Path of the Hive Queen

They didn’t talk much as they returned from the field outside to the village. Regina was content to let her guests stew on what they had just seen. She wanted to give the demonstration some time to sink in, though not enough for them to come up with explanations or plans for how to mitigate this kind of thing.

Then she saw the person waiting outside one of the village’s houses, and almost stopped walking. Regina had to work not to let her expression show anything. She’d gotten too caught up in what she was doing and forgot to consider that this village was Janis’ home. Well, not that the girl had seemed very invested in it, but this still wasn’t something she could or should ignore.

Regina sighed softly to herself and slowed down, turning to Janis. “If you would like some time to catch up, I’m sure we could arrange it,” she said quietly, trying to seem as nonthreatening as possible.

Janis looked at her aunt, Marian, then glanced quickly at her boss. “Thank you for the offer,” she said. “Maybe after this is over? If you’ll permit the visit.” She looked back at Regina when saying that.

“Of course I would give you time to visit your family,” Kiara said. “If our hosts will allow it.”

“Of course,” Regina echoed. She tried to smile at the elderly human woman they were almost passing. Luckily, Janis’ home seemed to be in a side street, so they didn’t actually have to go right past her. “If you want to take her out of the village, even, I think we might be able to arrange something.”

She did feel some temptation to use Marian against Janis, but Regina didn’t act on it for several reasons. For one, she wasn’t sure how close Janis actually was to her aunt or how much she would care. She also didn’t want to ruin the tentative rapport they’d developed and position herself as an enemy, possibly driving the young mage to actions she wouldn’t otherwise take. And she didn’t want to have to worry about one human villager, who might get hurt in some battle by accident.

"I appreciate the consideration,” Janis said, but she still seemed a bit stiff.

They passed the street and went deeper into the village again. Regina exchanged looks and a few telepathic messages with her drones. Mia was preparing for the second part of her presentation, while most of the Workers and some other drones hung around and helped. Regina saw a few drones and nodded and smiled at them. She felt a happy, satisfied undercurrent from them. It seemed they were all happy she was making an impression on the humans.

They returned to the house Regina and her drones had once slept in, back when they’d first been at the village during the monster swarm. It seemed to have still been unoccupied, or at least quickly emptied, so they could use it. The drones had used the main room on the ground as an improvised work station.

“This will have to be quite something to trump what you just showed us,” Kiara said with a smile, clearly trying for some levity. “Or did you want to discuss something first, Lady Regina?”

“I don’t have a fixed schedule,” she replied with a smile of her own.

“I do have to admit I am curious. There is little point pretending what you just showed us has no military relevance. I wonder how someone with your background managed a feat like this, I admit.”

“I suppose that touches on part of what I wanted to clarify,” Regina said. She sat down on one of the chairs they’d brought in along with a small table, gesturing the humans to the others. She saw Kiara’s gaze slide to the back of the room, but pretended to ignore it. “I am aware that I, and the rest of my people, might seem like primitive, uncivilized people.” Privately, she found that quite ironic, but she could see how people might look at it that way. “Poor savages, or something along those lines. I believe I can refute at least part of that quite easily.”

She held out her hand, and Tia handed her a wooden box, the nicest-looking one they’d been able to either find or make. Regina opened the lid with a bit of a flourish and her guests bent forward to look into it. She heard Janis draw in a sharp breath.

The gold inside the box seemed to glitter in the light streaming in from the candles and open windows. Regina smiled in satisfaction as she looked at it. She’d shaped most of it somewhat. Valuable resources might give you a bit of respect as someone who could provide them, but showing that she and her people could work metal went beyond that. To that end, she’d also included some jewelry and odds and ends made of titanium and other, rarer and arguably more useful metals. There was a chance they could recognize it.

“Where did you get this much wealth?” Kiara asked. She could barely take her eyes off it, but when she did, she looked almost suspicious.

Regina tried not to let it bother her. “Trade secret, like I said. But don’t worry, I came by all of this honestly. We have a means of getting materials like this.”

“It can’t be, but -“ Janis snapped her mouth shut.

“Janis?” Kiara frowned at her. “What is it?”

“Conjuration.” The young Mage stared at Regina, wide-eyed. “That’s the thing that makes the most sense. It is the answer, isn’t it?”

“That seems rather improbable,” Kiara objected. “I thought only some master mages with decades of experience were able to learn these Spells.”

Janis shook her head. “It is usually restricted to experienced masters, yes, because it takes a lot of study. The System seems to require a lot of knowledge for Lesser Conjuration. But there’s no rule stating it has to be restricted to them. There are even cases of artisans who found magic later in life who learned to Conjure objects related to their profession.”

That just made Kiara look more intrigued. They both looked at Regina, who had to stop herself from fidgeting or giving any sign of unease. She hadn’t really planned to reveal this right now. Though maybe I should have expected this. But she didn’t have many options at the moment.

“Perhaps it is,” she acknowledged, shrugging a little. “But let us get back to the topic at hand, please. As you can see, we are rather flush in some materials and would be willing to trade them, under certain conditions and in certain circumstances.”

She couldn’t help but glance at Anuis, who’d kept in the background so far. Regina had never actually offered trade to the elves, and she knew that they wouldn’t like this. But she had warned Anuis she would be trying to build a favorable relationship with these humans.

“I see,” Kiara said, leaning back slightly. “I am unsure what we have that you might want to buy with this gold, Lady Regina. Especially considering the present war.”

Regina smiled again. She knew revealing wealth was a risk, which was why she’d coupled it with revealing her ability to defend herself. And Kiara was right in one respect, her primary interest here wasn’t actually trade. At least not standard trade. It seemed like a bad idea to rely on her Conjuration for that.

“The war is a concern,” she agreed, glancing at Anuis again. “And the reason we are talking, to be frank. The war is a detriment to all of us, as I see it. Our hive is being threatened by humans, and your side has to field soldiers and perhaps resources for a war that barely impacts you, cuts off trade with a neighbor, and must be a general nuisance.” She paused for a moment. She’d gotten some information from Anuis, but it was probably best not to let that on, at least not too much.

“Let me be blunt,” she continued, waiting for Kiara to nod at her. “I believe we can make common cause. Your father is at odds with the Cernlian king, that is not a secret. I think we can assume, without impugning his honor, that he might take a chance to rebel if he could, given the way his own liege lord has treated him dishonorably.” She was mostly guessing here, and it was harder with the requirement to not sound like she was attacking Kiara’s family’s honor, but the girl didn’t seem too upset. “Well, I would be happy to support such an endeavor.”

Kiara frowned thoughtfully and leaned back in her chair. For a long few seconds, the room was quiet. Then she spoke. “What exactly is it that you have in mind?”

“Material support,” Regina promptly answered. “I am not going to send soldiers to fight. Although we are, of course, happy to act as a diplomatic bridge between the march and the elves, to make sure there are no … undue complications. Otherwise, I would finance you, give you access to some of the money you need to raise troops and perhaps gather allies, provided that we can come to an agreement.”

“I see.” Kiara paused again, then looked at Anuis. “I apologize, Three Century Commander, but I would prefer to continue the rest of this conversation in private.”

Anuis nodded. “Of course.” She stood up with no sign of resentment, inclined her head at them, and left.

Regina gave a silent signal to her drones, so some of them departed, as well. In the end, only the two humans, two of their knights, Regina, Max, Tim, Mia and Tia were left in the building.

“Money is not going to be enough to win a war,” Kiara stated. “There are only so many troops we can raise, or that anyone else could. Many men are already sent to the war against the elves. We could hire mercenaries, I suppose, but I would wager that many of those companies are also already under contract for the war.”

Regina nodded. “I understand. I might be willing to provide you with some explosives, as well. Furthermore, consider that Cernlia will be distracted fighting against the elves, while you will not have to worry about fighting them. You might also be able to hire mercenaries away from Nerlia or whoever has employed them.”

As far as Regina was concerned, this was a situation where everyone won. Well, except for the Cernlian king, and Nerlia, which she didn’t exactly mind. Kiara and her faction would get the means for a successful revolt, and their enemies would hopefully be too distracted to bother Regina, not to mention that she’d have the march’s protection. Cernlia would probably have to withdraw at least partly from the war against the elves to focus on this new threat, which meant the elves would be in a much better position to deal with Nerlia. That was why Anuis, and her superiors, would hopefully keep supporting her actions.

It was probably a risky strategy in the long term, but sitting and waiting for Nerlia or the Delvers to keep attacking her would be worse.

“I suppose,” Kiara said. She was frowning slightly, looking to be deep in thought. Then her gaze refocused on Regina again. “You are asking a lot, Hive Queen Regina. Or proposing it, at least.”

Regina sighed and leaned back, glancing at the few devices scattered around the table and the back of the room. Most of them were still very much works in progress, not ready for use yet. She wasn’t sure whether to involve more of that kind of thing. But she had already shown them quite a bit.

“How do you know how to do all this?” Janis asked, clearly following her gaze. “It’s Precursor knowledge, isn’t it?”

“Janis,” Kiara admonished her. Janis looked back with a look that clearly said ‘What?’.

“Precursor?” Regina asked, frowning.

“That does seem like the only explanation,” Kiara said. “The knowledge and power of the Ancients …” She shrugged a bit and shifted in her seat. “I do not know what you might have found deep in the forest, or wherever else. We are not trying to pry.”

Regina just stared at them for a few moments, her thoughts whirling. She had previously picked up a few other hints, although she’d never been sure if it meant anything. Now, the explicit mention of something called ‘precursors’, connected to what she herself developed, made her certain the suspicion crystallizing in the back of her mind wasn’t nonsense.

This might be some kind of post-apocalyptic, regressive world. Maybe even the same one her memories came from.

Regina took a deep breath and shook her head. Whether the knowledge she had was from another dimension or just out of time, she still had more questions than answers, and these two were unlikely to be the ones with the answers. Especially since she still needed to accomplish another goal.

“I don’t know,” she finally said. “Like I said before, I’m not ready to tell you any secrets.” It wasn’t like she knew the whole truth, anyway.

Kiara nodded. She looked like she hadn’t expected anything else. “What is it you want, Lady Regina?” she asked. “You have promised quite a lot. What do you expect in exchange? What assurances do you want?”

Now they were getting somewhere. Regina smiled, trying not to let anyone see her increasing heart rate. “I’m sure I don’t have to explain that I expect such a further conflict to … take some of the heat off, so to speak. But I do expect some concessions.”

Kiara raised an eyebrow. “So, what is it you want?”

“Perhaps the question shouldn’t be what,” Regina smiled wryly, “but who. I want Janis.”

There was a moment of silence, as Janis’ eyes widened and Kiara stiffened. “Please explain,” she said tightly.

“I would like to extend an offer for Janis to join my hive. We will treat her well, and she can still work with you. But such an arrangement would be invaluable to smooth our cooperation, and we would also take it as a sign of trust.” Regina turned completely to Janis now. “Becoming a member of my hive will boost your own progress, increasing the speed at which you gain Experience and levels by twenty percent.”

Janis still looked like she could barely believe what she was hearing. Kiara glanced between the two of them, visibly realized that Regina was serious. “I’m afraid that’s out of the question,” she said stiffly.

“Milady,” Janis spoke up. “Lady Regina is offering so much. I’m sure your lord father would be eager to get the support she’s offered. And if this boon she’s promised is actually real …”

Kiara leaned towards her, and the two started putting their heads together and talking in a furious whisper. Regina leaned back and tried to pretend she didn’t hear anything, all the while she listened in. It went about as she’d expect, going by their initial reactions. Kiara was clearly reluctant to lose her vassal mage (or whatever the proper term was), while Janis seemed intrigued by the opportunity.

Regina suppressed a sigh. She knew she probably could have gotten something more practical, or at least more immediately useful. She’d debated with herself over whether to go with this idea, but she’d decided she wanted to recruit the girl. Janis was clearly talented and driven. More Spells could be acquired, even experience would come with time, but talent couldn’t be bought and motivation was tricky. Besides, she hoped this would forge a more direct link between her and Kiara, which should come in useful, as well.

Finally, the two humans turned back towards her, and Kiara sighed softly. “How would this even work? Janis isn’t … one of your people.”

“Hivekind,” Regina said. “She isn’t of the Hivekind.”

She didn’t see any particular reaction to the mention of the name. Janis just nodded like she wanted to prompt her to elaborate.

“I have an Ability that can be used for these purposes,” Regina explained. “Among other things, it would allow me to communicate with a recruit, instantly, over a relatively large distance. Further details are the sort of information I would prefer not to get out.”

“As long as the price isn’t something I would never agree to give beforehand,” Janis said.

Regina shook her head. “I can promise you that, while this will change your life drastically, I will not force you to do anything you couldn’t stand.”

“Then I’d like to accept.” Janis smiled at her, before she looked at Kiara. “Please, Milady. I promise I won’t forget the kindness you’ve shown me, or the loyalty I owe you.”

Kiara stared at her for a moment longer, before she sighed and shook her head. “Very well. I suppose I cannot very well refuse.”

Regina saw Max and Tia grinning, and allowed herself another smile. Great.