The Bee Dungeon

The First of the Fifth sent word to the Conduit, and asked if she would arrange a meeting with the Firstborn. The Conduit agreed and off she flew.

While the First of the Fifth was confident she was favored above all, given that the Conduit was not a queen, there was no doubt among any bee of the hive that the Conduit had a special place among them all. Even the First of the Fifth could not and would not contest that. She was connected to the core the same as the King, she shared in his power and in that of the realm. If the King were the ruler of all the land, then the Conduit was the land itself.

It was even whispered that the Conduit existed before the King’s realm was even forged, as unthinkable as that thought was. That she knew the King in some sort of past life, from before the birth of the First Dynasty of the First Spawner. The First of the Fifth didn’t know how much stock she placed in such things, for a world where her King was not king was not one she cared to imagine. And yet, she could not help but notice the Conduit’s familiarity with the King, as if they had known each other for far longer than the First of the Fifth had seen.

But now was not the time to think of such things, for the First of the Fifth already had an unpleasant task before her. The point was that the Conduit danced with special authority, nearly equal to that of the King himself. No bee, whether worker or soldier or queen, would deny her save by the King’s own order.

And that made her the perfect mediator for this discussion. The only mediator the First of the Fifth would accept, in fact. She and the Firstborn had each been established as the most powerful queens of the Flower Meadow and the Apiary respectively, and none of the others could be trusted to remain impartial. And it would not do to trouble the King with such matters, seeing as this was all for his sake to begin with.

So, the First of the Fifth took her guards and flew through the Apiary, passing into the Flower Meadow. She then waited at the Shrine of the Goddess at the end of the Flower Meadow, the Queen of all bees. She disliked coming all the way to the Firstborn’s lands, but the Goddess belonged to all, so her shrine was the most appropriate as neutral ground. And, well, the shrine in the Apiary stood next to the core itself, and the First of the Fifth would not have this discussion in that sacred place. So, she would concede the journey to the Firstborn.

Soon, the Conduit came flying over, and the Firstborn with her, coming without guard or escort. The First of the Fifth wasn’t sure how to take that. Was the Firstborn’s hive stretched so thin that none could be spared? Or was it a sign that the Firstborn was not taking her seriously?

“Hi! Firstborn of Second Dynasty of First Spawner here, like Firstborn of First Dynasty of Fifth Spawner asked! Queens talk!”

The Conduit danced about rapidly, in the manner an excited worker would. The Firstborn began a dance of greeting.

The First of the Fifth resisted the urge to buzz her wings. So, the Firstborn wanted to get this over with, when she was the one who made the First of the Fifth wait? Did she not know they were both wasting valuable time coming here? But the First of the Fifth wouldn’t waste her own time on such complaints and so launched right into it.

“Yes. Need access to gathering fields.”

The Firstborn’s antenna swayed about as she processed that.

“Why? Apiary running out?”

The First of the Fifth’s wings began to beat before she took control of them. The Firstborn would dare to imply that her Apiary lacked? When it was the Firstborn who required her aid to avoid starvation?

“Just one. New plants that King gathers.”

Yes, the First of the Fifth knew the Flower Meadow had access to a kind of flower that the Apiary lacked, the same one the King worked on even now. She knew not why the King had granted them access to it and not her, only that in his wisdom he had. Perhaps he was testing it before gifting it to her as he had with the mana flowers. In any case, however, the First of the Fifth could not wait for him to gift her with her own, not if she were to help him with his designs. So, here she was, speaking with the Firstborn instead of growing her hive.

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The Firstborn danced in comprehension, finally understanding the request. Took her long enough. And now the First of the Fifth pressed her attack, hopefully before the Firstborn could take control of the battlefield.

“Will give honey in exchange. New kinds. Know you need.”

The Firstborn paused for a moment, no doubt in shock of the First of the Fifth’s proposal. Even the First of the Fifth was shocked at herself. To share her honey, the fruits of her children’s labor, the tribute meant for their king, with a major rival? An emergency donation to prepare for an invasion was one thing, but in all other situations it was unthinkable. But so was granting a rival hive access to one’s own gathering grounds, and the First of the Fifth needed those flowers. So, she had no choice but to make an unthinkable offer for an unthinkable request. ꭆáΝＯꞖЕŞ

But such was the will of the First of the Fifth, who would stop at nothing for the sake of the King. Besides, Firstborn needed such assistance merely to catch up to what the FIrst of the Fifth had already achieved, all while she would be pulling ahead even further.

She watched as the Firstborn paused, no doubt working to understand her purposes. But the First of the Fifth knew she had the advantage here. She knew the Firstborn was trying to replicate her healing herb honey and mad honey production, and then to apply that honey to her own brood. If the First of the Fifth guessed correctly, the battle-focused Firstborn would probably try to raise soldiers on the honey. But it would take even the First of the Fifth a huge chunk of her honey production to raise a soldier on such fare, the Firstborn could not possibly pull it off with her hive’s current worker base.

The First of the Fifth’s offer would be too tempting for her. And the Firstborn did not know of the King’s current designs, living as far away from his abode as she did. She would not know the opportunity she was giving up in the process. So, there could only be one answer.

The Firstborn appeared surprised, and then gave her reply.

“Thanks. Helps a lot.”

The First of the Fifth resisted the urge to dance happily, and instead turned to the Conduit, signaling that was it. The Firstborn followed suit, and the Conduit began to dance.

“Great! First of the Second First lets First of Fifth gather! First of Fifth gives honey to First of the Second First! Bees help each other and help King!”

The Firstborn gave a salute dance at that.

“For the King.”

That was the one thing that the First of the Fifth could agree with both of them on...though she was a bit upset the Firstborn had beaten her to the punch as she danced her own agreement.

“For the King.”

With that, the three bees parted ways, returning to their work. The First of the Fifth passed through the door to the Apiary. There, she found two large gatherings of her own workers, one holding wax cells full of honey, the other preparing for a harvest. She commanded them to begin their tasks, and into the Flower Meadow they flew.

She could not help a happy dance as she flew back to her hive. All had gone according to plan. And the Firstborn had clearly had no idea what she had agreed to. She would now receive the First of the Fifth’s honey and use it in her attempts to raise new soldier bees. A task she could not possibly complete with her own assets at present. And that meant that even should she succeed, it would not be her achievement alone. All would know that the First of the Fifth’s aid had been crucial to the effort. All would see the First of the Fifth’s workers bringing honey to the Firstborn’s hive.

By accepting her aid, the Firstborn had granted the First of the Fifth claim to her efforts.

And on the other hand, the only thing the Firstborn had granted her was permission. Her workers would now gather the honey from the new plants on their own. The nectar would be processed in her own hive, and anything new that resulted would be hidden there. As far as anyone would be able to see, the Firstborn would have given the First of the Fifth nothing in that process. In fact, by allowing foreign workers into her own territory, if anything the Firstborn would appear subservient to the First of the Fifth.

In one fell swoop, she had positioned herself as the top of the queens, and there was nothing the Firstborn could now do to usurp her. If the First of the Fifth achieved anything with the new flowers, she would pull ahead. And if the Firstborn managed to raise new soldiers, they would both rise together with a joint accomplishment. There was now no way she could possibly lose.

Such was to be expected from the most favored of the King.

There was only one variable she couldn’t fully address. She didn’t know how much the Conduit understood of her intent, but it wouldn’t matter. The Conduit was not a part of the competition between the queens, for her role was unique. And the Conduit’s goal, first and foremost, was the growth of the King’s realm. If something benefited the King, the Conduit wouldn’t question it. So, the First of the Fifth was confident she would not interfere.

Yes, it had all gone according to plan.

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