Tarwantrad bid him farewell and set off to speak with whoever it was on the other end. A few hours passed and it was close to midday when Tarwantrad finally returned, with two others in tow.

Now standing in Belissar’s Tower were the two most beautiful men he had ever seen. He didn’t know it was even possible for men to be beautiful like that, but there they were, the mana of the Fairy Grove wrapping around them as it had with Tarwantrad. Fortunately, he was a bit more prepared for it after meeting her so he managed not to gape at them. One of them was dressed in blue robes adorned with seashells and pearls and had a stern expression. He had even tanner skin than Tarwantrad with golden hair woven into a single braid. The other had lighter skin and black hair, and was dressed in a tunic, jacket, and pants dyed in various and bright shades of yellow, orange, and red. He also had a bird of prey with bright red feathers on his left shoulder, glancing about.

The man in blue robes stepped forward first.

“I, Dungeon Master Nenavann, swear before my patron the God of Water. I will do no harm to this dungeon, its master, or its residents so long as they do not intend to do me harm. I will use no knowledge gained here today against them, nor repeat it for others to do so.”

The man in colorful clothes was next.

“I, Dungeon Master Urubran, swear before my patron the God of Fire…”

Belissar was about to speak as he finished, but then Tarwantrad stepped forward.

“I, Dungeon Master Tarwantrad, swear before my patron the God of Flowers…”

He blinked in surprise as he realized he hadn’t considered that Tarwantrad should probably swear the oath as well. She gave him a wink, and then he shook his head and said his part.

“I, Tower Keeper Belissar, swear before my patron the God of Bees not to do harm to these visitors, nor allow any in my dungeon to do so, for the duration of their visit, so long as they do not intend harm to me, my dungeon, or any of its residents.”

The mana of the Fairy Grove fell still and grew heavy, clinging to the four dungeon masters for a moment before it returned to normal. Nenavann nodded.

“Thank you for having us today, Tower Keeper. I don’t wish to keep you, so I will attempt to be brief. I hope you will not take offense?”

Belissar shook his head. Nenavann then narrowed his eyes and glanced behind Belissar at Chief Rohsuak and Metsaitti.

“Well, then, first of all, may I ask your intentions in creating more hybrids?”

Belissar tilted his head.

“Hybrids? I mean, there are the new bees?”

Chief Rohsuak stepped forward and shook her head.

“I believe he means us, Tower Keeper. May I?”

Belissar nodded and she stepped past him to face Nenavann directly.

“I am Chief Rohsuak, chief of the karnuq, disciple of the God of Fire, and sworn defender of Tower Keeper Belissar. My people and I were not created by Tower Keeper Belissar, nor by any other that we have any record or memory of. We journeyed long and far after being exiled from our home; the Tower Keeper was kind enough to take us in and let us build a new one in his lands.”

She then narrowed her eyes, slight sparks dancing within them.

“And I will not allow our presence here to throw our Tower Keeper’s character into question, as seems to be implied.”

Nenavann held her gaze for a moment before sighing.

Stolen novel; please report.

“…very well. I apologize if I have caused offense, but you are not the first of your people I have seen working with humans before. For now, I shall accept your words that your relationship is different than those in my memory. Tower Keeper, would you show us your domain?”

Belissar frowned.

“Yes, that’s fine, just…”

He took a second to think about what he was feeling, as something about this exchange bothered him. Once his thoughts crystalized, he scowled.

“Please don’t insult the karnuq. They’re people, not subhumans or hybrids or whatever else.”

He still hadn’t caught up entirely to what Nenavann was saying, but what he did understand reminded him of the Tower Lord’s doctrine. And if this Circle was like the Tower Lords, he wanted nothing to do with them.

Nenavann took a step back, blinking like he had just been slapped.

“That’s…”

He furrowed his brow and then slowly heaved a deep sigh. He looked up and then bowed his head toward Chief Rohsuak.

“You are right. I apologize for my implications about your people and your relationship with the Tower Keeper here.”

Chief Rohsuak remained silent and turned to look at Belissar. Belissar frowned. It seemed she leaving the response to him…especially since she smiled as he realized that. Belissar frowned and crossed his arms.

“First question, then. Does the Circle have any rules against people like the karnuq?”

Nenavann visibly winced at that and hung his head.

“No, nothing of the sort. It is our core tenant that all life has value and is worthy of respect.”

Belissar watched him for a moment before glancing at the others. He was still debating whether he should just stop things here, but decided to continue on given his earlier interactions with Tarwantrad.

“…ok, let’s continue then. Just…don’t insult the karnuq again, please.”

Nenavann nodded and adopted a thoughtful expression. Tarwantrad gave Belissar a smile and a nod, while Urubran was looking at Chief Rohsuak with a smile of his own. Belissar sighed and then turned to lead the group further in.

The tour of the Fairy Grove went quickly, since Belissar didn’t have much in this room to begin with. He then led them into the first floor Flower Meadow. Tarwantrad had informed him that it was not necessary to show them every single part of his Tower, just a solid representation of it. As such, he moved the Lava Field out of the way, hoping to keep at least some of his defenses under wraps, and went right to the battle meadow. The dungeon masters looked up at the soldier bee army in the sky and the flowers across the field. Urubran turned to Tarwantrad with a smirk.

“I think I know why you wanted to nominate this dungeon for the circle.”

She rolled her eyes.

“Says the one who can’t keep his eyes off the fire lady.”

Nenavann, for his part, walked along in silence, keeping the same thoughtful expression as he glanced around the dungeon. Belissar frowned, for Tarwantrad had told him there were going to be a bunch of questions. Yet, Nenavann had not spoken since the beginning, and Urubran seemed content just to observe.

Eventually, they came to the end of the Flower Meadow, where the two Bee Barracks and the Memorial stood. Nenavann came to a stop right in front of the Memorial, and finally broke his silence.

“Tower Keeper…what is this?”

Belissar raised an eyebrow as he glanced at the Memorial, and saw strange, curved symbols appearing by each of the entries.

“The Memorial, where we bury the bees that gave their lives.”

Nenavann’s eyes widened slightly.

“So…this Queen 1, Dynasty 1, Spawner 1 is referring to…a bee monster spawned by your dungeon? You built a memorial for them…and list each that have fallen?”

Belissar nodded his head with a solemn expression.

“She was the first, and she died because of my mistakes. Most of them did.”

He felt Niobee immediately begin to stir, ready to object, so he quickly reached up to brush her back.

“I know, though, that they don’t regret it, and that they want to protect the Tower. So, I just try to do the best I can and remember those that sacrificed to defend us.”

Nenavann frowned and took a deep breath.

“I have seen enough.”

He turned to Belissar, a frown still on his face. And then he bowed his head.

“I must apologize to you, Tower Keeper Belissar. I have let my past experiences with your people blind me and assumed that you were someone you are clearly not. I have not treated you, nor your sworn defenders, with the respect that the Circle seeks to promote.”

Belissar, having trained with Chief Rohsuak not to say so many “ums,” instead responded to this turn of events by silently staring at the man.

“It is abundantly clear that you hold respect and deep affection for beings other than yourself, you who would cherish even your own monsters so. With that in mind, it would be my honor to invite you into the Circle and the community of dungeon masters, if you are willing to associate with us.”

Belissar’s mind churned as he attempted to catch up with this turn of events. He glanced around as per his habit. Chief Rohsuak simply smiled at him while the bees just hovered in between him and the visitors. Tarwantrad and Urubran both were smiling at him. He took a deep breath and considered how to respond.

“Ok…first, tell me more about the Circle and its rules and stuff. I know the general gist, but I think we need to discuss all the details.”

Apparently, they approved of his Tower. He just needed to be sure that he approved of this Circle…