Sir John of Morton spoke of having done new calculations regarding the use of powder and the corresponding angle of the trajectory. While David did not follow all of the mathematics, he did understand what John was driving at. They could use less powder, not drive the shot so high, and use a lower, flatter trajectory. This would bring the balls into the keep at an angle instead of almost vertically. The gun crew commander thought this would be better, since it would make the shot carom off the walls, spreading the destructive force.
He watched as the bombard roared its latest challenge to the tenure of the English in the Citadel. Their corrections to the angle of the trajectory were quite good, but not exactly accurate. Instead of falling inward, it hit the parapet edge and shattered, sheeting the whole area with tiny shards of granite as well as fragments large and small of the marble cornice of the crenelation. As it was, this served to do great damage to the enemy, although Sir David and Sir John could barely make out the extent of it.
David raised the muzzle a tad bit and felt assured that the next shot would drop as desired. Meanwhile, they were saving enough of the precious powder to enable them to have three or four more shots at the end of the supplies. That might be critical. He grinned in anticipation as they waited for Sir Jamie to arrive and hear about what they had done. Hopefully he would approve of their initiative.
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