Chapter One-Hundred Seventy-Seven
The various projects continue overnight, and I think Im finally ready to give Yvonne the first compound bow once she and Aranya return. I still dont know how strong to make it, but its theoretically just a matter of swapping out the arms to adjust the strength of the draw. While that also means having to put the cams back and string it again, Im pretty sure its still a lot more modular than an ordinary bow. Not that I expect Yvonne will need to swap the arms around, but its an option.
I settle on what seems like about a fifty pound draw. Im think thats pretty strong for on earth, but I have no idea what kind of draw strength actual soldiers used to use. Besides, the draw lessens significantly at the end, so even if its a bit stronger than Yvonne is used to, she should be able to draw it and then bring it up to aim.
I even have Tiny web a few circles on some of the trees in his lair to act as targets. I guess Ill need to add a proper range to the list of things Id like to make. This should work fine for now, at least.
I guess the three had a bit of a girls-night-in last night, as Aranya and Yvonne come back well after dawn. They look more like they slept in a bit, rather than staying up all night. My kobolds sleeping rhythm is probably a bit shot, but shes also been transitioning more away from being nocturnal, so maybe not as messed up as I thought.
Whatever the state of her sleep schedule, she seems to have some business with Larx, so Yvonne makes her way on her own towards the library. Teemo is more than happy to interrupt her on the way.
Heya Yvonne! Anything in specific you wanted to do in the library?
The birb stops and smiles at him, and offers a hand for him to hop onto. Nothing in particular, no. Why?
My Voice grins. The Boss has a gift for you in the clearing around Tinys lair.
A feathered eyebrow raises as her interest is piqued. Oh? Did he slay another scythemaw while were we out exploring?The original appearance of this chapter can be found at Ñøv€lß1n.
Teemo laughs and shakes his head, and directs her to a shortcut. Nothing like that. Hes working on helping gear up the spiderkin and ratkin, which includes a new kind of bow. Since youre a bit of an expert on the subject, hed like your help in testing and developing them, going forward.
Yvonne smirks as she follows the shortcut. Should I be concerned? He seems to be turning Tarls understanding of dungeons on its head, will he do the same for my understanding of archery?
Teemo chuckles and shrugs. I dunno? Probably for making a bow, but he seems to think actually using it should be the same. Mostly the same. Maybe. Hes not an archer.
Yvonne laughs at that as they exit the shortcut, and Tiny gives her a small bow. She gives him a cheerful wave as she looks around, and Teemo directs her attention towards the trees with targets.
Those are going to be the targets. Hed like you to take a few shots from whatever distance you prefer, just mark your spot on the ground, and then Tinyll give you the new bow.
Yvonne gives Teemo a curious look, but sets about properly stringing her bow. Why does he want me to start with my usual bow?
No magic. This bow is one hundred percent mundane, for now.
Yvonnes eyes widen again and she takes another look at the bow in her hands. Im sure shes more familiar with the kinds of enchantments bows tend to have, and I can just picture her wondering what they could turn a bow like this into.
Hows the draw strength on it?
Hmm? Oh! Yvonne shakes herself to focus, remembering why I wanted her help with this. For most of the draw, its a little weaker than my normal bow. Im a seasoned archer, so I prefer a heavier bow than most. You said Thediem wants to give this to his dwellers? At Teemos nod, she continues. This strength should be fine. They may want a weaker draw to train with, but the trick to make holding the draw easier will let them use heavier bows than typical archers.
Teemo grins at that. Thats the idea! The Boss has another design he was going to try, but decided against it. He says the power puts this one to shame, but it takes a lot longer to load. Why dont you take a few shots and see how it feels?
Yvonne nods and takes her stance. She shakes her head with a smile at the full draw, before she takes a shot and misses the entire target, the arrow embedding into the tree way above where she was aiming.
She laughs at herself and prepares another arrow. Its so easy to forget that it still has the full draw strength. I was aiming it like it was a childs first bow, instead of a standard issue one.
Fighting her mirth, she takes a bit more time to let her giggles subside before letting the next arrow fly. This one hits dead center, and she soon sprouts an even tighter grouping than with her normal bow, each arrow within the center.
Holding steady is so simple with the what did you call them? she asks, pointing at the pulleys.
Cams, answers Teemo.
Yes, the cams! Youre certain theyre not magic? she asks with a grin, which Teemo echoes as he nods.
Absolutely. Its just a trick of how forces work. Oh, the Boss says hes having a ratling bring a few other arms for you to try out, to see what kind of draw you prefer. Here, Ill show you how to get this one taken apart.
It doesnt take Teemo long to show her how to take it apart, and seeing the limbs slacken as Yvonne removes them gives me an idea. I might not need to even switch out the limbs to change the strength, at least within a certain range. If I change the angles of the limbs instead, that should adjust how hard it is to draw, and so how much force is delivered. Itd just take some kind of nut on a bolt of some sort to let people adjust the strength, like adjusting the feet of a washing machine.
I wont be able to change it for this prototype, but its something to look into. It might not even be needed for an archery squad, or however many we end up needing, but that kind of adjustability would be great for the small-team archer that Yvonne is, and most adventurers, too.
I let Teemo and Yvonne have fun with archery as I toy with the design. The basic concept seems to have earned an enthusiastic yes from the birdwoman, so all there is now is to iterate on the design and make it more efficient. I know Ill have at least one eager tester to ensure theyre up to snuff.
