Chapter 38: Chapter 38
Belissar had his bees fly around the outskirts of the tribe’s camp, keeping an eye on them and learning whatever he could, but he did not have to wait long. The group spent the rest of the day making camp, but when Belissar’s scouts arrived the next morning, they found a group of the bear people preparing to move. A young man and a woman with a child were arguing with the old woman who had spoken to one of his bees.
“I’m against this. What will we do if something happens? If they decided to attack us?”
The old woman shook her head.
“They need to come so that the Sacred Den master does not attack. We cannot show up with nothing but warriors if we wish for peace.”
The young woman nodded.
“It’s alright, Isäppak, we’ll be fine.”
Another armed man, the one who had visited Belissar’s dungeon previously, placed his hand on the young man’s shoulder.
“And we’ll look after them. I swear no harm will come to your family.”
The young man hung his head and took a deep breath, and then nodded his head. The old woman smiled.
But...this was good, right? They weren’t trying to kill him, they weren’t trying to break in and steal his stuff, and they were offering him their own stuff just to live in the area. Seemed like a good deal to him. And, well, the only other example he had of dungeon-people relations were those Tower Lords he was trying not to think about, so if he thought it was good that was fine, right?
“Um, ok. That’s fine, I guess.”
Chief Rohsuak smiled.
“Thank you for your generosity.”
Then Belissar narrowed his eyes.
“Just one thing. Don’t hurt my bees.”
Chief Rohsuak nodded.
“Of course. We will treat all of your Den’s residents with the utmost respect.”
Belissar nodded and then turned to leave.
“Sacred Den master, will you accept our gift?”
Belissar stopped and then turned around, pointing at the stuff on the mat.
Chief Rohsuak smiled and nodded.
“Yes, we brought it for you, after all.”
Belissar felt his cheeks grow warm.
He stepped forward and tried to scoop up the mat as quickly as he could, stepping back as he tried to hold it all in his arms.
“Well, if that’s everything?”
Chief Rohsuak nodded.
“Thank you for your time and generosity, Sacred Den master.”
With that, Belissar beat a hasty retreat into the dungeon, the soldier bee army following after him.
Belissar groaned once he got inside.
“Well, that was awkward...”
How was he supposed to know they were offering this stuff to him, and not just showing off their wares? No one had ever just...given things to him before! No one in the past had even acknowledged his presence if he didn’t show up with a jar of mead!
He groaned again as he adjusted the weight of the stuff in his arms. Well, at least he got a bunch of free stuff out of all of this. He turned to the soldier bees flying around him.
“Thanks for the good work, everyone. You can go back to training now. And, um, if those people arrive, I guess don’t attack them unless they attack you or try to steal your honey or anything like that?”
The air roared with the beating of bee wings as the soldier bees all performed an aerial salute dance and then flew back towards their hives. Belissar cracked a smile at the sight. It was still quite impressive to see the army of giant bees flying as one.
He then made his way back to the farmhouse and spread the mat across the table to check what he had received more closely. The food was mostly the same cave mushrooms, carrots, and potatoes the first man had brought, along with some sort of hardened cake that also appeared to have some meat in it. The seeds were mostly the same...but also included some above-ground species. Unfortunately, as with the pinecones it took more than just a few seeds to unlock any new plants.
But there was one plant that made Belissar’s eyes go wide. A flower that had been dried for preservation. One that may not have registered as a flower at first, given its brown petals and stem, but that had a very familiar shape.
Absorb Ground Mana Flower?
A Mana Flower that was brown instead of blue...and apparently had something to do with ground? Maybe the bear people had found it while underground? And if Belissar remembered correctly...the digger bee description had said something about Ground mana. So, if he unlocked this flower and the bees made honey from it...perhaps they would come up with another new bee type.
Ground Mana Flower absorbed.