Post by The Smith on Jan 10, 2009 1:00:29 GMT -5
Vrol barked out for the raising of sails, and for the men to get ready to drop anchor. The Ironmaiden was finally returning to Harlaw. "Amazing how one man can raise a sail several times his weight," noted Creyon thoughtfully. "Well, in Gevin's case maybe twice his weight," Creyon quipped, as Gevin the Gross lackadaisically went about winding the winch connected to the halyard.
"He's using a fucking winch. Of course one man can do it. Sometimes I think we'd be better off without one. Maybe even Gevin would lose a few pounds." Vrol's glare was enough to send Gevin winding faster. Creyon sighed.
///////
"Alright what do you want?" Vrol was probably pissed at being brought to the forge inside the keep at Harridan Hill while the rest of the crew were already dismissed, spending their share of the loot at some tavern no doubt. Creyon did his best to conceal his laughter, something about pissing Vrol off never failed to amuse him.
"I need you and the good smith here to help me make a steel prod, of exactly the same dimensions as this one." Creyon started unscrewing the wooden recurved prod off his own crossbow and handed it to Vrol.
"You're replacing the bow of your crossbow with a steel one?"
"No, just a thicker one that would still be made of yew. I'll be mounting the steel prod you'll be making on a completely new crossbow."
"And how the fuck do you intend to cock a bow made of metal? This is a fool's errand."
"Why, with a fucking winch of course," said Creyon, this time a small smirk betrayed him. "I'll be back with the designs for the winch and crank tomorrow. I will also need a metal stirrup for my current crossbow. Oh cheer up you old grouch. I'm not locking you in here. The taverns can wait till tonight." Creyon left for the carpenter's workshop.
///////
After a good two weeks of work, now came the fun part. "You sure you don't want to give it a go? You can have the maiden shot."
"I could hear you playing around with that thing earlier your liar. I hope whoever made that wooden frame for you knows what he's doing. If that thing blows up in your face I'm not responsible," Vrol waved without turning back, as he disappeared down the hill.
Outside the keep, Creyon's servants had helped him setup a shooting gallery of sorts, with Harridan Hall's latest captives wearing full plate and chained up to poles that were stuck into the ground. First up was the new crossbow with the steel prod. The recurved prod was 18 inches wide, the length of the frame from tip to butt 24 inches long. On the top was an adjustable looking glass which he intended to spend the next few days calibrating at different shooting distances. It took him a full 20 seconds to wind up the crank, cock the string and load a dart. His first target was at 100 yards. Creyon took a long breath, breathed out slightly and kept still as he found his aim. Gently, he squeezed the trigger. 'Thwang!' the metal prod screamed, propelling the drawstring and dart out toward and right through the fully armored captive. Such was the shock the recoil gave him that at first he thought he had broken a bone in his shoulder. Some padding on the butt of The Shoulder Breaker would be necessary Creyon decided. As for the captive target, he immediately went limp without a sound, and blood was spurting out of the hole in his chest intermittently.
Next was his old crossbow, Mother's turn. In order to cock the new extra thick yew prod, Creyon attached a stirrup onto the front end of the wooden frame. Save for the stirrup it was of the same dimensions as the newer crossbow. Holding the crossbow vertically down with his foot he had to use both hands to cock the drawstring. Creyon preferred the crossbow to the bow as it could be kept cocked and ready to shoot for a long time with no extra strength, allowing for better aim. His improvements to the crossbows also provided far more power than a conventional bow. The only drawback was reloading speed. He intended The Shoulder Breaker as an opening shot, or for long distances when reloading speed wasn't essential. But speed was absolutely essential for Mother. To make up for the loading time he devised a magazine containing 6 darts attached to the bottom of the crossbow. A metal spring at the base of the magazine automatically pushed the darts up the moment the top one was fired. This design left space for the looking glass on top. Creyon took aim at a new target, also at 100 yards. He squeezed the trigger and the dart was met with a shriek of pain from the man. The dart had gone past the front of the armor and into the prisoner's body, but not out the otherside. Creyon wasn't expecting the dart to, but he had hoped. Creyon waited a minute as the man screamed and writhed, but he did not die. With a resigned sigh, Creyon reloaded and loosed a second, a third dart into the man's belly before he finally died. Poisoned darts would still be necessary afterall.
Results
Creyon Harlaw improves Engineering to master and Crossbow skill to expert
Blacksmith skill to Noteworthy for Vrol Volmark (currently Novice).
"He's using a fucking winch. Of course one man can do it. Sometimes I think we'd be better off without one. Maybe even Gevin would lose a few pounds." Vrol's glare was enough to send Gevin winding faster. Creyon sighed.
///////
"Alright what do you want?" Vrol was probably pissed at being brought to the forge inside the keep at Harridan Hill while the rest of the crew were already dismissed, spending their share of the loot at some tavern no doubt. Creyon did his best to conceal his laughter, something about pissing Vrol off never failed to amuse him.
"I need you and the good smith here to help me make a steel prod, of exactly the same dimensions as this one." Creyon started unscrewing the wooden recurved prod off his own crossbow and handed it to Vrol.
"You're replacing the bow of your crossbow with a steel one?"
"No, just a thicker one that would still be made of yew. I'll be mounting the steel prod you'll be making on a completely new crossbow."
"And how the fuck do you intend to cock a bow made of metal? This is a fool's errand."
"Why, with a fucking winch of course," said Creyon, this time a small smirk betrayed him. "I'll be back with the designs for the winch and crank tomorrow. I will also need a metal stirrup for my current crossbow. Oh cheer up you old grouch. I'm not locking you in here. The taverns can wait till tonight." Creyon left for the carpenter's workshop.
///////
After a good two weeks of work, now came the fun part. "You sure you don't want to give it a go? You can have the maiden shot."
"I could hear you playing around with that thing earlier your liar. I hope whoever made that wooden frame for you knows what he's doing. If that thing blows up in your face I'm not responsible," Vrol waved without turning back, as he disappeared down the hill.
Outside the keep, Creyon's servants had helped him setup a shooting gallery of sorts, with Harridan Hall's latest captives wearing full plate and chained up to poles that were stuck into the ground. First up was the new crossbow with the steel prod. The recurved prod was 18 inches wide, the length of the frame from tip to butt 24 inches long. On the top was an adjustable looking glass which he intended to spend the next few days calibrating at different shooting distances. It took him a full 20 seconds to wind up the crank, cock the string and load a dart. His first target was at 100 yards. Creyon took a long breath, breathed out slightly and kept still as he found his aim. Gently, he squeezed the trigger. 'Thwang!' the metal prod screamed, propelling the drawstring and dart out toward and right through the fully armored captive. Such was the shock the recoil gave him that at first he thought he had broken a bone in his shoulder. Some padding on the butt of The Shoulder Breaker would be necessary Creyon decided. As for the captive target, he immediately went limp without a sound, and blood was spurting out of the hole in his chest intermittently.
Next was his old crossbow, Mother's turn. In order to cock the new extra thick yew prod, Creyon attached a stirrup onto the front end of the wooden frame. Save for the stirrup it was of the same dimensions as the newer crossbow. Holding the crossbow vertically down with his foot he had to use both hands to cock the drawstring. Creyon preferred the crossbow to the bow as it could be kept cocked and ready to shoot for a long time with no extra strength, allowing for better aim. His improvements to the crossbows also provided far more power than a conventional bow. The only drawback was reloading speed. He intended The Shoulder Breaker as an opening shot, or for long distances when reloading speed wasn't essential. But speed was absolutely essential for Mother. To make up for the loading time he devised a magazine containing 6 darts attached to the bottom of the crossbow. A metal spring at the base of the magazine automatically pushed the darts up the moment the top one was fired. This design left space for the looking glass on top. Creyon took aim at a new target, also at 100 yards. He squeezed the trigger and the dart was met with a shriek of pain from the man. The dart had gone past the front of the armor and into the prisoner's body, but not out the otherside. Creyon wasn't expecting the dart to, but he had hoped. Creyon waited a minute as the man screamed and writhed, but he did not die. With a resigned sigh, Creyon reloaded and loosed a second, a third dart into the man's belly before he finally died. Poisoned darts would still be necessary afterall.
Results
Creyon Harlaw improves Engineering to master and Crossbow skill to expert
Blacksmith skill to Noteworthy for Vrol Volmark (currently Novice).