The Bee Dungeon

POBee 28.2 - The Army of the Apiary

The First of the Fifth watched the scout’s report dance as she drank some more mana honey. So, the Firstborn was increasing her worker count and gathering from the healing and toxic flowers now. No doubt a desperate attempt to match her own hive, now that her achievements had been revealed.

But that was to be expected. The First of the Fifth dismissed the scouts and made her way to a new section of her hive. The queens of the Flower Meadow would have to do better than that if they wished to earn the favor of the King. The First of the Fifth had obviously known everyone would follow after her once she announced her achievement, if they did not realize she was well on her way to the next, then they were truly foolish.

But that is why she was the favored queen. She would never be content to rest on her laurels again but would work ceaselessly for the sake of the King. And that was why no one would come to match her in the end.

So, she arrived at the site of her next project. A new bee was just breaking free of its cocoon and climbing out of its cell, surrounded by medicinal workers brushing every inch of its chitin with their antenna. One of them turned to the queen and danced a confirmation. The First of the Fifth acknowledged her and then stepped forward to address her newest child.

A child nearly the same size as her. Her first soldier.

Even after growing to the next stage, the First of the Fifth had not born any soldiers bees. She saw no need to do so, after all. Soldier bees could not gather nectar nor process honey, yet their large size demanded excessive quantities of it to grow. They were naught but a drain when it came to the production of the hive.

Of course, they had obvious uses regarding the defense, but such was unnecessary for the First of the Fifth. The King himself had assigned soldiers of his own to guard his treasured Apiary hives, yet another sign of his favor. She would not squander such a gift by spending her honey and mana on guards of her own.

Likewise, it was clear that soldiers were necessary for the King’s designs, and the defense of his lands. The queens of the Flower Meadow had earned great favor, and that new favor known as honor, by the deeds of their warriors. There was a part of the First of the Fifth that wished to supplant them in that field as well, to send warriors of her own to strike down the King’s enemies.

But she was not so foolish as to ignore that she was at a disadvantage in that mission. The queens of the Flower Meadow may not have been as productive or favored as she, but they were bee queens still. They did not shirk their duty and worked tirelessly to fulfill their role. The First of the Fifth would admit that their armies were impressive, and their soldiers spent every waking moment preparing for battle. It would be difficult for even her to catch up to them.

And most egregiously of all, it would require her to cut the quality and quantity of her daily tribute to the King. That was simply unacceptable.

So, the First of the Fifth had forgone soldiers, having no use for them, no way they could help their hive earn the favor of the King. Until now.

The First of the Fifth brushed the new soldier with her antenna. The soldier instantly stood up to her full height and began a salute dance. The First of the Fifth then gave her orders.

The soldier seemed confused, but the First of the Fifth was firm in her command. The soldier gave another salute, and then set out to obey, even as she beat her wings for the first time. The First of the Fifth watched with satisfaction, and then lay another soldier egg in the now vacant cell.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Mighty the hives of the Flower Meadow may be, but the First of the Fifth was confident in her position and in her plans. For she, above all others, knew the designs of the King...

Belissar sighed as his hand slipped and the weave untangled. Again. Some of the flax had finally dried enough to work with and so Belissar was now trying to weave a strip he could use to fix his tunic. It...wasn’t going particularly well. Not only was Belissar not the best at this sort of thing, but the flax itself had not been processed well. Normally there are a number of tools, such as rakes and stands, that a farmer would use to process the flax and remove the unwanted pieces of the plant. Belissar, having completed those steps largely by hand, had not ended up with as clean a product as normal. The pieces of debris still stuck to the fibers thus were getting in the way here and there, forcing him to pick them off before continuing.

Belissar then froze. He...had done all this work by hand because he didn’t have any of the tools, and knew this job he didn’t enjoy was going to take a long time because of that, so he had gotten to work immediately with the intention of getting it over with as quickly as possible.

So...he hadn’t considered...that with the axe, saw, and the trees in the forest beyond...he could have made some basic tools. They wouldn’t match up to what he had at home, but even rough and simple implements would have been far easier than doing this entire process by hand.

Belissar stared into the air with a faraway look for quite some time.

It was then that he heard buzzing. He turned to face the window he left open for Niobee to come and go and tilted his head. One of the soldier bees was hovering there.

“Um, come on in?”

She danced a salute and then flew inside. She landed on the table in front of Belissar, looking at the weave in front of him. She slowly began a dance.

“Hm? Oh, you’re from the close hive, not the spawners or the Flower Meadow? Was wondering how you got here. You...want to help?”

The soldier bee’s dance was a bit unsteady but she confirmed. Belissar smiled.

“Thanks, the gods know I need a hand with this. Let’s see, um, how about you grab hold of this?”

Belissar held up the latest fiber of the weave. The soldier bee slowly stepped forward and gently grabbed it with her mandibles.

“Good, can you move it here?”

The soldier bee nodded and moved as he motioned. With her holding it in place, Belissar was able to easily thread the fiber into its place in the weave.

“Ok, you can let go now.”

Once she did, he pulled it tight. He smiled.

“Thank you, that’s much easier. Can I count on your help?”

The soldier bee did a rapid dance and then moved to grab the fiber once again. Belissar chuckled and then his smile grew.

Working together directly with the bees was something he once dreamed of. With them...well even this job didn’t seem so bad.

The First of the Fifth danced about happily as her scouts reported back. Her plan had been a success. Long had the King been working at his current task, and long had her scouts observed. The First of the Fifth wished to help him directly, as she had with the honey traps, but there was a bit of a problem. The tasks he was performing were on a scale beyond normal bees. He uprooted entire plants and worked with bunches of them all at once. Her workers could have helped, but it would have taken dozens or even hundreds of them to move a single plant.

And so, the First of the Fifth saw a use for soldiers.

With their much larger size, they could better aid the King in his large-scale tasks. They could carry plants and fibers all on their own. They could work with the King without cutting into the production of his tribute.

And the King had been well pleased by this. Even now, he worked with the soldier she had provided, showering the lucky child with praise. The First of the Fifth had no doubt she had surged ahead in his favor with this.

And so, with the confirmation that her soldiers could assist the King with the grand and complex designs he built, she was ready to move on to the next stage of her plan. This one would not be as pleasant or as satisfying. This one would require her to humble herself and sacrifice the efforts of her hive. But she was the favored queen, the most productive and blessed of them all. For the sake of the King, she would do anything.

Which is why it was time for her to speak with the Firstborn, directly.

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