Path of the Hive Queen

When she’d received the news that their enemies may be trying some kind of scheme to collapse the tunnels under the forest, Iseis had almost turned around and abandoned her plan to instead investigate the issue and help with the investigation. But she overcame that impulse. Regina would not be happy if she did that, and she was probably correct about where their priorities should lie. If nothing else, she had a better overview of the entire situation — and she was the Empress, after all. Besides, Iseis didn’t want to mess up her allies’ plans by not holding to what she’d said she would do; that kind of thing never ended well in her experience.

So, she drew a little more deeply on the divine mana she had access to and then teleported herself. It was considerably easier than it had been before she’d become a Champion; the empowering effect of it really was noticeable. Not that she would have struggled with this distance before, but she had already opened a few portals this day, and yet she was ready for some more. It was gratifying.

Especially since Iseis needed to make another teleport shortly afterward. Regina had not actually remembered to tell her where she wanted this new portal, and Iseis did need someone to plan this, so she teleported back to the capital. Fortunately, it was simple enough to find a drone and ask them to relay her question, and Ben met her in person to explain what they wanted. Iseis took the opportunity to have a quick meal while they talked, wishing she had time for a nap too.

Apparently, they didn’t want an open portal too close to the capital or any other sensitive location, which was reasonable enough. Instead, the Marshal directed her to a field near an Imperial military base in Nerlia, some distance north of the city. Due to the geography, it was easy to reach for the reinforcements they were apparently already gathering here, but still separated from the new capital or any other major city by a significant distance and a few mountains, which should at least slow attackers down.

Iseis took a moment to center herself and look around, ignoring the drones currently giving her space. Several companies of Imperial soldiers were lined up, ready to head through the portal immediately, their battalions organized behind them. She looked at the one drone who was currently standing beside her, focusing on her magical senses for a moment. They seemed strong enough.

“Ken, would you do the scrying? We need a location that is not blocked. I cannot teleport in blind.”

“Of course, just a sec,” Ken responded. He gestured and opened a scrying window in front of them.

There was ‘scrying static’ at first, until he managed to move to a position that seemed best for their purposes. Iseis leaned a little closer, studying the view to familiarize herself with the area.

There had been some debate about this matter, apparently. Ben had not gone into much detail, but Iseis could venture a guess why it was controversial to place a portal in or near an occupied city. In the end, the need for a location that could be properly secured had won out over convenience. Not to mention the element of surprise offered by the initial appearance of the portal and the soldiers sent through it. She supposed the strategic implications of sending supplies and logistics might be more important in the long run, though.

Iseis focused on the place she could see through the scrying window, trying to imagine actually being there. Then she pulled on her mana and mentally triggered the activation of her Ability, Traveler’s Gates. There was a slight sound like far-off thunder, a flash of light cycling through parts of the rainbow in a moment as space warped, and then she stood in front of a gateway to the other location.

Iseis grimaced slightly, feeling the drain of her mana. Erecting this portal had cost her most of her mana. At least it still seemed to hold true that the trickle required for its upkeep was very small, regardless of the distance.

She stepped to the side and the first soldiers rushed through without pause. There was no one waiting for them on the other side, both as a safety measure and to hide what they were doing from the enemy as long as possible. Iseis watched, glancing at Ken’s scrying window more than the gateway itself, as the soldiers — a mix of drones, human veterans and a few gnomes — hurried through it and spread out, establishing a cordon for more of their comrades to come through. There were no signs of anyone else present, especially any enemy soldiers, and no signs of a fight, but she supposed she approved of the professionalism.

“What, exactly, is your immediate plan here?” she asked Ken. Somehow, in all of the trouble she had not heard much about it.

“In the immediate term, we’ll split up and send a few troops to establish contact with Pesiten,” he explained. “The rest will go west — we have had reports of Westerner attacks on occupied positions, bases and patrols south of here, and good estimates of where several enemy detachments are. By emerging here, we should have cut them off from their support, so we’ll wipe them out and secure the area. We’re close enough to the city to be supported if there turn out to be more enemies than expected, but also, that’s why we have flying scouts. The second battalion will move in after the first and establish proper security here, holding the gate area, for now. It’s why they have extra engineers, and Tia sent one of her mentees — Have you met Liv? So they’ll build some fortifications. On both sides, eventually.”

Iseis nodded. She waited until there was a break in the stream of soldiers, then indicated her intentions and went through the portal as well. Ken followed, looking around and calling a few words to the other soldiers.

“Well, you seem to have things well in hand,” she commented. “Is there a place I could try to recharge some mana? I’ll be available in case there’s an unexpected issue.”

“Of course, thank you for doing this,” he answered, smiling with apparent sincerity. “I think it would be safer to do it on the other side of the portal. There should be a grove a bit farther away if you need true privacy, or you could just use a room in the base, and we can assign a few soldiers to act as guards.”

Iseis thanked him and headed off back to the military base on the Nerlian side. If she had the time, she might have tried to hunt a monster and attempt to copy Galatea’s trick. Instead, she got a small private room in the Imperial base and knelt down on a rug, ignoring the protesting creak in her joints. She closed her eyes and started clearing her mind. This meditation was more useful for trying to ‘recharge’ the divine mana she had access to than refill her own, normal mana well, but she would have to be content with that.

Time slipped away as Iseis meditated, quieting her mind and immersing herself in the mana of the world. When she finally emerged from it, it was perhaps an hour later. Iseis stood up, wincing slightly at the stiffness of her limbs. Her high Stats did help, but they could not stop the effects of age entirely, and sje was old. At least she had managed to refill her mana well somewhat.

Once she returned outside, she could see that things seemed to have gone well. There were new barricades and the skeleton of a new tower growing beside them, and a group of drones were discussing some other aspect of the project. From what she could gather, it seemed like they wanted to completely enclose the portal, to be able to shut it off from the rest of the construction in this place if the other side was captured. Building the fortifications on the other end also seemed to be proceeding well, judging by the glimpses she caught.

Iseis looked around, but didn’t see Ken. There was no time to waste, though. Instead, she asked another drone to pass the word that she was leaving — and she would stay close enough to other drones to be contacted if they sent a message over the psychic link. She also got an update from the drones regarding what had happened in the west, using the psychic link, to make sure she wasn’t running into any nasty surprises, before she departed.

Once she returned to Ariedel, Iseis realized their short summary of what was presumably a status report in the psychic link understated things. The magical shield around the city was in pieces. Parts of it were still visible as bluish shimmers in the air, but most of the space around the city was unguarded; she could sense the remnants of the shield and the huge holes in it. The enemy’s sabotage had clearly accomplished what they’d wanted. And I failed to stop them in time, she thought bitterly. How many innocent people will die because their defenses were breached?

At least the battle itself had not been lost yet. On the contrary, the elves of Ariedel were holding their own remarkably well. Iseis moved herself to a higher vantage point, the roof of a tall building, to get a better look. The walls showed some damage and had probably been breached in a few places, but they were still holding. The Western army’s vanguard was engaged with the Imperial-allied forces, but most of their army still seemed to be moving into position. They had set up some artillery pieces that launched attacks at the walls, but only a few — presumably because of the terrain. And two of those emplacements were already smoking husks, destroyed by elvish strikes.

But that wasn’t all; the Empress’ efforts to evacuate the underground had clearly also borne fruit. Iseis recognized the familiar magical signature of Commander Tirka and several of the other people who had been there once she looked for them. And there were distinctive gaps in the tree cover. She was too far away from the important parts of the tunnel network, but at least it didn’t seem quite as cataclysmic as she’d feared. Still, they didn’t bode well, either; something about the distribution of troops on both sides still looked odd.

Following her senses, she made her way through the city. She’d arrived in the biggest open yard that wasn’t currently occupied, due to safety reasons, and it took a few minutes of hurrying through the streets until she reached the destination she had in mind. It was one of several military centers in the city; combined logistics bases and command and analysis centers. The people she really wanted to speak to were further at the front, but there were still some she could work with here.

“Captain Temil!” she called, striding over to the dwarf and nodding at a few soldiers who jumped out of her way.

“Lady Iseis?” he paused in his conversation, then stepped aside a little so she could see and gestured at the elf he’d been talking to. “Have you met Century Captain Tirias?”

“Captain, good to see you again,” Anuis greeted him, nodding. “How fortuitous. I wanted to ask about the situation. I successfully completed the portal to the north for the Empire, but it means I was out of the loop for a little while.”

“Of course, Lady Iseis,” Tirias replied, inclining his head. “They’re pressing the attack hard, but we have still managed to slow their progress down. The city shields are all but useless now, and our mages are scrambling to get adequate shielding in place. Last I heard, it is going as well as expected. We were discussing some strikes at key positions or enemy commanders to slow them down and gain more time. We also managed to evacuate most of the soldiers sent underground. Unfortunately, several of our scouts could not be reached or return in time.”

“I see,” she replied. “So the Westerners did collapse the tunnels? How did they do it, and how bad is the damage?”

“We’re still unsure of the how, exactly, but likely with magic,” Temil put in. “They collapsed perhaps half a dozen tunnel segments outright, with others cut off or made impassable due to other damage. They withdrew their own scouts through several entrances first, including one that was apparently supposed to have been destroyed long ago. It’s unlikely they will move a larger force through what remains, but not impossible.”

“So, they did not exactly destroy the entire tunnel network and sink the forest,” Iseis mused. “Due to our evacuation, you would say?”

“Almost certainly,” Temil nodded. “They must have adjusted their plans once they realized trapping and destroying the forces we committed there would no longer work.”

“You have to hand it to the Westerners,” Tirias said. “Even when we foil their plans, they always manage to turn things to their advantage somehow.”

“Indeed, that’s true,” Iseis replied, thinking back to the northern campaign, and to a few too many assassination attempts. She shook her head. “Are there any other foiled plans I should know about?”

Tirias smiled slyly. “Well, Ariedel’s soldiers haven’t been entirely idle, even before they reached us. I happen to have been involved in a few ‘special forces operations’ … Let’s just say there is a reason they have so few artillery pieces to show for this assault.”

Ah. Iseis had heard something about that. She nodded, but got back on track. “And the battle? Has the Empire sent reinforcements?”

“Yes,” Temil said. “You must not have seen them given the walls and tree cover, but several wings of Winged Drones are already engaged in the battle. They have also sent some War Drones ahead of a proper army. The horde is going to hit the Westerners from the north.”

Iseis smiled at the news, feeling a bit relieved. She knew that must mean that the Empire was stretched thin in this region, but the drones were unquestionably more needed here than in other bases.

Before they could continue the conversation, they were approached by another drone, someone she didn’t know.

“Excuse me, Lady Iseis?” they asked. “I was told to let you know that the mission you spoke about before your departure is still an issue. We may need your help. The Empress or one of her students will be in touch shortly.”

Iseis resisted the urge to close her eyes and pinch the bridge of her nose. With everything else, she had almost forgotten about that situation. “Thank you. Please give me one minute.”

“I do hope they manage to rescue the Commander,” Tirias muttered when she turned back. “Knowing she’s in enemy hands —”

“I know, but Commander Anuis is adaptable and experienced, she will survive,” Temil assured him.

“True. I suppose things might be more dangerous for the Western soldiers near her,” he commented.

Well, I hope so. “I suppose we can count on you if they are planning a rescue mission, then,” Iseis said.

“Or a decapitation strike,” Tirias said. He looked more animated now. “That would fit rather well together, wouldn’t it?”

Iseis grunted noncommittally. She had a feeling things were going to come to a head — but it was better if she encountered enemy Champions in their camp rather than in the city, she supposed.