Tailspin sat on the 'Buttwing' ( Butt : a barrel containing 108 gallons) and said, " the footrest is a nice touch, it could maybe use a cushion for long flights", Neiwil made a note. Surveying his ' mount ' Tailspin asked, " how does it....errrr....go! "? Neiwil held up a sheet of parchment, it was a 5 frame animatic, a bit rough, it would need to go to ' trace and paint' for tidying up and coloration, but Tailspin could visualise the scene. Neiwil pointed to the last frame, " don't let that put you off, I nicked my finger sharpening my quill..", he said. Tailspin gave a nervous laugh,saying " that's a relief,, when can I try it "? Neiwil sat on the floor with his head in his hands, " it's not going to work!" he said dejectedly. " Why not "? asked Tailspin, Neiwil had seen the one fundamental flaw in the project. " at that scale you could fly about 50 yards", he said, pointing at the first animatic frame. " by the time you cocked the thing, you could have walked there and back and had your tea. The Trebuchet would have to be a hundred, two hundred times bigger, to cover any appreciable distance. The requirements for a Trans-Global Transportation system would be phenomenal,and the result would be the same as", he tapped the fifth frame..." the only difference is you'd be crashing into a Trebuchet every 20 feet, not a castle!". Tailspin went to the corner of the workshop and poured two mugs of warm ale, handing one to Neiwil, he sat down and waited. Three miles away, in Grimyre Woods, the Troll bandit Scrotumuggly and his hoard, were going over the plan one last time.They would attack Snotting on Ye Wold at midnight.They would kill all the men, rape the cattle and carry off the women for a light snack on the way home. Back at the Inventorium, Tailspin asked " was that thunder "? Outside a miss-guided comet streaked skywards from behind Frank Whittles house with a scream that made the hairs on Neiwils neck stand up. At 2,000 feet the porcine projectile exploded, showering burning pork fat on Grimyre Woods. Two days later the remains of 25 trolls would be found among the charred remains of the once popular picnic site. It was assumed they were just camping out, a most unfortunate incident. Neiwil stood up and stretched, "what time is it "? he asked. " 9-45 ", was the reply, " DAMN!!, I've missed my date with........" Neiwil didn't finish that sentence but went on, " I'm going home, I don't have a spare bed, you can sleep here, there's a put-me-up in the storage shed you can use, goodnight ". With that, he left. A twinkle climbed up on Tailspins shoulder, heading for his eye, when.....Neiwils head appeared around the door and said, " and stay away from Eve !!".....the twinkle leapt from Tailspins shoulder, executed a perfect half pike and dived into his ale mug.......which was empty....the twinkle died on impact. As Neiwil walked towards home he had an irrational urge to make a bacon sandwich. As he passed Frank Whittles house he heard " pssstt ", it was Frank. Frank handed Neiwil a great stack of parchments saying, " I'm getting nowhere with this, and it's taking up all my time. I think Wendy may be seeing someone on the side, I can't blame her. I've decided to take her to visit her Brother Runsiman over at Couchbutt Sanscomfort Dell, I hear it's quite nice there at this time of year. Anyway, this is all my research, if you can make anything of it your welcome". With that, Frank went in doors. As Neiwil walked home with the parchments under his arm he thought, ' make something of it! yeh and pigs might fly '........once at home he began to read and read and read some more.......things were about to get a little strange around Snotting on Ye Wold..........