When the next day began, Belissar made his way to the new flame radish node in the Apiary. As with other resource plant nodes, a few of the flowers were glowing slightly. He pulled on these and the whole plant came out, including a brand new, fully grown flame radish at the bottom. He very carefully took one of these over to the Shrine of Bees and, as he had and continued to do with all the products he gathered, placed the radish within the wax chest, watching very carefully for any sign of flames.
“Thank you again, for everything. I hope you like it.”
The statue and chest glowed with light. When the light faded and Belissar opened up the chest, the flame radish was gone. He exhaled his breath; the offering had gone well and with no unintentional fires.
With that, he continued on his day. He gathered the remaining flame radishes and stored them in the pot he left in the Apiary’s campfire pit. He then gathered and offered some healing herbs, mana flowers, and honey trays before storing the remainder. He didn’t gather every resource in his Tower every day, but more medicine was always good to have, the mana flowers were supposedly very useful and valuable, and the Apiary bees were happy whenever he accepted honey from them, so he always gathered those three at the very least.
After that, Belissar considered his next move. The minor purification cooldown finished in the morning today, so he could start one right away if he wanted. But he did not. Instead, he walked over to the Flower Meadow. He found the soldier bee army had already started their training, with one of the queens leading them. She came and saluted to him.
“Good morning! Um...”
He took a minute to figure out how to word his question.
“If two of the normal wolf-shades attacked, how would it go?”
The queen immediately began to dance, indicating that the army would bring it down. Belissar rubbed his chin.
“And...how many bees would we lose?”
The queen paused for a moment before she turned around and began a dance faced away from Belissar. A few of the soldiers flew to her and saluted, then began their own dances. She then turned back to him.
“A few at most, none is possible.”
Belissar nodded at that.
“Got it. In that case...I’m going to delay the purification until the late afternoon, the time we were originally doing it. But...it’s going to be a minor+, so a bit stronger than normal. Last time it was two of the wolf-shades...but, um, I think we might want to be ready for a surprise, just in case. Just letting you know so you have time to prepare.”
The queen and the soldiers behind her immediately began salute dances. Then they flew off into the air. A wave of dances passed through the soldier bee army and then the training resumed at a notably faster pace. Belissar took a deep breath.
He was relatively sure that the bees would be able to handle it. They had handled a minor+ purification before and had grown stronger since then. But the Tower had surprised them before with occasionally deadly results, so Belissar couldn’t help but worry anytime they were trying something different.
But he forced his fears down as he watched the queen dance and the air and the soldier bees zip around in response. His bees were working as hard as they could to ensure such losses did not occur. What sort of dungeon master and beekeeper would he be if he didn’t trust in their efforts?
And, ultimately, he wanted to take the next step if they could handle it. The new expansion brought with it an Orchard that enticed the bees enough to move their entire hives there, sprayers who could bring down a wolf-shade with impunity, and cross-pollination that...well, he wasn’t sure if that had resulted in anything yet. He put checking the different flowers and resource nodes on his to-do list. The point was, though, that they gained many new options when they took on more dangerous purifications than the minor ones, new options that in turn helped them face those challenges more easily.
He had recently become aware of some new needs, in fact. He would have liked to practice making potions as per the recipe Juosiutik showed him, but he currently lacked a water source and suitable containers for both processing and storing liquids. He could potentially make some basic pots and bowls out of wood, or could probably trade with the bear people for some, but he figured water was something he might want a Tower option for. Not least of all because of the potential flammability of his Tower, a river cutting through the Flower Meadow, for example, would go a long way in easing his concerns.
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But, well, with a grand total of three minor purifications thus far, his total mana was only at three-hundred and thirty at the moment, not nearly enough to consider another expansion purification even if he felt confident in facing another shade of that caliber. Likewise, while his DP was growing nicely, he was still a ways off from affording any of the options in the DP store. Taking on a bit more challenge as the bees were able would open up new options that much sooner.
With the plan for the day set, Belissar then turned his mind to his other tasks. First of all, he spent some time practicing his magic. Chief Rohsuak had said the best way for him to learn at this point was for him to use it, so it wouldn’t do to slack. Well, right now all he could really do was make honey. He made another little honeycomb pattern out of mana and watched the honey pool in his hand. He furrowed his brow then held up his hand.
“Niobee, want some honey? I, um, didn’t think about what to do with it before I made it.”
She flew in front of him and began to dance slowly.
“King...giving honey? Honey he made?”
Belissar nodded.
“Yep.”
Niobee paused, swaying about in the air for a moment before she suddenly started zipping.
“King...can make honey! And hives! And bees! King is best king! Definitely not useless drone! Niobee knew!”
Belissar started chuckling and smiled at her.
“Well...I guess I can, in a way. So, do you want some? I already made it so I’d appreciate it if you could help me with it.”
“Ok!”
Belissar’s grin grew as Niobee hovered in front of his hand and drank up the pool of honey in his hand. If it made Niobee this happy, then even this small bit of magic was something incredible.
After Niobee had drank her fill, Belissar got to work on the Flower Meadow beehouse. He sawed the dry wood provided by the bear people into appropriately sized planks and cut grooves into them that would fit together. He then started laying out a foundation for the house, slotting the grooves together.
It...was a bit slow going. Belissar was no stranger to lifting heavy objects, but handling large pieces of wood like that alone was a bit much. Still, he was determined to see it through, however hard it was or however long it took. His bees deserved no less.
And before he knew it, it was about time for the purification. He put the last log into place and then rubbed his arms and back. But the day was wearing on and he needed to at least gather a flame radish, so he had to stop here. He heaved a sigh.
He really hoped it would go well today...
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The First Queen of the First Dynasty of the Fourth Spawner, the first of her line, flew through the ranks of her soldiers. She flew to the very front of the army, where her hive gathered at the entrance of the King’s realm. Where the invader would soon arrive. She danced as her soldiers saluted.
“Everything ready?”
The designated leader soldier replied.
“Everything ready, queen! Ready to fight!”
“Good.”
She looked at the entrance for a while longer, the place that would soon become a battlefield. She slowly began to back up, keeping her eyes on the entrance for as long as she could before turning around and flying to take her place at the head of the reserved force.
Long had the First of the Fourth had her soldiers report of their deeds. Long had she watched them train against imaginary foes. Long had she listened to the stories told by the Conduit of the First Dynasty of the First Spawner and their courageous, if doomed, final stand. Long had she stood on the very top of her hive, straining her eyes to catch even the smallest glimpse of the battles in progress.
Sometimes, she wished she could join the army as it flew to the fight. But she knew her place. If not for her and her fellow queens, there would not be an army, so she did the next best thing and raised the mightiest soldiers she could.
She had burned with rage when their army was nearly defeated.
But...she would admit that she had been ecstatic when the Firstborn proposed how to prevent such a thing from happening again. She, along with the other queens of the Flower Meadow, would now have the chance to lead from the front, like the courageous queens of the First Dynasty on their final stand. She patiently waited her turn, but she could hardly stand still these last three days as she watched the other queens fly with the army, and listened to them recount tales of the battle in question.
And now, it was her turn. And her patience had granted her an unexpected reward. Today, on the day of her command, the King had acknowledged their growing might. He would once again entrust them with a battle of greater proportions, send them against a mightier foe than the daily invader. She would be the first to test her might in such a battle.
It was with reluctance that she returned to the reserved force. She thought briefly of leading from the very front, with the soldiers of her own hive. But she knew better. Her wings were not as fast as a soldiers nor her stinger as long and sharp. To get any closer would be to needlessly place herself at risk. It was also her duty to command the army as whole, which meant she needed to be in a place where she could see the battle as a whole.
But that was fine. She would be watching the battle with her own eyes. She would be responsible to face the enemy directly and bring them down. The fate of all hives and the trust of the king hung upon her, and she would not let them down.
“Everybody ready?”
The voice of the King resounded through her very being and she could have only one response. She danced the salute.
The time had come.