Chapter 132: Chapter 127: Impressions and Potential

It still took a while for the gnomish delegation to arrive. Regina’s range had grown by a lot, and she was pretty sure that the border of - or entrance to - the Confederation was well within it now. Among other things, it meant that while the traders presumably had a safer journey, they still had some distance to cover. It also took longer than it might have because Regina had them directed along the edge of the hive’s territories and to one of their more developed outposts, which they’d quickly built up even further. It was also close to Forest’s Haunt, to facilitate trade there. The visitors would probably be moving on, anyway.

In the end, Regina had decided not to come and visit them herself. With both the hive and their international renown growing, it was probably about time for her to act more like a queen, or at least think in those terms when appropriate. Besides, it wasn’t like she needed to make a personal visit — she could see, hear and smell everything just as well through one of her drones, and basically participate as well by talking to them over the psychic link. If she needed to, she could even take direct control of one of them, or even several. Not that she’d really seen any need for that in a long time.

The gnomes had brought a wider assortment of goods to trade than before, and seemed pleased about the collection the hive had put together as well. With their access to Conjuration magic, it wasn’t hard to get something to trade, though Regina still insisted on being careful and not letting on the true value of what they had. She wasn’t going to show them heaps of precious stones or anything stupid like that. Still, they could have easily gotten some gold and silver from trade or as war reparations - and had received some from Whitor’s ransom - so she didn’t think they needed to pretend to be too poor to buy anything. The bulk of their trade was still made up of monster parts they couldn’t properly utilize themselves and various odds and ends, though.

Bea took the lead in dealing with the visitors this time. She already had some experience as a diplomat, or at least the closest thing the hive had, and Tim was busy. Besides, Regina had a suspicion that sending a third-Tier Champion might be sending a message she didn’t necessarily want, at least to handle a simple trade arrangement.

Having outsiders within her territory also reminded her to pay more attention to things like information security and other forms of defense. She already had to adjust her patrol patterns and deployments. Since Regina had proof that scrying magic existed, it would be stupid to assume someone couldn’t use it against them. The Delvers had even admitted to watching them before! Of course, there was only so much she could do without compromising the efficiency of her hive. It was one reason she should develop the underground parts of their new homes, though.

Their tunnels were coming along, slowly but surely. For now, Regina avoided moving any drones through them, at least in an obvious manner. It would be pretty easy to figure out if anyone watched from the air, after all. They had also only dug far enough to connect the closest settlements, around their main base, so taking the tunnels would still actually take longer than walking or flying as a method of travel.

Eventually, the first of the new drone Template hatched. Regina had hesitated over the decision, but elected to only add one egg to the hive for now, so she could see what they were like and make a plan on how many she should include and how to integrate them into the hive.

Once she felt that one drone hatching, she slowly started making her way back to the hive’s main base. She had been visiting one of the other outposts and didn’t hurry back, but it wasn’t like she needed to be present personally. Especially since she could sense everything through the psychic link, and it wasn’t like the new hatchling would be alone. Mia was already there, as well.

So, Regina already had a bit more information to work with, even if it was just an impression, when she finally met the boy. This Drone Keeper was male, and it was a bit hard to guess what his role was supposed to be from his body type. He was relatively small and slight for a sapient drone, which hinted towards being a magic user. He didn’t have any wings, though. Instead, his left side appeared to have two hands, while his corresponding right limb ended in a sort of multi-tool-like shape vaguely reminiscent of a Worker, although it included a blade and most prominently … was that supposed to be a writing utensil? It reminded her of a fountain pen, anyway.

His status did support that impression, though. This Template clearly focused on the mental stats, Int and Wis, while neglecting the physical ones.

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