409 409 The Work Is Done
The discussion about who should be wearing the outfit was disturbed by the return of Ella and the other witches, who were completely confused by the strange fashion show, though Ella recognized the outfit as one of Wolfe’s spells right away.
“Would you care to explain what in the world is going on here? Did you lot at least let him finish his work before you swarmed Wolfe with your questions and gratitude?” The Elder demanded, more concerned about the weapons than what might have led to the guardsman in a barbarian outfit.
“Yes, Elder. We did let him finish his work first. We waited very patiently until he was done with his actual work, and then we started with the questions and requests, which led to him agreeing to make a pair of armour amulets as long as he got to pick the design. The first one is over there, and the barbarian-looking outfit was a result of Wolfe running with a joke about all the men in town being cavemen.” One of the witches explained.
“Oh, that one’s not bad. Very stylish. But the other villages might think that we’re a bit odd if we let the Caveman wander about in his furs and leathers.” The Elder chuckled.
“Give him a gun, and he might look more like a special forces operative. I designed it to be compatible with the regular military gear so that you can load him up with ammunition and stuff.” Wolfe suggested.
“Since when did I become a dress-up doll?” The guardsman complained.
ραndαsnοvεl.cοm “Since you got here. Besides, we can’t tell if it’s really appropriate for duty if you don’t fully load yourself with gear, right? Someone get this man a pack and a duty rifle with some spare ammunition.” A witch in the back called out.
Much to his chagrin, there was another guard passing by at that moment, and he had everything that they needed to finish the outfit. The backpack was equipped, the bandoliers loaded, and the sword hung on his hip before he was handed the rifle to complete his patrol kit.
“Not bad. He looks much more complete like this, and it’s almost normal hunter attire, just minus the shirt.” One of the witches in the crowd mused out loud.
“Haha. Alright, you’ve had your fun. Now, are we going to modify this or not?” The guard asked.
“Definitely not. I like it.” Wolfe chuckled.
Grok considered telling the man that he could just put a shirt on before he had the amulet activated, and it would still be there afterward, as long as it was skintight. But decided that since everyone was having so much fun, he shouldn’t be a spoilsport.
Ella cleared her throat and addressed the crowd. “The new barrier array needs mana to top it off. It is placed in the central garden in the middle of town, next to the Garden Charm, inside the metal cage. Whoever is capable is requested to help keep them both filled with mana and topped off in case of emergency, and I am proud to announce that the entire village is about to be under the effects of both of the spells.
Your home gardens will grow just as fast as the crops in the hydroponic bays since it’s an area spell, so keep that in mind when planning your planting and harvest schedules. You will end up with a lot more reagents than usual, as well as whatever foods and fruits are in your home gardens and window boxes.”
“Seriously? You put the whole village under the charm? That is amazing. Now, we won’t have to keep up hundreds of individual charms, and we can all just put mana into the one central charm to help the whole village. It will be great even for the human homes since they will get all the benefits of the charm without the need to create and renew one of their own.”
The Witches totally forgot about the strangely dressed pair once they realized just how immersive the spell that Ella had cast was, and the Colonel didn’t even get a chance to use his prepared speech amid all the excitement.
The Elder simply waited until it died down and then began to sort everyone out into various tasks to get the village ready for the next stage in their plans, while a number of the rescued Witches and Soldiers took the hint to give Wolfe one last parting thank you before heading back to their homes or duties.
The village had a lot that needed to be done in this crucial transitional period, and they didn’t really have time to hang around Wolfe all day, no matter how thankful they were. It was for the best, though. The gear needed to go out to the scouts, and the teams were in the middle of a shift change, which all the excitement had delayed.
Wolfe did notice that even after their protests about the appearance when they first saw the outfits that Wolfe had chosen, neither of the recipients of the Armour spells willingly gave up the Amulets that he had made for them. Despite their misgivings about their appearance, they were just too good to turn down.
“I believe that was everything that you requested, Elder. I can already see that the flowers and herbs are growing more quickly, so they must have charged the spell up before they went back to their duties, and the bows have been shipped to all of the guards who specialize in ranged attacks.
I hope that they won’t actually need to use them in the near future, but they are well equipped now, so if they do come under attack, they have a good chance of winning any sort of fight that they come across.” Wolfe announced.
The Elder nodded happily. “I suppose that is your way of saying that you will be on your way tomorrow with your merry little band of Witches, isn’t it? Should we send word to the villages between here and the Frozen Wastes that you are coming?”
Wolfe looked to Ella, who nodded that she agreed they could spend the time stopping along the way.
“That would be wonderful. If you could also mark on our map the ones that you can confirm are of the same sort of mindset as you, that would be great. I would hate to stumble into a Grand Dutchies village by accident, especially with so many Witches in my group.
We can handle ourselves well enough, but as you might have noticed, it does tend to draw a bit of attention, and I would prefer to avoid that if at all possible.”
The Colonel chuckled at Wolfe’s understatement. “Yes, I can mark them all for you. There are a number that we have indicated as currently empty, so if you find people in the former villages of the Sylvan Coven that aren’t on my list, they might be loyal to nearly anyone.”
“Thanks for the heads up. I will keep it in mind as we go. At this rate, it will take us about a week to get home to the Fae Forest, but we will radio ahead when we’re closer to notify them of the alliances so that they don’t give anyone a hard time if you need their help before we can make it back.”