The Bee Dungeon
Chapter 279: Another Sincere Apolo-Bee?

Belissar and company exited Lord Aratodel’s dungeon with Tarwantrad shaking her head.

“Again, I’m sorry for his attitude, Belissar. He’s that way with everyone.”

Belissar shrugged, smiled, and lifted up the box in his hand.

“He gave us flowers, so it’s fine.”

Tarwantrad returned his smile.

“You are wonderfully gracious, as the silver elves might say. Now then, how are you doing for time? There’s one more dungeon master I could introduce you to today, but you’ll need to drop off the tea seeds back home first. The environment around his dungeon isn’t great for young plants, but it’s relatively close to Viryaskog if you have the time?”

Belissar glanced up at the sky and checked the position of the sun.

“I think we should be able to make it.”

Tarwantrad’s smile grew.

“Wonderful, let’s head back to my dungeon then and we’ll make the trip over.”

The group made the trek back to Viryaskog and to Tarwantrad’s dungeon. There, they found Finnakynne flying back and forth and wringing her hands. She froze when she saw them, then slapped her cheeks and flew over to them.

“Hi Beely, Tarwantrad.”

Tarwantrad’s eyes widened before narrowing and zoning in on the pixie. Belissar smiled to acknowledge her.

“Hi Princess Finnakynne, how did your talk with your mother talk go?”

Finnakynne took a deep breath.

“Well, we’ve agreed to disagree for now.”

She then began to fidget and gulp.

“So…Beely…I, uh, wanted to ask. Is it ok…if I keep hanging out with the bumblebees? I won’t trick them…I, uh, know you have no reason to trust that and probably won’t believe me but really, I won’t. I’m…uh…trying something new.”

Belissar nodded.

“Sure, they like having you around.”

Finnakynne’s face brightened and she zipped forward to give Belissar’s shoulder a hug.

“Really?! Thanks, Beely! You won’t regret it, I promise!”

Belissar blinked. He didn’t really understand why Finnakynne was reacting so strongly when he had already agreed to let her visit his Tower as she pleased in the past, but if it made her and the bumblebees happy then it made him happy too. Tarwantrad, on the other hand, was glaring at Finnakynne.

“Princess Finnakynne, you know what happens now if you harm Belissar or his Tower, right? It would count as a violation of the Estelende Compact…and your own mother has signed a second bargain to defend Belissar.”

Finnakynne released Belissar’s shoulder and turned to face Tarwantrad. Her face fell and she drooped in the air. She took several deep breaths before looking Tarwantrad in the eyes. She winced but managed to hold the elf’s gaze.

“Tarwantrad…I’m…um…what’s the word…”

Tarwantrad rolled her eyes.

“Get on with it, Finnakynne, we need to move to get Belissar back home on time.”

Finnakynne started, then sighed.

“Right. Well, the thing is…you see…I’ve been thinking and well…I’m sorry!”

Tarwantrad blinked right out of her glare at Finnakynne’s outburst.

“Huh?”

Finnakynne’s words began gushing out.

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

“I’m sorry! For everything! I didn’t mean for the rabbits to eat half your dungeon, I didn’t know they would be that bad! It’s just…they were so cute and fluffy, I was shocked when Hesfalle told you to slaughter them!”

Tarwantrad stared with wide eyes.

“What…what are you playing at this time?”

Finnakynne hung her head.

“…my mother taught me never to admit fault, to always spin the story in my favor. But…after that fight with the spiderkin…when I saw the kind of bloodshed Queen Vanieskon’s mischief was said to result in…I just, I want to try something different. So…I’m sorry. I…really hurt you, didn’t I?”

Tarwantrad eyed her for a minute longer before crossing her arms and frowning.

“Well, we’ll see how long you can keep this up.”

Finnakynne sighed but replied only with a nod.

“I…guess you’re right. I’ll…leave you two alone. I’ll be with the bumblebees if you…want me for anything.”

Belissar frowned as he watched the pixie slump, her wings dimming even as she flew into Tarwantrad’s dungeon and the nexus door to his own.

“Is she ok?”

Tarwantrad sighed.

“We’ll see. She’s done the crocodile tears routine before…but she’s also never directly apologized like that. I don’t know what her game is this time, so be careful, Belissar.”

Belissar scrunched up his face.

“Are…you sure she’s playing a game? She seemed really upset after that battle with the spiderkin and hid in the bumblebee nest from then until now.”

Tarwantrad furrowed her brow.

“That’s…”

She paced a bit and then took a deep breath.

“…honestly, I don’t know. I don’t trust her, Belissar…but maybe I’m being too harsh? It definitely isn’t like any game she’s played before. You said the bumblebees were happy to have her around?”

Belissar nodded.

“She helped them forage, they were really happy.”

Tarwantrad frowned.

“Without trying to trick them?”

Belissar confirmed and Tarwantrad muttered to herself for a bit before sighing yet again.

“This is definitely confusing behavior for her. I can’t really say…but well, you do have the agreement with Queen Vanieskon now, so you can always call on her if her daughter causes trouble…so I guess it should be fine to wait and see?”

With that, Belissar dropped off the tea stuff and then returned to Tarwantrad. She led them on a different path that would wrap around the city plateau instead of moving towards it. As they walked, the forest around them began to grow darker…in every sense of the word. The bark of the trees turned black, the trees themselves no longer giants towering straight and proud into the sky, but twisted and hunched over as if to loom over the travelers. The canopy grew denser overhead, blocking out the light of the sun. The trail was lit by lanterns on poles holding pale blue fire, the dim light barely bright enough for him to watch his step. Belissar smelled something rotten and glanced around, catching a glimpse of mushrooms that resembled the rotcaps from the Underway. He heard the howl of a wolf in the distance.

Tarwantrad, though, marched on with the same speed and confidence as before.

“This is Gyrthskog, home of the dusk elves. The mana of Death is particularly strong here, the path is protected but please do not leave the road. There’s a dusk elf settlement just ahead.”

Belissar nodded and motioned to his soldier bee escort to stick close. Soon, they made their way to the dusk elf settlement. Like those of the green elves, the dusk elf homes were interwoven with the trees. However, rather than growing out of the trees and hanging on the branches, the dusk elves built huts partially buried in the ground under the roots of the trees, the dark trees climbing up and over the homes. The same pale blue lanterns that protected the road filled the settlement and hung from the doorways of the structures.

Most of the elves here resembled Hesfalle, having the same pale skin and grey hair and unfocused grey eyes. They mostly wore various shades of white, grey, and black robes, giving them a ghostly appearance as the pale blue light shimmered around them. They, like the other fair folk, paused to stare as Belissar’s group entered the settlement…but Belissar found he didn’t mind as much. The way they tilted their heads instead of turning away made them seem more curious than anything.

“Tower Keeper Belissar?”

Belissar blinked as he heard his name. He turned to find Hesfalle walking through the streets, with some sort of four-legged, bestial skeleton pulling a cart behind her.

“Hi Hesfalle, nice to see you again.”

She gave him a small smile.

“It’s nice to see you too. Is Tarwantrad showing you around?”

Tarwantrad shook her head.

“Well, yes and no. I’d ask you for the full tour, Hesfalle…but Belissar has obligations later today, so we’re just picking up the boon from Lomedys.”

Hesfalle made an uncomfortable face.

“Will that be alright? Lomedys is in his…dramatic phase, as you know.”

Tarwantrad sighed but then smirked.

“Well, Belissar here not only has his butcher bees, but also recently added bloodsucking bees to his Tower.”

Hesfalle’s eyes widened.

“Bloodsucking bees? Oh, he’ll be fine then.”

Tarwantrad giggled.

“Right?”

Belissar, of course, was completely lost. Fortunately, Tarwantrad explained.

“Lomedys is another dusk elf dungeon master and his patron is the God of Blood. Both he and Hesfalle deal with a lot of Death mana, but while Hesfalle treats death as another facet of life, Lomedys likes to actively spread it.”

Hesfalle nodded her agreement.

“He likes blood. He’ll love your butcher and bloodsucking bees.”

She then frowned.

“Actually, you might have to worry more about him being too enthusiastic about that.”

Tarwantrad also frowned for a moment at that.

“True, he’ll probably push you for a trade…”

Belissar crossed his arms.

“Well, I’m not opposed, but only if I’m sure he can take care of them and make them happy.”

Both Tarwantrad and Hesfalle smiled at that. Hesfalle waved to her skeleton beast behind her and it began plodding ahead of her.

“She knows the way home, so I’ll join you. It’s just over this way.”

And so, the group headed off towards this Lomedys’s dungeon…