Fritz was slowly learning a very important lesson. It was infinitely easier to bribe his way through things. Four pure silver daggers, two vials of holy water, and a pile of gourmet steaks later he had the attention of an entire contingent of guards. The gate's guardhouse was large enough to fit eight cannon crews, gunpowder, and an arsenal of cannon balls. Large open windows overlooked the grassy deserted plains below.

Ada, Neva and Brenn were with him as he attempted to showcase his two cannons. The two giant hunks of iron were placed looking out of the central gatehouse. The blacksmiths had done a superb job. Of the three that he had employed only one failed. With more cannons and mortars on order, Fritz was on track to arm the city properly. Modern weapons were still a far off daydream, yet for now, nineteenth century cannons would do.

"I don't get it. Why are there more weird toilets?" Ada asked crossing her arms. Craning her neck, she looked down at the antique weapons. Fritz ran his hands through his thick black hair as he sighed. Gaspard was quicker to respond.

"Perhaps we are meant to stick arrows down them?" Gaspard asked as his brows drew inward in confusion as he remembered words from last night. "How is this a wand? This is nothing like a wand. You said this was like a wand."

"Ada, you were with me yesterday." Fritz said. "A cannon functions with the same principle as a mortar."

"Champion. I don't get it. How is this a weapon? It's just a bored out cylinder of iron." one of the beastkin guards asked. "Are you pulling our tails?"

"Clearly, he'll swing it. It's a blunt weapon, see?" Another of the guards interjected.

"I assure you, I am not swinging it. All firearms operate in the same manner. Gunpowder is ignite to send a projectile screaming out of the bore towards the enemy." His audience looked at him with the glazed listless eyes of the incredibly stupid. Fritz fought a wave of nausea as he rubbed at his temples. "Look, just watch. I will demonstrate."

Fritz grabbed a bundle of wrapped gunpowder, before ramming it down the barrel. He then moved to grab a single iron cannonball. Grunting, he lifted the iron ball towards the bore of the cannon. Positioning it perfectly, he fed it down the cannon, ramming it towards the bottom.

"Since there is no powder residue, I don't have to clean the insides." Fritz huffed and puffed as he rammed the cannon ball down.

"You just shoved stuff down it. How's that a weapon? Are we supposed to throw it? Tip it over?" One of the guards asked.

"No! No! No!" Fritz responded. "Just wait a moment."

"This weapon is pretty slow to use. What if one of the vampires scales the walls?" Another guard asked. Fritz rolled his eyes as he picked up the flaming linstock.

"Put your hands against your ears, and stand back." Fritz commanded.

"Why?" The beastkin asked. "Is this some kind of magic trick? What's it supposed to do?" None of the guards were really listening to him. Neither his companions nor the guardsmen made any motion to protect their hearing. Fritz watched them with a growing frustration as he placed the linstock's match against the touch hole. Fire traveled from the small opening at the rear of the cannon into the ignition chamber. The gunpowder exploded sending the iron cannon ball out into the empty planes outside of Hueryss. The iron frame of the cannon shot back as the wheeled wooden frame flew backwards. One of the guardsmen jumped for cover as he dodged the cannon's recoil.

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The beastkin in the gatehouse stared at the cannon in stunned silence. The explosion was loud, reverberating through the city. Everyone within the city stopped and looked towards the gatehouse. An undercurrent of anxiety sifted into the air. Questions swarmed through the citizens' minds as they looked towards the walls.

"Do I have your attention now? Where I come from," Fritz started. The explosion rang in his ears, making his voice flat. "Cannons changed everything. The age of castles fell with the introduction of the cannon. Gone were the days of walled cities. Gone were the days of the valiant knight. The cannon changed siege warfare. No longer could lords hide behind stone walls. The new siege weapon ripped through stone killing any caught in its trajectory." Fritz waited for the beastkin to respond. Instead they looked outside, pointing towards where the cannonball impacted the ground. "A cannonball will travel straight through a fully armored knight. No matter the armor. A cannonball will kill anything that it strikes."

"Fritz, can it kill a dragon?" Ada asked coming dangerously close. Her gray eyes twinkled like a child's. Excitement and hope were seared onto her face, waiting for his next words.

"Probably. If you hit it enough times." Fritz said, shrugging. "Even if it didn't pierce the skin, it would deliver enough kinetic energy to knock them senseless. Not to mention, we can always build a bigger cannon. If a smaller one doesn't work, we could just build them bigger and bigger. Look at the Tsar Cannon! The thing was so stupidly massive! It weighed nearly forty metric tonnes and it still was supposedly fired! If that couldn't kill a dragon what would?!"

The beastkin looked at him like children filled with wonder. Gaspard frowned as he started scratching his chin in deep thought. Retreating backwards he leaned against a wall. The assembled guard started murmuring amongst themselves.

"Forget the dragons! Our enemy is the undead!" Gaspard spoke up, silencing his men. "Dragons are far from our primary concern. Don't get ahead of yourselves."

"Of course. Of course." Fritz responded. "Now what do you think? Who wants to kill some vampires?" Fritz asked his audience.

The beastkin scrambled to grab the available equipment. Ada jumped quickly, landing on top of a cannon. Throwing her arms over the barrel, she tried to claim the entire thing

"It's mine! It's mine!" She screamed. "The dragon slayer is mine! Get away from it! It's mine!"

"This one's ours!" A circle of guardsmen formed a protective ring around a cannon. The guards held their weapons aloft ready to defend the dragon slaying equipment.

"Neva! Brenn! Help! We need this! Get over here!" Ada screeched.

"Get off the weapon! He's giving it to us! We need it more than you!" One of the guardsmen yelled.

"No!" Ada yelled, as a group of guardsmen tried to pull her off the thick iron frame.

"Ada! Get off the thing! You look stupid! Your not ready to kill a dragon!" Neva yelled.

"Get over here and help me you old hag!" She shot back.

"Old?! Old?! I'll snap that fucking sword of yours!" Neva yelled barreling through the crowd towards the blonde wolfkin.

The arguing crowd of shoving beastking forced Fritz to the back of the guardhouse. Neva was struggling with her charge. Ada gripped the cannon like her life depended on it. Her arms strained as a Neva tried to peel her off.

"Get off! Brenn get over her! She's stuck like a barnacle!" Neva screamed.

"It's ours!"

"No it's mine! I always wanted to kill a dragon!"

"They're gonna call me Tugg the Dragon Slayer! Get off the cannon you blonde devil!"

"Calm down! Calm down! You don't even know how to use it!" Fritz shouted above the chaos as he started to direct the errant beastkin. "You don't even have gunpowder! You can't use it without gunpowder!"

The fighting stopped, everyone turned to look at Fritz. A battalion of guardsmen were waiting for him to continue talking.

"How do we get gunpowder? Tell us!" One of the guardsmen demanded.

"I make it!" Fritz shouted. He held out his hand, conjuring a packet of gunpowder. "You don't know the secret to gunpowder, so start behaving!"

The beastkin grumbled under their breath. Neva finally got hold of one of Ada's arms, yanking her to her feet.

"We're gonna start small. I'll teach you how to use the weapons. Provided you cooperate, you'll have a brand new series of cannons that'll kill anything you can hit."

It was like a switch was hit. The guard became all business as they stood at attention waiting on Fritz's every word.

"I'm gonna get one too?" Ada asked.

"Shut up!" Neva bonked her atop the head. "No way in hell am I lugging that thing around!"

"I'll carry it!" Ada whined. Fritz did his best to ignore Ada's desires.

"Alright." Fritz clapped his hands together. "Let's form fire teams. Gaspard." Fritz looked back to the guard captain. "Help me divide them up."