While Wolfe and the witches of the Den were handing out new gear, things were much different in the Morgana Coven's Council Chambers.
There were no cheers of joy, happy comparisons or talks of a bright future. Instead, the talks focused on survival.
"How many acres did they get this time?" Reiko asked her agriculture advisor, with a resigned look on her face.
"They only managed to loot about two at the very most, but they burned another two hundred. I'm afraid that is very nearly the last of our reagent farms outside the city walls. All of the farmers are too afraid of the insurgents to replant, so there is nothing growing for the summer's crop, and we lost almost all of the winter's growth." The older witch replied with a nearly panicked look.
Reiko was personally tending to a large garden in the upper levels, but even at her power level, she couldn't produce enough to generate the necessary resources to make medicine and spell reagents for ten million people.
She looked at the map and sighed again, then pointed at the markings that indicated construction.
"I thought that the last farms were inside the new wall? That should have kept the rebels away from the crops." She asked her defence minister.
"It seems that the rebels were part of the construction team. As you know, we needed all the witches that we could get, so we pulled most of them from the military force to help build the secondary fortifications around the city." The minister explained.
"Military forces who are still loyal to my sister and her ideologies, even after her death." Reiko reminded her.
"It is a pervasive idea, Coven Leader. Even among those who are loyal to the Coven, there is talk that it might be better if we moved some of the mundane humans out to the farms and left more of the city to the witches.
The Crime Families have proven themselves quite competent. Perhaps they would be interested in taking over some of the farmland?" The Defence Minister suggested.
"And leave us beholden to them for our food and reagents? I think not. They are better where they are, locked in the city with their power limited." One of the other witches sneered.
It had been an ongoing issue since the rebellion when the witches realized that they didn't really have power over the masses, only control of the monetary system. If it hadn't been for Reiko's mother, there would be no Morgana Coven in the city, they would have been wiped out, and the Crime Families would be running the entire Fortress City right now.
Reiko's fear was that they might be doing it better than she was. The rules of the Coven, left over from past generations, were hindering her every move, and the disdain of the Witches for the Crime Families was preventing any sort of cooperation.
The Council hadn't even informed them of this meeting as she had requested, so half of her advisors, made up of the members of the Families of the lower levels, weren't there yet.
Finally, Reiko raised her voice. "Enough with the bickering. It's clear that the witches can't do the job on their own and that there are a lot of traitors still within the military. If we can't get that issue under control, I will order every single officer retired from service and replaced, even if I have to recruit from the Sylvan and Myrrh Covens to replace them."I think you should take a look at
That silenced the room in an instant. The surviving Council Families had a lot of spies, agents and cronies embedded in the military to make sure that their wishes got done before any order from the Council Leader. If Reiko sent them all home, it would crush what was left of the influence that the Council families held.
Just the thought was enough to make them consider a second rebellion, to oust this upstart who dared to question the way they did things and openly speak of things that shouldn't be spoken of.
Just then, the advisors from the Crime Families marched into the room, having gotten Reiko's message that they had been excluded, and took their seats around the table.
"Perfect time, ladies and gentlemen. I will get you up to speed on the issue at hand. Most of our crops are gone, another two hundred acres burned last night, and we need to get security up so that we can convince the farmers to replant the fields." Reiko explained.
A tall, dark-haired man with gloves on his hands and tattoos all over his body stood and bowed politely before answering. "We heard about it on the way here. If I might be so bold, I have a suggestion that would lead us to a more secure perimeter around the Farmland."
Jeremiah Noxus, one of the Noxus Elders and the accountant that the Family had sent to help advise her, was always a solid resource when it came to money, but she hadn't heard him put forward a military idea before, so this must have come from is Patriarch, or perhaps some of the other Advisors.
Reiko gestured for him to continue speaking.
"It is the view of the Patriarchs as a whole that we should request the assistance of the Snow Demon to place a perimeter barrier around the entire farm compound and relieve the military of their duty inside the region.????????????????????????????????.????????????
The farm villages would be able to deal with any issues that crop up if they had a proper barrier and some of those devilishly powerful weapons that the Snow Demon used against the mundane army."
The Defence Minister began to splutter in rage, but the accountant cut her off before she could speak.
"I have the numbers here for increased defensive capability in the wilderness due to the transfer of excess military staff, as well as the cost savings for the troops not needed to defend the crops. I have also created a report with an estimated price for the goods that we would need to purchase from the Snow Demon both for security and to replace what we have lost this winter." He added.
"Is it even possible to get in contact with the Snow Demon, though?" Kara Mills, the ginger-haired former Student Council President at the Academy and newly appointed Council Member, asked.
The tattooed accountant gave her a slick smile that belonged on a used car salesman and not a Council Advisor, immediately making the witch suspicious of how he had obtained the knowledge she was sure he had.
"Oh yes, I know exactly where he is. We just need to convince him to talk to us and not shoot on sight. You see, he might bear a grudge."
