The dwarves had clearly never considered that humans might visit when they built the arrow tower. The passage leading upward was absurdly low and cramped, forcing him to climb while nearly crouching. A moment later, Lord finally crawled out of the passage, covered in dust and grime, and the space finally opened up a little.
"I should have just climbed up from the outer wall." He patted his hair, sending dust billowing everywhere, then sneezed twice in a row despite himself.
Robbie's voice came from ahead. "This is our ballista."
Richard had just pulled out a handkerchief and was preparing to blow his nose. At those words, he instinctively raised his head for a glance—and his eyes immediately locked onto the thing before him.
Even though he had long known that dwarves were a famous race of smiths, and even though living two lifetimes had given him a fairly broad range of experience, he still had to admit that this ballista far exceeded his original expectations.
Every component was made of steel. Its structure was compact, and four supporting spikes had been driven into the gaps between the floorboards to keep it steady.
A bearing assembly embedded with cylindrical connectors joined the body of the ballista to its base. The steel arms were divided into three sections and curved backward, connected by an energy-storage mechanism made of springs and gears. Since arriving in this world, this was the first time he had seen a design that ran so slightly contrary to intuition.
Every component had been carefully polished smooth. Under the early morning sunlight, they gave off a faint blue sheen. Compared with the rough wooden and stone walls around them, their refinement made them seem as though they had come from another dimension.
"You made this?" Lord gently stroked