With no deaths and only a handful of wounded soldiers to deal with, the cleanup was handled swiftly. The Second of the Sixth looked over the digging soldiers with burned abdomens, fortunately, the Fire-Resistant Bees perk had done its job and they were all expected to make full recoveries. To Belissar’s surprise, some of them looked disappointed at the news, at least one of them turned their gaze to Beero and her battlecaster squad.
But Belissar himself could not be happier with the s...
2024-11-21 20:05:01 +0000 UTC
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Belissar informed Tarwantrad’s monster that he was planning an expansion purification. Tarwantrad sent word asking him to be careful and informing him that she would prepare her forces to intervene if he needed assistance. Belissar thanked her and promised to let her know if he needed help.
Soon after, Belissar stood by the wall of shortcuts in the Orchard. He held a spear made from wyvern bone and fangs while he wore leather and fur that had been trimmed down to fit him. Well, if he ...
2024-11-20 20:05:01 +0000 UTC
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Belissar smiled at Tarwantrad.
“Thanks for your help. Looks like we might be able to complete some of those missions sooner rather than later.”
Tarwantrad shook her head.
“I did nothing but alert you to what your bees had already achieved. And we have not yet decided what to trade, but I think I have an idea. As far as bee species are concerned, I have seen monster versions of honeybees, bumblebees, and carpenter bees in your tower. Are there any others?”
Belis...
2024-11-19 20:05:00 +0000 UTC
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Belissar slowly nodded his head, causing Tarwantrad to break out into a bright smile and hop around a bit. He had already made peace with potentially sending some of his bees abroad and a trade with a Flower specialized dungeon would certainly benefit his Tower.
“I do still need to check with the bees to see whose willing to send a daughter…ah, I was thinking of asking them to raise a new queen to send, is that all right? It might take more time.”
Tarwantrad stopped hopping ...
2024-11-18 20:05:00 +0000 UTC
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The day’s purification went on without a hitch, and Belissar picked up some more mana to start making up for all his recent expenditures. His DP income had also grown a bit now that the karnuq hunters resumed challenging, and he’d have enough for yet another choice in a couple of days…though, he might need more mana before then to implement everything. Even with the new purification he was down to fifty available, to the point that he declined to make any more lava lotus nodes. He’d h...
2024-11-15 20:05:00 +0000 UTC
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Tyhgak’s squad finally saw the light at the end of the tunnels. He had the urge to race forward, but Noigakkuq grabbed his shoulder and pointed. One final pit trap later, and they finally made it. They stepped out into the Fairy Grove to find the Tower Keeper waiting, smiling at them.
“Good job, everyone.”
Tyhgak smiled and the team began to cheer. Since everyone was still getting used to the Fairy Grove, this was the end of their challenge today…and that meant it was time...
2024-11-14 20:05:01 +0000 UTC
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The Firstborn finished her pondering as she laid another egg. The karnuq told of her of many things and the blessings of the gods. The Firstborn was not so sure about that after some consideration. Initially, she thought it would be a given that she would grant her devotion to the Queen of All Bees…but was that the case? She was innately a member of the Hive of All Bees as all bees were, but her first loyalty was to the King and his hive of hives. If she were forced to declare her allegianc...
2024-11-13 20:05:01 +0000 UTC
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The First of the Fifth was silent as she returned to her hive, giving commands to her workers by habit alone. She could not help but admit that this recent turn of events had left her shaken.
The taste of the Queen of All Bees’ honey had been, well, divine. There was no other way to put it. And the First of the Fifth knew that she could not compare her own honey to that, for what bee could compare with the Queen of All Bees? She could only take pride that the Queen of All Bees had jud...
2024-11-12 20:05:00 +0000 UTC
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With one new flower now planted, Belissar had no excuse not to address the second. He took a deep breath, steeled his heart, and then made his way to the core room with Niobee, the First of the Fifth, and some gardeners. He walked to the pedestal in the center and crouched down where he left the flask of ambrosia, picking up the Heart of the Forest from the top of the flask.
He blinked as he looked down at the seed in his hand.
“Was this glowing before?”
The seed appeare...
2024-11-11 20:05:01 +0000 UTC
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Belissar awoke the next day ready to get to work. The various negotiations with Tarwantrad, the Compact, and the Circle had taken up much of his time and attention recently, but it was time to refocus. The karnuq were ready to make a concerted effort at challenging and earning the blessings of the gods while the bees were working ever diligently to improve every aspect of his Tower. His Tower now had multiple motivations to grow: to fend off the Tower Lords should they return, to encourage bo...
2024-11-08 20:05:00 +0000 UTC
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Belissar eventually managed to get the two elves back to the karnuq floor, at least until they arrived at the karnuq’s beehouses.
“Ah, that’s Velebee’s hive. She’s the Oracle of Bees.”
Tarwantrad came to a halt. Belissar turned around and saw her blinking repeatedly.
“Belissar, you have the Oracle of Bees in your tower?”
Belissar nodded. Tarwantrad took a deep breath.
“I would love to speak with her sometime.”
Belissar nodded again.
<...
2024-11-07 20:05:01 +0000 UTC
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Tarwantrad’s eyes sparkled as she took in the interior of the Bee Barracks.
“Incredible, so there are different types of soldier? That one lacks a stinger, is it for another purpose? That big one…looks like it would be good at charging, or likely diving if it can still fly. And…if I’m seeing this correct, there is more than one queen and hive in this home?”
Belissar nodded.
“Yeah, all of the queens in this room live here.”
Tarwantrad’s eyes went even ...
2024-11-06 20:05:01 +0000 UTC
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Back in Belissar’s core room, the small flask of ambrosia lay resting against the core pedestal. On the top of this flask lay a tiny, green, seed-like gem. Belissar had placed the Heart of the Forest there so that it would be easy to find, given its tiny size and the lack of furniture in the room.
A slight pulse of light moved through the ambrosia…and illuminated the Heart of the Forest for a brief moment. A tiny, nearly invisible root began to stretch out from the seed-like gem, sq...
2024-11-05 20:05:01 +0000 UTC
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Belissar raised an eyebrow.
“So, the tour is over, then?”
Nenavann hung his head with a pained expression.
“To be honest, we normally don’t require a tour in the first place. We were just…incredulous that a human could act in accordance with the Circle’s code and wanted to see your operations for ourselves.”
Tarwantrad rolled her eyes.
“You could have just believed me. The wardmaster did.”
Nenavann sighed but did not object.<...
2024-11-04 20:05:01 +0000 UTC
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Nenavann went through and explained the Circle’s rules one by one. Most of them boiled down to prohibitions on using dungeon monsters to kill or enslave people, or on causing trouble for other dungeon masters, much to Belissar’s relief. The individual rules were largely case by case prohibitions on specific methods.
Belissar raised an eyebrow.
“Dungeon…subjugation? What does that mean?”
Nenavann adopted a slight frown.
“As you well know, a dungeon master ca...
2024-11-01 20:05:01 +0000 UTC
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Tarwantrad bid him farewell and set off to speak with whoever it was on the other end. A few hours passed and it was close to midday when Tarwantrad finally returned, with two others in tow.
Now standing in Belissar’s Tower were the two most beautiful men he had ever seen. He didn’t know it was even possible for men to be beautiful like that, but there they were, the mana of the Fairy Grove wrapping around them as it had with Tarwantrad. Fortunately, he was a bit more prepared for i...
2024-10-31 20:05:00 +0000 UTC
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Belissar was walking back through the battle meadow, preparing for the daily purification when he paused and blinked. There, sticking out of a patch of flowers in front of the wooden platform he made for Beero and the wounded bees, was a sharpened stake. A sharpened stake he certainly did not remember placing.
He was about to ask Niobee if the bees had seen anything when he heard the loud and deep hum of a bumblebee soldier’s wings. He turned to look and found two bumblebees and a few...
2024-10-30 20:05:00 +0000 UTC
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Tarwantrad sat at a large table, carved directly from the trunk of a formerly massive tree. The table was left where the tree once grew, surrounded by a small grove of trees barely taller than her that itself grew in a clearing between the giant fellows of the trunk table. The top of the table was covered in swirling, curved letters, the original terms of the Calwaskon Compact carved directly into its surface and occasionally glowing with a soft, green light.
The rest of her surrounding...
2024-10-29 20:05:00 +0000 UTC
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Belissar had a quick chat with Niobee and Chief Rohsuak about their impressions of Tarwantrad. He felt quite positive about her, for once, but he wanted to make sure he hadn’t missed anything. Chief Rohsuak agreed that Tarwantrad had been perfectly friendly and it seemed beneficial to forge a positive relationship with her, though advised him to treat any conversations with the Compact the same as the ones with the sigmaka. Even further deals with Tarwantrad personally needed to be consider...
2024-10-28 20:05:01 +0000 UTC
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Seeing as they continued getting distracted by all the wonders of Belissar’s Tower, Tarwantrad asked Belissar to just give her a quick overview of the flower types he had available. Tarwantrad kept silent, nodding along. She crossed her arms and hummed to herself as Belissar recited everything he could remember, with Niobee and the bees reminding him of the rest.
“Gravilions, huh? A gravity flower, now that’s a curiosity indeed. I will have to trade you for those as well. But let...
2024-10-25 20:05:01 +0000 UTC
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“In that case, why don’t you tell me about your dungeon? What sort of rooms do you have, and what sort of flowers? And what sort of bees? Especially the bees! I’ve not seen bees like these ones before! They appear to be a monster variant of honeybee, specialized for combat, perhaps, based on the chitin and stingers. Fascinating! Oh, I’m getting carried away, aren’t I? Of course, you only need show me as much of your dungeon as you are comfortable with, I do not mean to intrude.”
2024-10-24 20:05:00 +0000 UTC
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“The Calwaskon Compact is an agreement between all the fair peoples and dungeon masters to work for the common good so long as we are threatened by the Hunger. You can think of it as the governing body of the land of the fair.”
Belissar tilted his head.
“Fair peoples? Land of the fair.”
Tarwantrad’s eyes widened a bit.
“Ah, that is, all peoples blessed by the innate touch of mana and a deeper connection to the world, and the land we are from. A land separat...
2024-10-23 20:05:02 +0000 UTC
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Tarwantrad grew some trees, bushes, and vines into a simple barracks that blended with the forest for the wardens. She ordered her monsters and assistants to provide furnishings and supplies while the wardens continued to monitor the nexus. Soon, Wardmaster Varilold returned with more wardens carrying crates and barrels filled with all the supplies necessary for powerful and lasting wards. The wardmaster got to work as soon as she arrived, having already spoken with Tarwantrad on how the ward...
2024-10-22 20:05:01 +0000 UTC
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Tarwantrad stepped back out into her own dungeon. She stood in the center of a circular nexus of her own made of glowing flowers. Her circle was placed in the center of a colorful forest, with flowers covering the ground, the bushes, and the short trees placed all around her. Mana swirled through the air and through each and every plant, flowing in such a way that it concentrated on the nexus. Some of the plants were moving about, blending in with their stationary cousins as they surrounded t...
2024-10-21 20:05:00 +0000 UTC
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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...
2024-10-18 20:05:01 +0000 UTC
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Noigakkuq sheepishly stepped out of the tree line as her guide bee led her into a small clearing. Metsaitti had gathered the karnuq there. A brightly colored swarm of worker bees spread out, with at least one bee hovering around each of the karnuq, while squads of soldier bees formed up overhead. One of the soldier queens conferred with Metsaitti, relaying the bee army’s own experiences in this confusing room. He paused his conversation as he caught sight of her.
“Ah, there you are,...
2024-10-17 20:05:01 +0000 UTC
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Noigakkuq frowned. She sniffed out of habit before hissing and clutching her nose. A bright green bee buzzed around her but she shook her head.
She was currently surrounded by trees, bushes, and flowers. On the surface, she stood in a perfectly peaceful and idyllic forest. There weren’t even any game trails, tracks, or decaying remains that would hint at deadly predators. She was at no risk of bodily harm.
And yet, Noigakkuq was in a worse position than she had ever found hersel...
2024-10-16 20:05:01 +0000 UTC
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The First of the Fifth was ecstatic. So ecstatic, in fact, that she spent the rest of the morning zipping about in a celebratory dance. How could she not be? She had helped other queens find their specialties and fulfilled the will of the King, who praised them all for the effort.
All good things must come to an end, however, and the work must continue, so eventually she came to a stop. She had to take a moment to recover before proceeding on her next task, but proceed she must. She sen...
2024-10-15 20:05:01 +0000 UTC
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“King! First of the Fifth says new bees ready!”
The next day, Belissar smiled as he finished his breakfast and the morning reports. He nodded to Niobee.
“Great, we’ll head over right away.”
Belissar wasted no time walking to the First of the Fifth’s Bee Apartment. He found the aforementioned queen waiting for him, hovering in front of a row of other queens. He gave them a smile.
“Good morning, everyone. You have something to show me?”
The First of...
2024-10-14 20:05:01 +0000 UTC
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Belissar watched as the denizens of his Tower prepared themselves for another fight. The burning soldiers gathered by the shortcut to the new Lava Field, the soldier bee army assembled in the sky of the battle meadow. Beero and her battlecasters practiced their dances while bumblebees helped the wounded soldiers to their platforms. The Second of the Sixth arrived early this time, leading the first medicinal soldiers Belissar had ever seen. They hung around at the rear of the soldier bee army ...
2024-10-11 20:05:01 +0000 UTC
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