“Proper food, keeping it happy, and XP.” Jar-lock said, speaking up for Vivienne. “Each familiar gains XP differently. Some through combat others by studying with them. Now, Explain!”

Kaleb rubbed his chin as he thought. Daivor was a Builder Gnome. So the Gnome would level up by crafting things. And Daivor had eaten every meal with him ever since they formed the contract. Kaleb wondered about the gnomes level progression briefly before a sharp painful sensation bloomed on his cheek and he heard something hit the floor.

Looking down, he saw a small clear cube sliding on his garage floor. He looked up in time to see Jar-lock preparing to throw another ice cube.

“What?!” Kaleb asked.

Jar-lock sighed and lowered his arm. “How about you clue the rest of us in, you jackass? You’ve been muttering to yourself long enough.”

Kaleb rubbed his cheek and explained briefly about Daivor’s ability to replicate things.

“So with his help I could mass produce bullets or some of my other completed projects.” Kaleb finished.

“Yeah, but does it need a base material or can he literally make something from nothing?” Varlin asked.

Kaleb glanced at Daivor who only shrugged. “I hadn’t thought about that and it seems Daivor doesn’t know.”

“Then how about you leave it for later? It’s not something you have to worry or think about right now.” Varlin stated.

“And it’s not something you should yell at your friends about.” Jar-lock added placing a hand on Vivienne’s shoulder.

Kaleb sighed and walked closer to the pair before stopping in front of Vivienne. “I am sorry I yelled at you. I got over-excited.” Kaleb said sincerely before adding. “And you are so lucky to have a big strong Warlock speak up for you. Oh! How I wish I had someone brave enough to defend my honor.”

Kaleb quickly back-pedaled as Vivienne went pink and Jar-lock pelted him with ice cubes again. He turned his back to the pair and let his upgraded lab coat take a few more ice cubes before he said.

“You two are picking those damn things up, eventually. If I slip in a puddle later, I’m not building you two anything ever again.”

The ice cube’s stopped pelting his back and Kaleb thought he had won. But soon he felt a small cube tip over the lip of his lab coat and shirt before it glided down his spine. Kaleb went rigid as the small square of ice touched his back. He spun around, staring daggers at the pair to see Jar-lock covering his mouth and pointing at Vivienne. The Wizard looked unapologetic and smug as she laughed and waved her hands in the air triumphantly.

“Yes! 15 points!” Vivienne cheered as Kaleb felt the ice cube fall out of his shirt.

Kaleb glanced over at Jar-lock who put his hands out. Silently saying: it has nothing to do with me. Kaleb returned his glare to Vivienne.

“You get one, Missy.”

“Call me Missy again and I’ll use a fireball next time.” Vivienne said creating a tiny red ball of flame on the end of her new wand.

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Kaleb pointed a finger at Vivienne while staring at Jar-lock. “Violent. Your new girlfriend is violent.”

Vivienne went pink again as Jar-lock just grinned. “Yes, she is. I’m ok with that.”

Kaleb sighed as he turned back to his worktable. Daivor was standing near the newly shaped pieces of revolver holding something small in his hands. As Kaleb focused on what the Gnome was holding he realized it was a tiny, spring made of bone. Daivor glanced up at him and pointed down at a few more similar springs.

“Next time, leave out the springs. Bone springs don’t exactly bend.” Daivor said.

Kaleb nodded as he turned to Roy who had been silently working away. “Which bin has the springs.”

Roy fell into thought before he pointed at one of the shelving units. “Far right, third shelf from the bottom.”

Going to the shelf Kaleb came back with a large green bin full of bits of metal and springs. Setting the bin down on the floor Kaleb dug through the springs. Using the bone replicas as a base he quickly found what he was looking for. Kaleb cleaned the springs as best he could before he placed them with other pieces of the revolver. With Daivor’s help, Kaleb began assembling the bone gun.

Nearby he could hear Jar-lock and Vivienne picking up the scattered bits of ice cubes on his garage floor. Varlin had gone into the kitchen and was cleaning the mess he had made for their lunch. Kaleb found assembling the gun fairly quick and easy. Soon enough he had the heavy gun put together and was staring down the sights. As he did Daivor pointed up at the gun barrel and said.

“Problem boss.”

Kaleb twisted the gun and looked down the barrel. Finding a smooth bone white tube. He took a bit to realize the problem: rifling.

“Shit. How do we fix that?” Kaleb asked the small Gnome.

Daivor just smiled and waved his hand toward the barrel. As Kaleb watched, small lines etched into the walls of the barrel in the spiral pattern. Kaleb stared, mouth agape, at what Daivor had done.

“Seriously? Could you have shaped the whole gun yourself?!” Kaleb asked.

Daivor chuckled. “Ha! Hell no! But shaping a little rifling is easy enough.”

Kaleb blew out a breath and shook his head. “Damn. that could have made my life that much easier.”

“Yeah and mine more of a pain in the ass.” Daivor grumbled before smiling up at Kaleb.

Kaleb returned the smile before he gave the bone gun a brief run-through. He checked the rotation on the cylinder, the sights, and he gave it a few dry fires. As the gun clicked empty several times Kaleb tested the weight of the gun. It was far heavier than its size indicated. After he was satisfied with the completed gun Kaleb set it down and prepared to enchant the gun.

He decided to use a simple Strengthening Rune on the barrel for now. He would ask D34d–I if he wanted any specific enchantments later. He took a few sheets of paper and began his now standard pattern of drawing the rune repeatedly. As he went over the rune, Jar-lock and Vivienne had helped Varlin clean his kitchen and were now standing nearby.

“Uh, anything we can do to help?” Varlin asked.

Kaleb thought about for a few seconds as his hands worked. Eventually he shook his head. “I can’t think of anything right now. I’m just gonna strengthen the barrel and test fire a few rounds. I want to know what caliber of bullet this gun can handle.”

“You want to test it in the field?” Jar-lock asked, lowering his wrist communicator and looking at everyone.

“What’s up?” Vivienne asked.

“The guy we are protecting tonight was just attacked at the airport.”

“He wasn’t supposed to land until later tonight.” said Varlin, angrily.

Jar-lock nodded. “Yeah, they lied about his arrival time to avoid exactly this from happening.”

“Does that mean there’s a traitor in his entourage?” Vivienne asked

“Maybe.” Jar-lock shrugged.

“Damn I was hoping to test this new wand. This is probably an investigation quest or something. Find the traitor and his cohorts.” Vivienne grumbled.

“Not necessarily.” Kaleb interjected. “And either way, you’ll get to test out the wand at least a little.”

Vivienne nodded sullenly as she stared at her wand. “I guess.”

Kaleb shook his head and turned to look at Jar-lock. “Blood-thirsty. Your new girlfriend is blood-thirsty.”

Jar-lock just shook his head and laughed. “Hehehe. So are you coming with us or not?”

Kaleb turned back to his work and grimaced. He wanted to stay in the lab a little more, raise his crafting skills and such. But the offer was tempting. Something interrupted his thoughts when he felt something soft and cold collided with the back of his head. White flakes covered his desk as he snapped his head around.

“Damn it, Vivienne I–GAH!” Kaleb was cut-off as another snow ball smacked him in the face.

“I’ll show you, blood-thirsty.” Vivienne muttered conjuring another snowball.