The Rehkin Are Summoned
Haalfrin knows very well that in order to be alone with the Queen long enough to kill her with his Advanced Fel Name, it'll be best if she thinks that her treason is still a secret.
This means that they're going to have to find a way to sneak Kaalhyme back into his cell… It HAS been about half an hour, so there is a good chance that the Ants haven't even checked his cell yet and found out that he's missing.
Then, assuming that the Queen is successfully fooled, Haalfrin plans on just waltzing in and giving her a visit.
Everyone knows that the only time he ever visits her is for the checkup meeting that their treaty specifies MUST happen every 10 years.
In reality, the meeting isn't scheduled for another 6 months, but Haalfrin knows that the Queen doesn't keep track of time very well, so he can pretend that the meeting is today, rather than later.
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As Haalfrin is casting his flight spell and descending from his fortress, he sees some of his captains suiting up in their battle armor – getting ready to set out with Haalfrin.
Haalfrin looks at them sternly and says, "You all are to discreetly sweep the Valor Hall and make sure no Ants are visiting. If they are, kindly find a reason to get them out."
He'd like them to be discreet (obviously) because he doesn't want the Queen to know that they've grown suspicious.
However, just in case Laura's team needs to undo the Threshold enchantments and blow the place up, he's hoping that all of the Ants are swept up in the explosion. He doesn't want the Queen to have any bodies to revive into, and any Ants up in the Valor Hall would be safe enough to do just that.
"Who's coming with you then, sir?" one of the Arkin asks.
"I'm going by myself," he tells them. "I've always gone to these periodical meetings alone anyway, so this time should be no different."
The Arkin all solute before going to perform their tasks.
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On the way down, Haalfrin summons several Rehkin for the first time. The second they pop into existence around him, he casts an invisibility spell around them.
"Oh?" one of the Hawks says as he flies alongside Haalfrin. "I thought you'd never call on us."
Haalfrin doesn't have time to chat with them, so he just hands them a piece of paper. "On here is written the spell needed to destroy a Time Lock enchantment. I need you to sneak to these key points in the Threshold and undo the fortress's spell."
"Why us, though?" a Fox girl asks Haalfrin. Currently, the girl is being carried by one of the Hawks.
"Rehkin are far better at Spirit Magic than any Arkin or Drakin. The Queen uses her own children as her eyes, and she does this by using her Spirit Threads, which connect to all of them."
"Ah," the Fox girl nods, "So even if we get seen by some of the Ants, then we can just disrupt the spiritual connection, and the Queen won't get the message."
"Right. Thank you for your help. And… I'm sorry I didn't call you guys sooner."
The Hawk man flying closest to Haalfrin nods, "It's fine. We were itching to have this opportunity to help our descendants in this world, so thanks for at least giving us this chance."
"Oh, and escort the one called Kaalhyme back to his cell," Haalfrin adds.
With that said, the Arkin peel away from Haalfrin, and they go their separate ways.
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When Kaalhyme goes to return to his prison cell, he turns himself into a long spear – his soul's other form. Then, one of the Rehkin – a man from the Wolf clan – holds his spear form tightly and sneaks through the Threshold halls.
Whenever they come across some of the Ant girls, the Wolf uses his powerful Spirit magic to completely tie up the girls' spirit Threads. Then, he just runs right past them.
The girls aren't even cautious enough to really freak out over an intruder; the only thing they remember is peace, after all. Rather, the only reaction they give is curiosity, since they've never seen a man with a furry tail before.
Some of them try contacting their mother about this, but none of them are able to feel her presence.
"Huh, that's strange… I can't feel Mother" "Eh, whatever. Let's just keep exploring." "Yeah! Forget about the weird, furry man!" Conversations similar to this happen whenever the Wolf man and Kaalhyme run into a group of Ants.
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Soon enough, Kaalhyme and his escort reach his cell. The door creaks open, and they see the bloody mess still inside the boulder where Kaalhyme's body used to be (before he escaped by committing suicide).
Kaalhyme turns back into his humanoid form, and he quickly helps the Wolf man clean up the blood. Then, the Wolf man fiddles with the Constraining Boulder's enchantments enough to let Kaalhyme get back inside.
Once Kaalhyme is secure in his cell again, the Wolf man bids farewell and disappears back into the halls.
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Meanwhile, Haalfrin sets onto the ground almost immediately after the Rehkin separate from him. Then, because he's still wanting to pretend that he's going to their usual meeting, he walks the rest of the way.
Due to Dakka previously ripping the mountain off of the Threshold, that fortress is now much like the Valor Hall – exposed to the open air and floating high above the ground - albeit, much lower to the ground.
Unlike before, there's a large bridge connecting the ground to the Threshold's front gate – something that the Ants had built with a little guidance from Arkin architects.
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While Haalfrin is walking through the front gates – making sure to walk casually and slowly to avoid suspicion, Kaalhyme's feet are off the ground, and a powerful force is gripping him by the neck.
The Queen is standing in front of the general, and she's resisting the urge to crush the man in her anger.
Naturally, the Queen is furious, since her plans of finally escaping into the world and seeing the sun for herself may very well be thwarted now.
Before, she knew that Dakka was getting ready to officially challenge and kill Haalfrin for her. This was certainly good news for her… but now that Haalfrin knows about her treachery, he'll no longer trust her with freedom - freedom to go out into the outside world.
Plus, since the human had bothered sending this demon back to try to trick her, that means that he's planning some sort of trap meant to kill her.
No longer will the human peacefully lie down and die like he was supposed to – hence, her unbridled fury at Kaalhyme.
Of course, the Queen had already known that Kaalhyme escaped the second he blew himself up.
It's not like her sentries weren't doing their job; they heard the explosion he caused when he killed himself, as well as the sickening splattering sound.
The Queen may have known about his escape, but the only reason Kaalhyme and his Rehkin escort found his cell still bloody and untouched is because the Queen didn't bother having her children clean it up.
"J-just get it over with, woman!" Kaalhyme spits blood in her face. "Not like it'll do you any good!"
"Hmm… you're right," she mutters under her breath. She puts a hand on her chin and looks down thoughtfully.
'Yes. It's better to keep Kaalhyme alive for now – except this time, I'll have him knocked unconscious. Haalfrin obviously sent Kaalhyme back here so that he could feign ignorance.'
'If this demon is kept alive, then Haalfrin will have his guard down, thinking that he has the element of surprise.'
'But… Why try to sneak attack him now? I could just send Dakka after him, Haalfrin will surely think of this; he'll find a way to sneak around in his indestructible fortress and avoid Dakka – all while finding a way to grow stronger and sneak attack.'
The Queen isn't wrong to think this, since this is the pattern this war has taken since the very beginning. In reality, it won't matter how powerful Dakka is if he can't find his prey.
This is why she needs to find a way to lure Haalfrin out of his Valor Hall before killing him. She also needs to make the kill quick, since she knows the man has recently learned how to quick cast long-range teleportation spells.
'I don't know how powerful that man is by now, but I don't want to risk him getting away. I see that he's coming today for our periodic meeting, so I'll just see him, then sneak attack him before he can use his Dra Name or a body reinforcement spell.'
'…And since the man thinks that he's laying a trap for ME, he'll walk in while trying his best to appear casual. He won't make a move until he's sure that I can't fight back. I'll use this opportunity to sneak attack him before he has a chance to do whatever it is that he's planning.'
'What's this called? Flipping the Tables? Reversing the trap? Whatever.'