24 New Arrivals

Roland was supervising the development of new weaponry, specifically anti-aircraft weaponry. This had been an area that was long neglected by Roland since there were no aircraft in this world and the only one who could make any was him. However, after Steven informed him of the demons capabilities, specifically the threat of the flying Devilbeasts, Roland realized that he needed to create some dedicated anti-aircraft guns. It was better to start now to create some properly rather than repurpose machine guns in a hurry when the Devilbeasts come.

Roland wanted to eventually build airplanes, as land to air defensive emplacements can only go so far. He remembered about how early planes fought against each other in dogfights, each plane making quick turns and impressive maneuvers. They were things of beauty. Faced with planes armed with machine guns flying in such an elegant fashion, the Devilbeasts will have no way to run and their spear throwers are too slow to hit an airplane. Unfortunately, he would still need more time to develop an internal combustion engine to power the airplane so he would have to make do with anti-aircraft flak guns instead.

The parts for the prototype had just been made and Roland was inspecting them. The main barrel of the gun was very long and had a caliber of 88 mm. The large gun would be put on an adjustable platform to allow the angle of the gun to be changed. Roland also didn't forget to add a metal barrier to shield the gunners from spears thrown by the demons. Once the gun was completed it would be able to shoot demons that are at high altitudes and far away. This would prevent demons from hovering out of range and then suddenly descending to launch their spears.

While Roland was occupied with the new anti-aircraft gun, a messenger entered and informed Roland that more witches had arrived from Sleeping Island. Roland went to greet them.

Once Roland reached the docks, he was met by Tilly who greeted him fondly. He was then introduced to the other witches. After the church had lifted its ban on witches and the witches of Sleeping Island saw Roland's success, they decided to move back to the mainland. Now, Roland had to deal with a large number of new witches, many of which might not want to obey him. Integrating them could be a challenge.

Roland introduced the witches to Neverwinter and starting telling them about what a great place it is. Then, he had Wendy lead them on a tour of Neverwinter. Many of the witches were quite dazzled by the various technologies in Neverwinter. Several of the apartment buildings had been set aside to house the new arrivals.

The next day, Roland and Tilly started talking to each other.

"So how have you been doing so far?", Tilly asked Roland.

"The past year has been rather productive for me", said Roland. "I have finally conquered Graycastle and consolidated control. The technological development has been progressing as well. Soon I will be moving onto the next stage of my plans."

"That is very good", Tilly responded. "I have been working hard trying to keep the Sleeping Island witches together. They are quite divided and it was pretty difficult for me to convince them to come here. It was very helpful that they were impressed by how you managed to force the church to stop hunting witches. I hope that you may be able to organize them to better make use of their abilities."

"I understand. I will try to meet with some of them to get to know them a bit better and to try to figure out their goals", Roland said.

Soon, Roland started meeting with the other groups of witches from Sleeping Island. Although they were friendly, they were somewhat reluctant to subordinate themselves to Roland. However, Roland was able to convince them to adopt a partnership where he could help them find jobs and pay them money to stay. The witches were all quite shocked by this offer since it seemed unbelievably generous and it seemed to only benefit them. So, they didn't need much convincing and Roland was able to gain access to many useful abilities.

One meeting was more interesting than the rest. When Roland met with Heidi Morgan, he was already informed about what she had done, both by Steven and by information from Iffy and Annie. So, he was quite wary of her.

When Heidi entered, Roland asked her to introduce herself.

"My name is Heidi Morgan", she said. "I am the leader of the Bloodfang Association, one of the strongest groups of witches on Sleeping Island. My witches are all very powerful combat witches who are well trained."

"That is interesting", said Roland. "So, what do you think about working with me?"

"I admit, I had initially looked down on you since you were a commoner", she said. "But your actions have shown that you are by no means ordinary." Heidi leaned in closer. "I think that you are worthy enough to have the Bloodfang Association cooperate with you. We are the premier group of combat witches and you will find no stronger force than us. You will find it in your benefit to work with us." Heidi Morgan smiled at Roland. "I think that you will find that we will be the witches you rely on the most."

Roland leaned back and sighed. He was entirely unimpressed with Heidi Morgan's attempts to have him support her. Whatever she was scheming, he wouldn't be a part of it. "The truth is, what I really need now are assistant witches, not combat witches."

"What!", Heidi Morgan exclaimed. "How could assistant witches be more important than combat witches. Military might is the backbone of a nation."

"Neverwinter has created weapons far beyond your imagination." Roland began expounding on his capabilities. "We have cannons that can obliterate targets too far away for you to even see. What is more, these weapons can be used by ordinary people. A thousand of my soldiers armed with guns can obliterate all of your witches even if they don't have God's Stone of Retaliation. This is what true power is. One of my witches named Agatha has the power to control ice. She can become a formidable fighter with this ability. Yet, what I have her do is to produce chemicals for me. You may think this is a waste but consider this - the stuff she produces in one day is enough to blow up this entire castle."

Heidi was speechless after hearing what Roland said. Then she said, "I am the descendant of Archduke Morgan of the Kingdom of Wolfheart. Now that the church has taken over, I have a legitimate claim to the throne. If you support me to regain the Kingdom of Wolfheart I can give you a third of its territory."

"No thanks", Roland said. "I do not need more territory right now. Also, we are working together with the church right now to defeat the demons."

"The church!" Heidi was angry after hearing the Roland was working with them. "Even though they have changed they have killed so many witches in the past. They are the enemy of all witches and I will never accept working with them!"

"We share a common goal now, so we should let go of the past", Roland said calmly.

"We cannot forgive their past sins just for the sake of convenience." Heidi Morgan stormed out of the room.

"Have it your way", Roland muttered once Heidi Morgan had left.