Inheritor Of Magic: The Magi King

They didn't have many knives with them, but the incision to remove the trackers was even faster than Wolfe could cast [Wind Blades] and unlock the wristbands.

It also didn't need any magical input, so they could all do it themselves, and even the most squeamish were eager to get any trace of their time in captivity out of their bodies.

June cast a light spell so that everyone could see to work as the natural light faded, and Wolfe finished with the removal of the wristbands. It was an oversight not to have brought a box to store the wristbands in, but he could bury them easily enough, and they would likely stay lost unless they had a tracker in them as well.

"How about I activate an armour spell for everyone? I can make it look like normal clothing, so you can get rid of the prison jumpsuits for the trip back to the Den. They have normal clothing there, made with witch magic, but I can't do that, and I don't think June could do a hundred sets in a day." Wolfe recommended.

"Go ahead. Let's see what a proper Demon can do for armour." One of the witches answered with a giggle.

Armour spells were usually either uniform or carefully personalized by the witches who wore them, so the thought that a Demon had his own signature armour that would work on Witches was right on the border between improbable and definitely a joke.

Wolfe looked at her with a smirk and activated the spell, creating an extremely short and low-cut dress under her coveralls.

"What do you think? I like it. But I suppose it won't be very warm." Wolfe teased her.

"I think I would freeze before I got back to your safe place." She agreed, with tears of laughter in her eyes.

The other witches looked at her in confusion, as they couldn't see what Wolfe had created under the hideous orange outfit, but Wolfe had changed it to a simple sweater dress and tights with boots before she could show anyone.

Then he looked around the group with [Detect Hidden] active, giving each of the witches the same casual style of armour in matching black, and smiled in satisfaction.

"There we go, all done. Everyone is in armour now, and we can get moving. It will be slow in the dark, but it's better than staying outside in the snow for longer than necessary."

Wolfe paused at that point. "On second thought, I don't think any of you are in a fit condition for that, are you? How about this? June will dig us a nice underground bunker, which I will protect with magic, and we will call for some trucks to come with food and gather everyone up in the morning?"

"I think we can live with that as long as they bring food. Everyone who was caught by the retreating army forces was basically dragged along without any sort of supplies. I don't know what you all did out here, but from what I heard, the Demons in the Frozen Wastes have starved them out.

Even the unit that was driving us was arguing over the last case of the good rations already, and they still had to make it all the way across the Wastes to get home.

I think they have a meeting point set up though, like an airstrip or something where they can do a mass evacuation."

"That sounds familiar. I know of a place where they set up an airstrip in the mountains. There might be more as well, but I will have someone go by and check on the first one that we found to make sure that they're not planning to reuse it to get their troops out of the Frozen Wastes with their prisoners." Wolfe replied.

While they talked, June was digging a hole for them to call home until the trucks could come to pick them up. There wasn't much around, and Wolfe didn't know of a village that was close enough to drop in on them, so it would have to do for the night and then June could fill it in tomorrow or maybe put a boulder over the entrance or something, in case it was needed later.

They had created a bunch of different observation and hiding spots near the Den, so one more that was most of a day on foot shouldn't be too out of place, and it might even get some use if they left it intact but hidden.

Wolfe offered a bit of assistance as he saw June struggling a little to get the bunker ready. "Do you need extra mana? I know everyone is getting used to the higher mana density inside the Den, so if you're feeling the lack, I can top you up." 

"I should be good. I've gained really quickly since you put that Array in place, though not as quickly as the baby witch. She's got some real talent, I tell you, and with that Fae as a Familiar, she is growing at a phenomenal pace." June replied.

Wolfe could hear the adoration for Katerina in her voice, and it was good to hear that the little witch was fitting in.

"What does she mean by the baby witch? From what I can tell, she's fresh from the academy herself, and she's, how do I say this? She's quite petite herself." One of the rescued witches whispered to Wolfe.

"I was working on an experiment to help heal the damage from the nerve gas so that all of the witches at the Den could recover properly and discovered that if you did the same thing to an underage witch with potential, it would almost completely cleanse the bloodline curse from her, and let her awaken her powers early.

Katerina was only a few years younger than when a witch would normally expect to awaken, but the difference was amazing, plus she got an incredible Familiar from our lucky summoning pond. They even share the same name, a Faerie named Katerina.

She is growing at a remarkable pace, I'm told, like the witches from before the war. She's got a good shot of being one of the next witches in our group to reach the Second Rank if she can keep it up." Wolfe explained.

"Wait, back up. One of the NEXT to reach the Second Rank, meaning that you already have a Second Rank Witch with you?" The woman blurted, with her golden eyes bulging out in shock.

"Four of them, to be precise, and I helped one more from Morgana Coven advance as well. Reiko Morgan, the new Coven Leader."