Chapter 25
I do not own Claymore
That night, Sheila found herself sleeping with a small abyssal creature named Riful of the west.
The drawback was that Sheila's bed itself was barely adequate for her and her long, lanky frame.
It was not meant for two people, even if one of them was barely five feet tall.
Sheila resolved to look for a larger bed as soon as possible.
The next day that she had time to herself, she went to the craft shops part of the holy city and looked for a wider bed.
Not finding anything she could afford on her meager funds, she wandered about the craft shops looking for something else she had been thinking about.
Sheila wasn't sure what she was looking for but she had a notion of what she wanted to bring her idea into reality.
The giant harbor defense crossbows she and Teresa had seen had given her an idea.
And a comment made by Captain Galk had given her an impetus.
When Teresa had shown him her archery set, he had commented, "Archers take a long time to train and practically have to be raised with a bow in their hands...We need something easier to teach and nearly as effective!"
While Teresa had put his comment out of her mind and later on gave up her bow, Sheila thought about his remarks.
One of those giant cross bows she had seen could certainly take out an awakened being or maybe even an abyssal creature, it was its size that made it impractical.
Perhaps making a smaller one might work, she thought.
She was sitting at the table sketching out ideas on scraps of paper she'd gotten from the printer's, when Teresa and Riful came bustling in from the marketplace.
Riful was commenting, "A girl could get used to this...What're you drawing Sheila? I didn't know you could draw?"
Looking up from her labors, Sheila grinned and replied, "I used to draw a lot when my family was still alive...I was pretty good according to my dad."
She looked down at her efforts and commented, "This is kinda like something Teresa and I saw at one of the islands we visited...The one where we met some of her relatives actually. I figured it could be adapted for here in case of an attack by the organization while we're away."
Tilting her lovely head, Riful studied the drawings and asked, "How powerful are these things and what are they called?"
Teresa smiled and replied, "The big ones we saw were called ballistae, we were told they could shoot a huge spear about half a mile and sink a boat with it...I suppose one could kill an awakened being or an abyssal creature, provided it was hit in a vital place."
"If not killing one outright, it could deal a really nasty wound." Remarked Riful.
Feeling encouraged, Sheila declared, "My idea is to make smaller ones that one or two men could carry. A couple of squads armed with these could concentrate their shots on an attacker and if nothing else, cause it or them to withdraw."
Riful chuckled and said drily, "You've raised yourself quite the strategist Teresa...I'm glad you're not coming after me!"
"Has Miria seen these drawings?" Asked Teresa.
"No, you two are the only ones who've seen them. I want to show them to the armorers to see what they think." Replied Sheila.
Riful frowned slightly and said thoughtfully, "You might want to make sure you get credit at least, men have a way of taking an idea from a woman and claiming it as their own."
Teresa nodded in agreement and said, "Make copies of these drawings and have a couple of witnesses sign them. You may not make any money from your idea but at least you'll get credit. If nothing else, it'll piss off the organization when they learn a deserter devised a weapon powerful enough to kill one of their pet monsters and can be used by ordinary humans."
Riful smiled wickedly and remarked, "It still takes a warrior or an awakened being to recognize another one. Used in conjunction with a warrior to spot the awakened attackers, it could be quite effective in defending this city."
The arrival of Miria and Clare interrupted their conversation.
Clare went to hang up her claymore and Sheila began putting away her drawings when Miria asked,"Did you draw these? May I see them?"
Sheila nodded a yes and Miria looked over her work, for several long moments she said nothing as she studied the drawings.
Finally she asked, "This seems like a good idea, have you shown these to Captain Galk?"
"No, I haven't. I've been seeking an ironworker who could make the metal parts for my prototype." Replied Sheila.
Miria glanced at the drawings again and indicated some of the parts with her finger, "A locksmith could make these parts, and a blacksmith could make these larger parts. That way, no one metal worker will know what you're up to...Oh, and maybe a wood carver for the wooden part?"
Sheila remarked, "I was thinking a furniture maker, they're used to this kind of work and have all the right tools."
Miria grinned and remarked, "I want you to concentrate on this when you're not training, I think it might work."
Clare came over and asked, "What might work?"
Miria held up one of Sheila's drawings and remarked,"It seems we have an inventor among us. I think it might work, we won't always be here and with this, Rabona could defend itself from the organization."
Clare studied the drawing briefly and remarked quietly, "It's worth a try."
She looked at Sheila curiously and asked, "You can do so many things, how did you wind up falling into the clutches of the organization like the rest of us?"
Sheila replied glumly,"Awakened beings attacked our hamlet, I don't know why. They devoured everyone they caught and destroyed all the rest of the hamlet."
She hugged herself and shuddered, "I can still hear the screams of my family being eaten alive amid the laughter of the attackers. Mom had just enough time to shove me into a hiding place before they grabbed her."
She paused a moment and said quietly, "The men in black came the next day and gathered what few survivors there were, then set fire to the wrecked buildings so that nothing remains of my hometown."
She looked up at her fellows and with a quaver in her voice, said, "I heard similar stories from many of the other girls I trained with. Their towns would get attacked by yoma, then afterwards, men in black would show up and take all the young girls, boys would get sold to slave brokers and the older girls would be sold to brothels in the bigger cities."
Tears began trickling from her silver eyes, "It still hurts even now. Tell me, does it ever stop hurting?" She asked.
Riful, to the surprise of the others, said quietly,"I wish I could help you girl. I still remember being dragged from the rubble of my home and taken to the organization. I barely remember where my hometown was and doubt if I could ever find it again. It's been so long since I last saw the place."
Riful glanced at her fellows and remarked," I think everyone of us has a similar story and that is why we must, crush the organization."
Pointing at Sheila's drawing, Riful commented, "If that thing'll help, I'm all for it!"
While continuing her grueling training regimen with the rest of the squad, Sheila spent much of her off time fiddling with the odd looking bits of metal and wood she was so absorbed in.
One time while stumped by a problem, she grumped to Teresa, "I wish we'd taken a better look at those damn ballistae we saw, this'd be done by now!"
Teresa could only smile and reply,"We should've looked at a lot of things during our travels. You're doing better than I would have."
A month later, Sheila's prototype arbalest shot its first quarrel. The wrought iron bolt easily slammed through the old door selected as a target and nearly buried itself in the heavy timber behind the target.
A second shot was a repeat of the first one and a third shot was canceled, as the results would have been similar.
Captain Galk who had been invited to observe the test, examined the prototype with a soldier's critical eye.
He attempted to draw back the stiff crossbow as if it was a conventional bow and failed miserably.
"Okay...How does this work?" He asked.
Sheila grinned and showed him the secret.
She attached the small windlass she had devised to the heavy butt stock and hooked the cable over the heavy bowstring.
A few turns of the handcrank later and the arbalest was ready for the next bolt.
Sheila smiled at the tall captain of the guards and said brightly, "I figured the average guardsman wouldn't be strong enough to recock this and I remembered seeing a larger version of this attached to the harbor defense ones we saw at that island we visited."
With the heavy arbalest now ready, Sheila laid an iron bolt in the shallow groove and handed it to Captain Galk.
Raising the weapon to his shoulder, Galk sighted along it and squeezed the long trigger lever against the wooden stock.
There was a loud 'Twonk!' sound and the iron bolt shot through the old door before embedding itself in the heavy timber beyond the door.
He grinned and said, "With a couple or three of these and a trained crew to recock and load them, an arbalestier could keep up quite a volume of shots...I like it!"
He looked at Miria and asked out of concern, "Do you think the organization could attack us?"
Miria replied thoughtfully, "I'm not really sure if they would go that far or be that obvious...Let's just say I feel there is a correlation between a small town getting attacked and the conveniently timed arrival of the men in black only too willing to collect any orphaned girls."
Miria looked at him and said, "Rabona is one of the largest cities and has a sizeable population, it also has a self defense force, unlike many cities and towns which rely on night watchmen on patrol for their security against bandits.
How they could pull off an attack remains to be seen...I just have the feeling that they might, if they thought it would profit them."
"How would they? Does the organization have an army aside from you claymores?" Asked Captain Galk.
"None that I'm aware of and just how? I have no idea, only a suspicion. Rabona has its walls and its guards, so it is likely to remain pretty safe for now." Remarked Miria.
Captain Galk looked thoughtful, then said, "I'd like to take this to the armory and get them started on making copies of this and the bolts.
We'll have them make twenty copies of the arbalest and one hundred bolts per arbalest, that should be enough at first."
"Better make it two hundred bolts per arbalest, some will get lost or broken during practice. Maybe an apprentice blacksmith can forge the heads, the one that forged these had his son do the forging because they were simple to make." Commented Sheila.
Galk smiled at Sheila and said amiably, "Maybe you can devise a machine that can make them quickly."
"We did see a millyard out near the town of Stora, west of here. They have iron working machinery there and they owe us a favor." She replied.
"A favor?" He asked.
"Yes, we killed a monster that had taken over the millyard and was eating people until we came along." Replied Sheila.