As soon as she established contact with Tim’s mind again, Regina felt like a rock she’d been carrying dropped from her shoulders.

They hadn’t been caught completely unprepared, of course. It was one reason Regina had decided not to send some War Drones with Tim and Bea. She suspected there might be a range limit to her link with the hive, and she didn’t know what would happen if they got outside of it. It was something to test, but not with the elves there and on an important trip that was supposed to be quick. And that caution turned out to be warranted.

They’d been gone for a few days now. She’d tried to check in every few hours and she’d felt the connection growing weaker as they traveled. At around fifty kilometers, she hadn’t been able to talk to them or take control of the drones anymore. That limit would hopefully grow as she leveled up, but it was already not as bad as she’d feared.

Are you okay? she asked first.

She felt Tim nod. It was still hard to get a clear impression of his senses, although that was improving as he traveled closer.

“I’ll just talk out loud,” he murmured. “That should be easier.” He glanced back, and she saw that he was walking alone with Bea, ahead of a group of three elves, who were apparently escorting them back.

Tell me what happened. How was the city? What did you learn?

Tim hesitated for a moment before he began describing the city. Regina listened with rapt attention, only faintly feeling the heat on her skin from where she sat close to the campfire in their hive’s settlement. It really was a shame that she hadn’t been able to see the city through his eyes, it sounded interesting.

“They brought us to a wooden building in the center that probably belonged to the government. There, we met alone with an old elven woman, one Enais of Ariedel, high-level Mistress of the Forest, a Special Minister of their government. She gave us a lot of information. I’ll try to retell it as closely as I can …”

Regina frowned to herself as she listened to Tim narrate their meeting. That really was a lot of interesting information. She stayed quiet and simply tucked it away in her mind.

“We met her again a few times after that, but only briefly,” Tim concluded.

From what you said, it sounds like this Enais knew more than she was letting on.

Tim hesitated, and she could sense the faint echo of a flash of uncertainty. He must have trouble parsing her message. Her telepathy still wasn’t that clear. “I think she did know a lot, maybe even more about us than she admitted,” he said. “I didn’t think it was wise to push her, though.”

You’re right. She wanted to meet the elf herself at some point. Hopefully, she’d be able to get more information. How did the rest of your stay go?

Tim continued his tale as they traveled through the forest. There was a lot of interesting knowledge and observations in his tours of elven workshops, but even more in the library. They hadn’t been able to bring any books with them, but Tim and Bea had both spent some time reading. Regina was already planning to gather other drones and have the two of them recount what they’d read in as much detail as possible as soon as they got back. If only they had proper writing materials.

Making paper was something she’d thought about. Along with making a printing press. That shouldn’t need particularly advanced technology. Who knows, it might even exist in this world already.

“I didn’t see many signs of the war,” Tim finally said. “Of course, I’m not sure what I should look for, anyway. There were few soldiers in the city, or at least few elves carrying weapons. It’s possible they are all somewhere else, maybe gathered at the border. I didn’t have the impression that they were concerned about enemies making it into the city, and if those defenses they have are as powerful as they seem, I can see why. I would have to have been in the city before to actually tell if there was more of an atmosphere of concern now than usual.”

Regina nodded. I understand. Good work, anyway, Tim. Did you find out anything more about their military strength?

“I didn’t find much else, my Queen. They didn’t give us a close look at their fortifications or any defensive enchantments they’re probably using. Most of the elves seem to favor bows and swords or similar weapons, and I didn’t see any mounted soldiers, but they do have horses. Besides that, they also seem to rely on mages for fighting.”

Regina recalled what Anuis had said when they first met. That made sense.

Then she became aware of a sudden clamor. It took her a moment to realize that it was not coming from Tim’s surroundings, but that someone was yelling on her side.

I need to go, she sent, but you two are doing good work. Keep hurrying back.

She turned her attention to her own body, blinking as she opened her eyes. After a second, she realized that Max was calling for her.

“I’m here,” she said, standing up. She felt a bit stiff, but it faded quickly as she took a few steps. “What’s up?”

Max looked relieved. He’d been hovering a few meters away. Now that she focused on it, Regina could see that a group of War Drones and most of their remaining warriors were streaming towards the edge of the forest.

“The Workers seem to have encountered a problem,” he said. “We should hurry.”

Regina didn’t ask any more questions, but started running towards where the drones were gathering. As she did, she briefly dipped into the consciousness of other drones in her hive, skimming along the surface to get a quick picture of what was happening. She never stayed long, since she needed to keep some of her attention on running. But it was enough to give her a general sense of the situation.

“You, go fetch our medical supplies,” she called to one of the War Drones. Then she slid to a stop in front of the entrance to the tunnel Tia and a group of drones had been digging.

It was broader now than it had been, but still too cramped. Just as she arrived, Tia stumbled out, one of her work-limbs hanging limply down and blood dripping down her left leg. At the same time, Warriors tried to head in.

“Everyone back off,” Regina barked. “Max and I will go in first. Max, protect Ina and get her out.”

Max didn’t hesitate, but charged forward right away as the other drones immediately gave him space. Regina followed him in as quickly as she could.

In the cavern beyond the entrance, she found Ace kneeling on the ground, cradling one of his arms. He must have been closest and been the first to respond. Beside him, Max slid in front of Ina, covering her, while the young Worker was stumbling back, falling onto her back. She didn’t manage to get up again.

Regina took it all in at a glance, her attention focused on the threat.

The creature Max had just pushed back looked a bit like a mole, but much bigger, with thorny spikes on the front of its body, large teeth and claws that were clearly good not just for digging. Behind it, a group of several more crowded in where the cavern transitioned to the tunnel. After a moment, the System gave her its information.

She hadn’t seen the System use such a clarification before, which implied that there were several types of these monsters. Of those she could see, a few were at level 10 or 12, which meant the others were hopefully only a level or two higher.

Regina drew herself up and hissed at them, almost surprising herself with the action. It had been a while since she’d done that. The first Tunneler scuttled back a step, but then stopped, and while the others shifted a little, they didn’t seem inclined to flee, either.

“Ben and Dan, come in if you can!” she called out, still keeping her gaze locked on the monsters. The two were the highest-level Warriors present after Max. “Someone get Ace and Ina out!”

She considered opening with a Firebolt, but she didn’t want to use that Spell in these close quarters. She also didn’t have that much mana.

The monster had obviously had enough of waiting and posturing, and lunged forward. At the same time, its companions advanced as well, shrieking angrily.

Max’s blade-limb crashed down on the first Tunneler, sending it back half a meter and pinning it to the ground for a moment. Then his second one swept out to hold back the others.

Regina gathered her courage and jumped forward. She didn’t have a weapon on her, but she still had her claws, which were sharp enough to cut most monsters’ skin. She jumped on the first Tunneler, using its position and her greater size to her advantage. Its claws skittered off the shell on the side of her leg, and she rammed her own into its eyes. It spasmed for a second, then went still.

Instinct made her look up and she twisted out of the way as a second Tunneler barreled at her. She managed to avoid the worst of it, but its claws sunk into her side and penetrated this time before momentum ripped them out again. Pain pulsed through her as she felt her cracked shell, but she ignored it, dodging again and jumping onto the Tunneler.

She managed to pin it down, though it didn’t give her a good angle to kill it. Then Ben was there, swinging down onto its head with his ax. Gore splattered as the Tunneler died. Regina shoved it away and jumped up, turning to the fight.

Max was holding off three other Tunnelers by himself. Just at that moment, Dan stepped out from beside him and skewered one of the monsters. He didn’t manage to kill it, though, and another one used the opportunity to jump at him. But Max was there, shouldering Dan aside and intercepting the attack. The monster’s teeth slid off the shell of his arm.

Regina ran forward, watching for the right moment before she swiped her claws at the injured monster, ending its fight. Beside her, Ben and Dan cornered the other one, cutting it down systematically with their blade-limbs. Max was focusing on the last one.

Regina sighed, then formed a Magic Missile and launched it at the monster. The magical attack threw it back against the wall of the tunnel, allowing Max to skewer it through its belly. That was all of them.

“My Queen! Are you injured?” Dan hovered at her side, watching her with concern.

She waved him off. “I’m fine. But the others might not be.”

With a muffled groan, she turned around and hurried out of the tunnel. She knew Max would make sure that no new Tunnelers would be able to slip in from where their tunnels must have intersected with the hive's tunnels.

Ace sat on the grass by the entrance. She could see that while he was obviously injured, it didn’t seem to be life-threatening. But a few meters away, the other drones had laid Ina out on the grass. The young Worker looked pale, and the blood covering her made it hard to tell her exact injuries. Tia was trying to clean it up with a wet cloth while the War Drone Regina had called earlier dropped off the basket they kept what served as medical supplies in. It was very bare, just a few rolls of cloth for bandages and a few dried herbs that were supposed to be beneficial according to what they’d heard from the elves.

Regina knelt down next to Ina, pressing her down gently as the drone tried to rise. She took a deep breath. From up close, she could tell it wasn’t quite as bad as she’d feared. Her left thigh showed several bloody gashes, her work-limb’s shell had cracked, and she had a bloody but shallow cut on her head. Not as bad as Tia’s injuries had been. But Ina’s Constitution was still low.

“It’s okay,” she said, trying to sound soothing. “We’ve got this. You’re going to survive.  Just stay still and let me take a look, okay?”

“Of course, my Queen,” Ina whispered.

Regina frowned to herself. She still had some mana left, and if this wasn’t the situation to try to learn magical healing, she didn’t know what was. So she placed her hands on Ina’s injuries and started breathing deeply, trying to focus on it.

It was easier than the last time, perhaps because she’d done it before. She gathered her mana and tried to slowly push it through her hands. As she did so, she focused on the wound, trying to take in every detail and visualize those she couldn’t see.

After a while, her mana started leaving her in a trickle. Regina almost lost focus, but kept it up. She concentrated on the idea of Ina regaining the blood she lost, of her cuts closing up. She encouraged her stem and progenitor cells to divide, the cells of her muscles and skin to notice the emptiness beside them and work to fill it. Then she added the idea of her brain settling down into equilibrium, weathering the effects of pressure and mechanical trauma.

Time once again lost its meaning as Regina fed her mana into the construct in her head and her drone’s body. She commanded it to obey her will and heal.

Finally, her mana level noticeably dipped, and the flow stopped. Regina blinked. The injuries had closed up. Not perfectly, but they looked a lot better. Blood had stopped flowing and they were mostly scabbed over. Regina exhaled and moved back. She focused on the notification the System held for her.

Regina smiled. “Make sure to rest. That goes for you, too, Ace and Tia. I’ll heal you in a minute.”

The drones all nodded and stepped away, clearly understanding that she wanted some space. Ben helped Ina to her feet and led her off, towards the huts.

Regina closed her eyes and just enjoyed the sensation of the sun on her skin for a moment, before she opened them again. She glanced around, making sure everything was okay, before she returned her attention to the System. There was something else to check out.

Regina smiled, stretched, then headed off to the closest shelter. She already had three eggs in development, but with her increases in her mana capacity and regeneration, and this new level, she felt she could do four. She was looking forward to seeing the new drone type.