Regina hadn’t paid much attention to the exact words the gnomes had used, but the next day, she realized that there might have been more to their mention of ‘recent events in the region’ than she’d thought.

She was just going outside after adding a few more eggs to the hive. Regina had started to vary the quantities and times when she made new batches. She grudgingly had to admit that making many eggs at once caused her issues, at least physically. So now, she experimented with smaller batches more often. So far, it didn’t seem to help much. Her mana regeneration was still basically flatlined depending on the total number of eggs in development, and her body seemed to need some time to recover afterwards, anyway, also based on the size of the clutch. Still, she was confident she could push her ‘output’ above fifty, maybe even to sixty. It still didn’t seem like that much compared to the theoretical limit of her hive, but she supposed every little bit helped.

Regina felt a bit fitter now, if nothing else, and she was just considering the merits of taking a stroll through the village when she noticed something was up. It actually took her a moment to realize that she didn’t see an obvious cause for it. But some of her drones were agitated, especially the Winged Drones and a few Swarm Drones scattered throughout the village and the sky above, as she realized when she quickly checked on them. She must have picked up on it subconsciously, something that made Regina grin.

Then she focused on the reason for it. A large bird was drawing closer, approaching from above the forest. It looked like a big eagle at first glance. It also carried a cylinder that was obviously carrying a letter.

Regina quickly jogged out of the village, deciding to meet the message outside. The bird circled over the field outside the village for a bit, dipping into the airspace above it. But when it saw Regina and a few other drones who came to join her gathering outside, it descended.

Breezy Eagle — Level 21

Max tossed the bird a piece of meat, which it caught in the air and quickly gulped down. Then Regina approached cautiously, ignoring the way her drones tensed up behind her and clearly would have preferred to see her well away from an unknown creature. It wasn’t strong enough to be a threat to her, though, and it obviously came from the elves. She suspected it might have been ordered to only give its message to her, judging by the way it held itself and looked at everyone. Although, for all she knew, someone might be actively controlling it.

Either way, it presented its cargo and held still while she detached the briefcase. She stepped back and opened it, unrolling a sheet of paper that looked quite official, of good quality and with elegant handwriting.

She wasn’t surprised to find that the sender was identified as Enais.

A rustling made her look up, and she watched as the bird took flight again. Regina observed it for a moment, making sure it was headed back to the forest, before she got back to reading the letter.

“I think we should send someone to visit the elvish city,” she finally said, handing it to Max. “Maybe Bea? She’s been there before. She could use the spare Mount, and I’ll send Dark along, too.”

Max glanced at the letter, then at Bea, who’d just joined them, then back at her. “Is it bad news?”

Regina shook her head. “No, just big news.” She nodded at Bea. “It sounds like the war between the elves and the Nerlians and Cernlians is finally over, or close enough.”

There was a short silence in the wake of her announcement. Regina read the surprise in many of the drones’ expressions.

Not that she could blame them, Regina felt just as surprised. Something that annoyed her right now. She should have known the war might be coming to a close. It had already lasted for several months, and lately, the elves had started winning decisively. It made sense that the humans would cut their losses at some point, especially the Cernlians.

From the sound of it, a proper treaty was being worked out, and would be signed soon, if it wasn’t already. The elves would have most of their demands met, including control of the disputed area and mines. The letter didn’t contain any details about reparations, but they might be negotiating those as well.

Regina sighed. It looks like Marquis Lyns’ easy time is about to be over. The balance of power in the area is shifting again. She glanced back at the letter, which several drones were now crowding close to read. Then again, it sounds like that doesn’t need to concern us much.

Bea set off quickly, climbing onto a Winged Drone Mount with a bit of visible trepidation while Max gave her well-meaning advice. Regina put together a squad of higher-leveled Winged Drones to escort her, making sure to give them a few contingency commands as well. There was a limit to how well that could work — they simply weren’t intelligent enough to understand very complex orders — but it could still be useful. She also told Dark to accompany them. The little bird was not quite as little anymore, having recently grown a bit after Evolving.

Dark Dusk Wing (Hive) Level: 21 Mana: 345/500 Con: 12 Str: 10 Dex: 19 End: 14 Int: 14 Wis: 13

The little monster’s appearance had also changed so he looked a bit more menacing now. Which, admittedly, wasn’t much, since he was still barely bigger than an average raven. His coloring had gotten a bit darker and his claws and beak might have gotten slightly sharper. Regina couldn’t help but compare him to the messenger eagle that had just come and feel a bit lacking. She had to remind herself that being small and unnoticeable was good for a scout like Dark.

She didn’t have any Winged Drones near Ariedel right now and resisted the temptation to send a lone scout to check her range. She could do that when Bea and her party were closer.

Instead, Regina distracted herself with checking on her hive again. She walked through the village for a while, nodding and waving at various human villagers and the occasional sapient drone, before she returned to her room. There, she settled down on the bed, then focused on the new settlement and the drones that were building it.

The first houses were finished, and the drones were now working on the second wave. But it wasn’t going as quickly as Regina or Tia obviously wanted. The issue was partly because of labor. Although there were only a few sapient drones, War Drones could do much of the menial work, and they helped a lot. The bigger problem was simply resources.

We found a good clay pit, Tia assured her. It’s just a matter of time. We’ll start firing tiles soon, and we can probably do a lot just with raw material.

You’ve started experimenting with digging, too, right? Regina asked.

She sensed Tia’s smile. Yes. It’s a simple way of creating more space and might even be good for temperature control. We only need a bit of wood or tiles to line the walls, maybe some stone for the floors, if we can swing that. Completely underground rooms are a bit of a different matter, of course, but …

Regina sighed, something she didn’t bother to hide from Tia, as closely linked as they were at the moment. I know, she said. But I wouldn’t be comfortable with you digging too deep right now, with god knows what under your feet out there. She smiled. Maybe we should try to open another entrance into that location, intentionally. But I don’t think it’s a good idea to ignore it. We should be careful. At least until we know more.

I understand, my Queen, Tia assured her. We will be careful. Although I do have to admit I’m glad that you let us stay here.

Regina sent her a feeling of acknowledgment, but didn’t reply verbally. She didn’t mention that she doubted moving a few kilometers away would help much if there was a real danger in that underground structure. And just abandoning it wasn’t something she could bring herself to do, either.

Maybe she would be coming to join them soon, after all.

In the meantime, Regina shook herself back into full awareness of her surroundings and got up to go find Neralt, or some other human who could help. She needed to check if they’d received any communications from elsewhere, or if they had any more insight into the state of the war.

Unfortunately, Neralt was out right now, apparently tracking some monster. With what he’d said about his abilities, she suspected he didn’t actually need to do that and was just getting out for some air. Marianne Neralt was happy to chat, but she couldn’t tell her anything that Regina hadn’t already heard. At some point, the situation had flipped, and she was now the one with better intelligence. Having flying drones spread out around the region was quite helpful. Even if she wished they could tell her more about what was going on further away.

But the elves would know. Regina returned and focused on her emissaries. Dark was keeping back, stealthily drifting along behind Bea and the others. The drones slowed down as they approached the city, and Bea made them circle a few times to announce their arrival and peaceful intentions.

They passed through the magical barrier around the city without issue, even though the elves hadn’t keyed the individual Swarm Drones in, thereby confirming something Regina had suspected. She wondered if she’d be able to enter as easily, herself, but now wasn’t the time to find out.

There was a bit of a commotion as they arrived. Regina could tell the elves already had more soldiers back at the city than there had been recently. Fortunately, someone in charge seemed to be telling them to stand down and let the visitors approach. Regina used the chance to take a good look at the city, but as far as she could see, not much had changed.

Eventually, Bea landed in front of the government building she had been to last time. Enais was already waiting for her.

“Welcome, Drone Craftswoman Bea,” she greeted her, nodding. “I imagine your Queen sent you here in response to my letter?”

Bea dismounted and bowed her head respectfully. “Greetings, Minister Enais. Yes, that’s correct. We were hoping to talk to you about these matters personally.”

“Of course. You and your Hive are welcome guests in Ariedel. Come in, let us talk more privately.”

Elves were already gathering outside, staring and occasionally pointing or whispering to each other. Regina sensed Bea’s relief as Enais led her into the building, until she came to the same inner courtyard they’d talked in before. She didn’t seem to have changed the furniture, either.

“So,” Enais began as they sat down and she poured herself a glass of water. There were already two on the table along with a pitcher. “I assume you have your Hive Queen’s full confidence?”

“I do.” Bea nodded. Regina registered the bit of pride she felt at that, and sent back amused affirmation. Of course, Regina was also watching her and could technically take direct control of her drone, but that didn’t mean she trusted her any less. “I know all about your most recent conversation with her. She send her thanks for the information once more.”

The old elf smiled. “I see.” She took a sip of water, pausing the conversation for a second. “May I also assume that she can directly see me in some form? Perhaps even speak to me?”

Bea stiffened for a moment. Regina sent her a feeling of relaxation and some brief instructions. She didn’t think trying to lie about it would do them any good, Enais seemed too perceptive. “Yes. You can assume that she is fully aware of us.”

“Thank you for your trust.”

Bea made a dismissive gesture. “About your letter. You are concluding peace negotiations with the Nerlian king? Does this have anything to do with the Cernlian civil war?”

“Astute.” Enais smiled again. “Yes. Our agents are reasonably certain that it is a major contributing factor. Understandably, the Cernlian king is rather displeased about recent events, and he clearly wishes to go back and sort out his own issues rather than fighting on foreign lands for the sake of another. I understand he is not in a position to press the point forcefully, but the pressure from his most important ally will have given King Nicholas something to think about.“

Bea sat back, nodding. Regina dimly sensed her considering this information, as did she. It looked like the peace was basically a done deal, and the civil war in Cernlia would only get worse, if anything.

They talked for a while longer, about the details of the peace settlement. Regina didn’t care too much, but she thought it would be good to know if there was any minor detail that could turn out to affect her and her hive a lot. Plus, it let her get closer to the point she really wanted to raise.

“And these additional provisions also included a requirement for both human nations to leave our Hive alone,” Bea finally stated, following Regina’s nudge.

Enais took another sip of water, clearly just buying time. Then she leaned back in her seat. “I took the liberty of adding such a clause, yes. While I apologize for such presumptuousness, I believe it was in your best interests.”

“Noted,” Bea said, giving her a hard stare for a moment. Then, just as Regina sent a bit of her amusement, she relaxed her expression and nodded at Enais. “We appreciate the thought, Special Minister. While, usually, we would be displeased at someone making decisions for our Queen, in this case, it is unmistakably a big advantage. Thank you for that.” She shrugged and leaned forward. “Just please don’t make a habit of making decisions like these without consulting us.”

Bea was turning out to be pretty good at being a diplomat, Regina reflected.

Enais smiled, looking as cool as ice. “Of course, Dame Bea. I am pleased that you approve.”

The conversation moved on to less fraught topics after this, mostly polite back-and-forth, but Regina found her focus on it dwindling.

There was a lot to consider. She’d definitely need to talk to Whitor. This was going to affect his fief, and perhaps himself. She wished that Janis still had some kind of channel to Kiara, discussing it with her would have been nice.

All in all, though, Regina felt like she could breathe a little easier. Nerlia and the Cernlian government certainly wouldn’t break such a peace treaty lightly, which meant that she had just gained a large measure of safety. Even if Enais probably counted it as them owing her a massive favor, to get an agreement like that into an international peace treaty. Regina was happy to help the elves if she could, though. As long as they didn’t think they owned her.