Getting to the dungeon was surprisingly easy. All they had to do was to walk down the road to the right of the doorway where they arrived. About half an hour later, they reached what clearly was a dungeon entrance. Embedded into the wall was a golden gate with a yellow honeycomb pattern and a garnet symbol in the middle. It looked like a minimalistic version of a bee, or a wasp, with long wings moving to the back of the body, a pair of antennae on top, and a small pointy tip on the bottom of it. They couldn't see anything beyond the gate. At first, they thought it was because of the tunnel behind it, but it didn't take long for them to realize that the black was actually part of the structure, a backdrop to accentuate the other colors.
"That is kind of pretty," Shane said.
"Yeah, the symbol looks like those minimalistic high-class jewelry companies," Bonnie nodded.
"I'll take your word for it. I never paid too much attention to that kind of thing," Hera walked towards the gate, "This should be the dungeon, right?"
"The spyglass says yes," Bonnie double-checked and then looked around, "There is another… something there," she pointed to the left and a bit up, but in that direction, there was just a wall.
"Well.. the tunnel continues through here, so there might be another dungeon if we keep going. Or that one might be on the other side of the room. I think we should just try this one," Helena said.
"Yeah. I mean, we were looking for rations, right? If this is about bees, then we might get honey, and that is the only food that doesn't spoil," Adriel nodded.
"We go then?" Mylo asked.
"I think so. Any objections?" Alex asked.
The party agreed and pushed the gate open, but it didn't work. Instead, a notification appeared in front of them.
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Would you like to enter the dungeon Hive Entertainment?
[Yes] [No]
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They all pressed yes, and then the gate opened, splitting the bee/wasp symbol right in the middle. Inside they were met with another tunnel just like the one they were in, with the red pulsating walls still making it seem like they were passing through something's digestive tract and the putrid smell that assaulted their noses. But soon, things started to change. A honeycomb pattern appeared around the walls, almost cutting through the red and turning to a warm orange and yellow. From the back, they could see the tunnel turning to the left and light coming from that area. Everyone walked slowly and carefully, already with their weapons at hand. The light wasn't from the outside or something like that. Instead, it was just part of the hive structure. Some of the honeycombs were glowing, creating a very beautiful and elegant light for the place. Now the red walls were gone, giving way to a very long corridor adorned with gold. Everything still felt a lot like a beehive, but it was something one would expect to exist in a kingdom, not just something made by animals, much less insects.
After five minutes of walking through that straight corridor, they arrived at a door. Much more ornate than the gate, with silver and gold embossed trim covering everything. They could see more small details that seemed to be carved by hand. Small wings, flowers, and patterns that didn't seem to represent anything but would connect the other engravings with such grace that it was hard not to be in awe of everything.
Just as everyone got a bit closer to the doors to see those details, they shifted and opened, revealing a large throne room inside. If they thought the corridor leading to this place was fancy, the inside was on a whole different level. Pristine walls with metal adornments that looked both ancient and just carved. A floor that made their steps echo, but the sound bounced in a melodic way, almost as if it was the beginning of a song. The throne itself was closer to a bench, without the back of the seat, but the cushion seemed to be some sort of liquid amber. Whoever sat there would always be about two meters above everyone else, looking down at those in the rest of the room, but it was currently empty.
In the center of the hall, between the walls and the ceiling, were four pillars, each decorated differently. One pillar had a single flower growing out of its base, while another had several leaves intertwined together, forming shapes resembling people, but they were wearing some very odd sets of armor with some large hooks coming out of their shoulders. Another pillar featured three birds flying away from each other, with tigers, lizards, alligators, and other animals all running from the base to the top. The last one was covered in vines and fruits, including grapes, pears, apples, peaches, and many others. Everything seemed to have been made by the best craftsman that ever lived, and just being in this place made them all feel unworthy. The feeling wasn't completely natural either, but something that emanated from the walls.
They all stood in silence for a moment before moving forward again. It took them a few seconds to realize where they were standing. There weren't any stairs, which meant they needed to climb a ladder to reach the throne, but before they could do anything, a voice came from the side.
"You have finally arrived. Welcome," it was impossible to tell who was speaking, not only because they had yet to show themselves but because it kept changing. At first, it sounded like a man with a deep voice, but then it changed to a feminine high, pitched sound that could never be from the same person.
"We were expecting you before we could start. I hope you are able to provide the entertainment that we expect," another voice came from the other side of the room. It still wasn't coming from the throne, but the odd change in pitch was still present, even if it seemed to be from a different person.
"And how can we help you with that?" Shane asked.
The sounds of footsteps echoed through the throne room, forming a melody much more intricate than the one created by Hera and her friends. From the left, a figure appeared. They wore a long yellow dress covering both their feet and a black bustier, almost like an exoskeleton. Their arms were covered in tight black gloves with small claws at the edge of the fingers and a puffy white scarf around their neck. But when their face came into view, it became clear that they were not wearing clothes. That being was similar to an insect. The dress was their wings wrapped around their bodies, the bustier was actually an exoskeleton, and they were not wearing gloves. Looking at their faces, Hera could see where the chin would part to reveal the mandibles, and they had large black eyes that took over half of their faces.
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"We are utterly bored. And we have a game we like to play. Alas, even that wasn't enough, and with countless matches, we eventually grew tired of even that," the second voice spoke, and another bipedal insect appeared. This one was very similar to the first but smaller and had a long cape following them from behind. That was a secondary pair of wings that was much bigger than the first one. The colors were not only less vibrant than the ones used by the first figure but also seemed to be inverted. Instead of having a yellow dress with black gloves, they had a black dress with yellow gloves. The cape was the only orange thing in this figure. Both of them were very bee-like, but the way they moved and talked was aggressive, which made Hera think that they could be wasps instead.
"And what is that game? If you don't mind me asking," Helena added.
"It is quite simple. We gather two groups and give each group a type of benefit. Then we place them in the plains below and let them fight. Those who win survive and are rewarded based on the number of kills they got. Those who lose perish, and well… Let's just say the younglings always need feeding," the first figure replied.
"And we are to participate in that?" Hera asked.
"That is correct. We have tried all possibilities and know the outcomes. That's why we are introducing a new variable on the field. You all. As long as you survive, you will be rewarded, of course. And if you die, well, that is hardly our problem. You knew what you signed up for," the second figure continued.
"Speaking of which. We have yet to decide on the teams. I believe it's your time to pick first, and the selection we have today is one we haven't seen in a while," the first figure said.
"True. I'll take the tribe and the plants. It's been a while since we had that combination."
"So that leaves me with the beasts and the fruit. You know this team won most of its fights, don't you?"
The second figure smiled, "Yes, but who doesn't love an underdog story."
"Well, now all we have to do is decide the team our new combatants will be in," the first figure looked at the party, "You know what. I'm in a good mood today. Not only will we have a battle, but we will have them participating in that. Not to mention that even the Queen might be coming to join us soon. So let them pick. What do you say?" they turned to the second figure.
"I agree. Tell me, what team would you like to join? My Yellow team, or.."
"My Black team?" the first figure finished their sentence.
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You have found the dungeon quest.
Fight for Entertainment.
The leaders of the Yellow and the Black team invited you to participate in one of their periodic fights. Choose a team and lead them to victory to complete the dungeon.
First-time rewards:
180 000 gold
Noble Wasp's gift.
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"I guess this answers what they are," Shane mumbled.
"Yeah… and… Hang on," Hera turned to the Black and Yellow wasps, "Would you allow us to discuss amongst ourselves for a moment? Just so we can come to a decision, we all agree."
"Very well, but don't take long. The battle will start soon, with or without you," the Black wasp, the one with the long orange wings that were being used as a cape, said.
"Thank you," Hera nodded and turned back to the group. However, before starting to talk, she triggered a Soundproof Bubble around them all.
"Would you look at that? Those warriors can even stop us from hearing what they say," the Yellow wasp smiled.
"Today's battle will be very interesting," the Black wasp replied.
"Ok, those guys are assholes. We can all agree to that, right?" Blue asked the group.
"Of course, and beating the crap out of them is probably what we would need to do to trigger the hard mode. That whole noble bullshit pisses me off even as a trope," Alex nodded.
"We should be able to do that. I couldn't see their names, but they are just level 31," Adriel nodded.
"Hang on. We came here for rations or something like that. Did the answers you got mention anything about the hard mode?" Helena turned to Shane.
Shane thought for a moment before replying, "Not really. It sounded more like it would be easy to get. If that is the case, I don't think it would be in the hard mode."
"So we might need to just go for the normal clear," Bonnie sighed, "If that's the case. I think we should go with the tribe or whatever. Being allies with beasts might not work. What if they decided that we are their enemies all of a sudden?"
"Hang on," Shane said and walked out of the bubble, "Apologies for the delay. However, we have one inquiry about this battle if you allow us."
"Speak," the Yellow wasp said.
"Would the other members of our team be a possible threat to us? Say, if we decided to side with the beasts, could they attack us in a moment of frenzy?"
The Yellow wasp chuckled, opening its mandibles ever so slightly, "Worry not. Once you are part of a team, the members of said team will never harm you intentionally. But attacks that cover a large area or if they are mind controlled are different situations altogether."
"I see. Thank you for your answers. I ask you to wait for just a few more moments as we finish our decision," Shane gave them a small bow and walked back inside the soundproof bubble, "I hate talking like that. So there is that. The beasts should be stronger, and we might have a better time if we are on their side."
"But we will have to fight with monsters that don't think that much. If we go with the tribe, we might be able to use some different strategies," Bonnie added.
"I agree. It's better to fight with something we are more used to by our side. If we just go with the beasts, we might struggle to match their pace," Mylo nodded.
"I would rather fight monsters than people. We also have to take that into account," Hera said.
After everyone agreed to that, the Empress deactivated the bubble, and they turned to the wasps. Shane stepped forward again, "We will join the Yellow team."
The two wasps seemed to smile, almost as if they knew that this would make the battle even more exciting. Without saying anything, they gestured to the center of the room, between the pillars.
"Should we stand there?" Blue asked, getting a simple nod in response.
The party walked to the honeycomb platform, and when they were all on top of it, the entire thing shifted, lowering them and revealing the outside world. Looking up, they could see a large wasp nest attached to something. Looking back, they realized that if they were indeed outside the 'Belly of the Beast,' the beast in question wasn't a monster but a mountain-sized red tree with blue leaves. And beneath them, there was a large grassy hillside where the battle would soon ensue.