Chapter 87: The Seed of Invention
"Seriously?" said Kellar, looking at the old man in surprise.
"Of course," said Lennis. "In fact, at first I was working out in the open under the falling snow, but when Mentz passed by and saw me, he came over with his men and built me this small shed in a couple of hours so I could work comfortably. As soon as they learned the weapons were your design and your request, no one hesitated to help. Then Krag explained to them how important these weapons were for securing the tribe’s food, and the people got even more excited."
Kellar let out a genuine laugh and shook his head in awe.
"I am pleasantly impressed," said Kellar. "I truly mean that from the bottom of my heart. Now tell me, why were you looking for me?"
"Shaman, I was thinking about that massive weapon you designed," said Lennis, searching for something on his workbench. "I believe we should make a smaller version that our hunters can carry individually. I tested the weapons and I understand why you used bone tips for the giant ballista spears, but on land we can save a lot of material if we use simple stone or metal tips. In the water, the bone tip is necessary because it is denser and more powerful, but for normal hunting it isn’t required. Look, I made this sample."
The old man handed him a wooden projectile roughly thirty centimeters long, fitted with a sharp tip and featuring small, carefully carved wooden protrusions at the rear.
Kellar instantly recognized what he was holding: the basic principle of a fletched arrow or crossbow bolt. However, rather than killing his enthusiasm by correcting his novice mistakes or handing him the answers, Kellar chose to nurture his curiosity to ignite the mind of a true inventor.
"It is very interesting," said Kellar, spinning the piece between his fingers. "But tell me, what are these little things on the back for?"
Lennis puffed out his chest with clear pride before answering.
"During the night I was running tests, throwing straightened sticks by hand and using small test bows," said Lennis. "I noticed that no matter how straight the wood was, the tip always ended up veering off in midair after a certain distance because of the wind. I remembered how birds use their tail feathers to keep their course while gliding, so I carved these small wooden ridges onto the tail to see if they could catch the air. When I tested it, the stick held its trajectory much more firmly!"
Kellar nodded slowly, impressed by the old man’s power of observation.
"If you noticed that birds achieve that stability using their feathers, why don’t you try using actual feathers instead of carving the wood?" said Kellar. "The air will pass through them better, and the arrow will be much lighter."
Lennis’s eyes widened, a flash of revelation lighting up his face.
"Feathers! Of course! It’s so much easier to find and attach than carving wood by hand," said Lennis, slapping his forehead with his palm. "How did I not think of that earlier?"
"It’s a good step forward," said Kellar, weighing the small projectile in his hand before staring directly at the old man. "But tell me... what exactly do you plan to shoot it with?"
Lennis froze in his tracks, looking at the bolt and then back at Kellar before letting out a sigh of frustration.
"How foolish of me! I forgot the main point..." said Lennis, slumping his shoulders in discouragement. "I couldn’t replicate your weapon even though I tried so hard. It is far too difficult to span in a smaller version."
"What stopped you?" said Kellar.
"On the large ballista you designed, we use a wooden lever mechanism that multiplies our force to draw back the tight sinew," said Lennis, gesturing with his hands to explain. "But trying to craft a similar lever mechanism for a small weapon that a hunter can hold in his hands is almost impossible with what we have. If the sinew lacks tension, the shot has no power; and if it is properly tensioned, no man has the grip or the leverage needed to pull the cord back on such a small frame."
Kellar analyzed the old man’s words and smiled faintly. Lennis had the practical intuition and had reached the end result through pure observation, but he still lacked the theory of elementary mechanics. The problem was actually quite simple: he didn’t need to integrate the lever into the weapon’s body itself, but rather create an external tool.
"The problem isn’t the tension, but how you apply the force," said Kellar, grabbing a piece of wood and a bit of charcoal from the hearth to make a quick sketch on the table.
"What do you mean, Shaman?" said Lennis, leaning over the drawing with curiosity.
"You only need to craft an independent spanning lever," said Kellar, drawing the lines with a firm hand. "Picture a wooden bar with a grip at one end and a tip fitted with two small teeth made of metal or bone. Those teeth catch the string on either side of the stock. At the same time, you place a notch or pivot pin near the trigger nut. You rest the lever against that point, pull back to leverage it, and the string will slide back until it locks into the trigger mechanism without any effort."
Lennis stared at the diagram in silence for a few seconds until the logic of the design clicked perfectly in his mind.
"It is such a simple mechanism... yet infinitely effective!" said Lennis, looking up with wide eyes full of admiration. "With a tool like this, even the weakest hunter will be able to span a high-powered hand crossbow in a matter of seconds."
"Get to work on it," said Kellar, patting the old man on the shoulder. "When you have the first prototype ready, I will be the first to test it."