Bolt thrower

Ready the stern bolt throwers!" The three goblin ships were slowly but surely catching up to them. His men, hearing his order rushed to the poop deck where two man-sized bolt throwers covered in oil canvas stood.

Removing the canvas, the men locked the arms of the ballista into position, while others carried meter long wooden shafts topped with bronze bolt heads. Another crew attached a bowstring made out of animal sinew to the arms and hooked it up to a claw.

Two crew members started to clank the winch, pulling the bowstring into its armed position, and another crew loaded the bolt into the flight groove, sitting the bolt against the claw.

"Ready!" The bolt thrower team leader shouted out when his bolt thrower is loaded, followed by another "Ready!" from the second team.

"Get here, boy!" Omaj yelled at the boy again, making him scrambled over to the bolt throwers, the crew members casting looks of disdain at the boy. "Set up your far-seeing eye again! Don't fail me or I whip you till the skin of your back is gone!"

The boy repeated his spell and luckily it held, enabling the bolt thrower team leaders to adjust their aims.

"The goblin ships are in range!" The first mate of Wave Dancer yelled. "Do we fire, Captain?"

"Yes! We need to delay them enough until we can escape!" Omaj glances up at the sun, which was hanging at almost 40 degrees angle in the sky. "At least another five hours to sundown! Once the night comes, we can escape from them!"

"Ready as you are and fire!" The first mate yelled to the team leaders.

The bolt thrower leaders made a few more minor adjustments and waited for the down roll of the waves before pulling the firing lever, and with a snap and crack, the bolts flew off towards the lead goblin ship. Using the far-seeing eye spell, the team leaders observed their shots, while the rest of the crews worked the wench to reload the bolt throwers.

"Down two notches and left three notches!" The leaders ordered their crew to adjust the throwers. "Ready!"

"Fire!"

A lucky bolt, flying out of one of the throwers with a speed of 158 meters per second, arced through the sky, traveling over 300 meters before slamming down at a perfect angle amidship, nailing several rower goblins together, sending them crashing to the back with the rest of the rowers.