“Magitech is not just a brand of luxurious goods,” Irwyn began his explanation as they slipped through the crowd, “They are an organisation of massive scale, operating in the southern continent. The magitech items you may rarely see in the highest class auctions are all created by their artisans through combining the advanced southern technology with magic.”
“Isn’t magic outlawed in the south?” Desir quickly found something was wrong with the explanation.
“The mages of south are not talented enough to survive through against those hunting them with their own strength,” Irwyn said, “In order to survive they had to adapt, instead of power, they mastered enchantment to the point where some of their grandmasters are comparable to respected authorities here in the North. When that enchantment was combined with the southern complex weaponry they gave birth to immensely powerful tools thanks to which even weak mages could guarantee their survival against overwhelming odds. At some point these lone mages united and founded the shadow organisation known over the world as Magitech, though they don’t call themselves that. From inside they would refer to themselves as the Garden. In order to survive they adopted desperate measures. They are like a persistent itch that refuses to go away in the eyes of the Southern leaders. In fact, the Magitech invented and follows the most brutal war doctrine to ever appear on our world.”
“Even worse than the constant struggles within the void, I have seen with my own eyes just how terrifying those conflicts can be,” as always, Desir was the first one to voice his doubts. The topic he spoke about also revealed that he was convinced Irwyn and the girls were already aware of his demonic origins.
“It is not a classical war where armies meet. They call it terrorism, or the war of terror. They would stand no chance in a direct conflict against the southern armies, so they instead chose a brutal method to force a stalemate. Whenever an important Magitech leader is killed, or perhaps a hideout is raided, they retaliate, not against the military, but against the powerless civilians. Bloodbaths where hundred or thousands of innocent lives are extinguished. Through sheer brutality, they force the southern leaders into inaction as they are far too afraid to truly attempt truly destroying the Magitech.”
“That doesn’t seem right,” Desir furrowed her brows, “what difference would a few thousand deaths make to the leaders?”
“The society in the south is far different," Irwyn shook his head, "They live in a society where life is considered sacred and a common person an individual, not just a number. It’s a difficult concept to describe to someone for whom it is so alien, but you can believe me that although merciless, the tactics of Magitech are effective.”
“How would such a group survive financially?” Elizabeth asked while Alice seemed to become a bit grim, “I can’t believe someone would be willing to deal with them.”
“Most of their low ranking members are normal members of the society, their mana so minute it cannot be easily found out, those people are self sustaining and can bring a bit of money into the coffers, however, their real business are the Magitech tools and weapons which so many people desire here in the North. A smuggler which deals with Magitech can earn 50 to 200 times his investment for each piece he manages to bring out of South. A single ‘high-grade’ weapon from Magitech is worth a small fortune, enough to live comfortably for their entire live. Human greed is insatiable. Despite the fact that over 95% of those smugglers get caught there are always more fools charging after the bounty. Of course, the items that make it here are not the real goods. The actual good stuff is kept for the inner circle of Magitech,” As Irwyn just finished his explanation a boom of a gunshot sounded a bit further to the front, “We have probably arrived,” and indeed, a large tent with a proper sign saying ‘Shooting range’ was just a few steps ahead of them. The crowd around this area was already far thinner than nearby the entrance, and as they stepped inside it got only thinner. In fact there were only 2 people in sight inside the strange circus.
One of them was an older looking man wearing a proper black suit, just the obvious quality of the clothes made anyone think he was someone important, and his well-trimmed black beard only helped improve that image. That man was currently holding a rifle quite similar to what Irwyn’s group had seen previously, however, the barrel was quite a bit longer and there was a scope attached to the top. Instead at thin pieces of wood, he was aiming at a circular target positioned at least 100 meters away. Considering the tent was not nearly large enough to accommodate something like that Irwyn quickly realised there was some magic at play here, and a rather powerful spell at that.
As the older gentleman aimed the other person was far younger, he appeared to be a lad no older than 20, and wore clothes which clearly identified him as staff, moreover, he was wearing ear protection. Boom, the gunfire sounded again, and from this close it was almost deafening. The bullet flew through the air and quickly penetrated the target, leaving a gaping hole just short of bullseye. A loud clang sounded just a moment after the bullet took off as it dented the wall of protective metal by the end of the range and another one when the casing hit the ground.
Finishing his shot the older man seemed to notice Irwyn’s group. At first he frowned at seeing a bunch of children, however, as soon as he closely inspected Irwyn’s face he stiffened for a moment before his frown was replaced with a perfect smile. Since he was apparently recognised Irwyn also smiled at the man. He could also clearly tell the identity of the man, he was the major who managed the Black city for Irwyn’s family. They had naturally run into each other a couple of times in the mansion of house Blackburg.
“Sorry, but you are a bit too young for this,” the employee quickly tried to chase Irwyn’s group away as soon as he noticed their tender age, however, he was interrupted by the major: “It should be alright, children around these parts are well behaved,” he helped Irwyn without revealing the boy’s identity. Since Irwyn wore clothes which hid who he was the man would naturally not spoil whatever Irwyn’s intentions were. The young employee hesitated for a moment before he turned around, “I will have to call boss Gill for this. If you can convince him I will have nothing to say.”
“That is fine,” Irwyn smiled as the youth quickly walked out of the tent through a small side entrance.
“What would lord Irwyn be doing here, if you don’t mind me asking,” the major whispered when the man was out of earshot.
“Can’t a 12 years old have a day to enjoy himself,” Irwyn laughed, “Although I do have some side motives, I am here mostly to allow myself and my companions to relax,” as Irwyn finished speaking the major looked at the rest of the group. He did not let his facial expression change since he somewhat understood the persona which Irwyn had built. The major believed that whoever the terrifying young master of house Blackburg decided to befriend was not someone ordinary.
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“I go for a single fucking smoke,” a curse was heard from outside the tent and a new person stepped in, clearly scolding the youth who followed just behind him. The new person was a grizzly old man, his unshaved beard and wild black hair gave him a somewhat savage look, while his deep wrinkles were a more accurate show of his advanced age. He appeared as healthy as any youth though, as he quickly stepped inside the tent. With a quick glance he looked at Irwyn’s group and spoke: “No way am I letting a bunch of children touch my beauties.”
“Wouldn’t you reconsider,” Irwyn smiled as he also inspected the man, and quickly noticed a few things out of order. The man was apparently far more interesting than he expected, “Young people are just like seeds in a Garden, waiting to bloom,” Irwyn said and the man quickly frowned at the allegory and considered for a moment. Then he stepped towards a nearby cabinet and took out the largest rifle he could find there. It was a giant as tall as Irwyn, maybe even a bit longer.
“If one of you can hit the target 3 times in a row with this, I will let you stay,” the man huffed, clearly aware of the impossibility of the task he just gave them. That was fine, Irwyn had a few cards to play in order to convince the man.
“Then I shall go ahead,” Irwyn smiled and stepped to one of the shooting booths. The man did not directly bring him the gun, instead, he stepped to the very edge of the row of shooting booths and fidgeted with something over there. In just a moment the distance of the targets began to rapidly expand, within a moment reaching over 500 metres. Only then did the man give Irwyn the ginormous rifle as he also fished 3 bullets out of his pocket. He gave Irwyn a snort and stepped away. Perhaps he expected Irwyn to immediately crumble under the weapon's weight as he tried to remain close enough to catch the weapon for a moment, but Irwyn seemed to not even be bothered by the weight.
“Good luck,” the major smiled from not far away. He was not sure how possible it was for Irwyn to hit 3 shots in a row at that distance, especially considering that the weapon was far too large for a child.
“I would also like to try that one once you are done,” Alice said, full of smiles and confidence. She learned to expect that Irwyn would achieve the impossible wherever the impossible dared to stand in his way, “I would rather something smaller,” Elizabeth chimed from the side, also full of confidence in Irwyn. Desir did not speak, and although he was not as confident as the two girls, he also believed Irwyn had a good shot at succeeding.
“Don’t worry,” Irwyn smiled as the heavy weapon left his hands and levitated just at the mark of the shooting booth. The bullets also quickly left his palm and one of them was quickly loaded into the bullet action mechanism of the rifle. Boom, a deafening boom sounded a moment later, far louder than the weapon fired by the major previously. The usually large recoil did not even move the weapon firmly gripped by Irwyn’s magic. Instead, another bullet was loaded in and shot just as quickly. Boom, another bullet was already loaded as the sound of the second gunshot receded and once again the characteristic boom resounded.
“Well I’ll be damned,” Gill cursed as his frown deepened. Without changing his expression he turned to the younger employee, “Help them to whatever they want,” he did not give the young man a chance to protest as he stepped into a corner, clearly staring at Irwyn as though he was inviting him over.
“Shoot to your hearts' content,” Irwyn spoke to his group, “perhaps you can find something that fits you,” then he turned around and walked towards Gill.
“So, what exactly do you want,” the man whispered, making sure they were not heard by the rest, “It cannot be just to goof around.”
“Originally my intentions were different than what they are now. However, it is not every day you get to meet a garden elder,” Irwyn smiled.
“You have done your homework,” the man’s frown only deepened.
“Not really. I only knew that there was a former member of Magitech in the shooting range. You are just easy to see through for someone with a keen eye,” Irwyn shook his head.
“What gave it away,” the man seemed surprised.
“You prosthetic leg,” Irwyn said, “The density of the enchantments is too high for anyone less than a master craftsman to own. Moreover, your mana is far too dense for someone who escaped from south, unless many strings were pulled you would have been caught at the border, and pulling that many strings has prerequisites,” Irwyn finished, “Don’t worry, I don’t intend to spread anything, that would benefit neither of us.”
“Then what do you want,” the man’s frown did not relent.
“A custom weapon for the older of the girls,” Irwyn pointed at Alice. Time and space mages often suffered from a lack of firepower. The fact that Alice seemed to have a knack for arms gave Irwyn a good idea on how to remedy this, “I can supply all the materials and even a workplace if need be, though I doubt a master gunsmith would leave his tools behind.”
“I don’t think you have enough money to afford me,” the man scoffed, “So, will you blackmail me, I wonder?”
“I don’t want a half-ass product with a nasty surprise,” Irwyn slightly shook his head once again, “I understand you wouldn’t really need money, that is why I am willing to offer something that cannot be bought.”
“What could you have to offer,” the man’s frown relaxed a bit, he still didn’t seem willing though.
“An elder like you wouldn’t retire and flee, not with the assistance you must have had to escape,” Irwyn deduced, “You have another goal in leaving the Southern continent, and since they send a master gunsmith like yourself it must be something important. If I am not wrong you are travelling with this carnival thing as a cover so that you can reach the academy of Ignis without attracting the attention of headhunters send after negotiators like you,” Gill did not deny Irwyn’s words, instead his frown once again grew deep, “Although the academy of Ignis is interested in Magitech remaining strong, there is a limit to how many resources it would be willing to squander. That is where I can help you.”
“A brat like you,” the man did not seem particularly inclined to believe that claim.
“I will be traveling to the academy of Ignis this year, and let me tell you a secret I had not told anyone, not even my companions or my parents. I was born a Herald of Ignis, by the time you finish your round trip around North and eventually end up there I will have reached the 4th tier. By then a favour from me will be worth far more than a gun.”
The man closed his eyes for a moment after Irwyn spoke, perhaps shocked, perhaps considering the odds. It was a while later when he opened his eyes and spoke, “Fine, I agree, however, you also pay me for the weapon, sign a contract, and supply any material I ask for. I will also have to let the girls shoot for a while in order to get an idea of what to make.”
“That is fine,” Irwyn smiled and reached into his pocket, he took out a small enchanted badge which he flicked over to the man. He was always carrying an extra one on his person for an opportunity like this one, “Take this, I will have send someone to meet you by midnight tomorrow and we can arrange the contract later.”
“The Blackburg sigil?” the man seemed surprised, “You are involved with the house Blackburg. You could have mentioned this earlier.”
“Not only am I involved, my mother runs it,” Irwyn laughed, “What does this house matter to you anyway, although we are powerful here, we don’t have much influence in the south,” Irwyn said and turned around, walking towards his entourage which were already trying out a variety of weapons. For a moment Irwyn stopped and turned his head back to Gill as he spoke: “I am looking forward to the masterpiece you are surely going to create,” he then walked out of earshot.