Chapter 198: Miscreant

"So the Grav-Stones are the basic gems, then they move up to Grav-Rocks, and Grav-Gems. These can all be used to create a pull point, but they are all basically useless without the Anti-Gravity-Diamond. That creates a zone that also allows you to place the Grav-Stones, but this is the reason why they are so rare. Once we open the stomach up, the stones will activate, and if there is no Anti-Gravity-Diamond with them, they will all sink into the ground," Sig explained, and I nodded.

"So it really doesn't matter until you find an AGD, right? But then how do we collect more after? I would want to install the AGD in the ship, and then we can have floating Hex-Combs or whatever else Gamble thinks up. The problem is, how do we get more?" I asked, but this time it was Gamble who answered.

"We will be able to chip off a small piece and place it in a container that the hunter can collect the gems in. There are many uses for them, and they will allow us to start constructing a Flagship. You won't always want to bring your Hive with you into dangerous situations, and at some point, you are going to want to find an area in the sky where your central city will be located," Gamble explained, and I could only nod my head along.

That was a great idea, and I hadn't really thought too far in the future. I had been concentrating on the here and now, not the future.

"That is a good idea, and we will need to start working on our own fleet. There is more trouble coming in the future, and we will need to be able to defend ourselves. Start working on plans for the Flagship and other weapons, but I think you should also start working on a list of materials that we should start looking for. There have to be more things that will help us move farther ahead, technologically speaking," I said as I looked at Serria, who was just finishing healing Tag.

"Yes, I will. I have heard nothing from the Miscreant, and I can't find the Predators anywhere, but we are having a small altercation with your sister. Will was the one to give her the shot of BeeBliss Serum, and he was overlooked, but the effects… Well, they couldn't be ignored. The Queen has requested to meet with you, but we have Riza down there talking to her right now as we speak," Gamble explained to me.

"Oh? And how is that going?" I asked, trying to sound casual, but I was worried. 

The last thing I needed was for Lexia to turn her forty thousand Worker Bees on me while I was unable to do anything about it. 

I could just drop out and go deal with it, but I was needed here just as much. 

"Things seem to be going well. Riza just finished explaining what we had given her, but now she is grilling Riza for the why. I told her to just be truthful and explained about the Predators," Gamble said, and I could feel my worry rise.

"Are you sure that is a good idea?" I asked.

"Yes, and that brings me to the next thing, but you need to be moving while I explain this," Gamble told me, and he was right.

"Everyone, let's keep moving, but stay vigilant," I told my group, and Sig picked the organ sac off the ground, and then a compartment opened on the side of him, and he placed the sac inside.

"I will lead again, but I don't sense anything from ahead, but I will still keep scanning. I think that the cries of the Ancient Behemoth scared away anything else that might bother us. They would not want to mess with something that smells like Ancient Behemoth's blood," Sig said as he closed up the compartment.

I nodded, and Sig retook the lead, and we were moving once more, but we still had over a mile and a half to go. Hopefully, Sig was right, and we could make it down the rest of the way without trouble, but I wasn't going to hold my breath.

"I am almost positive that the Predators had left, and I can not find the Miscreant. I think that he is fooling them, but I have no idea where they have gone yet. I have been picking up traces of something strange; I found the pattern of an arrow in the canyon floor made from Nectar," Gamble started to explain once I was moving again.

"How were you able to find it? That doesn't really seem like something that you would normally look for, right?" I asked.

"I was scanning to find all the local sources of Nectar that Lexia's Worker Bees would be collecting from. These were the main targets that I have the shadow Walkers focus on first because this is where I assumed that the Predators would be trying to strike, and I was right. Though I think that it might have been what tipped the Predators off and the reason why they are gone," Gamble told me with a grave-sounding voice, but I didn't get why he sounded that way.

"That is good then, right? Them leaving is good for us, and that means that we will be able to deal with Lexia and have no problems," I said, but Gamble didn't feel the same way.

"No, not good. Now there is very little chance that Lexia will be willing to join us since the threat is no longer here. We have no way to prove that they were beside the few people that we saved, which might be enough to keep them from wanting to fight us. As for joining us, that is out of the picture, and I think if we try to offer, it will reactivate the Old Queen's interest in us," Gamble explained, but I shook my head even though I knew that he couldn't see me.

"No, I want you to wait for me to get back, and I will talk to her myself. Now, What about our Miscreant?" I asked.