The Bee Dungeon

Belissar sat in the Apiary farmhouse after celebrating the bee army’s latest victory. He rubbed his chin as he let the silence of the night waft over him. Niobee watched him from the table but made no noise, not wanting to interrupt his thoughts. Eventually he nodded and then made a light sigh.

This incident decided things for him, he was going to conduct another expansion purification sooner rather than later. The boar-shade was really easy for his bees to take down without losses…but that was because it had been outside the Tower. If it had been during a purification? Sure, the boar couldn’t actually hit any of the bees, but its sheer bulk and resilience meant the bees couldn’t actually stop it from moving around, and it lasted a long time before their venom noticeably affected it. If it had been assaulting the Tower, it could have made a break for the Flower Meadow exit and likely would have reached it before the bee army brought it down. It, therefore, could have done major damage to the Bee Barracks, the Orchard, or the Apiary before perishing. It may even have been able to reach the core if it made a straight run for it.

Well, they probably would have been able to lure it into a Pit Trap and the boar seemed to charge whatever attacked it so it probably would have worked out, but that wasn’t the point. The point was that the Hunger continuously changed its approach…and was not limited to the contained purifications Belissar could conduct at his leisure. The Hunger was at war with his Tower and would do everything in its power to slip past his defenses, both within and outside of purifications. Belissar had, perhaps, gotten a bit too comfortable with the Hunger thanks to the recent string of successful purifications. It was good for him to remember that the Hunger was not a passive threat.

As such, while it didn’t mean that he should rush, it would be wise of him not to neglect his Tower’s growth. More expansion meant more options. New bees, new rooms, new features, and new flowers that could all provide tools to deal with whatever the next shade turned out to be. And more territory purified meant more ground for a shade to cover before it could reach the karnuq or the Tower, should one attack from the outside once more.

Belissar still wanted to do everything he could to put the odds in his bees’ favor and avoid casualties. But, ultimately, he knew he could trust them to get it done. And so, he would.

Now resolved, Belissar headed off to bed. Tomorrow could be a busy day.

The next day, Belissar and Niobee gathered the queens at the Orchard’s Shrine of Bees, as close to a midpoint of the Tower as he could arrange. He took a deep breath as the queens hovered around him, waiting for his words.

“I am planning to conduct another expansion purification.”

The queens paused, before bursting into salute dances. The Flower Meadow queens affirmed they were ready to fight. The Apiary queens promised donations of honey, particularly the medicinal queen. Belissar smiled a little before continuing.

“Thank you all. We won’t do it just yet, though. First thing, I’m going to move the Dirt Tunnels to the front of the Tower after the karnuq finish their gathering for today. It’ll restrict and slow down any shades, especially flying ones, and maybe we’ll even catch one in the traps. But, um, since this is a new thing, I want to give you all the chance to adjust. So, we’ll do the move today and let the army practice fighting at the entrance to the new room, then conduct the purification once they’re ready?”

The Flower Meadow queens started a dance indicating they were ready now before the biggest one, the Second First of the First paused and the others followed suit. Slowly, she began to salute, the others with her.

Belissar then turned to the Apiary queens and bowed his head.

“I’m sorry, but that does mean the new underground plants will be moving further away for the next day or two. Is that going to hurt your hives?”

The Apiary queens seemed to be frozen, as none of them began to dance. Belissar was about to speak up again when, to his surprise, the Second First of the First began to dance once more.

“Army can go to Apiary to practice?”

Belissar blinked and then his eyes widened.

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“That’s…a good point. Would you mind sending the army to the Apiary today, then?”

The Flower Meadow queens all saluted as one. He then turned to the Apiary queens.

“Ah, in that case never mind then. We’ll wait until the actual purification to move things, so there shouldn’t be any disruptions.”

The Apiary queens began to apologize to him but he shook his head.

“No, you all need the honey. But that’s why we’re all here now, to address any issues I missed.”

Belissar couldn’t help but chuckle as all the bees began swarming around him, exclaiming that he was the best and wisest king. He decided not to point out that he was, to his knowledge, the only king and therefore also the worst and most foolish.

“Ok, we’ll do that then. Let me know if there are any issues, or if you have any ideas that could help with the upcoming purification.”

It was in that moment that the karnuq arrived…and Belissar tilted his head. Chief Rohsuak had come with the group…a large group that didn’t match the normal gatherers and hunters. He turned to Niobee.

“Um, looks like the karnuq want to talk. So…guess we’ll go talk to them. Afterwards can you show the army where the entrance to the Dirt Tunnels is?”

“Ok!”

“Thanks Niobee. Ok then, let’s get to work.”

The bees made their most rapid salute dance yet.

Belissar, Niobee, and the soldier bee army made their way over to the entrance. The karnuq, unusually, had not begun either gathering or hunting. Belissar guessed they were waiting for them, which was borne out when they saw him and walked to meet him.

“Hello, Sacred Den Master.”

Belissar nodded to Chief Rohsuak.

“Hello, Chief Rohsuak. Um, did you want to talk?”

Chief Rohsuak nodded, her face unusually serious.

“I do. We have a great request of you.”

Belissar gulped at her tone.

“…um, what sort of request?”

Chief Rohsuak turned back to face the other karnuq and looked each in the eye. One by one, each of them nodded to her. She then turned to face him once more. Belissar nearly stepped back at the intense gazes of so many large bear people, but tried to think about the bees flying above him and so stood his ground. And then…

Chief Rohsuak and all the karnuq bowed their heads towards him.

“Sacred Den Master, if it pleases you, we wish to swear ourselves to your service.”

Accept offer of allegiance?

Belissar stared blankly, then blinked repeatedly.

“…um, what?”

Fortunately, Chief Rohsuak seemed to anticipate his confusion, as she took him aside to explain in more detail.

“Ok, um, first of all, what exactly do you mean by that?”

Chief Rohsuak nodded.

“From what I understand, Sacred Den Masters are able to accept outsiders as their defenders and servants. We would like to become yours, if you would accept us.”

Belissar slowly nodded.

“I…see. And, um, what exactly would that look like?”

Chief Rohsuak extended an open palm towards him.

“Whatever you would like it to.”

Belissar tilted his head.

“Huh?”

Chief Rohsuak nodded.

“From what I have seen, every Sacred Den Master’s relationship with their sworn defenders is different, so the exact details would be yours to decide. But, on a most basic level, we are hoping for food, shelter, and protection from external threats. In exchange, we will become your people. We will fight your battles, work your lands, defend your Sacred Den, and follow your commands.”

Belissar rubbed his chin, but then suddenly his eyes widened.

“You’re…offering to become my Tower Guard?”

Now it was Chief Rohsuak’s turn to rub her chin.

“I am not familiar with the term, but if that is what your people call those who serve Sacred Dens then yes, most likely.”

Now that gave Belissar pause. He still wanted nothing to do with the Tower Lords or the ways they did things. However, it was also true that he didn’t know how they treated their own Tower Guards, and besides, Chief Rohsuak said their treatment would be up to him so there wasn’t an issue in doing things differently. The question, though, was did he want Tower Guards? And did he want the karnuq to fulfill that role? The Tower itself sent him a message when the karnuq made their request, so apparently there was something more to it than just verbal promises.

But well, if he said aside memories of the Tower Lords…this was a good thing, right? If the karnuq wanted to help defend the Tower, he could certainly use their help in the next purification. Maybe they could also help him build beehouses or process flax or tasks like that.

But, was this too good to be true? Chief Rohsuak said he’d have to provide them with food and shelter and protection. What exactly did that mean? What exactly would they want from him if accepted? Would they try to swindle him, maybe ask for all that stuff and then make excuses when it came time to fight?

Belissar looked over at Chief Rohsuak, and then beyond her. He saw Metsaitti, Juosiutik, and Noigakkuq among the karnuq who had come along. All of his questions and concerns and anxieties boiled down into one.

Did he trust the karnuq?

Belissar’s eyes widened. He took a deep breath and opened his mouth.

“…let’s discuss what exactly this will look like for us.”

Chief Rohsuak paused for a moment, then broke out into a smile.

“Yes, of course.”

To Belissar’s own surprise, the answer to his question was yes. The karnuq had treated him well so far, better than any human ever had save for his own parents and the beekeeper. They had listened to his requests, delivered on their promises, and hadn’t done anything to his detriment. And, most of all, they had respected his bees.

He also did not want to see them harmed, as he had recently learned. He was already providing them with food and protection, come to think of it. So, he felt that it was worth the chance, despite his fears.

And so, Belissar and the karnuq began discussing a new relationship with one another…

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