Chapter 473 473 Flying South
Their trip today was beginning to look more like a show of force than a casual outing to visit allies in the Morgana Coven.
While Ella was staying behind to build the extra aircraft, Wolfe's flight would have the Pilot plus two strong helpers, Cassie and Priya.
The container could be attached and detached from within the helicopter, but just in case there were issues that they hadn't detected yet, the helpers were there to pry locks open or even help unload the container itself if they couldn't get it free of the aircraft.
There was still plenty of room inside the aircraft. Though it wasn't as comfortable as the four seats for the crew, there were two rows of benches facing each other in front of the container.
Wolfe added mana to fill the storage crystals that he had filled the former fuel tank with and double-checked all the inscriptions, making sure that they were good to go and that the defensive spells on the helicopter were operational.
"Don't you dare leave without fixing my chair. What if they shoot you down? It could be weeks before you return." The Faerie warned Wolfe as they were preparing to board.
"Fine. Ella, darling, would you be so kind as to make one of those new planes now? Our friendly neighbourhood Faerie is getting quite impatient, and she wants her custom aircraft now." Wolfe laughed.
With the whole design crew present, it only took a few minutes to create the aircraft so Wolfe could start filling his end of the deal and custom enchanting it for the Fae.
He decided to go with higher-density mana crystals, enchanted seats, as requested, and a custom Fae tunnel along the roof that was accessible from the back of the cockpit so she could come and go from her seat without needing someone to open the door for her.
The outside had a small hatch, just big enough for a Faerie to open and walk through. It took some precision to cut it properly, but it led through a transparent tunnel of Air Magic to her seat, which was mounted by the roof so she had the best view of operations and was out of the way.
"What do you think of that? Is it all that you hoped for in a chair?" Wolfe asked.
"The chair is marvellous. But you forgot to put my name on the door like you promised." She reminded him.
"Good point. I seem to have forgotten your name, though." Wolfe admitted.
"Priscilla." The Fae giggled, knowing full well that she had never told him.
Wolfe used Fire Magic to create the lettering and then reached out to snatch Priscilla from the air and shook her near the side of the aircraft, covering the lettering in sparkling Faerie dust as the spell solidified.
"There we go. All done and sparkly." He announced while the Faerie gave him an irate look.
"There was no need for that. I would have made it sparkle willingly." She complained.
"Time-sensitive operation. I'm sure you understand. But now it's all ready, and you can take your Witch out for a flight later with your partner. Who did you guys choose to be your copilot to interact with the villagers?" Wolfe asked innocently.
A tall woman with a black cat tail visible out of her robes raised her hand and stepped forward.
"That would be me. Don't worry, I'll take good care of them." She purred, definitely implying more than a coworker relationship.
"Well, have fun with that. It's time for me to go. Everyone, please stay clear of the rotors. This will be the first attempt at taking off while loaded in this aircraft.
Once Wolfe was aboard, the rotors spun up to speed, and the workers all ducked for shelter as the force of the wind displaced to lift such a heavy load off the ground flattened everything nearby.
"Perhaps a little more magical assistance would be a good idea. A Gravity Spell to take some of the strain off would make it much easier on the turbine." Wolfe suggested over the roar of the cargo craft.
The pilot shouted back at him to be heard over the noise.
"Wait until we're further off the ground so that we don't accidentally crash when they load changes." She requested.
They had flown most of the way around the mountain and were at an altitude of roughly five thousand feet above the ground when the Pilot gave Wolfe the signal to start his spell.
The Gravity inscription was an easy one, and Wolfe slowly ramped it up, so the transition wasn't too bad. Once the sound of the engine changed from what sounded like straining to a smooth whir and thump of the blades, Wolfe stopped increasing the output and gave the pilot a thumbs up.
"It's not a permanent spell, but it will get us there while I figure out how to make the inscription variable through a mechanical input so you can use it yourself," Wolfe shouted to explain.
Unlike the small aircraft they had made, this one was deafeningly loud, and nobody but the pilot had thought to put on the headphones that were stored in a locker by the door.n-(OvE1b1n
She had forgotten to mention them to the others, and the Copilot seat was missing its helmet, so Cassie thought that the Pilot was the only one who got to hear the radio. It was only when Priya got bored and started to rummage through the compartments to see what the mundane army found essential that she found the ten sets of headphones with their plugs to connect to the internal intercom.
"Oh, that is so much better. No more shouting." She laughed once they had everything hooked up.
"Oh, there were crew sets back there? I forgot that they might be stored away since everyone just leaves them out." Darius laughed as she flew them over the border.
"We're crossing into Sylvan Coven Territory now. We will be at the Morgana Coven border in fifteen minutes.