In the morning, Wolfe woke up to a soldier poking him in the side and then handing him a tub of something and a note.
[This is military issue recovery balm. It is good for bruises, blisters and sore muscles. Use it liberally as necessary. There is plenty in stock since we have so many healers.
Priya]
“If I give this to you, can you use it?” Wolfe asked the prisoners, who were just beginning to attempt to remove themselves from under Pup.
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“They really did want this to be the most annoying way to die, didn’t they? But that’s fine. Pup, head out and find Mary. She should have food for you. Everyone else, get ready, and I’ll put this balm everywhere.”
Wolfe kindly didn’t mention all of the half-healed bruises and whip marks he saw on the new arrivals. They had clearly been done before the group arrived at the camp, so he just slathered on the balm until even the blisters on their hands and feet had started to heal.
“Now, don’t move. If you rub it off before it absorbs, I’ll have to start all over.”
The balm only took a few minutes to work and absorb into the skin before they could get dressed and run off to the kitchen to start cooking for the shift change.
He didn’t have anything to do for the moment other than keep mana flowing to the front-line barrier, so Wolfe began to sort through the letters that Priya had left for him. Most of it was about incoming supplies since he was in charge of the prisoners, who would be sorting and storing everything, but some were about expected visitors.
They were waiting on a messenger from the Intelligence Office about the man who had been sent by Reiko’s family, one from Command, and Lieutenant Priya was expecting guests who had information for her on what was going on with the Morgana Coven Mainline.
“Wolfe, we need you out here.” The Head Chef shouted unit a few minutes later, sounding frantic about it.
He rushed out of the bunkhouse toward the kitchen and found the man from yesterday pinned to the ground by a blood-covered chef and two of the Prisoners bleeding heavily.
Nobody else could help them, and they couldn’t help themselves, so Wolfe tore a strip off of Mio’s dish towel and wrapped it around her arm tightly to hold the wound closed while he tried to stop the bleeding coming from the other one’s neck.
“Give up. The Demon-Blooded Witches will die either way. You can’t free them.” The man laughed from the ground.
[Sorry to do this, but Stephanie, as your Master, I command you to heal them.] Wolfe ordered the startled cat, who was sitting at a table with the rest of the group.
She had a lot of practice with the spell after weeks of patching up the soldiers’ minor injuries, and a faint glow surrounded her paw before the wounds on the prisoners began to close, and the bleeding came to a halt. Wolfe could sense her agony as she cast the spell, with the Familiar Bond overriding the restrictions on her actions being caused by the prisoner chain.
[That was seriously painful. It felt like my head was being crushed, but I think it worked.] She complained through the mental link.
Wolfe smiled at the kitten’s adorable pouting face. [I’ll make it up to you later.]
“Now, what were you saying? You do know that Sylvan takes a very dim view of assassins, right?
You have no military rank, and your supposed Mistress holds no official office, so it would seem you’re nothing but a lowly bandit who tried to commit multiple murders in our camp.
How about you wait right where you are while we call the Inquisition with a request to look into having her powers stripped for conspiracy to murder military officers during battle.”
The man looked absolutely terrified.
“You can’t prove anything. I am doing the righteous work of purging the demonic descendants of the Magi, following the ancient law.”
Wolfe’s cruel smile was enough to make the failed assassin shrink in on himself. “You think Cook is a Magi? Because everyone here saw the attack. You know, I will have no problem getting you to tell me absolutely everything that I want to know about the actions of your Mistress and her intentions in having you commit this act of Treason.”
“There has no need to go any further, Demon. I can verify his identity and mission.” A proud voice declared from the doorway.
“And you are?” Priya asked, marching in with a trio of older Witches behind her.
“You don’t have the authority to know.” The new arrival sneered.
“But we do. Now answer before we drug you and get the questions that way.” One of the older women demanded.
“Inquisitor Nigella? This isn’t what it looks like.” The Witch began once her mind processed the faces of the witches behind Priya.
“Save it. Drop the disguise to face your accusers.” The old woman demanded.
With her disguise gone, the woman looked a lot like Reiko, but the Inquisitor didn’t seem surprised.
“Demon, hold her in place and lend us your mana while we announce the Covens’ combined judgment.” The Inquisitor demanded, looking at Wolfe.
Everything was happening too fast, and he wasn’t completely sure what was going on here, but if it was one of Reiko’s sisters under that disguise, then allowing her to leave here alive wasn’t likely to lead to a good outcome for anyone once news got back to the city about the survival of Wolfe and the other Witches.
Wolfe cast [Binding Ropes] to tie the two suspects up separately and then extended a hand to the Inquisitor to transfer the mana she requested.
The Witch seemed startled at the amount of Mana that he could provide but didn’t hold back, pulling as much as Wolfe could channel while she chanted a spell and her companion read off a laundry list of crimes, including murder, attempted murder, unlawful imprisonment, and conspiracy to overthrow a Coven Leader.
Wolfe watched as the spell finished and the condemned Witch’s talent burned away, forcibly tearing her mana veins in a way that would never heal, no matter what spell was applied.
To the Witches, it would look like her Aura had been eliminated, but to Wolfe’s eyes, the damage was much more serious than that.
A spell from the third Inquisitor hit the man on the floor, and his face went blank. Then, a wisp of energy left his body and entered a vial, leaving his dead body to slowly crumple to the ground.
“The evidence and the testimony are secure.” The third Witch spoke softly.
“Can we free the wrongfully imprisoned Witches? They’ve been given life sentences for escaping an attempt to kill them, and then they were dumped with us to build the camp.” Priya asked.
“Yes, of course.” The Inquisitor agreed and took out a wand.
She cast a spell, but nothing happened. Then the other two joined in, and Wolfe could see the strain before the leader drew mana through him again, completely draining his storage and taking everything that he and all five of his Witches could provide.
The prisoners collapsed to the ground as the spell ended, and the collars changed from solid iron to black mist.
“Speak your heart. Where do your desires lie.” The Inquisitor asked while she finished her spell, and five pale figures appeared in front of the prisoners. They were identical to the imprisoned witches but transparent and faintly glowing.
“With freedom.” Five ethereal voices replied in unison.
“And why won’t you take it?” The inquisitor asked.
“A life debt is owed to the Demon. Twice he saved these mortal lives without claiming any price.” The voices answered.
“Then choose your own price and be free.” The Inquisitor demanded, shattering the misty collars and causing the prisoners to collapse.
[Through this life and the next, we belong to you.] That same combined voice spoke in Wolfe’s mind before the Witches woke up again with a new mark on their necks.
It was a simple ring with a balance symbol at the throat, much like the core of the Crests on Wolfe’s Witches, but the link felt different.
[Prisoners Active] 0
[Servants] 5