Thadius Roth had pushed aside his graph paper and blueprints for the time being. The fox hunched over his workstation benck, sketching animal heads of different species at different angles, an artistic study of facial structure and expression. Though his ability to recreate the animate in pencil hardly rivaled his skill at mechanical drawing, Thadius was certainly competent enough. And just the process of drawing pleased him. It was relaxing to draw curves for once, instead of rigid lines and angles.
He was not off task, though he was not on task either. Until the test outcome of the latest flying machine prototype returned, there was no task to which to apply. Which is precisely why Thadius made no effort to his artistic venture when Nadal ob Insame invited himself into the fox's office.
The weasel slipped the sketch sheet out from under the very tip of Roth's pencil and regarded it with the air of aloof contempt that comes naturally to a critic who is entirely ignorant in his field. He then proceeded to produce the flying machine blueprint from Roth's desk and placed the two back down, blueprint on top.
You'll be building more of these, Roth, Nadal stated.
Roth placed his pencil down and scratched behind an ear. Dare I ask, sir, is this demand due to success or...to failure?
Nadal's expression could actually be construed to be a smile. Success. Beyond expected.
Thadius relaxed. They flew far this time?
Certainly far enough.
This is huge! The normally reserved fox clapped his paws in delight. Beasts not born to fly in the air by mechanical means! And staying aloft! I can only begin to imagine what all can be done with this!
Nadal grasped both of Thadius' excited forepaws in one of his own. Yes, far beyond imagination. A wall is down.
Thadius ceased fidgeting on his own.
The airships reached their goal and in addition took down a wall. ob Insame did not seem pleased about needing to make this repetition.
Roth's paws assumed a different sort of tremor. He produced his gold-rimmed spectacles from a pocket and looked at the blueprint through them, muttering to himself. Down? A wall? Solid masonry? The arrowheads might have done something, but they certainly were not blunt enough to... He cut off momentarily, a claw landing on the image of the oil lamp below the wing. Ah, ah...The collision of the arrow with the wall would have weakened the wall some but primarily would have collapsed the arrow on itself, spreading the flaming oil over everything...Giant fire arrows, essentially. The heat and the flame took the wall down. Giant fire arrows!
Roth removed his spectacles and regarded ob Insame with wide eyes.
All well and good, Nadal remarked. Now build me more of them.
The fox picked up his pencil. I can take the oil from the design. It was originally a precaution for lift, but—
Nadal cut him off. It's good. Leave it in. That is all. He was out the door with no more said.
For several minutes afterward, Thadius Roth's eyes darted between the oil lamp on the plan and his eraser. In weighing possibilities and repercussions, however, the fox did not bring the two together.