How To Set A Double-Nested Spitter Trap
By Warden Amalia, Seventh Warden of Gaelia
As the oath of the warden is generations old, so too is our extensive knowledge of survival techniques.
The technique I write about today is that of setting a double-nested spitter trap, and I commit the knowledge to construct and utilize this deadly device to paper, so that the wardens that follow may use its knowledge in service of our shared promise.
The trap's function and materials themselves are simple, though the construction can be anything but to an unpracticed hand. Should you set it right, your target will spring it, thus finding themselves in a situation not unlike being caught in the claw of a giant yabby.
So how do we construct such a mechanism? A warden will need the following simple survival implements to set up the trap:
- A thin tripwire, either of soft metal or corded thread, though a fishing line can do.
- Twenty small barbs made of serrated iron or steel, each no larger than the palm of one's hand.
- Two sturdy, wooden planks of the toughest wood, preferably hickory or maple, each with ten holes drilled through the face, like a flute.
- Two thick ropes of the highest strength available.
- Twenty-four metal bolts.
- A single block of beeswax.
First, the barbs must be loosely inlaid within the planks, ten each, and the planks themselves must then be securely hinged with two bolts per plank on one end each from the canopy of two opposite trees.
Then the free end of each plank must be hung perpendicular by the ropes across the space between the two trees, thus creating a "nest" for the other end of each plank to rest on in the canopy.
If done correctly, the barbs themselves will be pointing vertically, away from the ground. The other ends of each rope must then be strung over and tied around the base of the trees, with the tripwire arming the trap connecting the two.
Finally, the trunk of the trees must be dotted with beeswax, upon which the warden affixes the remaining twenty bolts, ten each tree, in an equal distance matching that of the fluted barbs in the planks.
When a target trips the wire, it will release the tension from the ropes, causing the two planks to fall from their double nests. The planks, still hinged at one end each, will swing downwards and slam into the tree trunks vertically...
...at which point the metal ends of every barb poking through the planks will be struck against a bolt, which will forcefully eject all twenty barbs from their resting places within the planks, and they will "spit" from both trunks towards the target standing in the middle.
They will be impaled by the barbs on two sides and quickly bleed to death from the sheer hemorrhaging, if they did not already die instantly.
Warden, you now understand the complicated trap that is the double-nested spitter trap. Do not, under any circumstances, set this trap anywhere near civilized areas.
It is best used in areas where dangerous beasts roam: beasts that pose great threat to the wilds, and who are otherwise unable to be felled with conventional weaponry. I trust you will have the foresight to use this knowledge responsibly, warden. Hunt well.
(What a fascinating technique!)
You can't see yourself going to the trouble of setting up such a trap, but the ingenuity used to construct a device out of everyday survival tools is inspiring.
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