The middle of the next day found Regina sitting atop a rather shallow hill that was surrounded on three sides by forest, accompanied by a gaggle of sapient drones and a small horde of Swarm Drones. There was nothing much for some distance in any direction, not even fortifications or the defensive line, since it had moved a few days ago and neither side was bringing the rest of their army too close to this meeting point.

Regina knew she’d probably given the Esemen quite the time crunch, setting a date only one day from when they’d come to speak to the hive. To some degree, that was the intention. And they should be able to get Ria here on time, she told herself. They’re a good-sized human nation. They have to have more fliers or people with Skills that let them transport others across larger distances quickly.

She wasn’t entirely sure what she’d do if they didn’t bring Ria; she supposed that would depend in part on their excuses.

Luckily, it didn’t seem like she’d have to worry about it. When Regina let her surroundings fade from her attention and focused on her more esoteric senses, it was easy to see the collection of minds approaching. And more importantly, the very familiar mind that had just entered her range and was being moved very quickly towards her position.

Ria! Regina reached out to her immediately, forcing herself to be careful as she touched her drone’s mind. How are you doing? I’ve been worried.

Mother, the relief in Ria’s mental voice was so palpable it felt like it would have knocked her back if they’d been meeting in person. It’s so good to sense you again.

You too, Regina replied gently, letting feelings of reassurance and joy sicker through the link, covering concern. Are you alright?

I’ve been better, but I’m healthy and not in immediate danger, Ria replied, noticeably calming herself down a bit.

Good, Regina said. She hesitated for a fraction of a second, before she offered, I could try to just Summon you back now.

I don’t know. She sensed Ria considering it carefully. It might be a good option if you want to make a point. But it would also reveal your capability.

I’ll do it if you want, but if you can hold on a little longer, it might be better for you to stay for now, Regina said. I’ll keep an eye on you and I’ll recall you as soon as you’re in any danger. If you think it’s safe?

It should be, Ria replied confidently. They haven’t hurt me, I think they know that it would only cause you to escalate against them. That they’re bringing me back now is probably a good sign, I think they’ve been a little paranoid about me seeing what they’re doing.

Well, do you have any dark secrets to unveil? Regina asked lightly.

Ria smiled mentally. Not really, she said. I’ll try to get my memories of everything I’ve encountered in order to share them.

Work with the Keepers to push them in the psychic link. Regina paused. I’m glad you’re back, Ria. We’ll get you home safe soon.

I’m looking forward to it, my Queen.

Regina exhaled and shook her head lightly. Ria was brave, to remain with the Esemen after all this, just because she thought it would be more useful for the hive. To Regina. I’m not sure what I’ve done to deserve such loyalty.

At least she could tell that being away from the hive hadn’t seriously harmed Ria. Oh, it was obvious it did have negative effects, just looking at her mind through the psychic link. But Regina was confident Ria could bounce back. She really hoped there wouldn’t be any lingering trauma.

True to her words, Regina kept part of her attention on Ria as she and the Esemen she was accompanying quickly drew closer. From their speed, even if she hadn’t been able to sense more from Ria, she would have known they were flying. There were only a few other people with her, presumably because of limited flight capability, but another group was approaching more slowly on the ground. Regina focused on them long enough to be confident that they would be no threat.

There was little talk on their small hill, as the others were all a little tense. Max had layered protective Skill effects and a few Spells on her like they were going out of style, and he stuck close even now, but didn’t disturb her concentration.

Regina had kind of implied, at least, that she was going to be here. And if she was honest with herself, she appreciated the opportunity to get out of the base and stretch her wings a little bit. She also wanted to be here in person, not least because it would help her assess their intentions and maybe even thoughts if she was right there, instead of further away.

No one spoke as they started to see the Esemen approaching and she felt Ria and her own escort come closer as well. They were slowing down slightly so they wouldn’t come before the main Esemen envoy.

Regina sat down on the chair the drones had just finished assembling. It looked a bit more throne-like than strictly necessary, but not so much that it would seem tacky. The others lined up around and behind her, making for an intimidating sight through the Winged Drones watching from above and hopefully for the newcomers.

The Esemen weren’t letting the chance for a little pageantry go to waste, either. Their banner — which she still couldn’t make very much sense of — was carried on several lances, and the knights surrounding who she presumed were the leaders wore polished armor and carried a variety of weapons, most of them with coats of arms or brightly painted color schemes as well. Regina watched them calmly, letting them come to her.

The actual leader, who she knew from her quick scan of Ria’s memory as well as information from Whitor and a few others, didn’t seem to be here. Of course, the High Shaman was an old man and didn’t seem to have a directly combat-applicable Class, at least not at short range, so it made sense they wouldn’t want to risk him. On the other hand, she recognized who she identified as their general, Nightsen. The actual dynamics of the Esemen leadership were still opaque to her, but at least he should probably have the authority to negotiate with her. From what she’d heard, their technical head of state back in Esemen proper was mostly a figurehead, at least if she understood things correctly.

They had their horses stop a few meters away from them. Regina met their gaze firmly and stood to greet them in a gesture of politeness, but didn’t speak first. She just waited for them to dismount and approach her.

There was a drawn-out moment of silence. "Greetings,” Nightsen finally said.

Regina watched him bow his head in greeting and carefully inclined her own head a bit more shallowly. “Greetings to you as well,” she replied. “I am Hive Queen Regina. These are my advisors and commanders.”

The next two minutes were taken up with introductions. As usual, it felt a bit weird to her since everyone could see each other’s names in the System, but they focused on roles and other pertinent information not covered by it. Regina paid attention, although she tried to maintain a calm facade. By this point, she had some practice with it, but projecting the air of a queen was still a demanding task.

Finally, she sat down, without asking anyone else. If the Esemen noticed that there were no chairs for them, they clearly decided not to make an issue out of it. As far as Regina was concerned, she could make this seem like what it was: a negotiation with a clearly superior foe. Being the only one seated was a power move projecting that impression. Even if it might be kind of petty. And meant she had to look up just slightly.

“Queen Regina,” the general finally started on the actual conversation to be had. “I am glad we could meet. We have quite a bit to talk about.”

“I suppose we do,” Regina agreed. “You are empowered to negotiate for Esemen?”

“Of course.”

There was a moment of silence, and she recognized he was inviting her to continue.

“I am glad to see that you brought Lady Neralt along,” Regina said casually, as if it didn’t matter that they had, in fact, kept her back with a small armed escort, outside their direct line of sight. “Her family has been worried about her.”

“Perhaps you should not have sent a woman of advanced age as an envoy to a foreign country if you were worried about health issues,” one of the younger men piped up. Nightsen shot him a quelling look.

“Perhaps,” Regina agreed. As if Marianne is old, seriously. “Of course, I’m sure I can depend on your chivalry to make sure she is safe. It would be unfortunate should that reputation not be accurate.”

Whatever they would have responded to that was lost as a rush of air signaled the arrival of the other group she’d expected to show up. Regina tilted her head back slightly to watch with her own eyes as the handful of flying beasts circled lower to touch down. They reminded her vaguely of those she’d seen the Nerlians use, although they were a bit bigger and looked more like a cross between some bird of prey and a storch.

“Ria!” one of the drones called, she didn’t try to see which. A sense of embarrassment followed, although several of them had done the same thing, just kept it to the psychic link.

When Ria jumped down and tried to hurry towards them, two of the well-armored men who’d come in with her stepped in the way. There was a tense standoff for a few moments.

Regina calmly turned her head to face the Esemen leadership. “Thank you for bringing my daughter back to me,” she said. “I will take custody of her now, or consider these talks a failure.”

They tensed, a moment of silence heavy with the possibility of violence, before the general nodded. “Take her, Hive Queen,” he said.

Ria radiated relief as she walked around the two guards and rushed up to the hive’s group. She hesitated for a moment and Regina knew she wanted to come to her, but instead she joined the circle of the others. Dan immediately put an arm around her, and she half-melted into it. From the sense of her mind in the psychic link, Regina could tell it would need more than that to put her at ease, though, and she resolved to have a good talk (and probably a hug) with her as soon as this was done.

At the moment, Regina found it hard to care how much the Esemen learned about her or the hive. She had to assume that they already had some knowledge, anyway; if their connection to the gods was half of what it seemed, they’d probably been fed some information. It was one of the reasons she’d decided to rely more on intimidation than hiding or downplaying her capabilities. Looking at them now, she tried to analyze their body language and what she could sense from their minds. They had pretty good mental discipline, all things considered, but she could still get a general assessment of their state, at least. She could probably do more if she wanted to push, but she was leery of pushing too far. Still, she saw their tension and knew they were a lot more intimidated by the situation than they tried to appear.

“Now that this is done,” Nightsen said again. “May we continue to the reason for this meeting?”

Not very diplomatic, Regina reflected, but she supposed he was a general and not a diplomat. Not that she minded. “Sure.” She leaned back on her chair. “I assume you want a truce?”

A few of the others blinked at the blunt question, but the general wasn’t fazed. “At a minimum, yes. After all, neither of us benefits by having our soldiers sit here, fighting over a few useless acres of land.”

“Earl Whitor might object to that statement,” Regina commented drily.

Nightsen’s lips twitched slightly. “I do not see him here,” he said, “and I would imagine he would prefer for us to leave peaceably, after we come to an agreement.”

Regina tilted her head slightly, acknowledging the point. Whitor wasn’t here mostly because of the short notice, although she realized that it might seem like a slight to him. And to be honest, with the situation in Cernlia this changed and still no one certain how it’s going to turn out, I’m not including him as much as I could, I guess.

“You believe you can just waltz in here, provoke a fight, get people killed, and then just pack up and leave?” she asked.

The other Esemen stirred uneasily. “I am sure we can come to an agreement,” one of them repeated.

Regina glanced at him dismissively. “You have more to lose from continued hostilities than I do,” she said. She was fairly sure they knew that already, but she still wanted to say it. “After all, while I wouldn’t want to get my drones killed for no reason, the hive could bear losing some. Our technology is ahead of yours, and we wouldn’t even need that much to decimate all the forces you have here. Sure, there might be a bit of damage to the landscape, but as you just pointed out, they’re not my people and being occupied by foreign soldiers isn’t exactly good for them, either. Threatening the civilians’ lives as hostages would just make me escalate. So - convince me why I shouldn’t do this?”

There was a moment of silence, and she could sense them considering how to react, the tension kicking up another notch.

“We are willing to provide some reparations for our part in this conflict,” Nightsen finally said.

Regina leaned forward a bit before she could help herself. Oh? “That’s a good start,” she allowed.

The general scoffed slightly. “Don’t push your luck … Your Majesty,” he added just a bit grudgingly. “We are also aware that you do not want to be at war with yet another country, and Esemen could take either Cernlia or Nerlia if we wanted to.”

Yeah, I’ll take that with a large grain of salt. “But you haven’t yet,” she pointed out, “or even started preparations. Why’s that?”

He shook his head and ran a hand through his short hair. “Let’s cut the crap a bit, shall we?” Nightsen looked at her. “We both have patrons in, shall we say, high places. They would be willing to let this be a draw and retreat.” He actually glanced up a bit and frowned. “At least, they haven’t indicated otherwise. Why not take it instead of digging ourselves deeper into … this?”

Regina leaned forward again, her fingers biting into the armrests of her chair. “What do you mean?” She had a feeling she knew what he meant.

Nightsen rolled his eyes. “Let’s not mince words, Hive Queen. Esemen has always held Alianais in high regard. It’s a bit of a shame, really — Personally, I would rather not fight her Champion if I could help it.”

Regina blinked, then narrowed her eyes. “I’m not Alianais’ Champion.”

He evidently resisted the urge to roll his eyes again. “I’m sure, I’m sure.”

Regina stared at him, then at the others, then closed her eyes for a moment. Dammit, I’m not getting out of this, she realized. I could deny it all I want, they already think they know the truth.

As far as she knew, she wasn’t actually Alianais’ Champion. Although she was ‘marked’ by her for whatever that was worth. And that’s it anyway, ‘as far as I know’. But, no, let’s not give in to paranoia. Regardless of the practical details, they could probably sense something from her, which meant she’d effectively be treated as connected to or rather representing Alianais even if she wasn’t.

“Fine,” she bit out, “let’s talk details.”

At least if they got back to their homeland with their tails between their legs, she’d be rid of this headache.