David Watson — known as Iolo to Ultima fans — doesn’t just compose music and design games. He also makes crossbows, which a handful of lucky Ultima fans have received over the years. Joe Garrity has one, for example…and as it happens, it was he who tipped me off to this image set in the New World Arbalest gallery.

Watson (or whoever set up the set) describes its contents thusly:

Crossbows from the private collection of space explorer and game creator Richard Garriot. He kindly allowed us a few hours in his home to document some of his bows.

There appear to be two crossbows featured in the set, both of which are evidently quite ancient. Both bows boast a lot of intricate details, and the New World Arbalest crew took many loving photos of both bows from a variety of angles and zoom levels.

You have to register as a gallery user to view the full-size images, but the preview-scale pictures still offer a very good look at both weapons.