can use a bow?”
Neth smiled. “This is Cragg Keep. If they can walk, they can shoot a bow.”
“Are they any good?” Jorem asked dubiously.
“About what you’d expect. Some are better than others. As long as the targets are big enough and not too far away, they do all right.”
“What if the target is a man and he’s coming at them with an axe?”
Neth was quiet for a moment before answering. “I don’t know. The elderly should do all right, but the children, I don’t know.”
Together they walked to the center of the room. Jacobs was there running a hand over the contraption Jorem had seen earlier. It looked like a giant crossbow, but it was huge. It would easily take four men to lift the thing, maybe more. Gears, handles, and levers protruded all over the device.
“Any idea what this is?” Jorem asked.
Jacobs ran an appreciative hand along the curve of the bow. “This, my friend, is a power bow. Positioned correctly it can send a shaft twice the length of the clearing out there. With the right tip on the shaft, you can punch a hole right through a solid oak gate half a hand span thick.”
“I don’t suppose you know how this thing works?”
A gleam came to Jacobs’ eyes. “You tell me where you want a hole and I’ll see to it you have a hole.”
Jorem took in the complexity of the device. “How long does it take to reload?”
Jacobs grimaced. “That would be the downfall of the power bow. If I get in a little practice, I might get off two shots in the time it would take a man to run across the clearing out there. Fire, reload and fire. After that it would depend on how long it took them to reach me.”
“I guess we’d better save it for a target that counts then,” Jorem surmised.
He turned to Neth. “How long do we have until this party starts?”
Nethira raised an eyebrow at his choice of words. “Conrad sent word to expect the first of the monsters around midday.”
“Neth, I need everyone in the courtyard. No exceptions.” Jorem paused and took a deep breath. “We need to get the infants and toddlers to as safe a place as we can.”
************
It was a quiet, solemn group gathered at the steps of the Keep. Even the children were subdued. It was an odd sight. Gray and silver haired elderly men and women surrounded by young wide-eyed children.
“These people shouldn’t be here,” Jorem thought. “ They should be somewhere safe and warm. I shouldn’t have let them stay. Why didn’t I make them leave?”
Doubt and worry crowded into Jorem’s mind. He hadn’t slept much since arriving at Cragg Keep., and what sleep he’d gotten had been fitful at best. Now it was time to explain to these people why they needed to leave—not just leave, but run. They needed to get as far from here as possible.
An old woman supporting herself with a cane hobbled to the front of the crowd. Watching her slow progress served to lower Jorem’s spirits even more. The joints of her limbs were swollen and obviously painful. How was he supposed to ask this woman to run?
“Get on with it, young man,” the woman said in a waspish tone. “Some of us aren’t up to standing upright much these days.”
The woman’s attitude brought a smile to Jorem’s mind. If he could have harnessed the edge of her tongue, they would have had a powerful weapon.
Jorem stepped forward so he stood at the top edge of the steps leading down to the courtyard. Everyone who was there stopped their conversation and looked to him. Jorem cleared his throat and clasped his hands behind his back. “This would be so much easier if there weren’t so many eyes on me,” he thought.
“As most of you know,” he began, “there is a large group of creatures heading this way. I’ve been informed they’ll arrive sometime around midday tomorrow. What you may not know is that, behind the creatures, comes an army of about 300
Neth smiled. “This is Cragg Keep. If they can walk, they can shoot a bow.”
“Are they any good?” Jorem asked dubiously.
“About what you’d expect. Some are better than others. As long as the targets are big enough and not too far away, they do all right.”
“What if the target is a man and he’s coming at them with an axe?”
Neth was quiet for a moment before answering. “I don’t know. The elderly should do all right, but the children, I don’t know.”
Together they walked to the center of the room. Jacobs was there running a hand over the contraption Jorem had seen earlier. It looked like a giant crossbow, but it was huge. It would easily take four men to lift the thing, maybe more. Gears, handles, and levers protruded all over the device.
“Any idea what this is?” Jorem asked.
Jacobs ran an appreciative hand along the curve of the bow. “This, my friend, is a power bow. Positioned correctly it can send a shaft twice the length of the clearing out there. With the right tip on the shaft, you can punch a hole right through a solid oak gate half a hand span thick.”
“I don’t suppose you know how this thing works?”
A gleam came to Jacobs’ eyes. “You tell me where you want a hole and I’ll see to it you have a hole.”
Jorem took in the complexity of the device. “How long does it take to reload?”
Jacobs grimaced. “That would be the downfall of the power bow. If I get in a little practice, I might get off two shots in the time it would take a man to run across the clearing out there. Fire, reload and fire. After that it would depend on how long it took them to reach me.”
“I guess we’d better save it for a target that counts then,” Jorem surmised.
He turned to Neth. “How long do we have until this party starts?”
Nethira raised an eyebrow at his choice of words. “Conrad sent word to expect the first of the monsters around midday.”
“Neth, I need everyone in the courtyard. No exceptions.” Jorem paused and took a deep breath. “We need to get the infants and toddlers to as safe a place as we can.”
************
It was a quiet, solemn group gathered at the steps of the Keep. Even the children were subdued. It was an odd sight. Gray and silver haired elderly men and women surrounded by young wide-eyed children.
“These people shouldn’t be here,” Jorem thought. “ They should be somewhere safe and warm. I shouldn’t have let them stay. Why didn’t I make them leave?”
Doubt and worry crowded into Jorem’s mind. He hadn’t slept much since arriving at Cragg Keep., and what sleep he’d gotten had been fitful at best. Now it was time to explain to these people why they needed to leave—not just leave, but run. They needed to get as far from here as possible.
An old woman supporting herself with a cane hobbled to the front of the crowd. Watching her slow progress served to lower Jorem’s spirits even more. The joints of her limbs were swollen and obviously painful. How was he supposed to ask this woman to run?
“Get on with it, young man,” the woman said in a waspish tone. “Some of us aren’t up to standing upright much these days.”
The woman’s attitude brought a smile to Jorem’s mind. If he could have harnessed the edge of her tongue, they would have had a powerful weapon.
Jorem stepped forward so he stood at the top edge of the steps leading down to the courtyard. Everyone who was there stopped their conversation and looked to him. Jorem cleared his throat and clasped his hands behind his back. “This would be so much easier if there weren’t so many eyes on me,” he thought.
“As most of you know,” he began, “there is a large group of creatures heading this way. I’ve been informed they’ll arrive sometime around midday tomorrow. What you may not know is that, behind the creatures, comes an army of about 300
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