Chapter 219: Chapter 204: Graduation

Although Regina wanted to leave and move on quickly, it took a while for everything to be properly sorted. They’d made the decision to put up a makeshift prisoner camp nearby, where the prisoners from the battle would remain under guard. Regina had considered talking to Lyns about getting more guards for them, but nothing had been done so far.

Since the Esemen were still around and they couldn’t be certain the remains of the Nerlian and Cernlian army wouldn’t make trouble, there was a need for a strong detachment of forces to remain in this area. It might be smarter to move on the Esemen right away, and the hive wasn’t going to dawdle, but Regina had decided to give them a bit of rest after this battle and make sure they were all ready and organized first.

She’d explained that to Janis, Ben and the others, and then they’d sat down to make more detailed plans. The upshot of it was that Ben would remain with the army deeper in Nerlia, while Dan and a few others would stay with the army previously gathered in the now-destroyed disruption field. Regina wanted Janis with her for when she left, and of course, Max and Ira would be coming along as well. Along with a significant portion of their stronger drones to ensure their protection. It meant that what remained of the army would have to operate more cautiously, but they didn’t intend to provoke a major battle, anyway. And if she could get the Delvers on her side, getting their help would be well worth the delay.

Normally, an alliance with the Delvers would be a pipe dream, but with Regina being a former human from before the Cataclysm — which Madris at least definitely knew for sure now, after they’d seen each other’s minds — and their recent approaches, it seemed possible. And if not, she would need to find another way of dealing with them.

Max and several of the other Warriors had heated discussions about who would accompany her and who would go where, although Regina kept out of it. Even if she had opinions on a few of the options, she felt like interfering would not go well, and she didn’t want to meddle. The larger her hive grew, the more they needed to organize themselves and decide things themselves, without being able to come to her for an answer. Especially if she had other things to worry about, like diplomacy or training her psychic power.

Armin was going to stay with the local army for a bit and then travel to the other one to meet Ben and the others. He could move pretty quickly if he wanted to, although the hive was going to let him use a flying drone mount. He was pretty quiet and reserved, but she still got the impression that he was looking forward to it. Or maybe he was just polite enough to seem like it, but if he showed no signs of minding his stay here, she wasn’t going to second-guess it. Janis had also spent a bit of time talking to him, although Regina knew she’d like a lot more time for it. Maybe after they were done. She was definitely also excited about accompanying Madris and her.

Of course, it took a lot longer than she hoped just to prepare to go, and then they traveled much more slowly. Going ahead or even using Madris’ - or Armin’s, she supposed - teleportation would have been much faster, but they couldn’t do it with so many people. And especially the Swarm Drones they were bringing along for protection and to bolster their numbers even further. Regina had caught Madris eying them and wondered how many individuals she’d expected to come, but she hadn’t asked and she hadn’t told Max to reduce their numbers. If there was a problem, the Delver could speak up.

They traveled on foot, largely because she didn’t really want all of them to be airborne. Regina had considered stopping by the other Cernlian army, led by Marquis Lyns, to speak to the would-be king. But doing it like this would mean a significant delay, especially since she couldn’t very well just drop by for a few minutes, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to bring Madris to them, anyway. So she instead planned on doing it on the way back. Hopefully, a bit more time to get things in order and prepare would do her allies good, anyway.

Regina wasn’t particularly surprised when Madris described where they would be going. As expected, it sounded like it would be part of the underground tunnel complex that stretched under the edge of the forest and the surrounding area, leading to the city and the location of Galatea’s former home. The actual spot they were heading for was some point between them, though, closer to where they’d opened the door. It was presumably located somewhere in a part of the city, or at least its outskirts. Regina wished she had a better map to estimate it, a more precise position would help her a lot in narrowing down what they were looking for.

“Are you still not going to tell me any more?” she asked Madris as they approached what was presumably the closest entrance on the second day.

The dark elf barely looked at her as she responded. “You will see soon enough when we approach. Your Majesty.”

Regina frowned but didn’t say anything else or press for further information. She was curious, though, so she looked through the eyes of the drones the hive had sent ahead as scouts. They found pretty much what she’d expected in terms of an entrance and stretches of tunnels. The main one looked like the old subway tunnels she’d seen before, though it was probably not a major line. Or maybe it was, she didn’t exactly know much about public transport infrastructure construction or planning.

Max paused them and coordinated with the others for a brief while before they entered, or rather, the first few War Drones entered before sapient drones carefully followed. Regina, of course, was in the middle of the pack, with Max basically glued to her side. Janis took advantage of the opportunity to be further forward, going in earlier. Regina didn’t choose her perspective through the psychic link to gain information, since she didn’t see in the dark quite as well as the drones, though.

It actually took a while until they met their first Delvers. Regina was paying attention and could sense them with her psychic senses, so she wasn’t surprised, and she’d warned the drones as well. They seemed to be spread out a little, mostly in crossroads and broader stretches of the tunnels. She got the impression that they might be guarding something, although they were clearly also doing something or looking at whatever Madris wanted to show her. She was starting to get a suspicion, looking around as they went.

This was definitely part of the old city. Probably not the middle of Anberg, but not exactly an outlying village, either. The subway tunnels were a bit of a hint, as was the fact they were getting closer to the old center of the city again.

The first time they came across a larger knot of Delvers, Madris slowed and stopped, the rest of the group moving with her. They must have seen them coming as well, probably from farther off, somehow, since they didn’t look surprised. Regina pricked her ears and listened in to Madris greeting them, but it didn’t really tell her anything beyond how long they’d been here. Two days, and from the context, they’d probably been rotated in for some other Delvers who’d been there before, so the Delvers had had a presence here longer than that. Probably not too much longer, though, or the hive would have noticed it, even with the distraction of the war.

Regina smiled and waved a little as they passed, their eyes following her. They seemed quite curious. To her surprise, one of them actually ducked his head in response to her gesture and none of them looked hostile. I suppose that’s a good sign.

They traveled a few hundred meters further, a straight shot down a corridor, before they reached another cavern large enough to host their whole party. Madris stopped again.

“It would be best for most of our number to remain behind here,” she said. “It’s not far now, but I’d rather not have every drone here tramping through there.”

Regina cocked her head. After a long moment, she nodded. “Fine.” If she led them far enough that the drones couldn’t effectively support them, she could always atop and call more of them up to join her before she proceeded.

In the end, it was a much reduced group that went onwards through a smaller, narrower tunnel. Only Madris, Galatea, Janis, Regina and a few sapient drones. Regina watched her surroundings closely. There were definitely signs of human presence here, recent ones. The stone was worked in parts, at least, and the tunnel had clearly been enlarged if it hadn’t been there before. If it had, she suspected it hadn’t been more than a crack in the rock.

“A newly discovered cavern, then?” she asked.

“Essentially, yes,” Madris answered. “Here we are now.”

Regina drew in a sharp breath. She’d been able to tell they were nearing another of those magical anomalies she’d found in the city before for a while now. The mana here was generally different than back on the surface. Now, she could see that they had reached another part of the sunken city. Calling it a cavern would be far too much of an understatement. This wasn’t just some chamber enclosed by rock.

It looked a lot more like an archeological dig. One that had proceeded quite far, laying large swathes open to the air. The rocky ceiling above notwithstanding.

“What is this?” Regina muttered, walking forward and looking around with wide eyes.

There was clearly a part of a rather large complex still preserved. One building especially dominated the space, much larger than the others, some of which seemed half-fallen down. It seemed to be in good shape, though. And from what she could see, the Delvers had paid the most attention to it.

There was something about this that would have made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up if she still had them. And it wasn’t the mana around.

“We only found this recently,” Madris said quietly. “It has caused us to reevaluate a few things. Incidentally, this is also one of the major reasons I am still here at all.” She gestured toward the building. “Come.”

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Regina exchanged a quick glance with the others and followed. She paused at the threshold, craning her head back and looking up. Just based on the architecture, what was left of it, this seemed like some kind of large administrative building. Although the large doors on the ground floor, two sets set at the edges, hinted at something else. She squinted and took a step back, finding an inscription above the door, but it was too corroded to make out. As she stepped in, though, there was a plaque on the wall opposite. Regina sucked in a breath as she deciphered the letters. It was in Global and German, saying University Hospital and below that Universitätsklinikum Anberg. Below that, there was the symbol that she couldn’t immediately make sense of, though it vaguely resembled a stylized staff and snakes, and Department of Medicine / Medizinische Fakultät.

“Down here,” Madris spoke up, gesturing impatiently.

Regina looked around the remains of the foyer one more time before following. She quickly realized that they were heading towards a larger room. Some kind of hall, possibly an auditorium or lecture hall. And presumably also where formal events or celebrations were held.

The last part became obvious as they entered and moved through the room. The remains of decorations were still visible at the edges of the walls and ceiling. Chairs had been stacked at the back, and there were what looked like the remains of posters hanging down on the walls.

“Down here,” Madris repeated, speaking softly and leading them to one particular corner. For a moment, she glanced at Regina and looked like she wanted to say something else, before she simply pointed at the object of her interest.

Regina frowned. Someone had hung up pictures, probably all along the wall, if not several of them. They were on banners of new plastic-rep-paper, covered by a thin surface that might be glass or some kind of plastic film. Someone had clearly carefully brushed them off, removing any dust and probably trying to restore their condition. It didn’t take long for her to realize it was a listing of new graduates. This must have been a graduation celebration. Some of them had little stylized hats, the kind you’d wear getting a doctorate. All of them contained names and a small photo.

Regina mechanically looked down the list of people. She stepped along the board, letting her gaze pass over the long-dead graduates. No one else spoke, although she could sense them crowding around to look.

Then Regina’s gaze stopped. This must be what Madris wanted to show, she realized in the back of her mind. But she found her eyes fixed on the picture. It showed a young woman with long sandy hair, somewhere between blond and brown, and a slightly strained smile. The face … was not quite the same, but it was still what she saw in the mirror, what her own face was coming closer to with the threshold Evolution. Despite the lack of mandibles and the soft skin, anyone who saw Regina would probably recognize it.

The plate read von Woltan, Regina Louise Elizabeth Aneta.

Someone behind her made a choked sound, that might have been a laugh, or might not have been.

“Well,” Regina finally murmured, “that’s something.”

“That does appear to be you,” Galatea said. When Regina glanced at her, she saw her brows drawn together in an intent expression. “How interesting.”

“It is,” Madris agreed with a smile.

“There are a few points I find interesting here,” Janis pointed out after a short pause. “The first name, obviously.”

Regina snorted. “I can’t believe my first name really is Regina. Talk about meaningful choices.”

“Do you think you knew that?” Janis asked. “Or is it a coincidence?”

Regina tugged on her mandible, then quickly stopped. “I don’t know,” she admitted. “Maybe. Maybe there was something in my subconscious, or maybe it’s just the obvious name someone in my position would choose.”

“And you’re nobility, it appears,” Ira said.

“No.” Regina shook her head. “Not really. I mean, my father might have been, or his family, rather, at one point. But it doesn’t mean anything, the names might have remained but they’ve just been names for decades. Had been,” she corrected herself.

“I assume this means you were a doctor,” Janis murmured, eying the stylized hat on the upper edge above the photo and name.

“So, now we know who you were,” Galatea said. When Regina glanced at her, she saw the same intent expression, this time accompanying a smile. Galatea hadn’t even changed her clothes once since they entered the tunnel.

“Dr. Regina von Woltan, MD.”

“Probably,” Regina said. “Or close enough.”

“As for the name, it does at least imply you come from a privileged background, but that’s hardly a surprise.”

“Really?” Regina frowned.

“The hints were there,” Galatea said patiently. “You’re clearly a city girl, and what we found previously implies your family moved around. You knew how to ride horses — that’s not a hobby for poor people. And you studied medicine at one of the most prestigious universities in the Empire, at least in the field. You must have had very good grades, considering the requirements, and it also means there’s statistically a good chance you were from a somewhat privileged background.”

Regina shook her head. She didn’t think this was really going to matter now, although she might be wrong. But she still appreciated every tidbit of her past that she could find. Hesitantly, she reached out the touch the picture. Seeing her face as a human was kind of weird, but she wouldn’t miss it.

She glanced at Madris, who stood by the side and watched her reaction. Regina was grateful for being shown this. But she supposed there were implications to the Delvers unearthing this. Hopefully, it would be turning in her favor.

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