The Bee Dungeon

"Ah! I should ask Urubran for help tonight!"

Belissar had been daydreaming about what the two options the two Fire rewards might hold when he recalled there was, indeed, a Fire dungeon master among the Circle. He sent word to Tarwantrad through the monster she left in his Tower for that very reason.

And so, later that day, as the later afternoon purification wrapped up and the Tower began preparing for the celebration banquet, Tarwantrad and Urubran arrived. Urubran…had his arms crossed and was exhaling smoke, while Tarwantrad was standing behind him…and apparently making herself as small as possible. Belissar blinked at this but went to go greet the two elves anyways.

Urubran didn't let him.

"Belissar. I'm upset. Do you know why I'm upset?"

Belissar came to a halt, while Niobee began to stir on his head. His mind raced…but he ultimately couldn't think of anything he did that should have upset Urubran?

"…no?"

Urubran let out a rumbling sigh that emitted some sparks…

"Belissar! You've become a signatory to the Compact! You've opened your Tower to the fair and the land of the fair has opened to you! You've been getting and finishing missions from the God of Fire and setting spiderkin hordes ablaze with fire pots and turning bee queens into fully-blessed fire champions and yet…"

Urubran began scowling and waving his hands around.

"…no one invited me! I'm told you've been letting Princess Finnakynne hang around your Tower, but not me?! I thought we were friends!"

Belissar blinked, while Tarwantrad winced and averted her gaze.

"Oh…sorry?"

Urubran huffed out another puff of smoke.

"You better be!"

"Don't be too hard on Beely, Urubran. You knew I would force him to let me in, and the Compact's been doing their best to distract him with really boring meetings."

The air filled with buzzing as Finnakynne arrived for the banquet on the back of her favorite bumblebee soldier. Urubran raised an eyebrow.

"Urubran? That gives me the shivers, didn't know I could still get those. So, it's true you've been acting really weird too, huh, Finny?"

Finnakynne nodded with a serious expression.

"Yeah, you could say that. And…I'm sorry about the re-igniting oil thing, Urubran…"

Urubran shivered.

"Let me stop you right there, Finny. First of all, go back to calling me Ury, it's just plain weird hearing you say my name. Secondly…are you seriously apologizing to me for unexpected fires? For something I got to burn twice?"

Finnakynne's head popped out of the bumblebee fuzz.

"Um…yes?"

Urubran sighed and shook his head.

"Then you're an idiot, Finny. Well, tell me this…"

His gaze suddenly became sharp.

"If you're trying to apologize for stuff…did you apologize to Tarwantrad?"

Finnakynne's expression fell but she managed a tiny nod. Urubran glanced over at Tarwantrad and she nodded back. Urubran raised an eyebrow as he turned back to the pixie.

"You are acting weird…wait, it's the honey, right? She's acting this way for Belissar's honey, right…speaking of which! Belissar, you never told me if your bees have made lava honey yet or not!"

Belissar, meanwhile, had been considering Urubran's words during Finnakynne's distraction. He…hadn't realized Urubran considered him a friend. He also…hadn't had many friends before, so wasn't sure what to do about upsetting one.

But he had dealt with an upset god before, who happened also to be Urubran's patron, so he decided to try that method.

"…sorry, Urubran. As an apology…I have some extra burning mead I made for the God of Fire, do you want some too?"

Urubran froze.

"Belissar…you made mead…from the burning honey?"

Belissar nodded. Urubran stared at him for a moment before suddenly bursting into a big smile.

"Belissar, have I told you you're an amazing friend?"

Belissar, in fact, had enough mead made from non-poisonous honeys to share a drink with the entire banquet, including his allies and guests from the Compact. The banquet was subsequently significantly more lively than some previous ones had been. Fortunately, Finnakynne warned him in no uncertain terms to only share a single, appropriately-sized cup with each of the pixies, so they most just sang and danced through the air.

He did receive many, very…enthusiastic requests for more, though. Had Finnakynne not made him promise, he might have given in.

In any case, the banquet ultimately concluded without issue and Belissar's council gathered together.

"Ok, here's the perk choices from the God of Fire."

The Third of the Sixth zipped around in the air as he brought up the choice.

Please select a perk:

- Blazing Heat (Rarity: Uncommon)

- Firestorm Generation (Rarity: Rare)

- Feature Fire-Resistance Boost (Small) (Rarity: Uncommon)

The Third of the Sixth picked up speed, heating up the area as she passed overhead. Belissar decided not to keep her waiting.

Blazing Heat

- Increases the heat generated by Fire and heat attacks, improving their damage. Targets hit by Fire or heat attacks become more susceptible to overheating.

- Fires besides attacks may be made hotter with mana. Other means of heat generation may also be made more effective with mana.

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- Heat dries out targets more quickly, making them more susceptible to catching fire. This effect applies to heat generated by fires, allowing fires to spread more easily.

"Hotter fires! Hotter hive! Amazing, incredible!"

Belissar chuckled as the Third of the Sixth responded for them. The hive of hives let her take the lead for them, though the other bees chimed in as well. The Third of the Fourth danced first.

"Hotter fires…help make tea?"

Some light pheromones then drifted through the air. Belissar had to focus before he could decipher them, turning to see the First Stingless Queen crouching down. Her antennae drooped at the attention but the First of the Fifth's First Daughter flew over and brushed her. Afterwards, the pheromones strengthened enough to be clearly perceived.

"More heat…helps if workers ball up to burn intruder?"

The Third of the Sixth paused for a moment before zipping even faster.

"Ball around enemy? Good idea! Amazing, incredible!

Belissar glanced over at Chief Rohsuak and Urubran. Both of them shrugged and smiled before Urubran responded.

"The bees pretty much covered it. Can't go wrong with hotter fires. Also helps if you have hot environments like deserts, you can wear enemies down without fighting if they aren't heat resistant. Ah, and to be clear, you can choose to not make the fires hotter for times when you'd prefer something…cooler."

His face scrunched up at that while Chief Rohsuak chuckled.

"Well, our cooks, at least, will be relieved to hear that, us disciples of Fire aside."

Belissar then moved on to the next one…one that honestly had him a bit wary.

Firestorm Generation

- Sufficient Fire attacks or Fire mana in one area may now generate firestorms, firestorm generation by natural means becomes easier.

- Firestorms burn hotter, last longer, and deal more damage than regular fires. They generate their own wind systems that blow towards their center, pulling in anything nearby and further fueling the fire. Firestorms containing mana may also burn compatible types of mana to grow stronger.

"Firestorm, what that?"

Belissar, too, turned to Urubran and Chief Rohsuak after the Third of the Sixth's question. Urubran wore an enthusiastic smile that Belissar wasn't sure he liked.

"When a fire gets big enough, it starts creating wind that blows everything towards it, including more air that fuels it even further. It gets hotter than ever and pulls in anything nearby."

Belissar couldn't help a bit of a frown.

"That sounds…dangerous."

A fire that got even hotter and started pulling in stuff nearby? That sounded like it had the potential to burn a room down…or pull in his bees.

Urubran did not help Belissar's worry by making a vicious grin.

"Oh, it is…but not to you. Surprisingly, the winds the storm makes that pull things into it also keep its flames from spreading outward, so the firestorm itself tends to stay in one place. Firestorms actually make fires more convenient as an attack, the storm burns really hot, pulls in enemies even if it misses, and quickly burns through all flammable material and mana in the area…but doesn't move around or spread to places you don't want it to. Well, it does dry the area out which can start new flames, but those won't spread the storm itself unless they start a new one. So, honestly, a firestorm might be less likely to burn down an entire room accidentally…though, normally, any fire big enough to start a firestorm has probably already covered a room. This perk just lets you make some without a fire that big."

Urubran then pointed over to the Third of the Sixth.

"I'm guessing you're worried about the bees being pulled in? That is a concern, I won't lie…but the Third of the Sixth over there wouldn't be hurt by being sucked into the flames, would she?"

Belissar furrowed his brow.

"That's…"

Chief Rohsuak smiled.

"We also have the wind bees that might be able to prevent a storm from affecting our own forces."

Belissar blinked.

"Huh…"

Finnakynne popped out of the bumblebee soldier's fuzz.

"Oh, are we convincing Beely to start fires? There's the gravity bees…wait, I'm not supposed to do this anymore! S-Sorry, Beely, don't listen! We're trying to convince you to start fires!"

Belissar raised an eyebrow. Finnakynne was clutching her head and muttering to herself…while Urubran and Chief Rohsuak were both staring at him with wide eyes and innocent smiles.

"Hm…well, what were you saying about the gravity bees? Is there a way they can make it safer?"

Finnakynne flinched.

"Well…I did think that maybe the gravity bees could pull help bees away from the fires if they got caught. But…don't be deceived, Beely! Those two just want to start really big fires! Safety is secondary to them!"

Belissar turned to look at Urubran and Chief Rohsuak again. Urubran clicked his tongue.

"Finny, you traitor."

That did not reassure Belissar, who turned a now questioning gaze to Chief Rohsuak. The karnuq chief chuckled.

"Well, I can't exactly deny that it would be a sight to see, Tower Keeper. I suppose I earned my nickname for a reason. But I can say that I would not fail to warn you if I thought we couldn't handle it. You would likely need to be more careful using fire in larger battles with the whole bee army, but the Third of the Sixth and I could potentially help with that."

Belissar's eyes widened.

"Ah, the fire shield thing you did, back with the fox?"

Chief Rohsuak smiled and nodded.

"The Third of the Sixth's hive has been practicing."

Belissar decided to turn his attention back to the bees.

"What do you all think of this?"

The First of the Fifth's First Daughter took back over dancing a report to him.

"Third of the Sixth thinks amazing, incredible! Will be very powerful for burning bees, hive of the fallen. And karnuq queen said Fourth of the Seventh can help? Fourth of the Seventh amazing, incredible, always helps! If bees need help, Fourth of the Seventh will help!"

The First of the Fifth's First Daughter's antennae then began to glow.

"Oh, queen mother also said will be strong when King sets honey on fire. Also, Sixth Sister said will try to help pull bees to safety. Wants to help if can."

Belissar smiled at her. It seemed the bees weren't worried at all about the dangers, focusing more on the possibilities.

"Got it, thanks."

Well, he did already have Fire-Resistant Bees, so maybe it would be fine even if a bee or two got caught up in a firestorm? Still, for some reason he did not trust the smiles Urubran and Chief Rohsuak were giving him at the moment, so he decided to review the final perk option.

Feature Fire Resistance Boost (Small)

- All dungeon features gain a small increase in their resistance to catching fire.

- All dungeon features gain a small decrease in damage taken from fire and Fire attacks

- This resistance does not apply to features intended to catch fire

Well, this one was straightforward enough, making parts of his Tower more resilient to fire. Belissar liked that idea, he very much never wanted to see a beehouse catch fire, but he put aside his own preferences for now.

He wasn't sure he trusted Urubran on this choice anymore so he turned to the bees.

"What do you think?"

The Third of the Sixth was still zipping about, but slower than before. The First of the Fifth's First Daughter was the one to reply.

"Makes hives harder to burn? But King and burning bees already make hives that don't burn?"

Belissar rubbed his chin. That was a good point, if he was worried about flammable hives he could just build them all out of stone, while the burning bees already had fireproof wax. Besides, if an enemy was setting fire to a hive, then that enemy had already made it past his defenders. The better question was…how many of the features used in the defense could benefit from this perk?

The beeswax candles in the Dirt Tunnels had been disabled by fire during the ant-shade wave, so he supposed there was that. Maybe the wooden platforms he set up for the hive of the fallen…that they no longer needed since evolving battlecasters who could fly again. Also, now that he thought of it, maybe he should see if he could build a platform out of stone?

Belissar shook his head. Ultimately…he realized he was just trying to find a reason why he should like the perk that seemed less dangerous. But…this one didn't even improve the defenses of the bees themselves. Even Belissar could tell it'd have less impact than the other two. It was the one perk that wouldn't help his bees do their jobs better.

The other two would. Defeating shades quickly was also a way to protect his bees…and the bees already had the tools necessary to protect themselves from the dangers of the other perks. It would be silly of him not to pick one of them.

Plus, he could feel two pairs of eyes burning into his back. But they wouldn't be the ones that might get sucked into a firestorm, so Belissar looked up at the Third of the Sixth, the hive of hives' expert in fire, the bee that danced in the flames.

"Which one do you like most?"

The Third of the Sixth zipped around him, raising the temperature.

"Second! Can make big fire, like karnuq queen!"

He turned to the First of the Fifth's First Daughter.

"Does the hive of hives agree?"

The First of the Fifth's First Daughter danced a confirmation.

"Third of the Sixth part of Hive of All Fire. Knows fire best."

Belissar smiled.

"Then I agree too. We'll plan to take Firestorm Generation then…after we check the rooms, in case one of them changes our minds."

The Third of the Sixth began an "amazing, incredible!" dance. Belissar chuckled. Well, if Urubran hadn't lied, firestorms actually spread less while Blazing Heat made fires spread more, so this might actually be the safer option.

If Urubran hadn't lied, that was…