The Bee Dungeon

Belissar held in the urge to gulp as he stood before the skunk people, or the sigmaka as they called themselves. It had taken much, much practice for the bumblebee soldiers to place him on the throne without him stumbling, but fortunately he had pulled it off here. He still could not help sweating at the many, many eyes turned his way. The bees once again saved him, as the workers crawling over his crown lapped up his sweat before it could drip down his face.

Fortunately, the sigmaka appeared as nervous as he felt. King Ratuatapi did not have bees to lap up his sweat as he disembarked from his mount and stepped forward.

“I am King Ratuatapi. Thank you for welcoming us today, Sacred Den Master Belissar. I…hope that we may establish peace and prosperity between our peoples.”

Belissar blinked as King Ratuatapi nearly stumbled over his words. He didn’t know how the sigmaka aged, but if they were anything like humans then King Ratuatapi appeared similar in age to himself, possibly even a few years younger. He had been trying to steel himself to face some sort of wise and experienced ruler…though, for all he knew King Ratuatapi could still be far more experienced compared to himself even if younger. Still, the way King Ratuatapi sweated and kept glancing around at the bees at least reassured Belissar he wasn’t the only one uncomfortable here.

He used his Tower sight to glance at the bees without moving his eyes, as recommended by Chief Rohsuak, and took heart from the soldier bee army hovering around him. He then deployed yet another tactic recommended by Chief Rohsuak to reply: nodding slowly with a light hum while he tried to remember what he was supposed to say.

“Then…shall we proceed?”

He just managed to remember to swing an open hand towards the Shrine of Bees…and managed to catch himself before his usual “um.” He then had to resist the urge to sigh. This was all very exhausting.

King Ratuatapi nodded slowly as well. Second Queen Berbiya and Chief Rohsuak then led their respective rulers towards the Shrine of Bees, with the armored sigmaka and karnuq warriors following along. Belissar and King Ratuatapi walked up to the shrine alone…save for Niobee and the other bees on Belissar’s person. Chief Rohsuak had told him something about the order mattering or something but Belissar just wanted to finish up already so he went ahead and started.

“I, Belissar, Keeper of the Bee Tower, swear in the name of my patron, the God of Bees, to honor the deal agreed on today. To respect the land, the borders, and the sovereignty of King Ratuatapi, his clan, and his people, and never to violate them without permission, so long as neither King Ratuatapi, his clan, or his people harm my people or violates my borders, nor allows any other to do so from his lands.”

Fortunately, Chief Rohsuak could remind him of the exact wording as he spoke it. Well, she had him do his best to memorize it on his own, but apparently the exact wording was very important here so they both agreed not to take any chances. Chief Rohsuak had fought hard for the various conditions within the oath, after all, so it would not due if Belissar forgot them or accidentally left a hole by forgetting a specific word.

Upon finishing the final word, the Shrine of Bees began to glow, pulsing once with light before falling dim once more. Belissar’s eyes widened as he felt something settle upon him and constrict around his heart, and it took all his self-control not to begin trembling. It appeared an oath sworn before the shrine of a god was not to be taken lightly. He was once again glad that Chief Rohsuak had helped with this and worked so hard on the exact wording.

King Ratuatapi jumped a bit when the Shrine of Bees glowed, then gulped.

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“I, King Ratuatapi, rule of Clan Ratuatapi and of all sigmaka, swear in the name of my ancestors and on the lives of my people, with the God of Bees as witness, to honor the deal agreed on today. To respect the land, the borders, and the sovereignty of Sacred Den Master Belissar, and the mission he performs on behalf of the gods, and never to violate them without permission, so long as neither Sacred Den Master Belissar or his servants harm my people or violate my lands, nor allows any other to do so from his lands.”

The Shrine of Bees pulsed once again. King Ratuatapi apparently could not control himself and shivered lightly. Then, both he and Belissar turned to one another and shook hands, nodding at each other silently.

Chief Rohsuak smiled and held up her hand, creating a bright and color flame around it.

“Let our peoples know peace!”

The karnuq all slammed the butts of their spears against the ground and cheered. The bees all began to buzz their wings, filling the air with a thunderous roar as the buzzing combined into one.

Second Queen Berbiya nodded.

“Let our people know peace!”

She then glared at Fourth Queen Pezuya. The Fourth Queen limply drew her sword and raised it into the air. One by one, the sigmaka guards followed her and lifted up a cheer of their own.

And so, Belissar and King Ratuatapi agreed to peace.

After the oaths, the karnuq brought out a couple of tables to hold a small banquet with all the best food they could prepare, along with some mana honey courtesy of Belissar and the bees. Second Queen Berbiya, on the other hand, had arranged for some gifts as well, so the sigmaka made their own contributions. Karnuq and sigmaka then intermingled and sat amongst each other, while several large bowls of honey and honeydew were set aside for the bees. Belissar and King Ratuatapi sat next to each other at a smaller table. Neither of them said anything as they ate and drank. They were supposed to show off the two leaders being friendly, Chief Rohsuak said, but Belissar couldn’t think of anything to say.

Fortunately, King Ratuatapi broke the silence first.

“So…you like bees, huh?”

Belissar jumped a bit but managed to calm himself and nodded.

“Yes. Yes, I do.”

He smiled a bit at Niobee, who was lapping up a bowl of honeydew next to Belissar’s plate. She stopped for a second to dance happily at the attention before resuming her lapping…all the while keeping her eyes on their guest.

King Ratuatapi watched her as well, and glanced at the bees still crawling on Belissar’s flower crown.

“I’m truly impressed. My ancestors supposedly tried to tame monster bees in the far past, but never managed to do so before we made our way underground. We had to stick with aphids, since even the giant ones are docile.”

Belissar turned to face King Ratuatapi.

“Actually, I’d like to hear more about those aphids. The bees love their honeydew…oh, and we do as well.”

King Ratuatapi smiled.

“I’m glad, I raised the ones that made that jar myself. Well, I say raised, but the aphids mostly do their own thing. We just have to make sure they’re healthy and well-fed and they take care of the rest for us.”

Belissar nodded along.

“It’s the same for bees, actually. My…mentor always said the bees will be bees regardless of whether we’re there or not. We just do our best to give them a nice home and help them deal with any problems, and then let them do their thing.”

King Ratuatapi grinned.

“Sounds like my mentor as well.”

From there, Belissar and King Ratuatapi started discussing the intricacies of beekeeping and giant aphid ranching, to the approving nods of Chief Rohsuak and Second Queen Berbiya. The second queen, for her part, turned to the woman beside her. Fourth Queen Pezuya was staring down at her plate and mumbling.

“Isn’t this better, Fourth Queen?”

The fourth queen lifted her head up just enough to glare at her.

“Better? You call us dooming ourselves to subjugation by a domineering force we cannot contend with ‘better’?”

Second Queen Berbiya gave her a sharp look.

“Compared to the alternative? Yes, yes I do. Which is why I worked so hard to bring about this outcome, you know, and why the First Queen agreed with me in the end. As long as no one breaks the agreement, there shall be no subjugation period.”

She then made a mischievous smile.

“Besides, you don’t seem to hate that honeycomb there. If you are so opposed to our new neighbors, perhaps I should take the evidence of our doom off your plate?”

The fourth queen looked away with a huff, but also protectively crouched over her plate. Second Queen Berbiya let out a light giggle before turning her eyes back to her own plate. For the first time since the Sacred Den was discovered, she could truly enjoy her meal. Her eyes lit up as she bit into a huge chunk of honeycomb.

And what a meal it was.

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