BD - PONon-Bee 359.1 - Feeling Bee-spair

Starami briefly considered trying to reinforce and maintain the foothold they had in the forest room…but he quickly acknowledged that was a fool’s errand. However much it pained him, he ordered his forces to retreat back to the first room. The bees and the fey were moving to press the attack, so even had to leave the monsters behind as a rearguard. And even for all that, several of his Tower Guards succumbed to the poison along the way. The rest managed to return to the base camp quickly enough to be cured…but the poison had wreaked havoc within their bodies in the time that took. All of them were in bad shape and would need time to recover.

Starami sat back into the new chair his guard prepared for him and hung his head. He had truly underestimated the fey and paid dearly for it…

Or rather, he had been deluding himself, intentionally ignoring the magnitude of the task. He knew from the start the fey shouldn’t be that easy to conquer. If they had the kind of mystical knowledge he sought, sufficient enough to maintain his position despite the ire of the gods and the scorn of his peers…then why wouldn’t they use it against him? This entire subjugation was likely a fool’s errand to start with.

But what choice did he have? To give up would be his end either way, he had no choice but to try. He did still have an army, thousands of Tower Guard yet waited at his command as well as the now fully unleashed monster army he had raised in secret. His true dragon still flew overhead and he had not personally joined the fight. The fey still declined to assault his forces directly, even after repulsing his attack.

And yet…he could see no path forward at present. His strongest warriors could not push through with might. The water room prevented him from attacking with his full army all at once. The necromancer would punish a slow push utilizing numbers and attrition. The bees…could apparently overwhelm a small, elite force. To rely on schemes or sorcery would be to challenge the fey at what they did best. The wisdom of the Conclave suggested that in this situation he should request aid from greater Tower Lords…but that was no longer an option. Every path before him seemed blocked, every choice undesirable.

Starami went ahead and ordered a siege of the first room, but he held little confidence it would work. Indeed, after the power the fey demonstrated in the forest…who was to say they couldn’t defeat him at will? Maybe he had only gotten this far because they were toying with him for their own sadistic pleasure. Maybe they could break his siege whenever they chose.

But he could think of little else to do at the moment. Besides, whatever his decision, he needed to wait for his elites to recover from their wounds first. Even a retreat back to the Conclave would require their strength in case the Hunger noticed them down below.

So, he may as well follow through with the motions while he searched for any potential solutions to this impossible task. As such, he was currently occupying himself by reviewing his supplies and his army’s readiness for a long siege. Who knows, maybe the Hunger would break through the Tower with an emergency purification and maybe the fey put everything into those two rooms and would quickly fall after. Starami knew that was wishful thinking, but anything was possible.

The quartermaster arrived at his tent with a frown on his face. Starami’s mood worsened.

“Report.”

The quartermaster saluted.

“All the supplies are in order, my lord. We will have enough to last us for a while…”

Starami narrowed his eyes.

“And? Is there a problem?”

The quartermaster furrowed his brow.

“Perhaps. We’re short one delivery. It won’t threaten our current stocks, but I cannot account for the discrepancy at present.”

Starami took a deep breath.

“And you’re certain the kobolds haven’t stolen from the stocks again?”

The quartermaster sighed.

“It’s always possible, my lord, they seem uncannily capable of finding ways to make a mess of things.”

Starami held his head. Now even the minor matters conspired to irritate him, it seemed. But…he was dealing with the fey. He could not discount the possibility that even a minor annoyance might be the result of their treachery.

“Investigate the matter. I will assign some full Tower Guards to clear the supply route once more. But, quartermaster…if this is indeed nothing, I will hold you to account for the discrepancy.”

The quartermaster gulped but saluted once again.

“Yes, my lord. Thank you, my lord.”

Starami just waved him away, then put the matter out of his mind. He would be busy enough trying to complete the impossible task ahead, much less trying to address every little distraction the fey would throw his way. Yet another sign of how deep their deceptions ran…

***

By the time Konilias and his conspirators had reasserted control over the panicked dragonkin army, Hegiosa had rebuilt her defenses, putting into place an even stronger barrier than the first and collapsing the tunnels Konilias had dug underneath the City of Light. Her evacuation was nearly complete as it was, without the great wyrm there was little chance they would break through before Hegiosa’s people escaped. Konilias could now raize the City of Light to the ground and Heigiosa wouldn’t budge an inch. She was secure now within her impregnable Tower. And that was to say nothing of Heigiosa’s own monster army, one that could apparently bring down greater dragons. Another attack on the city would only be a waste.

Which meant…his ploy had failed.

Konilias created a barrier of his own surrounding Heigiosa’s own, sealing her in her home, then ordered the dragonkin army to keep her under siege. It would do nothing to Heigiosa herself, but it might buy him some time before Heigiosa rallied the rest of the Conclave against him. This coup would now become a fully-fledged civil war and the odds were very much stacked against him. Even the gods supported his foes and morale among his conspirators was at an all-time low. He would have to come up with something quickly or everything would collapse in an instant.

So, Konilias rushed back home to his Tower. The first thing he did was march up to the Tower Guard Stadvolous had sent to him to stay in contact.

“Send word to your master, I want a report on his progress.”

The Tower Guard saluted and went silent, speaking with his master as only a Tower Lord and their sworn defenders could. Konilias tapped his foot even though it only took a few minutes at most.

“My lord’s subordinates have laid siege to General Rippotis’s Tower. My lord himself has engaged the Dragon Banner Army during its retreat and has them pinned against a sea of the Hunger. Both he and his subordinates are now using their monster armies to wear down their targets.”

Konilias narrowed his eyes.

“And has he received any word from Starami? What is General Rippotis’ status?”

The Tower Guard eventually shook his head.

“Lord Starami has not reported in since confirming General Rippotis’ arrival at the rogue Tower.”

Konilias scowled. Starami desperately needed a win that would place him and Stadvolous in the man’s debt. If he had captured or killed or even just contained General Rippotis, he would have announced it immediately. That he had not reported either meant he was fighting hard and likely losing…or that he had already failed. Either way, General Rippotis was in the air and could be heading back to the Conclave at they spoke. Konilias…would have to assume the worst case scenario, given how everything else was going lately.

“Tell him to pick up the pace, we no longer have the luxury of time. We cannot risk General Rippotis’ returning to his army.”

The Tower Guard went silent for a long moment, furrowing his brow.

“My lord wishes to ask if that means the Oracle has not been convinced to join our side?”

Konilias’s face darkened…but Stadvolous needed to know the situation they were in.

“That is the case. We’re moving to the civil war scenario.”

The Tower Guard’s eyes widened for a moment and then his face looked anguished.

“Even…even if what my lord says is true…and the gods themselves have abandoned us?”

Konilias unleashed his mana, stunning the Tower Guard out of his spiral, then glared at the man.

“Unless your master believes he can surrender at this stage. I’m sure Rippotis will treat him most kindly.”

The Tower Guard blinked…and then frowned and began glaring back. Konilias just stared down at him until he reluctantly relayed the message, and only then continued on.

“Tell him I am looking into the matter. Now that the gods have chosen a side, there is no need to hold back on the contingencies. But I need time to work. I have Heigiosa under siege for the time being, but your master must deal with the Dragon Banner Army and General Rippotis if we are to stand a chance. He cannot be allowed to link up with Heigiosa…at any cost.”

The Tower Guard’s face darkened until Konilias stirred up his mana again.

“I…will tell him.”

The guard kept glaring at him but Konilias ignored the man. The…questionable loyalty of some of their Tower Guards in this scenario was yet another reason for Konilias to employ his contingencies.

And so, Konilias left the man and traveled through his Tower’s shortcuts, arriving in a secret room via a shortcut that only allowed him to past and no one else, not even his own Tower Guard. Inside was a library filled with ancient, crumbling tomes…and a laboratory filled with all manner of equipment, much of it rusting and bent out of shape. Scrolls displaying bestial humans, tomes written in tongues no human spoke, a glowing jar filled with what he had believed was the last pixie dust in existence.

Every artifact and scrap of lore Konilias had managed to preserve from the old world, human and fey alike. Konilias was no general, like Rippotis, so he would not find victory on the field of battle. Nor was he a perfect acolyte of the gods, like Heigiosa, so he had no hope of convincing them now that they had turned against him. He was first and foremost…a sorcerer. So, if there was any hope of victory left for him in this war…he would find it here.

So, he began to open and review ancient tomes…as well as more recent acquisitions. Such as the corpse of a human and of a wyvern, both lying on magic circles placed next to each other…

Author’s Note:

Well of course the hive-burners should feel bee-spair. They lack bees. The other side does not. What greater bee-spair is there than that?

Which is why they should feel so much bee-spair that they surrender to the bees, instead of subjecting us to further silliness. Nobody likes that silliness, hive-burner. Not the bees, not the queens of all things, not even the other silly non-bees!

Anyways!

Will the hive-burners feel even greater bee-spair? Will they realize their hopeless lack of bees and surrender? Or will they subject us to even more silliness? Tune in next time, to find out!