Once he was sure that he had everything in order as well as he could with his limited knowledge, Wolfe went looking for Janet.
She wasn't hard to find, as she was hanging around in the dining hall, sharing ideas with all of the other Witches who weren't on a duty rotation at the moment.
It was a bit strange to see them all out here, though. Usually, they would find something except gossiping to do, especially now that everything above ground had been finished and they could relax in the sunshine.
"What brings everyone indoors today?" Wolfe asked happily as he walked up to the crowded table, which the group had covered in various books and blueprints.
Priya smiled back at him but sighed in defeat. "It's raining so hard outside that we were worried about being washed off the bridges if we tried to move around. The Faerie said something about spring rains being particularly heavy, but with the wind, it's just insane out there right now.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtSo, we're all in here trying to decide what we should pool our efforts to make next. We already made some simple devices to make Cook's life easier, and now we're thinking of working on something different.
Someone suggested that it would be easier if we just had a computer, but with so much magic in the area, I'm not sure it would even boot up. There is a good reason that everything is still in books."
"Well, I had a wonderful idea last night. This is an electromagnetism spell, which can be made into an array and placed on an electric motor to spin it with much less energy use than simply creating electricity with lightning magic." Wolfe explained and took out the inscription that he had drawn.
Most of the witches didn't see the immediate application, but Janet's soft, dark hand shot out across the table to find her flying machine plans.
"That is perfect. It's exactly what I needed to make that design feasible. With the reduction in energy use, one Pilot could fly it before they were at the Second Rank, and you wouldn't run out of energy before you got anywhere."
"I knew that you would appreciate it. I don't know much about engineering, but I did listen when you explained the problem with your design, and once I stumbled across this spell, I thought that it would be perfect for you."
The little chocolate-skinned witch launched herself out of her seat and dangled off Wolfe's neck while she planted kisses around his face, making everyone laugh, even Cassie, who was doing her best to disentangle Wolfe from the new magical item engineer.
"Wait until you have actually gotten it built and working to thank him. He will get an even bigger ego if you thank him every time he suggests a spell." Cassie teased the young witch.
"That's a good point. The hard part is actually getting it built, even though I made it as simple as possible. I don't think that we can make it in one piece with magic, so we will have to make the components individually, from scale blueprints, and then fully assemble it somewhere above ground so that we can take it out for testing."
Wolfe chuckled at her undaunted enthusiasm. "You can do it in the garage. There is a lot of empty space there and a very big door, so as long as the wings fold or something, you should be able to get it out of the bay, or you can finish assembling it once you have the components built."
The witches all nodded in agreement and thought of the amount of space they would need for the experiment. It would be strange trying to make an airplane run on magic, but it would be so much more convenient than motorcycles or horses when they needed to get supplies and trade with others.
"Alright, so we all have our rain week plan ready. The Faerie says that the weather will be like this for a few days, but it's good for the trees, so I hope everyone enjoys their time inside.
The Library has been stocked with a lot of new books, so anyone who wants to help make more copies is welcome to. Even if you're only making one or two copies for yourself to read, they will make it back to the Library eventually." Cassie instructed, breaking up the planning session.
The cluster broke up into a half dozen groups around the various tables, all planning to make something different, while Ella and a few others showed the new Engineer the way to the garage so that they could start making plans for their project.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmIt was a calming feeling for Wolfe, like the morning huddle at work at the courier company, where everyone got together and set their tasks for the day and who would be riding which districts. Familiar, in a soothing way, even though the content of the work was much different.
Most of them had decided to start making parts for various designs that they thought would be useful to someone around the Den, but some were simply studying or about to head to the Library to pass their day inside.
Wolfe didn't have to consider what he was going to do today. Cassie had already grabbed him by the hand and was dragging him back toward their room with a determined look on her face that Wolfe couldn't help but find absolutely adorable.
"You know, you just need to ask, love. I'm never so busy that there isn't time for affection." Wolfe whispered in her ear, then kissed her neck as she dragged him down the hallway.
"You're always busy, but today I've got you all to myself," Cassie muttered, then cast a spell that created a bar across the inside of the door so that nobody could enter without using magic.
Wolfe's heart gave an unexpected jump at that action. Of all the witches in the Den to be so proactive, he did not expect that it would be Cassie who would lock them in a room together for the day.
She was wearing a soft blue linen sundress today, and as Wolfe's lips met hers and his hands slipped up the sides, he realized it was a created item, not an armour spell. Good news to him, as he slid it up her body and over her head, only to pull it down behind her neck, leaving her arms trapped up in the air as he lay her back on the bed.
"Be a good girl, and I've got a present for you." He whispered and watched her body shudder in anticipation. He definitely needed more rain days.