“Unfortunately, beasty, I’ve got no intention of obeying you. I have lived too long, served under too many to do it again. I assure you, you can’t win against my indomitable will.”
“Mhm, that’s very nice, Toh. Pass the honey?”
“Of course. Wait, no.”
Honestly, what did he expect? By now Toh had likely figured out that Yelah and her crew had been under my influence, yet he thought he would fare better? No sir! It was almost scary how easily I could control the humans. Just attach a Linker Bee and bam! Instant connection. Maybe I should’ve been a bit more concerned about that, actually.
Was it my incredibly powerful Mind? Some aspect of my natural bee hive mind capabilities? Having complete control over these humans who were unwilling to obey me seemed sort of unfairly strong, no?
“Perhaps it is only natural. We are born rulers, after all. Or, I am at least.”
How humble. Well, I didn’t want to look a gift horse in the mouth. If this world’s mechanics were going to make something as crucial as that entirely effortless, I wouldn’t complain.
“You’re quite experienced, Toh. Even more so than Yelah and the rest. Mind telling me a bit about your work?”
“I do mind.”
“Aw, just tell me. Digging around in your memories takes too much work. I have other stuff I’ve gotta be thinking about right now.”
B-boxes made that ‘work’ inconsequential. But from my interactions with Yelah, I had learned that just ingesting information straight from the source was a bit… what’s a good word? Boring? Tiring? Mind-numbing? As a whole, it was missing something. To learn specific things as accurately as possible, it certainly couldn’t be beat. But to just learn? For fun? It was not the ideal way.
No, better to dedicate my resources to other things. I had a hive to manage, after all. I had been lax in the expansion efforts. First Yelah, now Toh? My time was more limited than I had ever imagined.
I was coordinating with Beatrice, following Bess, overseeing Ben’s group, and watching Yelah. Were our warriors strong enough? Were there enough of them? How about builders? How close was I to another egg upgrade? Did the humans have any quick tips on Mind training? Did they know more about how Mind worked? What was the deal with all their Locks? What are the key things I need to know about this world? Its geography? Culture? History? Government? Powerful people?
So many things, so little time. Those facts and errands were many, but B-boxes turned them into afterthoughts. Quite literally. Without it, I would no doubt fumble the major events on their way.
“All of this is a consequence of your inscrutable human desires. If you only further embraced bee-ness, we could expand easily. Though, my anger towards humans would likely not help expansion efforts…”
I mean, things were heating up either way. Our arrival in Yiwi would officially be the moment the rest of this world was no longer a distant thought. If I was completely ignorant, who knows what could happen? How I could mess up? I had scrambled as soon as the Toh situation was under control.
So now? I just wanted to hear Toh’s honest thoughts. With a bit of unique flair and personality, rather than dry facts. Would he tell the truth? Embellish his feats? Be humble? Those were the sorts of things I had missed without knowing, even before B-boxes engulfed my thoughts.
“I don’t wanna tell you.”
Oh, this motherf-
“Tell me! Godammit!”
“Toh, please just talk to it.”
“Yeah, who knows what it’ll do to us if we disobey?”
You two aren’t helping, you damn side characters! I only captured you because you were here!
“Listen up, bud. I could do something horrible to you, but I won’t. Not because I’m nice, but because I really honestly couldn’t care less. I’m asking for your story because I’m bored with the alternative. If you give me nothing? Well, I’ll just go about my business and continue my hive’s expansion. Or I’ll continue developing my plan to infiltrate Yiwi and the rest of your kingdom. Ultimately, you are so far below me that you can serve as a minor distraction. So really, it’s up to you.”
And that was that. See? Not so hard to state your true and honest feelings. And with that, I turned and buzzed away.
“…Wait.” I was nearly gone from the clearing before Toh hesitantly spoke out, “I’ll tell you.”
Ah, great! He just needed a little push. I knew he was just doing this to stall me. Prevent me from doing those other important duties. But whatever! It really was no big deal.
“Aren’t you putting those tasks off a little too easily…?”
“Alright! Start from the beginning, then.”
“The beginning, hm? Well, I was born in a town close to Yiwi, though that little shithole probably doesn’t even exit anymore. From the moment I could take a piss, I-“
“Okay smart guy. Start from when you became a mercenary. Just tell me about that.”
“Ah, the beginning of my mercenary days. Do you two know much about it? Naw, you’re too new to the team. Well, I chose to become a mercenary, damn, more than a decade ago?”
““Two decades, boss.””
“Shit, you’re right. Well, before that I worked as a, hm, let’s say ‘special’ guard under the previous City Lord. But the work sucked. The hours, the pay, none of it was up to snuff with my frankly incredibly diverse skill-set. So, I quit. Lord didn’t like that, but I had too much pull. All my colleagues vouched for me, so the stupid Lord couldn’t do anything. And from there? Well, it’s not like there were many other options. With skills like mine, there’s really only one other line of work to enter. The merc business.”
He paused, looking around wistfully. He had really gotten into the story. This is what I missed.
“Mercs are stupid. Bunch of lazy, self-important jackasses.”
““Boss!?””
“What? That’s the perception of mercs outside the biz. You two know that. Well, I thought so too. But another perception is that they get paid. Paid real good. So there I was, sittin’ in town, trying to decide what to do with my life. Do I take up the mercenary life and get paid good? Or do I keep my dignity? Of all times, that was when I got approached by ol’ Jill Yemonto herself.”
“Yemonto? Like Yemonto Co.? That’s one of the mercenary companies I’ve heard about from Yelah. So they already knew about you and that you had quit?”
Toh gave me a side eye, as if to ask if I was stupid.
“Are ya stupid? Of course she knew already. I was surprised she took so long. You haven’t learned from Yelah how powerful the mercenary companies are?”
“Well, I know they’re prominent.”
“Nah, you don’t get it. Hayrey and Sons’, Yemonto Co., Ehra Group, Goloyo, just to name the biggest. Plus a slew of smaller companies. Yiwi is home to huge mercenary company headquarters, and those companies often operate internationally. For a long time, mercenary companies were the only things that crossed borders and did regular business in other countries. In Yiwi, where the biggest and baddest companies have a foothold, the local government was a tool for them. Things only really changed some time after I joined….”
“Wow. I had no idea mercenary companies were that big of a deal. My assumption was that they operated similarly to adventurer guilds… not to say those can’t also be huge. I should’ve asked Yelah about her experiences more.”
“Adventurer…? Well, Yelah might have some idea about what she does, but she’s still a pup. She’s improved faster than I thought, but she still lacks experience.”
“Experience that you have?”
“Ha! Of course! But seriously, the fact that you underestimated mercenary companies to this degree is reassuring. Maybe your schemes won’t play out so neatly.”
This guy… He was really going to taunt me now? Sure, I might’ve been underestimating mercenaries, but so far, they hadn’t been overly impressive. Plus, now I knew to be more cautious and intelligent about my planning.
“Well, whatever. Just continue your story, then.”
“Not much to tell. Miss Yemonto scouted me out thanks to her informants. I joined and realized that all the mercenary stereotypes were completely true. I did jobs, got paid, mentored a few pups, and here we are. Now all of that hard work and experience led me right here, enslaved to an unnatural creature that defies all logic.”
“Thanks Toh, that’ll be all! You can continue your wallowing while I go do something actually important, you bastard!”
“You are too easy to rile up, you know?”
And with that, I left the old mercenary to chat with his two underlings. He wanted to be sassy? Well, he could be sassy to himself! Though that was exactly what I had been asking for…
No matter! I wasn’t kidding when I said I had more important things to do. All those previously mentioned tasks were truthfully too important to put off. Gah! I didn’t want to stress myself out doing important things, but I also didn’t want to get stressed out by not doing those things. How annoying! Things were so much easier when survival was on the line. Maybe I had gotten too comfortable, too accustomed to a routine.
“Hm. I agree, though it is also nice to not constantly worry about our safety.
True that. Speaking of.
“Beatrice!”
“Yes, Mother!”
“Gah!” Goddamit, Beatrice! How did she keep appearing behind me whenever I called for her? Was she waiting for me or something?
“Ahem. You getting this info?”
“About the mercenary companies? Yes, I think we have been lax in our strategizing. Since that is the case, could I ask you to learn more about Yiwi’s governance? Also about the internal structure and working of mercenary companies such as Yemonto Co. It may be difficult to learn more about Hayrey considering Yelah’s limited experience. But with Toh’s knowledge, we might glean a lot of information about Yemonto Co. Hopefully, mercenary companies have fairly similar structures.”
“Anything else? I want to make sure everything is clear as crystal for the advance force.”
“In that regard, we should discuss this among some other advisors, including those whose troops are in the force.”
“Alright. Let’s meet up with Beck and Bedivere then. What other urgent things should we keep in mind?”
“Well, as I am sure you are already aware, our most pressing concern is, broadly, two-fold.”
…
…
“Well, just lay it out anyway.”
“Will you ever admit to her we are not on her level of thought?”
No.
“Very well. Our broad concerns are military power and resources. Of course, that may be disingenuous, but I work under the presumption that you understand the scope of these two concepts.”
“Ah, of course. Keep laying it out.”
“Well, military power can also be broken down into a few categories. The first is related to the hive itself. This falls under Bess’ ongoing construction. I include it in military power, as this is our central base of operations. After discussing with Bedivere, I understand the importance of defense and functionality. Previously, I imagined the hive as being a functional tool. A location to provide optimal egg conditions, protection from the heat and wind, and a comfortable habitat for growing children. Of course, there is the idea of other creatures potentially invading our territory, but I had only considered our defenses as being our warriors. Not so. The hive itself is a defense, something which has gradually become abundantly clear to me. I apologize deeply, Mother. This was the main reason I did not want to lay things out for you, as it would expose my failure.”
“Ah, chin up Beatrice. You’re still learning things, as am I. Just keep going. You’ve done great so far.”
“Thank you. The hive as a defense is clear to me now. Bess already seemed to have an instinctive understanding of this, as the sturdy outside wall is coming along quite well. However, I do not think it would withstand a concentrated attack, and Bedivere agrees. At the very least, a completed wall would do wonders to shore up our defensive posture in the forest. Though, Bess has already completed the wall in the general direction of the human town. Thankfully, our military troops can make up the difference. And speaking of that, I think we still need more troops. We have strong individuals, but that will not be enough.”
“Now that we are aware of the threat posed by mercenaries, and have a better grasp of their numbers, we can prepare for the worst. Knowing that they have at least four giant companies with untold numbers of mercenaries, and then factoring in countless smaller companies? It is possible for us to be overwhelmed. So, I along with Bedivere will advocate for you to focus on that task. I appreciate your involvement in so many aspects of the hive, but please leave it to me.”
Oh. I wasn’t expecting that. So she wanted me to focus on creating warrior bees rather than managing the hive proper? Well, jokes on you! I can do both!
“Sure, alright. I’ll get to that after the meeting then. But I still want to know what’s going on.”
“Of course. Which brings me to the second major concern.”
Beatrice actually stopped in front of me, looking somewhat concerned.
“The truth is, I think we might soon run out of food.”
“What?! I thought our stores were still in a good place, though?”
“Well… Not so much. Don’t get me wrong, Mother, we still have a decent store of food left, but that will rapidly begin to change in the coming days.”
“Explain.”
“There are a few issues. If it had not been for Bella and Belle’s tireless work to develop the delicious honey, we might have already run out of food. As our numbers grow, more food is required all of the time. What really turned things around for the worse was the humans. Yelah and her group, and now Toh. Even if Toh only stays here for a day, it is a drain on our food stores. The simple fact is that the much larger humans required much more food than any bee besides yourself, Bedivere, and Behemoth. Belphegora as well, but that is another matter. Some bees, such as Bess, also eat more, considering the amount of labor they do. Our ever growing military forces are also consuming ever more honey. And that leads us to the major problem.”
“I have been concerned about this for some time, but last night, after capturing the human Toh, Bella confirmed my worst fears. She could not find a single charred corpse. In other words, we’ve run out of scavengable food.”
“Unfortunately, beasty, I’ve got no intention of obeying you. I have lived too long, served under too many to do it again. I assure you, you can’t win against my indomitable will.”
“Mhm, that’s very nice, Toh. Pass the honey?”
“Of course. Wait, no.”
Honestly, what did he expect? By now Toh had likely figured out that Yelah and her crew had been under my influence, yet he thought he would fare better? No sir! It was almost scary how easily I could control the humans. Just attach a Linker Bee and bam! Instant connection. Maybe I should’ve been a bit more concerned about that, actually.
Was it my incredibly powerful Mind? Some aspect of my natural bee hive mind capabilities? Having complete control over these humans who were unwilling to obey me seemed sort of unfairly strong, no?
“Perhaps it is only natural. We are born rulers, after all. Or, I am at least.”
How humble. Well, I didn’t want to look a gift horse in the mouth. If this world’s mechanics were going to make something as crucial as that entirely effortless, I wouldn’t complain.
“You’re quite experienced, Toh. Even more so than Yelah and the rest. Mind telling me a bit about your work?”
“I do mind.”
“Aw, just tell me. Digging around in your memories takes too much work. I have other stuff I’ve gotta be thinking about right now.”
B-boxes made that ‘work’ inconsequential. But from my interactions with Yelah, I had learned that just ingesting information straight from the source was a bit… what’s a good word? Boring? Tiring? Mind-numbing? As a whole, it was missing something. To learn specific things as accurately as possible, it certainly couldn’t be beat. But to just learn? For fun? It was not the ideal way.
No, better to dedicate my resources to other things. I had a hive to manage, after all. I had been lax in the expansion efforts. First Yelah, now Toh? My time was more limited than I had ever imagined.
I was coordinating with Beatrice, following Bess, overseeing Ben’s group, and watching Yelah. Were our warriors strong enough? Were there enough of them? How about builders? How close was I to another egg upgrade? Did the humans have any quick tips on Mind training? Did they know more about how Mind worked? What was the deal with all their Locks? What are the key things I need to know about this world? Its geography? Culture? History? Government? Powerful people?
So many things, so little time. Those facts and errands were many, but B-boxes turned them into afterthoughts. Quite literally. Without it, I would no doubt fumble the major events on their way.
“All of this is a consequence of your inscrutable human desires. If you only further embraced bee-ness, we could expand easily. Though, my anger towards humans would likely not help expansion efforts…”
I mean, things were heating up either way. Our arrival in Yiwi would officially be the moment the rest of this world was no longer a distant thought. If I was completely ignorant, who knows what could happen? How I could mess up? I had scrambled as soon as the Toh situation was under control.
So now? I just wanted to hear Toh’s honest thoughts. With a bit of unique flair and personality, rather than dry facts. Would he tell the truth? Embellish his feats? Be humble? Those were the sorts of things I had missed without knowing, even before B-boxes engulfed my thoughts.
“I don’t wanna tell you.”
Oh, this motherf-
“Tell me! Godammit!”
“Toh, please just talk to it.”
“Yeah, who knows what it’ll do to us if we disobey?”
You two aren’t helping, you damn side characters! I only captured you because you were here!
“Listen up, bud. I could do something horrible to you, but I won’t. Not because I’m nice, but because I really honestly couldn’t care less. I’m asking for your story because I’m bored with the alternative. If you give me nothing? Well, I’ll just go about my business and continue my hive’s expansion. Or I’ll continue developing my plan to infiltrate Yiwi and the rest of your kingdom. Ultimately, you are so far below me that you can serve as a minor distraction. So really, it’s up to you.”
And that was that. See? Not so hard to state your true and honest feelings. And with that, I turned and buzzed away.
“…Wait.” I was nearly gone from the clearing before Toh hesitantly spoke out, “I’ll tell you.”
Ah, great! He just needed a little push. I knew he was just doing this to stall me. Prevent me from doing those other important duties. But whatever! It really was no big deal.
“Aren’t you putting those tasks off a little too easily…?”
“Alright! Start from the beginning, then.”
“The beginning, hm? Well, I was born in a town close to Yiwi, though that little shithole probably doesn’t even exit anymore. From the moment I could take a piss, I-“
“Okay smart guy. Start from when you became a mercenary. Just tell me about that.”
“Ah, the beginning of my mercenary days. Do you two know much about it? Naw, you’re too new to the team. Well, I chose to become a mercenary, damn, more than a decade ago?”
““Two decades, boss.””
“Shit, you’re right. Well, before that I worked as a, hm, let’s say ‘special’ guard under the previous City Lord. But the work sucked. The hours, the pay, none of it was up to snuff with my frankly incredibly diverse skill-set. So, I quit. Lord didn’t like that, but I had too much pull. All my colleagues vouched for me, so the stupid Lord couldn’t do anything. And from there? Well, it’s not like there were many other options. With skills like mine, there’s really only one other line of work to enter. The merc business.”
He paused, looking around wistfully. He had really gotten into the story. This is what I missed.
“Mercs are stupid. Bunch of lazy, self-important jackasses.”
““Boss!?””
“What? That’s the perception of mercs outside the biz. You two know that. Well, I thought so too. But another perception is that they get paid. Paid real good. So there I was, sittin’ in town, trying to decide what to do with my life. Do I take up the mercenary life and get paid good? Or do I keep my dignity? Of all times, that was when I got approached by ol’ Jill Yemonto herself.”
“Yemonto? Like Yemonto Co.? That’s one of the mercenary companies I’ve heard about from Yelah. So they already knew about you and that you had quit?”
Toh gave me a side eye, as if to ask if I was stupid.
“Are ya stupid? Of course she knew already. I was surprised she took so long. You haven’t learned from Yelah how powerful the mercenary companies are?”
“Well, I know they’re prominent.”
“Nah, you don’t get it. Hayrey and Sons’, Yemonto Co., Ehra Group, Goloyo, just to name the biggest. Plus a slew of smaller companies. Yiwi is home to huge mercenary company headquarters, and those companies often operate internationally. For a long time, mercenary companies were the only things that crossed borders and did regular business in other countries. In Yiwi, where the biggest and baddest companies have a foothold, the local government was a tool for them. Things only really changed some time after I joined….”
“Wow. I had no idea mercenary companies were that big of a deal. My assumption was that they operated similarly to adventurer guilds… not to say those can’t also be huge. I should’ve asked Yelah about her experiences more.”
“Adventurer…? Well, Yelah might have some idea about what she does, but she’s still a pup. She’s improved faster than I thought, but she still lacks experience.”
“Experience that you have?”
“Ha! Of course! But seriously, the fact that you underestimated mercenary companies to this degree is reassuring. Maybe your schemes won’t play out so neatly.”
This guy… He was really going to taunt me now? Sure, I might’ve been underestimating mercenaries, but so far, they hadn’t been overly impressive. Plus, now I knew to be more cautious and intelligent about my planning.
“Well, whatever. Just continue your story, then.”
“Not much to tell. Miss Yemonto scouted me out thanks to her informants. I joined and realized that all the mercenary stereotypes were completely true. I did jobs, got paid, mentored a few pups, and here we are. Now all of that hard work and experience led me right here, enslaved to an unnatural creature that defies all logic.”
“Thanks Toh, that’ll be all! You can continue your wallowing while I go do something actually important, you bastard!”
“You are too easy to rile up, you know?”
And with that, I left the old mercenary to chat with his two underlings. He wanted to be sassy? Well, he could be sassy to himself! Though that was exactly what I had been asking for…
No matter! I wasn’t kidding when I said I had more important things to do. All those previously mentioned tasks were truthfully too important to put off. Gah! I didn’t want to stress myself out doing important things, but I also didn’t want to get stressed out by not doing those things. How annoying! Things were so much easier when survival was on the line. Maybe I had gotten too comfortable, too accustomed to a routine.
“Hm. I agree, though it is also nice to not constantly worry about our safety.
True that. Speaking of.
“Beatrice!”
“Yes, Mother!”
“Gah!” Goddamit, Beatrice! How did she keep appearing behind me whenever I called for her? Was she waiting for me or something?
“Ahem. You getting this info?”
“About the mercenary companies? Yes, I think we have been lax in our strategizing. Since that is the case, could I ask you to learn more about Yiwi’s governance? Also about the internal structure and working of mercenary companies such as Yemonto Co. It may be difficult to learn more about Hayrey considering Yelah’s limited experience. But with Toh’s knowledge, we might glean a lot of information about Yemonto Co. Hopefully, mercenary companies have fairly similar structures.”
“Anything else? I want to make sure everything is clear as crystal for the advance force.”
“In that regard, we should discuss this among some other advisors, including those whose troops are in the force.”
“Alright. Let’s meet up with Beck and Bedivere then. What other urgent things should we keep in mind?”
“Well, as I am sure you are already aware, our most pressing concern is, broadly, two-fold.”
…
…
“Well, just lay it out anyway.”
“Will you ever admit to her we are not on her level of thought?”
No.
“Very well. Our broad concerns are military power and resources. Of course, that may be disingenuous, but I work under the presumption that you understand the scope of these two concepts.”
“Ah, of course. Keep laying it out.”
“Well, military power can also be broken down into a few categories. The first is related to the hive itself. This falls under Bess’ ongoing construction. I include it in military power, as this is our central base of operations. After discussing with Bedivere, I understand the importance of defense and functionality. Previously, I imagined the hive as being a functional tool. A location to provide optimal egg conditions, protection from the heat and wind, and a comfortable habitat for growing children. Of course, there is the idea of other creatures potentially invading our territory, but I had only considered our defenses as being our warriors. Not so. The hive itself is a defense, something which has gradually become abundantly clear to me. I apologize deeply, Mother. This was the main reason I did not want to lay things out for you, as it would expose my failure.”
“Ah, chin up Beatrice. You’re still learning things, as am I. Just keep going. You’ve done great so far.”
“Thank you. The hive as a defense is clear to me now. Bess already seemed to have an instinctive understanding of this, as the sturdy outside wall is coming along quite well. However, I do not think it would withstand a concentrated attack, and Bedivere agrees. At the very least, a completed wall would do wonders to shore up our defensive posture in the forest. Though, Bess has already completed the wall in the general direction of the human town. Thankfully, our military troops can make up the difference. And speaking of that, I think we still need more troops. We have strong individuals, but that will not be enough.”
“Now that we are aware of the threat posed by mercenaries, and have a better grasp of their numbers, we can prepare for the worst. Knowing that they have at least four giant companies with untold numbers of mercenaries, and then factoring in countless smaller companies? It is possible for us to be overwhelmed. So, I along with Bedivere will advocate for you to focus on that task. I appreciate your involvement in so many aspects of the hive, but please leave it to me.”
Oh. I wasn’t expecting that. So she wanted me to focus on creating warrior bees rather than managing the hive proper? Well, jokes on you! I can do both!
“Sure, alright. I’ll get to that after the meeting then. But I still want to know what’s going on.”
“Of course. Which brings me to the second major concern.”
Beatrice actually stopped in front of me, looking somewhat concerned.
“The truth is, I think we might soon run out of food.”
“What?! I thought our stores were still in a good place, though?”
“Well… Not so much. Don’t get me wrong, Mother, we still have a decent store of food left, but that will rapidly begin to change in the coming days.”
“Explain.”
“There are a few issues. If it had not been for Bella and Belle’s tireless work to develop the delicious honey, we might have already run out of food. As our numbers grow, more food is required all of the time. What really turned things around for the worse was the humans. Yelah and her group, and now Toh. Even if Toh only stays here for a day, it is a drain on our food stores. The simple fact is that the much larger humans required much more food than any bee besides yourself, Bedivere, and Behemoth. Belphegora as well, but that is another matter. Some bees, such as Bess, also eat more, considering the amount of labor they do. Our ever growing military forces are also consuming ever more honey. And that leads us to the major problem.”
“I have been concerned about this for some time, but last night, after capturing the human Toh, Bella confirmed my worst fears. She could not find a single charred corpse. In other words, we’ve run out of scavengable food.”
