Innverse Stats

Name	Text
Liscor	If you were staring at one, say, in the snow, just outside Liscor, on a bed of wooden planks laid there to keep it from getting wet, with a shiny little pink bow on top of it, you might see a long, gleaming length of wood an arm span and a half across with a huge groove running down the center.
Rags	For one thing, Rags’ Thunderbows, which a Hobgoblin was propping up next to the ballista for comparison—even the emplaced, giant crossbows strung with Wyvern-fiber thread were tiny compared to this object.
Riverfarm	Thunderbows had a tripod-like design to absorb the shock of firing. The ballista was mounted on a huge dais of wood that allowed it to swivel, then lock into place via gears. In fact, the astonished Drakes running around it and Riverfarm’s [Engineers], who’d come pouring out of the doorway and were being chased by an [Innkeeper] with a broom, had been trying to copy the impressive gears that few species could manufacture.
[Engineer]	Thunderbows had a tripod-like design to absorb the shock of firing. The ballista was mounted on a huge dais of wood that allowed it to swivel, then lock into place via gears. In fact, the astonished Drakes running around it and Riverfarm’s [Engineers], who’d come pouring out of the doorway and were being chased by an [Innkeeper] with a broom, had been trying to copy the impressive gears that few species could manufacture.
[Innkeeper]	Thunderbows had a tripod-like design to absorb the shock of firing. The ballista was mounted on a huge dais of wood that allowed it to swivel, then lock into place via gears. In fact, the astonished Drakes running around it and Riverfarm’s [Engineers], who’d come pouring out of the doorway and were being chased by an [Innkeeper] with a broom, had been trying to copy the impressive gears that few species could manufacture.
Pallass	“This is too big! Pallass’ ballistae aren’t—”
Venim	Watch Commander Venim was shouting as a single Antinium sat on top of the ballista. Which he could do because this was no two-man ballista from the days of the Roman Empire, again, on Earth. Smaller ballistae had been made such that you could port them around and set them up. This one, too, could move, but you’d need oxen, a bag of holding, and definitely [Engineers] to tear it down and set it up.
[Engineer]	Watch Commander Venim was shouting as a single Antinium sat on top of the ballista. Which he could do because this was no two-man ballista from the days of the Roman Empire, again, on Earth. Smaller ballistae had been made such that you could port them around and set them up. This one, too, could move, but you’d need oxen, a bag of holding, and definitely [Engineers] to tear it down and set it up.
Rags	That was what Rags, taking notes with her Goblins, had been trying to master and Kevin had told her about. Thunderbows, using Wyvernbone, had a set limit to how much force they could handle because they had to store it in the single ‘bow’ part of the weapon. But ballistae could store more force without needing to rely on one part to take all the stress.
Kevin Hall	That was what Rags, taking notes with her Goblins, had been trying to master and Kevin had told her about. Thunderbows, using Wyvernbone, had a set limit to how much force they could handle because they had to store it in the single ‘bow’ part of the weapon. But ballistae could store more force without needing to rely on one part to take all the stress.
Rasea Zecrew	This was one of the largest products the House of Minos made. And they did not make these for sale, by and large. This ballista was the kind Rasea Zecrew had stolen for her Illuminary—a warship class ballista that had…
Troydel	Someone was reading off the manual that came with it. Troydel raised his head in disbelief.
Bezale	Bezale roared with pride. She strode over and pointed to the gleaming contraption so they could see the varnished wood, the metal and painstaking work that had gone into making this device capable of taking the force of firing. It had to be two tons of weight! How had Magnolia even gotten it outside the inn!?
Magnolia Reinhart	Bezale roared with pride. She strode over and pointed to the gleaming contraption so they could see the varnished wood, the metal and painstaking work that had gone into making this device capable of taking the force of firing. It had to be two tons of weight! How had Magnolia even gotten it outside the inn!?
[Spy]	Well, the [Spies] had been watching her [Maids] setting up the foundation and then assembling it all evening while the party began. Bezale put her hand on the wood.
[Maid]	Well, the [Spies] had been watching her [Maids] setting up the foundation and then assembling it all evening while the party began. Bezale put her hand on the wood.
Bezale	Well, the [Spies] had been watching her [Maids] setting up the foundation and then assembling it all evening while the party began. Bezale put her hand on the wood.
Izril	“This isn’t your Drake siege weapon, which they make with cheap lumber and magic. Each weapon from the House of Minos is meant to serve for decades—at least! Nations can buy one or two—if they’re approved! There is no finer weapon in all of Izril than this.”
Pallass	“Hah. Now that’s where you’re wrong. Pallass has better.”
Chaldion Oliwing	Someone, Chaldion, shot back. But even he couldn’t conceal the gleam of avarice in his eyes. The [Emperor], Laken Godart, was folding his arms, face mixed between a scowl and smile.
[Emperor]	Someone, Chaldion, shot back. But even he couldn’t conceal the gleam of avarice in his eyes. The [Emperor], Laken Godart, was folding his arms, face mixed between a scowl and smile.
Emperor of Sands	Someone, Chaldion, shot back. But even he couldn’t conceal the gleam of avarice in his eyes. The [Emperor], Laken Godart, was folding his arms, face mixed between a scowl and smile.
Laken Godart	Someone, Chaldion, shot back. But even he couldn’t conceal the gleam of avarice in his eyes. The [Emperor], Laken Godart, was folding his arms, face mixed between a scowl and smile.
[Engineer]	The smile was because he was going to steal the designs. The House of Minos was one of a very small number of people who actually studied how things were made. Like the Drakes, they could reproduce siege weapons without relying on a class like [Engineer] and needing Skills.
Laken Godart	But Laken’s people also believed that Skills were a crutch you could lean on—but not necessary. It would take time and effort, but Goblins, the Unseen Empire, both were learning just from observing this device.

Liscor

If you were staring at one, say, in the snow, just outside Liscor, on a bed of wooden planks laid there to keep it from getting wet, with a shiny little pink bow on top of it, you might see a long, gleaming length of wood an arm span and a half across with a huge groove running down the center.

Rags

For one thing, Rags’ Thunderbows, which a Hobgoblin was propping up next to the ballista for comparison—even the emplaced, giant crossbows strung with Wyvern-fiber thread were tiny compared to this object.

Riverfarm

Thunderbows had a tripod-like design to absorb the shock of firing. The ballista was mounted on a huge dais of wood that allowed it to swivel, then lock into place via gears. In fact, the astonished Drakes running around it and Riverfarm’s [Engineers], who’d come pouring out of the doorway and were being chased by an [Innkeeper] with a broom, had been trying to copy the impressive gears that few species could manufacture.

[Engineer]

Thunderbows had a tripod-like design to absorb the shock of firing. The ballista was mounted on a huge dais of wood that allowed it to swivel, then lock into place via gears. In fact, the astonished Drakes running around it and Riverfarm’s [Engineers], who’d come pouring out of the doorway and were being chased by an [Innkeeper] with a broom, had been trying to copy the impressive gears that few species could manufacture.

[Innkeeper]

Thunderbows had a tripod-like design to absorb the shock of firing. The ballista was mounted on a huge dais of wood that allowed it to swivel, then lock into place via gears. In fact, the astonished Drakes running around it and Riverfarm’s [Engineers], who’d come pouring out of the doorway and were being chased by an [Innkeeper] with a broom, had been trying to copy the impressive gears that few species could manufacture.

Pallass

“This is too big! Pallass’ ballistae aren’t—”

Venim

Watch Commander Venim was shouting as a single Antinium sat on top of the ballista. Which he could do because this was no two-man ballista from the days of the Roman Empire, again, on Earth. Smaller ballistae had been made such that you could port them around and set them up. This one, too, could move, but you’d need oxen, a bag of holding, and definitely [Engineers] to tear it down and set it up.

[Engineer]

Watch Commander Venim was shouting as a single Antinium sat on top of the ballista. Which he could do because this was no two-man ballista from the days of the Roman Empire, again, on Earth. Smaller ballistae had been made such that you could port them around and set them up. This one, too, could move, but you’d need oxen, a bag of holding, and definitely [Engineers] to tear it down and set it up.

Rags

That was what Rags, taking notes with her Goblins, had been trying to master and Kevin had told her about. Thunderbows, using Wyvernbone, had a set limit to how much force they could handle because they had to store it in the single ‘bow’ part of the weapon. But ballistae could store more force without needing to rely on one part to take all the stress.

Kevin Hall

That was what Rags, taking notes with her Goblins, had been trying to master and Kevin had told her about. Thunderbows, using Wyvernbone, had a set limit to how much force they could handle because they had to store it in the single ‘bow’ part of the weapon. But ballistae could store more force without needing to rely on one part to take all the stress.

Rasea Zecrew

This was one of the largest products the House of Minos made. And they did not make these for sale, by and large. This ballista was the kind Rasea Zecrew had stolen for her Illuminary—a warship class ballista that had…

Troydel

Someone was reading off the manual that came with it. Troydel raised his head in disbelief.

Bezale

Bezale roared with pride. She strode over and pointed to the gleaming contraption so they could see the varnished wood, the metal and painstaking work that had gone into making this device capable of taking the force of firing. It had to be two tons of weight! How had Magnolia even gotten it outside the inn!?

Magnolia Reinhart

Bezale roared with pride. She strode over and pointed to the gleaming contraption so they could see the varnished wood, the metal and painstaking work that had gone into making this device capable of taking the force of firing. It had to be two tons of weight! How had Magnolia even gotten it outside the inn!?

[Spy]

Well, the [Spies] had been watching her [Maids] setting up the foundation and then assembling it all evening while the party began. Bezale put her hand on the wood.

[Maid]

Well, the [Spies] had been watching her [Maids] setting up the foundation and then assembling it all evening while the party began. Bezale put her hand on the wood.

Bezale

Well, the [Spies] had been watching her [Maids] setting up the foundation and then assembling it all evening while the party began. Bezale put her hand on the wood.

Izril

“This isn’t your Drake siege weapon, which they make with cheap lumber and magic. Each weapon from the House of Minos is meant to serve for decades—at least! Nations can buy one or two—if they’re approved! There is no finer weapon in all of Izril than this.”

Pallass

“Hah. Now that’s where you’re wrong. Pallass has better.”

Chaldion Oliwing

Someone, Chaldion, shot back. But even he couldn’t conceal the gleam of avarice in his eyes. The [Emperor], Laken Godart, was folding his arms, face mixed between a scowl and smile.

[Emperor]

Someone, Chaldion, shot back. But even he couldn’t conceal the gleam of avarice in his eyes. The [Emperor], Laken Godart, was folding his arms, face mixed between a scowl and smile.

Emperor of Sands

Someone, Chaldion, shot back. But even he couldn’t conceal the gleam of avarice in his eyes. The [Emperor], Laken Godart, was folding his arms, face mixed between a scowl and smile.

Laken Godart

Someone, Chaldion, shot back. But even he couldn’t conceal the gleam of avarice in his eyes. The [Emperor], Laken Godart, was folding his arms, face mixed between a scowl and smile.

[Engineer]

The smile was because he was going to steal the designs. The House of Minos was one of a very small number of people who actually studied how things were made. Like the Drakes, they could reproduce siege weapons without relying on a class like [Engineer] and needing Skills.

Laken Godart

But Laken’s people also believed that Skills were a crutch you could lean on—but not necessary. It would take time and effort, but Goblins, the Unseen Empire, both were learning just from observing this device.

Chapter 9.57 B

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