The Bee Dungeon

A couple of days passed. After handling maddening honey with no major ill-effects, Belissar tried every honey he had access to. Burning honey was the spiciest thing he had ever eaten but it hadn’t burned him like it had Metsaitti, so he managed to create burning spell-bees as well, along with sedating spell-bees and ground spell-bees that could “fly” through the ground. The Fourth of the Eighth even gave him a tray of shocking honey, which created all sorts of wonderful static shocks in his mouth. But he came out of it with yellow lightning spell-bees zipping around, ready to zap an intruder like Beero’s lightning stings.

And Belissar was not the only one growing over those days…

***

Chief Rohsuak watched as Metsaitti took a stance with a spare spear, one formed from the bones of an Underway animal. In front of him, another hunter hoisted a new creation, a huge vaguely rectangular slab of iron. It was crude, uneven, and rough around the edges, little more than a mostly flat hunk of metal with a handle looped through two holes drilled through it.

Toivenaq, the karnuq smith who once tried to offer his grandfather’s work at the Shrine of Bees, winced as he saw his handiwork on the field. Chief Rohsuak shook her head, then patted the boy on the shoulder and gave him a smile.

“It is only your first attempt, you will grow with time. For now, watch and see what you have accomplished already.”

The boy nodded, though she could tell her words hadn’t gotten through. She let out a quiet sigh, for it couldn’t be helped. Toivenaq’s family had been among those they had lost and since they couldn’t do much blacksmithing on the move, he hadn’t had the chance to fully learn his parents’ craft. A story far too common for the karnuq.

So, he was starting from scratch. Chief Rohsuak had lent a hand, helping fire the bricks needed to construct the forge and then starting and modulating the fire as necessary for these first attempts. While she would normally prefer for the karnuq not to depend on her powers, the situation was somewhat urgent. The latest battle had proven that the karnuq’s arms and armor were no longer sufficient for their needs. A nomadic hunter carrying all their possessions on their back had strict restrictions as to the weight and size of their gear, and could simply run away from any threat they weren’t equipped to handle. The sworn defender of a Tower, on the other hand, could not turn from the fight.

So, she volunteered to help this time and rush new armor into production. Well, it was all Toivenaq could do in such a short time to just process the ore into something of an iron slab. Now, it was time to see if that would be enough.