318 318 Back to the Academy
The next morning, it was time for Peach and the others to start heading back to the city to give their report to Reiko and the Coven Council. Even if they wanted to stay longer, it wasn’t a great idea, with the Council waiting on them and the Academy starting classes again after the break.
If they didn’t return, the Council would start thinking that the Fae Forest was dangerous and hostile, and that was the last thing that they wanted. Wolfe had agreed to load them up with the supplies that the Council wanted, including a barrier array, plenty of guns for the guards and a large area [Garden Charm] that the Second Rank Witches were going to work on together.
The Witches had gotten their end of the job done early this morning as soon as the breakfast service started, but an hour later, they still hadn’t seen Wolfe come down to eat.
“Cassie, you need to go fetch your husband. The Headmistress is nearly ready to head out, and nobody knows what ammunition is the stuff he enchanted for them or where the barrier array is.” Ella called across the room to where Cassie was sitting with Mary and their familiars.
“Fine, fine,” Cassie called back, then focused on where Wolfe was.
According to her link with him, he should be quite a ways to the Northwest of her, likely near the edge of the forest where the river exited, so he should be near the plane or the APC that the Coven group left waiting. She could tell he was ignoring the noise in the link, which meant he wasn’t hearing the others calling for him, so she poked at his mind to catch his attention.
[What’s up?]
[They’re wondering when you will be ready to start loading the stuff for the Coven. Nobody else knows what you enchanted or if you have even done it yet.] She reminded Wolfe in an annoyed tone.
Late last night, he had enlisted Ella’s help and gone overboard, overloading her mind with pleasure through the link. So much so that even after the healing spell, she was exhausted to start the day.
[Don’t be cranky. I know you liked it. I’m in your mind. But to summarize, I’ve got almost all the ammunition loaded now, along with some other goodies, but the [Barrier Array] I am still working on.
For the size they need, it will be fifty poles, like the front line was during the Monster Tide. But I haven’t tried to enchant something of that shape with this array before, so it took some extra work. Give me thirty minutes, and everything will be loaded and ready to go.]
His answer only annoyed her even more. He was in her mind, so he knew that she was exhausted, but both he and Ella thought it was hilarious. Cassie decided that once the Headmistress departed, she was definitely going back to bed and locking the door behind her.
Cassie looked back at Ella and sighed. “He’s up top loading the APC for them. He’s still working on the poles for the barrier array, but he’s got most of the rest of it ready already.”
“Well, that’s good news. I thought that it might take him longer to get everything finished up.” Ella answered with a happy smile and a mouthful of pancakes.
“Will the barrier really hold off an attack over that much area?” One of the Noxus Elders asked as he took in every detail of the Den he could before it was time to go.
“Definitely. But the upkeep of it, while it is under attack, can get quite expensive in terms of mana cost. So, while the Array can hold a fair bit of mana to keep it running, it will take a lot of witches to keep it up if you really get attacked by a serious force.
On the bright side, it is one-directional. You can shoot arrows or bullets out of it without issues, so you can fight back while the barrier blocks them.” Ella explained.
The Elder smirked at her. With that sort of advantage, it would not be easy to take them down while they were defending the farms.
Wolfe came down a few minutes later and gave Headmistress Peach a thumbs up. “You’re ready to go. Do you think that you will be able to get everything set up without me?
I’ve been working all morning to get the Array perfect, so it won’t take too much from the witches who need to keep it active, but it could be a bit tricky to get it to activate if you don’t place the poles correctly.
If it’s being a pain, move them a bit closer, and then it should activate.”
ραndαsΝοvεl.cοm
That got a giggle out of the witches in the Den. Even the girls who had just awakened were among the safest people in the Frozen Wastes since they were both in the Fae Forest and capable of using their own magic.
“Would you like us to escort you to the edge of the Forest? I would offer to fly you home, but someone needs to drive the APC back, and the plane can’t carry that much ammunition.” Wolfe offered.
“Just how much ammunition did you put in the vehicle anyhow?” The driver asked.
“About fifty cases? There is a pair of storage lockers in the front, so I just loaded them up and then put the poles for the array in a bundle on one of the seats.”
“Did you think about where the rest of us are supposed to sit?” The driver laughed.
“Don’t underestimate my planning skills. I counted the seats. But I also made the poles shorter than the ones they used for the Monster Tide since you won’t need to deploy these ones from horseback. They’re just big enough to hold the array, less than a metre tall, so they can be stood up on the seat.
That way, they will also fit behind the low stone fences that I saw when I was last near the farms. That should keep the barrier a secret until you activate it or someone tries to breach it.”
“Alright, enough chatter, let’s get a move on so we’re back into the Academy in decent time tomorrow.” One of the Noxus Elders chided them.
He was actually more eager to get home and show off all the new things he had learned and the power he had gained, but getting the Headmistress back home safely was the first order of business.
She could meet with the Coven whenever she wanted, and everyone else would give their reports as soon as they got back since they were the official ambassadors, while the Headmistress was only supposed to be here to give legitimacy to them.
The fact that she had broken through to the Second Rank wasn’t public knowledge yet either, so dropping her at the Academy and not driving through the city where every Witch within twenty blocks would feel her aura was probably the better option.