Inheritor Of Magic: The Magi King

“The Charms are right over here, and we will have someone bring you the swords and bowstrings that you were looking for. Would you like them for a longbow or a compound bow?” The older village Witch asked.

“Compound. They’re much better suited to moving through the swamps. But for the blades, if you have Fire, it might be better than Lightning enchantments. You know, with all the water around.” Wolfe suggested, making the Witches laugh.

Magical lightning didn’t work like that, it was mostly driven by the caster’s will, but to a layman, it would make sense to be afraid of being electrocuted.

“We will see what we have. Most of them are Army leftovers, if that works for you all.” The local Witch asked.

“That’s fine. A good Magical sword is better than what we’re working with.”

The witches picked out the Charms they asked for and a selection of common reagents for healing potions, and then the supply runner was back with the rest of their order.

“This is the rest of what you requested. Would you like to rest in town for the day?” The elderly witch asked.

“We would appreciate it. A day out of the woods is always a nice change. Plus, we’ve got money now.” Ella agreed, hefting the bag of coins that had come with their supplies.

Wolfe used [Detect Hidden] to check the coins and found unfamiliar markings on them. They weren’t the same as the money on most of the soldiers that he had killed last winter, but they weren’t from the three local covens.

This meant that this army was from the elusive third nation, which was supposed to be on the front lines, which had never come into Wolfe’s territory and hadn’t retreated back into the Wastes after the battle.

They must have come to Morgana to regroup and found a willing group of Witches to help them out.

“These are good all through the swamps, as long as it isn’t a group flying the flag of the new Coven Leader. There aren’t many of them in the Swamps though, so you should be alright as you travel west for the spring. 

Just keep an eye out for the Capture squads. They’re not with us, and we haven’t managed to get rid of them all yet. There just aren’t enough people in the Swamp to find them all.”

Wolfe nodded. “We found a few of them earlier this spring. It’s made us a bit wary about the villages since we didn’t know how many of them had sided with the ones capturing Witches to take East. There was a rumour going around about a Demon in the Wastes hunting them to capture the Witches for himself as well.”

Wolfe sensed how hard Ella was trying not to laugh at his insinuation since he was the Demon in question, but the old Witch only nodded in agreement.

“What a Demon would want with all those Witches is concerning. They don’t usually kill the Witches off that quickly if you get my meaning. But it’s a lot for one Demon to keep under control. We heard that Myrrh Coven was going to send someone to look for him and try to make a deal to recover their people, though. Assuming they’re still alive.”

They had done that. However, they were more interested in the news of the Fae Forest, which didn’t seem to have made it here yet.

“Did you see anything strange in the Wastes when you were there?” The younger Witch asked as Wolfe sensed a charm being activated, likely a truth charm.

The magic flowed over him, but it wasn’t strong enough to compel Wolfe. It would tell the Witch if he outright lied to her, though.

“There is a brand new Forest in the Frozen Wastes. That’s pretty out of the ordinary. But other than that, it’s mostly just wreckage of the battles, and they’ve all been picked clean by the locals, so there isn’t much to loot.” Wolfe shrugged.

“A forest? What sort?” The Witch asked, confused.

“Massive trees, warm even in the early spring, dense magic, wisps hiding in the shadows. You know, a Forest.” Wolfe replied, giving her his best-confused look.

The Forests around here were the same, in a way, but that wasn’t normal for so far up into the mountains, much less in the Frozen Wastes, with the damaged spells altering everything.

“That might backfire on us. A Fae Forest decides who it lets out and in. If we accidentally get too close, we might never be seen again, and if we run into that Demon or his Witch slaves, our team could be in real trouble. Let the much closer villages try it out first, and if they have good luck, we can send someone.” The Elder Witch decided.

“If you’re looking for a meal and a bed, the hotel is this way. I’m off shift now, so I’ll lead you over before I head home.” One of the guards who had brought their order offered.

“I appreciate it. It’s not usually hard to find the way around a small village, but it’s certainly more pleasant when you’ve got a guide if you know what I mean.” Wolfe joked.

“It’s not easy for a wanderer, is it? I heard before I moved here about how the Renegades are bad news, but we haven’t really seen many of them yet, and the ones that have come to the village have all been on their best behaviour while they were here.” The human replied with a shrug.

“It’s not an easy life, but it’s free. The real problem is the ones who work with the slavers. They give everyone else a bad name and make it hard for us to get by. But, once we get to be familiar faces to a few villages in the region, I’m sure we will do as well here as we did in the last spot.” Ella agreed.