“Defiled? Do they look defiled to you? They are all sweet, lovely and powerful young Witches.” Wolfe complained.
“And you’ve had sex with how many of them?”
That made Mary laugh. “Good question. If you’d said sleep, he would have said he slept beside us all on the trip into the Wilderness. But I’m pretty sure the answer is two. Cassie and Ella.”
“What’s this? The Noxus Princess and the Tomboy but not the Loli or the buxom blonde? You’ve got weird tastes, Wolfe.”
“Maybe I should have picked someone quieter.” Wolfe lamented.
“We are so keeping this one. Reiko is from a council member’s family, and Mary doesn’t like boys like that.” Ella informed her.
“A high noble, slumming it with us? Or is it true that the Witches only judge by talent?” Beth asked.
“They sort us by talent, and then we pick our own friends. But we’re all in the same class.” Reiko explained.
There was a knock at the door, and Wolfe opened it to find Curtis with a platter of snacks and a middle-aged man in a black business suit.
“This guy wanted to see Wolfe, so I brought you all something to eat. I knew you’d be too busy to have done anything but work on the wands yet.” Curtis explained.
“Thanks, man. Have you heard any news about your new bride?” Wolfe asked.
“Nothing yet. They’re keeping a lid on it until I get to the city.”
Curtis handed over the food and gave Reiko a hug before leaving, with a nudge to push the older man inside the room.
He cleared his throat and took off one glove to shake Wolfe’s hand, sending a faint trail of sparks between them, the clear signal that the man had Magi blood and a very small aptitude for gathering mana.
“I am Roger Noxus, Lady Cassie can verify my identity. I saw you all return to the academy, and I was wondering if the young lady needs a security detail, assuming she’s chosen.
But if she’s not, I was hoping that you could find a good team for the Family members who got drafted. There’s only seven of us, including one other Elder.” he introduced himself.
“I’ve got her a good team, but I can find you a solid Witch to follow among their classmates after the draft when we know which ones are going. Tell the other Elder to find one more loyal member for his team, and you’ll be ready.
But more importantly, I can grant you a gift.” Wolfe replied, then placed his hands on the man’s temples and began clearing the mana pathways as he did for the Witches of the basic class.
Once Wolfe felt a pinhole open through the man’s extremely narrow pathways, mana began pouring in, stretching Roger’s mana focus constantly.
“Do you think you can do that for the other Elders that you see? If you can, it will save a lot of lives. Give me a second, and I will draw you two circles. Memorize them and teach the other Elder tonight.” Wolfe instructed.
“I don’t think I have the power to do that, but I can bring him to you tomorrow. I will memorize these, then give them to him.” The Noxus Elder agreed, then hurried out of the room.
“You know, the Coven won’t be happy if they find out what you have done.” Reiko reminded him.
“They don’t expect any of the recruits from the city to return anyhow. I’m doing them and the Witches they go with a favour. The Elders already know about the ability to pass a Witch their mana. They just couldn’t do it before.” Wolfe shrugged.
“So they will be like you?” Ella asked.
“They don’t have that level of talent. But even if they can get to a tenth of my capacity, they’ll have some of the strongest Witches around, and they’ll be much stronger than the average man, making them excellent protectors.” Wolfe explained.
“If Noor and Parker don’t get drafted, give him to Mandy, my friend from the library. You know, the one with the sides of her head shaved? She’s a nerdy bookworm, but she’s totally into older guys.” Mary suggested.
“And maybe Candia for the other.” She was a friend of mine in grade school, but our parents don’t get along.” Reiko suggested.
“Good enough. Both are competent and suitable for a hand-picked team. I’ll inform the guys in the morning and wait for the Witches to be called.”
Nobody was going to get much sleep that night, so the Witches put their efforts into studying Charms for stealth while Wolfe went through the Adventurers Handbook looking for anything that he could use.
He had already memorized most of the advice in the book, but he couldn’t use the Witch Magic that made up most of the spells. In the end, he settled for making everyone [Gentle Steps] amulets to let them walk without sinking in mud or breaking branches.
Just before dawn, He made Beth an armour amulet in all black with a hooded cloak, and everyone activated their defensive spells to go to breakfast. None of them could bear to get their hopes up by changing into academy uniforms, so they just stayed in travel clothes.
Elder Roger and the other Noxus Elder returned at dawn with a security member as an escort, and Wolfe stealthily fixed the second Elder’s pathways enough to let him use spells.
“They said that you have an arrangement for them and their men.” The guard informed Cassie directly.
“Yes, depending on who gets selected, we have four names for the two groups,” Cassie replied, writing them on a napkin.
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“Only one is selected. Do you have another choice?” The guard asked, after referring to a list on his phone.
“Anyone in this cafeteria right now who is picked would be fine. I understand if you can’t announce the names early.” Cassie agreed.
The guards looked around the room and made a few notes, then nodded.
“I will pass on the request. Usually, there is no reason to deny them since it’s best if teams work well together. Is that your team’s fifth? We were informed you four would be staying as a group if one was selected.”
Cassie patted Beth on the head with a smile. “She’s the one. Best Market Girl in the lower levels.”
The security officer chuckled. “Well, if a rogue was what your group needed, you’ve found the best. It’s in the records now.”