Chapter 443: Chapter 443

The next day, Belissar received a visitor right away…but not from any of the signatories he had spoken with. Instead, Nenavann had arrived. Belissar had finished up his morning routine by then so went over to find out what was going on. Nenavann gave him a smile once Belissar approached him.

“Hello, Tower Keeper Belissar. I hope I am not intruding.”

Belissar shook his head.

“No, it’s fine…but, what’s going on? Is there something happening with the Compact, again?”

Fortunately, Nenavann shook his head.

“No, I am here as a fellow member of the Circle today. Yesterday has given the signatories quite a lot to think about and for better or worse we certainly take our time thinking. I don’t think any of those still wary of you will cause trouble anytime soon…especially now that they believe you to be under Queen Vanieskon’s sway.”

Nenavann smiled once again.

“Today I am here to offer you my own assistance. I previously offered to help you with the construction of aquatic homes for your bees, now that your business with the Compact is settled, I am free to assist you with that at your convenience. Please, let me know if and when you’d like me to help.”

Belissar’s face lit up. Building beehouses was a far more pleasant topic than he had been expecting.

Nenavann inclined his head.

“It would be my honor.”

And so, Belissar’s agenda for the day was set. He showed Nenavann his available lumber supplies and then the Bog room where the swimming, slime, and toxic bees now lived. Nenavann watched the swimming bees dive in and out of the water for a bit while humming to himself.

“Hm, in a shallow bog , perhaps it would be better to stay with a structure instead of a boat. Why don’t I show you how to construct a pier? You could place the beehouse on top of it to keep it dry while also having it directly over the water. I’ll also teach you how to make a shallow-bottom boat, so you can see if any of your defenders like them too.”

Belissar nodded, leaving it to Nenavann’s judgement on water related thing. For the rest of the day, Belissar coordinated with the bees, specifically the Third of the Third who was now in charge of the bee construction squads, and the karnuq to work as Nenavann directed. With all the help and Nenavann’s experience, they quickly manage to assemble a small pier.

New feature detected. New feature unlocked.

Pier is now available!

Belissar then built a beehouse on top of it and called the swimming bees over.

“How do you like it?”

The swimming bees responded by the entire hive dancing a coordinated “Amazing, incredible!” dance. Belissar smiled, he thought the new beehouse was an improvement as well. Compared to just placing one of his normal beehouses on a muddy patch of Bog ground, the pier both kept the beehouse itself drier while bringing it even closer to the water and the aquatic flowers floating in it. He turned to Nenavann.

“Looks like they like it! Thank you for the help!”

Nenavann smiled and inclined his head.

“Think nothing of it, Tower Keeper. It is my joy to share my experience with you and restore the lost arts of water.”

Belissar then had a thought. He realized Nenavann had never attended one of their celebrations despite all his help.

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“I would like to thank you, though. Would you want to join us our victory celebrations? We normally share dinner after the daily purifications.”

Nenavann, however, furrowed his brow for a moment. He quickly changed his expression, but then let out a sigh.

“I suppose you caught me…I would be honored to join your celebrations if you would have me. But, beyond that, the truth is there is something I would like to ask of you, though it is insolent of me to request it…”

Belissar shook his head.

“You’ve done a lot to help me.”

Nenavann gave Belissar a hesitant smile.

“It is little compared to what you have done for us. Still, I cannot help but ask…would it be possible for me to see the Heart of the Forest? Or just to hear how it’s doing…”

Belissar took a second to think, but at this point he trusted Nenavann enough to lead him deeper into his Tower, so he soon nodded.

“Yes, that’d be fine. I would like to check if the toxic or slime bees want piers, could we go after that?”

Nenavann broke out into a bright smile and bowed his head.

“You have my sincerest thanks for this, Tower Keeper Belissar.”

Belissar checked in on the inhabitants of the room…and both the toxic and slime bees immediately started celebrating when he offered to make them piers. Belissar thus spent much of the day building two more piers and moving the beehouses on top of them.

Once the work was complete and he had thanked the bees and karnuq who had helped out, he lead Nenavann to the bumblebee meadow. Nenavann’s eyes widened and he began to tear up as soon as he stepped into the room and saw the ever-growing flowers all around.

“The forest…is already growing. I can feel the Heart’s mana pulsing through the room. Tower Keeper…thank you. Truly. I was right to give you one of the hearts.”

Belissar wasn’t sure how to respond given Nenavann’s powerful reaction, so he just nodded silently and led the elf to the Heart of the Forest itself, a small but growing shoot now. Nenavann had tears streaming down his cheeks but a smile on his face as he knelt down and gently brushed one of its leaves. But as he touched the Heart, he paused and then tilted his head.

“It feels…different. I knew it would adapt to the mana of your Tower to some degree…but this feels…different. Tower Keeper Belissar…have you done anything special for the Heart?”

Belissar held his chin and thought for a second.

“Well, the gardener bees said it wanted mana and honey, so I’ve been feeding it with mana honey on top of water.”

Nenavann’s eyes widened a bit.

“Fascinating…honey, was it? That’s…unusual, as far as I know. I suppose, though, that there is still much I don’t know about the hearts…”

He took a deep breath, shook his head, and then smiled.

“In any case, it is clear the Heart is growing…and well-cared for. Thank you, Tower Keeper Belissar, for cherishing it.”

Belissar felt a bit uncomfortable given Nenavann still had tears on his face but he did return a sincere smile.

“No, thank you for giving it to me. I think it’s already starting to make the flowers here bigger and the bumblebees love it.”

Nenavann’s smile grew at that.

After which…Belissar was tackled by a happy bumblebee soldier.

“Huh, Neny…Dungeon Master Nenavann? What are you doing here?”

Finnakynne flew over as Belissar laughed and petted the big bumblebee. Nenavann turned to face her.

“I would ask you the same, Princess Finnakynne. As for myself, I was assisting Belissar with making beehouses earlier and he was just showing me around now that we finished.”

Finnakynne glanced away.

“Well…that’s…you see…”

She swung her head around, looking back and forth at the rivers of nectar and pollen swirling in the air around her for a minute. Eventually, she slapped her own cheeks and took a deep breath.

“I’m…uh…helping the bumblebees…”

Nenavann stood there blinking repeatedly. Then, he smiled and even started to laugh. Finnakynne puffed her cheeks and glared at him.

“Hey, what’s so funny?!”

Nenavann shook his head.

“Ah, I apologize, I was not laughing at you, Princess Finnakynne. I think it’s wonderful that you have found friends here. I am laughing at us, the fair folk. We’ve long taken pride in our lore and our wisdom…and yet a young human continues to amaze and teach me.”

Finnakynne narrowed her eyes at him for a bit and then huffed and turned away.

“Well, fine then. I’m just doing what I want, ok? Come on, Bumbly, let’s get this back to the nest!”

The bumblebee soldier brushed Belissar’s face with her antennae once more before taking to the air and letting him stand back up. Finnakynne turned to leave, but paused and glanced back over her shoulder.

“Hi, Princess Finnakynne.”

“Ah, Beely, you can just call me Finnakynne, you know?”

Belissar blinked for a second but he had no reason to refuse.

Finnakynne gave him a small smile and a nod.

And with that, she flew off, with the bumblebee soldier following along. Nenavann continued smiling as he watched her go.

“Truly, Tower Keeper, thank you. You have been a gift to us in many ways, even though we have not been gracious in return.”

“If it’s Finnakynne you’re talking about, I haven’t really done anything. It’s the bumblebees she gets along with.”

Nenavann just smiled warmly back.

“A dungeon reflects its master, Tower Keeper Belissar. Just know that I am grateful for all that you have done and continue to do. And I will do my utmost to show you my gratitude.”