Mage And Wolf
Chapter 260

Chapter 260: Chapter 260

Our whole group shares a large room in the pack house, sleeping the afternoon away, having worked all night and through the morning. The werewolves are working to settle in this afternoon, trying to get a normal livelihood going again. Most did whatever the pack needed, but a few held outside jobs.

Most of those jobs being Hunting Beasts for pelts and meat to trade, the modern version of trapping, since they can destroy most standard trap lines. There were more working outside jobs in the past, but almost all movement and contact between settlements ended with the portals opening.

There aren’t a lot of them up north here, but the population is so low they mostly went unnoticed and unattended. Which led to the area becoming a monster wilderness of sorts.

Almost all the small towns moved to the cities, who posted guards around the perimeter, an expansion of the police force. Farms too far from a city were abandoned, unable to defend themselves effectively.

So the places that this Horde might have started are limited, unless there is a region I don’t know about yet where large numbers of Titan Clan might have gathered and chased the beast clan out. Of course it is also possible that they’re not running from something, but towards something. If that’s the case then the East is in big trouble.

Karl stirring beside me snaps me from my half awake reverie, and I stretch out, getting ready to face the day. Or night as the case may be.

"What do you want to do about that beast clan migration? You know as well as I do that there’s not much in the East that could stand against it. The cities out there are barely dealing with their portals, and from the reports I’ve seen, they still think that conventional firepower will prevail over cultivation. It’s just one big mess of political cronyism." I say to Karl who frowns and brushes my hair from his face.

"I say we warn them and let them figure it out by themselves. Sending in assistance so their entrenched leaders can claim political victory for saving the people isn’t going to make anything better. So just send out the warnings and let them be. With some luck, they’re not going that far and are going to attack the Giants somewhere in between here and the big cities." Karl says resolutely.

That’s a bit savage, but he’s got a point. With everything Arcana has done to help people build themselves up, encouraging leaders who only want to keep their civilians under their boot really isn’t a great call. But that gives me an idea.

"What if we broadcast a very basic cultivation manual along with the warning. If we can get more folk started, they’ll start to see the truth of things. Plus they’ll gain the abilities to defend themselves."

"I think I can work that. I’ve got a lot of connections, so if I can get a bunch of local radio stations to broadcast it at the same time, we might get somewhere. Long distance communication is still sketchy at best, with all the excess mana in the air, and that’s only getting worse. Even the shielded high power radios that Alpha Conway and the others are using will soon be useless." Karl agrees.

"Give them hard copies of the manual to hand out to those who are interested, and tell them to copy it to all their friends. A few believers with a printer could spread the technique to tens of thousands." Lelou adds, and we both nod in agreement.

"Then I’ll help out here until you get back. If I need to go somewhere, I’ll tell you, either through the mind link or a communication token. You’ve still got one on you, right?" Of course he does, everyone in the Shadowed Blade Sect carries a communication token. It’s more essential than underwear.

Karl holds his token up with a smile and kisses my forehead before climbing out of bed and stepping backwards through a gate spell, disappearing in an instant.

I can feel through the mate bond that he’s over a thousand kilometers away, and still in this world, so that’s a good start.

"Alright, let’s see how everyone is doing. Hopefully they got most things worked out today and we can just fine tune them tonight." Lelou gives the rest of us a motivational speech, grabbing Lala when she sees the bunny about to claim Karl’s still warm, but vacant spot on the bed.

The Bunny grumbles, but then brightens up with a thought, scampering out of the room without a word.

"Do you think she’s headed to the daycare or the kitchen?" I asks Lelou, who laughs.

"Daycare first for sure. She loves kids as much as they love her." The Red Dragon in her auburn haired human form laughs. It is a bit hard to tell under the loose Priestess Robes, which make her look tall and athletic, almost slender if not for her bust, but her human form is actually incredibly strong. Centuries of dealing with energetic children have toned her like fine steel, leaving her looking a bit matronly, middle aged, but very fit, with thick arms and thighs.

This is not lost on the werewolves, who appreciate thick thighs and muscular women much more than most, being extra nice to Lelou when we come downstairs, where I’m treated more like a little sister than an authority figure by everyone but the top ranking wolves. Hui’Jin thinks it’s hilarious, as I’m the highest ranking person left here, but she’s not brave enough to say anything, just try to hide her laughter at the close and familiar way everyone welcomed me back down to dinner.

"Is your mate still sleeping?" Alpha Conway asks, not seeing Karl with our group.

"No, he used transport magic to go warn the big cities in the east, and anywhere else he decided to stop along the way, that there is a Beast Clan migration happening."

"Good thinking. I still can’t get ahold of anyone beyond the next few towns, and I don’t know if they managed to pass on the warning. But first, dinner. A new recipe courtesy of the magical circle The High Priest left for us. An Afghan Style Lamb shank with rice and salad." The Wolves look skeptical at the word salad, but they’re happy to see the big pieces of meat, still on the bone so they can pick them up and eat them. By contrast, the witches, at a table off to the side, are cutting their dinner into proper bites and using utensils to eat.

It’s good to see they’re not being ostracized by the pack, even if they’re still considered strangers. Soon enough they’ll need each other, and they’ve both got skills the other lacks.