As Regina’s headache receded, at least to bearable levels, she found her thoughts moving considerably faster again. She still probably needed a good night’s sleep and some rest, but that was true of everyone.

There was a lot demanding her attention, so it was a good thing. She kept most of her focus on the battle in the south, closer to her own position, both because of the people involved and the importance of the now-shattered psychic disruption field. Ben would manage the other ‘front’ well enough. At least she checked in a few times and it seemed to be going well.

The same could be said for the battle here, although the casualties still made her wince. The human soldiers were generally higher level and stronger than the drones, and it showed. Especially since the hive had mostly burned through their stockpiles of explosives and a lot came down to the fighting on the ground, where Janis’ strategy carried the day but wasn’t without cost.

Regina wasn’t worried about winning the battle — they were clearly doing that already — and drones would fight to the last being if necessary, so the losses didn’t really impact their combat effectiveness on a less abstract level. Unlike the human soldiers, who were clearly not far from a rout. If they hadn’t been encircled by hive drones, they might have already been fleeing in droves.

As it was, she hoped they would surrender soon, although she wasn’t holding her breath.

Galatea clearly evaluated the situation along the same lines and was keeping her distance, staying away from the actual fighting. That was fine. Regina reached out through her psychic senses, although she had to force herself a little, almost flinching away. She didn’t, though, and while things still felt a little harder than usual, she had unfettered access to the entire area now. She passed the minds belonging to her hive, looking for someone else. Galatea was there, of course — and she found Madris surprisingly close.

Regina frowned. She hadn’t had much attention to spare for her, but she’d been generally aware of her position at least when she’d focused on the area. Madris had been on the other side of the battle, where she’d been positioned to break through the field, and then lingered there. She’d been moving towards the Nerlians last Regina had seen. Now she’d clearly missed something, since Madris was approaching quickly. She was accompanied by her previous companion and … was that another mind?

Regina hesitated, then shared the information over the psychic link. She had to remind Max and a few others emphatically to play nice. Regardless of whether they liked Madris, she was their ally for now, and she had helped. Besides, it was on the hive to demonstrate that they could be civilized, cooperative and just reasonable in general.

Don’t trust her, my Queen, Max told her.

Regina almost rolled her eyes. I wasn’t born yesterday, she said. Of course I’m not going to give her the keys to the kingdom. But I’m willing to give her the chance to earn trust, at least. Besides, being hostile to a powerful psychic is just bad policy in general.

So she managed a smile when Madris appeared. It froze once she realized what it was the dark elf and her companion were bringing along with them, clearly taken from the enemy army’s camp, or wherever its leadership had been hanging around.

A stir went through the surrounding drones as well. More of them were still trickling in from the sky, and further out, they were preparing to move forward and support Janis’ group at the conclusion of the battle. Regina ignored them, though, focused on the figure Armin set down. Shadows were slowly vanishing from it, revealing the form of a human man. She checked the System description to be sure she recognized him, and tried to assess what her other senses were telling her. It seemed pretty clear that Madris had done something to Derrek Zephyr. His mind was distant in a way she hadn’t encountered before, and she had the impression that he was not aware of what was going on around him.

"Hive Queen Regina,” Madris greeted her, inclining her head slightly. She managed to make the gesture look graceful and almost regal in her own right, and her body language was just as assured. This wasn’t her first rodeo.

“Madris,” Regina responded, mirrored the gesture and smiled. “Thank you for the help you have given us. To your companion as well, of course,” she nodded at him.

He returned the nod but didn’t speak up, instead letting Madris continue talking. “Of course, you are most welcome,” she responded smoothly. “I felt compelled to intervene in light of what was happening. I am glad if I could be of some assistance to your Hive.”

“Certainly. And I see you brought someone who may help us shed some light on what was happening.”

Now Madris allowed herself a small smile. “Indeed. Unfortunately, I did not find more tangible evidence in the humans’ camp, but I’m sure Zephyr will provide some information. This seems like a reasonably secure location to store him for the moment, I would say?”

“It should,” Regina agreed. She glanced at a few of the drones and told them to make sure things were ready and that they were secure over the psychic link. She also took the opportunity to check on a few other things nearby.

“Well then, should we get to it?”

“Actually, there’s another thing.” Regina hesitated slightly before she continued. “Would you look at Janis?”

Madris looked surprised for a moment, before her expression softened. “Of course. I’d be happy to.” She turned, her gaze unerringly sweeping to where Janis was currently being carried toward them by a few other drones. Clearly, expecting a psychic not to be aware of that would be stupid.

Regina made sure the drones escorting Janis set her down on a good spot, on a few blankets spread over the grass, while her own group hurried over there. She checked on her mind again, but found little change.

Madris pursed her lips as she saw Janis, then crouched down and touched her forehead. She remained there for a second, her brows slowly drawing together into a frown, before she nodded and stood up again, turning to Regina after giving a last glance at Janis.

“She’s suffered the brunt of the backlash for breaking the ritual field,” Madris said. “Most likely because she was the only one inside except for me, and I have superior defenses and weathered it much better. I am not sure if this reaction is part of the intended workings of the ritual or simply an effect of breaking it the way we did. Either way, I do not think she will suffer lasting damage. I should check on her a few more times to be sure, and I should be able to help if there are issues. For now, we can only wait for her to come to grips with the psychic backlash and for the mana to calm down regarding the magical aspect. It should start a positive feedback loop.”

Regina exhaled a breath she hadn’t realized had clogged up her airways and smiled. “That’s good to know. Thank you. I’d appreciate it very much if you would help like this.”

Madris returned her smile. “As I said, I’d be happy to help, Your Majesty.”

‘Your Majesty’, huh? She really is trying to play nice, Regina considered.

Now that she was somewhat reassured regarding Janis’ condition, Regina focused on Zephyr and the rest of the situation. She checked on the drones who’d taken custody of him and quickly made her way there, accompanied by Madris, with Max, Ira and a few others trailing behind. Armin had stayed behind and was hovering unobtrusively where he could keep an eye on the prisoner.

“Before we get started,” Madris said, “you should be aware of something else that may be a little time-sensitive. The Cernlian king was with the army, I saw him preparing to flee. He’s already on the move by now.”

“We know,” Max spoke up. “We noticed and are keeping an eye on them.”

Regina glanced at him and checked on the psychic link again. The others had set a few flying drones to tail the king’s party from the distance, and she could see him riding hard for the closest territory under their control, currently to the south-southeast. She’d been too distracted to pay much attention, although now that she focused on it, she could see why Ben or Dan hadn’t asked her to let them stage an attack yet. Everything that was left of the Cernlian elite fighters, including quite a few knights and nobles with more martial Classes, accompanied him. This was not a group they’d be able to take easily, and her army in the area was still tied down while it was finishing off dealing with the human army.

“Capturing him would be a coup,” Regina agreed. “But we’ll only make an attempt if we have a good opportunity. The king and his Nerlian allies have just suffered a critical defeat, anyway.”

She turned and looked at Zephyr, frowning. The man was clearly coming around, his eyes had started tracking them as they spoke. Presumably they needed him conscious for the interrogation.

“So we meet again, Thaumaturge Derrek Zephyr,” she greeted him.

He blinked. It clearly took a moment for him to realize who she was and what was happening. “Hive Queen Regina,” he rasped. He tugged at the bonds of shadow still winding around him, but they didn’t give. Then his gaze stopped at Madris. “You kidnapped me.”

“Obviously,” Madris said.

“We are at war,” Regina shrugged. “And you have information we want.”

He scowled. “Why should I cooperate with you in any way?”

“Well, I’d hope we can all deal with this like civilized people,” Regina said, keeping her tone cold and toneless to intimidate him. “Besides, I’m sure at this point you know it’s your best bet. You’re not going to be rescued. Whoever provided the information on that ritual might just consider you a loose end, anyway.”

He frowned, but didn’t respond.

Madris glanced at Regina, her expression unreadable, then shrugged and inspected her fingernails. “We can always rip the information out of your mind if you won’t talk,” she said. “It’s not a pleasant process, at least for those on the receiving end, but you can rest assured, I won’t do permanent damage. Most likely.”

Regina suppressed a frown of her own. She had no idea whether Madris would actually do that. Well, she had no doubt that she was capable of doing it, the question was if she would cross such a line. Regina didn’t know her well enough to tell.

Either way, it might not matter. Madris certainly didn’t look like she was bluffing, staring down their captive with a cold and almost annoyed look. Regina caught his gaze flickering to the tips of her ears before he swallowed. He’s buying it, she concluded. And she had the feeling this wasn’t even about whatever stories he might have heard about dark elves. It was just a reminder that Madris wasn’t even the same species, that she had no reason to consider him as any kind of fellow. Regina herself, of course, was Hivekind, either a literal monster or one made so by biased history.

“Let’s make a deal,” Armin spoke up. “You don’t need to tell us about any troop movements or military plans or the like, we can deal with that easily enough. You just talk about the ritual and how you came to cast it.”

Zephyr licked his lips. “I don’t know much,” he said. “It wasn’t my ritual.”

Regina tugged on her mandible. She’d been trying to sense his mind through her psychic senses, and now focused in on it more closely. After a moment, though, she felt what she could only describe as a mental knock. She glanced over at Madris and met the psychic’s eyes. After a moment, Regina tentatively reached out.

We can tell if someone is lying rather easily. You should already be able to do it. Can you? Madris asked. Her mental voice was tightly controlled, not carrying any of the carry-over and noise she was accustomed to.

Regina glanced away as she responded. Sometimes, but not consistently, she admitted.

Madris made a small gesture with her hand and Regina sensed a moving barrier made of a small whirlwind spring up around Zephyr, blocking any sound from reaching him.

That’s fine, I can teach you, she responded. The trick is to go just a little deeper than a surface emotional read, but to still pay attention to those emotions. The surface of their minds will shift in particular ways when someone is lying, there’s a certain tension you’ll learn to recognize, and it takes more cognitive effort than telling the truth.

Regina focused on her, catching an echo of sensation Madris showed her to illustrate what she was explaining. She processed it for a short while, trying to commit the details to memory and align it with her own experiences.

“We have all the time in the world, even if you’re a little slow,” Madris said.

Regina tugged on her mandible, then smiled. “You’re lying,” she responded.

Good. Madris layered a small tinge of praise over the word. You should be able to check our informant’s words, though I’ll be there to catch anything you miss.

Regina nodded, but didn’t break the connection yet. What about whatever organization you must belong to? she asked. With your duty to responsible use of psychic power? Will they approve of you teaching me like this?

Madris shook her head slightly, her lips curling upwards the tiniest bit. Not an issue, she responded with an undertone of amusement. The organization is rather loose. More of an association of people with a common interest and obligation. They won’t care about me teaching someone so long as we don’t cross any lines. The others will trust me to handle this situation, anyhow.

Alright then, Regina said, taking note of that information. She didn’t ask why Madris was teaching her even this basic skill right now, although she was tempted.

The dark elf turned back to Zephyr. “Who did the ritual come from?”

“I don’t know, honestly,” the man responded. Regina could tell he was mostly telling the truth.

“Where did you get it?” she asked. “Elaborate a little.”

He sighed. “I was approached by someone who didn’t tell me their affiliation. They pointed me to it. I actually found the ritual in old records in the capital’s archives. It appears to date back to the last war with the Hivekind, shortly after the Cataclysm. It only needed a little modification.”

Huh. That’s interesting. “And the resources?” she asked.

“It was surprisingly cheap, but we also got an anonymous donation of gold to the king’s cause from some ‘concerned patriot’,” Zephyr responded with obvious sarcasm on the last part. “The king figured it was some rich merchant or noble who’d been holding out and was going to claim credit later for leverage.”

He clearly didn’t quite think so, and Regina was inclined to agree. Although she supposed it could be a coincidence.

“And you have no idea who could be behind it?” she asked. “Any details?”

Zephyr visibly hesitated, then sighed. “One of our men trailed the man who approached me with the tip,” he said with visible reluctance. “He met with another man in a tavern after taking the long way there. A level 20 Priest.”

Regina raised an eyebrow before she could stop herself. Well, that’s a hint, alright.

“There’s more,” Madris said, giving him a hard look. “What else do you know about this matter?”

Zephyr smirked slightly, looking at Regina. “Well. I can’t be sure, you understand. And he was a lower-level Acolyte the last I knew of him. But the description, a young man called Rodrick with dark hair and beard and a scar on his left cheek, is familiar to me. But as far as I know, he follows Alianais.”

Regina’s other eyebrow joined the first. There was a moment of silence. Then Madris waved her hand to erect the windy sound barrier again.

“Alianais?” Ira spoke up, sounding concerned, though Regina could sense she felt even more apprehensive than she let on. “Why would she do that?”

“It could be wrong,” Max pointed out. “She could be being framed, for all we know.”

Madris looked between them and Regina, then shrugged. “Far be it from me to defend a god,” she said. “But if Alianais did do this, it does not necessarily mean she’s acted against you. What are the chances that Cernlia is the only source with this information? She might have been trying to warn you in some twisted way, or prepare you to face it.”

Still, in that case why couldn’t she’ve just told us? Regina thought. She sighed. “There’s too little to go on for any kind of conclusion.”

When she looked at Zephyr, she noticed that he’d nodded off again. His mind still felt sluggish and he’d obviously succumbed to sleep.

“We can interrogate him further, preferably later, but I do not think he has much more information to share concerning this question,” Madris said. “Perhaps you should focus on the battle?”

Regina nodded and turned away. She still kept worrying about it in the back of her mind, though.