Chapter 248: Chapter 248
Belissar and Chief Rohsuak made their way over to the karnuq’s settlement…at least until they heard a scream. The two ran over to find the first karnuq beekeeper running from a swarm of angry monster bees. They weren’t stinging her, but they were diving and buzzing as loud as they could. Belissar exchanged a concerned look with Chief Rohsuak.
“…I don’t want to keep Juosiutik waiting, but I need to handle that.”
Chief Rohsuak just nodded silently.
“I’ll go inform Juosiutik.”
Belissar ran over, waving his hands.
The beekeeper ran to him. The bees stopped once they saw him, starting a salute dance. Belissar let out a sigh and then turned to the beekeeper.
“What happened? What did you do?”
Her face scrunched up as she frowned.
“Thanks Velebee. Could you teach these queens how to act like normal bees.”
Velebee again stumbled.
“Teach magic giants…to act like normal bees? Why?”
Belissar rubbed his chin.
“Well…they’re a bit too aggressive towards beekeepers. Could you teach them how regular bees act around, well, people like me?”
Niobee flew over and explained further. After a bit, Velebee danced a quick salute.
Belissar grinned and thanked her, then left her with the other queens. He let out a sigh. Well, hopefully that would take care of things. He’d have to observe tomorrow to see if they got it right.
Magic giants, huh? It was easy to forget but these were monster bees. Sure, Belissar found them even easier to work with given he could just talk to them directly, but it was true they were no normal bees. Even normal bees didn’t just let people take their honey at will, what would a hive with a soldier bee army do to a beekeeper who couldn’t communicate with them? King Ratuatapi even mentioned that his people had tried, and failed, to raise monster bees in the past.
He may have given the karnuq a harder challenge than he thought. Well, hopefully Velebee would be able to instruct the queens back to normal honeybee levels of aggression, otherwise he might have to rethink this plan.
In any case, he had kept Juosiutik waiting long enough.
He arrived at Juosiutik’s house to find the girl and Chief Rohsuak both sitting at a table. Juosiutik’s arms were crossed, she kept glancing around, and her leg was bouncing fast enough to rattle the table. Her eyes lit up as Belissar entered the room.
“There you are, Tower Keeper!”
She nearly shot up but Chief Rohsuak gave her a look, so she slowly, intentionally, rose to her feet and gave a salute.
“I’m glad to see you, Tower Keeper, sir.”
“Sorry to keep you waiting. Shall we get to it?”
“Yes! What kind of room is it, Sacred Den Master?! Is it an Apiary?! Or a new environment suited for new kinds of plants?!”
Chief Rohsuak just sighed and shook her head as Juosiutik lunged forward, running right up to Belissar. Belissar…expected this, so he just chuckled.
“None of those, actually. It’s an Apothecary’s Hut.”
Juosiutik went completely still and silent for a moment.
“An…Apothecary’s…Hut?”
“It comes with a bunch of tools for potion-making, and is supposed to use the Tower’s mana to help you make stuff. It also comes with a garden that’s apparently supposed to grow difficult things more easily? Well, we’ll have to see…um, are you alright?”
Juosiutik had begun swaying about.
“An apothecary…made by a Sacred Den…that’s…”
Chief Rohsuak walked over, grabbed Juosiutik’s hand, and led the girl back to a chair before she collapsed. She again shook her head and chuckled.
“Suffice to say, she is most grateful for this, Tower Keeper.”
It took a bit of time for Juosiutik to speak coherently again, but Chief Rohsuak helped him place the door to the new room. She was most interested in the idea of shortcuts placed on buildings, though she didn’t make any requests at this time. Belissar and Chief Rohsuak then led a dazed Juosiutik through the new shortcut.
They came out into a hut made of stone and wood in different sections. There was a room with cauldrons ranging from tiny to massive all arranged around several fire pits. Another room was lined with tables covered in mortars and pestles and all sorts of containers and contraptions Belissar had never seen before. Some of the tables had geometric patterns carved into them as well, most in circular shapes. There were also storage shelves and barrels, along with a cellar, racks for drying, and even a separate smoking hut. Outside there was an empty garden with some small, pre-plowed furrows, poles and trellises for vines, planter beds, pots, and other empty places where plants could be grown. There were two ponds and even two small caves lined with soil. One was completely dark, while the other had a small hole in the roof to let in sunlight but felt surprisingly cold inside.
Juosiutik had to sit down several times, including now.
“Am…am I in heaven? This is the God of Alchemy’s home, right?”
Chief Rohsuak chuckled as she shook her head.
“I assure you, Juosiutik, you are still very much alive.”
Belissar nodded and then motioned about.
“I can change a few things if you like but, um, I don’t really know what most of this stuff is for. So, if there’s anything you’d like me to change, please let me know.”
Juosiutik reached out and laid her hand on the wall of the hut.