After pouring a generous heaping of the strange, smokey honey into my gullet, I washed the thick syrup down with the fresh river water. The bees had done a miraculous job at adapting to the barren, burned forest, and for that, I could give them some praise.
On the other hand, their medical expertise was abysmal.
The Queen, for I refused to refer to it as ‘Mother,’ seemed to have some general medical knowledge, insisting that Rette’s wounds be kept clean at all times and thoroughly bandaged. Despite her continuously worsening condition, however, the damn things were far more interested in Vlugh.
What was so intriguing about Mind Collapse, anyhow?
They were so bizarre, at once seeming like genius creatures with a well of wisdom and knowledge. In the next moment, they questioned how brutally assaulting the Mind with crushing force could cause this sort of harm.
That dichotomy was what I had begun to stew over. While rare, it wasn’t unheard of for lesser creatures to become incredibly wise or intelligent. There were any number of factors. Animals that were naturally born with powerful Minds, or creatures that had lived extensively long lives, could certainly reach higher levels of thought.
The bees fit one category, at least. They were uncommon creatures but were generally known for having naturally above-average Minds to enhance their hive behaviors. It was certainly not normal to encounter such mentally advanced creatures so suddenly, but at least my scrambled thoughts could settle.
But there were other things. Things that just made no sense.
I had seen bees before; anyone born near or who commonly ventured into the Vultuous Forest was no stranger to the insects. But these bees were unnatural in every sense of the word.
They all had personalities and individual features, they could all speak coherently with their Minds, and they were all adept at using their Mind as a tool. They still refused to take us closer to their hive’s center, but we encountered several unique individuals.
There was the massive warrior with a stinger longer than my body who guarded us at all times. Despite the natural terror I felt when I looked at him, he was surprisingly valiant, aware of our discomforts, and offering care. It was he that instructed some other workers to bring us the strange honey rather than the rotting chunks of meat, and for that, I was grateful.
But on the other end was a trio of hyperactive bees we rarely saw or the small red and black bee whose insectoid face I could now somehow interpret as murderous.
And all of it was connected to the Queen herself.
What disturbed me the most were the occasional words that popped into my head, likely coming from the Queen. ‘Microchip’? ‘Helicopter’? ‘Pizza’???
They were things I had never before heard of, and they were coming from an insect. What sort of bizarre knowledge did this creature have? How? Almost as scary was how limited that knowledge was for me and Grehn and Dip. The Queen was an extremely gifted creature, manipulating Mind so effortlessly that their knowledge barely exposed itself to us while our entire Minds were laid bare to them.
I resisted the urge to reach behind my neck. Even if I could, my arm would always freeze before I could get close enough to the slightly numb patch above my nape. Whatever they had done to us had thrown any planning of mine out the proverbial window. No matter what deception we used, no matter how desperately we struggled, they had somehow managed to wrest control of our Minds away from us.
Not for the first time, I thought of Life. I was no longer able to change it, thanks to the terrifying degree of control the bees had, but it was right there. A simple, painless death to regain my freedom. A final act of choice.
Stolen.
“Is that really your final decision, Yelah?”
I looked over my shoulder. Grehn had been a lifeline in these past few awful days. Almost as much as Dip.
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“Yes,” I said, standing up to face him, “I won’t be giving up, but I need time and resources. And we need to save Rette.”
“And Vlugh.”
” Sure, whatever. Vlugh too. In any case, we can’t win against these bees. They likely know the contents of this very conversation, I’m sure. They’ll know my plans, even if I only imagine them. So let’s be frank: we have to help them infiltrate Yiwi. Once we’re there and can get some decent medical help for the others, we can figure out a way to break free.”
He took on a ponderous look, unbefitting his harsh, warrior demeanor, “I get all that, but is it really the best idea? Once they get into Yiwi undetected, it might be impossible to stop them. All they would have to do is sneak in a whole bunch of the things they use to control us, and Yiwi is done for.”
“Even so,” I sighed, “I will prioritize Rette and Vlugh’s safety. The King can figure out what to do with Yiwi for all I care. Hell, maybe that stupid City Lord will finally get what’s coming to him for letting those wackjobs destroy the forest.”
___________
The humans’ conversation was just full of interesting information. I felt bad for them, in a way. Maybe it was just my empathy as a former human talking, but how were you supposed to plan for stuff against an entity that knows your every thought?
Thankfully, Yelah wasn’t putting up much of a fight. The grievous injuries Rette and Vlugh had gotten turned out to be something of a boon in that sense. Well, for us. Not for them.
Beatrice sure was devious. She basically hadn’t stopped talking since I relayed all the important news about the new deadlines. I wanted to tear into her for feeding the humans fucking rotting meat, but she was doing a great job at not letting me get a word in edgewise.
“You absolutely, positively, in no way can be allowed to accompany the humans to their city. Considering how the range of the Link is more limited than expected, Beck has already made preparations for Beckham to join the advance force. He will act as a relay to essentially extend the effective range of the Link, allowing for the humans to remain fully within our control. I still believe more warriors should join the force, but if only two are going to be allowed, I have decided that one of the Valkybees must be included and have arranged for Belphegora to accompany the other warrior as a pair. On that note, we should likely name the warrior, as he has already proven worth as a vice-commander to Beryl and has essentially replaced her as the active leader of the warriors in combat. Furthermore…”
Even in things she seemed like she wanted me to chime in on, she just kept going! Like, I named the bees all the time! I could probably think of something more productive, but… Well, if I was right, the warrior we were sending was that one guy who loved to flex all the time, right? Uh, flexing is kinda like bending, right? Let’s call him Bend.
“It is still ill-advised, in my opinion, for all three of the Ben Squad to be in the advance force, but I can accept the merit. With Bedivere freed, I will assign him to be on constant vigilant watch at the hive’s perimeter.”
“Okay! Beatrice, let-“
“Oh, and we cannot forget the hive’s internals. Despite the potential drain on our resources, I suggest birthing as many warriors as possible. Additionally, you must, as in absolutely must, create a significant number of Linker Bees. We would ideally have the resources to take control of the entire City of Yiwi as a safeguard.”
“Beatrice! All good ideas! All good! But the time for action is pretty much now! Let’s focus on getting the advance team out the door as soon as possible; then, we can worry about other stuff. I want them to get going before nightfall today.”
Beatrice finally deflated a little once I successfully interrupted her. It had been hours of her nonstop panic, which only reinforced to me that experience was really a valuable thing. I was by no means experienced with, well, preparing for covert infiltration and complete domination of an entire developed human city, but we all had to start somewhere. I once contributed to the brainstorming of optimizing a circuit for a certain type of battery. Close enough, right?
We were in a bit in over our heads, to be blunt.
“In this situation, Beatrice, we have to be decisive. We don’t have time to make the best possible plan; we have to come up with something good and make it work.”
“I… I understand. Then, I will gather the advance force.”
Together, we headed over to the western border of the hive. We didn’t technically need to go in person, but this was really a monumental moment. Along with the humans and Dip, a host of bees would be traveling alongside them for all manner of things. Ben and his squad, Beckham, Belphegora, Bend, and four other warriors. I finally did relent and let four others accompany the pair of Belphegora and Bend, mostly out of anxiety. I would have to trust our current warriors to protect the hive.
Of course, I would be making more. Many, many more.
Before me was that small gathering of bees. It was decided that Bella and her team of gatherers, including the drones and her always-crying little helper, would follow them soon, but for now, she would stay to make sure the honey production could be maintained. That second team, along with a contingent of guards and a heaping helping of Linker Bees, would be the reinforcements for this advance squadron. As for this group, well, they were mostly a reconnaissance team meant to survey and assess the human city. Basically preparing us for a possible full-on infiltration. Plus, some protection, just in case.
Always bring protection.
Ah, I had also insisted that Ben go for a… somewhat selfish personal reason. I wanted to see the city with my own eyes, or with Ben’s at least. I wasn’t sure if he was small enough to go into town and get the nitty-gritty details, but it was the best I could do! I wanted to see a fantasy city, dammit!
Theoretically, I could see the city whenever I wanted, thanks to Yelah and her friends. Unfortunately, it wasn’t to my satisfaction. I wanted to see everything live, without limit. Plus, there was just too much to do in the hive at the moment. The time had finally come for me to actually look forward to egg-laying. Not because I enjoyed the experience, mind you! But it was a relatively effortless task that required little thought. Since it was something I didn’t have to think about, I could take that time to inspect the humans’ memories like browsing a streaming site or something, and learn more about the world in a conscious way.
But if you had the choice between watching a documentary about wizards or seeing wizards in person, what would you choose? That was pretty much the situation here!
Of course, I had other things that needed to be done. I had to get stronger and improve the B-boxes. I could at least use the humans’ knowledge of Mind in that case. But there was also hive planning and resource management that had to be done.
Well, that could all come later. As for this advance force…
“You are all embarking on a treacherous journey,” I began. Finally, another chance to make a cool speech! “The squirrels were a stepping stone, and the vultures were a boulder. Now, we face a mountain. Be cautious. At all costs, do not make yourselves known to the humans until we have worked something out. Unless we have joined with them or made them join the hive through force, they pose a potential threat. You are a competent, elite group of the hive, and you have my complete and utter trust. Now go, and ensure our safety. The future of the hive is in your hands.”
“”” Yes, Mother!”””
Hey, that wasn’t too bad! Even Beatrice was tearing up. Oh? So were the humans! Wait, I think they’re more terrified than moved. Oh well. Off to the City of Yiwi!