Day 97: Moonday the 24th, Kuthona, 4707

I had set my alarm early so that I got only what I would need of sleep, as we were on a clock until a group of giants attacked the town, and who knows what else. Before even really waking up, I summoned up an unseen servant to make a quick breakfast for Savah and myself. I went to relieve myself and got a report in from the Niddler, War-Bringer, and the Twins. The Twins had already started work on making components for the firearms, and Niddler was doing his thing with the chickens. War-Bringer was doing his rounds. I told them all about the upcoming battle. They all said that they would help however they could.

When coffee was ready, I woke up Savah and told her that I was heading down to the workshop. Savah nodded and said that she would be down shortly. I ordered the unseen servant to bring breakfast into her and then down to me when it was finished. I headed downstairs to the shop and started to assemble parts. Veronica and Igor where exceptionally gifted at working with all of the tiny pieces and parts. I had finished assembling the third revolver before I ran out of parts. I got up to take a breather and went into the store.

Vaeren was there, talking with Savah. Apparently he had asked for a lot of details about what we had seen, and he was worried as all get out. Savah told him that we would be training up the Sandpoint Guard to be able to utilize the weapons that I was making, and that they would be in a much better condition to fight off these assailants. Savah came over and welcomed me in to the store when she saw me. I asked Vaeren what would make him feel more secure. Vaeren said that he would feel better if he had a firearm as well. I told him that I would work on something for him, but that it would take some time, as I had to work on the town guard and training them all.

Savah said that she would help train them if I wanted. I told her that this would be really helpful after the first three days, but that I needed to do the initial training. Right on cue, Niddler told me that there was a large group of people walking down towards the store from the Tanner Bridge, led by Sheriff Hemlock. Since I only had three guns made, target practice was out of the question. I told Savah and Vaeren that the Sheriff was on his way here, and he had a large group of the town guard was with him. Savah nodded and said that they were probably here for the training. Savah reiterated that she would help, and I told her that I would definitely need her help on the following days, but today needed to be about safety and mechanical concepts.

I welcomed the good Sheriff in before he even knocked on the door, Niddler helped with that. The Sheriff asked if he could come in, and I noted that I would be glad to, but that there wouldn't be a lot of room for everyone else, and that the house wasn't the best place to do the training. The Sheriff agreed and said that he didn't know what all it was going to entail so he figured that bringing everyone who was going to learn here would be best. I shrugged and said that we needed to start here anyway, and shuffled everyone into the workshop.

I introduced them to Veronica and Igor, and told them that they would be the ones doing a lot of the work on their individual firearms, and asked each person to take up each of the three examples that I was capable of providing: the revolver, the rifle, and the shotgun. I wasn't about to bring pistols into this mess, as I needed to be able to make the things quick. I did an explanation on each of the types of firearms and what they could be relied to do, and what they couldn't be expected to do. I fielded a lot of questions from just about everyone, including one or two helpful ones from Sheriff Hemlock.

Noticeably absent from the group was Oren and Arika. I assumed that since they were already armed with the weapons du-jour, that they were pulling gate duty. After a couple of hours, I made some drawing about how the firearms worked and how dangerous each weapon was. Thankfully, they were a bit more cognizant of the dangers of this than modern day people were. We stopped for a meal, which I had the unseen servant whip up and bring down for everyone. The guard all had some sandwiches and cider, which was cooled thanks to the walk in pantry, and took a break.

During the lunch, I talked with Savah about what the next five days was going to entail, and asked her to provide training to any of those who were interested in her style of shooting. Savah said that she would and Vaeren said that he would like some kind of training as well. I told him that I would be glad to train him in the basics after this, if wanted to change his focus. Vaeren noted that he was thinking that he needed to expand his horizons, as this technology thing was beginning to look more and more important. I told him that back where I was from, warfare was revolutionized by the appearance of the firearm. I added that Magic was a much bigger thing here to account for, that firearms might still make a massive difference in the long run.

I started the class back up to talk to the guard further. They all had different questions, and I answered the ones that I could immediately answer, while taking down the questions that I could not answer and telling them that I would do research into it and get back to them. Ones like how many shots it took to take down an ogre, or how likely they were to kill a goblin with a single hit, or how accurate they were while riding a horse. After a few hours, we had had enough of each other, and I told everyone that they should probably get some hearing protection because we would be learning firing techniques tomorrow or the next day.

The guard all left and headed out. Sheriff Hemlock hung around and thanked me for offering to teach them as much as I was. I told him that I would be including firearms training in the school that I was starting up after it was built, and that I would be glad to offer up the class to any of his guard that did not make it to this training. Sheriff Hemlock thanked me and asked if I was going to be training anyone in working on the bikes that I had given the town. I thought about it for a minute and told Sheriff Hemlock that I would be glad to do so as well, but that it would take away from what I had to teach them for firearm usage. Sheriff Hemlock said that he'd like four of his guard trained in the best usage of the bikes, so that they could be used as the out riders for the town.

I told him that I would be glad to after the training for the upcoming fight was done. Sheriff Hemlock nodded and said that he'd be reimbursing me for the training pamphlets that I had made and the lunch. I thanked him and said that I'd try to set up something better for tomorrow. Sheriff Hemlock shook his head and said that he'd get something scheduled for tomorrow. I thanked him for that, and said that we'd likely do the shooting the day after tomorrow, but that I wanted to make sure that people had the chance to get actual hearing protection. Sheriff Hemlock said he'd make sure that they had their own for Wealday. I wished him well and he headed off.

Savah came out and walked up, asking if I thought that we were protected here. I told her that every time we get someone good better equipped to help defend the city, it made our lives easier. Savah nodded and noted that we did have a decent defense system in our various homunculus. I agreed and said that between Niddler, War-Bringer, and Bailey, we should have at least some warning. Savah said that she had talked to Chelger, Shayliss, and Shalelu and they had agreed that someone needs to defend the catacombs that the townsfolk will be trying to stay safe in. I thanked her for thinking of that and said that I would feel better knowing that she was there.

I summoned up another unseen servant to make up dinner for us and Oren and Arika, who got home shortly after the others left. Oren asked how it went, and I told him that it would be a few more days to try to get them in line. Oren nodded and we all had a nice simple hearty stew with bread and cider. Savah and I retired while Oren and Arika headed out to a bar to have some fun. It would be a busy few days, and I hoped that I was up to the task of getting this town ready, at least my portion of it.