Ky's Gunblade

---Begin Bullet Creation---

[19:01] The work continues. Another day of returning to the forge, her efforts tireless. It's not as if she needed rest or nourishment in the traditional sense; if one were to think about it, that only enhanced her abilities and devotion to her art.

And it was, without a doubt, a devotion.

Ky's gunblade was next on her growing list of things to make. Always expanding, but now shrinking as she put herself to task.

She takes out the loading mechanism, the arcanium, and of course the young man's sword and the swathe of spell crystals he'd given her.
(Katrin Weiss)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[19:06] The artificer starts by looking over the plans that she's been given. They are thorough, no doubt penned by a mad man.

And now, they're being read by a madwoman. The circle is complete. As she looks them over and starts making sketches of her own based off the contents- they will need to be modified to fit the loading mechanism she has and Ky's sword, of course- Katrin begins melting down the single hunk of arcanium she's been given.

There were many factors to consider. Calculations to make mesh with the schematics from the top secret Achyonite development she's been given.

Maybe, just maybe, she also makes a few copies of the notes for herself...for posterity, of course. For knowledge.
(Katrin Weiss)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[19:19] It's little effort to dump the liquidized arcanium into a mold. She starts to let it cool as she turns to the slew of spellstone crystals.

Bullets. Making bullets from these crystals. That's the idea, and it's certainly not one she's seen executed before. Certainly she knows how bullets are made. Once upon a time she was proud of the rifle she carried.

A few ideas come to her, and she takes the first and pursues it. Katrin sorts the crystals into piles based upon the spells they hold within them. The artificer takes a mortar and pestle and grinds them into dust, once more keeping them separated carefully by group composition.

Then she hauls out a contraption from beneath her work bench; a press meant for compressing and loading all the combustible, magical materials into each bullet.
(Katrin Weiss)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[19:23] Once the arcanium is no longer in the crucible, the great melting pot she places over her forge, she loads it up with mithril. She hauls out a second one to join the first and loads it up with orchilacum.

Having made her own ammunition before, this isn't her first rodeo. Even though the powder composition of the shells will be different, more bombastic.

Rather than ingot molds, the artificer retrieves trays of two different kinds. One for the heads of bullets, sharp and pointed conical shapes, and another for the round, cylindrical casings.

When the orchilacum melts down, its impurities boiled and sizzled away, she dumps the metal into the mold for the casings. The mithril? Goes in the mold meant for the bullets themselves.
(Katrin Weiss)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[19:26] If only all of her work could be exciting. Yet even artificing, especially artificing, has repetitive, tedious moments.

This is one of them.

Once the cases are bullets are complete she sets up what amounts to an assembly line. The casings, the powdered stones, the bullets, one after another.

She takes a casing, measures some of the spell powder into it with the back of a spoon, then loads the filled cylinder and a bullet into the mechanical press.

When the lever comes down it brings the two halves together, pressing the mithril bullet into the more malleable orchilacum casing to seal it all up.

Katrin repeats the process until all the powder is consume and encased neatly in some of the most bombastic rounds she's made to date.
(Katrin Weiss)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

---End Bullet Creation---

---Begin Creating and Attaching Firing Mechanism---
[19:31] The artificer takes a deep breath and dusts her hands off. She looks over the pile of bullets and rubs her temples. All the pesky little things get swept into individual containers, labeled with their composing spellstones.

More delicate work needed to take place now. Katrin draws over the cooled bar or arcanium, the schematics, her own notes and measurements, and settles in for a long ride.

Though it was a weapon of great destruction, without a doubt, it requires fine and careful moving parts. Barsburg technology was good like that.

Little pieces fitting together, nesting into the other, all to make something that was greater than the sum of its part. Gestalt at its finest.
(Katrin Weiss)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[19:34] Taking a set of magnifying spectacles, Katrin sets them on her nose and, with a sigh, begins the strenuously exact work of forming all the moving parts, firing mechanisms, and pins.

With a pair of pliers she takes a small chunk of the forged arcanium at a time, heating it between the needle nosed clamps, and twisting it to match the exactly drawn specifications.

There is no hope of getting any of them right the first time. Her mechanical precision might be grand, but that is simply an order to tall.

So with the pins she makes she fusses over each one. Checking, rechecking, re-twisting. Only once it satisfies her lofty standards does she set it aside to cool.

It is going to be a long, long night.
(Katrin Weiss)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


[19:41] The delicate parts all sit finished, cooling, curing into their twisted and coiled shapes. Not that the work is over. Not by a long shot.

Next comes taking all those little parts and fitting them into the bits of casing that were made from the arcanium that was left. Once more she has to reference the schematics and her own sketches ad nauseum.

There's a bit of trial and error going on here. Thankfully the pieces are made of sturdy arcanium, though she doesn't try to risk throwing any piece out of alignment.

The loading mechanism finally comes into play. Katrin takes it, lifts it, and slides it into place with the barreled firing piece.

A satisfying, soft 'click' reaches her ears. Her shoulders sag in relief. Nothing's broken yet.
(Katrin Weiss)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[19:45] The whole firing and loading mechanism undergoes a final inspection. The magazine, the springs that feed the ammunition, the pins and levers all which work in concert.

And, lo and behold, it passes. Not without considerable effort into its creation.

Attachment comes next. Her fingers trace over the surface of the blade, heating the metal to that familiar, delightful cherry red hue.

Katrin places the mechanism against the semi-molten metal, presses it into place, and waits for it to adhere. Once in place she starts loading the magically powdered shells into the magazine.

It's a familiar motion, how could she ever forget it? Silently she laments the passing of her treasured rifle. Even if it was for something grander.
(Katrin Weiss)

---End Creating and Attaching Firing Mechanism---