Tim really had no idea what to make of what had happened this day.

  They’d finally reached the secret chamber beneath the old Hivekind base; great. Judging by the reactions of the mages, it wasn’t some place you should blindly wander into, even if Owin’s description didn’t seem that concerning. Then, just as they were discussing sending him down again with some way to take measurements, he suddenly felt the presence of his fellow drones in the south again — and, of course, his Hive Queen.

  He wasn’t sure what had happened on their end, the details had kind of gotten lost in the shuffle, but it didn’t seem to be anything major or urgent. Leian, who was apparently ‘available’ again by now, had simply heard something she found alarming enough to teleport Regina and Galatea along to the base.

  And now, she’d taken Regina away and the link had been cut again. Tim honestly wasn’t sure if he’d rather the brief visit hadn’t happened, in terms of his own feelings. It had been invigorating, but now the absence of the Hive felt even starker.

  But he had other things to focus on, so he pushed it to the back of his mind and turned to Galatea. “You’re sure there’s nothing else important? And that you want to leave right away?”

  “I’ve told you everything I can, Tim,” Galatea said irritably. She paused for a moment, and if she was biological would have probably taken a deep breath. “Regina will be safe. Leian will watch over her. Don’t worry. She’s probably back in the Empire by now. But she might need a friend, and if she suddenly disappeared without warning, the country will be in enough of a state that she can’t just leave again, anyway.”

  “I understand,” he assured her. He did. “Just try and let us know eventually. I’d rather be informed if the Empire is having a serious crisis because the psychic link was broken or something.”

  “I will,” she answered, then paused again. “It’s probably best if you don’t send anyone down there for now. It’s not like we can do anything with it, but prolonged exposure seems to be hazardous, and we need to keep this as quiet as possible, besides.”

  “I’ll cover the entrance for now,” he nodded. “We’ve got things under control.”

  “I know. See you, Tim.”

  He watched her go for a moment, then turned away. Galatea could take care of herself. Like Regina. He just had to hold the fort for now.

  Tim wasn’t sure what do make of that apparently top-secret and ultra-dangerous but also inaccessible and unworkable material they’d found, or of Leian’s involvement. After a bit of thought, he’d decided it wasn’t his problem. His Queen and their senior magic-users could worry about it; it wasn’t like he’d have much to contribute.

  The site itself, the room cut off from mana, was probably a strategic asset of some kind. He was a little more qualified to think about that. Even if they couldn’t safely use it for now. Still, he focused on the tactical issues at the moment.

  “Is that all you can tell us?” Anuis asked when he called his commanders together and gave them a brief recap.

  Tim nodded, trying not to smile at the irony. “Unfortunately, yes. And the room itself or what it contains is not our immediate priority. We simply need to secure it. To that end, have you taken account of who saw the Empress, Leianaleine or possibly the entrance to the hidden vault?”

  “So it was the goddess Leianaleine after all?” Owin murmured. He shook his head. “Sorry, Commander. We’ve spoken to the men.”

  "It’s possible that we missed someone, but they all know not to go speaking about what they have seen,” Anuis added. “We are also quite isolated here, there is no one for them to talk to in the first place, anyhow.”

  Tim nodded. He supposed that was true, but it wouldn’t last forever. “If that’s all, you should get some rest,” he said. “I intend to sleep for as long as I can manage, myself.”

  That got a few smiles from them, and they quickly wrapped up the meeting.

  In the end, Tim had to sleep alone since his fellow drones were on watch rotation or currently active. He disliked that, but had gotten used to it after their travels here in the south, so it wasn’t an issue. Despite his worries, he was exhausted enough that sleep came quickly. He only remembered bits and pieces of his dreams when he woke up, but they were chaotic and fire featured prominently, as did the faces of his favorite siblings.

  He got up quickly the next day, scarfing down breakfast — with their limited supplies, it was always the same and no great loss anyway — and then going for a tour of the base. Everything was still quiet. Tim lingered at the edge of the tunnel leading down to the underground chamber. Hesitantly, he took the stairs. Zephyr, who had been standing there and ostensibly guarding it, gave him a look but said nothing. Tim went far enough down until he could see the open, hollow chamber, then turned around. He wasn’t a mage and didn’t feel any mana, but it still gave him … bad vibes, he supposed; and with all the warnings, he didn’t want to risk anything.

  When he got back up, Zephyr stopped him before he left. “Dan just came back,” he said. “You should talk to him. I think they’re in the main bay still.”

  Tim nodded. “Thanks, I will,” he responded, saving any questions for Dan personally.

  It didn’t take him long to find them, and the way back to the main vehicle bay was almost automatic at this point. He paused for a moment to assess who else was there, then quickly moved to join Dan. His brother looked a bit worse for wear, he noted, tired and exhausted in a way that wasn’t entirely because of missed sleep, but he still smiled to see him.

  “Dan, good to see you back,” he greeted him with a hug. “You missed a few things.”

  “I noticed,” Dan said drily. “It was a bit of a shock.” He glanced around. “She’s safe?”

  “As far as we can tell. What about your mission? I expected you to show up with someone else in tow.”

  Dan sighed. “Well, my target wasn’t where Galatea had said she would be. I looked around some, but I didn’t want to attract too much suspicion.”

  Tim pulled a face, but nodded. Well, Leian apparently came back from whatever she’s been doing, probably shortly before all this, he reflected. It’s possible this elf priestess Galatea met moved because of it. Maybe Leian had another job for her. He paused. “I suppose she might still show up here, actually,” he said quietly. “For now, get some sleep, you look like you need it.”

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Dan rolled his eyes, but he didn’t protest too much. After exchanging a few more details, though Tim kept his own responses short and vague for anyone listening in, Dan left for their current ‘bedroom’ in the base. Tim wished he still had the psychic link to check on him and make sure he slept, but he’d just have to do without.

  Before he could get back to his next round of the base, a muffled shout reached him. He turned around, noting one of the soldiers going right for him.

  “My Prince,” the man gasped. “There’s someone approaching — a lone intruder, they’re —“

  “Apparently already inside,” Zephyr interrupted, showing up beside Tim. “Just let them talk to us.”

  Tim frowned. Before he could do much, he saw the intruder in question stepping into the entrance of the bay through the tunnel, on which several more men were already converging. A bit too late, but then this clearly wasn’t an enemy. At least. “Let her pass,” Tim called to them, then stepped forward, going to meet their visitor.

  Up close, it was easy to see his assumption was correct. The person was clearly an elf, given the orange eyes and pointy ears, although her hair was white from age and her face deeply lined. She was the oldest elf Tim had ever seen, although he was unsure what that meant exactly — could she have lived through the Cataclysm? He didn’t know. Then there was also the System notification he saw when he focused on her.

  “Welcome,” Tim said, only a little sarcastically. “Come right in. I was hoping to meet you.”

  The old elf bowed. “A pleasure to meet you as well, Prince Tim of the Central European Empire,” she said, her tone even, but something made him feel like she was laughing on the inside.

  “I assume you are Iseis Alturiel?” he asked.

  He hadn’t known her Class or level, although Galatea had shared the name, fortunately. He wondered just how high her level actually was. Judging by Zephyr’s obvious tension, it had to be quite high, or she was very magically powerful, maybe both. The Class name didn’t sound very powerful considering all that, but maybe there was more to it.

  “That I am,” she confirmed. “I see Galatea told you about me.”

  “How did you find this place?” Zephyr asked, crossing his arms.

  Alturiel smiled slightly. “A funny question, considering you sent a group to poke around my home which then went straight here.”

  So, she’d followed Dan? Or wants us to think that. She might have already known about the place. But challenging her on it now would be more combative than he wanted to be.

  "Do you know what it is we have found here?” he asked hesitantly.

  Alturiel nodded curtly. “I have been informed. May I see?”

  Tim exchanged a look with Zephyr and Anuis, who had just come and was eying the older elf with obvious interest. Then he shrugged. “Of course.” She already knew about it and Leian would probably grant her access anyway, he didn’t see much point in dragging it out now or causing a fight.

  Alturiel exchanged a few sentences with Anuis in a language Tim didn’t speak, presumably elvish, as they went. Anuis visibly relaxed a bit and even smiled a little. Then they reached the shaft they had dug to the secret chamber. Alturiel paused, before she started climbing down the stairs, with surprising grace considering her age. Tim waved the others back and followed her, sticking close enough to watch over her.

  To his surprise, she didn’t enter the main chamber itself, just looked around with what he guessed was curiosity. Then she nodded and turned to him. “As described,” she said lightly. “Let us talk upstairs, perhaps?”

  “Ladies first,” he gestured at the tunnel.

  She laughed and swept back up the stairs, with Tim following. He gave a last glance at the odd crystalline substance decorating the room before he followed.

  They regrouped in a meeting room on one of the lower levels, close to the entrance. Dan was still asleep, but Zephyr, Owin and Anuis were present. To his surprise, Zephyr had brought along the teleportation pad, or whatever it was, that his group had originally found here when Lanisiosa escaped them with it. So much had happened since then that Tim had almost forgotten about it. Especially since they hadn’t had any further insight. According to Galatea, even the Golem Artificer didn’t know where it had come from, and had simply been provided it by their allies. It was pretty cumbersome, but Zephyr levitated it into the room through the surprisingly large door; presumably the Hivekind had needed to accommodate bigger drone types.

  Alturiel actually gasped when she saw it. “Where did you find this?” she asked, glancing between Zephyr and Tim.

  “Here,” he answered. “One of the people using the base used it to teleport themself away. Do you recognize it?”

  “I should say so,” she murmured, stepping closer and tapping a finger against the metal sheet. “I made it, after all.”

  Tim started in surprise before he could stop himself. That, he hadn’t expected. Although on second thought, if it was made here and not an ‘ancient’ find, she’d probably be on the short list of people who could.

  “You did?” Zephyr asked curiously. His eyes were almost sparkling, it was uncanny. Mages. “We were uncertain whether Hivekind or similar Ancient practices or designs were involved in making it. The quality is exceptional, you have my compliments.”

  “Thank you, Thaumaturge,” the elf responded with a brief dip of her head. “I did have the privilege of getting a glimpse of similar arrays used by the old Hivekind, which inspired much of it. They are all destroyed now, as far as I know; I doubt any survived the war after the Cataclysm,” she added with a look at Tim.

  He frowned. “You saw them personally?”

  “Not quite,” she sounded a bit amused, probably by catching his attempt to determine her age. “It was only in a memory. A trance state in which I may receive select visions; the details are not important for you to know. Anyhow, this particular work was stolen a century ago and I had given up hope of ever seeing it again.”

  Tim nodded. That was more or less what he’d expected. Assuming she was telling the truth, but he had no reason to doubt that. She didn’t need to admit it was hers.

  "That is good to know,” he said. “Do you want it back? We will return it if you do, assuming it’s not a danger, but I’d like for our mages to have the opportunity to study it first.”

  The priestess hesitated for a moment, before slowly shaking her head. “Actually, my Prince, that is fine. You may keep it, at least for now. I would recommend keeping it here, in fact. Perhaps we may do something with it.”

  “Like what?” Owin asked. “Can you craft a teleportation link?”

  She shrugged lightly. “We will see what can be done. Regardless, I will help you choose a location and set it up properly.”

  “That would be appreciated, but I assume you want something in return?” Tim asked.

  Alturiel smiled slightly. She looked pretty satisfied with herself once the initial surprise had passed. “At present, I would simply like access to your Empress’ court. I am sure there is much I may offer and considering her apparent closeness with my patron, I do hope she would appreciate my advice on occasion. I would not demand a title of court chaplain or anything of the sort, though if it is decided an official title is necessary I won’t decline.”

  Tim didn’t need to consider it for long, he was pretty sure what Regina would want. “I’m sure that can be arranged. I’ll write you a letter of introduction if you like, though I doubt you need one.”

  “Then there is the temple your country is building,” she continued. “As it is dedicated to my lady, I would like to oversee it. That’s only reasonable, isn’t it? Having only a temple without any priests at least stopping by would hardly be the same.”

  Tim exchanged a look with Owin, who looked a bit disgruntled, and shrugged slightly. “I’m sure they’ll appreciate your input,” he said diplomatically. He hoped it was true. After all, if his Hive Queen wanted to build a temple to Leian, consulting Alturiel did make sense, or they might end up with a design choice that was completely inappropriate and probably wouldn’t help its purpose.

  “I didn’t realize you wanted a temple to preside over,” Anuis commented mildly.

  Alturiel crossed her hands behind her back and smiled serenely. “I was not very keen on it, but I have learned enough about your Empire by now to be curious, and I feel it might perhaps be time to dedicate a little more of my time to, shall we say, pious pursuits.”

  Tim regarded her for a moment, then shrugged again. He didn’t really care in the end, and he wouldn’t pry into her relationship with Leian. At least not right now. If nothing else, she seemed like an ally, and those were always good to have.