powder into the rod.
23 Next, he took a piece of rag, put it on the end of the rod , put a
metal ball on top of the rag, then, with a thin rod, pushed it down
into the bigger one.
24 Then, he took out a wick, lit it from a lamp, and attached it to a
lever on the side of the weapon.
He put a little more powder in a cup on the weapon's side. "If you
value your hearing," he suggested, "Cover your ears!"
25 He brought up the weapon, pointed it at the urn, and pulled the
lever down. There was a bright flash and a roar like thunder, followed
almost instantly by a loud CLANG and the shattering of the urn.
26 The Warlocks in the room walked over and examined the shields,
breastplates, and urn. "No crossbow or longbow could have done that,"
they marveled, "What is the range of that thing?"
27 "It's as good as any bow or crossbow," the young man answered, "and
its power at a distance, is greater than either. The harm is done by
this little lead ball my master calls a bullet."
28 "Call in our craftsmen," commanded Brown Goat. "I want to know if
they can make these things, and, the powder to make them work."
29 The Craftsmen said they could, but it would take all summer before
they could make any quantity. The powder was a simple enough formula,
it was simply a matter of gathering the ingredients.
30 "We don't even have time," complained Brown Goat, "to get any extra
fighting people south. We can only pray that warning our people will give them enough time to
prepare their defenses, and knowledge of these weapons will take away
the fear of them.
31 As soon as summer passes we can send an army