Belissar handed over the sack to Chief Rohsuak.
“Here.”
Chief Rohsuak took the sack.
“Thank you.”
She opened it up and double checked the contents, then gave him a smile.
“Does this mean you were successful?”
Belissar nodded and held out his hand. His mana condensed and formed into honey once again. Chief Rohsuak’s eyes widened and then she smiled again.
“Well done. This is the fastest I’ve ever seen someone pick up magic.”
Belissar felt his face warm and scratched at his cheek.
“Oh. Um, thanks? I, uh, think it’s because of the Tower. And, uh, thanks to your help.”
Chief Rohsuak nodded.
“I and the Sacred Den may have helped, but you put in the work to make it happen. Don’t discount your own efforts.”
Belissar looked away then took a deep breath. He didn’t really know how to respond to that, so he simply didn’t.
“I, uh, had some other questions for you.”
Chief Rohsuak nodded.
“Of course, how may I help you?”
Belissar glanced over to the hole in the ground.
“You, uh, came from beyond my Tower, right? I wanted to know what’s out there.”
Chief Rohsuak hummed and rubbed her chin.
“I don’t mind speaking of our journey, but was there something specific you wanted to know?”
Belissar slowly nodded.
“I need to know if there are more Tower Lords...or, uh, you call them Sacred Den Masters, right? Yeah, if there are more of those, except, um, like me, and calling themselves Tower Lords, um...”
Chief Rohsuak gave him a smile.
“So, more Sacred Den Masters that call themselves Tower Lords and have the same appearance as yourself?”
Belissar nodded as he felt his cheeks grow warm again.
“Yes, that.”
Chief Rohsuak rubbed her chin again. She sat in silence for a moment before beginning to speak.
“My people were driven from their homes when I was still a young lady. Most of our records and history were lost or destroyed. What we managed to pass on has faded as well, as our journeys took their toll on the people that knew them. But I can say from what stories remain and what I have personally seen that I have not seen anyone like you before. I know every people has their own name for the Sacred Dens and their masters, but I’ve not heard the name Tower Lord before.”
She gave him a smile.
“It does make sense though, given their appearance.”
Belissar made a hesitant smile at that, and then Chief Rohsuak continued.
“There are legends of lands far to the east and to the west where peoples with less fur live. But to us, they were little more than myths and legends. Until I met you, I had found little evidence of such things.”
Belissar rubbed his chin.
“So...they’re really far away?”
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Chief Rohsuak shrugged.
“As for actual distance, I cannot say, only that my people have never recorded meeting them.”
Belissar fell from his seat and groaned. Chief Rohsuak tilted her head.
“Are you alright, Sacred Den Master?”
He groaned one more time.
“Fine just...I’ve been worried about something that’s not going to happen anytime soon.”
Chief Rohsuak rubbed her chin.
“Not a fan of your own Sacred Den Masters, huh? Well, I don’t think you were wrong to prepare.”
Belissar sat back up.
“Huh? What do you mean?”
Chief Rohsuak’s face turned serious and she made eye contract with him. Belissar wanted to look away but managed to hold her gaze, if barely.
“My people passed through many dangers to arrive here. Savage peoples, deadly monsters, and Sacred Den Masters that were not as kind as yourself. It is wise to gather your strength.”
Belissar frowned.
“Anything close by? How long do we have to prepare?”
Chief Rohsuak shook her head and waved her hands.
“Ah, nothing in the immediate future. The last Sacred Den Master was far away, thus why we had to travel the Underway for quite some time. We aren’t under any imminent threat so long as you can hold back the Hunger.”
She made eye contact again and smiled.
“Just keep in mind that you should not neglect the growth of your defenders and you should be fine.”
Belissar exhaled his breath and then nodded his head.
----------------------------------------
Chief Rohsuak waved to the Den Master as he left their camp. Once he was gone, she immediately began rubbing her chin.
The Den Master had advanced more quickly than she had ever imagined he would. She had thought it would take him weeks at minimum to learn how to move his mana around his own body, then weeks more to do so outside of this body. That should have given her a month or two at the bare minimum to warm the Den Master up to herself and her people.
She held up her finger and created a small flame. She waved her fingers about, causing the flame to dance between them. The problem was that the mana manipulation steps were the only steps she could really teach him. She had not learned magic as some sort of formal trade. No one among her people had, not since they had lost their home. What she had was the blessing of the God of Fire, which, once she had the requisite control over her mana, granted her an innate ability to manipulate her patron’s domain. She had assumed, rightly, that the Den Master would have a similar blessing from his Den’s patron and would automatically learn that patron’s magic once he managed to manipulate his own mana.
Which meant that at this point, she no longer had anything to teach him. She could share her experiences exploring her blessing, but the blessing of each god was mysterious and unique. She couldn’t truly say she knew how her own magic worked, and so could not teach him to use fire as she did. Nor did she have any idea on how the God of Bees’ magic might work, or how he should develop it.
She heaved a sigh. She knew Sacred Den Masters possessed great magical powers, so she supposed she should have expected this. Would a person who had the power of a Sacred Den flowing through their body struggle to move their own mana? Perhaps she had underestimated the boy due to his apparent age and demeanor.
So, the question was, what would she do now?
She also needed to consider the Den Master’s concerns. The Den Master seemed worried, fearful even, of the ones he called Tower Lords. She had to assume such individuals to be on the worse end of Den Master’s from the way this one spoke of them, and how relieved he seemed that she hadn’t encountered any. If a Sacred Den Master was worried about them, then they were certainly a threat to her people.
And finally, she needed to consider what the Den Master himself was capable of. He had his bee army, he had picked up magic in about a week, and he had emerged victorious from his recent fight. She opened the sack and gazed once more upon the golden honeycomb shimmering inside, as well as the lightly glowing mana flower. He also had some incredible resources available that could dramatically improve the capabilities of her people. Even now, ten of their number were working on receiving blessings from his patron, if they could be fed a diet of mana-infused food as well then they would put Metsaitti to shame. There might even be a hunter who could surpass her in her prime.
And...what if the entire next generation was raised on food such as this? If her entire people were one day capable of using mana like herself?
Such a people would not fear any challenge whatsoever.
But all of that was contingent on establishing a good and cooperative relationship with the Den Master, who was still quite wary of them. But Chief Rohsuak hadn’t led her people this far for nothing, so she started to come up with some ideas. Including one that had nothing to do with her people at all.
She looked up and glanced around. There was no one around her and all of her people were focused on their work at present. No one seemed to need her right this second, and no one was watching her. She glanced down at the sack in her hand and frowned.
She knew she shouldn’t. She was old, and she already had solid mana reserves. She didn’t need it. This was a priceless treasure, and it was her duty as chief to utilize it in a manner that would best benefit her people.
She glanced around once more.
“Well, just a taste wouldn’t hurt...”
After all, it had been her effort that earned this. She deserved this much, at the very least.
She reached down and scraped a bit of the honey onto her finger and quickly brought it to her lips.
She soon discovered that just a taste could hurt after all. Because now...now she would do anything to get another. She was just fortunate that no one happened to be nearby, less she have lost her dignity as the chief...