Cassie and Ella had prepared a very nostalgic room for the three of them that night. Much like the bunker back on the front lines, it had a woven vine cot, blankets on the walls to reduce the echoes, and not much else but a magical lantern.
It was also around a corner from the other bedrooms in the tunnels, closer to the storage rooms than the other sleeping quarters. It was a small blessing, considering that the door was just a hung woollen blanket.
In case they were found and attacked, it wasn’t safe to have soundproof charms active, but they did have a little privacy.
They made the best use of it that they could, catching up on all the days they had missed being together, and when they came out in the morning, there were a lot of smirking witches gathered around a container of food and a note from the nearest village.
They had a bad fight with a group of beasts the day before and were hoping that a witch could come to help heal the ones who were in the worst shape.
“I can take care of it with Cassie and Ella on our way out. Wait, do either of you know how to ride? We need the dirt bikes for today’s mission.”
The witches gave him two very different versions of the “Are you stupid?” look, and Wolfe sighed.
“Who else can ride? Cassie will be on base defence today. The scout under the bush will pass any messages you need to get to the locals.”
Only eight of the other witches raised a hand to indicate that they were confident with their riding skills, but that would be good enough for the day.
“I will take Ella to go help heal the villagers. Then we will head for the suspected airstrip. There are four good-looking targets in this list. Each team of two should pick one to attack. Ride up as close as you can safely, unload on them and run away.
Don’t stick around to die. Just damage them as much as you can and leave. The monsters and other residents in the area will be drawn to the noise and blood, saving us the trouble of cleanup.
Any questions?”
The witches looked determined and were checking over their equipment in preparation to leave when one finally spoke up.
“Aren’t we just scouts? Why are we wiping out supply convoys?”
“Easy, we’re doing it because we’re here. We have the capability. And most importantly, every destroyed convoy we report back improves the morale on the Sylvan lines. If the guesses that you all made yesterday were right, the humans are close to cracking and might leave before the spring thaw makes travel nearly impossible for their heavy vehicles.”
At least, that was what Wolfe was hoping for. For almost all of the witches, their six months would be up in the spring, and they would be able to return to relatively normal lives once the war ended if the mundane army left in a timely manner.
“That’s good enough for me. We could all use a bit of hope. Even the chaos on the radio after we hit them will help raise morale. Good luck, everyone, and come back safely so we can do it again tomorrow and the day after.” She agreed.
Their new rides needed some assembly, but everyone managed that in just a few minutes with the provided instructions before heading out into the snowy fields.
A strength charm allowed them to carry the dirt bikes until they were on the path worn by a previous mundane army patrol so that the tire racks didn’t lead right back to the cave. They would have to find a solution once the spring thaw began, but for now, it should be enough, with all the other matching tire tracks in the snow and long grass.
“Again, be safe, everyone. We will likely be much later to return than you since we’re going over to help the village first, but I’ve got a good radio, and we will check in.” Wolfe reminded them.
“Sure thing, boss. We will cause as much chaos as possible today and then leave them for the monsters. They might have set the monsters against us to begin with, but two can play that game.” A small witch with electric blue hair tucked under the hood of her armour spell agreed.
Wolfe would learn all their names later, he was certain of it, but for now, it was enough just to recognize them by the link they shared.
With so many witches holding servant bonds, his power was growing at an incredible rate, and it wouldn’t be long before his third Mana Focus was complete, despite being only recently formed.
The village they were looking for was on the way toward the mountain to their northwest, and it only took a few minutes to reach with the new rides. The elders were waiting outside for them when Wolfe and Ella arrived, but they looked disappointed that it was only the two of them.
[Didn’t they tell you we were attacked? There are hundreds in need of magical healing.] The elder scrawled on an army notepad.
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He had seen the spell in action before, and after so long at the refugee camp, the witches had a lot of practice with healing magic. At least, those who still had enough aura did.
Ella was going to speak to the elder, but the elder just raised his hand to stop her and shook his head. “The curse affects you as well. Or maybe it’s only affecting you since they can speak when no witches are nearby. You’ll just shriek like a banshee in their ears.”
Her feeling of hurt and upset was clear through the bond, and Wolfe pulled her into a hug to comfort her.
“You can still write them notes. It’s just a curse that prevented armies from communicating during the war that has gone awry over the centuries.” He explained.
The elders didn’t wait any longer to usher them to the main hall, which was their infirmary for the day, with what looked like the entire village present and in need of emergency medical attention.
Ella took out her healing wand and moved to the corners of the room to place down small talismans before returning to Wolfe and giving him the thumbs up.
He wrapped an arm around her and began pouring a trickle of mana into her, which she spread to the talismans, creating a huge circle of soft green light around the infirmary.
Wolfe let her freely draw on the mana from him after that since it had far less extreme side effects that way than if he pushed things, and the trickle turned to a raging river as Ella activated the spell to heal everyone.
“Tell them to get everyone in the village inside the circle. I can’t hold it forever, but the number of people doesn’t matter.” She whispered in Wolfe’s ear.
“Elder, please bring everyone to this room. No matter the ailment, or even if they seem healthy, bring them in.” Wolfe relayed, and the villagers hurried to comply.
The glow in the room continued to intensify, and Ella was visibly sweating with the effort a half hour later, but the wounded were all up and about again, and even the frail and elderly looked much better. Their rescue mission had been a resounding success.
Meanwhile, back at the den, Cassie was starting her patrol around the Den for the day when she heard a stifled cough from under a bush near the entrance. Since they were in hiding and not hostile, she understood that the person hiding there must be their link to the mutant village, so Cassie focused and activated a healing spell on the scout, then opened her eyes wide in shock at what she found.
The girl had the worst case of leukemia she had ever seen and a dozen other blood disorders. But magic could cure all of them with enough power, so as soon as she felt the draw on Wolfe fade as Ella finished her work, she started her own healing efforts.
The girl might never know just how sick she was since they lacked access to even mundane medical scans, but she should feel much better now that the spell was complete and the ailments were cured.
Cassie left the scout under the bush without a word, not that they could have responded to her anyhow, she assumed, and went about her patrol, missing the softly whispered “thank you” from under the bush.
