The Bee Dungeon

A young karnuq woman, the one smaller than the rest, waited in her tent, her things packed into a bag. She waited until the sun set and night fell, when most of the rest of the clan had already gone to sleep. There was only a waning moon out tonight, just enough light to avoid complete darkness, but dark enough to restrict even a karnuq hunter’s sight.

Well, she probably needn’t have bothered. Most of the clan wouldn’t care where she went or what she did. She grit her teeth at that thought. She figured most of them wouldn’t care if she disappeared entirely.

But for just this night, that was convenient for her. She was able to slip past the night watch without any fuss and made her way to her destination, a small clearing near their camp, where the tunnel to the Underway opened up. She looked around until she found the night lookout, yawning as he leaned on a tree.

The chief would have had his hide for negligence in this duty. For the girl, however, it was perfect. She waited for him to drift off. She then took a deep breath and left the cover of the forest, creeping across the clearing as fast as she was willing to risk. Her heart pounded louder and louder the further she got…but eventually she hit the dirt and was soon making her way below ground.

She allowed herself to smile. She made it.

And now all she had to do was traverse the Underway. Alone. Where shades or creatures just as bad prowled, who could threaten even a fully grown karnuq hunter. Much less a runt who hadn’t even been taught as much as how to thrust a spear.

But she had made her decision. And so, with one final check of her belongings, she set off into the deep…

The next morning, Belissar made his way around the Apiary, gathering honeycomb and checking in with the queens. As he continued on his way, he found one queen waiting for him outside. And he didn’t need to ask why, for his jaw dropped as soon as he saw her.

Her color had changed from yellow to greenish blue. He focused on her and words appeared before his eyes.

Vitality: Minimal

Strength: Minimal

Speed: Average

Magic: Minor

Defense: Minimal

Resistance: Minimal

Special: Above Average

Notable Skills: Herbal Shot, Poison Sting, Brood Mother, Command Offspring

Description: A monster bee queen raised or evolved on medicinal mana honey. Lays medicinal variant offspring by default.

She watched him as he read through the description. He then turned to her with wide eyes.

“Wow, that’s amazing. So, you can raise all medicinal bees now?”

She paused and then slowly danced the affirmative. Belissar smiled.

“That’s great, congratulations.”

She froze, and then broke out into a happy dance. Belissar grinned and chuckled. This was a significant development, to be sure. So far, only a handful of worker or soldier bees of the specialized types seemed to appear in the different colonies. But now, there seemed to be at least one hive that would be mostly comprised of medicinal bees. Belissar figured he’d be getting a lot more medicinal honey, which could be crucial if the bee army took significant casualties later.

Additionally, if more queens could specialize like that, it’d open a lot of options. An army of pure maddening soldier bees? A hive of the new burning bees who could easily make fireproof wax constructs? Plus, who knew what might result from the new flowers they had received from the karnuq?

All in all, a great way to start the day!

After the karnuq finished their gathering, Belissar noticed Juosiutik still hanging around. He hadn’t planned on speaking with them today, not seeing a particular need to, but since she wasn’t leaving he figured he should ask. He walked over to the entrance.

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“Hi, did you need something?”

Juosiutik turned to him and nodded.

“Ah, there you are, Sacred Den Master! I wanted to ask if you wanted to resume potion lessons?”

Belissar rubbed his chin a bit and then nodded.

“Sure. It’s actually a good time.”

With the bee barracks completed, all he had left were replacing the new Apiary beehives with his own beehouses, and then figuring something out for the two queens in the Orchard. He wasn’t entirely sure what he was going to do for them yet, so he was planning to tackle the Apiary first. But since he already knew how to build those beehouses and they were much smaller to begin with, he wouldn’t need as much time or focus to finish he job. So, if he wanted to continue on the potion-making, now would be a good time.

Juosiutik smiled.

“Great! I do need to figure out some ideal recipes considering the ingredients you made for us, and I also need to figure out how my blessing works. But I figured since you also can do the magic honey thing, I could try to do so with you? You could see the process of working out a potion recipe and your blessing will probably work for it too.”

Belissar nodded.

“Ah, that makes sense, I think? Um, hang on just a second.”

It had slipped Belissar’s mind a bit to make a safe potion area for these lessons, so he went ahead and did so now. He cleared an area of flowers near the entrance, turning it back into bare dirt. Just in case, he also moved the pond he had made from end of the Flower Meadow to the entrance. Belissar then turned back to Juosiutik.

“Ok, this should be a safe place for the potions…um, are you ok?”

He found Juosiutik staring with wide eyes. She suddenly gulped and shook her head.

“Fine, fine, Sacred Den Master, sir. Um, should I set up here, then?”

Belissar nodded. Juosiutik then slowly walked to the center of the dirt area and opened up her bag. She laid down a large cloth and began removing some ingredients and tools, glancing at Belissar and at the pond every now and again.

“Right, um, would you like to begin?”

Belissar spent the morning helping Juosiutik experiment with some recipes, listening intently as she explained about flows of mana and such. It was still a bit esoteric to him and Juosiutik herself was still figuring out those exact recipes, but she explained this was just how her experimentation went. They agreed to keep that up on a regular basis. Belissar then started sawing some wood for beehouse construction until time came around for another minor+ purification. Another bird shade appeared this time but again, the bees handled it without issue. Belissar added another fifteen mana.

Mana: 74/425

The night, after celebrating the victory, Belissar paused as he reviewed his mana. He had passed the four hundred mark. On a hunch, he thought about expanding again.

Attempt expansion purification? Estimated purification strength: small.

His hunch was correct; he had gathered enough mana to attempt to expand once again. He crossed his arms and began to hum. The question was, should he?

On the one hand, the last expansion had been remarkably beneficial. A brand new room for his bees to live in, a new soldier bee type that could kill shades without risk to itself, and a new floor worth of rooms to fill in. He had started to see glowing mana-flower like versions of the healing herbs and poison flowers, so apparently Cross-Pollination was also working. And beyond that, the ability to conduct daily minor+ purifications had increased the rewards he was receiving each day, accelerating his Tower’s growth. So, who knew what another expansion on that level would bring him?

Additionally, his defenses had also improved. The soldier bee army was stronger and better at handling shades than ever before. The sprayers brought an entirely new dimension to the army, the flame radishes allowed for much more efficient use of the Pit Traps, and the bees themselves had fully adjusted to aerial opponents that flew faster than them. The barracks was also completed, and while it did not yet have all the defenses Belissar planned for it, it did provide a final ambush spot if a shade managed to break away from the army this time.

On the other hand, was it worth the risk to attempt it right now? The last purification had nearly gone badly and there was no guarantee the next shade would be anything they had prepared for. In fact, at this point, Belissar was anticipating it would be something other than what they had prepared for. How could he be certain that any of their improvements would suffice against something they couldn’t predict?

Additionally, the Flower Meadow queens had just moved into the barracks, while there were only two queens in the Orchard. It might be worth letting the former get settled and the latter expand a bit more before trying anything big? Plus, there were new flowers that the bees were still sampling. For all he knew, they might have a new bee type ready if he just waited.

He also was getting a lot more DP from the karnuq now. In fact…

DP: 1995

He was just a bit over a week away from being able to afford a new room or monster choice. Something that might provide a notable advantage against whatever shade the Hunger threw at them next. Even if it didn’t…it provided another way his Tower could grow without taking the risk.

So, what should he do?

This time, though, Belissar answered that very quickly. When in doubt, ask the bees. He turned and found Niobee resting on the farmhouse table in front of him.

“Hey, Niobee?”

She perked up and rose to her feet.

“Yes, King?”

Belissar opened his mouth, then paused for a second as he thought about how to word his question before continuing.

“How are the Flower Meadow queens doing? How are they settling into their new home?”

Niobee began dancing rapidly.

“Great! Queens love! Were planning to expand, King’s big hive perfect!”

Belissar smiled, and then rubbed his chin.

“Planning to expand?”

“Yes! New queens, bigger hives!”

Belissar nodded.

“Got it, thanks Niobee.”

“You’re welcome!”

Belissar nodded again, this time to himself. That settled it. If the Flower Meadow queens had plans of their own, Belissar didn’t want to disrupt. He knew if he asked them about another big purification, they’d likely drop whatever they were doing to prepare. So, he would wait this time. He’d let the Flower Meadow queens finish their plans before asking. In the meantime, he would get a new option from the DP store and give the bees a chance to work with the new flowers. And then, once the Flower Meadow queens were settled and he had set up whatever the new option would be, he’d think about tackling another expansion.

And so, Belissar made his choice, and then headed off to bed.

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