"KNOCK IT DOWN! The leader started yelling at the others.
"RAM IT!" Turning to the door, one of the instigators yelled out.
The battering ram punched into the door again and they were starting to give way. Mike had to protect what was his, putting the sap crystal into his hand, he charged it and pointed down.
"I advise you to stop." Mike tried to stop them.
When they didn't, Mike released the buildup and it shot toward the tip of the battering ram, gluing it in place. the people pushing it quickly fell down and a bunch of them ran off. The ones that remained climbed over the debris and tried to force the door open again.
Mike had had just about enough of the crazy for the moment, so he let the yo yo-like cloth unravel and drift across the people breaking into his lab.
'Cough, Cough' 'BLEH!!!' :BLEH!: 'uuuuuuuuughhhhhh'
The spills kept coming from the people who were still trying to enter, they laid on the ground expelling the contents of their stomachs and twitched. Mike didn't expect such a severe reaction, The girls had told him it was able to induce vomiting for extended periods but it was like they were throwing up their intestines.
The offenders were turned inside out and Mike grimaced, the once agile and ferocious looking attackers were turning themselves inside out by convulsion. It was like watching a bad virus movie, but Mike had done it with his own hands.
"Fuck me running. This isn't going to help things..." Mike was worried about how Prince Troeg would feel when he found out what Mike had done.
The putrid piles of fur tufts and body parts laying across the outside of his lawn would make most incapable of approach. Mike thought about it some more and detailed what happened on a small piece of paper to remember.
'Jesus Fucking Christ!' Mike was cursing in his mind.
'When I see those girls they need to learn what a fucking MSDS sheet looks like' Mike thought to himself some more and decided to start teaching the girls about workplace safety and chemical protocols.
He hadn't been too worried until right then, If he had known that the powder was that vicious he might not have used it and instead just fired the water crystal.
Mike thought vomiting would be a lot easier than burning, drowning, or even poisoning them directly. The crystals were a type of magic, defense against them was difficult to say the least. That's why he chose the Sap. Mike wondered if maybe he should have tried to stop them with mud as well, but it would have likely ended up in them drowning, the freezing would make them die as well.
Mike was worried.
"Goddammit. Why do people have to do shit like this?" Mike looked at the scene below again from the rooftop and sighed.
Pulling the Fire Crystal out again, he poured his spirit into it and released it at the battering ram and festering rot that blocked his gate.
The rolling flames turned to intense disintegration when Mike threw a second shot of fire out to increase the heat.
"I need to report to Prince Troeg." Mike was directed to stand guard over the Lab.
Thinking about it further, he looked over to Cara. "Cara!"
"I need you go to the castle with a letter and explain the situation to Prince Troeg. If the guards get in your way, do not go away with them.. run away and come back here." Mike was sure something was happening again, and soon.
Writing down a more detailed description of the events, Mike put it into a scroll and bound it up. He passed it to Cara, kissed her on the cheek and wished her luck. The smoke was billowing outside the main gate still, so Mike lowered her out of a window and watched her drift off into streets toward the castle.
"This day is so fucked up." Mike sat down, he considered taking another Dab but dismissed it.
He needed to think under pressure, being calm would help but it would take away his immediate attention.
Mike pulled the rifle parts into his storage and gathered all his work that was laying around. The books, the tools and any supplies were quickly stored away. Grabbing some larger pieces of furniture and shoving them in front of the door to help barricade it, Mike went back to the roof to watch from above. He held the fire crystal in his hand and looked around from time to time.
Pacing for about an hour, Mike saw a friendly figure approaching. Mona, Jodi, Rissa and March had returned but they themselves were running from people. Mike couldn't figure out what was going on. Diving down the stairs and to the bottom of the entryway, Mike started to clear the debris he had stacked up against the door when he was prepared to defend the Lab.
"Open the door!" March yelled out, her voice was clear but she was coughing along with the others.
Mike swung the door open just before the girls reached the still rolling flames and smoke. The first things they would have to do once they got inside was close the door, the smoke was too much.
"HELP ME CLOSE THIS!" Mike slammed the door shut and tried to replace the beam that was cracked with another one.
The Door was somewhat misshapen and would not close. Mike got the girls to pile things from the office and hallways on top each other and behind the door. Then, they all rushed back up to the roof. The Smoke was still coming through the doorway, but the door had been blocked shut.
Taking out the Ice Crystal, mike tried something different.
He aimed the discharge at the debris that was around the entrance, which stopped the burning coals of the battering ram in an instant and put several layers of frost over the door. When he was done it was as sealed as some of the ancient tombs of the past, digging it out would take time.
Mike walked back down the stairs and sat in his chair, his energy levels were through the roof but he knew he would soon crash. Adrenaline was sure to wear off very quickly. Cara was still out delivering his message, he would have to think of a solution if she didn't come back with reinforcements.
There were too many questions but it was easy enough, he started with one.
"So.. Who wants to explain to me what's going on?" Mike looked at the girls, they were all showing signs of being terrified.
Something had happened.
Mike was frustrated, annoyed, and coughing from the smoke that made it into the Lab. Pulling the screen from the roof, he cleared the air and then closed it. He had to keep it closed, someone could throw fire over the wall.
Feeling the pressure Mike decided it was better to burn out than fade away. He took out everything he was working on in his storage and piled it onto the table while the girls all tried to explain what was going on at the same time.
"Mona, tell it to me clearly and try not to leave out details" Mike finished talking and let her explain.
"Umm. Well we went to the market like you had asked and we went to a few stalls. When we finally came to a Yhewsgui tent they asked us what we had to barter for the crystals and herbs they had available, we showed them the cookie and while we were bartering over the details a man came up, pushed me out of the way and ate the cookie."
"We were so angry, we called for the guards but the man just took off."
"Anyways, we tried to trade some gold but the shop owner wasn't interested. A while later after we had left, the man came up and accused us of poisoning and collapsed. Lots of people saw it and were chasing us. Then you opened the door for us." Mona held her friends and they huddled closer to Mike until they were all holding him.
"Okay, Okay.. we can clear this up, that man will probably wake up eventually and feel like a complete moron for having acted like that. Do you remember what he looked like.?" Mike had to make sure they could identify him in the future, Mike was going to go with them next time and watch from afar.
"YES!" they shouted and went back to sobbing.
Mike was distracted again. He calmed them down and passed them some meat he was getting ready for dinner, It was early but they were probably not going to have time to eat later. It was likely the guards were on their way. Things were going sideways in the kingdom, and he was somewhere in the root of the problem.
"I need you all to help me with this." Mike unrolled the rifle schematics and placed parts on it.
"I have an idea but I need you all to do things while I'm working on it." Mike handed the buttstock to Mona.
"Hollow the inside of the bottom of that out here." Pointing to a spot on the shoulder rest, Mike handed a knife to her and then looked over at the small metal pieces he had laying about.
The Blacksmith had managed to make a coil of wire, but Mike was mostly unsure to its strength. He would have to forgo anything fancy like a powerful return spring, the coil would at least separate the hammer from its intended target.
Using the pieces from the Microscope he had tried to build, Mike pulled the lenses and barrel apart.
The finish on the inside the bottom held a mirror like shine, He could probably get away with firing the crystal through the lenses and mirror, but It was unlikely that it would last. The weapon would probably be consumed if the barrel wasn't equally reflective. Mike had been looking for non-magically conductive materials. The more he thought about it, the more he thought about the shit in his truck.
Mike opened his door and found a plastic bottle.
"Motherfucker!" Jumping with joy, Mike was about to recycle.
Holding the bottle in his hand he knew it would never contain magic, but it was also very likely non-conductive. Putting it aside he opened the hood and took off the air cleaner. The carburetor had a return spring and some on the adjustment knobs. Robbing the knobs wouldn't rob the truck from running when he got it back in one piece.
Mike used the spring as a push-back for the hammer and looked through his truck for useful parts. When he saw his trailer hitch, he knew he struck pay dirt. Unpinning it and laying it across the table Mike was glad he didn't bring the one with a huge drop-down. He didn't have a whole lot of time on his hands.
"New Plan! You can ignore the buttstock needing to be hollowed out, but do what you can to clear out what you've started."
Mike pulled the door panel apart and rolled the pocket around the end of the hitch. When he put the crystal at the end of the square bar and duct taped it to the shaft. Walking outside he tried something else, aiming upward Mike charged the crystal by focusing on the whole assembly.
The results were pretty normal, as if he didn't do anything special at all. He was a bit disappointed that it wasn't that easy and tore the duct tape away. Placing the extra tape on the table to keep it for going directly to waste, Mike put the plastic bottle cutouts between the crystal and the opening, and fed the long coil that the blacksmith had made in contact with the crystal but not the shaft.
Mike wasn't willing to burn his tow hitch or handle searing metal so he looked at the materials that had been separated and noticed a bunch of clear crystals that the girls had picked up at the market earlier.
The girls were not successful in getting all that they wanted with just gold, but they had gotten hold of two.
Mike looked at the prisms in his hand and wondered what fate would bring him if it worked. Wrapping the prism in duct tape Mike did his best to fill the gaps with whatever he could, he shoved the prisms in with rods and cut them off.
The weapon looked awful and clunky but it had potential after Mike Fired it upward. The Fire Crystal's discharge was a lot more focused, except for the smoking duct tape that eventually caught fire. Mike had a direction for the build. The plastic was a perfect choice of insulator.
Drawing up some more specific plans took some time, But mike knew that his beam weapon would produce Ice beams if he used the Ice Crystal instead. Deciding to consult with the blacksmith later over prices and minor details would be a different story all together.
"Okay. Stand back"
Mike felt bad that Only Mona really had something to do, so he loaded the tow hitch with the Ice Crystal and redid the prism tape combo. Each of the girls started playing with it like it was a toy until Mike had to take it back and warn them what they were doing.
"Hey! Come on now, what did I tell you already. You can't do that sort of thing. The lab will be flooded with water once it melts." Mike took out a jacket from his backpack and put the truck away.
Taking back the Cold Hitch his hands were going to go numb. Mike wrapped more strips of some hide that had been leftover from shredded bedding. The Weapon itself looked rather primitive and No one would understand its function till after it started its firing.
The steady stream of Ice was accompanied only by a kick and pushing force. The Ice was tangible, It froze the air fell or was projected. It covered its surroundings with Ice and subzero temperatures, It was almost as cheap on energy as the Temperature manipulation techniques he had already tried out during extractions.
Mike was thrilled.
"This will work well, but I can't use it constantly or it will shatter when struck." Mike kept worrying about the consequences of breaking a crystal.
Prince Troeg had given him a few details about what they were known to do, which was why he wanted them in the first place. They were a source of combustion, explosion and expulsion. Mike's new weapon also meant he had a way to defend himself. When he was finally convinced, he gave the girls whatever he could find that looked like clubs and under the cover of darkness they headed toward the castle.
It was approaching time for Cara to have returned and it was causing Mike to have been seriously worried, he needed answers. Approaching a guard without hiding themselves, Mike and the girls walked up to the guards and asked if Cara had made it to the Castle.
"She's inside, the Prince has her under guard. You're free to go inside." The guard was expecting them.
It left Mike worried. He did the only thing he could do to protect himself and pulled the sap crystal from his storage. Gluing the guard to the wall and covering his mouth while explaining took a bit of coordination. Mike left some coins as an apology and the guard settled down in defeat.
"Lets get inside, I can't let anything happen to her." Sneaking across the perimeter and into the castle didn't take a whole lot of effort, Mike was starting to wonder what all the guards were for.
When he saw Cara sitting at a table, She stood up, ecstatic.
Running over to Mike, he gave a wry look at her company. Stopping any further confusion, Cara stood up straight to speak.
"Its good you're here. The Prince has heard what has happened, Why are the girls here?" Cara looked behind Mike and saw the others.
She wasn't expecting him to come along with them. Someone needed to guard the Lab.
"Who's guarding the Lab?" Prince Troeg nodded to some guards and they rushed out of the building.
"Fine. Its better that you're safe. Did you manage to bring your research?" Prince Troeg let out an ominous question, with all that was going on he dared not admit anything but he had to say something.
"I have my remaining seeds, my truck and the books I borrowed." Mike felt something was off, Prince Troeg didn't usually act so forward.
Cara explained why she had been there for so long. After Prince Troeg heard about the Battering Ram he sent guards to secure the city. If someone dared plow a Battering Ram into a lab of the kingdom, It had to have been seen by someone.
Mike relaxed a bit but still maintained his silence about his research being out of his hands. He somewhat felt like he had been watched over the past few weeks, but he couldn't put his finger on it.
"Prince Troeg. What is going on? Have the people who instigated the attack on the others in the market and stolen our goods been captured." Mike asked a legitimate but sharp question.
He knew it was a double edge question but he had to do it for the sake of knowing. Mike looked him straight in the eyes and asked once more.
"Did they catch or even look for the guy who robbed my assistants and tried to slander her as a poisoner?" Mike reminded Prince Troeg about the cookies and how the girls had taken advantage of him when he had passed out from eating one.
After hearing the recount again from Mike, Prince Troeg understood what happened. He vowed to do something to repay her courage on coming with the information alone.
Prince Troeg was hitting on Cara. Mike noticed it right off the bat and his face twitched a bit.
"Your Highness, We have some matters to attend to but we would like to have repairs done to the door and entryway. If I can please trouble you on these matters." Mike postured and Prince Troeg could see that Cara was resisting his advancement.
Withdrawing a bit Cara stood up and walked to Mike and the others who were standing firm behind him patiently. The girls were all glad that Cara was safe.
"So who was responsible?" Mike still wanted an answer.
"We don't know. I have sent guards out. If you must go, Go." Something was wrong with Prince Troeg.
Mike wanted to ask why, but it could lead to an awkwardness he just didn't want.
'What sort of Alpha sulks?' Mike said his goodbyes and escorted the girls out.
When they saw the guard still bound and gagged they did their best to free him. When the gag came from his mouth he started talking in a hurried fashion.
"GO! Hurry, They are headed to the Lab!" The guard was a bit more than angry for them having tied him up at first, but it probably saved his life.
When the raiding party noticed him, they all laughed and left him alone. He could hear them talking about what they had to do when they arrived, something about pulling the walls down.