It was a few more weeks of work until our next weekend off, the last one before the holidays and I was white-knuckled the whole way through. I needed to be ready before the season we had off, where I would certainly be in town and found by those damn goblins again, and I needed to be ready.

I'd considered letting the Headmaster and the powers that be know right now about the planned meeting, but there were demerits to that idea. The biggest of which was that I could kiss goodbye to any freedom I had while they came up with a plan. I knew I'd need help before things went too far, but we weren't ready yet.

The weekend arrived and as I left the dorm in the early morning, a large suitcase at my side, I was practically tackled. Lucas looked peeved as he grabbed me by the shirt and pulled me eye to eye with himself.

“I thought you were going to inform me when you were planning to go do something stupid again?” he asked, smiling but clearly angry.

“I am.”

“And yet here we were Percival. It's clear you're up to something, you're miserable at hiding it, and it's something you've been planning for days. Do you think your friends didn't notice all your odd behavior.” He seemed to think for a minute. “Odder than usual at least. So, what's happening?”

“I'm not even going to the city, just have some things I need to test, before things go up in flames again.” I began to pull myself, and my companion, towards the small carriage I'd arranged to take me to a local woodland.

“Great, what are we testing?”

“I am testing, shouldn't you go find the others and spar or something?”

“No, I tried to get them to join us, but you wouldn't believe how they whined. Furthermore, I'm not letting you alone outside of this school. If something happens to you my sister will kill me.”

“What's Rowenna got to do with this?” I asked.

Lucas looked at me for a solid minute. “Man you are dense.”

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I filed that away for later. Lucas' sister Rowenna was a bit younger than me and I'd accompanied her to several events, but never felt that it was more than an acquaintance. For one, she was far too young for me to view her as anything other than a child, not something I wanted anything to do with, and two, it just never really popped into my head how she might feel about things. Sure, she was nice and all, but I really didn't feel that way about anyone in this world.

With a sigh I shook my head and spoke. “This is not a good time for that you know? Monsters, attacks, and all that, I don't want her getting mixed up in it.”

“Me either, so let's see what we can do about solving it.”

Since he insisted I didn't fight too much when Lucas joined me. It wasn't the worst idea anyway, as playing with explosives was dangerous and what I was doing was wholly untested. If something went wrong it would be good to have someone around just in case, and a willing volunteer would be better than an unwilling one.

Less than an hour later the two of us strode through the forest like it was a high street, leaves crunching and twigs snapping underfoot as we trod. I had my gun and sword, and judging by his gait Lucas had his knives should something go wrong. That was an odd skill I'd picked up through the last few months of training, the ability to almost see where people had weapons hidden on themselves. Just one of the many results of the Headmaster pushing us so hard.

“So what are we testing anyway?” Lucas asked as we moved into a small meadow.

“This,” I said, pulling out the pistol I'd made. “I lacked ranged options in the last couple of fights, and I'm solving that little problem.”

“Goodness, think it's big enough?”

“No, I think it'll only be slightly useful against a proper mage's shield if I'm being honest, though it should certainly pack a punch.”

“Well, load it up then and let's give it a shot,” he nearly bounced on his feet as he spoke.

“In a vice first, just in case,” I informed him as I handed him my spare pair of earplugs.

He watched me load the revolver in silence after I'd set up the holder I'd be taking the first couple of shots from. That was basically just a vice with a string attached, but it would serve perfectly well. When I was finished putting one round in, all I'd be using for the initial shot, he spoke up.

“Odd looking isn't it? Is that one of those that shoots several rounds at once? I've seen a few but they always have a bunch of barrels to them.”

“Just watch,” I told him.

We stood behind trees as I pulled the string for the first time, the earsplitting BOOM and smell of gunpowder reaching us quickly. Everything went well, and the rest of the day we took turns trying out my new weapon. It was manageable, but brutal, the shock-wave from each round ruffling hair and clothes, and even with the earplugs it was still powerfully loud.

“That was grand fun,” Lucas declared as we made our way back to the meeting point with our carriage. “Wherever did you get that? Some new gunsmith? Or perhaps a new design from the older ones?”

“I made it,” I said, not caring to lie to one of my few friends.

“Sincerely?”

“Sincerely.”

“Well it's quite lovely. If I ever decide to take up shooting I know who I'll come to for a proper firearm.”

“I'm surprised you didn't just ask me for one now,” I admitted.

“Oh no, I'm terrible with guns, and they require far too much upkeep for my liking. I'll take a blade any day, but the smell and sound of explosions would irk me if I had to deal with it all the time. I'll leave all that to you my friend.”

“That I'll take as a vote of confidence, something I will always welcome.”

“Mind telling me what all this is for though? I mean a man doesn't arm himself like that unless he's going to war.”

I just laughed. “Well, we might well be going to war soon enough. I hope you want another chance at that monster that dropped you.”

“Oh I'd love one, and this time, I won't go down.” His smile told me he was ready.

“We'll talk during the season then, be ready.”