The Bee Dungeon

Back in the bear people’s camp, Juosiutik watched as the pot just outside her tent bubbled. Others of the clan passed her by, but most knew better than to interrupt her mid-brew. She focused in, stretching out with what little mana she had herself to try that of the potion as it bubbled and swirled. She frowned.

A true potion-maker would be able to follow the flow of mana throughout the entire process, and even predict how it would develop. She…they would have been able to make micro-adjustments at the very start so that the whole thing would coalesce at the end, even through a chaotic middle. Juosiutik, on the other hand, did not have the mana reserves to keep such a close and detailed eye. She barely had enough to infuse the potion and kick off the process. Nor did she have the knowledge of what changes she needed to make, what sort of chaotic flow was actually good and what sort of seemingly smooth flow would ruin the entire mix. It was one reason why so many of her experiments went up in flames.

But there was nothing for it. Only a handful of records were left behind when the…last potion-maker passed, so there was no choice but to figure it out through trial and error. A process made much more difficult by the clan’s lack of resources. It had neither the mana-infused food stuffs that would have boosted the growth of her own reserves, nor the extra potion ingredients for her to make more than the occasional attempt.

That was beginning to change, however. The God of Bees had given her slight blessings, boosting her mana reserves just a bit. In addition, Juosiutik now had a consistent source of high-quality ingredients. She could now afford to waste a few on failed experiments. And she also had a powerful source of mana that appeared capable of infusing any combination of ingredients she had tried.

Her thoughts turned to the Sacred Den and its master for a moment. He was small and strangely furless. She thought that might have been just part of who he was but he had a small patch on the top of his head, so it clearly wasn’t impossible for him to grow any. She originally was going to investigate his condition but Chief Rohsuak had told her no, so she would let it lie. Maybe he was sensitive about it?

It would make sense. The Sacred Den Master was incredibly timid. He reminded her more of Noigakkuq, the runt of the clan, than of a leader like Chief Rohsuak. That wasn’t all bad, though. Juosiutik didn’t mind Noigakkuq’s company when the other girl was willing to speak with her. She, and the Sacred Den Master, were both far less likely to ignore her warnings and tip over a brew in progress. There was a reason Tyhgak wasn’t allowed near her pot anymore.

Still, Juosiutik couldn’t make heads or tails of the Sacred Den Master. The man commanded an entire army that could wipe out most of the clan. He possessed riches beyond imagining, and even Juosiutik’s limited senses could tell his personal mana reserves were nothing to scoff at either. So, why then was he so timid? If she had that much power at her disposal…well, she probably would be marching back towards…in any case, it was strange that someone with that much power would not be waving it about.

But Juosiutik was taken out of her thoughts as she felt the bubbling mana begin to settle down. She leaned over the pot and began to stir it with a ladle. The mana remained settled even with her disruption, letting her know the mixture was now stable. She allowed herself a small smile.

Yet another successful brew. At this point, she was beginning to understand some of the properties of the mana honey. The magical, ridiculous properties that defied her understanding of potion ingredients. Mana honey was greedy. It wanted to absorb more mana and harmonize it with its own, taking on its properties. It shared its own mana in the process, creating a current of mana exchanging characteristics between different ingredients. It was an excellent binding agent that could tie clashing ingredients together, using itself as the medium. And the mana it already possessed would kick-start any such process, taking the burden off of Juosiutik.

In some ways, it wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair that honey was a better potion-maker than she was. But that was fine, because she had the honey now, and felt confident enough in her understanding of it to try something.

She emptied the pot and stored its contents. She had to wait for it to cool down before she washed it thoroughly, then she went back into her tent and began rummaging through her bags until she found the ingredients she was looking for. She filled the pot with water once again. This time, though, she build a small fire underneath it rather than using flame radish. This was a difficult and complicated brew, so she couldn’t afford to use flame radish for heating. Just one of many reasons she hadn’t been able to attempt this.

Another major reason was ingredients. Sleepy chamomile and quickblossom were supposedly abundant in their old home, but Juosiutik had never seen it. All she had left of them were a couple of dried flowers and a handful of seeds. For the quickblossom, she didn’t even have enough for the Sacred Den to absorb, she would have to try and grow some of the seeds once she was sure they weren’t going to move again. So, she could not afford to waste what little she had left on failed attempts.

And that was a problem, because this brew was not only complicated, it didn’t even make sense. Sleepy chamomile and quickblossom had opposite effects, such that mixing them together canceled the other out and left the drinker with nothing but a stomachache. And yet…the previous potion-maker had been able to blend them together. Somehow, they were able to manage the clash and the chaos such a mixture would create and bring a stable product out of it all. A miracle drink that was unparalleled in its ability to relieve fatigue, restoring and relaxing the body while simultaneously energizing it.

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Juosiutik, for the life of her, couldn't figure out how it would ever be possible. And without access to new ingredients, the small reserves she had would not be enough for her meagre skills to work it out.

But no longer. The Sacred Den could now provide her with as much sleepy chamomile as she needed. From what little she recalled, the mix required far more sleepy chamomile than quickblossom, so that went a long way towards making an attempt possible. Still, that alone would not justify using up the last few dried quickblossom flowers. But, she had received something else that would.

Mana honey. That mystical, unfair binding agent. Juosiutik had tested it recently with as many ingredients as she could spare and as far as she could tell, it would work even with ingredients that were supposed to clash. So, Juosiutik might not be able to get the opposite ingredients to work together, but now, she might not have to. Mana honey might be able to do that for her.

She was confident enough in it that it was worth an attempt.

She checked her ingredients and her tools. She double and then triple checked them. She took her spear and jabbed it into the ground, topping it with a small wolf-mole skull. The agreed upon sign within the clan that she was not to be disturbed. RаΝỗꞖΕṢ

She took a deep breath as the water began to heat up. Her heart began to pound in her chest as she held the pouch containing the quickblossom.

“Ok…here goes…”

She placed it down and then dumped a whole armful of sleepy chamomile into the pot. She sent a small jolt of her mana into the water to begin the process, and then began stirring the mix. She danced around the pot, stirring in random patterns. A circle here, then a circle the other way, then a figure eight, then back and forth. She believed the goal was to prevent the sleepy chamomile from settling while its mana activated.

She then tossed in a sweetvetch and some cloudberries, ingredients that had also come from her homeland. She vaguely remembered such things being added to the mix, though she wasn’t sure why. She did feel the mana react slightly.

She then took another deep breath. The sleepy chamomile mana was now leaking into the water. If she didn’t act now, it would settle and turn into a basic sleepy chamomile tea. It was now or never.

She narrowed her eyes and picked up her pouch, and a piece of mana honeycomb she had broken off the tray. She took a dried quickblossom flower from the pouch and rubbed it on the honeycomb, coating it in the honey. Then she dropped both into the mix.

The mix began to bubble and boil over as the ingredients reacted. Juosiutik began to stir furiously, spreading the quickblossom mana throughout the pot. She could feel the mana roiling, she could see whisps of steam and small sparks emit from the pot. She wanted to send her mana into the mix, try to sooth over the growing storm.

But she resisted. She had no idea what this mix was supposed to look like at this stage, so intervening haphazardly would be a mistake. Instead, she felt for the mana of the honey comb and focused on that. She sent what little mana she had through her ladle to the piece of honeycomb and tried to carry it on into the mix as she stirred. Her entire plan here was to trust in the properties of the mana honey, so that is what she focused her interventions on. She then hoped against hope, and even prayed to the gods, that the mana honey would do what she thought it would.

For what seemed like an eternity Juosiutik stirred the mixture. Her heart pounded harder and harder as the mix grew ever more chaotic. She was frowning as a particularly large spark nearly singed her hand. Her face began to fall.

If this kept up, she would need to abandon the mixture and run. The possibility of it spontaneously combusting was now too high to ignore.

But right as she was about to call it, something changed. Something in the mana shifted and then the mana flows began to rapidly disperse. The sparks and the bubbling died down almost immediately. Juosiutik’s eyes widened and she leaned over the pot. She gulped.

“Did it…fail?”

Had the mixture collapsed and dispersed all of its mana? She had to force herself to move and take a scoop with her ladle. She trembled as she reached out into the liquid…

And then she froze. The liquid was still filled to the brim with mana.

She began to stir the pot and her eyes went wider. The whole pot was still full of mana. Settled mana that did not react further to her disruptions.

The mix was stable.

She took another scoop and lifted it with a trembling hand. She blew on it until it was just barely cool enough not to burn her and took a sip. Her trembling grew and her eyes filled with tears. She spoke in barely a whisper.

“…I did it…Mom, I did it…”

She stood completely still for a moment as her mind processed it. Then she thrust her hands up into the sky.

“I DID IT!”

Juosiutik filled two water pouches with the potion and then took off running as fast as she could. Her heart soared as she smashed through branches, ignoring them as she sprinted towards the Sacred Den. She burst passed a surprised Metsaitti and his hunters, ignoring their calls to her as she rushed into the Sacred Den.

She didn’t stop until she came to the Shrine of Bees. She then skidded and fell to her hands and knees, giggling as she did.

“I did it. Thanks to you, I did it.”

She began to tear up again and wiped at her eyes.

“It’s all thanks to you, both you and your Sacred Den Master. Thanks to you, I revived my mom’s recipe. I…I…maybe I can become a potion-maker like her after all.”

She slowly rose to her feet and brushed the dirt off her. Then she took one of the pouches and placed it into the Shrine’s chest. She then fell to her knees.

“Thank you. I can’t thank you enough. Without your blessing and the Sacred Den’s honey, I couldn’t have done this. So, please, if it pleases you, please be the first to accept this.”

Even as Juosiutik spoke, the chest and the Shrine of Bees began to glow, far brighter than before. It grew so bright Juosiutik had to shield her eyes.

When it died down, Juosiutik gasped. In the center of her vision hung a string of words, floating in the air.

The God of Bees offers you her full blessing. If you wish to accept, please select one of the following blessings:

- Blessing of the Alchemist

- Blessing of the Mystic

- Blessing of the Healer

- Blessing of the Honey Herbalist

Juosiutik’s mouth fell wide open.

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