Chapter 120: Chapter 120

Belissar sat in the Apiary farmhouse after celebrating the bee army’s latest victory. He rubbed his chin as he let the silence of the night waft over him. Niobee watched him from the table but made no noise, not wanting to interrupt his thoughts. Eventually he nodded and then made a light sigh.

This incident decided things for him, he was going to conduct another expansion purification sooner rather than later. The boar-shade was really easy for his bees to take down without losses…but that was because it had been outside the Tower. If it had been during a purification? Sure, the boar couldn’t actually hit any of the bees, but its sheer bulk and resilience meant the bees couldn’t actually stop it from moving around, and it lasted a long time before their venom noticeably affected it. If it had been assaulting the Tower, it could have made a break for the Flower Meadow exit and likely would have reached it before the bee army brought it down. It, therefore, could have done major damage to the Bee Barracks, the Orchard, or the Apiary before perishing. It may even have been able to reach the core if it made a straight run for it.

Well, they probably would have been able to lure it into a Pit Trap and the boar seemed to charge whatever attacked it so it probably would have worked out, but that wasn’t the point. The point was that the Hunger continuously changed its approach…and was not limited to the contained purifications Belissar could conduct at his leisure. The Hunger was at war with his Tower and would do everything in its power to slip past his defenses, both within and outside of purifications. Belissar had, perhaps, gotten a bit too comfortable with the Hunger thanks to the recent string of successful purifications. It was good for him to remember that the Hunger was not a passive threat.

As such, while it didn’t mean that he should rush, it would be wise of him not to neglect his Tower’s growth. More expansion meant more options. New bees, new rooms, new features, and new flowers that could all provide tools to deal with whatever the next shade turned out to be. And more territory purified meant more ground for a shade to cover before it could reach the karnuq or the Tower, should one attack from the outside once more.

Belissar still wanted to do everything he could to put the odds in his bees’ favor and avoid casualties. But, ultimately, he knew he could trust them to get it done. And so, he would.

Now resolved, Belissar headed off to bed. Tomorrow could be a busy day.

The next day, Belissar and Niobee gathered the queens at the Orchard’s Shrine of Bees, as close to a midpoint of the Tower as he could arrange. He took a deep breath as the queens hovered around him, waiting for his words.

“I am planning to conduct another expansion purification.”

The queens paused, before bursting into salute dances. The Flower Meadow queens affirmed they were ready to fight. The Apiary queens promised donations of honey, particularly the medicinal queen. Belissar smiled a little before continuing.

“…um, what sort of request?”

Chief Rohsuak turned back to face the other karnuq and looked each in the eye. One by one, each of them nodded to her. She then turned to face him once more. Belissar nearly stepped back at the intense gazes of so many large bear people, but tried to think about the bees flying above him and so stood his ground. And then…

Chief Rohsuak and all the karnuq bowed their heads towards him.

“Sacred Den Master, if it pleases you, we wish to swear ourselves to your service.”

Accept offer of allegiance?

Belissar stared blankly, then blinked repeatedly.

Fortunately, Chief Rohsuak seemed to anticipate his confusion, as she took him aside to explain in more detail.

“Ok, um, first of all, what exactly do you mean by that?”

Chief Rohsuak nodded.

“From what I understand, Sacred Den Masters are able to accept outsiders as their defenders and servants. We would like to become yours, if you would accept us.”

Belissar slowly nodded.

“I…see. And, um, what exactly would that look like?”

Chief Rohsuak extended an open palm towards him.

“Whatever you would like it to.”

Belissar tilted his head.

Chief Rohsuak nodded.

“From what I have seen, every Sacred Den Master’s relationship with their sworn defenders is different, so the exact details would be yours to decide. But, on a most basic level, we are hoping for food, shelter, and protection from external threats. In exchange, we will become your people. We will fight your battles, work your lands, defend your Sacred Den, and follow your commands.”

Belissar rubbed his chin, but then suddenly his eyes widened.

“You’re…offering to become my Tower Guard?”

Now it was Chief Rohsuak’s turn to rub her chin.

“I am not familiar with the term, but if that is what your people call those who serve Sacred Dens then yes, most likely.”

Now that gave Belissar pause. He still wanted nothing to do with the Tower Lords or the ways they did things. However, it was also true that he didn’t know how they treated their own Tower Guards, and besides, Chief Rohsuak said their treatment would be up to him so there wasn’t an issue in doing things differently. The question, though, was did he want Tower Guards? And did he want the karnuq to fulfill that role? The Tower itself sent him a message when the karnuq made their request, so apparently there was something more to it than just verbal promises.

But well, if he said aside memories of the Tower Lords…this was a good thing, right? If the karnuq wanted to help defend the Tower, he could certainly use their help in the next purification. Maybe they could also help him build beehouses or process flax or tasks like that.

But, was this too good to be true? Chief Rohsuak said he’d have to provide them with food and shelter and protection. What exactly did that mean? What exactly would they want from him if accepted? Would they try to swindle him, maybe ask for all that stuff and then make excuses when it came time to fight?

Belissar looked over at Chief Rohsuak, and then beyond her. He saw Metsaitti, Juosiutik, and Noigakkuq among the karnuq who had come along. All of his questions and concerns and anxieties boiled down into one.

Did he trust the karnuq?

Belissar’s eyes widened. He took a deep breath and opened his mouth.

“…let’s discuss what exactly this will look like for us.”