.^^ the Magicannon/Rifle ^^

— Rune —

The spring surrounding the Focus was always the trickiest part of any Sending Weapon, or at least the ones that didn't involve black powder, which were almost all of my weapons.

It cracked at the last second, making me growl obscenities at it, and stomp away for a moment, kicking the iron walls of my workshop.

It groaned at me quietly, in the Language of Machines. "Try heating the coil, this time." The giant's advice had been invaluable in teaching me all I knew about technology, so I was inclined to do as he/it said.

The second time, with the coil heated by my hands to a pleasing warmth, nearly red-hot, I pressed it into the slot around the focusing crystal, twisting it carefully into place. It slid in, and then began cooling, the metal shrinking as the heat left it. Almost back to its normal size, it slipped perfectly into the Runes that had been carved under the focusing crystal in a spiral, and then tightened audibly, as they got smaller, but couldn't move anymore.

I grinned, as the spiral pulsed gently, the focusing crystal turning blue, and then set about placing the tiny, slim cylinder into the firing mechanism of my newest creation, a long-ranged magicannon.

"I need a new name for this other than Magicannon..." I muttered, and set the completed weapon on the wall, next to the seven other intrinsically different versions, each Enchanted with a different crystal inside, and a different design.

The one I'd just finished was quartz, which could gather any magic placed in it, and refract it at incredible speeds, and across long distances, due to the thousands of tiny platinum-backed mirrors that were blanketed throughout the barrel, and the Runes carved into every side of said barrel.

On the bottom, in the hidden side of the barrel, I'd carved my name, 'Rune', as well as a Rune that let me always allowed me to find my works. My Maker's Mark, just like all my work.

A scuffle outside had me grabbing my new rifle, and kicking open my door. "Godsdamned fucking Goblins! Stay away from my stuff!" I roared, taking aim.

A small humanoid elf was currently in the process of slamming goblins to the ground with bolts of fire, whilst their hands seemed to blaze with power. They didn't look like they needed help, but I took aim again, and fired once at the goblin behind them.

The new rifle shivered in my grasp, happy to be used, and I poured raw magic into the crystal, the only type I had. A millisecond later, a bolt of prismatic energy surged from the barrel, knocking me on my ass, and the goblin disintegrated where he stood.

When everyone stopped, I shook myself off, and leveled the rifle again. "Now SCAT!" I roared in goblin-tongue.

They panicked, yelling for retreat, melting into the forest, and I turned to the elf. "Now what the hell are you doing this far into The Deep, Elf? Lose a very expensive comb from your airship?" I asked dryly.

They frowned at me. "I thank you for the assist, and I do not appreciate the condescending tone! But... if you must know, I'm on a research mission! It's very important, of course." They drew themselves up proudly.

"Mm... not going well, is it?" I smiled.

They deflated. "Well! I am guarding the entrance!"

"Mm... you won't get anything from inside that there temple. I made charcoal scrapings of everything in there, then looted it, maybe ten years ago. You're Welcome to my notes, if it'll make you leave; I never did translate most of the Runes." I shrugged.

They gasped, and then spoke into a crystal earring, suddenly, in the Language of Elves. "Master, I have found a resident who claims to have made charcoal scrapings of everything inside, then looted the interior! He seems to live Inside the giant Construct, and wields some sort of light magic, inside an oddly shaped firearm!"

A hiss and crackle came through, and I shrugged. "There's a warding on that place, magic can't go in or out." I called over casually.

They blinked. "Truly? Do you know the source of it?"

"Oh of course! I've lived here my whole life! The first ten years were just ignoring it, but I eventually got interested, so I studied it for a while. Ancient Dwarf Magic, seems like. Well, good luck, leave my house alone if you value your life, otherwise do as you please with the Temple." I shrugged.

They raised an eyebrow. "If I value my life? Is that a threat?"

"A warning. This construct is my home and my workshop. If you'd like to trade, you are welcome to do so, but otherwise, leave my home in peace, or I will defend it. Simple. Oh! And those notes, you can trade me something for them!" I chuckled at the prospect of new materials, and walked back inside.

"Can you tell me how to get my message inside?" They asked loudly, still outside.

"Gave you a freebie already! Told you about the warding! Either figure it out yourself, or go inside the doorway to send your message!" I sighed.

"Would that work?"

"How should I know? I've never tried to communicate magically with someone inside! Figure it out yourself, shistu!" I grumbled, and began work on a simple wand, to direct power in a more accurate way, a pin-point-precision type of way.

They poked their head in, after climbing the rope ladder, and hummed. "A very odd laboratory you have here..."

"Would you like to trade, or simply look around? One requires my full attention, the other does not." I sighed.

"You do not like talking to me, do you?" They asked quietly.

"I don't like being interrupted, is all. I don't have many visitors, out here. Most of them are Mages, rude and cruel and uppity, thinking they're better than me just because they can do magic, and I can only make the things that make the magic." I shrugged, and swiveled around, giving them my full attention.

They cocked their head. "You Just used magic, though... didn't you? The magic didn't come from the weapon, it came from you." She stroked the metal of my rifle, and hummed. "The Runes of focusing and power... those explain the raw nature of the magic that came out, perhaps... Ah! Introductions! I am Lord Yeshiva Drundomidon! And you?"

"I am called Rune." I nodded. "And you're wrong, I can't do real magic, I've tried. A few different Mages have tested me for magic, and I've got nothing shapable."

(H)e frowned. "That is simply untrue! They may have simply been being rude, because you smell entirely of magic!"

I raised a snowy eyebrow slowly. "I smell of magic? You can say that, in the middle of a workshop filled with magical weapons and artifacts?"

He nodded. "I can! My clan-"

"Apprentice?! Have you been eaten!? Oh bother..." A female voice shouted from the entrance of the temple.

He poked his head out. "Master! I tried to contact you, but there's a warding in place, Ancient Dwarven Magic! Come on up!!!"

The female elf hummed, and climbed the rope ladder, entering my workshop carefully. She looked around, and hummed in appreciation at the workmanship of my rifle, before seeing me. "Oh!... a local. Hello." She hummed.

"I am Rune, and this is my workshop! I'm under the impression you'd be interested in trading something for my Notes, and some sketches of the artifacts that I pulled out of that Temple?" I asked casually.

She blinked. "Where are the artifacts themselves?"

I pointed up, at the cogs, cranks, and other clockwork that powered the Construct. "I used them to fix up my Construct! He doesn't like moving, but he can, if I ask. Anyway, sketches are all I have, unfortunately, unless you'd be interested in a wand of focus, or something else from my shop?" I waved a hand at the multitude of weapons and items I'd made over the last 20 years living inside this place.

She paused, and examined me again. "You built these?" She pointed at the Construct, and then the weapons.

"Yes. The frame of the Construct is millennia Old, but it was originally supposed to run on some other form of energy. I replaced that, and built the workshop inside the chest cavity that the replaced, smaller parts created." I nodded.

She nodded, and slowly took a brass longbow off the wall, testing the metallic string. As she did so, an arrow of fire began to form, lightly burning her arm. She frowned, and looked at me.

"You're supposed to wear arm-guards when you draw a bow, don't glare at me!" I frowned back.

She slid her leather sleeves down, and tried again, firing out of the open door. The arrow dissipated when it hit the open doorway of the temple, making her pause.

"I told you, Magic in or out is absorbed." I murmured to the younger elf boy.

She nodded. "Alright, I like it... how much for this and your notes?" She asked.

"What, money? Do you see a bank around? I trade. Platinum materials are good, very good for focusing Magic's... gold is relatively useless... silver is a wonderful conductor, and copper as well... magic wood is an agreeable material, I'd like to work with some of that... so what do you have? We'll figure out prices as we go." I smiled, enjoying the concept of new materials, again.

She nodded. "I see the validity of that argument... how about this?" She set a lovely bow, made of some sort of elven tree, on my workbench carefully.

I hummed and began to examine it, lowering the second set of glass circles over my eyes, to see in more detail. "Hmm... Silver worked into the wood as a magical focus... intriguing... Alright, do you have an unworked sample of this? I wouldn't dream of breaking such a beautiful weapon down." I handed her the bow back.

She smiled. "Thank you, I made it myself, many years ago... yes, I do. I was hoping to make my apprentice's first bow from this, but that will have to wait." She held out a thick staff of the same wood gingerly.

I took it, examining it carefully. "Very Interesting... Yes, the price is right, Lady Elf. You may have the Bow of Blazing Arrows. Now! Anything else, other than my notes?" I asked, looking at Yeshiva.

He picked up a small pair of metallic gloves. "What are these?"

"That there? That's a pair of Gloves of Tuning, which can be used to interact directly with magic... and magical wardings." I pointed my thumb at the open entrance. "That's how I got in, the first time. I accidentally paved the way for you all, apparently." I added dryly.

The woman chuckled. "Interesting... and for those?"

"Hmm... they take just some silk and platinum to make, really, so a good bit of those two ingredients should even us out again." I shrugged.

He grinned and reached inside his bag, making me peek up when his hand went past the bottom, fishing around in a plane bigger than the inside of his bag.

"Oh?" I murmured.

He pulled out a bolt of silk, and a large bag of silver. "I don't have platinum, but I do have lots of silver!" He grinned.

I hummed. "Silver, Hmm? Not as good a conductor of magic, but serviceable, in a pinch... what's the magic on that bag of yours? Has more space than it should... I'm intrigued."

He blinked, and his master spoke over him. "A spell that the Elves have protected for millennia, I'm afraid." She glared at him.

I chuckled. "Ahh, I see... I'll make you a Deal... you let me examine it, with no explanation needed from you as to its inner workings, and then I give you a copy of my notes, and those gloves, free of charge except for this silk." I placed a hand on the silver, and pushed it back towards him, placing the silk with the wood.

They looked at each other, and she hummed. "You cannot Touch it, but examining... seems alright." She sighed.

"Deal, then? Wonderful! Set it just here." I tapped the circle of platinum that was embedded into my workbench.

He obeyed, and I lowered the third set of glass circles. A blaze of magic entered my view, both from my Construct, and the bag itself. It filled my mouth with the taste of sand, informing me of the type of magic; Conjuration, a sort of permanent portal to a tiny Dimension not our own. The spells that made it possible revealed themselves to me, with a burst of brilliance, and the assistance of the platinum circle as a focus.

As soon as I had memorized them, I pulled back, raising the two lenses from in front of my eyes. "Intriguing... well! A Deal is a Deal!" I walked over to my desk, and pulled out a large, thick sheaf of vellum, with the coal scrapings, sketches, and notes from my miniature expedition.

The elf woman received them with a look of shock, then appreciation, as she murmured a nice comment on my eye for detail, as shown in the sketches. "Indeed, I appreciate the courtesy you show us, trading so freely... why does a Tinkertoy Mage like you live in the Deep? I realize it may be rude to ask, but I am curious."

I raised both eyebrows. "A Mage? Me? HA! You're funny, just like your Apprentice. I'm not a Mage, I just make things that Mages can use. Mages shape magic, not just create it."

She grinned. "You're telling a Mage what we do? Creating magic, in even the very smallest of quantities, is what makes someone a Mage, Sir Rune. And you didn't answer my question."

I snorted. "I'll leave you to your objectively-inane thinkings, but the answer to your question is that I don't have an answer. I was born here, I guess. Lived here since I was a child... Now! If that's all our business, you're free to leave, and come back with better materials for more trading!" I nodded, and sat back down at my workbench.

She looked at the notes, and then rolled them gingerly, sliding the tube of papers into her own nearly endless bag. "Our mission was to learn the secrets of the Temple, then bring back this Construct..."

"Which is my home, and my property, and you can pry it from my cold, dead hands." I remarked dryly, already working on the wand again.

"I'd prefer not to do so... would you be interested in coming with us? You would have some insight into these Runes on your notes, and the Construct would be able to be studied-"

"While leaving the Deeps sounds fun, this construct is of my own design, and will not be being studied by anyone. Just like my weapons, it is my Intellectual Property. The original designs for the Construct are included in the notes, and they can study those. The rest is my work, and none of their business." I said firmly.

She paused. "Well... still, that is our mission, and I'd like it if it was voluntary." She sighed.

Yeshiva flinched. "But aunt-" The elder elf snapped a glare at him, and he corrected himself. "-Uhm, Master? Now that we know someone lives in the Construct, doesn't that change things?"

She shook her head. "The council was very clear."

"A Deal could be struck, I suppose, if it means there's no conflict." I shrugged.

"The only situation without conflict is this construct leaving with us." She said easily.

"Then I am going with it, and it is to be made perfectly clear to all your little Mage friends and Councils, that the Construct and everything in it are all my property, both intellectual and physical, and therefore are to be left alone entirely." I shrugged.

She rubbed her eyebrows slowly, and then sighed. "Fine, I suppose that is the only lawful way to resolve our mission... you said the Construct was capable of moving, yes? How much can he do?"

"He can stand, walk around, and jump, though I don't do the last one often... makes a terrible mess." I gestured at the vats of molten steel and bronze in the far corner.

She nodded slowly. "I can see that... Alright, well, we were planning on lifting it out, carefully, so is there a position you prefer it to be carried? This room seems designed for the way it was sitting."

"This room is inside a gyroscope, so it doesn't matter, so long as it turns at a respectable pace. I still haven't managed to get it to turn smoother than it is currently, but I'll figure it out eventually." I grinned at the look of confusion on her face, and tapped the wall. "Construct, Stand."

The room rocked gently, as the Construct stood up slowly, and stretched like it was getting out of bed. "Are we leaving?" It asked.

"We are leaving, yes. Is there an airship around? With chains and such?" I asked, sitting in my desk chair, after covering the vats with their sealed covers, then strapping everything down or placing it all in chests.

"There are three... they seem to be engaging in an aerial battle. One is blue, of elven make, the other two are black, recycled and turned to goblin use, somehow... you'd like the wreckage's, wouldn't you? Useful Tek."

"Your allies are under attack from goblin flyers. Give me a few moments to destroy them and collect the wreckage's, and we'll be off!" I smiled at the Elves, and took down my rifle again as they ran to the door and looked outside.

"Make you a deal, shoot down the little ones, and I'll give you the ship when we make it back to the Islands!" The Elder elf snapped.

"Ooh, I like it. Deal." I chuckled at them, and set the barrel of the rifle into the slot that exited the front end of the Construct, where a human heart would be. The prisms inside, Rune'd with the same Runes as the barrel, would amplify it even more.

After commanding the Construct to actively track one of the enemy fliers, I pulled the trigger, and braced myself for the kick-back.