After finally finishing with the Raccoons, I was about to leave, but I turned to Messia, remembering something.

"Where is the stone that we gathered from Nightmare Falls?" I asked her, and she turned to Riza, who turned to Miasma.

"Fine! I'll go get it! You think she would be safe with all the other guards around!" Miasma grumbled as she stalked off to the door with her open dress flapping as she did.

I turned back to the gathered Raccoons and called Ryan over to come over to me. I wanted to find out what he wanted to use the rock for, but I was sure it had something to do with the black masses that I had observed on the way to the village.

"Yes, my Queen. What can I do for you?" Ryan asked as he walked up to me with her strip robe swaying and the more recent design of thin golden hexagon lines.

"I am getting the stone brought for you, since you were already good enough to supply us with the seed before we could give you the stone. What did you plan on using it for? I noticed on our way to your village that there were many dead patches of forest and weird blackish masses in the center," I explained to Ryan, and he nodded to me.

"Yes, Lichtar is another way the Predators have been trying to drive us out of the forest so they can finish us off, but all they are doing is hurting the plant. I am hoping that they will stop now that we are gone, and then one day we can return with the Bleesam Stone to remove the Lichtar," Ryan explained.

Just then, Miasma burst back through the gateway, and she was carrying the ball-sized black rock. I had yet to see this stone, but it did not look exceptional. It was not perfectly round, and it had rough but no sharp edges.

"Wonderful," I heard Ryan say from beside me, and I turned to give him a questioning look, and he elaborated. "A Bleesam stone turns completely white over time as it loses its ability to draw out toxins."

"So that means that this stone still has a lot of life in it, right?" I asked curiously.

"Yes, this is worth one hundred thousand Glass Flower seeds to us, and we are forever in your debt," Ryan said and then gave me a deep bow, and then too the offered stone.

[Queen System] Activated!

[Hive Task] Activated!

[Rage Against The Raccoons]: Help retrieve the Bleesam stone for the Raccoon Folk. Completed!

[Reward]: Hive Offensive Capabilities! 5 Hex Points gained!

No.

That was something that I would have to get on top of after the farm. It would be something that I would have to do it in private so I could take with Beezli again.

"When we finish in the mountains and help the Snake Folk, we will return to help you in the forest. We might run into delays along the way, but I will come back and help you heal the infections," I explained to Ryan and was about to leave again, but he stopped me.

"Sorry, one more thing I forgot to mention, and with… what did you call Bresma?" Ryan asked.

"Rixie!" Miku shouted as Rixie and her jumped out of a shadow.

"Rixie!" Ryan snapped at her, but I put a hand up and shook my head.

"Rixie is going to be one of my personal guards, and I would prefer her to be expressive and let her personality out, and I encourage you all to do the same. I know it must have been hard for all of you, but things will change and you will be moving into a new part of all of our lives as we move forward and gain more members to the Hive," I explained, and some of the tension left Ryan as he took a deep breath in, and then let it out.

"You are right, I suppose, but Rixie, you have another gift for the Queen, do you not?" Ryan asked, and Rixie nodded her head and rushed over.

"Yes, I am very sorry! We thought that our simple offering of the Crystal Flowers wasn't going to be enough to trade you for the Bleesam Stone, so we got you these," Rixie said as she reached into her arm and pulled out a small fifteen-centimeter long metal tube that was golden and etched with a design.

Rixie handed me the tube, and I almost didn't want to know where this thing had been hidden, but I kind of did at the same time. I brought it up to my face, and it smelled clean, but it could have been licked off, and I tried not to screw up my face or laugh thinking about it.

The tube was about four centimeters wide, and the ends were only slightly more significant than the tube itself. I was about to open it, but Rixie put a hand on my arm to stop me.

"You need to be very careful with these; they are very special. There are mini-dragon eggs in there, so you need to be very careful," Rixie told me, and I just gaped at her.

"Mini-Dragons? Like how mini? And are there other dragons? Like big ones?" I asked excitedly as I gripped the tube for dear life.

"Yes, they are only about this big," Rixie said, cupping her hands like she was going to scoop water. "They are not actually dragons, more like winged lizards, but they are very intelligent. They communicate through emotions, and they will stay with you for the rest of their lives, and then they will pass on with you," Rixie explained, but I reached out and wrapped her in a hug.

Rixie was stiff at first, but then she slowly raised her arms and hugged me back. It must have been a while since she had anyone to do this with, but now things were changing, and I would make sure that they continued to be good ones.

"Thank you for this wonderful gift! I think that I just found my three new pets! You can go back with Miku now, but tell her that I would like to spend some time with my wife later if she has time," I said out loud because Miku was gone again.

"Yes, I will let her know, and thank you for everything that you have done for all of us," Rixie said as I let her go.

She turned from me and jumped into the nearest shadow, then Rixie was gone. I was glad that the two were getting along so well, but I wanted to be able to have some time with her as well before we got to the Trolls Village.

"Are you ready to go yet?" Miasma asked me with impatience.

"Do you Hive somewhere to Bee?" I asked as I took Both Messia, and her hands, walking to the portal.