The Bee Dungeon

With the bumblebee spawner established and the bumblebee queen settling into her new home, Belissar turned his attention back to the karnuq. In fact, he could hear Chief Rohsuak calling for him.

“Sacred Den Master Belissar, if you have a moment, would you mind stopping by?”

Belissar tilted his head at that. He hadn’t known someone could call for his attention like that, but he heard it through his Tower senses even though he hadn’t been focusing on her at the time. His bees hadn’t done that before…although, in hindsight it might have just been that the bees didn’t normally call him directly. The few times they specifically sought his attention they had gone through Niobee instead.

He shrugged and made his way over to the second floor, where a group of soldier bees came up from the first floor to meet and escort him. On the one hand, he trusted the karnuq enough at this point that it was probably unnecessary, but he’d also admit that having the bees around boosted his confidence in general, so he didn’t mention it.

Chief Rohsuak was waiting for him there as well.

“Hello, Sacred Den Master Belissar, thank you for coming.”

He nodded back.

“Hello, how is everything?”

Chief Rohsuak gave him a smile.

“Wonderful. It’s been a long time since we’ve had a home, and the one you’ve made for us is very pleasant.”

Belissar started to smile a little.

“Glad to hear that. Um, did you need something?”

Chief Rohsuak nodded.

“Now that our camp is settled, I’d like to send some hunters to the Underway. They’ll both hunt around for game and resources, and scout the area for potential dangers. Would you permit us to do so?”

Belissar tilted his head.

“Um, sure? I’m, uh, not sure why you’re asking me, though.”

Chief Rohsuak shook her head.

“Sacred Den Master Belissar, we are now under your protection and sworn to defend your home. Sending out our hunters reduces your defenses and risks your defenders to injury or death, and any actions we take outside could be perceived as in your name. It is only natural that you have a say in our activities now, especially outside of our camp.”

Belissar furrowed his brow.

“Oh. That…makes sense.”

Chief Rohsuak smiled and nodded.

“So, with that in mind…do you have any need for our hunters in the near future? And do you have any thoughts on how we should act when outside of your dungeon, especially if we make contact with another intelligent people?”

Belissar’s eyes widened.

“Oh, there are others nearby?”

Chief Rohsuak placed a finger on her chin.

“That depends on how you define nearby. They are not so close that contact is inevitable, but not so far that contact is impossible. And we can only speak to the way we came from. I’ll say it’s not something you need to decide right away, but it is something you should consider, preferably before it happens.”

Belissar slowly nodded.

“…ok, I’ll think about. Um, will it be ok if you just act how you did before for now?”

Chief Rohsuak’s smile grew strained and she glanced away.

“Um, about that…”

Belissar did not like that reaction.

“Yes?”

Chief Rohsuak kept glancing away.

“We, um, may not have the best of reputations with all of the peoples we’ve encountered. We often did what we had to in order to survive. So, we engaged in raiding and thieving on occasion.”

Belissar blinked a few times before frowning. He…wasn’t sure how to respond to that.

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“Um…”

Chief Rohsuak sighed and shook her head.

“I’ll speak to the hunters firmly before they go. Now that we have a home and a source of food, we will not need to be as…aggressive in any negotiations. Should I tell the hunters to avoid contact, and provocation, until they report back on anything they find?”

Belissar nodded.

“Um, yes. That sounds good, I think?”

With that, they discussed a few more thing, such as the hunters resuming their remnant hunts, before parting. Once they did Belissar frowned. So, the karnuq were not as nice to everyone as they were to him. It was a bit hard for him to imagine given his interactions with them. But they were quite strong and intimidating. If they had come across him in his old village instead of in a Tower with a bee army, would they have been as nice? Or…would it have ended as the Tower Lords claimed?

Belissar eventually sighed and shook his head. He didn’t know, and they had been nice to him, so he supposed it didn’t matter now. He just hoped that their past wouldn’t end up causing any trouble.

He made his way back to the third floor and the Apiary, intending to clear his head a bit. As he did, though, the First of the Fifth flew over to him, along with several of the other Apiary queens. He smiled at them.

“Hello everyone, do you need something?”

The First of the Fifth danced happily before him.

“Oh, something to show me?”

Belissar grinned as the First of the Fifth turned to the others. First of all, she brought one of her workers forward. The worker’s size and body appeared the same, but her eyes were large and her antennae wide and fluffy, more like a moth’s than a bees. Belissar could also feel mana swirling around her body, and her eyes and antennae occasionally glowed.

“This is one of the communers, right? Hope they help out!”

The First of the Fifth saluted and then danced to the other queens. One by one they came before him and presented workers of their own. These were ones Belissar hadn’t seen before but had been anticipating.

Sedating Monster Bee Worker

Vitality: Minimal

Strength: Minimal

Speed: Average

Magic: Minimal

Defense: Minimal

Resistance: Minimal

Special: Minor

Notable Skills: Sedating Poison Sting, Sacrificial Strike, Brood Offspring

Description: A monster bee worker raised on sedative honey. It now produces the sedative compounds in the honey in its own venom glands. Its stings, in addition to the normal bee toxin effects, may cause fatigue, sluggishness, or in particularly high doses unconsciousness.

Of the new flowers he had received from the karnuq, only the sleepy chamomile had produced a new bee type so far. But, this one could be highly useful. The intoxicating effects of mad honey had already helped greatly against the shades, honey and venom that could knock a shade out could instantly end a fight. He had high hopes for that one.

Next was one of the queens herself, who had noticeably turned purple.

Maddening Monster Bee Queen

Vitality: Minimal

Strength: Minimal

Speed: Average

Magic: Minor

Defense: Minimal

Resistance: Minimal

Special: Above Average

Notable Skills: Mad Poison Sting, Brood Mother, Command Offspring

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

After a queen evolved into a medicinal queen, Belissar figured it was only a matter of time before a maddening queen would follow suit. Extra maddening honey would ensure he could equip any future Sticky Honey Traps with the more deleterious honey type. And extra maddening bees could improve the strength of the soldier bee army…though this queen lived in the Apiary so maybe not unless she was willing to either move, or share soldiers and honey with the Flower Meadow queens.

But, ultimately, it was the last of the new bees that really excited Belissar. The one he had been waiting for the most. She was a bit squatter, with shorter legs and longer antennae. She had large, thick mandibles that looked more suited to crushing than cutting. Her color was now a dull shade of brown rather than bright yellow.

Digging Monster Bee Worker

Vitality: Minimal+

Strength: Minimal+

Speed: Below Average+

Magic: Minimal

Defense: Minimal+

Resistance: Minimal

Special: Minimal

Notable Skills: Dig, Poison Sting, Sacrificial Strike, Brood Offspring

Description: A monster bee worker raised on honey imbued with Ground mana. Trades a bit of its speed for resilience, and is optimized for burrowing and expanding subterranean hives.

And, there she was. A bee born from the honey of the Ground mana flowers. Something like the digger bees he had given up his chance to choose, only born from the normal monster bee queens. A bee that could operate in the Dirt Tunnels…or in the Underway the karnuq said they came from. Exactly what his Tower needed.

Belissar broke out into a wide grin.

“Great work everyone, this is definitely going to help.”

After a moment, the queens and new workers burst out into happy dances. Belissar chuckled and then rubbed his chin. Now that he had a bee that could go underground, couldn’t he send his bees to scout the surroundings as well? Well, that would take a bit, since one worker wouldn’t be able to scout the tunnels alone…

And then his eyes widened as he had an idea. Why, exactly, did the bee have to go alone, when there was a group already going? Belissar turned to the queen who brought the digging worker.

“Can I borrow your worker? There’s a job I could use her for.”

The queen froze, and then started to tremble. It took a while but eventually she burst out into a salute so rapid Belissar could barely make out what she was saying. The worker trembled as Belissar smiled and held out his hand to her.

“Great, let’s go, then.”

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