[Cool picture, but direct linking from Creative Uncut doesn't work xP I figured it was Baten Kaitos since I could still see the name in the link (plus I know you're a big fan of it), Palolo II right?]

"Well they'll probably be willin' t'teach it to yer, yer a registered mage still, whatever yer level." Bear nodded, he wasn't entirely familiar with them, but they were nice enough people.. Sure there were one or two who acted a little.. Snobbish because they had magic powers, but they held the same general goal.
Oppose Varstradt.
As for Robyn, their local chapter probably only had one Technosage, Robyn. Mages were a dime a dozen, but the truly gifted ones were rare, Technosage's like Robyn and other rare folk. It was like a skilled swordsman against regular infantry, or a teacher in a class full of students. Even Kazan.. He wasn't just some ordinary lad. Bear knew that. But what made Kazan special was a more frightening concept.
Bear knew he himself was different too, as a smith he was probably one of the best, the things he crafted were strong because his own father had learned and taught him smith techniques since he was young and his old mothers artistic methods rubbed off on him, making his creations all as artist as they were reliable.

Kazan looked up when he heard a voice, noticing the glimmer of light as the mage lit the area, even if he hand't said it, Kazan probably would have deduced it from the glowing energy he was using to help him see. There were two questions proposed, but he wasn't sure which to answer first, then again, it would only be polite to start at the beginning as he stepped out intot he light, staring quietly in Grant's direction, eyes a little dull looking,
"Yeah.. Just me.. And it depends on the kind of help you're offering.." He added the last part because there was simple irony to asking Kazan that question. He didn't need healing, but he did think a mage would be some-one to talk to. Especially about his plans to protect the town.

"In fact.. It could even be me helping you.. And this town.. And the people in it." Kazan started, but didn't approach Grant, folding his arms and looking off to the side, he probably sounded like he was nuts or something, but then, it wouldn't be far off to call him a little crazy right about now. He looked towards Grant again,
"Varstradt will attack again, and next time in even greater force. We have a way to stop them in their tracks.. But we need the mage's guild to help us.. Or at least a few brave mage's that want to defend this town. I've heard its already what you do so I figured it shouldn't be so hard.. But then nothing is as easy as it appears.."

((That's alright, I fixed the link.))

Robyn nodded.

"I'm sure I'll be able to find someone to teach it to me," she said. She was kind of hoping she would find someone willing to take her on even as a part-time apprentice. She knew that her education was spotty at best, but she hadn't had all that much time to learn from her old master. Quite a bit of what she knew had been self-taught.

Grant blinked. It almost sounded like this man was speaking nonsense, but Grant knew the look in a man's eyes when he wasn't in his right mind, and this man didn't have that look. This one knew exactly what he was talking about. He looked around for a moment before gesturing for the other man to sit down on a portion of fallen wall. Carefully, he conjured a few more balls of light and set them on the air around them. They cast a soft light around the area, illuminating without being harsh. Casting light was a simple spell, one that Grant had literally done in his sleep before. Most apprentices were taught the spell early, and many adapted it to suit their own purposes. Grant looked back at the other man.

"I think it might be best if you tell me about this idea of yours," he said. "What exactly are you talking about?" Whatever it was, it sounded like something that could be useful to the guild and to the town, and he wanted to hear about it. "How do you know that they'll be back?" He paused. "And do you have a name?"

"My name is Kazan." He replied, settling on the wall next to Grant, staring dully at the orbs of light for a while, it looked a lot like what he'd done not long ago.. But now the power felt different, it wasn't the same, like something had changed since the attack..
"I know they'll be back and I have several reasons how I know.. You already have a history of trouble with them, small skirmishes with local resistance forces, after the attack on the church they probably wanted retribution and used it as an excuse to attack today.. And after their failed attack today they'll be even more furious.. After what I did I'm pretty sure they're going to be quite.. Upset.." He leaned forward on his knees, head hanging low,
"As for the idea.. It's simple enough really.. Using their weapons against them."

He looked over at Grant. Yes he knew it sounded vague and it sounded lit it had already been done, after all resistance members had Varstradt guns, but Kazan had that look in his eye, of some-one who knew better about what they were saying,
"I don't mean the little peashooters those idiot resistance members have.. I mean the focus crystals hidden inside the handguns. Properly used by say; a mage. A single handgun can be used to take out a tank if you aimed at the right place.. It wasn't hard to destroy four of them but my inexperience with magic cost me, I burned myself with overuse of magic, at least that's what.." Kazan stopped, for a moment he wasn't sure what to call Robyn, friend? Partner? Caretaker..?
"Robyn told me, she took care of my hands, but I'll admit they still hurt.." Yeah.. Robyn was good enough for now, but he felt as though he wanted to call her something more.. Endear to her more.. "But we aren't stopping at just handguns.. We're creating something.. Better.. And we need help, we cant realistically do this on our own, and I cant keep doing it or I'll burn myself out, this just isn't something I can do forever." The end of that was true.. He didn't know how long he could last, not using the turret, but killing his own, he would already be responsible for many deaths just by designing something like this, but worst off, they were the deaths of his own people.
Screwed up or not, they were still Varstradt.

The name Robyn was familiar to Grant, although he couldn't quite place why. He'd heard the name fairly recently, but he just couldn't remember where or when. He knew there was an apprentice technosage registered with a name similar to that, but what were the chances that it was the same person? He would have sworn that the apprentice was male, anyways, although Grant had never seen said apprentice before. Regardless, it seemed like this Robyn girl was important to Kazan. The other man probably didn't realize that his entire demeanor softened when he mentioned her. It didn't last longer than a moment or two, but Grant did notice.

"If you'd like," he said, "I can take you back to the mage hall and you can talk to the ones in charge about your idea. I can't guarantee they'll listen, but you can still try." Officially, all large magical projects had to have the permission of the master mages in charge of the guild, but Grant was sure that they would approve of a project that would help defend them against Varstradt, especially if it seemed like it would actually work. "If you have magic burns, I could take care of them for you. It's pretty simple, and it'll only take a couple of minutes, especially if you've already had someone look at them." He paused. "Who did you say treated them?" Most times, if a mage had magic burns, they just went straight to a healer, though Grant knew that there wasn't a healer in residence in this town. If there was someone with untrained talent, then he had to find them.

Kazan looked at the other man for a while, quiet, solemn, perspective trying to change as he focused, but then he looked forward once more, staring at the dark, the ruined home before them, the one he'd stood at for a while. A sharp imagine in his head made him wince. He was seeing himself release that anger. He almost did it again just now. He didn't know if he could go back to Robyn, he didn't want her to see him like this. He didn't want to go out of control, yet.. he could remember being close to her. And as he thought about it, the rage would dissipate.
He wanted to make sense of it, but somehow he couldn't as he lowered his head to his hands for a while, seeming a little lost in his own world at first, but then he spoke,
"I cant go right away.. I need a couple of things to back up the idea, my gun in particular. You can handle it if you like, it's just I need to prove it can be done." He thought about it for a moment and chuckled, "I just dont think it would be a good idea for me to be wlaking around with a gun in my hand, it would look a little.. Worrying."

He changed his focus back to Grant,
"As I said, it was Robyn. I live at her home and work for Bear, the smith, she was kind enough to.." He hesitated a moment and looked away, "Take me off the street, so to speak.." Well.. He wasn't lying, but he could remember imagining the workmans pliars being sunk into his chest just to extract a bullet. He was surprised the pain didn't break him out of unconsciousness, they weren't exactly the tools of choice for that kind of work. Half the time a bullet would be left in the wound and the flesh sealed behind it.
The offer to take the burning away entirely was an offer he wanted to accept, but he was still a little hesitant. Then again, Grant had been pleasant with him thus far, and he really needed the pain to leave.

He looked a this hands a moment. Sure the burning stopped, but he wondered about the red lightning, the strange energy, a slight shift of one wrist made him wince suddenly, and a spark of red jumped between his fingers. It was evident enough that he was in pain, but red lightning wasn't exactly a common sight. If Grant knew any better, he would know that there was more to the man he sat beside than perhaps even Kazan himself realized,
"Think you can fix it..? I cant demonstrate anything if this keeps up.."

Grant took a small bottle out of a pouch on his belt and uncorked it. Carefully, he tipped a couple of drops of oil onto Kazan's palms. The oil smelled kind of soothing, with an odd bitter undertone to it. Corking the bottle again, he put it away, and then rubbed the oil into Kazan's hands, using a tiny bit of magic to jump-start the oil's healing properties.

"That should do it," he said. The oil seemed to stay on Kazan's skin for a moment before absorbing completely. "Do your hands feel back to normal?" It was a standard question; Grant knew that the aloe and willowbark oil would work the way it was supposed to and heal the magic burns. He'd made the oil infusion himself. "Your ladyfriend," Grant didn't like using the word 'girlfriend,' it sounded casual, somehow, when he didn't know the person, "must know someone who can make a decent healing salve, the burns weren't that bad." Out of habit, Grant glanced around. The lights in the town were starting to go out one by one, which told him how late it had gotten. "It's too late for you to visit the guild tonight... Especially if you want to get your gun... You did say it was a gun, right? Anyways, it might be best to visit in the morning, so you may as well go back home. I'm sure you want to get back to your ladyfriend by now."

The little magelights that Grant had conjured earlier came back together into a single light in his hand. It still softly illuminated the area, but not as well as the multiple, spread-out lights had done. "If you want to meet me in the market square in the morning, I'll be back then to check on more of the town. I can take you back to the guild hall then."

Kazan watched quietly as Grant applied the solution to his hands, it felt a little different, smelled a little different too. He winced as the magic element of the solution found its way through him to the internal energy, but then came what he considered a cooling, gentle sensation, as before the burning feeling ebbed away, but this time it stayed gone.
He flexed his hands carefully, turning them a little, but no pain, a sort of numb feeling perhaps as it eased away, but beyond that, it felt rather normal once again. He nodded when Grant inquired as to how they felt, though his calling Robyn a 'lady friend' struck him as odd. It sounded like he was dancing around the subject.

"I don't know if she knows anyone who makes it, never asked.. Didn't even know magic burns existed until today.." He reasoned, shrugging to himself a little. He wondered for a moment if he'd made a mistake, calling the gun his own, but then the resistance members had guns too, which they probably called their own. His suggestion that he wanted to return to Robyn made him think about that too.. He was still worried he'd do or say something to frighten her, let his anger out again..
Stop being so stupid.. He thought to himself, sighing a little.

"Alright.. Tomorrow, market square." Kazan nodded, "We'll be there. But just so you know, regardless of if they take to the idea or not.. We'll still build it and use it to defend the town. This is important to us."
Kazan stood and began to walk back in the direction of Home, or rather for the street, Robyn was probably still at Bears. If not, home was but a small walk up the street.

Grant watched as Kazan walked away. There was a lot of spirit in him, and Grant approved. There weren't enough men like Kazan in the world. Once Kazan was out of sight, Grant turned and started to head back towards the guild hall.

Robyn had already left Bear's place to go back to her own home. It was getting late, and she didn't want to impose on Bear any more than she already had. Besides, she had to get her workshop back in working order. She knew that she was going to be flooded with orders in the morning, with everyone wanting her to fix their things. She hummed softly to herself as she cleaned up the workshop, every so often a word coming through here and there. Once the workshop was tidied up, she set about fixing her own machines before she turned in for the night. She'd really done a number on everything, she noticed. She didn't think she had done quite so much damage. She just hoped nobody else knew it was her, or else she'd probably be handed over to the other side and branded a traitor.

She wasn't sure how long she was in the workshop, but it must have been a while, because she finally ended up putting everything down for the night and going into the other room to wait for Kazan to get back. She fell asleep on the couch without realizing it.

Kazan didn't enter the smithy as he'd planned to. There were no lights on at all, Bear was probably in bed by now.. Or tending to his boy.. Which meant Robyn was probably home.. He trudged slowly towards the workshop, things had quietened down, the remianing flickering lights in the street illuminated his path well enough as he found his way home.. Yes.. Home.. Home was here now, home was with Robyn.. He opened the door slowly, quietly, stepping in and closing it behind him. Each step he took, he took with utmost care, to be quiet, he didn't know if she was awake or asleep, at least until he stopped in the doorway to the main room where he could see her, asleep on the couch.

It made him smile a little, had she been waiting for him? She knew her bed was upstairs she wouldn't sleep on the couch on a whim like that.. He made his way over and knelt by it, just next to Robyn, looking up at her in the illumination of the small lights in the home. After a while he reached out, toward the young woman, scooping his one arm underneath her legs, the other behind her back and softly, easily, lifted her from her place and into his arms, secure, close, making her her head rested against him, not letting it lull backwards, that would be jarring and uncomfortable.

It wasn't hard to carry her up the stairs either, guiding himself up with practised ease so he could carry her to bedroom, where he could place her down on her own bed, though he checked with some concern, she'd probably still been awoken by the whole moving, though really it would be an opportune moment because at least he could talk to her a little, say goodnight..

Robyn stirred when she was moved from the couch, but she didn't immediately move. She was still half-asleep, but she was awake enough to realize that she was being carried somewhere; up the stairs from the feel of it. Kazan was the only other person who ever came into the house, so he must be the one who was taking her upstairs. She hadn't meant to fall asleep on the couch, but she must have while she was waiting for him to get home.

She rolled over when he laid her down on her bed, and managed to grab his wrist before he could get away.

"Thanks," she said softly. "I was going to wait up for you, but I guess it didn't happen. I didn't mean to crash on the couch." Twisting over a bit, she reached over to the beside table and clicked on the light so she could see him. "How was your walk? Did you get enough time to think about whatever it was you were thinking about?" She worried about him when he had so much time to himself, but it was only because she wasn't sure if he would up and do something drastic if she wasn't there to snap him out of his thoughts again. She didn't like seeing him depressed, and it seemed to be happening on and off lately. She hoped that helping Bear in the forge and helping rebuild the town would get his mind off of things. Tugging on his wrist a bit, she motioned for him to sit down and tried to ignore the little voice in her head that whispered that she wouldn't mind if he snuggled in with her.

"My mother used to say.. A man can walk a hundred miles from a problem, and it would still be waiting for him when he got back." Kazan replied, looking down at her hand on his wrist for a moment. If she didn't want him to go, he wouldn't leave, so he sat down at her behest, smiling at her rather calmly, "It was more.. To clear my head than anything.. I'm still angry about what happened.." He admitted this, lowering his head somewhat, "Every time I agree with myself that I've done the right thing, something in the back of my head continues to nag at me, reminding me I've turned traitor, then I end up arguing with it until I get angry again."

Kazan sighed calmly, having taken a slightly deep breath, then looked aside to Robyn with that same smile, the everything's all right look that he always managed, and sometimes it wasn't just a mask to hide his troubles, he eased his wrist from her grip, but instead took her hand in his and closed his fingers around it, rubbing his thumb gently over the back of her hand,
"It all seems quieter when I'm near you, though." He chuckled a little, "Its funny, almost.. I wanted to stay away so you wouldn't see me angry again.. Yet you're the only thing that makes me feel calm." His features softened a bit and he shifted in place, turning so he could take her one hand with both of his and bring it up, placing it against his cheek. His face was still quite warm in spite of having been out in the cold.
The feeling of her hand on his face felt oddly good to him, he wasn't sure what even brought him to do that, it was an almost instinctual need for comfort and the object of his affection was right here. He had seen cats that would rub their head against their masters hand when they wanted that same kind of attention, it was an odd thing to equate it to, but nonetheless it seemed oddly similar.

"I just worry about you," Robyn admitted when Kazan gave her his reassuring smile. She blushed a bit when he took her hand. She liked the feel of her hand in his, and his hand was comfortably warm. She still wouldn't let herself believe that he thought of her as any more than a friend, though. There was just no way he would want someone like her. She didn't even wear skirts, for goodness sake, and half of her day was spent up to her elbows in grease and metal.

Gently, she took her hand back from him. Before he could protest, she moved a bit closer and gave him a hug. She could at least do that much to comfort him. "I'm glad I can make you feel a bit better, then," she said. She didn't like seeing him upset, so she did what she could to make him happy again. He was important to her, whether he knew it or not. She wasn't quite sure how he became so important to her in such a short time, but he had, and she couldn't change that. She snuggled a bit closer to him, using the hug as a disguise. After a moment, though, she loosened her hold. He would probably want to go to bed soon, and he still slept on the couch. She would have to see about getting a second bed in the house somehow.

The hug was rather unexpected once again, but quite welcome. He certainly couldn't deny the action because he enjoyed it. And even as she clung to him he could feel the odd movement of her pressing closer, he didn't mind, in fact, he only enjoyed it a little more. That she was so willing to be close to him.. He wrapped his arms around her, taking in another deep breath and relaxing as he rested his head next to hers, holding on relatively tight. But he wouldn't hurt her, he knew better than to hold too tight.

He could easily spend a long time just like this. With Robyn in his arms he felt, at that moment, just perfect. No anger, no concerns or worries, no fears. Just the feeling that tingled through him, the enjoyment, the warmth. Perhaps an odd sort of excitement that came from a desire being filled. Robyn's touch was something he unconsciously longed for, sometimes he would realize it and dumb it down simply to wanting a little comfort, but here he was, not wanting to let go.

When she relinquished her grip, he did the same, slowly of course, but he watched her for a short moment and smiled before standing up,
"I spoke with a man from the Mages guild before I returned.. He will meet us at the marketplace in the morning and take us to the guild. I'd like my old gun working again, so I can demonstrate what we plan to do." He added, no doubt he may have to remind her again in the morning, but for now it was best she know, "Goodnight. Sleep well Robyn." He added before making his way for the stairs, he had a feeling that tonight may be the first time in a while that he would get a good nights sleep.

Robyn was a little disappointed when he let her go, but did her best not to show it. She felt safe in his arms, as if nothing could ever get her, and she could have easily stayed there for a long time. She figured he was tired, though, and he probably wanted to go crash himself. She blinked when he mentioned that he ran into someone from the mage guild. While it wasn't unusual to run into them from time to time, it WAS unusual for them to suggest meeting again. Maybe Kazan had mentioned his plans for the turret?

"If I can find all the pieces, I'll put your gun back together in the morning," she said. "It shouldn't take too long. Did you want me to go with you to meet that mage? Or did you want to go by yourself?" To her, it was a legitimate question. The turret was Kazan's idea, he was within his rights to take all the credit for it. Besides, what good was an apprentice mechanic tagging along for, anyways? She barely knew any formal magic at all, she doubted she would be all that much help explaining things to an accredited mage. Swinging her legs over the edge of the bed, she made to get up. "I can probably put the gun back together now, if you want... Like I said, it won't take all that long." At least that way, if he wanted to go to the meeting by himself, he wouldn't have to wake her in the morning for her to repair the gun. He could just take it and go.

"It would be better if you came. After all if it wasn't for you it wouldn't even function at all. The only thing I can do is demonstrate the gun to give them an impression of how the finished item will work." He shook his head when she offered to get up and go fix it right away, holding his hand up,
"Don't worry about it right now, go to sleep," Kazan smiled, glad that she wanted to be helpful, but there were times she needed to just relax, she'd done enough for today and if she kept forcing herself like this she'd be too exhausted to do anything. Falling asleep on the couch like that was all the evidence he needed that she was tired.

He pointed at her with a smile,
"I'm not kidding either, I'll carry you back up here if you come downstairs. Go to sleep." He warned, playfully of course, before turning from her room, but he looked over his shoulder and grinned, "Goodnight."
Kazan continued down the stairs, but listened for any approaching footsteps, he would carry out his 'threat' if she tried to be overzealous about it. Once downstairs however, he would take to his place on the couch, prepared to just sleep.
He was tired too. Frankly he was downright beaten, ever since the attack he'd been walking around, working on those designs or just trying to control his anger, though he'd felt a little while ago that it was all gone. Robyn had certainly helped him a great deal.
He was ready to just sleep.

Reluctantly, Robyn watched Kazan leave the room, and didn't follow him. Once he was downstairs, she quickly changed into sleeping clothes and snuggled into the bed. She was glad that he wanted her to go with him in the morning. It made her feel good that he thought that well of her.

She woke up fairly early the next morning. She dressed quietly, and slipped down the stairs equally silently. Tiptoeing into the kitchen, she turned on the coffee machine and then went around into the workshop. She wanted to make sure she had all the pieces of Kazan's gun so she could put it back together for him. Now that she had her tools again, it wouldn't be hard at all. She was still a bit stunned at the beautiful set of tools that Bear had given her, but the man wouldn't take 'no' for an answer when she said that it was too much. So now she had a set of gorgeous tools that were just begging to be used, and by god she was going to use them.

She sifted around on her worktable for a few minutes before she was sure she had all the pieces of the gun. As far as she could tell, nothing was missing or damaged, so everything would work right once it was put back together. She sat down at the worktable and immediately set about repairing the gun. The night's rest had been good for her; most of her magic was back already, and the little that remained would regenerate over the next day or so. She felt nearly back to her old self.

He was right. It was the first night since coming here that Kazan had slept peacefully, sure there were the occasional thoughts about what had happened before he had fallen asleep entirely, but nothing bothered him in his dreams, no sudden wake up, no racing heartbeat, he didn't even wake up as Robyn snuck past, he remained sound asleep for a good long while, even as she tinkered away in the workshop. Eventually however, the smell of coffee got to his nose, paired with the sound of a distant rooster, Kazan finally, groggily, sat up. His face was a bit bland, but then, he wasn't exactly fast at waking up, sure if something was happening he could force it, otherwise he would be a bit slow.

He swung his legs off the couch and planted them on the ground, leaning forward a little. He was still wrapped up in bandaging from yesterday. There several sizable pads across his back, indicating where the falling debris had made large gashes, but Bear's needlework was remarkably fine.. Nevertheless he'd have remaining scars to last him. He grabbed his shirt he'd discarded yesterday, but held it up, there were a few red streaks in it from when blood had seeped through. This was becoming a bad habit.. He sighed and tossed it aside on the couch, looking for the small cupboard where he'd been keeping his spare shirts and grabbed a white one again, pulling it on and adjusting it so it was comfortable.

Finally he stepped into the workshop, but not too closely, leaning against the door with a slight smile,
"Is that coffee I smell?" He asked. It was nice to wake up to a little home brew for once instead of the instant stuff they'd been using on the front. Though Kazan liked his rather sweet. A touch of milk to give it that lovely mahogany color.

"It is coffee you smell," Robyn replied, not looking up from the gun. She had it almost completely put back together. She was taking her time about it, making sure that it was done right. As she handled each piece, she made sure to clean and examine them to make sure there was no damage before putting them back where they belonged. There was a bottle of cleaner next to her, and some rags that she had been using. The crystal from the gun was set aside. That would be the last piece to go back in. She took a moment to glance over at Kazan. "Coffee should be ready, help yourself. There should be everything you need in the kitchen somewhere." The mug sitting on the table showed that she'd already had some coffee, although there was always the possibility that she would want more. Coffee was a mechanic's best friend when it came to long projects, and she'd long since acquired a taste for the stuff.

Carefully, she put the last few pieces of the gun together and then slid the crystal into its special chamber. She examined the gun one more time with both her eyes and her magic, making sure nothing was damaged or out of place.

"Alright," she said, setting in on the work table, "it's all cleaned and finished."

Kazan smirked, swiping Robyn's cup as he made his way to the machine, yep, today felt like an oddly normal morning. He wasn't sure why he considered it that, the day previous they were attacked, he was covered in bandages, again, he seemed to have a knack for that, and now he was planning the impending doom of whomever attack the town, whether they were Varstradt or not.
Even as he finished ladling in the sugars and adding a touch of milk, he lifted the mug to his lips and thought about it all while he poured a second for Robyn. He ran it through his mind. Just one more time. He was about to oppose Varstradt, using a massive gun, magic, and mechanics intertwined into a monster of a defensive turret that would probably sweep the Varstradt forces back in a hail of lead and magical energy.
Most likely kill near a hundred men in the first go, if it functioned properly and he aimed just right.

He blinked for a moment, then stared at his own coffee cup accusingly. Was it something he drank..? It didn't frustrate him as much as yesterday. In fact he felt right. Almost as if he was doing exactly what he needed to. He walked back to the workshop just as Robyn finished, sipping from the cup once more and placing hers by her. Maybe it was the good nights sleep, or maybe it had finally sunk in that Varstradt was wrong. Completely wrong. His betrayal was justified, so was it really betrayal? Or was it his inner patriot? Was he trying to teach Varstradt a lesson..? Perhaps.. He didn't know, he didn't care.
He just felt right, for the first time since he awoke here.

Kazan reached forward with his now free hand, picking up the weapon and spinning it in hand, he flicked the safety on and pulled the trigger. A fine click announced that it was locked perfectly. Truthfully the most important safety was ones own finger, but it helped to have a mechanical one.
He placed the coffee cup down a moment, pulling the slide back to check the chamber, then slid the magazine out, nodding when he say the bullets lined up neatly. It fed in with ease, in face it was the smoothest he'd ever felt it work. Robyn really did know what she was doing. He wouldn't do a test fire though, he had confidence that she'd cleaned it perfectly and gotten it all functioning.

The weapon was placed down and he picked up his mug once more,
"Do we have lock box to carry it in?" He asked, he figured she probably would, but it was better than rifling around looking for something decent to put it in, otherwise he'd wrap it in a cloth. They also needed to pull together the concept designs for the turret and bundle them up.

"The only lock box around here is the one bolted to the floor," Robyn replied, gesturing to the safe in the corner with one hand. Her other hand held the coffee that Kazan had put back onto the table. Taking a sip, she sighed. It was damn near perfect. "I'm not sure if there's anything else around here you can use... I can put a lock onto a box for you, if you want, I'm sure I have the pieces to make a lock." It wouldn't be hard to put together a magic lock like the one on the trunk in the storage closet. If she did it right, it would even key to Kazan's magic instead of hers. She took another sip of the coffee. "This is really good."

Grant arrived in the market square early. He always liked sitting in the square before a lot of people were there. It was cool and quiet in the morning, and all of the plants were beginning to wake up for the sun. Sitting down on a bench, he dropped his hand down into a bed of flowers. The flowers hadn't been tended in a while, he could tell, but they were still growing well enough on their own. He gently fed a little of his green magic into them, helping them along. The flowers practically sang against his magic, and he smiled a bit. The more 'destructive' mages could tease him all they liked about being a 'girly mage,' but plants needed love too.

The man smiled a little at her response for the coffee, he'd memorized the way she made hers, perhaps too thoroughly he sometimes thought. But then again, he did prize precision where he could harness it, if she liked it, he wasn't about to deviate from a working formula.

After a little messing around, Kazan finally settled for a simple solution, a cloth that wrapped around the weapon and its ejected magazine, he didn't want it visible while they walked through town, two main reasons were behind this logic, one; people might panic if they saw a gun out, two; trust. He didn't want the gun in any position that threatened to have him drawing it and using it. If it was secure and covered; it was harmless. Clip out, nothing in the chamber, safety on. He was happy enough with that.

As they approached the market Kazan calmly stared past the gathering people, though there was an air of silence, a slight depression. The people weren't as light-hearted as before, or at least, they weren't putting on as much of a brave face. How long would it be before these people couldn't even walk tall in their own homes..? It bothered Kazan.. Again he found it strange that this should bother him more than what he was planning to do.
Eventually his eyes laid on Grant and he approached the Mage, slowly and calmly, carefully wrapped weapon cradled in his hands, much the way some-one would hold say, a delicious pie, or carefully carry a child to its mother. They weren't the most apt comparisons, but he seemed to treat it with a certain respect as he held it out to Grant,
"This may be nothing special to some people, but what I'll demonstrate with it is. I offer it to your safekeeping until such a time as it is needed."

Grant looked over as Kazan approached, and blinked when he saw another person with him. He hadn't been expecting that, and he definitely hadn't expected the other person to be a woman. He shook off the surprise quickly, though.

"Good morning," he greeted, pulling his hand back up from the flower bed. The flowers still hummed in happiness against his magic as he brushed a bit of dirt off of his fingers. Reaching out, he took the bundle from Kazan. He could feel the metal through the fabric, and it didn't take a genius to figure out that the object was a gun. He handled it gingerly. "So, what is this plan of yours?" He looked at Kazan. It didn't occur to him that the young woman with him was any more than his 'ladyfriend,' even if she did wear men's clothes.

Robyn stayed a little behind Kazan, letting him do the talking for right now. She never really liked having the attention of mages from the guild. She was just an apprentice, and most of them didn't take her seriously, anyways, but she still didn't like bringing herself to their notice. It made her feel inadequate, somehow, as if she wasn't anywhere near as important as they were.

"First of all.." Kazan stepped aside slightly, looking back at Robyn, "Robyn, this is the man I met. He is Grant. Grant-" He looked over at the man whom had healed his hands and motioned to Robyn, "This is Robyn." Kazan looked between them once more before standing next to Robyn,
"I came up with an idea for defensive weapon, it uses similar principles, but its effectiveness far outclasses what a single handgun could do. Robyn here is the technical genius behind making the possible idea a viable reality. We have all the materials, we just need some time to build it." He explained this calmly, making sure to place his hand on Robyn's shoulder when he spoke of her,
"What I intend to do today is demonstrate what the handgun can do on the small scale, it may not seem like much but it will help to give a good idea of how much more powerful the larger weapon will be. As this city's primary defenders and as the only kind of people who can use it to its fullest potential, we believe you deserve to know about all your available options."

Kazan lowered his hand from Robyn's shoulder, but placed it near the midsts of her back, patting there gently as he looked aside to her with a slight smile, he didn't know if he could do this without Robyn at his side, he was glad she was there. By her presence alone he felt confidence that this would work. Though something came to mind and he looked at Grant a little more seriously,
"I don't do this lightly, just so you know.. This weapon will cause a great deal of harm and it will kill many soldiers. Its an unpleasant realization but its the cold truth that what we do here will result in many soldiers lives being lost. Now, if you would care to lead the way?"

Grant paused for a second, and then it clicked in his head.

"Oh," he said, "of course, I'm so sorry. I didn't realize that your ladyfriend and the apprentice technosage were the same person." He held out his free hand for Robyn to shake. "Forgive me?"

"It's alright," Robyn replied, shaking his hand briefly. His magic and hers didn't have anything in common, so they didn't mesh or clash at all. "What did you mean by 'ladyfriend' though?" Robyn probably wouldn't have said anything at all, if Kazan hadn't been there with her. Somehow, his hand on the small of her back was comforting.

Grant blinked. He thought that the two were a couple. Had his observations been wrong. "I just thought..." He shook his head. "Never mind. Now what is this thing you've designed?"

Going into the pouch on her tool belt, Robyn took out the concept sketches for the turret and handed them to Grant. Grant looked at them, turned them over once or twice, and then handed them back with a sheepish look on his face.

"I can't make heads or tails of these," he admitted. "I'm not really good with machines or blueprints or anything like that." He gestured for them to follow him. "Come on, let's head back to the guild hall. I'm sure there's someone there who can help you a bit better than I can."

Kazan smirked a little when Grant was surprised by the revelation of Robyn being the technosage, didn't he explain it well enough last night? or was he so tired that he didnt know everything he was saying,
"The world is full of surprises.." He remarked. Yes, if anyone knew this, Kazan did, especially considering who and what he really was. He hadn't ever denied being from Varstradt, nor did he ever say he was form Lastdvell. he would leave the judgements to others, but what he did now he did to act on Lastdvell's behalf.

He gave Grant a bit of an odd look when he called Robyn his lady friend, he'd calle dher the same last night, but then he folde dhis arms and looked aside to Robyn,
"She's not my lady friend." He replied, smiling then, "She's my partner." he nodded when he settled on that and looked at Grant once more, "We're making this together, so its only fitting we're considered partners."

He wasn't surprised when Grant found the blueprints confusing, he supposed some mages probably just weren't as technically-minded as mechanics. He understood it all fine, and Robyn obviously did, frankly better than Kazan, he could admit that without trouble. He followed along after Grant with Robyn, resting his hands in his pockets as they walked,
"It's essentially a large gun, but unlike the handgun it has four barrels that fire rounds individually to give them time to cool down since they'd heat up too quickly if they fired too quickly. Each barrel is lined with two focus crystals, the solid rounds are fired from the weapon, get charged with magic energy and become the ultimate piercing weapon. It can pierce Varstradt armor and even the hull of those tanks without too much trouble."

Kazan rubbed the back of his head as he walked, realizing the man probably sitll didn't understand it all fully,
"Needless to say, we need stronger or more experienced mage's than ourselves to actually use it.. I'd like to say Robyn has the potential, but.." He looked aside to her, "-You're not a killer.. I dont want to put you in that position if I can help it.. That's why I wanted to consult with the mage's guild."