Chapter 140: An Informed Bee-cision?

Chapter 140: An Informed Bee-cision?

The First of the Fifth was just hovering in the air, staring as scouts from all the different hives flew in and out of the new door. This...changed everything. The bumblebee soldiers could now fly right from their nest to the Flower Meadow. The Apiary queens had but to fly to the closest wall to make their honey deliveries. Her foragers could access every flower in every room nearly as easily as the mana flower patch next to her hive.

Her mind buzzed with the implications. Resources could now be pooled and shared between all the King’s hives. Specialized honey could be produced anywhere and delivered to anywhere. Hives far away from the Flower Meadow could contribute soldiers to the army as easily as the queens that dwelt there. Queens and messengers could meet at will.

She was truly proud of her daughter for this suggestion. And now, as the queen the King had tasked with organizing the others, it was her turn. She would have to see this wonder come to fruition.

She started to fly once more as she began to plan...

After setting up those shortcuts, Belissar made his honey-gathering and tribute rounds, then headed out for the karnuq floor. Chief Rohsuak was waiting to greet him when he arrived. The first thing they did was set up shortcuts for the karnuq as well. He placed two shortcuts in the karnuq’s flower meadow, setting up the doors next to the regular room exits. One led directly to the Tower’s exit so that the karnuq could come and go at will, while the other led to the Orchard to connect the karnuq with the rest of the Tower...and the bees.

After that, Chief Rohsuak, Metsaitti, and Juosiutik all gathered with Belissar in Chief Rohsuak’s house to discuss their encounters with monster plants...

“It, um, drinks...blood?”

Metsaitti nodded.

“The roots were covered in thorns and wrapped around anything that approached. We saw a bunch of desiccated animal corpses in their grasp. We saw one wolf-mole get caught...it wasn’t pretty. Ultimately, we took a detour around the area. Never saw what it looked like on the surface.”

Belissar ruled that one out.

“Seemed to have acid running through it, extremely corrosive. Any wound would cause it to spray out. There were also these bulges on the roots that would explode with even the lightest touch. We didn’t see any corpses, but I presume the roots would drink up any liquified remains.”

Belissar gulped as Chief Rohsuak spoke.

“I...see. Um, anything else?”

Chief Rohsuak shrugged.

“They were highly flammable, acid included. We had to wait a while for the fumes to clear up, though. There was some pool of liquid that smelled terrible, but we avoided it, so I can’t tell you more.”

Belissar guessed he was ruling that one out too.

Juosiutik shook her head.

“There’s very little in the records I have about monster plants. I did find this excerpt regarding some swamp flowers, but it’s more about preventing monsters than raising them.”

Belissar shrugged.

“Well, I guess anything might help? I don’t really know what I’m looking for, to be honest.”

Juosiutik nodded.

“Says here there are flowers in the bogs that would start attracting slimes if left for too long. This could be avoided by draining nectar from the flowers on a regular basis.”

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Dirt Trails

- Type: Utility, Decoration

- Mana Upkeep: 0

- Description: A trail of packed dirt. Slightly boosts speed of ground movement.

Belissar shrugged at that. It still didn’t help any of his flying bees. He guessed it was a little more useful than last time he saw it now that he had the karnuq...but he had also just installed a bunch of shortcuts, so faster movement wasn’t really a concern for him right now.

Beeswax Candles

- Type: Bee, Fire, Decoration

- Mana Upkeep: 1(0 if wax is regularly provided)

- Description: A beeswax candle that provides light, and a bit of heat. Effects may vary if special wax types are provided.

Beeswax candles were the same as before. Again, maybe they would help light the way in the Dirt Tunnels, but he could also make candles himself if he really wanted to. There was that line about special effects, though, so maybe it was worth taking as a feature.

And then, finally...

Boulder

- Type: Ground, Decoration

- Mana Upkeep: 0

- Description: A big rock. Can hold certain features that require rocky or Ground-attribute terrain.

...it was a rock. A big rock, sure, but a rock. Maybe it would have been useful if he didn’t have basic resource minerals to provide useful stone but otherwise...it was a rock. Maybe he could put it on a hill and roll it down on a shade? If he could make hills steep enough, that was, as the Flower Meadows only allowed gentle slopes...

Belissar rubbed his chin. Come to think of it, he was able to make vertical entrances to Dirt Tunnel rooms. They could hypothetically drop rocks down those. Or down a Pit Trap as an alternative to fire. Now that he thought about it, big rocks were surprisingly useful...

But the question was, did it justify taking as a feature? Hypothetically, Muuraqi could cut big rocks for him from the mineral nodes, so he again didn’t necessarily need the feature to implement those ideas. In fact, which, of these three choices, was worth taking?

Belissar shrugged.

Beeswax Candles are now available!

When in doubt, Belissar chose bees. The line about special waxes, in particular, drew his attention. Perhaps his bees could do something with these? He would, however, ask the karnuq about the dropping rocks plan at some point.

Belissar glared at the DP shop before making the next purchase. He may not have known what he actually needed right now, but he sure would like to get something other than a repeat common option...