Chapter 19: Gotta Bee Diligent!

Chapter 19: Gotta Bee Diligent!

After gathering the flowers, Belissar returned to his woodworking. He did think about searching the forest for more flowers, or maybe trying to absorb other plants like bushes and trees, but ultimately decided to prioritize the beehouse construction. He figured the bees would let him know if they found a flower they really liked and moving bushes, much less trees, into the Tower seemed...difficult. Besides, this was a mission tasked to him by the God of Bees herself, so he figured he should focus on it if there were no other pressing matters.

He had cut some planks and set them out to dry. Now, all he had to do was wait six months to a year.

Belissar paused, and then sighed. At home they had stocks of wood to work with, but since he was starting from scratch there wasn’t much he could do but wait if he wanted quality wood to work with. Well, in his village people couldn’t always wait for the best of things, so he also knew how to build with freshly cut wood, so he didn’t have to wait for fully dried planks. But...this was a mission from a god! How could he accept any cut corners?!

Well...he was already going to cut some corners, since all he had was an axe, a saw, and his knife. He didn’t have all the tools a true woodworker might use at the moment, after all, so some of the details and finish might be a bit rough by necessity. And, well, the God of Bees had accepted his mess of a prayer for the “Pray at the Shrine” mission. In fact...he could argue the God of Bees had accepted cut corners by blessing some peasant beekeeper instead of a chosen Tower Lord.

Belissar thought for a moment before he stood up and went to grab his axe and saw. Yeah, he had no idea what quality of a job was acceptable for this mission...but there was no sense sitting around for six months doing nothing. He figured he’d make one now with green wood, and if it wasn’t acceptable then he’d wait for fully dried planks. Worst came to worst, he’d have an extra beehouse, which might be a bit rough around the edges but would still be a roof over his bees’ heads.

Belissar then tilted his head as he wondered if it would rain in his Tower. There was a sky with a sun, there was also night and day, so maybe? And what about seasons, was winter coming?

Flower Meadow Upgrades

- Randomized Weather (Cost: 100 DP)

- Weather Control (Cost: 1000 DP)

- Seasonal Cycle (Cost: 500 DP)

Belissar nodded. Of course, there were upgrades for those he didn’t know about. At this point, it just made sense. Well, at least he knew something he could use the DP on now.

DP: 2

He pursed his lip. Yes. The DP he was currently getting at a rate of one per day. Well, he could randomize the weather before the planks finished drying, at least? And it’d only take over a year and a half to get seasons! Less than three years if he wanted to control the weather, apparently!

He decided he was fine with things as they were. Who wouldn’t want a nice and sunny Flower Meadow with a pleasant breeze? Why would he want a winter anyways? His bees would have to go and hibernate...maybe, if monster bees still had to do that.

...in any case, Belissar decided he would save the DP for something else. After all, who knew what else he might need it for?

DP Shop

- Extra Room Feature Choice (Cost: 1000 DP)

For a brief moment, he wondered what might have been if he had chosen a human-sized defending monster. But he quickly banished those thoughts. He was doing this for the bees, and they deserved his best. He certainly wouldn’t fault them for being unable to help with his current task.

So, he told himself as he dragged his feet back out towards the Flower Meadow and the exit to the Tower.

It took a couple more trips to get all the wood inside, after which Belissar stumbled into the farmhouse and collapsed on the bed, trying to ignore his burning muscles...

Belissar woke up the next morning and stretched his arms. He smiled as once again, he had made a full recovery. Sometimes, this Tower business wasn’t half bad. He had a quick breakfast of honeycomb before stepping outside.

He blinked at the sight before him.

One of the monster bee queens hovered in the air before him...only she had somehow grown significantly larger, now the size of a hand and a half. And hovering in the air behind her was half a dozen monster bee soldiers, hand-sized bees with solid-looking chitin and stingers like small daggers. Once Belissar stepped outside, the queen made a motion, and then the soldier bees performed a salute dance, all moving in sync. The queen bee joined them in the motion, and then they all hovered motionless before Belissar.

“King!”

Niobee flew over and greeted him as well.

“Niobee, this is...the soldier bees?”

The little bee flew around happily.

“Yes! Hive now has soldiers! Will fight for King next time!”

Belissar furrowed his brow at that but looked over the monster bee soldiers. He imagined the shade from the Hunger attacking again...only this time, it wasn’t tiny bees flying to their deaths. This time, he imagined the bees before him, their large stingers plunging into the shade’s side. He imagined a swarm of bees like that meeting the monster as it arrived.

The shade was still terrifying to Belissar, and he couldn’t help but think of the fallen hives when he thought of it. But with the bees before him now...it didn’t seem so unthinkable that they could face such a monster directly.

He smiled.

“Well done. I think we’ll be much better prepared if we have to fight again.”

The queen bee buzzed and made another salute, the soldier bees following suit.