The Bee Dungeon-Chapter 271: A New Signator-Bee

The Fourth of the Seventh had the bee golem spread its wings wide. Nomadic bee soldiers and workers stood on top of the golem and began to beat their wings. A gust of wind picked up and wrapped around the golem, swirling into a cyclone under its feet.

And then, one by one, its legs began to lift off of the ground. Belissar’s eyes widened as he watched the wax golem lift off into the air. The Fourth of the Seventh zipped around.

“Amazing! Incredible!”

Belissar could only nod. It truly was.

After testing the golem, Belissar found he was surprisingly fatigued, so he rested until the daily purification. The purification came and went without issue and Belissar chose mana again. Nenavann then stopped by during the celebration to ask Belissar if he’d be available the next day to officially sign the agreement with the Compact. Belissar saw no reason to refuse and neither did his council, so it seemed the day was nearly upon them.

And so, the next day, after making his usual rounds and offerings, Belissar gathered his Towers denizens at the nexus door. He put on the fur coat and mana flower crown he had worn for meetings with the sigmaka with Niobee standing on his head and several other bees hovering around him. The soldier bee army was escorting him in force overhead, with the Firstborn personally leading at the front. Karnuq hunters lined up behind him with Metsaitti and Chief Rohsuak to his left and the two humanoid wax golems to his right.

They ultimately decided to leave the humans and spiderkin behind for today. Sehfitis had declined to visit the fey and Hirkolos didn’t feel strongly about it, while the spiderkin were still getting settled. Belissar also wanted to finish up these negotiations with the Compact, so decided not to risk any provocations. fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com

A flower monster stepped through the door and waved its branches at them. Belissar took a deep breath.

“Ok, here we go.”

Belissar and his escorts stepped through the nexus door…

Standing immediately beyond the nexus door was Tarwantrad, wearing a green dress and adorned with flowers of every color. She smiled at him and spread her hands, bowing slightly.

“Welcome, Tower Keeper Belissar, to the fair lands under the Calwaskon Compact.”

Belissar smiled. He felt a bit strange as Tarwantrad was speaking in an unusual manner…but he figured it was for the same kind of reason the karnuq dressed him up. Her smile was the same as ever though.

“Hi Tarwantrad, thank you for having us.”

Tarwantrad giggled with mirth in her eyes.

“The pleasure is all mine, Belissar.”

Tarwantrad led him off to the side of the nexus door. There, in the middle of the flower meadow in the center of her nursery room, stood a huge stone slab acting as a table. Nenavann stood at the table, along with numerous other fair folk. The first two he noticed were a human-sized pixie who was the splitting image of Princess Finnakynne and a black elf who resembled Tamosmed if he were permanently scowling…he guessed they were the Queen Vanieskon and the Forgemaster he had heard so much about. There were several other elves, one with silver hair and white robes, another in a simple green cloak and a crown of branches and leaves, another in a black robe with pale white skin and unfocused grey eyes that reminded him of Hesfalle.

There were others he didn’t recognize as well. There was a short person he thought was a child or pixie at first, until he noticed the man’s adult features and lack of wings. There was a woman with some sort of slick fur coat on her shoulders that he thought looked entirely human until he noticed she had some kind of skin between her fingers. He had been informed, however, that it would not be polite to stare, so he did his best to keep his gaze forward and in-between.

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

Tarwantrad stepped forward.

“May I introduce Tower Keeper Belissar, Master of the Circle.”

Belissar, moved forward and joined the fair folk at the table, while Chief Rohsuak and the Firstborn stood and hovered just behind him. An elf man with silver hair spoke up.

“Greetings to you, Tower Keeper Belissar. I am Loremaster Anyadre of the silver elves, and I welcome you on behalf of all the signatories of the Calwaskon Compact. We thank you for coming here today, as well as all you have done on behalf of all the fair. If it is good to you, let us sign a new compact today to seal our friendship.”

Belissar, not sure what to say, followed Chief Rohsuak’s advice for these kinds of scenarios and just nodded silently until he thought of something.

“Yes, it is good to me.”

Loremaster Anyadre turned and motioned to the table before them.

“Then, let all parties review the terms of the compact to their satisfaction.”

Belissar glanced down and realized that the big slab was absolutely covered in carvings. Somehow, those carvings seemed to twist and turn until they appeared in the words he learned as a child. Fortunately, Nenavann had told him all this would happen, so he had come prepared. Worker bees had collectively memorized the entire agreement from the Compact’s last offer and now waited inside the First of the Fifth’s Fourth Daughter’s golem. Belissar used his Tower message ability to read them the agreement now carved in the table ahead of him, and each bee replied whether or not it matched the part she remembered. Belissar was thus able to confirm that the offer and the slab matched, down to the last word, with a single readthrough.

He looked up to find Queen Vanieskon looking at him with a sly smile on her face, while others around the table giggled or raised eyebrows. He didn’t know how to respond to that so he didn’t.

When everyone around the table looked up, Loremaster Anyadre spoke up again.

“Are all parties satisfied with the terms of this compact?”

One by one, everyone around the table nodded, Belissar included.

“Then, let all parties sign.”

Nenavann went first, walking to the bottom of the table. He took out a small knife and pricked his finger, then signed his name on the only part of the table with no carvings. One by one, the rest of the fair folk around the table did likewise.

And then, it was Belissar’s turn. He had to admit, this whole signing in blood thing made him uncomfortable. As much as he knew the Tower Lords had lied about most things, he couldn’t help think of dark tales of blood magic and crazy witches and evil fey. Plus, he’d also admit he didn’t like the idea of cutting himself with a knife. Fortunately, though, he had been forewarned…and prepared help for this part too. He motioned to one of the bees hovering around him and then held his pointer finger up into the air. The First Bloodsucker swayed midair.

“King…sure? Sure is ok?”

He smiled at her and nodded.

“Yes. Please, help me with this.”

The First Bloodsucker swayed once more, but began hovering closer to his finger. She gingerly placed the tip of her stinger on it, slowly pushing it forward the shortest distance necessary to draw blood. Belissar smiled and brushed her with his other hand, and then looked down on the slab. The others had all written something like “Dungeon Master Nenavann, on behalf of the Circle of Dungeon Masters” or “Queen Vanieskon, on behalf of the Pixie Court,” so Belissar signed “Tower Keeper Belissar, on behalf of the Bee Tower.” The moment he lifted his finger off the slab a medicinal worker flew to it and sealed the tiny wound.

Belissar stepped back. Loremaster Anyadre nodded.

“Queen Vanieskon, if you please.”

Queen Vanieskon placed her hand upon the table. The words carved into it began to glow, along with her eyes.

“The compact has been signed; the bargain is struck. May all who have signed this compact and those they represent abide by the terms they have agreed to.”

The wind fell still and the world fell silent. Belissar felt as if the temperature of the air had suddenly dropped and as if the sun itself had dimmed. A shadow crept over Queen Vanieskon’s face.

“And woe be upon all who break these terms. Let our blood be the witness and let all compact-breakers be judged.”

The entire slab flashed with light. Belissar felt as if something had settled upon his shoulders, not as powerful or overt as the oath he swore to the God of Bees, but a feeling that sent a chill down his spine nonetheless. And then, as quickly as it came, the feeling vanished. Queen Vanieskon and the world around her returned to normal and the table returned to inert rock…with one major change. The blood had vanished from the table; in its place the signatures were now carved directly into the stone.

Loremaster Anyadre nodded one final time.

“And so, the Estelende Compact is signed. On behalf of all other signatories, let me welcome you, Tower Keeper Belissar, new signatory of the Estelende and Calwaskon Compacts.”