Whatever the gnomes wanted from the hive, they didn’t seem to be in any great hurry to get to it. Regina watched as they welcomed her delegation and got them settled in, but resigned herself to waiting.

They were being good hosts for now, and doing what she assumed was the diplomatic thing, building a connection and goodwill. If they did have a specific aim, request or whatever, they didn’t pester them with it right on arrival. She assumed it might be a cultural thing, a matter of politeness.

Regina kept watching, at least with part of her focus, but she couldn’t afford to sit around all day. She had to have confidence in Bea and the others she’d sent. They’d handle things, and they could get her attention if they needed to.

Instead, she turned her attention back to matters of the hive, only occasionally checking in. Mostly out of curiosity to watch the gnomes’ city, she had to admit. She didn’t see very much of it for now, but it was still interesting. They were clearly accomplished glassblowers and metalworkers, perhaps using ore they mined. Apart from that, their architecture and items weren’t too different from those she’d seen from the humans or elves, they just differed in style a bit. And, of course, almost everything was built to a smaller scale than she was used to.

Her hive had done pretty well in the trade with the visiting merchants, at least. Regina took some time to go over what they got, reviewing the goods in person and talking to Mia and the others to get a proper accounting, including their own expenses and projections for the future. Those were a bit iffy, since they didn’t know what the gnomes would bring to trade the next time, or even when that would be. One more thing they could hopefully work on with this trip.

It highlighted to Regina what they still lacked, but also that any such lack wasn’t necessarily important. Trade and commerce were universal, and she’d come from a time when supply chains spanned half the world and almost anything passed through many places before ending up in a store. She didn’t want to rely on trade, but she supposed the hive could be self-sufficient and still just import goods that weren’t vital. Of course, they probably needed a better and more sustainable production of things of their own to trade.

The next day, Regina still felt a bit restless, but she didn’t want to crowd the drones she’d sent as her envoys too much. They didn’t need her hanging around mentally all the time, and she shouldn’t waste her time just watching the gnomes and their city. So, she decided to distract herself with another important and possibly risky task she’d set for herself. She would try her scrying again.

She’d tried to get to the Delvers before, and concluded that it probably wasn’t worth wasting her effort and mana on that now. Most likely, Owin and Gwen were either on an extended mission or they had defenses against this kind of magic. That made her focus on the one other person she knew somewhat who was currently relatively far from the hive.

Well, except for Galatea. But Regina had never gotten anywhere with trying to scry on her. It might be her nature as an AI-slash-mana form, or she just had automatic defenses against people trying to spy on her. Regina would be inclined to believe both were true. Apart from her, the elves were within her range, so she could just send a drone. In fact, she was considering sending a permanent envoy to Ariedel.

Regina was also still in occasional contact with Kiara Lyns, though the letters were sporadic. It always took some time for them to pass to each other, especially considering the ongoing war. And Kiara did have other things to worry about. But Regina was curious about the state of the war and more information on it wouldn’t be a bad thing. Especially since what Kiara told her would always be filtered, consciously or not.

She prepared herself, carefully shaping her mana and then focusing on the girl. While she’d gotten better at it, using scrying magic still wasn’t a fast or easy process.

Then it connected, and Regina got a glimpse of … a military camp? She wasn’t quite sure, since it didn’t look that much like what her own drones had prepared during their short-lived campaign to the south. Instead, it looked more like a village that had been stuffed full of soldiers and with extra defenses raised, which she supposed could be exactly what happened.

Kiara herself was wearing what Regina pegged as relatively casual clothing — it wasn’t a dress, for one thing, and the amount of silk and gold thread was strictly limited. Her hair was done up in an elaborate braided crown, though, and she was wearing noticeable if skillful makeup. Altogether, it looked like Kiara had come from some fancy event or social function and changed into something more comfortable, though she was also wearing a sword. She was walking past a tent that had been erected at the edge of some older-looking houses.

Just as Regina took in the scene, Kiara paused. She tilted her head and seemed to look at where Regina’s viewpoint was coming from. Regina had to scramble her focus to keep the connection going. It felt like their gazes met, regardless of the distance between them.

Kiara frowned, looking contemplative, and then Regina caught her eyes darting to the soldiers nearby, who seemed to be guarding the area. After a momentary pause, Kiara ducked into the tent.

Inside, it looked well-appointed, probably her personal quarters. Kiara sat down on an unnecessarily ornate folding chair and crossed her legs. Then she closed her eyes and appeared to start meditating. Regina watched, frowning, unsure what this meant. Kiara seemed to have noticed her scrying magic, so what was she doing now? Like this, Regina couldn’t sense mana - she only got physical sensations, like using a camera - so she couldn’t tell if Kiara was doing any magic of her own.

Then, Kiara opened her eyes again, and at the same time, Regina felt foreign magic reaching out to her own spell. She didn’t even know that was possible!

“Can you hear me?” Kiara asked out loud.

Regina hesitated for a moment. “I can,” she finally answered.

The human girl tilted her head slightly. “Hive Queen Regina,” she said. “I suspected as much.”

Regina didn’t answer right away. With a bit more time to assess what Kiara did, she was getting a better understanding of what was happening. She could tell that her own magic still did most of the heavy lifting. Kiara had simply managed to connect to it, somehow. She didn’t know what things looked like at her end, but this clearly afforded her a look into the origin of the scrying spell, to Regina.

“I apologize for any intrusion you might feel,” she said after a short pause. “It was not my intention to violate your privacy, Lady Kiara. I simply wanted to check on you. May I ask how you are doing this?”

“I could ask you the same,” Kiara muttered. “I was not aware you knew scrying magic. You certainly seem to be a woman of many talents.” She reached out and fiddled with a bracelet Regina could now see she was wearing, which had previously been hidden under her long sleeve. It was made from intertwined silver threads and dotted with pearls in what she assumed was a magically meaningful pattern. “This alerts me to anything of this sort,” she explained. “From there - well, let us just say there is a reason I took an Arcane Class, even a martially inclined one. My sense for mana has always been quite good, and my new Class helps me in countering or suborning magic targeted at me.”

“I see, congratulations are in order,” Regina said with a smile. “Arcane Knight does fit you well. And I am happy to get this chance to talk to you directly. Not that I don’t appreciate your letters, but personal conversation is better.”

“Thank you,” Kiara replied. “And seeing as you did nothing to attempt to hide your spell and did not actually spy on me, I will not hold it against you, Lady Regina. I do appreciate this opportunity to talk, as well.”

Kiara smiled. Regina felt like there was something more to it, something going on beneath the surface. Did Kiara have some reason to want to talk to Regina, more than usual? She wasn’t sure.

“So, is there some bad news?” Kiara continued. “I imagine you did not just seek me out on a whim.”

Actually, Regina had done pretty much that. She controlled her expression, hoping Kiara couldn’t actually see her reaction. Instead, she continued in a neutral tone, “Nothing urgent. You might wish to know that the trade routes appear to be open again. We had some visitors from the Gnomish Confederation. There was also the incident in the forest, but we already informed you of that in our letters. I have not heard anything from the Delvers since then.”

Kiara nodded, frowning slightly and looking contemplative. “They do seem to take you seriously, to establish a truce,” she said. “I suppose access to the forest and the lands beyond is quite important to them. I have to admit it is a relief to know that conflict between you and them is unlikely to escalate further. My father and cousin are both trying to court the Delvers, as far as I know, but they do not seem willing to take a side, much less send troops.”

Regina was confused for a moment before she realized Kiara was referring to the Cernlian king, who was her cousin once removed. “That’s good to know,” she replied. “How are things here at the front, otherwise?”

Kiara’s frown deepened. “Not very well,” she replied. “We fought a battle at the ford yesterday, I have not had time to send news of it in a letter. It was not decisive, but we still lost. Zephyr and the king’s elites devastated our left flank when the fighters we sent to pin them down failed.”

Regina winced. “That sounds bad. I hope you weren’t affected?”

“Not personally, any more than usual. I was with the vanguard, actually. Regardless, we will not be able to hold our position here for long. Father is already making plans for a retreat.” She sighed. “And his coalition is not quite as united as we might hope.”

“Do you fear some of the lords might jump ship?”

“No. Not quite.” Kiara hesitated. She seemed to want to say something, then think better of it. “In truth, the dire situation is helping to hold all of us together for now.”

The way she said that, ‘all of us,’ Regina noted. As if she’s one of those being held together? I may be reading too much into things.

“Well, I hope you will manage that retreat and come out better for it,” Regina said. “I will increase the next shipment I send, if you think money will help.”

“Thank you, I do appreciate it, but unfortunately, I believe we have reached the end of that strategy,” Kiara replied with a shake of her head. “We cannot buy more soldiers — at least not now that almost all mercenary companies and even many adventurers are already enlisted.”

Regina nodded and was about to answer, when she caught another mind reaching out to her. Regina? Janis called.

She paused and put on an apologetic smile. “My apologies, Lady Kiara, it seems something has come up that requires my attention.”

Kiara actually looked faintly disappointed. “I understand, and I will not keep you. But please make sure to keep in touch, Lady Regina. I treasure your letters and I am looking forward to talking to you again.”

Regina nodded and smiled. “Likewise, feel free to reach out anytime you like.”

Then she cut the connection, taking a moment to gather her bearings and take a deep breath. Ending a scrying spell was always a bit disorienting. But her thoughts remained focused on Kiara. She definitely seemed to have changed a little. Something was different about her bearing and behavior, even if Regina found it hard to put a finger on what. She supposed being in a war could make people mature quickly.

Then she shook her head and closed her eyes again, reaching out to Janis. She hadn’t felt a sense of urgency that indicated it was a dire emergency, but she clearly still shouldn’t dawdle.

Janis was currently standing outside of the rooms they had been assigned in the gnomish city, talking. Regina found herself a bit lost at first, before she dove deeper into her connection to Janis. It allowed her to get a sense of the young mage’s recent memories. She could go over what happened in detail later, but for now, it was enough to have an idea of what was going on. Although it seemed like nothing too urgent had happened yet. Janis had called her because she expected this conversation to be important.

Just as she turned her full attention to it, the pleasantries were over and the gnome who seemed to be the leader of the two visitors spoke up. It was the same guy they’d met first, Tikimaken the Unbroken Rock.

“We’re hoping you’ll be able to deal with the elementals better than we could,” he said.

Janis frowned. “Is that so?”

“We can tell you’re elemental’s kin, little miss,” the other gnome put in. “No offense, but your bloodline is rather visible.” He nodded as Janis started to finger the ends of her hair in response. “Don’t get me wrong, you’re not going to be attacked for it or anything like that. We’re not savages.”

“Somehow, I feel like there’s a ‘but’ coming,” she said drily.

The gnome, Erdeken, looked like he had to forcibly restrain himself from making a joke about butts. He definitely didn’t seem as diplomatic as the others she’d met.

“Not as such,” Tikimaken responded, shooting his companion a quelling look. “You’re guests and you will be treated with the according respect. And we all understand that kinship does not equate to responsibility.”

I hope they’re not expecting too much, Regina commented to Janis. We’ve never dealt with elementals before.

She could sense her agreement as Janis said, “That might be, but what makes you think it changes anything? I’ve never even seen an elemental, myself.”

The two exchanged a look. “Perhaps it will not change anything, but if you do intend to go looking for your ancestor now that you are here …” Tikimaken shrugged. “Elementals can be savage and brutal, but they are not mindless monsters that attack with no reason or provocation. You should not be in any excessive danger.”

Janis frowned, and by the emotions she sensed in her link, Regina knew she felt much the same way she did about that. Wary, but also curious.

“I will keep that in mind,” she responded finally. “We will need to think on this.”

At least having support from the gnomes when we go looking for elementals should be good, she commented mentally.

I don’t know if I want to play mediator or whatever, though.

That is going to be a whole can of worms, even if it might be useful, Regina concluded.