Dominic put the biscuits on first thing in the morning, and added more vegetable to the stew, before frying up a bunch of meat slices from the cured hams that were issued as Dagos military rations.

The smell slowly woke the others, and Amie came down from watch to join them for breakfast and the morning planning meeting.

"Do we have contact with Wistover?" Dominic asked.

Amie smiled. "Indeed we do. But not quite in the way that most would expect. You see, we can open portals. So, we can just open a small one and ask someone what is going on."

The two older mages laughed. It was normally an insanely difficult feat of magic to target a portal so precisely, but they could open one directly on top of a targeting beacon, and there was one inside the newly built mage tower, inside the Elder’s office.

"We can try the radio first. If we set up the antenna outside from the second floor, we might be able to raise someone." The senior mage suggested instead.

"Alright, go with that. Set up and give the report, then let me know if there is any confirmation." Dominic agreed.

"Should we tell them that we’re headed out to complete the mission today?"

Everyone else turned to stare at him as if he were insane.

"In eighty kilometre winds and rain more intense than the shower at my house?" Bella asked.

"Right, silly question. It might be a mission for the military, but they’ll have to understand that we’re neither suicidal nor in danger of being court-martialled for ignoring orders." He joked.

The mage went to set up the radio, while everyone else sat in the front room with the magitech fireplace going.

"You know, if you ignore the dust, this place is pretty good. But have the rains always been like this?" Bella asked.

Dominic shrugged. "Pretty much. The storms get pretty intense when they roll in, and they can last for days. But they’re not frequent. Most of the time it’s just some afternoon rain during the wet season.

That’s easier to deal with, even if everything is a bit soggy all the time."

"I can believe it. This much rain is going to turn the ground into soup, and even moving around is going to be difficult for a week. Forget trying to get a crop in the ground.

Speaking of which, I’m glad that we managed it in time, but I hope it doesn’t rot in the ground." She sighed.

Dominic shrugged. "It depends on where you planted, and what. But the wet season crops are usually pretty good. As long as you went with crops that were already growing in the area, you should be fine.

They’ve proven that they can grow for decades without anyone watching over them, so they should be fine to continue cultivating."

One of the warriors chuckled. "Now that’s a good bit of farmer’s logic. We did the same thing when we moved in, just cleared out the weeds, harvested what we could and replanted the same thing in the same fields.

If nothing good was growing there, we didn’t plant anything.

It left some fields open, but after the first year, we will know better what to plant.

But this sort of weather doesn’t bode well for the Merchant Guild Caravan that was supposed to be headed our way."

Dominic sighed. "You’ve got a point there. They’re not going to be eager to get anywhere near this storm. Hopefully, they’re not caught in it. But we built the warehouse well above the river, so it shouldn’t flood."

The adventurers, chuckled at his concern. From what they had learned, the Duchy had made more in the last two months than the city of Castle had, and there was no need for crisis spending here.

Compared to most of the nation, Wistover Duchy was in an incredibly enviable financial position.

While they had many staff members to pay and feed, food was plentiful, and money was coming in steadily. How Dominic had not managed to become a successful businessman before becoming a Duke was a mystery to all of them.

After a few minutes, the mage came back downstairs, smiling.

"I got a radio message through to the Manor House. Castellan Julio responded, they have our report, and the army is holding position.

They’re in the same position that we are, with extreme winds and driving rain. It’s unsafe to send the airships up, and the army is sheltering in place. So, we have time to wait out the storm before we finish placing the beacons.

I also updated them on the monsters that we have found while scrying for threats, and the Castellan says that should help them determine where to place military units." He reported.

"Excellent. This house gave me a great idea, actually. We should circle wider, and place the beacons in the yards of Barony Houses, well away from the monster army.

It will give them a good place to stage, even if it looks like the most obvious place in the world for them to arrive." Dominic suggested.

Amie nodded. "It’ll be obvious, but if it’s far enough from their position, it still gives the army time to set up, and open space. If we send them all into the woods, they will still have to find somewhere to set up command and logistics because this will not be a one or two day battle."

Wiz shrugged. "The village guard liked to do things the same way. They would pick a farm house near the destination to use as a command post when they were running an extended mission."

"Then we have our goal. We can circle them and set the beacons, then head in from the perimeter to claim our loot before the army is in place." Dominic decided.

The adventurers took a moment to consider that plan. They had already made pretty good money on this trip, and hadn’t lost anyone. There was no need to push their luck.

"Alright, we will do that. Just have the mages pick us good targets. No more of the Frosthound Riders. Those things were vicious."