The Bee Dungeon

A bumblebee worker buzzed as it flew back towards the nest. A shadow crossed over it and significantly louder buzzing filled the air, then a bumblebee soldier many times its size landed right in front of it. On the back of the soldier, Finnakynne glared at the little bee.
“You aren’t one of Beely’s! You aren’t even a bee, are you? Who are you and how did you get in here?!”
The bumblebee froze…and then began to chuckle in a young man’s voice.
“Curses! Foiled by the hive of hives again! I really need to look into infiltrating hive minds, huh?”
Now it was Finnakynne’s turn to freeze. Her eyes opened as wide as they could go.
“You…you’re…”
The bumblebee chuckled once more and then spun around. A puff of smoke obscured the bee and when it lifted, a young pixie man took its place.
“Hi Finny! It’s me, your father! The God of Mischief, in the flesh!”
Finnakynne’s mouth just opened and closed repeatedly, like a fish’s, with the occasional unintelligible stammer. The God of Mischief grinned and then flew forward. He patted the bumblebee soldier on the head before grabbing Finnakynne and giving her a hug.
Finnakynne managed to get out a single intelligible word.
“H-How?!”
The God of Mischief laughed again.
“Thanks to you, actually! The God of Bees let me make an incarnation in her dungeon as thanks for letting her bless you! Well, that and that whole coup going on in human land, the God of Light finally gave me a loophole as thanks for helping her.”
Finnakynne finally stopped stammering. She then glared and began pounding on the God of Mischief’s chest with her fists.
“Why now, Daddy?! I spent a hundred and fifty years trying to reach you!”
The God of Mischief’s smile fell a bit. He patted Finnakynne on the head.
“I’m sorry, Finny. I took a little too long, huh?”
Finnakynne grabbed him and squeezed, burying her face in his chest.
“Yes, you did!”
The God of Mischief made a helpless smile as he continued to pat her head.
“I’m sorry, again. But I’m here now. And I can come to Beely’s dungeon whenever you want, now.”
They stayed like that until Finnakynne calmed down. The God of Mischief then pat her shoulder as he let her go.
“Well then, we’re short on time for now, so let me go greet Beely and make sure his dungeon sticks around! But after that whole big battle thing, let’s talk again, for as long as you want!”
Finnakynne smiled at that…but frowned a moment later.
“Right…the battle…”
The God of Mischief bumped her nose, causing Finnakynne to squeak.
“Hey!”
He grinned and then pointed down at the bumblebee they were riding.
“Don’t worry, Finny! Just keep bee-ing yourself and it’ll go better this time!”
And with that, he vanished in a puff of smoke. Finnakynne blinked…and then made a small smile.
“Thanks daddy…”
Belissar was coordinating with the hive of hives as they loaded the Fourth of the Seventh’s bee golem with supplies. They were stocking honey not only for the nomadic bees, but also for General Rippotis and Queen Vanieskon, along with their own escorts. Additionally, Belissar had asked the karnuq for some more human-oriented supplies as well. The karnuq not only provided provisions, but Juosiutik’s concoctions as well, including a generous supply of her energy potion that could keep a person awake all through the night. General Rippotis was grateful when he received those. His escorts appeared less so.
But they were now set and ready to go, just making their final preparations to take off. Belissar and his allies now turned all of their attention to their own defense, as they would soon be fighting Starami alone…
In the midst of it all, a single worker bee began to fly towards him. Belissar glanced at it and then blinked.
“Hello there, who are you? Did you come from a new hive, outside of the Tower, maybe?”
The worker bee began to laugh.
“You could say that. Nice senses, Beely. I honestly didn’t expect that you would catch me too! Hm, maybe it’s the bee disguise? I guess I should’ve expected
bee dungeon master to know his bees!”
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Belissar tilted his head, now thoroughly confused, while Niobee buzzed and began to signal the nearby soldier bees. The worker bee spun around…and turned into a young man once more.
“Nice to meet you in-person, Beely! I’m the God of Mischief!”
Belissar’s jaw dropped…but the buzzing of Niobee and the soldier bees brought him back.
“Ah, definitely don’t attack him! He’s a g-god. Um…should I bow? Or worship…or maybe some mead?”
The God of Mischief chuckled and waved his hand in front of his face.
“Ah, don’t mind me! I’m not one for stuffy rituals…unless they’re outrageous stuffy to the point that the supplicant gets annoyed! I won’t say no to the mead though, but I guess I should save that for later. After all, I’m here to ask a favor from you!”
Belissar quickly began nodding.
“Ah, yes, anything for one of the gods…um, sorry, but as long as the God of Bees is ok with hit. I, um, don’t mean any disrespect or blasphemy, but she’s my primary patron so…”
The God of Mischief laughed again.
“Ah, you don’t need to worry about that, Beely! Just ask your resident oracle, I already got permission from Bee for this! But, you know, since your Finny’s friend and all, I thought I’d be polite and ask you too! So, what do you say, Beely?”
Belissar blinked a few more times before looking down.
“Um, sorry, Mr. God of Mischief, sir, but…what are you asking for?”
The God of Mischief blinked and then smacked his forehead and threw his head back.
“Ah, my mistake! I asked for the answer before asking the question! Haha, classic pixie tactics, someone must have rubbed off on me!”
He laughed again and shook his head.
“What I mean to ask is, Beely, can I come visit your Tower? Ah, again, that is, seeing as I’m already here! Maybe hold a family meeting or two from time to time!”
Belissar blinked…but decided to follow the God of Mischief’s advice and checked with Velebee. Velebee immediately confirmed that the God of Bees said it was ok, after which Belissar quickly nodded.
“Ah, yes, of course. The God of Bees said it’s ok and, well, you gods gave me this Tower in the first place so you’re welcome anytime.”
The God of Mischief grinned, walked around Belissar, and placed his arm across Belissar’s shoulders. He gave a wink at the buzzing Niobee before speaking.
“Thanks, Beely! You’re the best! Now then, as thanks, how about I give you a tip? If that’s ok with Niobee, too?”
Belissar reached up to brush Niobee and then nodded. The God of Mischief leaned in close…and then began whispering with a serious tone.
“Stay inside your Tower for the battle with Starami. Keep Hirkolos, Sehfitis, and the spiderkin kids inside too. Visiting the Compact is fine, it’s the battlefield you need to worry about. You might get away with the surface if you have to but definitely don’t go to or let any of them go to the Underway. If you or any of them must join the battle, ask one of the pixies to disguise you first.”
Belissar paused at the God of Mischief’s sudden change in demeanor, then frowned.
“Got it, I’ll do that, then.”
The God of Mischief patted Belissar’s shoulder once and then let him go, a smile returning to his face.
“Well then, I best go before someone accuses me of joining a mortal war! Take care Beely, you’ll see me around if you need me!”
The God of Mischief vanished in a puff of smoke. Belissar stared as the smoke cloud vanished, then took a deep breath as his heart pounded in his chest.
A god. An actual
came to visit him! Belissar may have grown remarkably used to dealing with issues of mythological scale…but speaking to a god face to face was something else.
He took another deep breath and then narrowed his eyes. Said god had given him a warning, so by the gods was he going to pay attention. He immediately sent Tower messages to Hirkolos, Sehfitis, and the First Spiderkin Queen, then went to confer with his allies about the resulting changes in his Tower’s deployment.
They would have to be quick, as the tunneling nomadic workers reported Starami’s forces were rapidly approaching the surface…
Queen Vanieskon stepped out of Belissar’s Tower, shaking her head. Mischief’s return, whatever his personal intentions, heralded greater involvement from the gods in the world and in this particular war. She would have to move quickly and carefully to ensure she achieved her goals in this situation that seemed to grow ever more complicated and chaotic by the day.
But a good scheme required flexibility, so she would adapt. So, as soon as she was outside the Tower, she quietly snapped her fingers. She made one last adjustment to her glamours in the Underway below before joining the expedition about to head out.
She smirked to herself. After all, her previous plan was no longer necessary. Now that General Rippotis would conquer his own Conclave’s Towers on her behalf using the Conclave’s own armies, she’d no longer need to capture the Tower Lord in the Underway below. She no longer needed to wait for him to commit to his assault before cutting off his retreat. And since she would no longer be physically present to personally protect Tower Keeper Belissar and his link to the land of the fair, now was the time to play her hand.
With her last order of business taken care of, she moved to join her new human allies and fly off to war.
Meanwhile, down in the Underway, certain seemingly solid walls shimmered and vanished to reveal hidden tunnels, while previously clear tunnels disappeared as new walls covered them over…
General Rippotis mounted Raklasi. Behind him, his troops mounted their own wyverns, save for one of the squad leaders he left behind so he could stay in contact with Tower Keeper Belissar and his allies. Giggling pixies landed on the wyverns or dove into the saddlebags on the wyverns’ sides, much to his troops’ discomfort, while Queen Vanieskon herself landed behind him, taking a side saddle pose. Raklasi growled, but General Rippotis patted the dragon’s side.
“Easy, she’s with us. That said, you pixies can fly yourselves, can’t you?”
Queen Vanieskon made a sly smile.
“Not as fast as the infamous dragonkin of the Dragon Banner Army, or so I’ve been led to believe. Don’t tell me you exaggerated the feats of your dragons, General Rippotis?”
General Rippotis snorted.
“You’ll soon find out if so.”
In the meantime, bees with long wings and filled with Air mana began to land on Raklasi and the wyverns. A bee-shaped golem made of wax, also filled with Air mana, crawled up to Raklasi, while a small bee with fluffy, glowing antennae landed on Raklasi’s neck, where the general could easily see her. A communer bee who could easily communicate with the rest, according to Tower Keeper Belissar She began dancing a salute.
“Bees ready!”
General Rippotis nodded at the communer, making a small smile.
“Good, then we’re ready. Let’s move out!”
The wyverns behind him began to beat their wings and lift into the air. Raklasi lifted off as well, pausing to grab the bee golem in his claws before launching up to the sky. Queen Vanieskon waved her hand and General Rippotis felt her mana wrap around him. He resisted the urge to coat himself in flames and drive the mana away, instead focusing his attention on assembling the wyverns into formation.
He patted Raklasi once and Raklasi roared. The wyverns behind replied, one by one, signaling each mount and rider was in position. Once the last wyvern roared the general lifted his hand and created a bright ball of fire. Then, as one, Raklasi and all the wyverns beat their wings and soared forward, as fast the wyverns could fly.
And so, General Rippotis began his journey home. He could only hope that, with the aid of his new allies, he might make it back in time…