The Bee Dungeon

Down in the Underway, just past the rot cap field in a tunnel with no light, two pairs of eyes lit up in the dark, barely reflecting the faintest hints of light. A soft voice drifted on the air, a faint whisp that would not be heard over the rustling of the stink bugs in the field beyond.

“Are you certain this is the place?”

“Positive.”

“And you’re certain you saw people here? Not just another cave bear, right?”

There was a low growl.

“You think I would mistake an entire hunting band? That I’d just make that up? They were here. That’s a fact. Look, the stink bug numbers still haven’t recovered.”

The first voice gained volume, letting a sigh pierce the quiet.

“So? A cave bear could’ve done that too. And it’s been days and we haven’t seen any sign of anything but stink bugs here.”

The second voice hissed.

But both voices were cut off in that moment. Neither could miss the surge of mana flowing past them, causing both eyes to tremble for a bit. The second voice spoke first.

“T-That was…?”

The first voice replied, tone now fully serious and with no hint of their earlier annoyance.

“There’s no mistaking it. That’s a purification wave. And that means there’s a Sacred Den in the area now. Let’s go, we need to report this right away.”

The Firstborn slowly crawled through her trays, her daughter following along. Her daughter brushed her antennae with a slow dance.

“Queen Mother, ok?”

The Firstborn, while slow, responded immediately.

“Yes, just…lots to think about.”

Indeed she did for, despite everything, the King still trusted them. Still counted on them. She felt the mana of the realm surging through her body, strengthening her muscles. And they had managed to win a significant victory without the aid of the karnuq.

Yet, she could not simply rejoice. She knew from the past that a victory here did not mean a victory tomorrow. Their work had only begun, their army needed to continue growing. And, most of all, she thought that the King had not trusted them, but had chosen to trust them. She saw the moment of hesitation before deploying the lancers, the creases on his face that signaled deep thought. She believed that he had other plans in mind but had changed them in order to let them have a chance.

She did not know what to think of that. Should she be happy and grateful that the King considered them so, and still planned to rely on them as he could? That they were strong enough to win the victory he needed? Or should she be regretful that the King had been forced to reconsider his plans because of them? That they were too weak to be his first thought?

Well, such questions, no matter how she answered them, would not improve her hive, so she continued crawling, arriving at the worker cells. She turned to face her daughter, who was still watching her with concern.

“I think…should be patient. Army still too weak but…King trusts to grow. Wants to grow. So should do what can now and trust King to help.”

Yes, that was her conclusion. She knew from the failure with the bird-shade that the King was not going to abandon or replace them. That was not his way. She knew from the new strength she now felt in her legs that the King planned to continue growing them. In fact…she may have been looking at this wrong from the start. It had been the King who had given them soldiers, sprayers, and lancers in the first place. The army was, therefore, not something they build for the King, but something they built with the King. It was as much his efforts as theirs, if not more.

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In that regard, she would be patient, and would not rush to try and grow the army beyond its present limits. She knew that in time the King would provide them with new options himself. What the army needed to do was make the most of what the King gave them, and ensure they were prepared when new options came. They needed to trust in the King’s design. They needed to consider themselves as a part of the greater hive of hives.

Her daughter danced a salute.

“Ok, what can do now? More lancers? More soldiers?”

But the Firstborn danced the negative.

“Not this time.”

And then Firstborn began to lay some new worker eggs…and then gathered together her oldest and most experienced foragers, who crawled into glowing cells packed with honey. Her daughter saluted and followed suit with her own workers.

The Firstborn had originally planned to raise more lancers…but had changed her mind. The mana of the realm did more than strengthen her muscles, it had carried knowledge that one of the latest bee types had been improved. A bee type that she had thought intended for the Apiary queens, a worker evolution focused on foraging rather than fighting. Something that would help the Bee Barracks as well but would require them to cease raising soldiers while their limited foragers took the time to evolve. So, something the Flower Meadow queens had not gotten around to yet.

But now the Firstborn had decided to adjust her priorities. The honey to evolve a single lancer could not only evolve several gardeners; the remainder could also serve as a stockpile that would cover the hive while its most productive foragers rested in their cells. Taking this step now would improve their honey production, not only allowing them to afford more lancers and other soldier types, but to have the extra honey necessary if and when the King provided them with new options. While the hive of hives would support one another, it was not good to rely solely on the Apiary whenever they needed more honey.

Additionally, this new bee not only improved foraging, they would also improve the health of the flowers themselves…and would now work to spread the flowers as well. New mana flowers were obviously useful to improve honey production, but that was not the Firstborn’s only thought. If she considered herself as part of the greater hive of hives, the soldier bee army as just one part of the King’s design, then she should consider her surroundings as well, and the King’s other efforts to defend the hive of hives. The great chasms and fire sticks, the underground tunnels that bought time, and the honey sprayers could all be considered part of the army in that manner.

And then…there were the plants. On the palisade outside of the Bee Barracks grew vine covered in sharp thorns. Further on in the Flower Meadow was a flower her foragers didn’t like to gather from. They said it disrupted their flight and was difficult to approach. One moment, it would randomly make them heavier, forcing them to fly with all their might not to crash into the ground. The next, it would make them even lighter than usual, causing them fly above and beyond their target. It was therefore not very popular among the Flower Meadow’s foragers, despite its high mana-density.

But what if those effects applied to the enemy as well? What if the new bees not only improved foraging, but spread those two types of flowers across the Meadow? In that regard, there might be more ways for the Flower Meadow army to fight, ways they could start fighting right now, before the enemy ever arrived.

And what if they combined those efforts with the soldiers they sent to help the King? Could they one day build a wall of their own, maybe one extending across the entire length of the Flower Meadow? And then, perhaps, spread the thorny roses across the entire thing, so that no enemy could advance along the ground without tearing down tree-trunk like stakes while thorns ripped into them? With countless of those other flowers to randomly make everything heavier or lighter, disrupting the flight of any enemy trying to pass over the barrier? All the while sprayers could attack safely from behind and above the walls, while lancers adjusted their aim with leisure? If the wall held the enemy back well enough, maybe Beero and her squad could get involved as well.

Well, those ideas were distant and vague, but they informed the Firstborn of an important point. There was more the Flower Meadow could do than just practicing dives to prepare for the next battle.

It was for these reasons the Firstborn made the call to raise gardeners instead of more lancers. The King would expand the army’s options when he felt they needed more, and they had a lancer squad ready, once the wounded had recovered. So, she felt their goal in the immediate future…should be to prepare, and to join themselves ever more with the hive of hives. Not just with their fellow Flower Meadow queens, but with those of the Orchard and the Apiary. With the King’s flowers and traps and constructions. Maybe even with the karnuq as well, for while the bees kept an eye on them the Firstborn had noted their willingness to defend the King’s realm.

And everything within the realm, be it bee, flower, or even the land itself, would fight for the King.

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