Chapter 269: Chapter 269
The circle of leaves and petals began to accelerate, spinning faster and faster. A gust of wind picked up even more leaves and petals and began spinning around the original circle. It picked up more and more leaves, until the entire circle was hidden from view in a whirlwind of green with streaks of color.
Then, in a single moment, a gust of wind dispersed the shield of leaves. Belissar shielded his eyes from the sudden gust, blocking his own view for moment. When he opened his eyes and lowered his arms, he found that the fairy circle was no longer vacant. In the center now stood a flower. A flower that came up to Belissar’s thighs…and standing on its roots. Its roots and branches were arranged like the limbs of a person and its stem bulged in the center…and held a pair of big eyes blinking curiously. Its “head” was topped with a giant flower with bright red leaves, giving it the appearance of a tiny person with a wide-brimmed hat.
It glanced around every which way before noticing the bees hovering all around it. It smiled, with its eyes since it appeared to lack a mouth, and waved at the bees, then jumped back into the center of the circle. The leaves picked up around it once more before anyone could respond and then it was gone.
Belissar blinked as the bees danced around him.
“King! What that? What do?”
Belissar was about to respond with his signature “um” when the leaves began to pick up once more. He swallowed his words and focused on the circle.
“Looks like it’s coming back. It didn’t seem hostile, but everyone get ready, just in case.”
The bees performed their salute dance and assembled back into formation as the leaves sped up once again. This time, Belissar was ready as they dispersed, and so kept his eyes on the center.
And then his jaw fell as low as it could go. In the center of the circle now stood the most beautiful woman Belissar had ever seen. Her skin was tanned as one who spent most of their time outdoors, yet had not a single blemish Belissar could find. Her hair was a shining blond that glimmered in the sun with some sort of silvery highlights. It was woven into braids with dozens of colorful flowers all along it, and her head was topped by a small crown of flowers. She wore a simple green gardener’s dress and a brown apron, yet wore it with all the grace of a queen in her finest robes. Every movement she made was as smooth and graceful as flowing water. She seemed light and ephemeral, as if a sudden breeze would blow her away, yet at the same time had a presence that commanded his attention, like a mountain looming overhead.
Belissar’s eyes were spinning at the sudden barrage of melodic words.
Tarwantrad suddenly blinked and then took a step back, flushing.
“Oh! Sorry, it’s a bad habit of mind to ramble. I apologize, it’s just…I’m so excited to actually meet you. The Belissar, the dungeon master who developed beehouses approved by the God of Bees. The first bee dungeon master anyone in the Calwaskon Compact has ever heard of, whether in recent memory or ancient lore! I still can’t believe I never knew there was a God of Bees until now, you’ll have to tell me all about her!”
Belissar blinked as he tried to catch up with the conversation. He managed to understand enough of it though to finally come up with a response.
“So, um, I take it you like bees?”
Tarwantrad smiled and nodded repeatedly.
“I love bees! I love all plant life and flowers especially and suffice to say that flowers would not exist as they do were it not for pollinators such as bees. They are my precious partners, my fellow gardeners.”
Belissar returned her smile as his chest grew warm. He reached up and brushed Niobee’s back.
“Mine as well. I owe them everything, even my very life.”
He managed to meet her gaze, any embarrassment or hesitation forgotten.
“If you’re a friend of bees, then you’re a friend of mine, and welcome here.”
Tarwantrad beamed at that. Belissar was about to lead her in when he heard Chief Rohsuak in his head.
“Tower Keeper, I apologize for interrupting. But, before we welcome your new friend, perhaps you should ask how she arrived in your Tower…and why? Even if she doesn’t not mean us harm, we should still find out why exactly she has come here.”
Belissar frowned but nodded. He supposed that much was fair.
“Um, could I ask how exactly you got here? And right into the center of one of my rooms.”
Tarwantrad jolted a bit.
“Ah, that’s a good question. Indeed, I have forgotten that my arrival was rude indeed, and it would not do for you to invite a stranger into your dungeon. Please forgive me.”
She inclined her head before she continued.
“I have come because I received a mission from my patron, the God of Flowers, to find and visit the Bee Dungeon, a mission which I have just fulfilled. I have not received any further missions or instructions and so had no further goal, save to see a dungeon dedicated to the God of Bees and to hopefully have a friendly exchange with its master.”
She then took on a serious expression.
“As for the method of my arrival, your dungeon is located far, far away from the Calwaskon Compact, even had we not cut off the land of the fair from the mortal realms, and deep in the midst of the Hunger. There was no normal method by which I could reach your dungeon, and no army capable of pushing back the corruption in the way. I reached deep into the lore of my people for a solution, and found the nexus doors, a method by which the fair peoples once traveled unseen across the world. My people have not used such a method ever since the Hunger appeared, but if there was any method to reach you, that was it. I had no idea if it would work, however, and the nexus doors were not known to cooperate even with the fair peoples. I sought only to test the method to see if I could use it at all, it is but happy coincidence, or perhaps the will of our patrons, that my first attempt reached your dungeon.”
She then rubbed her chin and glanced around.
“I am not certain why, though, now that I look around, the mana in this room is curious. It resembles the land of the fair, though it appears to be quite untamed. You seem to have placed a nexus here as well, may I ask what…”
At that moment, the leaves swirled once more and the flower monster from before appeared again. This time frantically tugging on Tarwantrad’s dress with its leaf arms. Tarwantrad’s face paled.
“Ah, um. There, uh, might be a problem. I am sorry, Tower Keeper Belissar, but I must depart immediately. I…am not certain I will be able to return, but if I am, would you allow me to visit once more?”