The Bee Dungeon

Chapter 23: Bee Grateful

Belissar slowly closed his mouth. The shade may have seemed a bit smaller than the first, and never used the all-direction mist attack, but it also hadn’t been particularly weak as far as Belissar knew. It wasn’t like he could have taken it by himself without the Pit Traps, after all. And yet...the soldier bees had handled it. They took it down with only a handful of losses. The shade had barely made it beyond the gate, even.

It took Belissar a moment to accept the situation.

Minor Purification completed! Please select a reward:

- +50 DP

- +10 Max Mana

- Monster Bee Soldier Strength Boost (Minimal)

But he was not dreaming. A shade of the Hunger was defeated without needing the traps or fire at all. Belissar hadn’t even lifted a finger. It was a tremendous victory.

"Bees win! King’s hive best hive! King best king!”

Belissar couldn’t help but smile as Niobee flew around him as fast as she could. The Apiary bees all around began to buzz and zip through the air, performing quick and elaborate aerial dances as they celebrated the victory. He took a deep breath, relaxing his body as he exhaled it.

His choices hadn’t been wrong. His bees could defend a Tower of the Gods after all. He hadn’t expected them to lose here, but to see the victory with his own eyes was still a relief. He really could call himself a Tower Lord now, without qualifiers.

Well, he’d still appreciate a manual or guide of some sort, but as long as his bees were safe he was content with how things were going.

That thought did bring a slight frown to Belissar’s face. He glanced at the fallen bee soldiers on the ground, the wounded one who could no longer fly, and the remains of the one who gave her life to strike the critical blow. The victory was great indeed, and with far less losses than Belissar had feared...but it had not come without sacrifice. He nodded to himself, and pushed aside the messages regarding rewards as he began to walk towards the Flower Meadow.

He had something to do, and all else could wait.

Belissar waited as the bees celebrated before he began his task. Once they had calmed down, he walked to the site of the battlefield. He picked up the wounded bee and placed her on his shoulder, then gathered the remains of the fallen bee soldiers. Niobee flew over to him.

“King, what doing? That workers job!”

Belissar shook his head.

“They gave their lives for me. The least I can do is honor them.”

Niobee shook about in the air.

“Honor? What that?”

The rest of the bees watched Belissar as he gently held the remains in his arms, carrying them to the end of the Flower Meadow, laying them down by the Shrine of Bees. He then retrieved his axe, saw, and some wood, and got to work. He dug a hole in the ground as best he could with what he had, and then placed the bees inside of it.

He knew that normal bees didn’t seem overly concerned with their dead. The bees that died in the hive would be removed and dumped at a safe distance. The bees that died outside were simply left where they fell. He didn’t know if monster bees did it differently but Niobee’s confusion seemed to confirm that they acted much the same. So, since they had no ceremonies of their own, Belissar simply did as he thought best.

He put the bees in the same hole, figuring they would have preferred to be together. He then buried them back up, and then got to work on the wood. He made a hexagonal honeycomb sculpture, carving some bees into it as best he could, before propping it up over the grave.

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At this point, he was surrounded by bees. All of the queens had grown curious as to his actions, and gathered from both the Flower Meadow and the Apiary to watch him.

When he was finished, he turned to Niobee.

“Do you know who their queens were?”

“Will ask.”

Niobee gathered with the queens, and then three of the Flower Meadow queens flew over to Belissar, including the largest and oldest of the bunch.

“Do they have names? Or a way to call each other?”

Niobee flew unsteadily.

“No name. We call by birth. This is First Queen of Second Dynasty of First Spawner, Third Queen of First Dynasty of Third Spawner, and First Queen of First Dynasty of Fourth Spawner.”

Belissar rubbed his chin and then nodded. He took several planks of wood and placed them by the sculpture. He carved a set of numbers separated by dashes on each, corresponding to the numbers Niobee had stated. He then asked how many of the fallen belonged to each of the queens and carved a line for each into their respective planks.

He then took a deep breath and rose to his feet. He frowned for a moment, and his heart began to pound. His heart constricted in his chest.

Belissar did not often think of the dead. What point was there in that? No matter what tears were shed or what words were spoken, the dead were gone and that was that. It was unfortunate, but there was no sense dwelling on what could not be changed. The bees didn’t bother with such things. They simply removed the corpses and kept at their work. Belissar had tried to do the same.

But when he thought of his bees, who gave their lives without hesitation or regret...he felt they did not deserve to simply be cast away and forgotten. He felt he had to do something for them.

So, he changed his mind. In the aftermath of the first purification, he had realized that he hadn’t moved on at all. That the thoughts of those he had lost still lingered inside him, as much as he tried to deny it. Even the very thought of them brought tears to his eyes, which was why he had done all he could not to think of them. Those thoughts now stabbed through his chest like a cold knife. Every muscle in his body tensed and told him to flee.

But Belissar fixed his eyes on the bees hovering before him and put aside his own discomfort. He would do this for them, at the very least. He took the wounded bee soldier on his shoulder and gently placed her before the grave, then took a step back and faced her. He bowed his head.

“Thank you, for your sacrifice. We won because of you. I won’t forget that.”

He didn’t know what else to say or do. His parents hadn’t even had a funeral, and he buried the old beekeeper himself. So, he simply stood in silence for a moment.

The wounded bee soldier squirmed a bit under Belissar’s gaze, while the rest of the bees hovered in the air, unsure of what to do.

Then, one of them began to move. Niobee began to fly in a slow pattern, starting a new dance that she had never done before. This was not something instinctive to her or taught to her by her colony. So, she slowly, unsteadily mapped out the movements herself. She tried to match the dance to the feelings she could perceive from the King. She made slow and graceful movements, beating her wings as softly as possible, yet keeping her course straight and steady as she could. Once Niobee completed her dance she repeated it, now absent the hesitation or doubt of her first attempt.

A slow and steady buzz arose in the air. The other bees began to follow her, first the queens of the Flower Meadow, then the soldiers, and then all the rest. The wounded soldier couldn’t follow without her wing, but she beat her remaining wing along the rhythm of the others. The King turned and watched as the bees conducted their dance. He nodded at them as they concluded.

“Thank you all.”

The bees buzzed in response.

The Firstborn of the Second Dynasty of the First Spawner trembled as the King’s words vibrated through her chitin. Her mana stirred, filling her body with heat.

A grand and mighty victory was won this day. She had achieved all she had set out to do. The enemy was defeated by the strength of their armies, felled by the sacrifice of one of her own soldiers. The destruction of the First Dynasty was repaid in full, and the bees had proven themselves worthy defenders to the King.

If it had ended there, the Firstborn would have flown high for quite some time. But the King was not content with that.

No, he had taken the fallen and carried them by his own hand. He began a new construction, one that did not seem suited as either shelter or defense. The Firstborn had watched in confusion, uncertain as to the King’s purposes here.

Until he called her. She stood before him as the Conduit reported her titles.

What happened next shook her from her antenna down to her stinger.

The King carved her own title into a monument of his own design, one that stood next to the shrine of the Goddess herself, the Queen who reigned in the skies above. She knew not the symbols but the King’s intent came through their bond and she knew that this one was supposed to represent her. He carved a symbol for each of her soldiers that had fallen in battle. He left an enduring mark that would remind all who saw it what her hive had sacrificed in the defense of her king.

The rest of the day passed in a blur for the Firstborn, even as she followed the Conduit’s dance. It was not until night fell that she came to herself, even as her soldiers and workers began to tug her back to her hive. Feelings and emotions she couldn’t describe surged through her, causing her wings to buzz. Her hive all turned to her in alarm. She began to dance rapidly as thoughts raced through her mind.

This would only be the beginning. They had defeated one invader but more would come, and the Firstborn intended to be ready. Nay, they would be more than ready. Her hive would build the finest army bee-kind had ever seen.

All for the King.