The forest had changed surprisingly little over the past few months. Sure, there was a coating of snow on the branches of the trees, but most of it didn’t reach the ground. There were a lot of evergreen trees, along with some deciduous ones. Some of them looked like they should have been deciduous, but hadn’t shed their leaves. Brushing the snow off, Regina indeed saw that one tree’s leaves were still a vibrant green and yellow. A good reminder that things had changed in the thousand years since the arrival of mana.

There were still quite a few fallen leaves on the ground that crunched under their feet, but they weren’t going for stealth, anyway. Regina had brought too many people for that to be a realistic option in the first place.

Not all of them seemed happy to be here. “Are you sure we need to do this, Regina?” Max asked quietly, stepping closer and speaking almost into her ear.

“Need to, no,” she responded, also quietly, though not as much. “I do want to, though.” She glanced around. They were accompanied by Janis and a dozen of the most powerful drones when it came to fighting, including a few Attendants along with Mia and Tia. And, of course, a small flock of Swarm Drones. They hadn’t encountered a single monster so far, the local population all preferring to flee rather than engage such a party.

“Even if we have a powerful group, this is still a risk,” Max pointed out. “And I don’t just mean that they could ambush us, even with the elves keeping an eye out. Are you sure we want the Delvers to have any more information about us than they already do? I thought you’d just prefer to not have to bother with them?”

Regina fell quiet for a moment while they continued. They’d set off from their base in the forest a short while ago, at noon, and would soon reach the old outpost. The elves had promised to guarantee their safety and ensure the Delvers didn’t try anything underhanded, but they weren’t showing themselves, even if any of them were here to watch them in person. Without that assurance, she would never have come in person, but while she could just send some of her drones, she wanted to talk to the Delvers personally and didn’t want to reveal her ability to communicate with her hive members telepathically.

“You’re not wrong,” she finally admitted. “I can’t deny that my thinking has changed since I learned about the past, though. The Delvers - well, they haven’t exactly made a good first impression, but they do seem to be just about the only ones who both care about the past and actually want to do something about making progress, about regaining what has been lost. In some ways, we are natural allies. Except for the xenophobia, of course.”

She’d made some inquiries into the Delvers, of course. The information had been somewhat mixed, but she felt like she had a slightly better handle on their stance and capabilities. As far as she knew, the Delvers had stayed out of the Cernlian civil war so far, too.

“And that makes them trustworthy?” He sounded skeptical.

“That makes them a faction I can’t ignore,” she corrected. “If nothing else, it makes me think they’re someone I’d be able to use.”

We’ll have to see what they want, first, of course, she reflected. And this is going to be dicey, either way. Regina hadn’t decided if or when she was going to reveal her past identity to them. She didn’t have a good enough read on how they would react, yet. If she did, it would have to be a carefully controlled situation.

Max fell silent. Regina wasn’t sure if she had convinced him, but either way, she knew that he wasn’t going to to keep pressing her. While she encouraged him to question her, he never crossed the line into being disrespectful or disobedient. They were quiet the rest of the way, and Regina focused on surveying their surroundings through the eyes of her drones, as well as Dark, who was hidden high up in a tree and keeping an eye on the group of Delvers who had arrived first.

They had kept word. There was only a squad of eight people, although she suspected they would all be at least as strong as her senior drones. Still, considering the hive’s numerical superiority, that still tilted the balance of strength in her favor. Which made her wonder why they had agreed to conditions that would pose such a risk to them, and who was taking it.

Regina glanced at the others, then used her wings to fly up and land on one of the lower platforms, flanked by Ken, Via and Ira. Max and the others scrambled up the trees and ropes quickly.

“Hello,” she greeted the Delvers, nodding at them. “I am Hive Queen Regina, and with me are the senior leadership of the hive. You wanted to talk to me.”

The Delvers all looked more than ready to fight off a few monsters, but two of them had captured her attention more than the rest, since they were obviously of a higher Tier.

Owin Castaway — Level ? Steadfast Knight Gwen Cern — Level ? Bard of Battle

Their Classes sounded like they were a pretty straightforward tank and bard, in terms of game archetypes. Their last names were interesting, too. She tried not to look too hard at the younger woman. It seemed like the older-looking man, who had to be the guy the knight had mentioned, was in charge, anyway.

“Greetings and well met,” the leader replied, inclining his head. He glanced at the drones beside her and gave them polite nods, as well. “We did, indeed. Would you care to sit down? I think it might be better to talk in a more comfortable setting.”

Regina agreed, and both groups even divested themselves of most of their weapons. Considering the System, that might not mean much regarding their combat potential, but it would probably make everyone less on edge to talk without having weapons at hand.

“I assume you heard about me from the earl?” she asked.

Sir Owin exchanged a quick glance with his - partner? Second-in-command? Protegée? It probably didn’t matter much for her purposes. “Lord Whitor did talk to us, yes,” he answered. “But we were aware of you before, and honesty compels me to admit that we have been watching you since our unfortunate encounters.”

Regina raised an eyebrow. She wasn’t really surprised by that, but she wouldn’t have expected him to just come right out and admit it at the beginning.

“’Unfortunate encounters’ that, as it happens, were started by the Delvers’ belligerence,” she said.

Owin pulled a face and raised his hands slightly. “While that may be your view of events, Lady Regina, it is not how our side sees it. In either case, I don’t think that throwing around accusations and blame is a productive path forward.”

Regina snorted softly. “Is that so?” She glared at him. “I would say that settling something like this should be an obvious priority before starting any kind of diplomatic exchange about other matters.”

“Unfortunately, I am afraid these matters would not be as easy to settle as they should be,” he responded. Was that a tacit acknowledgment? “In any case, I would like to express that I am sorry for your losses, and I hope we can work together to make sure that something like it does not happen again.”

Regina kept glaring at him for a moment, then made herself relax. She could hold out for an official apology, but it seemed pretty sure that wasn’t coming, and it wasn’t worth ending the meeting before she even knew what they wanted. This was probably as close as she was going to get. At least he hadn’t outright denied her words or claimed her side had been the aggressor, and he was being pretty polite.

“Then what is it you asked me here for?”

“As I hope Sir Edmund mentioned, we would like to put what happened behind us and … normalize relations, so to speak. Our organization has traditionally operated close to the location of your village, in and around the Great Forest. I am afraid it would provoke further conflict if we don’t at least acknowledge each other’s presence and establish the ability to communicate.”

Regina nodded. He probably wasn’t wrong about that, and she didn’t really want further conflict with the Delvers. “Forgive the blunt question, Sir Owin, but are you speaking for all Delvers? If we come to terms, is it going to be honored by every one who comes to this region?”

Owin hesitated for a moment. “Our organization is not monolithic, Lady Regina,” he finally said. “However, this venture has been approved by the Commander and the heads of the local chapter. I cannot rule out that some individuals might cause trouble, but frankly, that is hard to guarantee in any case. I can promise that they will be warned and that anyone who attacks your people unprovoked is going to be punished.” He cleared his throat. “We will also officially acknowledge your recent territorial gains and recognize the territory as yours, so that members will have to ask permission to venture there.”

“I see.” Regina paused for a moment, considering. She knew that the Delvers were something more along the lines of an adventurers’ guild, perhaps combined with a political faction. Looked at that way, it wasn’t surprising that he didn’t want to guarantee the behavior of individuals. That would probably be an issue for any deal she might strike with the Delvers, though.

“Why the change of heart?” she asked bluntly. “I had the impression your people would have been perfectly happy to force us out before.”

Owin licked his lips and exchanged a quick glance with Gwen. That alone told Regina that one of the reasons she’d suspected was probably true: Her hive had simply grown too large and too strong to fight for easier access to the forest, at least not without incurring losses that wouldn’t be worth it.

“If you don’t mind me speaking frankly, some of our members are a little overzealous when it comes to dealing with non-humans. However, simply attacking settlements of other races for no reason but our own gain is not something Delvers do. It is not what we stand for.” He shook his head slightly. “In addition, I do not mind admitting that we have heard interesting things about you and your ‘hive’.” She could practically hear the air quotes around the word. “Hopefully, talking to each other like this can be a first step towards a more peaceful and productive exchange.”

Regina narrowed her eyes at him. Then she sighed. Of course it would be Delvers who see someone making new things and become interested, who want access to new ideas or industry, she groused mentally. Why is it the racists who remind me most of the old world — Actually, no, that shouldn’t be surprising at all.

“A conversation and some mutual recognition isn’t going to reverse the distrust I hold towards you,” she warned him. “That said, I can see the sense in what you’re saying, Sir Owin. I’d be happy enough to let Delvers pass through Forest’s Haunt and further into the forest, and even open access to some sites in my territory.” If nothing else, she figured that would be good for the local economy, since the village could sell equipment and provisions to the adventurers. And there were a few monsters nests or locations that were pretty far away or just inconvenient for her drones to get to. “I do have a few conditions, though.”

“Of course, let’s hear them,” Gwen Cern said.

“I reserve the right to impose tolls and taxes later - at reasonable levels, of course.” She smiled lightly. “Most importantly, though, I want access to the tunnel system beneath the forest and on its western edge. Some of those underground spaces are under our homes, many under our territory. I’m sure you see why I have to take them into consideration.”

“That is not something the conservatives among our people would like,” Owin warned her with a frown. “That said, we have little practical means of keeping you from exploring the tunnels on that side.” He tapped his fingers on his leg. “As to the rest, the peace treaty has granted access to the part underneath the territory the elves claim.”

Regina shrugged. “I just don’t want any outbreaks of violence if one of your parties and a group of my people meet by accident in a tunnel.”

“I think we can wrangle that,” the knight decided, nodding. “If you will allow us access to the underground in your territory as well.”

She pulled a face. “Tunnels leading into the outskirts, yes. I cannot let anyone just waltz into the core of my territory and my main base, however. I’ll grant permission on a case-by-case basis.”

He didn’t look happy about that. Gwen tapped on his shoulder and they exchanged a few whispered words. As Regina expected, she pointed out that this would be mostly formalizing the situation that already existed. That was part of why she’d given them permission to go into any tunnels at the edge of her territory — she couldn’t hope to patrol everything, anyway. At least not yet. Besides, they had probably thoroughly explored those places, already. She just didn’t want anyone to get into the cavern system housing Galatea. They were welcome to ask, but she wasn’t planning to actually grant anyone permission for that area.

“Alright,” Owin finally said. “I believe we have a deal. I will make sure our members know not to bother your people.”

“Wonderful.” Regina held out her hand for a handshake.

He glanced at it, raising an eyebrow slightly, before he took it and gave her a firm, but not too strong, shake. They exchanged a few more pleasantries, but their respective companions already started packing up. It was clear that no one wanted to stick around the other group any longer than necessary.

Regina jumped down to the lower platform and made sure all of her drones were accounted for. Before they could start to descend, though, she was interrupted by a deep sound that cut through the background noise of the forest.

She glanced towards the southwest, just in time to notice the shaking of the trees’ leaves. Then the wooden platform she was on started to rattle. It swung back and forth enough to make her stumble, and since she was standing at the edge, that sent her past it and into the air. Regina instinctively spread her wings and turned, brushing past a tree trunk and slowing her fall. She hit the ground hard enough to rattle her teeth, but she managed to stay on her feet.

A few moments later, Via touched down beside her, and the others quickly scrambled down, as well. She saw Ira casting a quick healing Spell on two of them.

“What was that?” Sir Owin asked, landing with a thump a few meters away.

“I don’t know,” Regina replied, following his gaze and gazing at the further reaches of the forest. “But I’m going to guess nothing good.”

At least it seemed like the Delvers weren’t involved. They looked just as surprised - and suspicious - as her own group.

“Trouble,” Gwen muttered as she finished shimmying down a rope. “Do you reckon the timing is a coincidence?”

Regina didn’t say so, but she was inclined to agree.