Inheritor Of Magic: The Magi King

The young scout looked somewhat crestfallen when he realized who the second scout headed their way was. 

Gerry was one of the many humans who had unstable mutations cleansed by the witches over the last year, but more importantly, he was a perpetually cranky veteran scout with over thirty years of experience in the wilderness of the Frozen Wastes.

Making it into your forties or fifties was hard enough out here, but to make it that far as a scout was nearly impossible once the old injuries started adding up. Just managing not to be crippled in a monster attack for thirty straight years was a major achievement.

He walked straight up to the group and gave Ann a hug, then patted her head with a paternal smile.

"Good to see you back on duty this week. Everything is clear from the Ridge 188 Juniper stand through Hachi village and here. I dropped off a couple of Rank Two Ice Lion corpses for Hachi village on my way through, but I didn't see anything else noteworthy," the old scout reported.

Wolfe reassessed his impression of the scout with that news. The Ice Lions, a mutated form of mountain lion, were capable magic users and hunted as a bonded pair most of the time. They were cunning predators, and even when they were young, they were challenging to take down. But a pair at Rank Two would be incredibly deadly to a man with just a standard issue rifle.

"Did you find the Cursed Talisman in the area?" Wolfe asked.

"Three days ago. Found two and destroyed them, but I reckon I didn't catch all the beasts. They were around a small spring south of Hachi village, it's in the reports." He replied.

"Well then, I've got good news for you. This young fellow would like you to be his gunner on a shakedown run for our new buggy design. There are refugees in the mountains, and the buggy has two mixed crates of goods and plenty of ammunition, both for you and them." Wolfe suggested.

"Does he even know his way around the passes?" Gerry asked suspiciously.

"Maybe. But you'll be sitting right behind him, see? We've added heating spells inside the buggy, so you shouldn't freeze while you drive, and it's self charging, so if you have to run, you can just park afterwards while it recovers." Wolfe informed him with a smile.

"Oh, it's a chauffeured hunting trip? It's got a way to roll it back over if this idiot tips it on the side, right?" Gerry asked.

"There are winches front and rear, and a recovery gear bag behind the front winch. The buggy also has a safety barrier against rollovers and monster attacks, so it's not as exposed as it looks." Janet informed him.

Gerry carefully went over every bit of the buggy, then checked the small toolbox that they had included, and the recovery gear bag before opening the supply crates and frowning.

"That's a good mix if they're sitting still, but they will need more food if they're going to make it all the way back to the Forest." He informed them.

"We've only got the two buggies so far, and the carrying capacity is limited, so we sent a mix. But there is a plane going looking for them today with more food. If you find them first with the buggy, just send the location to the planes, the radio in there is a high-powered one." Janet explained.

It was possible that the planes would miss the refugees if they were hiding in the trees or under a rock overhang, but the buggies would be more noticeable and more likely to attract friendly responses from the fleeing villagers.

"Well, one of me should be all it takes. I've got their locations from the radio reports, I know the landmarks, so I have a good idea where they're going. But the humans and foreigners shouldn't since they don't know the landmark names." Gerry agreed.

The other scout sighed. "Great, a backseat driver."

Gerry gave him an unimpressed look. "You can wait for the next buggy if you like, and I'll take the lovely Miss Ann with me on a tour of the wastes. Or perhaps one of you lovely ladies?" Gerry asked with a suggestive wink.

"Oh, that's not a bad idea. We could make notes as we go and not just wait for the reports. But we will have to switch off so that I get a scout's impression of the driving sensation and not just my own." One of the design team witches agreed.

The others huddled into an impromptu group meeting and whispered back and forth for a few minutes, then nodded.

"We agree. One design team member and one scout. That way, we can fix anything that breaks, and we can still get our data filled." Janet announced, with a smile on her face.

"Can you shoot?" Gerry asked the witch who had volunteered to go with him.

"Of course. We all train so that we're not a liability if the village is attacked. Even the White Witches practice with pistols, so that they can at least defend themselves when the time comes." She explained as she hopped up into the gunner's seat.

"Then we will see you later." She laughed, while Gerry climbed into the driver's seat and adjusted it back for his longer legs.

The buggy raced off into the distance and the first scout gave a confused look. 

"I swear I was here first, shouldn't it have been my turn?" He asked, flicking his ears in annoyance.

"Calm down big boy, we're going for a drive right now." One of the other witches giggled as she pointed to the second buggy.

"Sweet. I'll take first turn at the wheel. I actually know the mountains pretty well, and I know where he's headed, so we might be able to find a group of refugees before he does. Some of them will have split off onto the northern river because it's longer but easier walking." He offered.

"Don't let me down. Let's get these supplies delivered."