Belissar watched with his Tower sight as Metsaitti spoke to the man leaning against the wall. The third surviving soldier had finally come to and grown cognizant enough to speak, so Metsaitti was now interrogating him with Sehfitis’s help. Belissar didn’t actually have anything he wanted to ask the guy himself, having heard what he wanted from Sehfitis and Hirkolos, but Chief Rohsuak had come up with a good idea. They were having Sehfitis translate for Metsaitti while Belissar was watching in from afar. That way, Belissar could catch any mistranslations, and they could determine how reliable Sehfitis was.

Well, in the end, the third soldier was also just a recruit like Hirkolos, and not particularly cooperative, so they didn’t learn much of note. Sehfitis’s translations were accurate enough, though with how little the soldier spoke that wasn’t saying much. According to Chief Rohsuak, they’d have to keep an eye on him.

Ultimately, though, it was Hirkolos who acted differently.

Belissar made his way over to the prison…or human house, since Sehfitis and Hirkolos were only kind of prisoners? The place the humans, other than himself, stayed. Hirkolos was waiting for him.

“Hi, I heard you have a request for me?”

Hirkolos nodded.

“Yes, if you are willing to consider something from me.”

Belissar raised an eyebrow.

“Of course I am, I said that, right?”

Hirkolos slowly nodded and then took a deep breath.

“Tower Keeper…if you are willing…could you tell me what happened to the little bee?”

Belissar tilted his head.

“She’s living right over there. We visited her…oh, you weren’t there for that, huh. Um, do you want to visit her?”

Hirkolos’s eyes widened a bit.

“Can I?”

Belissar nodded his head.

“Of course, come on.”

Belissar lead Hirkolos over the Velebee’s hive. Velebee flew out to greet them, dancing before Hirkolos’s face. The man blinked, and then smiled.

“Hello, little bee. I’m glad to see you’re doing well.”

Velebee zipped around for a bit before Belissar remembered they couldn’t understand each other.

“This is Velebee, she’s happy to see you as well. She’s thanking you for carrying her here safely.”

Hirkolos shook his head.

“It was nothing, at least, nothing compared to what we’ve done.”

Velebee then turned to Belissar and performed an asking dance. Belissar nodded at her and she zipped back to her beehouse. A moment later, one of the trays popped out and slid in front of the beehouse. Hirkolos blinked again, while Belissar smiled at him.

“She wants to thank you for the water and provisions you shared. She’d like you to take some of her honey.”

Hirkolos started and quickly shook his head.

“No, no, I couldn’t. She needs it, doesn’t she? And I…don’t deserve something like that.”

Belissar frowned and rubbed his chin. He had no idea how to address this situation. So, he decided to just speak honestly.

“Hirkolos, you should take it. Um, it’s like…you helped Velebee get here, right? Without you, she wouldn’t have made it, and wouldn’t be able to make honey now. She probably won’t understand why you don’t want to take it. It’ll make her happy if you do.”

Hirkolos turned and looked at Belissar, his eyes quivering slightly. Eventually, though, he took a deep breath, turned to Velebee, and gave her a bow.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“My thanks, Velebee. I’ll treasure your gift.”

Belissar relayed as much and Velebee danced happily about. Hirkolos slowly picked up the tray with a complicated expression. Belissar rubbed his chin.

“Um, I’m teaching the karnuq beekeeping, and Velebee’s been helping out. Would you like to join the lessons?”

Hirkolos’s face lit up for a brief moment before he frowned.

“I…don’t think…”

Belissar nearly frowned. Fortunately, though, he was starting to gain some experience rewording his questions from his interactions with his bees, so he tried another angle. Hirkolos…apparently felt bad about the whole burning villages down thing, and so didn’t want any favors. Mrs. Imkomos had always told Belissar that if he felt bad about something, he should work to fix it, so he went with that.

“You see…the monster bees don’t really know how to act like normal bees, so Velebee’s been teaching them. You’re a human who helped out Velebee before and got her not to sting you, so maybe you could help her teach the others?”

Hirkolos turned thoughtful for a moment before shaking his head.

“I couldn’t compare to you, Tower Keeper, sir.”

Belissar shrugged.

“It’s more…you know Velebee, and she likes having you around. Plus, I can’t actually stay with the karnuq’s beekeepers all day, as much as I’d like to.”

Hirkolos turned thoughtful again, remaining silent long enough that Belissar was about to interject when he finally replied. He very slowly began to nod.

“…very well. If you and Velebee think I’ll help…then I’ll do what I can. It’s…the least I could do.”

Belissar smiled.

“Here that, Velebee, Hirkolos here is going to help you.”

Velebee flew out of her hive and began another happy dance. Even Hirkolos made a small smile at that.

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

Belissar gulped once more. He was sitting on the floor of the Apiary’s farmhouse, staring at the purple honeycomb tray lying before him, with a small jar to his side. Niobee and the Second of the Sixth buzzed around him.

“King ok?”

Belissar slowly nodded.

“Fine, just…need a moment first.”

Belissar had rested long enough and his mana was fully restored. Both Chief Rohsuak and the Second of the Sixth had cleared him to use his mana again. He had formed a medicinal spell-bee, just one this time, and had her fly around until she faded away. It seemed his feat after the expansion was not a fluke, he could now form his mana into spell-bees at will.

The implications of this spell were not lost on him. If he learned to form them with a type of mana other than medicinal, it would make for a potent attack. A swarm of spell-bees that he could form at will, that could fly in and attack a dangerous shade so that the living bees wouldn’t have to. They could distract a shade and absorb the dangerous attacks, giving the living bees a chance to attack with impunity. Or, if their mana-powered stings were strong enough, maybe they could take down a shade entirely, meaning the living bees wouldn’t have to risk themselves at all.

This was an opportunity Belissar could not delay seizing. So, his number one priority now was to learn how to make honey types other than medicinal. And that meant…intentionally eating the poisonous maddening honey sitting in front of him.

He double checked his preparations. The third soldier had ultimately recovered despite being bathed in the honey and left for a day. Though he hadn’t ingested much of it directly, it was at least proof that the honey wasn’t lethal in surprisingly large doses. He had acquired a jar of antidote potion from Juosiutik, made specifically to deal with maddening honey should the worse come to pass. Niobee was ready to help him with mana channeling, and the Second of the Sixth’s hive was on standby if he needed medical treatment. Juosiutik herself could come to the Apiary through the Apothecary’s Hut shortcut and could bring the other karnuq as well if he needed healing beyond her expertise. He was even sitting on the floor so that he could lie down after eating the honey, ensuring that he wouldn’t fall and hurt himself if the honey affected his balance.

He had made every preparation he possibly could. There was nothing left to do but to gather his courage and begin.

“Whew, ok…here we go.”

With one final gulp, Belissar scooped up a tiny bit of the honey and gently placed it in his mouth.

He furrowed his brow. The honey…didn’t taste like honey. It was bitter instead of sweet, and made his tongue tingle. He quickly gulped it down and then lay back, waiting to see how that small amount affected him.

And waited. And waited. And waited…

There was…a slight tingling in his throat? Maybe? Or it could just be his throat drying out, he wasn’t sure. One thing was clear, though: that wasn’t enough. Whether or not he could feel it affect his body aside, he could not feel the mana from that honey interact with his own. And that meant he wouldn’t learn how to replicate it from that small amount alone.

Belissar sighed and slowly sat back up. He took a much larger scoop this time and gulped it down.

This one he could feel. The mana almost immediately began seeping into his body, causing his entire jaw to tingle. The taste faded as his tongue and throat went numb. His vision started to sway a bit.

And his mana reacted, rushing towards his mouth and throat. He could feel it wrap around the foreign mana, trying to contain it and prevent any further effect upon his body.

He commanded it to stop. He imagine a swarm of mana once again drinking the honey, and carrying it to his hand. Niobee landed on his head and began to dance as well, assisting his efforts with the Tower’s mana. Molding his mana to be more like herself, more like a bee.

A moment later, a honeycomb of purple light formed above his hand and purple honey dripped from it. Belissar smiled, but his work wasn’t done yet. Now he imagined the mana bees drinking the honey and taking on its color. He imagined the toxic honey concentrating in their stingers before they flew out to sting shades and Tower guards and whatever else might threaten his bees.

One of the cells of the honeycomb bulged, and then once again a spell-bee crawled out of it. This one purple in color, with a barbed stinger dripping with purple honey.

And now, Belissar allowed himself to smile fully. The next time someone or something came for his bees, he’d have a surprise of his own.