The wounded soldier focused on the air ahead of her. She began to beat her wings, creating a chain of lightning surging around her body. She began to focus this lightning and move it about. She twisted into a pattern that resembled the steps of the dance for “sting.”
The pattern locked into place and then flashed as she pushed her mana into it. Lightning took the shape of a stinger and shot out into the air before her. She stared at it for a moment before breaking out into a happy dance.
She…had done it. She had found a way to fight again.
Well, it would take a lot more work. That lightning hadn’t even traveled as far as a sprayer’s attack and she still couldn’t fly, so actually getting to the battle would be a problem. But it was a step in the right direction and an important one at that.
She stopped dancing as she felt a pair of antennae brush against her. She turned to see the other wounded soldiers gathered around her. Her antennae twitched before she began to dance the affirmative to the question she knew they had.
The process by which she received her lightning was dangerous. She knew the others wanted to try, and not a single one of them would shy away from danger on behalf of the hive, but that was why she wanted to be certain. She wasn’t going to put her sisters at risk unless she knew that her path would lead them where they wanted to go. But now…now she could be confident that it did. In time…she would be able to rejoin the fight.
And that meant that now…it was time to help her sisters follow her path.
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Belissar stared with wide eyes through his Tower sight as he watched the wounded soldier’s lightning fly through the air. She had come up as something to keep track of as he was talking to the bees, so he decided to look in on how she was doing.
Just in time to see a stinger made of lighting surge through the air.
He withdrew his Tower sight and looked down at his own hand. So far, he had used his magic to create honey and wax. But then…why not a stinger? It was perhaps easy for him to forget since his bees would never ever sting him now, but stingers were also a defining characteristic of bees.
He held his hand out, and tried to move his mana in the pattern he had seen the wounded soldier use, imagining a stinger thrust out towards the air.
A moment later, the pattern finished and flashed. A stinger, made of yellow mana instead of lighting, formed and thrust forward. Belissar blinked for a second before starting to grin.
Leave it to the bees to be way better at this than him. And now, thanks to the wounded soldier, he had gained his first spell that could be used to fight. He would have to make sure to be diligent about practicing his magic, for who knew what else might be possible?
In any case, the next bumblebee queen should be spawning soon, so Belissar made his way over to greet the newcomer, build her a nest, and check in on her siblings.
After taking care of the new queen…and perhaps taking a moment to enjoy the sight of three bumblebee queens flying circles around him…Belissar made his way over to the karnuq and found Chief Rohsuak and Juosiutik waiting for him.
“Hello, Sacred Den Master Belissar.”
Both of them greeted him.
“Hello, um, nice to see you again.”
Juosiutik shook her head.
“I should be the one saying that! I don’t know how I could ever repay you for everything you’ve given us. The sheer amount of herbs and flowers I have now means we’ll never run out!”
Belissar rubbed the back of his head.
“Ah, um, your welcome? Glad you like it.”
He then turned to Chief Rohsuak.
“Speaking of, I was coming to see if you have any other plants, or minerals now. I’ll, um, make some nodes of whatever you have for you if I can.”
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Chief Rohsuak smiled at him.
“Yes, I had expected as much. Please take a look.”
She motioned to a mat they had placed on the ground, covered in various plants, seeds, and ores. Belissar picked up one of the ores that was tinted red.
Absorb iron ore? Current samples: 0/3
Belissar tilted his head. He figured iron would be pretty basic, so did he need to absorb it? He then realized he should probably check what’s initially available for the basic resource minerals.
Available Resource Minerals for Flower Meadow:
- Basic Stone (Mana Upkeep: 1 per node)
- Copper Ore (Mana Upkeep: 3 per node)
- Tin Ore (Mana Upkeep: 3 per node)
- Salt (Mana Upkeep: 3 per node)
Ah, apparently iron wasn’t actually included with the initial options. That was curious, though with copper he guessed they might be able to make bronze instead? Was bronze somehow worse than iron? Belissar didn’t know enough about smithing or metallurgy to say. Belissar checked the options for the other rooms but in this case, they were all the same, though he found the nodes were one mana cheaper in the Dirt Tunnels than in any other room. So, it looked like absorbing iron was a good idea after all.
Iron ore absorbed.
Absorb iron ore? Current samples: 1.27/3
Each piece of iron ore gave a different quantity of samples, apparently, that roughly corresponded to their size. It still only took three, however.
Sufficient samples gathered. Iron Ore is now available.
Current Applications: Flower Meadow*, Apiary*, Orchard*, Dirt Tunnels (*=Resource Node only)
The next ore Belissar picked up was a silver one that gleamed in the sunlight.
Absorb silver ore?
Belissar’s eyes widened as he stared down at the rock in his hand. This…was silver? He had heard of silver, but never actually owned anything made of it. Well, Mrs. Imkomos had owned a silver amulet, a symbol of one of the gods, but Belissar had made sure it got buried with her. Other than that, his village mostly functioned on barter…or at least it did when trading with Belissar…so the most he had ever held himself were copper coins. Silver…was something unimaginable.
But then he paused, tilted his head, and shrugged. So, he knew silver was valuable, but he didn’t actually know why it was valuable. The ore was certainly shinier than the iron ore, but that was as far as Belissar’s knowledge went. Besides, he and the karnuq weren’t using coins to trade with one another even before they had become his defenders, so it wasn’t like unfathomably valuable silver coins would actually have any use right now.
But well, another option was another option, so he absorbed it too.
Sufficient samples gathered. Silver Ore is now available.
Available Resource Minerals for Flower Meadow:
- Basic Stone (Mana Upkeep: 1 per node)
- Copper Ore (Mana Upkeep: 3 per node)
- Tin Ore (Mana Upkeep: 3 per node)
- Salt (Mana Upkeep: 3 per node)
- Iron Ore (Mana Upkeep: 3 per node)
- Silver Ore (Mana Upkeep: 5 per node)
Those were the only two minerals in sufficient quantities to be absorbed. Well, the karnuq did have salt as well, but Belissar already had access to that. Interestingly, silver ore was the only one more expensive than the rest. Maybe because it was valuable? Did valuable things for humans cost more mana for the Tower? Or was there something different about silver specifically?
Belissar shrugged and moved on to the plants…or rather, mushrooms, mostly. Juosiutik grinned as she knelt down by them. She pointed to a bundle wrapped in cloth with a very serious expression.
“That’s Underway death cap. It’s extremely toxic. Be careful not to touch it when you unwrap it.”
Belissar gulped, and maybe trembled a bit as he reached for the bundle.
Absorb Subterranean Death Cap? Samples: 0/7
Fortunately, it turned out he didn’t even need to unwrap the deadly fungi to absorb them. As a subterranean option they were only available in the Dirt Tunnels, but that was fine. Belissar did not intend to spread these around, after all. He’d have to have Niobee test if they were dangerous to bees first…
Juosiutik then picked up and handed him the next one. It was a mushroom with a wide and flat cap.
“This is glowcap. Glows in the dark, we think it has Light mana but we’re not sure. It can have a purification effect if you process it right.”
Belissar nodded. That was significantly less concerning than something with death in the name. Juosiutik then pointed to yet another bundle, this one long and thing.
“That’s shadow vine. Again, be careful. Its sap has a blinding effect. Ah, you shouldn’t place it near the glowcap, it dislikes light.”
Belissar nodded and absorbed that one without unwrapping it as well. All three of the new plants and mushrooms were subterranean, so would only grow in the Dirt Tunnels.
“Thank you both, I’ll go ahead and make some of these.”
Both Chief Rohsuak and Juosiutik shook their heads. Juosiutik gave him a smile.
“Like I said, I’m the one who should be thanking you, Sacred Den Master. The potions I’ll be able to make with all of this and the honey are going to be amazing.”
Chief Rohsuak nodded.
“Juosiutik is right. And one you can make some of the ores, please let us know if you have any metalworking requests. We still have a smith so we should be able to make some basic products right away.”
Belissar’s eyes widened a bit.
“Ah, that’d be great, actually. Um, should we move to the Dirt Tunnels while I place these? I should, uh, probably let you know where the super poisonous mushrooms are going to be.”
Both karnuq’s faces turned serious and they nodded.
“Ah, yes. Definitely.”