Doughty Matt nodded toward the door.
A servant entered carrying a long, narrow package wrapped tightly in coarse burlap and bound several times with hemp rope. He gently placed it on the tabletop in front of Doughty Matt, then quietly stepped aside.
Doughty cleared his throat. "Everyone, this is the weapon used by Aldo's soldiers—the musket, or what you might call the mortal version of a fire crossbow."
Everyone stared at the package, their expressions varying from curiosity to wariness, while some wore obvious disdain.
Only Mariana struggled to keep her expression under control. The mortal version of a fire crossbow... It sounded rather sarcastic to her.
Doughty did not explain further. He merely reached out, untied the hemp rope, and peeled back the burlap layer by layer. The cloth slid away, revealing a long, slender object as black as ink.
The mages stepped forward to examine it, and some even picked it up themselves.
If stood upright, the thing would reach roughly to an adult man's chest. Its front section was a straight metal tube with a dull, dark gray surface verging on black. It felt cold and smooth, as though repeatedly polished, yet not a single magical marking could be seen.
The barrel was not particularly thick—slightly narrower than a wrist—but it was heavy, clearly not a hollow decorative piece. Near the rear, the metal gradually narrowed and was set into a section of dark-brown wood. The wood had been carved to fit the human shoulder and arm, its curve natural and its edges rounded from long use.
Most eye-catching was the side of the barrel near the wooden stock. A small hole had been made there, with a tiny, hook-shaped piece of iron welded beside it, like part of a broken candlestick bracket. A little charred ash