Novel Full 200 200 Hospitality Planning
With a basic plan formed, Wolfe went looking for Cassie, Ella and the Servants. They could build the actual hovel for him and make it as sturdy as possible in case of attack, though it would have to look ramshackle and dilapidated on the outside.
He would improve the appearance of the inside a little so that their friends didn’t think they were unwelcome in the Den and so that one of the Witches who had decent healing magic could sit there all day and help whoever needed it.
“What’s the plan for the day?” Cassie asked as she walked into the room with Ella right behind her.
“I have a plan to make a shop of sorts. I want to upgrade the entrance to the Den with a small building, like the Nomadic Witches are supposed to have made all over the place in the Coven Territories. You know the ones I mean?” He asked.
“Of course, they’re practically a mainstay of every movie about the outside. A fieldstone wall, with wooden shakes for a roof, and a single window beside the door. How big are you thinking?” Ella laughed.
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We are getting too many visitors and sending out too many patrols for everyone to be coming and going through the cave entrance without it being noticeable. But since they come and go one at a time, it wouldn’t be too suspicious if they were coming to a Nomad’s house.” He explained.
“That’s not a terrible idea. We have more witches here who know about construction as well, so we can make it a nice warm stopover for the patrols who come to drop off messages and let them stay up above, where there aren’t as many witches.
They’re on our side, but we still make them nervous, and only a few are willing to come to talk to us, so they are the ones that come here all the time, despite the fact they’re not even on scout duty. Some of them just hang around one of the safe spots and wait for messages so they can relay them to us because the other scouts don’t want to come in.” Ella agreed.
Cassie tapped her chin as she thought about how to build the new entryway, then clapped her hands as she came up with a solution for the issue of reluctant scouts.
“Why don’t we make a sheet for them to check? They can’t speak properly around us, but they can still read letters and other messages, so if we write out the options of asking for healing, leaving a message, or requesting to talk to someone, then they can do everything that they need all in one spot.
The gardens are growing the basic medicinal herbs now, so we can make healing potions for them, and if I’ve calculated it right, a single small vial will be more than enough payment for messages to keep them happy.
We can make ten vials to a full potion, and any witch here can make them, thanks to the power they’ve gained from the mana array and your initial work on their aura damage.”
That sounded like a good idea to everyone present, so they started to make plans to get the building put up today, and then they could be in business for tomorrow’s messages.
If the scouts didn’t need the potions, they would know someone who did, so trading a vial of potion and a loaf of bread for intelligence about the mundane army’s movements was a very good deal for everyone involved.
“I will go get the rest of the construction workers. They will have ideas on how best to make the building and the hidden door. We don’t want the humans getting into the Den even if they find their way into the house, so we will need all the minds we can gather to come up with the best ideas on how to create the wards.” Nia offered.
“Grab the senior officers and Priya too. If we’re going to be going in and out of the building, we should schedule the shifts so that it looks like the same pair going in and out.
It will make a small gap in the watch, but it will disguise our numbers. They’re all wearing matching armour amulets now since Wolfe upgraded us for the battle, so we should all look the same to the humans.”
Delegating was definitely the way to go. Wolfe had been planning to spend all day trying to work out how to keep their presence low-key, but in just a few minutes, with ten extra minds on the problem, they had a plan formed.
“Alright, we are going to set up the building, and then you can upgrade the patient’s bed and the comfortable chairs for the clinic room. The others are going to work on a secure chest now that will protect the potion vials from theft and damage, so we should be ready to go in the morning, even if the healing potions are a bit low-grade.” Nia explained when she returned a few minutes later.
“If they can heal deep cuts and broken bones, they will be good enough for almost all of the scouts to be happy. That is what they’re usually worried about during emergency situations, and we already have an agreement to go to the villages regularly to deal with the lingering illnesses.”
The dark-haired witch smiled at him, then asked the question that had been bothering her for a while. “Are you really planning to make a real village out here? You’re not going to change your mind and want to move back into the city?”
Wolfe nodded. “I am much happier out here. This is far better than the city, and we don’t have a bunch of bureaucrats breathing down our necks all the time. There are no Coven Raids, no police patrols or crime that would need one. The monsters don’t bother us too much, and we have the ability to turn them away if they do start to swarm around the Den.
Honestly, there aren’t really any selling points that would make me want to go back to the Cities, even though Sylvan says that I am allowed inside since both Cassie and Ella are considered citizens now.”