Finding The Soul Bridge (The Soul Fire Saga Book 1) (18 page)

36

It took two days for the trio to build the trebuchet. Its main boom towered twice as high as the tavern building. Jem had devised the construction so that it was folded up on the ground.  With just a few hundred pulls on a long rope through many pulley blocks, the trebuchet righted itself into position. The boys anchored every joint into place and hoisted the heavy counterweight.

It took an hour of labour to wind it up for the first test shot and just two seconds for it to fire.

The trebuchet was a simple war engine with a long boom that swung in the middle of two upright posts. When it was wound up, the long end of the boom faced down with the double rope sling lying on a skid between the two supporting legs. The sling rope was pointing the way it would shoot, as it would swing all the way around the top during operation. The short end of the boom was high in the air with a pivoting counterweight slung to the end of the short side of the boom.

When released, the counterweight would fall forward and down, causing the long end of the boom to swing around the pivot point. As it unwound at great speed, it pulled the rope sling and the shot all the way with it, releasing it at the top, causing the shot to fly incredible distances.

The trebuchet was ready to fire. Kelvin brought Jem a gift for an informal opening ceremony. He had folded himself a paper hat and was wearing it in a comical fashion.

“Here is the main ammunition my lord.” He kneeled in a comical gesture and presented a crude box to Jem.

Jem shook his head a little, “You idiot, what is that?”

“Just open it.” said Kelvin, “You will thank me I’m sure.”

Jem opened the box. “Oh! It’s a grapple hook!”

“Better than a silly rock, don’t you think?” said Kelvin.

“Yes,” said Jem. “But we have to try to match its weight with an appropriate rock and test it without valuable ammunition first. That way we can make sure that it works then sling the grapple.”

“Good thinking.” said Thist.

The boys wound up the trebuchet, loaded the first rock and then stood back. Jem had a release rope which he pulled. The trebuchet creaked into life and then accelerated. The end of the rope sling released at the top with a loud whiz and a whip crack. The cracking whip sound was so loud it briefly drowned out the thunder of the raging river.  The first shot went straight up. It flew high and then came straight at the boys. They ran for cover. It was difficult to see where it was going to land but it was clearly coming for them.

Kelvin ran to the back of the tavern building with both his arms above his head. Thist ran inside and waited just inside the doorway. Jem just stood there and watched the rock come down at him.

The rock hit the tavern roof and went straight through the roof and both floors leaving a hole all the way from the top of the roof to the bottom of the cellar floor. A cloud of dust obscured the mayhem and damage. Carrion birds squawked in terror as they fled the attic.

Thist ran out to find Kelvin and Jem standing by the trebuchet in shock and awe.

“Needs a little tuning don’t you think?” asked Kelvin.

“Yes.” said Jem. “It released too soon. I need to adjust it.”

Thist looked at the tavern. “One more hit like that and the tavern is toast.”

“I wonder how many people have been killed by these machines in friendly fire?” pondered Kelvin.

Jem pursed his lips and whistled as he shook his head, “I think a fair amount of battle engineers earned their own executions well.”

The boys reloaded the trebuchet. Jem adjusted the release mechanism; a simple hook that faced forward and would lose purchase of the sling when it reached the desired position.

The rock that Jem had chosen was large and heavy and if it came down on either of them it would render them unrecognizable. “You will never know how badly you fail until you try.” said Jem with a mischievous expression on his face.

The boys stood back. Jem released the firing pin with a string from a long way off.  The trebuchet clapped like thunder and sent back loud echoes. The rock sped across the sky streaking in an arc towards the far side of the canyon striking the far side high up but still missing the top.

Thist shouted a whoop of joy. Kelvin punched the air with his fists as the joy of firing a trebuchet set in. There was no victory or achievement but it was an incredibly fun thing to do and watch.

Jem looked perplexed as he made calculations in his head. “It’s never going to make it.”

“What do you mean we will never make it?” asked Thist. “You’re nearly there. Throw a lighter rock or adjust your angle.”

“We barely made it with that rock.” said Jem. “It only weighs a little more than the grapple, but the rope that we need to get across weighs as much as the rock.”

“Pfff! What now?” asked Kelvin.

“I have to come up with a clever plan.” said Jem as he kicked a pebble in frustration.

“Let’s sling a lighter rock.” proposed Kelvin. “Maybe the right idea will come to you if we fire it a few times.”

Jem scrutinized the trebuchet with a wry smile, “It sure is fun, isn’t it.”

The boys loaded a rock of half the previous size and Jem adjusted the release back a little to release just a split second earlier.

The boys stood back and Kelvin put both his pinkie fingers in his mouth and bit down on the back of his nail in anticipation. The trebuchet jerked and lurched and the sling rope cracked. “Oh yes, that never gets old.” Kelvin shouted.

The rock could be seen tumbling high in the sky and then falling with purpose and rage to the far side of the canyon. It disappeared behind the tree line without a sound.

The boys looked solemn, “I hope we didn’t hit someone.” said Jem

“Felt good though.” said Thist.

“Sure, it felt good, let’s do another one with a short rope tied to it, and see what the tail does.” said Jem.

The boys loaded the trebuchet again. “Wow, this is hard work,” said Kelvin as he and Jem cranked the capstan winch. “It’s like we are back at the blacksmith shop, and we all smell like we have been shovelling coal.”

The sun was setting. The boys had fired and reloaded the trebuchet several times but it took at least an hour to load it every time. They were parched and sweating; Thist had brought them some cold water which he served in tall tavern glasses. “One more shot.” said Jem. “Then I’m going to sleep on it and see what we can do to increase its range and power to get the rope across.”

Thist and Kelvin sat on the veranda of the tavern, now confident that Jem had set the machine up in such a way that there would be no disaster.

Jem released the pin, the trebuchet lurched to life as the counterweight fell and the boom swung. The lighter weight on the end helped to get the sling up to a higher speed and the resultant whip crack at the end was deafening. The shot tore through the air with the rope streaking behind it like a tail on a comet. At first it whistled but became faint as it sped farther away.  The boom of the whip-crack echoed deep through the canyon, punctuating the roar of the raging river and harmonizing with the whistle of the streaking rope and stone.

The stone fell just beyond the minimum target range. Jem noticed where it fell but was more focused on the exact performance of his machine.

“It’s definitely more fun doing something for yourself, than to work for another man.” said Jem. “But the machine needs something.”

“How about some of my enchanted tea?” asked Thist.

“No you idiot.” scolded Jem, “I don’t want it to see visions or hear voices. I was thinking more on the lines of a cam shaft, and then we can increase the counter weight.”

Kelvin stroked his young beard a little, “How would you improve this thing with cams?”

“You see.” said Jem rolling straight into his explanation. “The counterweight has to turn the shaft around as it falls but we need the shot to fly forward.”

“Yes.” said Kelvin.

“So instead of rolling a round main shaft through a bearing.” continued Jem. “I want to make it roll forward on an oval wheel so that the shaft starts its roll falling down and forward and ending at its highest speed rolling up and forward. That way I can get the machine to work harder whilst using its own resistance.”

Kelvin pursed his lips and nodded. He waved his right hand over his own head in a gesture of intellectual loss.

Thist shook his head, “It sounds as if you have to rebuild most of the slinger for that.”

Jem nodded, “This problem is going to be fun to figure out.”

“Yes let’s do what it takes.” said Kelvin. “Firing this baby is more fun than…” Kelvin’s voice trailed off.

Jem and Kelvin worked by lamplight, preparing the trebuchet for the next morning.

Thist had asked Kelvin to give him two of his arrows which he did. When he asked Thist what he wanted it for Thist answered, “You will see.”

“I’m a little worried about Thist.” Jem confided to Kelvin. “What do you think?”

Kelvin looked at Jem’s handiwork and then at the scar on his arm. “You and me both.” said Kelvin. “The boy has picked up a strange and quiet streak to him since we started this journey.”

Jem couldn’t disagree. “Do you believe in destiny Kelvin?”

“It’s complicated.” said Kelvin. “Those who search for their destiny will often find the pleasant one that they seek and those who do not search for their destiny will often have an unpleasant one imposed on them.”

“What does that mean?” perplexed Jem.

“Don’t be a fence sitter.” said Kelvin. “Get out and do. Try new things and take risks.”

Thist had been busy inside brewing two batches of teas using his spoon.

He dipped the front and the back of the one arrow in the one tea as he incanted his own little enchanting rhyme, his eyes glowing with a white light.

I enchant thee arrow straight and true

Fly thee fast and fly thee through

Shine at night

Control of flight

My sight your queue

Once he was finished with the one arrow he proceeded to do the other one with the other tea that he had brewed. Thist was testing whether the dream that he had had about the spoon was true and if the tea had any effect on its own. The other two boys were oblivious as they were busy outside with the trebuchet.

Thist finished up his kitchen sorcery on the two arrows and cleaned up so as to hide what evidence he could. His new skills had baffled him and scared him but he wanted to hone them and see what he was capable of.

“Two arrows.” said Thist. “My, I feel exhausted.”

Thist was drained; he didn’t know it but whatever power he imbued into something he had to move that power from himself to the item.

Thist drank the remainder of the tea so as not to waste it. Both teas tasted the same. He knew he was setting himself up for a night of good rest and technicolour dreams but he welcomed it. He walked out with one arrow in each hand.

Kelvin and Jem were standing by the trebuchet looking at the stars, arms folded. Dew was settling on everything. A nightjar could be heard in the distance crying its tune in harmony with the chirping of crickets. The raging river thundered ever present in the distance. Thist presented Kelvin with his bow and the one arrow. “I’ve tried to improve the arrow; I need to know if it worked. Could you shoot the arrow to the far side of the canyon, I want to see how far you can shoot it.”

Kelvin took the arrow and the bow, “It’s dark, and we won’t see it fly.”

“I think it will shine in the dark.” said Thist. “Once you have loosed it, keep focusing on the target until it lands.”

Kelvin shook his head in disbelief. “I can’t see any targets, its dark.”

“Just try.” said Thist.

Kelvin took the stance of an archer, notched the arrow and drew back hard; he loved shooting the bow but didn’t like wasting arrows. He looked to the distance and imagined the top of the far canyon cliff as it was too dark to see it then he loosed.

The arrow sped out of the bow making a low whoop sound as it climbed into the sky. It started to glow. It soared and the light became longer and longer like a stick with a glowing ember on the end when swirled at night. Kelvin was frozen in place, watching the arrow as it lit up its path and flew an impossible distance. It flew well beyond the cliff and disappeared into the trees.

“Wow” said Jem. “What did you do to the arrow?”

“I imbued it,” said Thist with a yawn. “I can do it with the shot that you want to use to sling the rope across. That should give us the edge that we need.”

Kelvin looked at Thist, “You want to imbue the grapple? What about the other arrow then?”

“I used a different tea, one that I found in the bar. I want to know if it is the tea or the spoon.”

Thist gave Kelvin the arrow. Kelvin notched the arrow and concentrated, exhaled and held his posture as he imagined the pillar in the dark on the far side. He loosed.

The arrow sped like a sparkling firework, flying in an arc to the far side. It seemed to maintain its speed without slowing and then it struck the pillar in the centre making a flash and then it was gone.