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 pa.s.sed them some meat he was getting ready for dinner, It was early but they were probably not going to have time to eat later.

"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 b.u.t.tstock 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 s.h.i.t in his truck.

Mike opened his door and found a plastic bottle.

"Motherf.u.c.ker!" Jumping with joy, Mike was about to recycle.

Holding the bottle in his hand he knew it would never contain magic, but it was 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 k.n.o.bs. Robbing the k.n.o.bs 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 along. He didn"t have a whole lot of time on his hands.

"New Plan! You can ignore the b.u.t.tstock 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 a.s.sembly.

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 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 be 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 tired out. 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 Mike to have been seriously worried, and he needed direct 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 stopped 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 at least 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. It was likely that what took so long was their belief that Mike melted those people inside out and wouldn"t have a problem doing it again if he was threatened.

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. Might I ask 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 a.s.sistants 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 pa.s.sed 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, and so dignified.

Prince Troeg was. .h.i.tting 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 the 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.