The Bee Dungeon

A couple of days passed. Belissar and Muuraqi built a small stone chamber for burning queens to evolve in, then Belissar tried to keep himself busy planning for the beekeeping lessons. He did not start on them though, for he was preoccupied with the ongoing negotiations. He, the karnuq, and the bees had many discussions on what preparations they could make, then spent much time and effort making the preparations decided on. Not only he and Chief Rohsuak, but all the karnuq and the bees had a role to play.

In the meantime, Chief Rohsuak met again with Second Queen Berbiya to hammer out the final details of the deal, to tour the proposed borders, and to arrange for Belissar and King Ratuatapi to make the final agreement. As Chief Rohsuak predicted, the skunk people requested to visit the Sacred Den and observe Belissar make his promise before the Shrine of Bees. Chief Rohsuak and the second queen then had animated discussions on the details of that visit, particularly how many guards King Ratuatapi would bring along with him.

But eventually, they worked it out. Neither side wanted to waste any time, either, so they set the date for the day after that talk. That day was now here.

Belissar frowned as he held his arms out.

“Is this really necessary?”

Metsaitti nodded as he placed a heavy fur coat across Belissar’s shoulders.

“Even a cave panther can be intimidated by a fearsome appearance. This is a weapon as well, Sacred Den Master.”

Belissar could only take the karnuq’s word for it as they dressed him up. It turned out they didn’t initially have much clothing in his size, so the karnuq had done a rush job adjusting everything. They had no choice, though, since Belissar’s own wardrobe was limited to worn tunics…and that was before he had become a Sacred Den Master with nothing but the one on his back.

He now wore a far newer tunic and pants under the fur coat Metsaitti had just put on him. He was adorned with pieces of honeycomb built in the shape of bees directly by the workers. On his head, he had a crown of woven mana flowers, still faintly glowing. Metsaitti then handed him a spear that was just a bit too large for him, but he managed to hold it upright. Metsaitti nodded.

Belissar took a deep breath and then turned to his ever-present companion hovering around him.

“What do you think?”

Niobee danced happily about.

“King is best king!”

Belissar chuckled and then inclined his head towards her. Niobee landed right on his head, while worker bees landed on the mana flower crown. He then straightened himself and took another deep breath.

“Ok, let’s go.”

A karnuq emerged from the Underway, leading King Ratuatapi’s procession. The group consisted of thirty of his finest warriors, no longer dressed for stealth in the Underway, but in the finest armor they had available. Metal combined with chitin and dyed silk, forming black and red shells over black and white fur, with spears, shields, and swords of similar colors. Second Queen Berbiya walked with Fourth Queen Pezuya at the head of the procession, Berbiya in her silk dress and Pezuya in full battle garb.

And at their center, riding on a giant rhinocerous beetle larger than a cow, was King Ratuatapi himself. He was a young man just shy of two decades, with a handsome face and immaculately groomed fur. He wore a silver crown with a large diamond set in the center and shining armor over a fine silk robe. He was also glancing around, his eyes and mouth wide open as he took in his first ever view of the surface.

The rest of their entourage did likewise, save for the most disciplined of the guards. Second Queen Berbiya herself could not help a small gasp after her eyes adjusted to the blinding light. The sun shone down on them, lighting up the world in a way no light crystal ever could. All around them were trees, larger plants than she ever thought possible, reaching to the sky not by clinging to rock walls but on the strength of their own trunks. The entire world was filled with green and brown.

It was, more than anything, clear proof that a Sacred Den had been at work. Not a single person lived among them that had seen the surface with their own eyes, until now. Second Queen Berbiya couldn’t help but glance at the fourth queen beside her. Fourth Queen Pezuya’s hand tightened around her sword as even her eyes opened wide.

“The true power of a Sacred Den.”

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Fourth Queen Pezuya turned to glance at her, then frowned.

“The power of the gods, not of the man.”

Second Queen Berbiya frowned right back.

“A man acknowledged by those same gods.”

Fourth Queen Pezuya said nothing in reply. Second Queen Berbiya furrowed her brow. She had not wanted the fourth queen to come to what was sure to be a delicate meeting, but what could she do? The Fourth Queen led their clan guard, she could hardly be prevented from escorting their king into the jaws of a Sacred Den.

Her anxious feeling only grew as their karnuq guide led them into a clearing, where they got their first glimpse of the Sacred Den. King Ratuatapi’s eyes went wide once more…but not Pezuya’s. The fourth queen smiled.

“Not so big after all…”

Second Queen Berbiya glared at Pezuya before glancing at their guide. But if the karnuq had heard them, he did not respond. Instead, he led them up to the Sacred Den and opened the gate. Fourth Queen Pezuya stopped and turned.

“This is it. Are you ready, Your Majesty?”

King Ratuatapi took a deep breath and spoke with all the gravitas he could muster.

“Proceed.”

And with that, they stepped inside. Inside, they found a meadow filled to the brim with flowers, a colorful rainbow stretching across the ground. Two columns of karnuq warriors stretched out before them, holding spears at attention. At the end of the two columns was a large throne made of stone, rising right out of the flowers. To the left side of the throne was a statue holding a glowing sphere and a wax chest, likely the shrine of the Sacred Den’s patron given that it matched the yellow banners on the Sacred Den’s exterior. To the right side stood Chief Rohsuak, now standing tall. The air shimmered around her, even from a distance Berbiya could feel the heat emanating off of her. Berbiya’s eyes widened a bit, Chief Rohsuak had not displayed much mana in their talks.

Fourth Queen Pezuya, on the other hand, frowned as she gazed upon the throne, for it was empty.

“What is the meaning of this? Where is the Sacred Den Master?”

Second Queen Berbiya was about to chide her and apologize, but Chief Rohsuak simply smiled.

“He will arrive shortly. May I assume that is King Ratuatapi?”

Second Queen Berbiya stepped forward before the fourth queen could say anything.

“Yes, and thank you for welcoming us today. May I present King Ratuatapi, head of Clan Ratuatapi, rule of all Sigmaka.”

She felt Pezuya glare at her but she kept her eyes forward. Chief Rohsuak’s smile grew and she inclined her head to King Ratuatapi.

“Greetings, King Ratuatapi, and welcome to the Sacred Den. Allow me to introduce the Sacred Den Master. If you’ll wait but a moment…”

Chief Rohsuak then burst into flames. Both Second Queen Berbiya and Fourth Queen Pezuya took an involuntary step back at the heat. Before Pezuya could react, Chief Rohsuak then lifted her hand up into the sky, a bright ball of light rush from it into the air. It burst and covered the sky in red flames, causing the newest of the clan guard to crouch down while the more experienced gathered around King Ratuatapi. The king himself was clearly sweating.

But the fire died down as quickly as it appeared. Pezuya grabbed the hilt of her sword.

“What is the meaning of…”

But she was cut off, for then they heard the buzzing. A cloud appeared in the distance, rushing towards them across the sky. As it grew closer, they saw black and yellow stripes cover the air, with occasional other colors such as bluish-green and purple mixed in here and there. Berbiya’s eyes widened as she realized what she was looking at it.

A swarm of bees, large enough to blot out the sun.

Fourth Queen Pezuya tightened the grip on the hilt of her sword. The sigmaka entourage began to back up, even Second Queen Berbiya couldn’t help herself. The cloud continued to fly at them at full speed.

But then, the swarm stopped. It split apart, bees swirling around each other in twisting rivers of black and yellow. Then, they began to form up. The bees began to assemble into squares of perfectly space rows, the squares forming a checkerboard across the sky. One of the clan guard’s eyes widened.

“Fourth Queen…they’re organized…”

“Steady. Organized or not, they’re just bees…”

But Fourth Queen Pezuya trailed off even before she finished. The whole formation began to descend towards them, and individual bees began to grow visible. They grew larger…and larger…and larger still. Second Queen Berbiya gulped as she realized that this swarm was not of worker bees, but of the soldier bees as large as her hand that she had seen during the negotiations. The karnuq, for their part, did not react at all, even as the bees began to hover over and around them. Soon, there was a formation of bees on all sides save their rear, with additional formations arranged at a short distance further beyond. Each hovering in place, not an antennae out of place as entire formations move in perfect sync with one another.

“Fourth Queen…what do we do? This is not what we planned for…”

Second Queen Berbiya barely heard the clan guard over the loud buzzing of bees all around, but once she did she quickly spun towards the fourth queen. She found Pezuya’s face turning pale as the fourth queen glanced around at the soldier bee army assembling all around them, as well as to Chief Rohsuak who was still clad in flames, and the karnuq warriors all around them.

“That’s…”

Second Queen Berbiya quickly strode over and clasped Pezuya on the shoulder, making the fourth queen turn to face her. Berbiya looked right into her eyes.

“It is no matter, for we are here to confirm the agreement, and establish peace between us. Isn’t that right, King Ratuatapi?”

Berbiya looked back towards their king, who was drenched in sweat and gulping.

“Y-Yes, that’s right!”

Pezuya glanced towards their king, then looked back at Berbiya with wide eyes that quivered for a moment. Her face fell and she took a deep breath.

“Yes…as the king commands…”

And then, from the midst of the formation, she saw him. A man sat on a woven sheet, held in the air from its four corners by the largest bees she had ever seen, big enough to reach her past her knees, maybe even up to her waist. The bees lowered the sheet down directly on the throne and he sat upon it, slowly rising to his feet as the four giant bees landed on the ground around it. On top of his head was a bee about the size of the soldiers all around them, but as the man rose it began to glow bright as a light crystal.

“Welcome to the Bee Tower. I am its keeper, Belissar, and I welcome you here today.”

And so, King Ratuatapi and the sigmaka finally met the Sacred Den Master…

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