The majority of the team headed out into the battlefield to look for survivors, while Wolfe and the few who were returning to town headed into the trees.
"Are they really going to kill anyone who comes here to rescue us?" The Rank Four mage asked at a whisper.
"Of course not. Just the annoying ones. If they show up and ask politely for the prisoners to be returned, our people will happily work a deal with them to take their people and leave. But if they renege on that deal and come back even after they promised not to, then there will be no guarantees of survivors.
Your Emperor was a bit stronger than Patriarch Wolfe here, and he's far from the strongest person on this continent. He's not even the strongest of the three of us, but Patriarch Wolfe would have no problem defeating him in a duel.
Our magic is very different from what you are used to, developed over the course of a hundred thousand years, and fine-tuned in dozens of wars. It is unfortunate that your people found their way here in an aggressive fashion, we could have exchanged immense amounts of knowledge if the first contact had been peaceful." The Elven Prince explained.
The older of the two captives sighed and shook his head. "They would never have thought to. We were the only military force on our world with magic, our might crushed everything that stood before us. Even the weakest of our forces is worth a dozen of anyone else's.
With a whole Legion at his command, a million soldiers strong, how would he have even considered losing? Or do nations in your world have tens of millions of soldiers?"
"Some actually do. But that's not the point. The town that you will be going to actually looks quite small, but it is a meeting spot for the leaders of various regions of this continent to gather, plan and socialize. The people you will be teaching will be the local human population, though some have been mutated by the magical wasteland known as the Frozen Wastes.
It was a byproduct of our last war, which rearranged the continents, and wiped out roughly two thirds of then planet's population, while leaving powerful magic lingering everywhere, unstable and incredibly dangerous.
So, when you see bestial features, know that they were once humans like yourself, and they are proud of their features as a mark of survival, an adaptation to a place that was too cruel for them to survive in without change." Wolfe explained.
The two prisoners looked horrified at the news. A global war that actually changed the face of the planet and made regions uninhabitable? What sort of fighting did they do in this forsaken place, and how did the Emperor find it?
That point seemed a bit irrelevant now. The portal devices would keep leading the other legions here to die, and the Emperor was long gone, without even a runner sent home to announce his untimely end.
None of the other forces would even know what happened unless they identified him in the bodies that had been left at the battlefield.
The problem was that the thought that the Emperor himself might have been dead was so unthinkable that most would assume that he simply abandoned his travel throne after a battle and led the rest of the force onward.
"You seem a bit quiet. Are you alright? Should I call for a healer when we get there?" Wolfe asked the pair of mages, who were both lost in their thoughts.
"You have healers? Do they heal with magic as well, or are they apothecaries, who heal with tonics and medicine?" The younger mage asked, becoming curious about what his new life could look like.
"They are witches. They can heal with magic, create magical healing potions, as well as both conventional and magical medicine. The stronger ones can regrow a lost limb in a matter of minutes, and bring the wounded back from the brink of death. They are an invaluable asset to Forest Grove, and they have the benefit of being almost as adorable as the bunnies." Wolfe explained.
The twins chuckled behind him, and shook their heads. "Don't let your wife hear you call the bunnies more adorable than she is. You will be sleeping on the couch, and that means that we won't be able to nap there while we're on guard."
The old Demon snickered at Wolfe's impending misfortune, but Wolfe knew that Cassie and Ella would understand. As far as beautiful and sexy, they had the victory, but when it came to adorable, it was all between Stephanie and the Bunnies.
Of course, if she would actually stay in her human form, everyone's view of Stephanie would likely change, now that the Mana Purification spell and a few doses of healing had removed all the scars from her body, leaving her covered in magical tattoos, but she still preferred to live her life as a cat.
The Elven Prince opened the portal home in a mushroom circle, which made Wolfe smile, as it was a play on the stereotypes about Fae magic. It wasn't necessary, there was only a chance that the circle would open a portal to Faerie on its own, but he still searched for one to simply go a few dozen kilometres through the forest, so perhaps it also made all other portals easier to open.
"Gentlemen, welcome to your new home, this is Forest Grove." Wolfe announced as he stepped through the portal.
"Welcome back, Mister Wolfe!" One of the young Bunnies yelled as she saw Wolfe step through the portal. Then she raced across the grass and threw herself into his arms to give him a hug.
Then she gave him her best innocent smile and began her prepared pleading. "I don't suppose that you could get me an ice cream? I'm all out of allowance, and it's hot outside today. You can do that, right, Mister Wolfe?"
"See what I mean? Adorable. But shouldn't you be in school, young lady?" Wolfe replied.
"School let out an hour ago. But mom won't let me have ice cream until after dinner." The little girl pleaded, and the older captive mage's composure broke, leaving him gasping with laughter.
"The twitching ears make it hard to say no, don't they? I remember when mine were that age, they liked to come to me to plead for sweets when their mother said no as well." He gasped as he tried to regain his composure.
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