?


    Once the group had finished their meal, made entirely from the ration packs that Wolfe and Cassie had brought, garnished with the vegetables from the garden that had grown over the past few hours, it was time to finalize the deal.


    "I don''t see any reason why we can''t sign now. It is all positive for both parties and could save a lot of lives this winter. The only downside is that it will stop the Grand Dutchies from crossing the Wastes, and those Bitches in the Covens won''t get what''sing to them." One of the beastkin men dered.


    "Just so we''re clear. I''ve been working with the Covens as well to get them on our side and prevent hostilities. I''ve also worked some deals with viges on Morgana Coven territory that are held by the Gormana military forces." Wolfe rified.


    "Those capitalist bastards? How did you manage to work a deal with them? The only thing that they''ve ever been concerned with was their self-righteousness and money." Dali asked.


    "As luck would have it, I helped them out with a n to make a load of money and keep their supply lines full of nt oils so they could keep the Grand Dutchiesndlocked.


    They were very happy about the prospect, and they seem to hold a rather deep grudge." Wolfe exined.


    Dali sighed. "Well, I''ll give them that much. They at least have their heads in the right ce and not so far up their arse that they can''t see daylight. But I still don''t trust them."


    Wolfe nodded. "Neither do I. But I helped them with spells to grow more crops and made sure they understood that there would be no military aid. If they want to get rich shipping food and oil home, they''re wee to it.


    It also encourages them to keep the Grand Dutchies out of the Covens since they''re bothpeting for the same resources. It''s a win-win for us if they kill each other off instead of harassing the Frozen Wastes."


    The vige leadersughed, and Wolfe turned to the helpers who were all over the castle.


    "Once the deals are signed, you can unload everything from the ne and bring it here. I will sort through it and make sure that everyone''s vige gets what they need."


    Dali frowned. "That''s just ying dirty. Now that they know it''s all for us and not just for demonstration, how are we supposed to exin to them if we turn down the deal?"


    Wolfe shrugged with a smirk on his face. "That''s not really my problem, is it?"


    The antlered Demonughed. "Like you were going to say no. We''ve all seen how excited you were for him to show up, and now that we''ve seen what he''s got to offer, we understand.


    I know you''ll be signing, and I will as well. Is there anyone here who would rather go it alone than be tied to Wolfe and his people?"


    "There isn''t. If we preferred doing things alone, we wouldn''t havee in the first ce. We all showed up because Dali gave us hope that there would be real helping." An older beastkin woman with cat ears and a ttened nose replied.


    One after another, the deals were signed, and the gear from the ne was brought in to be stacked in the middle of the floor.


    "Alright, each vige leader will get a Light Charm and a Garden Charm from Miss Cassie. ce those in your underground Gardens, and you can grow all year round, just as fast as the spell worked here, and without fear of the Grand Dutchies finding an above-ground field.


    Then I have two machine guns with four belts of ammunition for each vige, and if I counted them right, five cases of enchanted ammunition. I was told that you weren''t short on rifles, so I didn''t bring any. The big guns are enchanted both on the gun and on the ammunition, though, so it''s best if you have a magic user to operate it.


    My rmendation is for one of the Female Demons, with a beastkin man from therger species, to operate the weapon. She can channel the mana to use the weapon''s enhancements while he carries it, and a steady hand on the trigger is gender neutral."


    The old woman smiled at Wolfe. "I like how you think. Have the men do the heavy lifting and leave the real work to the women. But honestly, a lot of vige leaders overlook the potential of their women as more than wives."


    One of the beastkin menughed. "I would just like to add for the record that giving Rakshasa women automatic weapons is a terrible idea. They''re dangerous enough without them."


    Daliughed. "You wouldn''t be saying that if your wife was here."


    "You wouldn''t beughing about it if she was here either. That woman scares me."


    The Rakshasa was a form of demon that looked like a bipedal tiger the size of a grizzly bear, and the beastkin man was not particrlyrge, even by human standards. Wolfe had to agree that he had a right to be somewhat afraid of upsetting his wife.


    "Everything is sorted, Vige Elders." One of the assistants informed them with a polite bow.


    Each of the leaders was looking at a small pile of ammunition, plus a case of potions and a pair of magical amulets. It wasn''t a huge amount of gear, though it had filled the ne to capacity when they had left the Fae Forest.


    But what it represented was muchrger than the metal cases the munitions came in. Five thousand rounds of ammunition for each vige''s patrols was huge. Wolfe hadn''t gone through that much on his own all winter long, so even though it would be easy to carry, as long as they used it sparingly, they would have no problems holding off the Grand Dutchies until he could get them resupplied.


    "Thest thing we have to do is arrange a radio ry station somewhere in the middle of the wastes before winter. I have modified radios that don''t suffer as badly from the magical interference, but it''s a long way from border to border, and the radios weren''t meant to have that much range." Wolfe reminded them.


    "Don''t worry about that. We have awork of viges who will pass on messages. They sent them from your way to us all winter, and they will send them back to you when we need to." Dali shrugged.


    "Perfect. Then I will see you again in ten days. Tell Dali if you need anything in specific, and we will try to get it to you."


    The Kitsune Demon sighed as he realized that he had identally volunteered to collect and distribute orders to the viges that Wolfe didn''t know the locations of. If he had been thinking ahead, he would have volunteered someone else.


    Maybe one of the viges which was further up into the hills and not so close to the border.


    But there was still time to change the delivery arrangement once he got the chance to talk to everyone after Wolfe left with his Witch.