The Bee Dungeon

With two days before the next talks, Belissar turned his attention to other endeavors. Mainly, he had enough DP to purchase another room as he had planned, which could also provide either additional resources to trade or additional defenses if the talks fell through. He planned to make the purchase tonight, as usual right after the purification and celebrations where all the queens would be gathered. So, all that was left was to handle the day’s purification.

But as the soldier bee army waited and Belissar began the purification, it seemed the Hunger had other ideas in store. Once again, it took the form of a salamander…and only two of the lancers were fully healed. Belissar sucked in his breath…until he looked at the salamander shade more closely. This one was noticeably smaller…and not completely covered in black flames. In fact, it only had one small black flame covering the tip of its tail.

He supposed it was a level lower purification than the original, but he decided to wait and watch it brave the Dirt Tunnels before he relaxed. The salamander shade crawled its way through, climbing the walls whenever it encountered a Pit Trap. And then…it reached a wall-mounted Sticky Honey Trap.

The shade was doused by the honey. It spun and spat out a breath of black flames, but didn’t manage to hit before it was coated in honey. Small flames danced across its body, but failed to burn away the viscous coating.

It was then that Belissar released his breath and relaxed his shoulders. Indeed, the shade was weaker than its larger brethren. Most importantly, its flames did not form the same kind of shield and left it vulnerable to the honey traps. And that meant that it would be vulnerable to the bees as well.

It took the increasingly disoriented shade a while to make it through the Dirt Tunnels, as it was both weighed down and increasingly intoxicated by the maddening honey stuck to its body. Finally, it arrived out in the battle meadow…and was promptly attacked from all sides by sprayers. As Belissar had hoped, its flames were not hot enough nor spread wide enough to burn away all the poison before the toxic sprays struck home. It was not long before the shade was weak enough for the soldier bees to attack as well, at which point its resistance died quickly.

Small Purification completed! Please select a reward:

- +100 DP

- +20 Max Mana

The arrow trap was tempting but tonight Belissar needed the mana. If all went well, he’d soon have a lot to spend it on. A quick celebration later and Belissar gathered with Niobee, the queens, and Chief Rohsuak.

Extra room choice purchased. One room choice now available.

Please select a room:

- Farm (Rarity: Common, Type: Resource, Settlement)

- Stone Labyrinth (Rarity: Common, Type: Labyrinth, Settlement)

- Fairy Grove (Rarity: Rare, Type: Nature, Magic, Field)

Well, Belissar practically knew what he wanted to pick just from the rarities alone but for good measure he went through the options. Farm was a repeat and quite straightforward. A simple farmhouse, plus a bunch of fields in which crop plants would grow. Though, simple and common did not necessarily mean undesirable. So far, Belissar had been limited to his resource plant nodes, which were fairly small in the grand scheme of things. He had no doubt the karnuq might appreciate a larger source of food. And depending on what kind of plants they could cultivate there, a Farm might prove quite useful for his bees as well. Rows upon rows of flowering plants could feed many a hive.

Stone Labyrinth

Type: Labyrinth, Settlement

Innate Features: None

Mana upkeep: 5

Description: A stone structure built as a maze to disorient and trap invaders. No particular features but its tough walls force all but the most powerful of invaders to search its twists and turns for an exit. Numerous rooms may also be used for habitation.

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Belissar furrowed his brow and rubbed his chin. He couldn’t quite remember where, but he had a feeling he had seen this one before. Maybe as one of the earlier choices when he was still too shocked by becoming a dungeon master to pay close attention? In any case, this choice was perhaps even more straightforward than the Farm. A labyrinth, like the Dirt Tunnels, but made of cut stone instead of natural dirt. He…could pretty much rule this one out. First of all, it didn’t provide much that any of his bees would want. No flowers…well, no flowers that Belissar was currently aware of would grow inside a stone structure. Rooms for habitation might help the karnuq but he’d prefer his bees in beehouses, bee barracks, or bee apartments. So, this room would be purely for defense…and didn’t really provide anything that the Dirt Tunnels didn’t. He guessed a stone maze might be useful if they faced a shade that could dig through the dirt, but so far they hadn’t. That scenario…was not currently worth spending a room choice on.

And that left the last option. Belissar took a deep breath and smiled. This was it. A rare room choice! Even the lava field was an uncommon option! So, what exactly would a rare room have to offer?

Fairy Grove

Type: Nature, Magic, Field

Innate Features: Fairy circles

Mana upkeep: 40

Description: A fae forest filled with wonders unseen. Fairy circles dot the forest, concentrating mana for mystical and unpredictable effects. Those who do not watch their step may encounter that which they do not expect, for good or for ill. Plants and animals raised in and around the circles may develop along unexpected lines.

Belissar rubbed his chin. Fairy circles. That was something that most often appeared in children’s stories, signifying grave danger. And while few believed in them after growing up, Tower Lord doctrine specified that all magical phenomenon, including fairy circles, were to be reported immediately without any interaction.

That the Tower Lords would warn them against such things was enough to convince Belissar that fairy circles were probably real and full of magic and probably not nearly as deadly as the Tower Lords implied…even if this option hadn’t straight up confirmed their existence. But well, that didn’t mean Belissar had any idea of what they actually did. Tower Lord approved children’s stories weren’t a reliable source of information, but the description of the option was also sparse on detail. If anything, it was very much hammering the point that the circles were specifically unpredictable.

That gave Belissar pause. He had seen enough of Juosiutik’s potions exploding to know that magic could indeed be dangerous. In fact, most of the magic he had encountered in his Tower was generally dangerous and violent, just directed towards shades instead of himself. So, introducing unpredictable magic into his Tower seemed…risky. But, well, he could walk through a lava field unharmed, so perhaps he could trust the Tower to keep that danger aimed at the Hunger.

But there was one piece of information he could glean from the description: plants and animals raised in this room would develop along unexpected lines. And that meant there was a possibility this room would lead to new flowers and new bees. Unpredictable, magical bees…did not sound bad to Belissar at all.

After reading the descriptions of the rooms, he turned it to those around him.

“What do you all think?”

The First of the Fifth was the one to dance first this time.

“Last room…new flowers?”

Belissar smiled a bit. He thought the First of the Fifth might catch that as he did.

“I’m not sure, but I think so.”

The rest of his bees mostly handed the decision back to him. None of them mentioned the stone labyrinth, for why would they? A few were interested in the Farm after he explained what it would be like, but the First of the Fifth seemed more interested in new flowers than the mass flowers a Farm might offer. And so, Belissar turned to Chief Rohsuak. He rubbed his chin for a second.

“So…um, I’m guessing you’ve been quiet here because you want me to make choices on my own? I would like to hear if there’s anything you think I should consider. Especially if you’ve heard of fairy circles before, I’ve, um, only heard children’s stories and the description here isn’t very detailed.”

Chief Rohsuak gave him an amused smile and shook her head.

“You think too much of me, Sacred Den Master. I may have some experience leading my people, but I know little about the inner workings of a Sacred Den, so do not hold my opinion above your own. You defended this Sacred Den before we arrived at it, after all.”

She then rubbed her chin.

“That said…my encounters with fairy circles were fortunately rare. All that I know is that they are not to be trifled with lightly, and so I ensured that my people did not do so. While it is not guaranteed to go badly by any means, we could not afford the risk."

She frowned and her face turned dark.

"The other thing I can say is…the power of the fairy circles has not stopped the Hunger’s march. So, in that regard, perhaps they are not superior to the power of a Sacred Den, though magic is often not so simple.”

Belissar slowly nodded along. It sounded like the karnuq and the Tower Lords shared a similar view of the fairy circles. But the thought that whatever power the fairy circles possessed still could not stop the Hunger was a sobering one. A reminder of why the gods themselves had to intervene…

And that calmed whatever fears Belissar had in his heart.

Fairy Grove is now available.

Whatever threat the unpredictable Fairy Grove may pose paled in comparison to the threat he knew the Hunger posed. And so, he decided to hope that those unpredictable powers would assist him and his bees against whatever dangers the future may hold…

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