Deep in my hive, I stand with my arms crossed, staring down into a pit. My drones crawl over the human corpses, recycling them into much more useful black goo. Sixteen. Sixteen spies from the capital. Gwyna really is going all out.

It is a relief that there isn't a secret anti-Vess organization. Well, not one in Blackroad; I still feel like the humans could have come up with a better name for my town. I had a few pretty good names picked out, but the name Blackroad caught on and spread fast.

The mage guild is trying to spy on me, to what end, the spies didn't know. The fact that we were non-human seemed to be good enough for them.

I really didn't need this week long spy hunting debacle. I have Isoban to the east and the orcs to the west, and now Gwyna is continuing to be a problem. My army is starting to look really healthy again, but I think I need to deal with the Gwyna situation before I can go on the warpath again.

"Ugh, I really want to go after Gwyna, but the political fallout is annoying."

Enna gazes down into the pit with her usual serene expression, "Gwyna is the smallest threat, yet she is the closest, and likely the most urgent."

"Right," I groan, "But she is the hardest one to deal with. I can't just march my army up to the capital and demand her head. I mean, I can, but I shouldn't."

"We could let her nash her teeth, currently, she is nothing more than an annoyance. We have no secrets she can uncover with spies, the one that went into the hive did not last even a minute." Enna sounds very pleased about that.

"So do you think we should or shouldn't?" I'm getting mixed signals here.

Enna smiles down at me, running a claw under my chin, "It is your decision to make, your grace."

At my frown, she lets out a light laugh and says, "I believe we can safely ignore her, for now. She cannot easily leave the capital without notice, and her mages are not a threat to us. I am much more curious about the orcs."

"Yeah," I nod my agreement, "I really wanted to investigate the orcs. We promised Sarah we would help her with them anyways. Let's go over what the scouts have found again." Turning away from the pit, I crawl on top of a hunter, who then begins to trot down the tunnel.

Enna easily keeps pace, "All the Karnakan villages and cities between North Tarenbaum and the Spinesnap have been razed. North Tarenbaum has a large force amassed at the border, ready to invade South Tarenbaum."

"There are a couple groups of orc raiders," She continues, "The largest of which is camped very close to North Tarenbaum's army. They are obviously working together; King Rodric must have done something to win the orcs' loyalty. "

"Rodric is king of the north and Geoffery is king in the south, right?" I ask, looking up at Enna.

"Correct, if you wish to become involved, we must act soon."

"Should we though?" I run my hands over the hunter, "Get involved? I mean, I do really want the orcs. I want to secure the other side of the Spinesnap too. "

Enna plucks me off the hunter, letting me dangle in front of her, holding me so she can better look into my eyes, "What do you want, your grace?"

I squirm under the scrutiny, "Um…"

"Be honest, sweetie. I won't be disappointed if you wish to take more time to grow."

Almost under my breath, I say "I want to conquer the orcs, I really like having the human village. I want people to see how strong my army is and be respected."

Enna hugs me close, "There is nothing wrong with such a desire, honey. In fact, many Queens before you have wished for the same thing."

I am set down inside my chambers and am quickly washed and dressed in one of my elegant dresses, a blue dress with lace and bows. My hair is quickly done up in a fancy bun and a thick wool cloak is draped over my shoulders.

"The sun will be down in a few hours, let me know if you get too cold." Enna instructs me as she works the ties of my cloak. "The party will likely go on late into the night, when you are ready to retire, just say so."

My caretaker escorts me to the village. Long wooden tables and benches have been set up in the village square, a huge bonfire takes up the central space. A raised platform off to the side holds a collection of musicians who are playing a jaunty tune; people are dancing in the space in front of the stage.

This is technically a harvest festival, despite the lack of crops to harvest, with Sarah's celebration tacked on. She hit forty yesterday. No idea what her class advancement is, she was very hush hush about it, probably going to reveal it during the party.

I spot the hero, talking animatedly with a few girls I think I saw her hang out with before. I'm not really in her friend group.

Enna is staying hidden so the humans can relax; I'm on my own. My claws click over the ground as I wander towards the table with refreshments, maybe I can find something I will like. My past life is unclear, but I'm getting a vague feeling of unease. I probably didn't go to many parties.

Picking up a cup of juice, I take a few tentative sips. Eh, it's okay.

"The Vess Queen graces us with her graciousness!" Grant bellows out, stomping over and leaning against the table; eliciting a groan from the poor furniture.

I squint up at his beard, it's not too long, fairly well kept, I'll give it a pass this time, "Hey, Grant." Uh, what do I talk about with humans? I think he might be drunk…

The adventurer takes a long swig out of his mug, belching loudly and contentedly smacking his lips. Ugh, definitely drunk; I can smell the alcohol on his breath. At least I don't have to come up with something to talk about, he just rambles, "Damn, fine mead! Thank the Buried One for those bees! Really turned out well, still havin' trouble importing alcohol from Ironhill."

I sip my beverage, twirling one of my bows around a claw, "I mean, they're still recovering from the war, right? I don't think booze is high up on their list of priorities."

"Phfa!" He scoffs, "What kind of queen are you? Need alcohol to keep the troops happy. Don't the Vess know the value of a good drink?" He spills a little of his drink on himself as he swings his mug around. "You could stand to learn a few things from us humans. I was in the army once, you know? Had to push those Tarenbaum bastards out of our lands!"

The juice really isn't doing it for me, I set the cup back down, "Are you familiar with Tarenbaum? I could use someone who has been there before."

Grant finishes his drink and looks disappointedly into his mug, "Ehhh, never went into their lands, just pushed 'em out of ours."

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

I was willing to tolerate this conversation on the assumption that Grant might be of use to me. Relieved of that, I try to send the human away, "Why don't you go get another drink, Grant?"

"A great idea! Haha!" He is way too loud as he stomps off to find more poison.

My tail swishes under my cloak, I really enjoy how the soft cloak feels against my new appendage. My feet take me away from the disappointing table. Should I try drinking blood? Would that taste good? Is that too far into evil monster territory? I mean, it doesn't have to be human blood.

There are a few games setup. Tests of strength, agility and luck, some of which you play against another person. Most of my stats are lower than even most kids, I don't think I'm going to be able to do any of those.

"Ren!" A youthful voice calls.

Ginny runs up to me, bouncing on her heels, "You came! Do you want to come play with my friends?"

I've played with the village kids every now and then these last few months, they are the only people who don't seem to care I'm Vess, "Yes! Anything is better than getting stuck in another conversation with a drunk adventurer!"

My hand is snatched, and I'm dragged off into the mess of tables, Ginny speaks quickly and excitedly, "We're adventurers right now, we need to find and defeat all the goblins!"

Smiling, I do my best to play along. It's honestly kinda fun. We run together through the tables, ducking underneath the tablecloths every so often, looking for our targets. Every time we find another kid the 'goblin' shrieks with laughter and runs, starting a chase that has a few adults cursing us as we rush past them, knocking into them and spilling their drinks.

Sarah would tease me if she saw me, hopefully she's still busy. You're only one year old once! Why not play around a little before my hive grows too big and I have more annoying responsibilities.

Ginny and I duck under a table to hide, it's our turn to be the goblins. My friend tries to stifle her giggles behind her hand, she whispers into my ear, "Can you do any magic to make us invisible?"

I roll my eyes. We've been over this, "No, you know I can't cast any spells."

"Any other tricks?" She briefly peeks out from under the table before scampering back to my side.

"Maybe, but do you really wanna cheat, Gin?"

She pouts, which is weird because I'm usually the one who does that, and whispers, "I never get to see any of your creatures up close. Isn't there one that's good at hiding?"

"We could hide underground in a giant worm." I smirk, poking her in her side.

She giggles, "That would be so cool! My mom would lose it if she knew!"

Ginny is probably the only person I know who would willingly ride inside one of my burrowers. I haven't let her though, because I don't want her mom to be mad at me. There are precious few humans who are friendly towards me, and I want to keep them all.

"Please Renny? Pleeeeasse?" She begs, doing her best puppy dog eyes.

"Only if you promise not to tell your mom!" I counter, trying to keep my voice hushed.

Her pout returns, "You know that's impossible! My mom knows everything!"

More like you're terrible at keeping secrets, "Then no! You're just gonna have to wait till you're older!"

"Renny, you're younger than me," She giggles and dances her fingers over my tail, eliciting a shriek from me.

"Gin! Stop! My tail is sensitive!"

"Shhhh!" She scolds, holding a finger up to her lips, "You're going to get us caught, you big baby."

I wrap my tail around my waist and stick my tongue out, "I'm one year old! I can't help it. You're older than me, shouldn't you be nicer to me?"

"Shhh!" Ginny muffles my protests with a hand over my mouth. I listen and hear a few kids laughing, they run right by our table. One of my scouts communicates that they are chasing another kid.

When the laughter fades away, I lick Ginny's hand, causing her to recoil, "Ew! Ren!" She wipes her hand on her dress.

It's fun being immature.

Suddenly Sarah sticks her head under the table, causing Ginny and I to both scream. "Hey girls," She sounds very amused, "I need to take Ren, sorry Ginny."

Sarah leads me by the hand through the crowd, towards a table near the stage. A few notable figures sit at the table. I see Grant, looking a little more sober, Guild Master Evans, and Lessa, the unofficial mayor of the village.

The hero pulls out a chair for me and helps me get seated before taking her own chair. The sun has set, and the chilly air has me pulling my cloak closer around myself, this meeting seems important, everyone looks very serious, even Grant.

I try not to make eye contact with Evans, putting on my best ice queen persona. I still kind of feel bad for having Enna slam his face into his own desk.

"So," Lessa begins, putting down her drink, "You had something to discuss, Sarah?"

Sarah nods, "As you all know, I have just achieved level forty."

"A lifetime achievement," The guildmaster comments, "Congratulations."

"Thank you," The hero's voice is curt, yet respectful, she is in business mode, "Over the past few months, I've grown to know a lot of people in the village. I've learned about the travesty you've all been through, hell, I was there to lead many of the refugees through the mountains." She leans back in her chair and looks up into the sky, "Back in the capital, I was forced into the position of a hero. I was resentful, but at the same time, people needed help, and if I have all this power, I want to help them."

She looks back down, looking each person in the eye, "Many of the refugees have been separated from their loved ones. Many did not escape into the mountains in time. The orcs who did this are going to continue their rampage, presumably without anyone to stop them."

I can feel the big hero energy radiating off of Sarah, she's the real deal. Maybe I should tell her about the Golden Goddess after all…

"The Vess Queen's interests intersect with mine. She wants to confront the orcs and make the land on the other side of her mountains safe again." Sarah smiles down at me. Wow she is really trying to make me look good here.

Sarah sweeps her arm out towards the crowd of people, "I have reason to believe the orcs were taking prisoners, the loved ones of these people. Most believe they are already dead or will be when winter hits." Her face darkens, eyebrows drawing down, "I will do everything in my power to save them."

Guild Master Evans, somehow, looks skeptical, "How will you cross the mountains and find the orcs in time? I hope you're not asking for volunteers from the guild on your suicide mission."

Lessa gives Evans a harsh look, "Guildmaster, if you aren't going to support us, then perhaps you'd rather go and enjoy the party."

He shakes his head and holds up his hands, "Please, I'm just trying to protect my people."

Sarah interrupts them, "No, I'm not asking for any help. I already have all the help I need." She looks down at me and winks.

"The Vess Queen?" Lessa leans forward, new interest in me.

"Yes," Sarah confirms, "Her drakes are fast, we will be able to cross the mountains in a matter of days. She already knows where the orc camps are, and she is prepared to support me if things become violent. I know you haven't seen the Vess in combat, but believe me, they are an enemy you don't want to fuck with."

I nod along; we had discussed this already.

"And what does the Vess Queen want in return?" Evans asks, a bit of spite in his voice.

I narrow my eyes at him, and he flinches, breaking eye contact, "Nothing you humans need to worry about." I hiss.

"Her majesty is helping me, as a favor, but also because she is interested in the orcs." Sarah explains more diplomatically.

Grant takes a swig out of his mug and slams it down onto the table, "I said it before and I'll say it again, Sarah needs to rename her title to 'Hero of Blackroad'! Haha!" He laughs, then looks serious, "Let me come with you, I want to get revenge on those savages."

Sarah looks at me, seemingly content to let me make the decision, "I guess we could use another human if we are going to be dealing with more refugees…" My voice wavers a little, Grant isn't awful, as long as we keep him away from the alcohol it should be fine…

Grant slaps his thigh, "There you have it! I'm going on a proper adventure with a real hero! Ha!"

"Thank you, Grant." Sarah makes eye contact with him and gives me a serious nod, "To be clear, I'm not asking for aid. I just want to keep you all informed, I might be gone for a few months."

"We are forever grateful, Sarah." Lessa leans across the table and takes Sarah's hand, "If there is anything we can do to help you, please ask."

The hero smirks, "Just make sure there's enough housing for all the people I'm going to bring back."

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