Leo

Leo thinks as he prepares to go on his expedition. This is the most important thing the Alpha has asked him to do, and is possibly the most important thing he’s asked any of his scions to do, and so the wolf wants to do the best job he possibly can. He first checks with Poe to see if there’s any extra information he can get.

There is, but not much. It’s mostly topography of the area, but that does at least give him a better idea of what he’ll be working with. The rocky beach should not be too difficult to secure, even beneath the waves. There are a lot of large rocks and other things that would spell doom for a boat, and also disrupts the waves. At low tide, it gives him several choke points that the skeletons can secure. At high tide, he’s more uncertain of how to deal with them. Sharks and other dangerous denizens may be able to swim over, but they’d also risk dashing themselves on the rocks. He’ll have to get a better look himself before he can make much in the way of plans there.

The biggest challenge will be the stretch of land between the beach itself and the woods he’ll be hiding in. The Alpha is correct in transitioning to just skeletons to avoid the spying denizens getting spotted. He’d like to get even more inside Hullbreak itself, but he can’t risk bringing in more for that. Perhaps he can get the delvers to help? A few quests to deliver boxes or barrels to the local docks, and slimes and slides could slip out and into the sea with minimal chance of being seen.

He nods to himself and files that idea away for later, in case it’s needed. He still has the problem of actually acquiring the reports from the spies. He could use skeletons, but he’d prefer not to. Skeletons leaving the ocean plays against the idea of Neverrest just sending constant raids to try to gain mana or whittle Hullbreak down. So he needs to use something sneakier, something smaller.

His first thought is to try the rats, maybe at night. They’re quick and should blend in well, but can he manage anything better? He gets an idea and heads for the library. He can’t manage anything sneakier than the rats, but he thinks Honey’s bees would be an even better option.

He’s actually quite fond of the bookish little bee. He had expected her to be annoying or useless with her idea to go get samples of things around the Alpha’s territory, but was willing to humor her if the Alpha was. But her bees have been proving themselves invaluable in getting details, and she has this infectious energy when she goes on about whatever weird thing has captured her interest at the time.

The bees only give him a passing glance as he enters the lab, before continuing their own work. He soon finds Honey dissecting what appears to be a dragonfly of some variety, and he wiggles his rear in a pale imitation of a bee’s dance of greeting. He’s pretty sure he manages to say something crude each time, but it does a good job of gaining Honey’s attention and making the mood light.

“Leo! How can I help you?” she asks, handing her tiny tools off to a few other workers while she focuses on her fellow scion.

“I was hoping I could borrow some of your bees, Honey. The Alpha has given me a task, and I think some bees would be perfect for one of the roles.”

She buzzes in excitement. “The Hullbreak situation, right? I’d love to help, though I do have a condition.”

“That is?”

“I’d like for my bees to be able to investigate the area when not actively doing whatever you’re going to have them doing. What are you going to have them doing?” she asks, realizing she should probably know what she’s agreeing to before she actually agrees to it.

“I will have them ferry the reports from the shore to my FOB, and ferry any orders I have back.”

Honey buzzes in a little circle in approval. “Ah, messengers! They should be fine to do that, and they should have plenty of time to explore and find me new samples, too!”

“Once I get situated, I may be able to organize deliveries back here so you can examine things yourself, too. My priority will be on Hullbreak, however.”

She floats side to side, waving off the concern. “That’s fine. The Emperor’s plans take priority, but there’s still a lot of opportunity to learn!”

He nods. “Good. I’ll return to get your initial contingent of bees before I leave for the expedition. Enjoy your work, Honey.”

“You as well!” she buzzes happily, before returning to her dissection.

Leo next visits the other insect scion, Queen, to see if the ant has managed to make any potions to breathe in water. Her workspace is a bit more chaotic to his eyes, but he knows it’s an illusion. Not a single ant is where Queen doesn’t want it. They part for him as he makes his way to the main table, where Queen typically works on her experiments and notes.

“Ah, Leo. I hear the Emperor has given you a special task. You’re here to ask my help?” she says without looking away from her ants carefully measuring powders.

“Yes. Have you made any progress on a potion to breathe underwater?”

It’s difficult to read her expression, thanks to both her size and her simple anatomy, but he gets the feeling she’s smirking at him. “I have, but you don’t want it.”

He gives her a confused look. “Why wouldn’t I want it?”

“Because breathing underwater is not actually especially useful. You need to be able to move freely underwater, too.”

Leo still doesn’t get it. “I can swim just fine, Queen.”

She laughs and motions for her ants to pause so she can focus more on Leo. “Can you swim as well as a fish, Leo? How much more nimble is a fish than you in the water? Even if a fish could breathe on land, would you have any trouble fighting one if it flopped into the Emperor’s territory? It will be the same with Hullbreak. Breathing will help, but mobility is the key to actually trying to win any fights with Hullbreak.”

Leo frowns, not liking her tone, but also not able to come up with any real retort. “Have you made any progress on that, then?”

Her confidence fades at that and she eventually must shake her head. “No, unfortunately. The Emperor has given me some interesting ideas, but I haven’t managed to make anything with the properties to try to use them yet. That ratkin delver, Staiven, may be able to help with that. I believe he has formulae for what we want, but I also suspect it requires reagents I just don’t have.”

Leo sighs at that. “I was afraid of that.”

“We still have some hope, though.”

“Oh?” says the wolf, perking up.

“The Emperor has agents inside the harbor now, correct? I’d wager that any missing reagents can be found inside it. A few subtle snips, and we could have what we need to bring a fight to them, should the need arise.”

Leo can’t help but grin at that, glad he decided to come to her. “I’ll keep that in mind! The Alpha hopes for a peaceful resolution…”

“But he prepares for the worst. The Emperor is wise and merciful, daring to hope without letting it blind him.”

Leo can only nod at that. “I’ll keep you in the loop if it looks like the spies can sneak out anything from inside. The Alpha wants to get into contact with the dwellers, and they may have a much easier time of gathering than our invaders will.”

“And I shall continue to work on the water problem with what we do have available. The Emperor has suggested I look into how oil repels water, to see if that could be useful. He thinks it will only be part of the solution, but a part is better than what we have now.”

Leo nods once more and takes his leave, trying to think of what else he needs to do. He has the foreseeable problems planned for, and with the bees he should at least have warning for anything unforeseeable. He needs to actually get out there and get the FOB started, and secure the beachhead before he can try to solve any other problems. Those two will certainly present issues, but if he keeps a level head, he’s certain he can do the Alpha proud.