@VisualInspiration

“Thank you for receiving me, my Lady! I am honored because your wisdom and knowledge are praised all over the country. Every nobleman and every...“

“I am honored myself, Mr Phroggs. What kind of help can I be to you?“

“I need counseling, my Lady. I am the master of the gunmakers’ guild and I have heard of an improved composition of the ingredients that make gunpoweder even dealier a weapon.“

“Oh well, you must surely speak of potassium chlorate. Mix this with phosphor, a full pound each, and then add it to another two pounds of conventional black powder. This will remarkably increase the range of muskets and cannons. But be sure to work only on Wednesdays or on Saturdays. Tomorrow is Thursday, so better commence your work today.“

“Thank you very much, my Lady! I will start at once! And when my Lord, Baron de Courville, returns from his – undoubtedly victorious – exedition against the Borussians, he will be pleased to find a new set of weapons…“

“Undoubtedly, Mr Phroggs.“

The gunsmith bowed and left the organgerie. She nodded and returned to a rare kind of orchid she was growing in a mosaicked garden-pottery.

Undoubtedly, she said to herself and half smiled, half scoffed. She very well knew the chances of Courville’s campaign. After all, the Baron himself had asked for advice the very day before his departure, calling it ‘discussing strategical options’. On the other hand – this knight Gniedelbert of Wolperting had asked her to bless his sword for a fight against the last dragon on the northern hemisphere. She had cast an Elven spell on the blade, and just to be sure, added a Catholic prayer to it. Whispering ‘Do not tell the king – and come back unharmed’, she’d blown a kiss over the sword. These were funny times at the dawn of the modern age. Even funnier were men and their sports…

Not too far from the borders of the Borussian empire, the king’s army was defeated, the Baron’s throat pierced by a dagger. Poor Gniedelbert was eaten by the dragon, obviously unable to unsheathe his sword, while his squires fled in panic.

Somewhere in the city, the gunshop exploded. She smiled again.

#microfiction #fantasy