Chief Rohsuak’s eyes went wider than Belissar had ever seen them. Her jaw even dropped.

“The Oracle of Bees? And you said she’s moving into the hive in our village?”

Belissar nodded.

“I know, I can barely believe it either. But, well, I guess she is the God of Bees, so maybe it makes sense?”

Chief Rohsuak blinked, and then smiled.

“Ah, I guess that is true. In any case, we are truly honored to have her dwell here. I will ensure she is treated with the respect and hospitality she deserves as the representative of our patron.”

Belissar nodded again.

“Thanks. Um, you may want to be careful around her hive for now. She’s clearly not just a normal bee anymore, but her workers still seem normal, so they might try to sting you if provoked. You might need to hold off on gathering honey from that beehouse for now.”

Chief Rohsuak saluted.

“Understood, I’ll let the clan know to give her some space.”

Belissar smiled.

“Thank you, sorry for suddenly deciding this without asking.”

Chief Rohsuak shook her head.

“It is your right as Sacred Den Master. And we are honored that you would trust us with an oracle’s safety.”

Belissar smiled for a moment before his face turned grim.

“And that brings us to the other thing. Could you come and meet with the me and the queens? Maybe bring Metsaitti or whoever else you think might help.”

Chief Rohsuak nodded and then tilted her head.

“Of course…but may I ask what the meeting is for? That will inform who I would bring.”

Belissar jumped a bit.

“Oh, right.”

And then he looked out into the distance, narrowing his eyes.

“The Tower Lords have found us. We beat back one attack…but there could be more in the future. I wanted to discuss what we should do to prepare in case they come again.”

Chief Rohsuak narrowed her eyes as she nodded.

“Understood, I was hoping to speak with you on that as well. We will be there, Sacred Den Master.”

Belissar nodded back, then turned to leave. Niobee had already gone off to gather the queens at this point. He took a deep breath before walking towards the nearest shortcut as well.

----------------------------------------

Belissar stood by the Orchard’s Shrine of Bees, watching as queens from all across the Tower flew in from the shortcuts. Even Niobee’s queen mother was here, clinging to Niobee’s back as she seemed to enjoy doing. Chief Rohsuak arrived with Metsaitti and several other karnuq, including Juosiutik. Bees and karnuq both gathered around and saluted to him. He took a deep breath.

“Thank you for coming, everyone. Sorry to interrupt your work, but I’d like to take a break from the purifications today so let’s have the meeting now.”

He looked over his bees, smiling as his gaze fell on the Second First of the First and the other battle meadow queens.

Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

“First of all, thank you all for fighting yesterday. Thanks to you, we defeated a Tower Lord, or his son at the least. I didn’t think that was possible, but thanks to you all, it was.”

The Second First of the First and the battle meadow queens began rapid salute dances. The karnuq saluted as well as Belissar thanked them in turn. He then took a deep breath, furrowing his brow.

“However…I don’t think it’s over. The Tower Lords…”

He looked over at the karnuq, his face twisting as he realized what he was about to say. He gulped…but it had to be said. His Tower defenders needed to know what was coming.

“…they think of beastkin as subhumans cursed by the gods. They also think that peasants like myself defile Towers with our mere presence. So…I don’t think they’re just going to leave us alone now that they know where we are. Now that we killed one of their sons.”

Some of the karnuq scowled, while the bees began to buzz their wings. Metsaitti narrowed his eyes and gripped his spear. Chief Rohsuak slowly nodded.

“Well, I understand why you were worried about finding people like yourself, then. And you are indeed correct that we should prepare for the worst. Did you have something in mind, Sacred Den Master?”

Belissar slowly nodded, beginning to pace about.

“We’ll keep up with the usual methods. More flowers, more bees, and more purifications. We should definitely expand whenever possible. We might need to increase the pace of that…”

Belissar frowned as the battle meadow queens saluted. He knew that, ultimately, he was the one holding back the pace. His mana had outpaced the expansion purifications, so he could begin another right away if he wished. The reason he didn’t was his desire to ensure they were completely, fully prepared, so that they could keep bee casualties to the absolute minimum.

But if they were willing to accept a few casualties here and there, they could conduct expansions earlier than he normally did. And he knew that the queens and the soldiers themselves were absolutely willing to accept those casualties. He was the only one who wasn’t.

It was something he needed to think about, and sooner rather than later now that he knew the Tower Lords could reach him.

However, he had another idea in mind for right now. He turned to face the karnuq.

“However…this time I’m also thinking that we should try to work on your blessings. Back when I was just a peasant, I heard stories about the Tower Guard…the personal soldiers of the Tower Lords. They were said to be invincible. Bandits, witches, or even incursions, it didn’t matter. When the Tower Guard showed up, every situation was handled.”

He sighed and shook his head.

“Well, I also know that the Tower Lords lied about the gods hating peasants and beastkin, so I wasn’t sure how much of those stories were true. But after seeing what that captain did, how strong he was…I’m worried the Tower Guard parts might be true after all. So…I think we need some Tower Guards of our own.”

Chief Rohsuak nodded along.

“I agree. Our hunters and champions have been static for far too long.”

She turned to face the other karnuq.

“The Sacred Den Master has been gracious enough to invite us into his home, with full access to the shrines of the gods. It is high time that we begin to grow once more.”

She gave a pointed look to Metsaitti.

“And I don’t just mean the young and inexperienced.”

He gave a sheepish nod as she turned back to Belissar.

“With that in mind, may I make two requests, Sacred Den Master?”

Belissar nodded.

“What do you need?”

Chief Rohsuak held up her hand and created a small wisp of fire that danced around her fingers.

“Would you be willing to share some of the Third of the Sixth’s Fire mana honey with us? I believe that with her help and with the God of Fire’s presence in your Sacred Den that it would be possible to raise new champions of fire among our clan.”

She made a wry grin.

“Someone to carry the torch whose bones don’t ache like mine.”

Belissar turned to the Third of the Sixth.

“What do you think…oh, she’s already dancing yes. You sure you have enough reserves, you need to keep growing you know?”

But the Third of the Sixth just kept up her rapid salute dance. Belissar chuckled.

“We recently evolved a new burning queen as well, so that should be fine. Um…you aren’t all going to go with fire, right?”

Chief Rohsuak smiled and shook her head.

“No, we will be sure to give the God of Bees her due as well. And that is my second request.”

Her face turned serious.

“I would like for our hunters to begin training with your bees, and perhaps learn from them. Additionally, I would like to request that your bees allow us to participate more directly in your purifications. At least to fight along their side, and maybe even to handle the shades on our own from time to time. I believe that the God of Bees will approve of our hunters learning to fight like your bees and directly defending her Sacred Den.”

Belissar turned to the Second First of the First.

“What do you say? Would you be willing to fight with the karnuq, and maybe let them fight on their own some time?”

The Second First of the First gave an immediate salute.

“Brave warriors, helped defend hive of hives. Part of hive of hives. Honored to fight with.”

Chief Rohsuak glanced at Metsaitti. The hunter blinked, then nodded and gave a salute of his own.

“I am honored you think of us so. We would also be honored to fight and train at your side.”

Belissar nodded as bee and karnuq saluted one another.

“Thank you, we’ll appreciate the help with the purifications as well. Next, there’s something we can do right now to strengthen the Tower.”

Belissar began to grin as all eyes turned to him.

“The God of Bees gave us a reward. We have another perk to decide.”