In the end, the attack on the gnomish force in the mountains worked rather well. They didn’t quite manage to wipe them out, and quite a few gnomes slipped through the cracks, but that had probably been unavoidable. Those probably weren’t enough to pose a real threat to Regina’s forces in the region. At least not in their current, disorganized state.

The elementals had also proved themselves. Regina had paid less attention to her drones’ battle than she should have, really, but she’d been curious to see the elementals fighting.

And they hadn’t disappointed. A few of the gnomish elites were probably only a little weaker than them, possibly even in the same Tier, but they didn’t stand a chance. Regina didn’t know how old the elementals were, exactly, but they had clearly been around for a while, and they were experienced. Plus, she’d already started to realize that inherent traits and advantages still mattered, even with levels and Class Skills. Like her drones’ six limbs. The elementals were basically made of magic, and they were still larger and probably stronger than gnomes.

It was enough to make her wish that more than just a few had accepted her offer. Then again, keeping control of many elementals would have been a very different challenge by itself.

For now, Volance had managed to bring two or three others into the fold. One of them had given his agreement, more or less, but hadn’t actually participated in the fighting yet. Regina was hoping they would be worth it.

She’d also registered that Ben seemed to be changing his outlook, or maybe expanding it a little. Realizing that defeating the gnomes on the battlefield was going to be the easy part. Regina had already become aware of that. She didn’t doubt that her hive could defeat the forces the gnomes had put into the field so far — the only question was how, and what it would cost them — but that didn’t really solve the problem. Or even win the war. She wasn’t really sure what they should do about it, though. There were a few options she could think of, but … all of them seemed to have some pretty clear downsides, or at least risks.

What was that quote about winning the war and fighting the peace? she thought with a hint of amusement. Then Regina sighed, cracked her neck, and started pacing the length of her room.

She needed to visit the part of the base most had started calling the ‘hatchery’ soon. Regina hesitated and leaned against the wall, closing her eyes and putting her head against the cool surface for a moment. Maybe I can take it easier now, she thought. The war is going well, and I’ve got a lot of Breeders. We don’t need that many new sapient drones, either, do we?

Regina pushed off the wall and started pacing again. She had to admit she was feeling the strain. She should probably take that as a warning sign. Already, she was a little hesitant about physical training, and she didn’t protest about the Attendants’ habit of pampering her as much as she should. It felt like some insubstantial splinter had lodged itself in her core. I just don’t want to risk any of my children dying while I slack off, she admitted to herself.

Regina paused, then forcefully shook the thought out of her head and sped up, passing through the door out of her rooms and into the main part of the complex. Her drones were clearly beating the gnomes, all things considered. And unlike them, her hive would only get stronger with time.

She looked in on the hatchery as she passed, noting the carefully arranged eggs, sorted so that those close to hatching had enough room and were near the exits. Jem seemed to have taken it upon himself to watch them right now, and he waved at her as she passed. Regina smiled and waved back, but didn’t stop. She passed through the corridors of the main hive base, greeting her drones in passing. There weren’t many Swarm Drones here, mostly just sapient drones. Regina could put a name to everyone, although she suspected she might not have been able to without the help of the psychic link. Especially since they looked so similar, with only subtle individual differences, except for the different Classes.

From the aboveground complex, Regina descended into the tunnels. There were several entrances scattered around the area, of course. She took one that was relatively big, clad in wooden planks and illuminated by glowing cave moss they had taken from the tunnels under the forest and cultivated. It would have probably been too dim for a human, but she saw just fine.

There was a bit less traffic down here, but she still passed some drones, including a few Swarm Drones. They all stepped aside to let her pass, and she smiled and brushed her hands across the Swarm Drones in a brief greeting. Regina didn’t stay in the tunnel for long, though, but quickly turned into a niche that led to a larger cave dug out of the ground.

“Things are going well?” she asked quietly.

Ash glanced up from where he was kneeling on the ground and stood up. “My Queen! I didn’t even realize you were coming.” He smiled self-consciously. “What brings you down here?”

“I just wanted to check on things briefly,” she responded. It took her a moment, but then she realized what he had been doing. There was a map spread out on the ground, with differently colored pebbles strewn across it, and a few sheets of paper with a pencil beside it.

“Our elven friends are still being discrete and helpful?” she asked.

He grinned and nodded. “I bet they have quite a few questions they don’t quite dare to ask, especially going by what I hear from Ray,” Ash said cheerfully, then sobered. “We haven’t shown this to them, of course.” He gestured around them.

Regina nodded. “How satisfied are you with the defenses?” she asked. He was a scout, but that could also provide a good perspective on evaluating defensive measures.

“They’ll work,” he replied confidently. “If the gnomes ever make it this far, at least in any kind of strength, they’ll get a nasty surprise. Admittedly, I can’t promise that everything will go exactly as it’s supposed to, we can’t guarantee that without more intense testing. Which we won’t because it risks revealing too much,” he added quickly. “Still, all things considered, it doesn’t really matter if a few bunkers aren’t perfectly placed or a few mines are duds. We’re not relying on any single thing to work perfectly.”

“Glad to hear it.” Regina smiled. “I was going to take a quick walk along the underground defenses, then get back to that paperwork I should be doing.”

“I wish I could come, but I should finish this.” He gestured at the papers. “Neralt has been asking for updated assessments for ages.”

“Then let’s not keep him waiting any longer. See you later, Ash.”

Regina turned and continued through another tunnel that went at a shallow angle from her previous one, then curved around gently to the side. She passed another tunnel and quickly walked up and down its length, inspecting the walls. It was nothing she hadn’t seen before through a drone’s eyes, and she felt a bit useless, since she didn’t have the ability to assess it as a Worker would. She continued on her previous tunnel, noting a few niches and emplacements along the way. There were also a few crawlspaces only big enough for smaller drones, mostly leading upward.

Despite her restlessness and the desire to see things with her own eyes, which she was aware probably amounted to little more than a whim, Regina steered clear of the minefields. That would just be taking a needless and unjustified risk. Besides, if they were hidden well (and they were), there wouldn’t be much to see, anyway. That was basically the point, after all. Instead, she mostly walked through the tunnels and bunkers. She didn’t have much to do with their arrangement, which was mostly decided by Max, Ben and a few others, going off instinct and a bit of advice from Neralt, Janis and, later, Bianorn. But it seemed to work well enough. The tunnels should be a confusing tangle for anyone else while still allowing drones to go to their destinations efficiently, and the bunkers were spaces apart so they could support each other, with exits leading deeper into the tunnel network in case one should fall.

There were a few other surprises built into it, as well, of course. Murderholes and arrow slits in the walls or ceiling, with false walls and smaller side tunnels in a few key places, allowing the hive to ambush any attackers that got too far. Stretches of tunnel that could be flooded or filled with gas. They had even tried a few anti-earth-mage measures, mostly with planted explosives, though Regina was uncertain how well those would work.

After a while and brief chats with a few other drones, she returned to the surface levels of the hive, contemplating what she’d seen. It might not even be necessary against the gnomes, but she was still inclined to maintain and expand this section. Besides that, they should probably add a few more ‘safe rooms’ or ‘panic rooms’, probably even deeper underground. Regina sent a short message to Ben and Tia over the psychic link with a sketch of her idea. They might have to wait with any bigger projects until Tia was back, but that should be fine.

Regina was just climbing back into the main hive base when another System notification interrupted her train of thought.

You have leveled up

She paused, startled, then smiled and continued with a bit more energy in her steps. Level forty-eight. She really was leveling up a lot more quickly recently, at least considering the level range. Well, this is pretty good, it also means my drones can reach a level higher now. I wonder when I’ll unlock a new Template, though? I guess those unlocks have been slowing down.

As soon as Regina reached the core part of the base and turned to return to where she came from, she was stopped again, this time by a mental request from Janis, the psychic equivalent of pinging someone. She glanced around and replied, What’s up, Janis?

The young mage had only recently returned from the mountains. In fact, now that Regina thought about it, she’d only come back to the base an hour or two ago. She would be going back to coordinate with the elementals soon, too.

Do you have a minute, Regina? Janis replied.

She looked around and started walking at a right angle to her previous path, finally seeing the girl after a few steps. Janis looked like she felt in the psychic link, mostly calm but still a bit nervous or concerned.

“Sure,” she responded aloud. “Let’s go to the roof, unless there’s something you wanted to show me?”

Janis nodded and fell into step with her. Regina noticed that she did carry something, apparently a stack of paper. They didn’t speak further until they reached the relative privacy of the rooftop. The central part was still slightly higher than the outbuildings that had grown up around it, giving them a good view. The spring sun made for a nice ambiance, too.

“I’ve been going through my letters with Kiara,” Janis finally said. “You know that we’ve been in contact, right?”

Regina nodded. The letters were usually delivered to the hive’s main base, for obvious reasons, so Janis might have missed one or even a few while she was away. She could have asked someone else to read them for her, of course, but it probably made sense that she’d rather keep them private.

“Last I heard, they were arranging a marriage to some foreign prince for her,” Regina said a bit cautiously. “Is that what concerns you?”

Janis looked up sharply, seeming startled. Regina tried to keep her expression mild and gentle.

“That’s not — why would you think that I would — I mean, what are you implying?” Janis asked finally. Her last question sounded calm and neutral rather than accusing, though.

Regina sent her a mental pat on the shoulder. “Nothing, really,” she said. “You know that I don’t disapprove of your relationship, right?”

“Our relationship, like we have — No, nevermind.” Janis shook her head sharply. “That’s not what I meant, and that betrothal arrangement doesn’t seem to be going well at all, anyway. There’s something else in her letters, hints, at least. I’m not sure if I’m not reading too much into it, though.”

Regina shrugged. “Well, if you want to show me, I’d be happy to offer my opinion.”

“We should, it will probably affect the Hive,” Janis muttered. Then she took the first letter and scanned it until she found a section she was looking for.

Regina listened quietly while Janis read her a few excerpts from Kiara’s letters and summarized a few other parts. She started to frown as Janis continued.

“You’re right,” she finally said. “It’s nothing very concrete, but combined with what Kiara wrote in the letters I got, she is heavily hinting that there’s … a problem.”

By itself, nothing really stood out too much. Regina suspected she’d done it that way to minimize trouble if someone else read one of her letters. Which was a concerning sign on its own. Kiara hinted at an argument with her father in more than one letter, and talked about her conversations with what seemed like influential noblemen in another. She described the army’s morale and supply situation, in ways understated enough that they shouldn’t draw her father’s ire.

What it all came down to, Regina wasn’t sure. It seemed clear that Lyns was losing support among the nobles. And she knew Kiara had been gaining influence, which seemed like it would be closely related, but she got the feeling there was more to it. And the war had been going less than perfectly for him for a while now.

“What does this mean for us?” Janis asked.

Regina shook her head. “I don’t know,” she said. “I’m not sure what’s really going on there. Maybe I’m just missing something.”

Janis chewed on her lower lip for a moment, then gave her head another shake. “I think she might be saying that he’ll be asking for more from us,” she said. “I mean, it’s pretty clear they’re not winning the war.”

Regina nodded. It probably wasn’t just about a small increase in gold from her. Maybe the marquis was considering a more substantial, new agreement? And what would that mean for Kiara?

Regina sighed and rubbed her eyes with the heel of her hand. Either way, it sounded like complications she didn’t need right now. She’d have preferred it if she had just had to deal with relationship trouble, after all. At least it didn’t seem like anything was going to blow up tomorrow, though.