9

Though the journey north has been tiring, it has mostly consisted of putting one foot in front of the other. Finally you have an opportunity to do something other than move forward, and you work your way through a sequence of traditional Mexihcan warrior exercises until your muscles feel strong and limber and the ache of your journey starts to depart. Exhausted but satisfied, you at last let yourself lie down.

Drifting half asleep in the darkness, you awaken filled with a nameless dread that you've felt before, shortly before Keimia killed the Apostolic Mound. Of course, you saw Keimia die, but you know the dreadful pall that the False Icon casts on events. Your hand throbbing, you rise.

You retrieve your weapons and pad into one of a thousand identical hallways until you find a dead bee guard, her body covered in tiny red wounds.

Then you hear a faint, familiar droning sound: swarmwalkers. You reach a balcony overlooking the throne room. From there, you can see them climbing down the far wall, preceded by their wasps. They're heading for the queen's private chamber behind the throne. The False Icon is planning another assassination.