The plane glided to a gentle stop in front of the crowd gathered outside the village's entrance, wondering what the noise was.
"Greetings, everyone. I have your delivery from the witches of Forest Grove. If you have the spare helpers, please grab a bag and bring it to your storage space before we attract too much more attention." Wolfe called as the propellor spun down, and the noise dropped enough for him to be heard.
Once each onlooker had a bag in their hands, the plane was empty, but they were still standing there staring at Wolfe in shock and confusion.
"Oh, right. You're not scouts, so you haven't met me. I'm Wolfe Noxus, better known as the Snow Demon. These are the foods grown by the witches in my village, as well as some potions for your healers.
I know our range for healing routes is somewhat limited, but these are high-quality potions, so if you have a medical emergency, use them as you need. If you split them into ten parts, that makes the healing vials that we give to the scouts, but these are higher quality than those ones are.
The foods are grown in a mana-dense garden, so they should be nearly perfect for your needs. But I have five more deliveries to do today, so it is time that we get going. Enjoy your delivery."
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtWolfe and the scout returned to the plane, and Wolfe powered up the motor to full mana flow, sending the plane rocketing into the air in only a few metres now that it was unloaded. Then he adjusted the trim, and they were off to the west side of the forest to get their second load.
Word of the delivery by aircraft was spreading fast over the radio, and the villages now realized that he wasn't joking about making deliveries to them directly today instead of making them come to him.
They knew they could go to where the witches were waiting on the west side of the forest, but that was a long trip from the eastern villages, so they usually sent their scouts to the edge of the forest and had them wait for a village patrol to see them.
It took a bit longer, but they got their messages relayed, and it was safer than being gone overnight.
"How was the delivery?" Mollie asked when they landed and began to reload the plane.
"Perfect. They were ready and waiting with plenty of people for what fit in the plane, so we just passed it all over, and we were on our way. Hopefully, the rest are like that, so we can get these done in good time, and we don't miss the fireworks." Wolfe replied.
"Wouldn't finishing as the fireworks start be best, though? We fly up to watch them from here at night, and it's great. Being in the plane should give you the same view." Mollie suggested.
"That's not a bad plan. I know lots of people go up to the walkways to watch as well. If I'm running late, I will be sure to get a good view on the way back."
Wolfe took off again, crossing over the Fae Forest to get the most direct route to his next stop, and admire the beauty of the scenery as they passed over. Mostly it was just trees, but Wolfe noticed that there was a rather large pond in one spot with sparkling blue waters.
"Oh, that's pretty. I should bring the witches there sometime." He noted as they passed by.
"I would ask first. A Water Nymph created that pond as her home, and they can be somewhat territorial." The scout informed him.
"We have Nymphs in the forest? When did that happen?" Wolfe wondered.
"The Fae started to show up almost as soon as the forest was created. We just assumed it was a feature. They come from the mushroom circles, and sometimes they just don't leave." The scout shrugged.
That actually made sense. The Fae would have noticed the new connections to their worlds and gotten intrigued by the possibilities, so if they thought it was a good place to stay, with nobody bothering them, of course they would stay.
It was also in Wolfe's best interest not to stop them. For one, they weren't actively aggressive, and for two, the area's population makeup seemed to directly influence the summoning of Familiars, so the more Fae that lived in the Forest and the more powerful the Fae were, the better the Witches would do with their summonings.
The Flame Winged Sparrows were already an incredible Familiar, with their innate Fire Magic, and the Witches that got them were advancing at a very impressive rate. If they could get a few more powerful Fae Familiars in the village, they could really expand their magical repertoire.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmUnlike Demons, who were typically combative from the very start, the Fae would give their witches a chance as long as they didn't use combat magic. So, the new students would have a great opportunity to get some friendly Fae on their side.
It was only a few days until the next summoning, so Wolfe kept his eyes open for signs of more Fae in the forest as they flew over, but in the daylight, with the trees being so thick, it wasn't easy to tell anything about what was happening on the ground outside of the few clearings.
The next village was ready for them when they arrived, and they had even brought out large wheeled carts to help them move the supplies inside.
"Greetings Mister Wolfe. Thank you for delivering this to us. We were going to come to the river after the Festival in the forest was over." An old woman from the village greeted him.
"I thought it might be better for everyone who was visiting to go home to fully stocked pantries. We will be doing deliveries in the Forest as well before the Festival ends. I know all of the villages sent some people in to find partners, and it wouldn't due for them to go from the luxury of the festival grounds back to a village which was struggling for food."
The villagers laughed at Wolfe's assessment. It was true that this was a tough time of year for everyone, but the Witches in the Forest had it pretty easy with all their magic.
That was another thing that Wolfe realized he could change. If he made a Mana Gathering Array just strong enough to feed a Garden Charm and a Natural Light amulet, he could give one to each village that was helping them out. Then they too would be able to have a fancy underground garden, just like the witches had. As an added bonus, they could take it with them if they decided to relocate for the season.
He didn't think any of the ones closest to them would move for the summer since this was one of the better areas now that the monsters had been chased away, but historically they often retreated into the mountains for the summer to get away from the herds of monsters grazing on the grasslands after the snow melted.
"Look forward to the next delivery. I think the Witches might have a surprise for everyone to thank them for all the help over the winter." Wolfe told the old woman once the plane was empty, then hopped back in and powered up to head home.