The test stone flies high and falls back into the river, plunging straight into the raging currents. This result is met with much grumbling from the Servicemen, one of them even gives the onager a kick, but Zimmer quickly gets back to work adjusting the firing arc and less than half an hour later, the second stone easily clears the far bank and thuds into the ground.

As the rope and grapple is being placed in the machine, one of the kobolds steps up to Zimmer to recommend himself and his kin for the task of traversing the river. You have some difficulty understanding his words, as his voice has a somewhat cavernous echo to it, and he carries a strong accent that emphasises palatal consonnants. "We are far more skilled," he is saying, "than any human at this task. We learn to climb from the moment we leave our nests, and we weight far less than you do." Zimmer seems a bit uncomfortable speaking with the kobold, they are after all seldom seen in Moolyage or the adjoining lands, and the sharp, needle-like teeth that line his red-scaled jaws probably remind him of the country tales of kobolds stealing infants and very young children to eat them. Still, he nods in agreement, and brings the issue to you, noting that he'd already found someone he considered fit for the task, but the kobold made a good argument.