The Bee Dungeon

Once Belissar had a chance to gather himself, he returned to Tarwantrad and Hesfalle. He crossed his arms and frowned.

“So…you said the bees can’t evolve with Death mana?”

Hesfalle shook her head.

“Not with this Death mana and the method described. Trying to raise a newborn in a pool of concentrated Death mana when they aren’t already adapted to it would be challenging. Same goes for trying to evolve an adult all in one go. Generally speaking, living creatures that take on the Death attribute normally do so by gradually adapting to it.”

She shrugged.

“Or you could go with the undead method, but that would require you not to place the corpses in the memorial if you wanted to do it with bees.”

Belissar grimaced.

“No, any of them that fall deserve to be honored.”

Hesfalle nodded.

“In that case, you need to create a Death attributed environment for a gradual acclimation. I’d recommend that for your dungeon even if you weren’t trying to evolve Death bees. Death is good for Nature.”

Belissar tilted his head.

“Really?”

It was Tarwantrad who answered this time.

“Yes, plants and animals that die and decay nourish the soil below, allowing new life to bloom stronger than ever. Flowers, especially, have a strong relationship with Death. Flowers grow, bloom, and then die quickly once their role is fulfilled. Their quick life cycle brings constant transitions between Nature and Death.”

Belissar blinked a few times and then crossed his arms.

“I see…so, then, how do we make a Death environment?”

Hesfalle immediately responded.

“With death.”

Belissar wasn’t sure what else he expected, but Hesfalle wasn’t finished so he just kept listening.

“From what I’ve seen and what Tarwantrad tells me, there’s not much death in your dungeon. Just the purification casualties for the bees and then whatever plants you harvest?”

Belissar slowly nodded along.

“Yes, and the drones that mate with the queens.”

Hesfalle made a sad smile.

“That should make them more suitable to Death but wouldn’t be enough to concentrate Death mana. Definitely not enough to offset all of the life in your dungeon.”

Hesfalle placed a finger on her chin as she hummed to herself for a moment.

“Since bee deaths besides drones are off the table, you’ll need another way to cause more death. Here’s my recommendation: acquire a simple prey species, like rabbits. Fill a room with them, a meadow like this one would work, and then have your bees or your other residents hunt them. Don’t just hunt what they need, hunt some excess and gather the corpses together in a single area. Dump any bones or anything you don’t use there, plant debris helps as well. Plant mana flowers in the area, and once the blood begins to soak the soil plant the underworld phlox there as well. If you have any scavengers, whether mushrooms or animals, add those too, along with any dangerous plant species. Toxic flowers would work nicely. It’d be a good idea to implement a seasonal cycle in that room, or occasionally add some hazardous weather.”

She pointed at the bees all around as she took a breath.

“Have an unattributed hive settle there while you start this process. They should partially acclimate as the environment begins to change, so they should be able to make use of the underworld phlox that will eventually grow there, and will probably be able to evolve at that point.”

Belissar frowned.

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“Won’t that be dangerous for the bees?”

To his surprise, and horror, Hesfalle nodded immediately.

“Working with Death mana always is. The hive in question will almost certainly suffer casualties while acclimating. They must be willing to accept death if they wish to embrace it. To take on the Death attribute…sometimes you must die before you can be born.”

Belissar grimaced. Hesfalle’s expression softened.

“Death is a sad thing, but as a disciple of the God of Death, I believe it is not the end but another beginning, for both those who pass and those who remain. From death, new life can be born. Those that fall in this process will not give their lives in vain.”

Belissar gave her a quiet nod. He took a deep breath and let it out with a slow sigh. All this talk of death made his heart pound and his head spin, both at the thought of the bees that could be lost, and all the bees…and others…that were already gone. He knew, though, that the bees would not hesitate to face the danger and would not be deterred by the casualties. He recalled his resolution with the berserkers and clung onto it. As the Tower Keeper, he could not reject a new option for his Tower solely based on how it made him feel. Hesfalle was doing her best to help him and the bees and Tarwantrad trusted her. So, he did his best to change his focus, dwelling on the practical side of things. How could he make this process go more smoothly…and perhaps safely?

“Hm…if we need to hunt, would it help if I got some sort of carnivorous bee?”

Hesfalle’s eyes widened slightly.

“There are…carnivorous bees?”

Belissar nodded.

“I think so. I had a monster variant offered recently, butcher bees.”

He glanced at Tarwantrad since she had been there. She smiled at them both.

“Evolved from a species called vulture bees, no less. Originally scavenge corpses, evolved to hunt the living.”

Hesfalle’s eyes lit up.

“Let me know if you get those. They would definitely be suited for the Death attribute and would be perfect for the hunting process, so you should definitely consider them if you see them again.”

Belissar fidgeted a bit, only slightly worried about how excited Hesfalle became at the idea of bees that butcher living things alive.

“I-I’ll do that. So…I need rabbits, huh?”

Hesfalle shrugged.

“Or any prey species. Rabbits would just be convenient since you already have meadows and they breed quickly. Tarwantrad can give you some.”

The two found Tarwantrad scowling and muttering.

“Entirely too quickly. Belissar, make sure you’re ready to hunt those monsters down, lest a horde of them strip your flower fields bare.”

Hesfalle smirked lightly.

“I warned you to hunt them aggressively, even if they seemed cute.”

Tarwantrad turned away with a huff. Belissar just glanced between the two. He guessed something had happened in Tarwantrad’s dungeon? Well, the karnuq were good at hunting, so hopefully they could handle it.

Before he could figure out how to respond, though, Hesfalle turned back to him.

“So, do you wish to attempt this?”

Belissar took one more deep breath before meeting Hesfalle’s eyes.

“Yes.”

Hesfalle smiled and reached into a pouch at her side.

“You can get the rabbits from Tarwantrad, so I’ll give you these instead.”

She took out two small rods, both carved from bone, embellished with a bunch of curved engravings, and topped with gems. One held a black gem, the other a purple one.

“If you concentrate Death mana and corpses in one place without something like your memorial, there is an inevitable risk of wild undead forming. Some of them might bind to the dungeon automatically, but those that are too simple won’t be able to, while those that are too complex might resist. These will help.”

She held out the rod with the purple gem.

“This one can bind a wild undead to you, letting you take command of it. Should work on the simple ones so you can use them.”

She moved to the one with the black gem.

“This one holds a spell of decay and will disrupt Death mana as well. You can use it against the living, but it is most powerful against the undead. It should stop anything complex enough to resist the dungeon binding.”

Belissar felt increasingly uncertain about this plan but managed to reach out and take the rods. Undead were not something he wanted in his Tower. Though…the Tower Lords had lied about gods and towers and beastkin and potions and magic and fairies and golems. Maybe they had lied about the undead as well?

“So…undead. I heard they’re mindless monsters that hate the living. That’s wrong, right?”

Hesfalle shrugged.

“An oversimplification but mostly true, at least regarding wild undead. It’s less hate and more that if they’re too simple and unbound they won’t have many instincts beyond increasing their numbers, which requires more corpses.”

Belissar’s face fell. So, the Tower Lords told the truth for once…

“And…it’s not a problem for them to spawn in the tower?”

Hesfalle shook her head.

“That depends on how you deal with them. If you properly respect the danger and prepare thoroughly, you can not only prevent harm but even benefit from their presence.”

Belissar slowly nodded, though he kept frowning.

“So…I should have defenses prepared for these undead? Both for the bees in the room and for the rest of the Tower?”

Hesfalle replied immediately.

“Yes.”

Belissar was about to have second thoughts on this whole idea when Hesfalle waved towards Tarwantrad.

“Either of us can help you with that, though. There are plants and monsters that specifically consume the undead and we both have some. We can discuss those once undead begin spawning. Those wands will take care of the first few you’ll encounter.”

Belissar looked down at the rods in his hand.

“I see. Then…how do I use them?”

Hesfalle tilted her head for a moment but answered soon enough.

“Point the gems at the target and channel your mana through them. Controlling undead is normally a complex topic, but for us dungeon masters it should be easy enough. Not much different than running our dungeons.”

Belissar took a deep breath. He guessed he was committed now, so he’d just have to hope that the rods and the two dungeon masters would help him handle it. And hope that this whole dangerous affair would benefit the bees in the end…