The Bee Dungeon

Belissar shivered as the chill of the Hunger assaulted him all over. He could fill the Hunger pushing in along the edges of the purified area around the Tower, seeping into the flows of the Tower’s mana. But he had no time to sit and tremble. He barely managed to put the entrance back into the Dirt Tunnels before the doors of his Tower slammed open and the Hunger began to pour in. The Hunger once again coalesced at the entrance and a massive foot crashed into the ground, digging deep into the dirt.

Belissar rushed to organize his defenses as the shade slowly emerged. He sent out a call to all his bees and the karnuq, informing them of the situation. Niobee had already moved to the soldier bee army, the soldier bees and sprayers now rushing to set up their formations by the first floor Flower Meadow entrance. The karnuq cut their celebration short as hunters grabbed their spears and rushed for the staircase. Belissar was once again immensely glad he had put a Dirt Tunnels room between the entrance and the Flower Meadow, as it seemed they could set up in time.

Though, in this case, time was not the concern.

This time, there was no fast and lithe cat, nor a soaring bird. The shade vaguely resembled a turtle, though longer and squatter than any turtle Belissar had seen before. It sat low to the ground on six legs, though its sheer size was such that it’d still be as tall as Belissar. While the ever-present mist of the Hunger still obscured the exact texture of its body, Belissar felt that its back seemed more solid than normal, like thick plates sealed together, with countless spikes growing out from them. Its head was squat and barely extended out of the plates, save for its massive beak. Its tail was tipped with several spikes the size of Belissar’s arm. This was a solid, powerful shade that caused dirt to shake off the tunnel walls with each step it took. It seemed the Hunger was no longer attempting to outrun his bees.

The good news was that the shade was by no means fast. The bees and karnuq had all the time in the world to arrive at the Flower Meadow and set themselves up. Chief Rohsuak and Metsaitti came up to him.

“Sacred Den Master, what’s the situation?”

Belissar was about to respond when he thought of something. He quickly called over Niobee and the bee queen in charge of the army today.

“There’s a massive shade moving through the Dirt Tunnels. Here’s what it looks like…”

Belissar went on to describe the shade in as much detail as he could.