When Regina first saw a Drone Witch after they hatched, she was reminded of the Drone Attendants. That impression didn’t fade over the next few minutes, as they got to know their new lives and she learned more about the Template and what they could do.

There were four Drone Witches hatching in her first batch, who turned out to be two boys and two girls. She could sense the mana in them right away. Their mana pool seemed to be as big as the Drone Attendants’. Like the Attendants, they had wings as their third set of limbs. Also like the Attendants, those wings didn’t seem to be functional yet. Regina was hopeful that they could learn to use them soon, and maybe even enough to fly before the first Evolution, but after it at the latest.

It did seem like they had a slightly sturdier physique, and maybe a point or so more in the physical stats on average. That was hard to say for sure, since she didn’t have a big sample to get a good average.

Regina considered the status of their newly-named drones.

Ken Drone Witch Level: 17 Mana: 348/750 Con: 8 Str: 7 Dex: 9 End: 8 Int: 15 Wis: 13

“We’re going to teach you all of the Spells we know so far,” she told them. “Or at least make a go at all of them. We should see pretty quickly which ones you have an affinity for. I expect you might be better at the direct, combat-oriented Spells.”

“I can hardly wait, my Queen!” Ken said, smiling brightly.

She chuckled and resisted the urge to try and teach him Firebolt right then and there. “Ira and the others can help you settle in,” she said. “Unfortunately, I have a meeting to get to.”

She considered stopping to add a few more eggs to the hive’s queue, but decided to wait. She would probably need her mana for some Conjurations. Besides, she still wasn’t entirely sure how many sapient drones of each kind she wanted to get. Definitely a few more magic-users, but she didn’t know how well the Witches would do, yet.

Instead, Regina headed off for the meeting with Anuis, Neralt and the others. They had sent out some scouts who should have reported in, and Anuis was supposed to get word from home. The group met in the baron’s mansion once again. Mia had hinted at building a bigger house for Regina, though she hadn’t given it any serious consideration until now. But since it seemed like their stay in this village was going to continue indefinitely and they weren’t likely to be forced out anytime soon, considering how the last attack had gone, maybe it was time to at least start thinking about it.

She shook off that thought and focused on the present moment as she greeted the others and took a seat.

“We still don’t know much about what’s happening in the south,” she commented. “You don’t think I should head south and try to get in contact with them?”

“If you are satisfied with our defenses, you certainly could, but we still do not have a very strong defensive force here,” Neralt replied. “We would need to detach a large part of it to accompany and protect you, Milady, which would leave the village and fort even more thinly defended. I would recommend waiting until we have built up more strength again here.”

“He’s right,” Ben added. “Besides, they could have moved even farther away by the time you’re in range of wherever we think they are at any given moment.”

Regina nodded. “Alright, you do have a good point.”

She leaned back and listened to the others discuss the latest scouting reports. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem like there was really anything new in them. The scattered remnants of the enemy soldiers from the recent battle had made their way past the border and into their own county, and their scouts had lost track of some of their targets, though they still made sure no one was building up any major forces.

“It’s a shame that the earl’s heir was among those who managed to flee,” Neralt commented.

"Right, I remember you mentioned that. I thought he was still very young, how likely is it that he’s going to rally the county against us?”

The baron frowned thoughtfully. “That’s right, he only just became a knight. He could still be useful for our enemies, but he certainly wouldn’t command the respect his father does.”

Regina nodded. “Then we’ll keep an eye on things as well as we can, and let’s not borrow trouble otherwise.” She paused. “Actually, I assume the marquis has spies in other nobles’ estates?”

Neralt’s eyes widened slightly, and he exchanged a glance with Marianne Neralt, who had been pretty quiet until now. He looked thoughtful. “I would assume so. If not Marquis Lyns himself, then one of the other lords who have joined him.”

“Then we’ll inquire about what information we might be able to get in our next communication with his headquarters,” Regina decided. “Unless you have anything to add, Anuis?”

The elf shook her head. “Details about the local nobles or their plots were not considered essential for us. I received a basic briefing package with information on the region and various players, but there is nothing in it Lord Elric would not be able to provide himself.”

Anuis shifted slightly in her seat, straightening up, which Regina recognized as a cue that she had something to say.

“In other news,” she began, “I have been informed that I will be recalled soon. This time, it will actually happen, I presume.” A few others smiled or chuckled. “I am to send a decade of my best people right away, and prepare for the rest to depart, as well.”

Regina resisted the impulse to grimace. She’d known this might be coming, but it still sucked. “I understand,” she said. “We wish you the best of luck with your redeployment.”

Anuis nodded slightly. “Despite how it might appear, this is likely not because we are urgently needed elsewhere. On the contrary. I believe the manner in which you successfully repelled an invasion - almost with ease, for any outside observer - has assured my superiors that you will be able to hold your own readily.”

There were a few more smiles in the group at her words. It felt good to be praised and have your efforts acknowledged, Regina reflected.

Marianne Neralt looked a bit more calculating, though. “Does this mean you believe you will not be urgently needed anywhere else?”

Anuis gave her another brief smile. “The workings of high command are inscrutable, Lady Marianne. But the war does appear to be going rather well, by all accounts. Of course, there may also be some political reasons for my centuries being recalled.”

Considering whose daughter she is, she’s probably familiar with politics having an influence on her postings or orders, Regina realized. Still, this doesn’t sound like anything I should be worried about.

The meeting didn’t last long after that. She suspected they were all tired of them, and everything important had been said. Regina spoke with Ada for a few minutes longer, finalizing a few details about their scouting operations. She could use the psychic link, but sometimes it was nice to talk face to face. Especially because she could read her drones’ expressions and body language much better this way, even if it was different from the impressions she got from connecting to their minds directly. I guess a bit of distance can actually be useful on occasion.

Afterward, Regina decided to head to the building where they kept their prisoners. At least the most important ones. A decision about what to do with all of them had yet to be reached. Obviously, she didn’t want to set them free just to have them go and fight against her hive or her allies again, but she also didn’t think killing them was the best idea. And in the meantime, they used up resources keeping the prisoners fed and contained.

She looked in on the other commanders, then went to see the Earl. She was a bit unhappy with just keeping him in a small room in a house in the village, especially since he was in the third Tier with a Class that had, at least in part, a combat focus. But he had given his parole, sworn not to try to escape, in exchange for good treatment. Clearly, he didn’t want to spend the coming days tied up tightly with meters of rope, his hands fixated, and maybe even under drugs. I guess I can’t complain, she admitted to herself, I’d rather not go to that trouble, either. Which didn’t mean she would trust him not to try to escape if he saw a good opportunity, so she kept as many drones around as she could to keep an eye on him and the other senior prisoners.

When she knocked, Whitor opened the door straight away. “Hive Queen Regina.” He waved her in with a polite half-bow. Or what she assumed would be polite, anyway. She wasn’t exactly an expert on Cernlian noble etiquette.

When she stepped in, she barely noticed the inside of the room, since he captured her attention completely. It was fascinating to basically see a body part regrow in real time. The stump of his arm was already considerably longer than it had been when she’d first seen him. It was hidden by bandages, but they were loose, probably to let the regeneration work unimpeded. She almost asked him to remove them so she could have a look at the injury, then made herself focus on why she was here.

“How are you, Earl Whitor?” she asked, trying to sound friendly.

“I cannot complain,” he responded, then smiled lightly. “At least, complaints would presumably not be wise. But in all seriousness, I am satisfied. You were sincere about treating me well.”

“Of course I was,” Regina replied. He’s satisfied, huh. She decided to assert a bit more dominance and sat down on one of the two chairs in the room without asking.

Judging by the way Whitor raised an eyebrow fractionally, he noticed her reaction. But he simply sat on the other chair without saying anything about it.

“How can I help you, Lady Regina?” he asked instead.

Regina considered him for a moment. She had the feeling he was treating her as a lady, like he would one of his human peers. Assuming he’d consider a woman a true peer, which, given what she knew of the culture, was far from a given. With her being a monster, or at least a demihuman, it would obviously be more complicated. I suppose he might have trouble trying to categorize me, or choosing the best way to act towards me, anyway.

Just then, someone knocked on the door. Regina reflexively tried to check through her psychic link to learn who it was, but there was no drone in range to see currently. Max had stayed back to talk to one of the others and would probably be along shortly. It wasn’t like she needed them, anyway, she could identify people by scent easily enough. And as expected, it was Neralt who opened the door and stepped in.

“Oh, I hope I am not disturbing you, Milady, Lord Whitor,” he said, but without sounding very surprised. Maybe he was just that composed. “I wanted to speak to you for a bit.”

“Come in, Baron,” Regina said before Whitor could. She smiled at their prisoner. “I simply wanted to check on how our guest was doing.”

Neralt inclined his head and stepped inside. Since there was no other chair, he remained standing. Whitor didn’t get up, presumably because of some status thing, and she wouldn’t expect him to try to kick her out of a chair, either, whether because of some notion of ‘chivalry’ or their positions.

“Since you are here,” Whitor said, leaning back in his chair slightly. “I had been meaning to ask about my son, Roland.”

“Ah. Well, I might as well tell you that he has escaped us,” Regina answered. She shrugged lightly. “Not that it will do him much good, I suspect. You can be at ease that the last we knew of him, he seemed hale and uninjured.”

The earl visibly relaxed a little. “That is good to hear. Thank you.”

Regina tried not to read too much into the question. He probably was just a worried father.

“I do not think he will be able to accomplish much against us,” Neralt said in a conversational tone, but Regina noticed that he was watching Whitor closely, probably trying to gauge his reaction. “You must have taken a large majority of your men to meet us in battle. I suspect your vassals will be scrambling to save what they can.” He paused for a moment. “Well, perhaps your older sons will help young Roland.”

“As I am sure you have heard, they are with the king’s army, fighting the elves,” Whitor answered, looking a bit annoyed. “And they are honorable knights who will not abandon their obligations easily.”

“You have older sons? Then why is he your heir?” Regina asked. “I thought that was supposed to be the oldest son.”

Whitor didn’t answer right away, and after a moment, Neralt did, giving her a meaningful look. “They’re bastards.”

“Oh. I see.”

Well, not really. Regina suppressed a sigh. Stigmatizing illegitimate children, as if she needed more to dislike about this culture. I imagine this is an issue for the earl, probably because of honor or whatever. Not that I can see why it matters. Well, unless he was cheating, I guess. But if they’re older children, he probably got married after they were born. She shook her head. Not that it should matter to me.

In the short silence that followed, which was probably uncomfortable for the two men, Regina leaned back in her chair and thought back to what she knew about the region. It was quite sparsely populated, presumably because of its closeness to the forest full of monsters that occasionally spilled out. In the southern part, people had built a town and a few villages around it, clustered relatively closely together, around a fortification that apparently consisted primarily of enchantments. That was the western end of the Relains March. In the north, however, the settlements were a bit more spread out. They were also further from the edge of the forest, and Whitor’s earldom probably had a bigger population.

“How much damage did your county sustain in the most recent monster horde?” she asked.

They looked surprised by the sudden change of subject. “More than usual,” Whitor replied after a short hesitation. “It was a particularly vicious one. We managed to beat them back without losing any farmers, though.”

Regina nodded. “I imagine you would be worried if this war dragged on for a few years, enough to last into the next one. Or at least preparations for it.” She raised an eyebrow and waited for him to nod before she continued. “You might want to consider how much I could do about it, though.”

“How do you mean?” he asked. He looked suspicious.

Regina just gave him her most beatific smile. “I established my hive out here in a matter of months. Weeks, really. How much do you think I can grow and strengthen it in the next five years? Keeping in mind that I can control a horde of expendable combatants and needn’t care too much how many die, since the survivors will get levels.”

He blinked, and while she wasn’t sure, she thought he must have paled just a little. Clearly, he was getting the point, about more than just the next monster horde.

“By that time, a monster horde is hardly going to be a consideration,” Neralt said. His eyes widened a bit, and he looked like he was realizing something, as well.

Regina’s smile broadened. “Well, I will leave you to think on that. Do call for me if there is anything you need.”