The Bee Dungeon
Author: Icalos
Chapter 314 - Thorny Bee-haviour
As the bees had already handled several minor purifications earlier in the day, it was decided to let the karnuq handle the next one, the one at the usual purification time in the late afternoon. Chief Rohsuak selected a squad of hunters and deployed them to the Tower’s entrance, with Metsaitti and some bees on standby shortly behind them, then Belissar began the purification. A wolf-shade appeared again and the hunters tightened their formation, presenting a wall of shields and spears as they awaited the monster’s charge.
However, they had forgotten that this shade was not the same as the tiny ones that appeared as remnants. The shade did not charge onto their spears as those did, but instead growled and took a deep breath. The karnuq glanced at it in confusion when it unleashed its breath attack.
The hunters rushed to raise their shields, which caught most of the mist. But not all of it, as one of the hunters cried out when bits of the mist wrapped around her shield, leaving black burns on her arms, legs, and face. Belissar jumped and was about to order the bees in when Chief Rohsuak grabbed his shoulder and shook her head.
“This is what they must learn. She is not mortally wounded, so please, let them fight.”
Belissar frowned but nodded. He decided to trust that Chief Rohsuak knew what was best for her people. He did inform the Second of the Sixth to prepare to treat wounds, however.
In the meantime, the hunter in charge recovered from his shock and started shouting at the others.
“Grab her and pull her back! The rest of you, follow me!”
Now that they knew the shade could attack at a distance and even bypass their shields, the hunters abandoned their tight formation and went on the attack. The leader charged forth and thrust his spear. The shade growled and jumped out of the way. It tensed for a pounce but two other hunters caught up and moved to attack as well. Their attack was rushed, though, and they got in each other’s way, their spears knocking together and disrupting their thrusts. The shade managed to jump back out of the way again.
The leader grabbed the other two hunters’ shoulders and pushed them in either direction.
“Together now! Take a step apart and then move in with me!”
The hunters did as ordered and spread out, then all began to move in. The shade was pushed up against the entrance at this point, with no further room to retreat. It pounced forward instead but the leader was ready and bashed its head with his shield. The other two hunters didn’t miss the chance and thrust their spears into the shade’s sides.
Chief Rohsuak let out a sigh and shook her head.
“Sloppy, but that’s why we need this. They got arrogant fighting the remnants and let their guard down. We still have a lot to work on, it seems.”
Belissar was more concerned about the wounded hunter, but the karnuq had pulled her back while the fight went on and the Second of the Sixth was already treating her along with the karnuq’s own doctor and Juosiutik. Neither of the three seemed particularly panicked so Belissar hoped the wounds weren’t too concerning…and indeed, even as Belissar watched the hunter’s black wounds were visibly receding as the Second of the Sixth’s healing bees stung them.
Belissar took a deep breath to calm himself and then forced a smile onto his face.
“Well, they did win, so that’s good.”
Chief Rohsuak blinked and then chuckled.
“That is true. I suppose I can save the lessons for after the celebration.”
Belissar’s smile grew more sincere at that.
After the day’s celebration, Belissar found Frelis and the venomous slime rose, both drinking out of a jar full of herbal tea with tongue and vine respectively.
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“King!”
Frelis danced a salute as he approached while the slime rose wiggled. Belissar smiled.
“Hi you two, I had a question for you both. I’m planning to set up a venomous slime rose spawner, would you two like to help set it up and welcome the new monsters?”
Frelis immediately began to dance about at max speed.
“Ok!”
But then, the slime rose wrapped a vine around her. Frelis’s antennae twitched about.
“Flower? Don’t want more flowers?”
The slime rose’s vine tightened.
“But, need more flowers so can pollinate your flowers? And can make hive of flowers? Be queen of flowers?”
The slime rose paused but squeezed its grip once. Frelis danced about as best she could, the slime rose letting her drag its vine around so she could move.
“Of course will still visit flower! Have to bring more pollen!”
The slime rose squeezed her one final time and then let her go. It turned to Belissar and began wiggling in a manner the Tower informed him was an enthusiastic agreement. Frelis confirmed this by dancing a salute of her own.
“King! Will help! Flower will help too!”
Belissar grinned.
“Great, then should we set it up now…or should we wait until the sun comes back up?”
Frelis danced and exchanged mana with the slime rose before replying.
“Flower says can do now! New flower will plant and drink water so ready for sun.”
Belissar nodded.
“Got it, then, which room is best for you?”
Belissar directed this question towards the flower which immediately began wiggling about and pointing in the direction of the nearest shortcut. Frelis provided additional detail.
“Flower says Bog best! Lots of water, good for slime!”
Belissar smiled.
“Then, let’s put it there. Niobee, could you let the other bees know we’re adding another flower monster spawner?”
“Ok!”
Belissar, Frelis, and the slime rose leisurely made their way towards the nearest shortcut while Niobee danced with the First of the Fifth’s First Daughter. Belissar felt the mana of the hive link start to pulse as Niobee caught back up with them…and then a wave of celebratory “amazing, incredible!” and “King is best king!” dances from the other queens. A big smile broke out on his face, he was really enjoying the constant connection to his bees from the First of the Fifth’s First Daughter’s evolution.
The group soon arrived at the third floor’s Bog, where the swimming, slime, and toxic bees made their home. Belissar wasted no time in placing the venomous slime rose spawner. A patch of rose bushes that appeared to be covered in a thin sheen of ooze grew from the ground. One of the vines began wiggling about and soon crawled out of the rest, separating into a fully formed slime rose. It was well-grown like Frelis’s slime rose, though not nearly as large and with a notably weaker mana signature. Once it saw him, it wiggled its vines into a vague approximation of a salute. Belissar gave it a smile.
“Welcome to the Tower. Frelis the monster bee gardener and your big sister here will help you get settled, let us know if you need anything!”
The slime rose’s wiggling paused as it turned to Frelis and her much bigger slime rose, which also paused. Belissar tilted his head, wondering what was going on, when suddenly both roses’ vines shot out towards each other. They crashed and tangled together violently, twisting each other’s vines. Belissar jumped…but before he intervened he remembered the spiderkin, so instead he turned to Frelis.
“Frelis…are they hurting each other? Should we stop them?”
Frelis was also panicking judging by the way she was buzzing and zipping around the flowers, but then her slime rose sent out a pulse of mana. Frelis then calmed down and hovered over to Belissar.
“Flower says ok, will handle. Says won’t hurt other flower…too much.”
Belissar frowned at that but decided to trust the flower expert. The larger slime rose quickly gained the upper hand, tying up all of the smaller rose’s vines while reaching towards the rose’s stem with its own. The big rose wrapped up the other’s stem and then pulsed its mana, the small rose went limp. Belissar was worried for a second but the smaller rose soon regained its vigor, no longer violently thrashing with its vines. The bigger rose then gently began to release its grip, untangling the two roses’ vines from each other. It then turned to Belissar and Frelis and gave them a wiggle that seemed…satisfied, somehow. Frelis began to dance.
“King! Flower says new flower joined flower’s hive!”
Belissar managed a nod.
“I…see. Well, let’s try to get along, then. They’re, ah, ok with the bees, right? Oh, and the other new flowers?”
Frelis danced about.
“Ok with bees!”
Niobee then stirred. She let out a pulse of mana as she took off from Belissar’s head. Both of the slime roses froze and then gave her their attention. Niobee turned back to Belissar and began a rapid dance.
“King! Will help Frelis teach flowers about hive of hives! Teach to work together like King taught bees!”
Belissar broke out into a smile.
“Thanks Niobee, I can always count on you.”
Niobee began a happy dance at that. Belissar chuckled, satisfied now that Niobee and Frelis would help the new flowers find their place in the Tower with only a minimum amount of violence. And so, he was about to leave them to it, and rest up until it was time for the nighttime purification…
Belissar stood there blinking. Once he got over his surprise, though, he had no reason to refuse.
It seemed…the God of Flowers approved of Niobee and Frelis’s work.
However, they had forgotten that this shade was not the same as the tiny ones that appeared as remnants. The shade did not charge onto their spears as those did, but instead growled and took a deep breath. The karnuq glanced at it in confusion when it unleashed its breath attack.
The hunters rushed to raise their shields, which caught most of the mist. But not all of it, as one of the hunters cried out when bits of the mist wrapped around her shield, leaving black burns on her arms, legs, and face. Belissar jumped and was about to order the bees in when Chief Rohsuak grabbed his shoulder and shook her head.
“This is what they must learn. She is not mortally wounded, so please, let them fight.”
Belissar frowned but nodded. He decided to trust that Chief Rohsuak knew what was best for her people. He did inform the Second of the Sixth to prepare to treat wounds, however.
In the meantime, the hunter in charge recovered from his shock and started shouting at the others.
“Grab her and pull her back! The rest of you, follow me!”
Now that they knew the shade could attack at a distance and even bypass their shields, the hunters abandoned their tight formation and went on the attack. The leader charged forth and thrust his spear. The shade growled and jumped out of the way. It tensed for a pounce but two other hunters caught up and moved to attack as well. Their attack was rushed, though, and they got in each other’s way, their spears knocking together and disrupting their thrusts. The shade managed to jump back out of the way again.
The leader grabbed the other two hunters’ shoulders and pushed them in either direction.
“Together now! Take a step apart and then move in with me!”
The hunters did as ordered and spread out, then all began to move in. The shade was pushed up against the entrance at this point, with no further room to retreat. It pounced forward instead but the leader was ready and bashed its head with his shield. The other two hunters didn’t miss the chance and thrust their spears into the shade’s sides.
Chief Rohsuak let out a sigh and shook her head.
“Sloppy, but that’s why we need this. They got arrogant fighting the remnants and let their guard down. We still have a lot to work on, it seems.”
Belissar was more concerned about the wounded hunter, but the karnuq had pulled her back while the fight went on and the Second of the Sixth was already treating her along with the karnuq’s own doctor and Juosiutik. Neither of the three seemed particularly panicked so Belissar hoped the wounds weren’t too concerning…and indeed, even as Belissar watched the hunter’s black wounds were visibly receding as the Second of the Sixth’s healing bees stung them.
Belissar took a deep breath to calm himself and then forced a smile onto his face.
“Well, they did win, so that’s good.”
Chief Rohsuak blinked and then chuckled.
“That is true. I suppose I can save the lessons for after the celebration.”
Belissar’s smile grew more sincere at that.
After the day’s celebration, Belissar found Frelis and the venomous slime rose, both drinking out of a jar full of herbal tea with tongue and vine respectively.
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“King!”
Frelis danced a salute as he approached while the slime rose wiggled. Belissar smiled.
“Hi you two, I had a question for you both. I’m planning to set up a venomous slime rose spawner, would you two like to help set it up and welcome the new monsters?”
Frelis immediately began to dance about at max speed.
“Ok!”
But then, the slime rose wrapped a vine around her. Frelis’s antennae twitched about.
“Flower? Don’t want more flowers?”
The slime rose’s vine tightened.
“But, need more flowers so can pollinate your flowers? And can make hive of flowers? Be queen of flowers?”
The slime rose paused but squeezed its grip once. Frelis danced about as best she could, the slime rose letting her drag its vine around so she could move.
“Of course will still visit flower! Have to bring more pollen!”
The slime rose squeezed her one final time and then let her go. It turned to Belissar and began wiggling in a manner the Tower informed him was an enthusiastic agreement. Frelis confirmed this by dancing a salute of her own.
“King! Will help! Flower will help too!”
Belissar grinned.
“Great, then should we set it up now…or should we wait until the sun comes back up?”
Frelis danced and exchanged mana with the slime rose before replying.
“Flower says can do now! New flower will plant and drink water so ready for sun.”
Belissar nodded.
“Got it, then, which room is best for you?”
Belissar directed this question towards the flower which immediately began wiggling about and pointing in the direction of the nearest shortcut. Frelis provided additional detail.
“Flower says Bog best! Lots of water, good for slime!”
Belissar smiled.
“Then, let’s put it there. Niobee, could you let the other bees know we’re adding another flower monster spawner?”
“Ok!”
Belissar, Frelis, and the slime rose leisurely made their way towards the nearest shortcut while Niobee danced with the First of the Fifth’s First Daughter. Belissar felt the mana of the hive link start to pulse as Niobee caught back up with them…and then a wave of celebratory “amazing, incredible!” and “King is best king!” dances from the other queens. A big smile broke out on his face, he was really enjoying the constant connection to his bees from the First of the Fifth’s First Daughter’s evolution.
The group soon arrived at the third floor’s Bog, where the swimming, slime, and toxic bees made their home. Belissar wasted no time in placing the venomous slime rose spawner. A patch of rose bushes that appeared to be covered in a thin sheen of ooze grew from the ground. One of the vines began wiggling about and soon crawled out of the rest, separating into a fully formed slime rose. It was well-grown like Frelis’s slime rose, though not nearly as large and with a notably weaker mana signature. Once it saw him, it wiggled its vines into a vague approximation of a salute. Belissar gave it a smile.
“Welcome to the Tower. Frelis the monster bee gardener and your big sister here will help you get settled, let us know if you need anything!”
The slime rose’s wiggling paused as it turned to Frelis and her much bigger slime rose, which also paused. Belissar tilted his head, wondering what was going on, when suddenly both roses’ vines shot out towards each other. They crashed and tangled together violently, twisting each other’s vines. Belissar jumped…but before he intervened he remembered the spiderkin, so instead he turned to Frelis.
“Frelis…are they hurting each other? Should we stop them?”
Frelis was also panicking judging by the way she was buzzing and zipping around the flowers, but then her slime rose sent out a pulse of mana. Frelis then calmed down and hovered over to Belissar.
“Flower says ok, will handle. Says won’t hurt other flower…too much.”
Belissar frowned at that but decided to trust the flower expert. The larger slime rose quickly gained the upper hand, tying up all of the smaller rose’s vines while reaching towards the rose’s stem with its own. The big rose wrapped up the other’s stem and then pulsed its mana, the small rose went limp. Belissar was worried for a second but the smaller rose soon regained its vigor, no longer violently thrashing with its vines. The bigger rose then gently began to release its grip, untangling the two roses’ vines from each other. It then turned to Belissar and Frelis and gave them a wiggle that seemed…satisfied, somehow. Frelis began to dance.
“King! Flower says new flower joined flower’s hive!”
Belissar managed a nod.
“I…see. Well, let’s try to get along, then. They’re, ah, ok with the bees, right? Oh, and the other new flowers?”
Frelis danced about.
“Ok with bees!”
Niobee then stirred. She let out a pulse of mana as she took off from Belissar’s head. Both of the slime roses froze and then gave her their attention. Niobee turned back to Belissar and began a rapid dance.
“King! Will help Frelis teach flowers about hive of hives! Teach to work together like King taught bees!”
Belissar broke out into a smile.
“Thanks Niobee, I can always count on you.”
Niobee began a happy dance at that. Belissar chuckled, satisfied now that Niobee and Frelis would help the new flowers find their place in the Tower with only a minimum amount of violence. And so, he was about to leave them to it, and rest up until it was time for the nighttime purification…
Belissar stood there blinking. Once he got over his surprise, though, he had no reason to refuse.
It seemed…the God of Flowers approved of Niobee and Frelis’s work.