Master Blacksmith Gerard stepped forward. He was the most skilled metalworker in the entire Frankish Empire. He regularly forged steel breastplates that cost one hundred silver coins each.
Gerard picked up the musket. He used a small iron ruler to measure the weapon.
"This weapon weighs ten pounds..." Gerard stated. "The base is made of carved wood, perfectly shaped to rest against a man's shoulder to absorb kinetic force. The iron barrel is thirty-six inches long. The hole inside the barrel is round and measures exactly half an inch in diameter."
Gerard then pointed to the small metal parts near the back of the barrel.
