The Bee Dungeon

Second Queen Berbiya calmed down and put on a diplomatic smile once more. It appeared they had averted the outcome she was afraid of, so now the talks could resume at a more leisurely pace. Chief Rohsuak returned her smile.

“King Ratuatapi and his people will, of course, reciprocate in kind, correct? The Sacred Den Master’s authority shall subsequently apply to all current and future purified territory beyond the borders we will decide on, with all the same terms regarding his sovereignty over them and your people’s promise to respect them. Any violation of the Sacred Den Master’s borders by your people, or anyone else using your territory, shall release the Sacred Den Master and his servants from all promises on his part.”

Belissar’s eyes widened a bit back in the Tower. That…was a good point. He definitely didn’t want to promise to leave the skunk people alone if they weren’t going to do the same. He really should have thought of that. But well, that’s why he was glad Chief Rohsuak agreed to represent him.

Second Queen Berbiya paused for a moment when Chief Rohsuak started to speak but kept her smile and then nodded.

“Yes, of course.”

Chief Rohsuak nodded in turn.

“Then, shall we discuss the details?”

Second Queen Berbiya had one of her people join the conversation with some maps, while Chief Rohsuak invited Metsaitti to join the discussion. Belissar couldn’t follow too closely at that point, but he trusted that the karnuq knew what they were doing as people who had traveled the Underway for a long time. Belissar…may have found himself watching the soldier bee lap up her beverage with no memory of anything spoken in the previous minute. More than once.

In the end, the talks proceeded along. Chief Rohsuak insisted on terms Belissar again hadn’t thought of, in this case having the skunk people escort them through the proposed borders before finalizing the deal, since neither Belissar nor the karnuq knew what was in that area. This would allow them to map out the area and mark out which parts of the surface lay above. The skunk people would also need to point out any potential issues, such as dangerous wildlife that might cross over the border. All this would allow Belissar to better understand what he was agreeing to…and would keep them a little more honest according to Chief Rohsuak.

From there, the talks turned to trade. Belissar paid a bit more attention here, although Chief Rohsuak took the lead on this since most of the trade would likely be between the karnuq and the skunk people. Still, this was where Belissar could acquire benefits for his Tower and his bees. He was particularly interested in whatever beverage Second Queen Berbiya had offered them.

So, he frowned when the pair started off discussing lumber and minerals. Yes, getting some clay or metals and stuff would be nice and honestly pretty useful for expanding his mead making but still! He had specifically requested Chief Rohsuak ask about the drinks! So, he couldn’t help but fidget as the talks went on.

“…should I remind her?”

He trusted Chief Rohsuak, but she and Second Queen Berbiya had reached a lull in their conversation and she still hadn’t mentioned it! Instead, Chief Rohsuak relaxed and began to drink from her cup.

“This seems like a good amount for a first exchange, and we will both need to confirm with our superiors. Why don’t we call it there for the day?”

Belissar jumped.

“C-Chief Rohsuak! What about the drinks?!”

“Not to worry, Sacred Den Master. Take a look at the second queen over there.”

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Belissar did so and realized that Second Queen Berbiya hadn’t responded. She glanced over to the soldier bee at the table. She glanced back at Chief Rohsuak, who simply continued drinking in silence. Finally, she spoke.

“About that…King Ratuatapi wishes to know more about the honeycomb you gifted us last time, and if more may be available?”

Chief Rohsuak hummed and rubbed her chin.

“I am not certain. The honeycomb came from the Sacred Den Master directly, and so I cannot speak for it. Even we don’t often gain access to it.”

Second Queen Berbiya nodded.

“I understand. Please let him know we are interested, and that King Ratuatapi is open to a direct trade if there is anything he desires.”

Chief Rohsuak then smiled.

“I will let him know. Off the top of my head…he seemed curious in this beverage, particularly after he learned his monster bees enjoyed it. May I ask what it is?”

Second Queen Berbiya’s face lit up. She motioned and the skunk people brought over a jar.

“This is the honeydew from King Ratuatapi’s personal aphid farm, produced by only the finest of our giant aphids. We intended to offer this as a gift for the Sacred Den Master once today’s talks concluded successfully. We could arrange for larger quantities if the Sacred Den Master is interested?”

Belissar tilted his head. Giant aphids, huh? As far as he was aware, aphids were just a pest that could infest the crops. But, apparently, they made something that the bees liked? Well, that was all Belissar needed to know to want them.

“See if we can get some of those giant aphids.”

Chief Rohsuak nodded.

“I will ask him. He may be curious about those aphids as well…as am I.”

The talks wrapped up after that. Unfortunately, Chief Rohsuak did not manage to acquire aphids yet, but Belissar guess that would have to be for next time? He’d much rather just get it all figured out with one talk. But well, at least he had one jar of honeydew coming.

It probably wouldn’t go very far among his bees, but it was a start. He’d just have to hope that the skunk people would trade with them in the end. It seemed that they also liked his bees’ honey, so hopefully they could come to an arrangement.

Belissar then rubbed his chin and hummed a bit. Something Chief Rohsuak had said stayed with him, mainly that not even the karnuq had much access to mana honey. That, of course, was intentional at first. Belissar hadn’t wanted to give up his bees’ great efforts to the karnuq easily. He just hadn’t trusted them, so he kept close that which he cared about most.

But now? Belissar wasn’t sure if he fully trusted the karnuq or not. He hadn’t trusted a living person in quite some time. But, so far, the karnuq had been helpful and had made good on their word. They had helped his bees, helping him build the stone beehouses he might otherwise have struggled with. They defeated foes his bees could not. And now they were speaking on his behalf with a new group of people who did not seem nearly as friendly. In retrospect, Belissar had begun relying on them more than he thought. In fact, Chief Rohsuak was the one he turned to whenever he had questions…

His chest ached a bit at that thought, but he shook his head and tried not to get distracted. The point was…did he still need to be so wary of the karnuq? And should he offer them more opportunities to acquire honey, especially when he was about to offer some to an outsider? He had that little pit challenge set up for them, but their relationship had changed dramatically since then. Plus…he wasn’t particularly proud of that effort in the first place.

As of now, he was offering honey to the karnuq that joined the purifications, though as of yet only Chief Rohsuak had to fight directly, and to karnuq that helped him out in some way, such as Muuraqi with all the mason work. But perhaps he should think of new ways to reward the karnuq. Maybe he could make new challenges and have them resume the daily remnant hunts? Or was there some other way to do it?

He turned his Tower sight to the karnuq settlement as he pondered. His sight came to rest on Juosiutik’s place, where Juosiutik was mixing a potion while speaking to a worker bee buzzing around her. He watched bee and karnuq work together for a bit, talking about things he only vaguely understood.

Maybe…he should start thinking of the karnuq more as part of his Tower, rather than as a separate group of people living in it. The bees of the battle meadow had started helping the karnuq with construction without asking anything in return. Juosiutik was sharing her knowledge with the First of the Fifth without any agreements in place at all. Chief Rohsuak hadn’t asked him for a reward before heading off into the Underway to meet with the skunk people on his behalf.

Maybe…he could trust them after all. Maybe he could let them interact more directly with his bees, as the bees were already starting to do. And maybe, just maybe, he could do something with all those honey trays piling up in the Apiary farmhouse.

He had a lot to think about as the karnuq expedition made their way back towards the Tower.

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