The Bee Dungeon

A young karnuq woman, the one smaller than the rest, waited in her tent, her things packed into a bag. She waited until the sun set and night fell, when most of the rest of the clan had already gone to sleep. There was only a waning moon out tonight, just enough light to avoid complete darkness, but dark enough to restrict even a karnuq hunter’s sight.

Well, she probably needn’t have bothered. Most of the clan wouldn’t care where she went or what she did. She grit her teeth at that thought. She figured most of them wouldn’t care if she disappeared entirely.

But for just this night, that was convenient for her. She was able to slip past the night watch without any fuss and made her way to her destination, a small clearing near their camp, where the tunnel to the Underway opened up. She looked around until she found the night lookout, yawning as he leaned on a tree.

The chief would have had his hide for negligence in this duty. For the girl, however, it was perfect. She waited for him to drift off. She then took a deep breath and left the cover of the forest, creeping across the clearing as fast as she was willing to risk. Her heart pounded louder and louder the further she got…but eventually she hit the dirt and was soon making her way below ground.

She allowed herself to smile. She made it.

And now all she had to do was traverse the Underway. Alone. Where shades or creatures just as bad prowled, who could threaten even a fully grown karnuq hunter. Much less a runt who hadn’t even been taught as much as how to thrust a spear.

But she had made her decision. And so, with one final check of her belongings, she set off into the deep…

The next morning, Belissar made his way around the Apiary, gathering honeycomb and checking in with the queens. As he continued on his way, he found one queen waiting for him outside. And he didn’t need to ask why, for his jaw dropped as soon as he saw her.

Her color had changed from yellow to greenish blue. He focused on her and words appeared before his eyes.