fandomhigh | Practical Weaponry [Wednesday, Period Four]

Today the Danger-Shop was set up to look like a large plain with a castle in the distance. Bond leant against a large wooden device, looking very pleased with himself indeed.

"This is a trebuchet," Bond began, slapping the side of the device fondly. "It's siege engine dating from the Middle Ages, used mainly for flinging high speed projectiles at fortifications, though occasionally infected corpses were thrown over the walls, and while most of you are unlikely to ever need to use one for its intended purpose, they still provide an excellent exercise in calculating trajectories and distances."

"The principle is fairly simple. A missile is placed in the sling at the long end of the arm, then the counterweight at the short end is raised," he explained, pointing to the relevant parts of the trebuchet as he spoke. "When you wish to fire, this latch is released, the counterweight falls, the long arm rises, one end of the sling is released, and the missile flies off to hopefully destroy your target. Like this."

Bond did not grin as he set off the trebuchet and the stone went flying in the direction of the castle. That would have been unprofessional.

"Your mission today is to try to breach the walls of that castle over there. Who wants to go first?"

[ooc: ~~wait for~~ ocd up.]

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"I've seen them on Discovery Channel, and once on The Amazing Race, but never for real," Dinah said, looking at it with gleaming eyes. "The weight part goes here, right?" She grinned at Hinata. "Cannons might be more accurate, but this is more fun, with the swinging-thing."

"Cannons may be more powerful too," she said, studying it. "And that is the--swinging-thing--and that's wh-where we set it off, right?"

[Sorry for the slow! Work went insane and then it was heading home time.]

"I think so," Dinah said, looking insanely cheerful. "Bucket, and... trigger?" She said, looking hopeful. "You want me to load it up, and you set it off?"

[np! am on sucky connection, and missed this 'til now!]

"It sounds good to me," she agreed. "And then sw-switch it up?"

"Yesss!"

Dinah used both her hands and her TK to load the bucket, poked at it, bit her lip, then figured that if it was heavy enough on the counterweight, it would still reach. "Good? Ready?"

"As ready as a first try ever is," she said, with a soft laugh. "You won't want to be in the way."

Hinata gave the wall a considering glance, took a deep breath, and hit the trigger. And promptly had to resist the urge to close her eyes.

BOOM!

"Woooooo!" Dinah threw her hands up in a touchdown signal and grinned. "Awesome! Okay, your turn to load." She grinned at Hinata. "I'm trying to think how I could this back home, and aside from trashcan baskets and maybe a big plank, nothing's coming to mind."

"Bungee cords, maybe," she suggested, as she started loading up the machine again. It took her longer than Dinah, if only because she used only her hands, but Hinata was a fair bit stronger than she looked. "For setting it off?"

She studied her load for a moment. "I th-think that's good."

"Cool, stand back--" Dinah stood back herself, waited on Hinata, then slammed her hand down on the release.

CRASH!

"Ahahahhah, yes, destroyer of walls!"

Practical Weaponry [Wednesday, Period Four]

Re: Trebuchet! - PW [Week 3]

Re: Trebuchet! - PW [Week 3]

Re: Trebuchet! - PW [Week 3]

Re: Trebuchet! - PW [Week 3]

Re: Trebuchet! - PW [Week 3]

Re: Trebuchet! - PW [Week 3]

Re: Trebuchet! - PW [Week 3]

Re: Trebuchet! - PW [Week 3]

Re: Trebuchet! - PW [Week 3]