The Bee Dungeon

Belissar turned to the two humans and narrowed his eyes.

“So…how do the Tower Lords train Tower Guards, especially that many…”

The augur tilted his head.

“Well, I suppose this may be a surprise for you, but the method is fairly simple. Once a recruit has been sufficiently trained in both mind and body, they are permitted entry into the Tower, where they challenge themselves against the monsters spawned within, as well as face their first battles with the Hunger in the forms the Tower permits.”

Belissar blinked.

“Wait…they fight the Tower monsters? The ones from the spawners we make?”

The augur gave Belissar a funny look as he nodded.

“Yes, of course. Such has always been the case, even before the Conclave codified Tower management methods. Humans challenge themselves to earn blessings and rewards from the gods, then fight to defend the gods’ Towers in turn.”

Belissar’s face fell and he made a dark expression.

The augur nodded.

“Of course, we believe that is why they respawn, after all. And the monsters attempt to kill them in turn. The challenge must be real to be acknowledged by the gods. A true life or death struggle produces the strongest champions.”

Belissar stared blankly.

“I…see…”

A short while later, Belissar and Chief Rohsuak exited the prison. Belissar walked forward without a destination, rubbing his chin as he stared at the ground. Chief Rohsuak followed along, letting him think for a bit before she spoke.

“Tower Keeper, you have thoughts?”

Belissar sighed and hung his head.

“I…I can’t do it. I can’t let you kill the bees…or have the bees kill you.”

Chief Rohsuak nodded.

“I don’t believe you should, either.”

Belissar grimaced.

“But then…what are we going to do? You heard him, we need real challenges to raise real Tower Guards. How are we going to match ten thousand Tower Guards if we don’t have the bees and hunters fight for real?” ȐÁＮꝋBËṥ

Belissar started as he felt a heavy paw land on his shoulder. He looked up and towards Chief Rohsuak, who looked him closely in the eye.

“I don’t believe that to be the only path, Tower Keeper Belissar. And I do not believe that to be the path suited for you or for our patron. I have seen more than one Sacred Den before and I have seen different relationships between the masters and the people who live around them. Every god and every Sacred Den is different. We do not even call them the same thing.”

Her expression softened as she gave him a smile.

“In your case…the God of Bees had already declared the method she wishes us to use. She did not ask us to fight and prove ourselves against your bees. She asked us to work for the bees. The exact thing you have always done.”

Belissar watched for a moment before sighing once more.

“But then…what do we do? We have to do something, right? We’ve only gotten…three of you blessed, right? And only one of those fights, right? That’s…a lot less than ten thousand.”

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Chief Rohsuak made an amused smile.

“Four now, if we count Metsaitti’s blessing as new. But yes, we will need to pick up the pace.”

She then turned serious and tapped Belissar’s chest with her finger.

“I say, though, that we must think of methods that suit you and the Tower that you have built. You had none of these Tower Guards at all when you first established your Tower. You had no sworn defenders as you expanded your Tower higher. You had no trained soldiers at all when you came to our aid and took down a shade we could not. The God of Bees herself has entrusted you with her oracle. Trust in yourself, Sacred Den Master. The God of Bees and all of us already do.”

Belissar stood, staring at her for a moment. His eyes widened a bit. He felt a spike of fear shoot through his chest…but also a warm feeling rising throughout it all. He flushed a bit and looked away before it grew too much to handle.

“I…see. And, um, thanks for your trust. I, um, hope I can live up to it?”

Chief Rohsuak smiled warmly at him.

“You already have.”

To distract himself from any further feelings, Belissar started to think about the problem. So, if he wasn’t going to have the bees and karnuq fight, how was he going to pick up the pace? And how was he going to give the karnuq real challenges, ones that fit the God of Bees’ preferences as well?

Belissar suddenly blinked.

“Huh…I think I have some ideas, actually.”

Chief Rohsuak’s smile grew as Belissar turned to face her.

“What would you say to learning some real beekeeping?”

Belissar held another lesson on beehouse construction with the karnuq and then separated. For the next day or so, he’d leave the karnuq to build some beehouses of their own before enacting the next stage of that plan. That would also give him some time to address some additional ideas.

Because a plan to grow his Towers had to include the bees.

He met with the First of the Fifth as well as a communer from her First Daughter. Not only was the First of the Fifth the one managing the growth and production of the hives, her first daughter was the queen managing the Orchard for the most part. And with the Orchard now being the nexus of all the shortcuts, the queens there could easily pass info to and from all the rest of the Tower. Belissar could, therefore, speak to the entire Tower through these two without having to interrupt all of the queens’ work.

The First of the Fifth happily greeted him as always. The communer did so as well, though her steps were a bit more hesitant. Belissar smiled and nodded at them both before launching into it.

“I have some ideas on ways we can grow faster. Some of them are risky, some might not be possible at all. I want your twos’ honest opinion on if these are possible.”

He tried to look at them as seriously as he could manage.

“I also want you to tell me if these are going to interrupt anything the bees are already doing. I need to know what we’ll spend to get them done.”

The two bees saluted to him, then stared up at him, awaiting his words. Belissar held back a sigh. He wasn’t sure if that had gotten through to them, or if they’d still happily drop everything to pursue his ideas. But there was no getting around it if he wanted to ask them directly about his ideas.

“First, what do you think about raising hives in the Fairy Grove?”

The First of the Fifth motioned to the communer, who began to relay her own queen’s reply.

“Queen mother says is great idea. Lots of mana, will have lots of good flowers.”

Belissar nodded. He was still a bit worried about the Fairy Grove and how little they understood it. But he also knew that it was indeed full of magical power and conducive to flower growth, so it was time to take the leap. He may not have been willing to set his bees and the karnuq against each other, but he also knew that he needed to be willing to risk the bees a bit more than he was doing. Letting them settle the Fairy Grove before they fully understood it seemed like a good place to start. For all its unknown potential dangers, it was still a part of his Tower.

“Got it. Are there any queens who would prefer to move there or should I raise new queens…”

Belissar had hardly finished when the communer suddenly burst out into a rapid dance.

“Queen says can handle! Daughters want to move!”

Belissar could only hope she was honest about that, and not just saying so to fulfill his request. Though, from how rapidly and happily the communer was dancing, he had a feeling she was telling the truth after all. Even if not, her sheer enthusiasm was enough to persuade Belissar.

“Got it, let’s do that then. Next, I’d like to hear about the status of the Tower overall. Which rooms need more flowers, which rooms have enough flowers, if any rooms could use more bees. Anything you think we could do to help the Tower grow faster.”

The First of the Fifth paused before launching into a rapid, barely intelligible dance, punctuated with “King best king!” dances at random points. Belissar held back a chuckle as he tried to focus in on the report.

Belissar was not the only one discussing new ideas, however. At that very moment, Beero was dancing before one of the communers.

“Really? Will?”

The communer glowed a bit before replying.

“Third of the Sixth said of course! Will! Has plenty of honey now!”

Beero launched into the most rapid gratitude dance she could perform, repeating it until the communer told her the Third of the Sixth needed to get back to work. With her help, Beero and her comrades could try something new…and see if there was a new path to assisting the hive of hives.

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