The Bee Dungeon
Author: Icalos
PONon-Bee 341.1 - The Assault Begins
Down in the Underway, a ground drake swung its claws at seemingly empty space. Wards flashed into being and created a wall of light and glowing symbols in its path. The drake’s claws bounced off the wall with a clang, only for a jet of fire to burst out where the drake had struck. The drake snarled as the flames washed over it…but it continued to strike at the wall.
Human mages at a safe distance began to chant after observing the wall. The drake’s claws began to glow, while rocks rose out of the ground and clung to the drake’s body to form an extra layer of protection. A wind mage continuously channeled a breeze through the tunnel, ensuring that the fires wouldn’t poison the air.
The humans watched as the drake renewed its assault on the ward ahead of them, until a glowing crack appeared in the ward.
“Fall back!”
The humans ran as the drake swung its claws one last time. The wards shattered into countless motes of light…each of which began to glow bright. One final burst of fire rushed through the tunnel as each of the motes exploded…
The humans crept back into the tunnel to find it completely scorched. As for the drake…it was crouched down into the dirt. The rock layer over it was charred and black…but the drake itself was still intact. The humans canceled their spells and confirmed the drake’s health, then ordered it to continue forward. The drake marched up to the former location of the ward and then marched on, slowly swinging its claws and snapping at the air.
But no further wards appeared. The humans began to smile.
And then a gigantic wave of fire flooded from the tunnel ahead, engulfing them all.
General Rippotis rode on top of Raklasi as the dragon stood over a hole in the ground. Both man and dragon unleashed their breath in sync, sending an inferno down into the depths. General Rippotis frowned as he felt his flames interact with sources of mana that quickly vanished.
But that was the only consideration he could spare them, as he began to sense more mana stirring below. He wasn’t the best with Ground mana, but he was experienced enough to tell Starami was now having his forces dig new tunnels to the surface, in several places at once from the spread of the mana. General Rippotis had Raklasi take to the air and hover over the closest one.
Once drake claws broke through the ground, the general and the dragon unleashed another joint breath down into the depths, now close enough to hear drakes and Tower Guards cry out. They immediately spun around and flew to the next closest one, where the ground drake had already crawled out into the surface. General Rippotis created a spear of fire and threw it ahead, burning a hole straight through the drake, then he and Raklasi burned yet another tunnel.
This would be the last, though, as Starami’s forces had already begun deploying onto the surface from the other. Raklasi beat his wings and launched up into the sky, letting the general get a better view of the situation.
Starami had tunneled to the surface in five places and at each of those a wyvern crawled out of the tunnel first, the beasts immediately beating their wings and rising into the air. They each turned towards General Rippotis and began to speed up. General Rippotis scowled.
He lifted his hand and created five more spears of fire that he sent hurtling towards the wyverns. Their scales protected them only for a moment before the spears burnt through them, sending them crashing back to the ground.
“Riderless wyverns as a shield? What a waste.”
His scowl deepened as he heard another roar and saw yet another five wyverns flying behind the first set. These fared no better than the first…but then came another group, now seven as two more tunnels opened. And then came a fourth group, now ten.
While the riderless wyverns charged at him, a handful of wyvern riders made their debut. They kept their distance from the general and began to arrange themselves in a wide circle around him, likely to attempt a large-scale magic. General Rippotis didn’t know and wouldn’t need to as his fire lances struck them too, they were still well within his range. The mage riders had cast protections on themselves and their mounts, of course, but General Rippotis’ flames were not so easily stopped. s
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In the meantime, the general watched Starami’s troops deploy. Tower Guards and ground drakes from the different tunnels were linking up and creating a joint perimeter, while mages began to chant defensive spells. General Rippotis reached down and patted Raklasi.
“Go ahead, boy.”
Raklasi snorted and dove, barreling straight through the next wave of wyverns without sparing them a glance. It was up to General Rippotis to lob some fire lances at their aerial pursuers while Raklasi rushed down towards the gathering forces.
Raklasi then took a deep breath and unleashed dragonfire upon the Tower Guard below. What spells had been cast shattered immediately as Raklasi set the forest ablaze. General Rippotis waved his hand as Raklasi took to the sky once more and the inferno below swirled. It left the forest and the trees, splitting off into blazing cyclones that spun down into the tunnels, cutting off any more of Starami’s forces while Raklasi rose back into the sky.
The general rubbed his chin as he waited for Starami’s next wave. Bunching up on the ground while there was a dragon in the air was a poor choice, one he would not have expected Starami to make. But, when he considered it from Starami’s perspective, it made sense. Or rather, Starami had no choice but to attempt it. Starami believed he was fighting a fey…and the glamour he had to deal with before launching his assault would have confirmed as much. Scattering his forces into dispersed groups in a forest when there were fey in the area would be…unwise.
So, Starami had his hands tied. He had no choice but to try and simultaneously contain General Rippotis in the air while also establishing a tight perimeter against the fey. General Rippotis couldn’t help a groan…such was the worst part of fighting the fey. They were constantly assaulting the mind even when they weren’t doing anything at all.
But he refocused as Starami deployed even more wyverns. In this case…all it meant is that Starami’s forces would remain consistently vulnerable to dragonfire so long as they couldn’t contain Raklasi. And no wyvern could keep a true dragon from flying where he pleased. General Rippotis might be able to end this fight on his own after all…
And yet, an hour later, General Rippotis frowned as he watched yet another wave of wyverns and yet another group of Tower Guards attempt to set up a perimeter, even amidst the ashes of their comrades.
Something was wrong.
Starami should have wizened up by now. He should have retreated back into the Underway, where he could establish a base of operations that General Rippotis would find harder to attack, bring up reinforcements from the Underway and gather his full might, and then prepare a larger assault at his leisure. And yet…he kept stubbornly repeating the same plan. He kept spending Tower Guards and wyverns and drakes on an effort he had to know was futile. General Rippotis’ own mana senses and the reports of the Tower Keeper’s subterranean scouts both confirmed Starami wasn’t moving towards the Tower from below, either.
General Rippotis considered the situation even as he created and launched another wave of fire lances. Starami, from the reports the general had read, could be callous, but he generally wasn’t wasteful or stupid. The only way this situation made sense…was if Starami
aiming to establish a foothold for his assault on Belissar’s Tower.
The general rubbed his chin as Raklasi passed over yet another gathering of Tower Guards and let loose his dragonfire. What was Starami actually accomplishing with this constant stream of foolhardy attacks that would justify the casualties he was taking? He certainly wasn’t making any progress towards Belissar’s Tower, nor had he made contact with the fair folk or the sigmaka. The only thing he was doing was chasing Raklasi around, keeping the general engaged…
General Rippotis frowned again. Was…
the target? Was Starami trying to keep him occupied with this constant stream of attacks, aiming to keep the general in place and tire him out until more forces could be brought up from the Underway? That, at least, would explain why Starami wasn’t pulling back or adjusting his approach, he wouldn’t want to give the general a chance to rest or retreat and so would keep the pressure on. It was the only scenario that made any sense if Starami was at all competent.
But…why? It made no sense for Starami to target him. If Starami truly thought he was an imposter, then he couldn’t afford to put so much effort into hunting down a single fey. But if Starami understood he was facing the real General Rippotis…then what in the Hunger’s stomach was the man doing?! Was he really spending so many lives solely trying to strike down a member of the High Council, while ignoring the nearby Tower and its fey allies altogether? Even if Starami succeeded, he was now guilty of treason and would be subjugated by the Conclave…and that was before considering a Tower Lord like General Rippotis could be revived if killed. What was he possibly hoping to achieve? Had he just gone completely mad?
And then, yet
twenty riderless wyverns came flying towards him, another part of this battle that made no sense. Why was Starami willing to spend this many riderless wyverns on him? Even a wyvern that had lost its rider was precious, the work of years spent raising and training it. They were not an asset even a completely callous Tower Lord could justify spending to keep one opponent occupied for a bit.
Not unless General Rippotis was an opponent Starami needed to defeat at any cost…but why would that be the case? The general had no relation to Starami before the lost tower incident and barely any direct contact after that. There was no advantage for Starami to gain and no quarrel that he’d seek retribution for. If anything, his ire might be directed towards Belissar…but if that was the case, shouldn’t he move towards the Tower and just try to keep General Rippotis away at minimal cost?
The only thing that was clear was that General Rippotis had misread his adversary. Either he had thoroughly misjudged Starami’s sanity…or there was something else going on he couldn’t see. But…what could it be? What could be going on that would justify this behavior?
He didn’t know…and that gave him an increasingly bad feeling about this state of affairs…
Human mages at a safe distance began to chant after observing the wall. The drake’s claws began to glow, while rocks rose out of the ground and clung to the drake’s body to form an extra layer of protection. A wind mage continuously channeled a breeze through the tunnel, ensuring that the fires wouldn’t poison the air.
The humans watched as the drake renewed its assault on the ward ahead of them, until a glowing crack appeared in the ward.
“Fall back!”
The humans ran as the drake swung its claws one last time. The wards shattered into countless motes of light…each of which began to glow bright. One final burst of fire rushed through the tunnel as each of the motes exploded…
The humans crept back into the tunnel to find it completely scorched. As for the drake…it was crouched down into the dirt. The rock layer over it was charred and black…but the drake itself was still intact. The humans canceled their spells and confirmed the drake’s health, then ordered it to continue forward. The drake marched up to the former location of the ward and then marched on, slowly swinging its claws and snapping at the air.
But no further wards appeared. The humans began to smile.
And then a gigantic wave of fire flooded from the tunnel ahead, engulfing them all.
General Rippotis rode on top of Raklasi as the dragon stood over a hole in the ground. Both man and dragon unleashed their breath in sync, sending an inferno down into the depths. General Rippotis frowned as he felt his flames interact with sources of mana that quickly vanished.
But that was the only consideration he could spare them, as he began to sense more mana stirring below. He wasn’t the best with Ground mana, but he was experienced enough to tell Starami was now having his forces dig new tunnels to the surface, in several places at once from the spread of the mana. General Rippotis had Raklasi take to the air and hover over the closest one.
Once drake claws broke through the ground, the general and the dragon unleashed another joint breath down into the depths, now close enough to hear drakes and Tower Guards cry out. They immediately spun around and flew to the next closest one, where the ground drake had already crawled out into the surface. General Rippotis created a spear of fire and threw it ahead, burning a hole straight through the drake, then he and Raklasi burned yet another tunnel.
This would be the last, though, as Starami’s forces had already begun deploying onto the surface from the other. Raklasi beat his wings and launched up into the sky, letting the general get a better view of the situation.
Starami had tunneled to the surface in five places and at each of those a wyvern crawled out of the tunnel first, the beasts immediately beating their wings and rising into the air. They each turned towards General Rippotis and began to speed up. General Rippotis scowled.
He lifted his hand and created five more spears of fire that he sent hurtling towards the wyverns. Their scales protected them only for a moment before the spears burnt through them, sending them crashing back to the ground.
“Riderless wyverns as a shield? What a waste.”
His scowl deepened as he heard another roar and saw yet another five wyverns flying behind the first set. These fared no better than the first…but then came another group, now seven as two more tunnels opened. And then came a fourth group, now ten.
While the riderless wyverns charged at him, a handful of wyvern riders made their debut. They kept their distance from the general and began to arrange themselves in a wide circle around him, likely to attempt a large-scale magic. General Rippotis didn’t know and wouldn’t need to as his fire lances struck them too, they were still well within his range. The mage riders had cast protections on themselves and their mounts, of course, but General Rippotis’ flames were not so easily stopped. s
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In the meantime, the general watched Starami’s troops deploy. Tower Guards and ground drakes from the different tunnels were linking up and creating a joint perimeter, while mages began to chant defensive spells. General Rippotis reached down and patted Raklasi.
“Go ahead, boy.”
Raklasi snorted and dove, barreling straight through the next wave of wyverns without sparing them a glance. It was up to General Rippotis to lob some fire lances at their aerial pursuers while Raklasi rushed down towards the gathering forces.
Raklasi then took a deep breath and unleashed dragonfire upon the Tower Guard below. What spells had been cast shattered immediately as Raklasi set the forest ablaze. General Rippotis waved his hand as Raklasi took to the sky once more and the inferno below swirled. It left the forest and the trees, splitting off into blazing cyclones that spun down into the tunnels, cutting off any more of Starami’s forces while Raklasi rose back into the sky.
The general rubbed his chin as he waited for Starami’s next wave. Bunching up on the ground while there was a dragon in the air was a poor choice, one he would not have expected Starami to make. But, when he considered it from Starami’s perspective, it made sense. Or rather, Starami had no choice but to attempt it. Starami believed he was fighting a fey…and the glamour he had to deal with before launching his assault would have confirmed as much. Scattering his forces into dispersed groups in a forest when there were fey in the area would be…unwise.
So, Starami had his hands tied. He had no choice but to try and simultaneously contain General Rippotis in the air while also establishing a tight perimeter against the fey. General Rippotis couldn’t help a groan…such was the worst part of fighting the fey. They were constantly assaulting the mind even when they weren’t doing anything at all.
But he refocused as Starami deployed even more wyverns. In this case…all it meant is that Starami’s forces would remain consistently vulnerable to dragonfire so long as they couldn’t contain Raklasi. And no wyvern could keep a true dragon from flying where he pleased. General Rippotis might be able to end this fight on his own after all…
And yet, an hour later, General Rippotis frowned as he watched yet another wave of wyverns and yet another group of Tower Guards attempt to set up a perimeter, even amidst the ashes of their comrades.
Something was wrong.
Starami should have wizened up by now. He should have retreated back into the Underway, where he could establish a base of operations that General Rippotis would find harder to attack, bring up reinforcements from the Underway and gather his full might, and then prepare a larger assault at his leisure. And yet…he kept stubbornly repeating the same plan. He kept spending Tower Guards and wyverns and drakes on an effort he had to know was futile. General Rippotis’ own mana senses and the reports of the Tower Keeper’s subterranean scouts both confirmed Starami wasn’t moving towards the Tower from below, either.
General Rippotis considered the situation even as he created and launched another wave of fire lances. Starami, from the reports the general had read, could be callous, but he generally wasn’t wasteful or stupid. The only way this situation made sense…was if Starami
aiming to establish a foothold for his assault on Belissar’s Tower.
The general rubbed his chin as Raklasi passed over yet another gathering of Tower Guards and let loose his dragonfire. What was Starami actually accomplishing with this constant stream of foolhardy attacks that would justify the casualties he was taking? He certainly wasn’t making any progress towards Belissar’s Tower, nor had he made contact with the fair folk or the sigmaka. The only thing he was doing was chasing Raklasi around, keeping the general engaged…
General Rippotis frowned again. Was…
the target? Was Starami trying to keep him occupied with this constant stream of attacks, aiming to keep the general in place and tire him out until more forces could be brought up from the Underway? That, at least, would explain why Starami wasn’t pulling back or adjusting his approach, he wouldn’t want to give the general a chance to rest or retreat and so would keep the pressure on. It was the only scenario that made any sense if Starami was at all competent.
But…why? It made no sense for Starami to target him. If Starami truly thought he was an imposter, then he couldn’t afford to put so much effort into hunting down a single fey. But if Starami understood he was facing the real General Rippotis…then what in the Hunger’s stomach was the man doing?! Was he really spending so many lives solely trying to strike down a member of the High Council, while ignoring the nearby Tower and its fey allies altogether? Even if Starami succeeded, he was now guilty of treason and would be subjugated by the Conclave…and that was before considering a Tower Lord like General Rippotis could be revived if killed. What was he possibly hoping to achieve? Had he just gone completely mad?
And then, yet
twenty riderless wyverns came flying towards him, another part of this battle that made no sense. Why was Starami willing to spend this many riderless wyverns on him? Even a wyvern that had lost its rider was precious, the work of years spent raising and training it. They were not an asset even a completely callous Tower Lord could justify spending to keep one opponent occupied for a bit.
Not unless General Rippotis was an opponent Starami needed to defeat at any cost…but why would that be the case? The general had no relation to Starami before the lost tower incident and barely any direct contact after that. There was no advantage for Starami to gain and no quarrel that he’d seek retribution for. If anything, his ire might be directed towards Belissar…but if that was the case, shouldn’t he move towards the Tower and just try to keep General Rippotis away at minimal cost?
The only thing that was clear was that General Rippotis had misread his adversary. Either he had thoroughly misjudged Starami’s sanity…or there was something else going on he couldn’t see. But…what could it be? What could be going on that would justify this behavior?
He didn’t know…and that gave him an increasingly bad feeling about this state of affairs…