The Bee Dungeon

A worker from the First of the Fifth’s hive crawled into a flame radish flower, drinking deeply of the nectar. Many of her sisters disliked foraging from the flame radish flowers, claiming the nectar was too spicy and burned their insides. Likewise, the pollen from said flowers increased the ambient temperature around itself, which her sisters said would cause them to overheat and force them to fly more slowly, reducing their gathering efficiency.

This worker had none of those problems, for she was a burning monster bee worker who had been raised on the nectar from these very flowers. The nectar of these flowers didn’t burn her at all, indeed, she found nectar from most other flowers to be rather bland and chilly in comparison. The pollen’s heat felt pleasant and warm to her, energizing her and helping her fly faster. As such, she was now the main forager for these particular flowers, a task she could handle as her queen had decreed a quota on the flame radish nectar gathered at any one time.

However, she did not fill herself up on the tasty and warm nectar as she wished, for she had another task as well. Since flame radish nectar could not be gathered in large enough quantities for her queen’s normal honey production, she was ordered instead to focus on variety and visit multiple flowers on each trip. So, when she was half-full she reluctantly crawled back out of the flower and took off into the air. She shivered a bit as she left the warm and comfortable flame radish patch.

She then flew off into the Apiary, to a corner where a lone mana flower grew. This one wasn’t from the magical patches, but rather one of the few spread out around the room, and a bit far out of the way. As far as flowers went, the mana flower was her second favorite. While it was still a bit cool for her tastes, mana had a warmth of its own and she hungered for it. The mana flower could thus fill her in a way that even the flame radishes did not. And so, she landed and drank deeply.

As she did, a bit of pollen on her legs rubbed off into the flower. A slight glow illuminated the fallen pollen and then it vanished melting into the flower. As the worker began to fly away, she did not notice as the mana flower began to take on a reddish glow. The glow concentrated into a little ball of light that lifted off from the flower and began to drift, as if on the wind even though the air of the Apiary was calm.

It drifted through the room, occasionally drooping, but never touching the ground. And despite the lack of a breeze, it continued to move, even turning and changing course. Until it floated above the flame radish patch. It then began to fall, drifting towards the patch as if being pulled on a line. It settled amidst the flame radish flowers, its glow growing brighter the closer it got. It then landed on the ground and melted into it.

A moment later, a new mana flower broke through the ground and rapidly grew. A mana flower with a red stem and leaves…

The Second of the Sixth was on top of the world. She had wondered whether evolving to a medicinal monster bee queen had been the First of the Fifth’s plan for her. Her worries only grew when she realized that, no matter what nectar her foragers gathered, her new offspring could only make medicinal honey now. That meant that while she could surpass the First of the Fifth in that one honey type, she could never match her in any other, including the honey served to the King. She had effectively removed herself as a rival for the King’s favor.

And as the proportion of medicinal honey in her combs grew, more and more of her originally normal workers began to evolve to match their mother and siblings. Soon, her entire hive was made up of medicinal monster bees and no further possibility remained of going back. If she had made a mistake, it was a permanent one.

But it turned out she had not. Instead, the King had noticed her new advantage and personally came to her with a request. Only she could produce the quantities of medicinal honey that would allow her to supply the queens of the Flower Meadow and their army, and the Queen of All Bees knows they needed the help.

In exchange, he had promised her a personal mana flower patch of her own. He did not need to do so, for all hives in his realm were his own, but he did so anyways. Soon, she would have access to as many resources as the First of the Fifth did. Possibly more, given how the First of the Fifth had allocated her own patches to the Apiary queens.

Lately though, the First of the Fifth feel a bit strange to the Second of the Sixth. Her actions no longer made any sense, and the Second of the Sixth couldn’t make heads or stingers of them. Try as she might, she couldn’t determine what, if any, benefit the First of the Fifth was gaining from offering up the flowers she had claimed to the rest of them. It had come to the point that the Second of the Sixth had to just stop thinking about it and take whatever benefit was offered.

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Though, today, she might just find out as a worker from the First of the Fifth arrived at her hive, informing her of a gathering of the Apiary queens. She could not help but admit she was curious. Would today be the day the First of the Fifth’s ultimate plan was revealed?

The Second of the Sixth made her way to the Apiary’s Shrine of Bees…and was surprised to find the Conduit waiting there along with the First of the Fifth. That was unexpected…and concerning. On the one leg, the Conduit wouldn’t go along with pure selfishness on the part of the First of the Fifth, so whatever was about to occur couldn’t be directly harmful to them. On the other leg, the Conduit’s first priority above all else was the good of the King and of his realm. If the First of the Fifth had a plan that was technically beneficial to the whole, the Conduit might support it…even if it wasn’t beneficial to the Second of the Sixth personally. She would have to remain wary…not that she could do anything though. The Conduit was second only to the King, after all, so if she ordered them they could only obey.

So, she watched with great trepidation as the First of the Fifth finally began to dance. Slowly. Painfully slowly. The Second of the Sixth resisted to the urge to beat her wings. She should just get on with…

“Need…your help.”

The Second of the Sixth froze solid. Um, what? The First of the Fifth? The arrogant top producer of honey in both quantity and quality, a fact that she made sure none of them ever forgot? She needed help? From them?

“King and Conduit both have requests. Too much for one hive. And…King believes in a hive of hives. Hives working as one, not apart.”

The Apiary queens, the Second of the Sixth included, continued to watch in stunned silence. What exactly was the First of the Fifth up to?

“King recently noticed Second of the Sixth and Third of the Fifth evolved, making lots of medicinal and mad honey. Asked them to provide special honey to Flower Meadow so they can raise new soldiers. Also noticed queens evolved because of new flowers from my workers pollinating. Wants more flowers and more queens to evolve.”

The Second of the Sixth twitched a bit as attention focused on her for a second. The First of the Fifth…acknowledged her achievement? Well, she also partially claimed credit for it, which, while technically true, was a bit more in line with what the Second of the Sixth expected.

“So, have new idea. I want access to all flowers in order to test for special honey and to pollinate new flowers.”

The Second of the Sixth finally stirred into motion even as her wings began to buzz. Ah, there it was. The plan was finally coming together. She was about to grow indignant…

“Once flowers with special nectar identified, will be offered to a single queen. Queen should focus on evolving and then King will reward.”

…and she was once again confused.

“We should all help give honey to Flower Meadow queens. Queens that contribute most, besides me, will be offered special flowers first.”

The Second of the Sixth cleaned her antenna. Um, maybe the First of the Fifth was trying to spread out the burden of something requested by the King? But…that made no sense. If the King requested it, the First of the Fifth would want to handle it all herself and monopolize the King’s favor, right?

“Additionally, Conduit has also requested we scout newcomers to ensure loyalty. Would like foragers from each hive to help. Should raise communers, at least two. One so scouts can report to queens right away, another to stay at my hive and pass reports to me.”

Yes, there is was! The First of the Fifth wanted to be the only one reporting so that it would seem like she was doing all the work!”

“Will also show communers staying with me my organization and honey making methods so queens can produce more efficiently. All King’s hives should be excellent. If not enough honey to raise communers, let me know. Will give you honey to raise.”

The Second of the Sixth was confused again. At this point, the First of the Fifth turned to the Conduit. All the other queens turned to her as well.

The Conduit danced her confirmation.

“Is will of King! All bees work together for King and for hive of hives! Let Niobee know if any problems, ok?”

The Second of the Sixth gathered herself and tried to take stock of the situation. So, there was a request from the King. The First of the Fifth was requesting their cooperation, though in a way that put her on top of the hierarchy. Yet, the proposal was to their benefit. The First of the Fifth would be giving away her secrets, providing resources, and granting them all a chance to receive the personal attention and rewards of the King. It was…beneficial to both parties? Possibly more beneficial to them…the First of the Fifth was giving away much in exchange for their acknowledgement of her nominal authority. Would that authority allow her to steer things in a way more beneficial to herself? The Second of the Sixth wondered.

But, ultimately, the Conduit had confirmed that this was the will of the King. So, there was no choice but to agree. Besides, no queen would reject an opportunity to receive personal orders and rewards from the King, as she had. And so, they all agreed.

The Second of the Sixth once again hoped she wasn’t making a mistake. But somewhere, deep down insider her, a new thought was born. What if…she was wrong about the First of the Fifth?

Only time would tell if that were true.

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