The Bee Dungeon
Chapter 17: A Bee-nificial Find

Belissar grunted as he hauled branches and logs back towards the farmhouse. Fortunately, this was something he had done before. Everyone in his village was capable of some basic logging and woodwork, as no one had such abundance that they could hire a specialist at any given time. This went doubly so for Belissar and the old beekeeper, neither of whom had extensive family assets or extensive families who could come and help.

Unfortunately, Belissar found that whatever Tower magic, and magic it was now that he realized it was mana flowing through his body, kept him free of food and drink did not extend to muscle fatigue from extensive exertion. He could very much feel the burn all across his body as he plopped another large piece of wood onto the pile he had gathered. The pile that still needed to be dried and processed into usable shapes before he could even begin to work on one of his old beehouses.

This may have been a task he was used to...but that didn’t mean easy.

The gates of the Tower opened up into the world beyond once again, and a swarm of bees flew out in a buzzing cloud. The scouts had reported back on their replaceings, and the queens now sent out a full wave of harvesters to gather from the flowers outside. The scouts themselves continued onward, searching for even more locations to gather from as the harvesters availed themselves of the first replaces. The scouts flew beyond the immediate area around the Tower, into a more heavily forested area. The flowers were more difficult to replace here with the trees and brush barring the way, but still the scouts found much to report. Some of the trees and bushes had flowers of their own, as well.

But a few of the scouts did not settle for these replaces, pushing far into the forest instead. They had detected something, their antenna twitching as they caught faint wisps of a scent on the wind. As small lights seem to flicker just beyond the sight of their eyes. As something resonated with the mana flowing within them. It was almost as if something called to them.

Eventually, a handful of the scouts came across something. Something beyond the simple plants and trees that had regrown in the light of the Tower. Something far older, something that had existed in ages past, before the Hunger had ever swallowed this place.

Ancient stone ruins rose above the brush, covered in moss and vines. Stone arches and pillars crumbled, the walls and roofs they supported long gone. Ancient markings faded on the stone, wind and rain leveling out the grooves carved into the surfaces. Small flickers of light were all that remained of ancient enchantments, the barest hints of mana that had once powered wonders.

And yet...something still lingered in this place. The air held still, the leaves fell around the structure, the rot and decay seemed to hesitate. It was as if this place was pushing against time, as if something remained that wanted to preserve what memories still endured.

And the bees...ignored it entirely and flew instead to the flowers growing on the outskirts of the ruins. They began to buzz and dance about as they sampled the nectar, and then flew back towards the Tower at maximum speed.

Belissar ended up taking a rest in the farmhouse once again after laying out some sawed planks to dry. He chewed some honeycomb from the Apiary beehouses and then turned in for the night. He slept better than he had ever since his village burned down.

He stretched his arms as he awoke. He smiled as he moved about and found no pain in any part of his body. The magic of the Tower may not have prevented exhaustion, but it sure did an excellent job of repairing it.

He stretched one more time and then prepared to resume his work for the day when Niobee came buzzing into the door. She flew about at maximum speed.

“King, come quick!”

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Belissar’s eyes widened.

“Niobee? What’s the matter? Did something happen?!”

Niobee just kept telling him to come and then zoomed out the door. Belissar grabbed the woodcutting axe and then hurried after her. He ran out through the Apiary and into the Flower Meadow. Niobee led him onward, until they arrived at the gate of the Tower itself. Belissar’s eyes widened as he saw that the gate was open, and yet he didn’t see any of the Hunger trying to force its way inside.

“Come quick!”

Belissar gasped as Niobee zoomed out the gate. He noticed dozens of other bees flying in and out as well. His eyes widened for a second, then he gulped and followed after them.

He blinked as the sun shone down on his face. The real sun.

Before him was a small clearing in the middle of a forest, covered in grass with flowers adding occasional specks of color. Bees flew everywhere in the field, landing on each of the flowers in turn. Belissar stood still, taking in the scene for a moment.

“What...is this?”

He rubbed his eyes and looked again. Previously, he had seen nothing but the Hunger behind the gate. He knew the Tower had pushed it back but...the scene before him was more than that. He had expected barren rock, maybe some dirt and lichens at most. But instead, the land was filled with life and color, with his bees happily buzzing and gathering the bounty of nature. It was like the Hunger had never been there.

Belissar slowly turned around. He walked to the edge of the gateway and placed a hand on the walls of the Tower. His Tower.

“Tower of the Gods indeed...”

For what else could this be but a miracle? The Tower of the Gods had not only pushed back the Hunger, but it had also reclaimed the world from it. It had restored what had been lost and healed what had been twisted.

And it had been his work, his victory over the shade that had made this possible.

So long did Belissar stand staring at the scene that Niobee flew back and buzzed in front of his face.

“King, come quick!”

Belissar shook himself out of his daze and followed after Niobee once more. He narrowed his eyes as he followed.

“Can you tell me what’s going on now?”

“Scouts replace something! Something important!”

Belissar nodded and followed after her, before promptly tripping over a lifted root and falling into a bush.

“Ouch...”

“King! King ok?!”

Belissar slowed down a bit, carefully making his way through the forest after that. He even had to hack his way through some particularly thick bushes when he couldn’t replace a path forward. Eventually, he rounded a final tree and found what the bees wanted him to see.

HIs eyes widened as he saw the ruins. The ancient stone still standing tall even as it crumbled. The faint buzzing and heat from the mana remaining in long faded enchantments. He could still make out nearly faded markings, messages of an ancient script he couldn’t decipher. He saw a once towering statue, now but a crumbling torso as its head and arms had long since broken apart.

He stepped forward.

“What...is this place?”

And then Niobee buzzed before him.

“King! This way!”

Belissar blinked and turned his head as Niobee flew...off to the side. He glanced at her, then back to the ruins, shaking his head back and forth between them.

“Are....you sure? Not these?”

“This way!”

She seemed very insistent, so Belissar shrugged and turned to follow her.

“Here! Look!”

Belissar followed until he arrived at a small bunch of flowers, with several of his bees hovering around them. At first, he tilted his head. They were pretty, pale blue flowers, but they seemed little different from any of the others in the field around him. He was about to question the bees when he saw it.

A faint shimmer of light passed through the petals. Belissar nearly thought it was simply the sunlight passing through the canopy above...except that he felt a slight warmth. He crouched down and reached for one of the flowers, gently holding one of its pedals in his fingers. His eyes widened. He could feel a slight warmth from the flowers. A warmth he now recognized. He knew immediately what it was. And he knew immediately why the bees were drawn to it.

These flowers contained mana. He already knew that a bee colony’s honey could vary slightly based on what flowers they gathered nectar from. Likewise, his bees were monster bees who could produce mana honey. So...what would happen if they gathered nectar from a flower filled with mana?

...well, Belissar had no idea. But...his intuition told him it was something he wanted to replace out. The bees also seemed very excited about this.

“Good flowers! Queens think we should bring home but workers couldn’t lift. King can?”

Belissar nodded. In fact, they were so excited that they had come to replace him and ask for his help.

“Good idea.”

He crouched down and began to dig into the dirt with his hands, careful not to tear up any of the roots he encountered. Soon, he lifted a handful of dirt held together by the roots of the flower, carrying the whole plant with it. He gave one last glance at the ruins before he set off back towards his Tower.

Whatever was there could wait. His bees had made a request of him, and he would deliver. He was...a bit excited to see what would result...