Chương 28: Chapter 1.28: To Bee or Not to Bee

Under the light of the morning sun, Beren helped Favius and Caliga into the oversized beekeeper's outfits.

"Feels like cloth armor." Caliga spun in place, trying to keep the brim of the hat from falling over her eyes, while Brutus did his best to suppress chuckles in the background. Urania was observing from a dozen steps away. Favius turned to her.

"You're sure you don't want to join us?"

"No! Why would I want to go stirring up yucky insects?"

"Bees aren't yucky," replied Caliga.

"They make honey, and honey is tasty, so they can't be yucky." Urania scrunched up her nose and shook her head with a sigh.

"I—" She looked to the closest hill that was safely more than a hundred steps away.

"I will be watching from there."

"Suit yourself." He shrugged, and once they had their oversized outfits on, Beren started fussing with the smoker and looked again at Brutus.

"Is the Lord Cultivator sure he doesn't want protection?" Brutus shook his head before smirking at Favius and Caliga.

"Trust this mighty warrior. I'm more than confident in facing the bees." The beekeeper shook his head slightly, and Favius looked between his protector—who seemed entirely too comfortable with the idea of kicking open a literal beehive in nothing but light clothing and equipped with a battle axe—and the hive. Well, if what he taught us about endurance and similar insights is true, he probably won't die after getting stung by an entire hive. I think. He shrugged, and Beren dropped a piece of coal into the smoker.

Soon, dense aromatic smoke surrounded them, and they marched forward like a religious procession of three veiled priests and one utterly unconcerned warrior. Favius tightened his leather gloves and gripped his wax tablet and measuring sticks, while Caliga carried various cloth bags and small jars they had prepared to safely capture a number of bees.

"I'm honestly still surprised that Serran was fine with us destroying a hive to look inside." Beren merely shrugged.

"Hives die. And if it's the will of the young master and the majordomo… who am I to argue?" Favius hummed as they approached the hive from the side. Beren gestured for them to stop.

"We gotta approach from the side. If you approach on their main flight path to the entrance, they tend to get aggressive before the smoke calms them." Favius nodded, and soon they stood behind the hive, several angry bees already buzzing about. Then the same electrical sensation from Brutus's breakthrough ran through him. He turned and saw the cultivator's hair dancing in all directions. The man grinned.

"I'm releasing the charge of my core. Works wonders as an insect repellent. It's half the reason why it's worth cultivating as a warrior on campaign." He chuckled. Favius shook his head at the blatant show-off and observed the bees, who were clearly uncomfortable around the electrostatic field.

"Oh, one more thing. Kids—" Caliga turned around while Beren froze with the ready smoker, having already taken out two wooden pipes. Favius focused on his protector.

"A bunch of cultivators think they can intimidate someone else by releasing their cultivation like this. After all, it gets stronger with each rank. But here is how you use it properly." He smiled broadly and leaned in.

"You flash your cultivation, have them flash theirs. Once they start looking constipated, you can punch 'em in the face easily enough." Caliga burst out giggling, and even Favius chuckled. They turned back. Favius saw that the beekeeper had attached a straight wooden pipe and brought his mouth to the fabric of his veil, sealing it against the pipe. Next he got out a length of tubing. Favius narrowed his eyes.

"What's that?"

"A willow bark tube. Just skinned the rod this morning." Favius whistled in appreciation as the man bent the tube toward the hive's entrance and began blowing on the smoker. At first, the humming of the hive intensified, and dozens—maybe hundreds—of bees began swarming them. Yet they were repelled by the cloth and the cultivator's aura. Caliga inched toward Brutus's protection, while the cultivator stood there, leaning on his axe.

After almost five minutes, the humming died down, and the swarm became less aggressive. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"Is it time?" Beren nodded and set the smoker down, removing the pipes. He got out a knife, but Brutus stepped forward and cut open the bindings with a single casual swipe of his magical axe. Beren nodded gratefully and removed the top covering from the split log. He got a chisel ready, but again Brutus stepped forward and brought his axe cleanly down the long split. For a moment, it resisted. Then Brutus levered the axe, and the log split apart.

One half nearly fell, but the beekeeper caught it as the cultivator held the other. The sweet smell of honey filled the air as light entered the hive. The exposed honeycomb swarmed with drowsy bees—hundreds, perhaps thousands. Caliga stepped forward to study it. Beren grabbed the smoker and swung it over the exposed combs, murmuring something Favius couldn't quite make out. A prayer? Or just some beekeeper ritual?

"There!" Caliga pointed.

"Is that a queen or a drone? Eh, whatever, I'm catching it." For the next several minutes, they captured bees—dozens of them, especially the larger ones—placing them into small clay jars, which Caliga sealed with cloth. Finally, as the bees dispersed, Favius measured the spacing between the honeycombs. If I remember correctly, bees prefer this natural spacing, so if I follow that for the frame design, they shouldn't glue everything up with wax. He studied the split line of the log, sealed thickly with beeswax.

Suddenly, Beren spoke up.

"There! That's a queen!" He snatched the larger bee and, with a practiced motion, crushed her wings before dropping it into a jar. Favius's eyes widened. That's just cruel. Then again, it doesn't feel anything in the wings. I think? Still… the beekeepers I talked to on Earth seemed more careful. And caring. He shook the thought off.

"All right. Disperse the bees and harvest the honeycomb. We'll need it for the project." The beekeeper began carrying off the broken hive pieces toward an outbuilding, and the group followed, putting down the jars and removing their gear. Slowly, Urania approached, still keeping her distance. After a while, she seemed to calm and began talking to Caliga, who was excitedly babbling. Favius joined them, now back in his everyday clothes. Urania sighed.

"Now that that's over… are you sure they didn't sting you? I mean, Brutus—" She waved dismissively.

"He's insane. He should have worn something."

"Why?" Caliga shrugged.

"His cultivation clearly kept them away. And soon we will be able to do the same." She smiled dreamily.

"Yes, but first—" Urania looked down.

"The lessons with Cassian," Favius finished, and she sighed. They walked toward the house with the jars in Favius's satchel. As they reached the gardens, he turned to Urania.

"Oh, Urania—there's something I want to show you."

"What?"

"This!" He threw a jar on the ground a few steps from her. It shattered, releasing a dozen bees. Both his sisters screamed—but he was already running. Brutus roared with laughter as Favius sprinted away, the cultivator's electrostatic aura crackling behind him. His sisters were squealing and screaming as they ran. Once he reached the grass beyond the gardens, he doubled over laughing, clutching his stomach. Brutus soon joined him, as did Caliga. She slapped his shoulder.

"That—oh my—by the Allfather's balls, Favius! You should have seen her face!" They laughed for a while longer until Urania finally joined them. Favius smiled innocently at her, but she huffed and turned away. As they walked toward the classroom, Caliga tried to approach her, but Urania slapped her hand away.

"I'm not talking to the two of you."

"Oh, come on, it was a harmless prank," Caliga teased.

"Haven't you seen the bees? They are so cute and fluffy."

"Cute and fluffy? They have stingers, and they are all crawly and yucky and—no!" She glared over her shoulder at Favius. He returned an overly sweet smile. Well, retrospectively it might have been a bit dangerous, but it's not like I threw them under her robe. We were all a safe distance away. Favius tilted his head. Would I have done this back on Earth? Maybe. But pulling a prank like that felt so natural here.

They settled into the classroom, and the mood shifted immediately as Cassian stepped forward with a sour expression, made worse by Brutus's presence. Despite everything, his explanation of rhetoric and history—how the two intertwined in the politics of the Republic—drew Favius in. Say what I want about this man, but I've had few teachers, either in school or university, who were this good at oratory.

The lesson went surprisingly pleasantly as Cassian engaged each of them, guiding discussions and pointing out rhetorical traps with examples from Senate speeches. Yet Favius's mind drifted. The bees. We got queens, drones, and workers—so I can work out spacing. They have drills… hopefully the right sizes for a separator board. It all depends on their woodworking ability now. The lesson ended, and they walked to another outbuilding where Beren was waiting.

"Very well, Beren. Have you taken care of the hives?" The man's eyes narrowed slightly, and a strange smile played over his face.

"I have indeed, young master." Favius nodded.

"So, any new thoughts on the design?"

"The design?" the man echoed slowly.

"No, I cannot say I have."

"But you're certain you can do it?"

"I—" A strange mix of irritation and amusement crossed his face.

"I am certain I can work to the satisfaction of the young aristocrat." What is going on with him? Why is he suddenly so stiff? Favius scratched his head, but let it go. He watched two slaves shaping wood into planks with axes and adzes. The adze—he had only seen them in museums—smoothed the surface like a hybrid of axe and hoe. On Earth we use saws and planes… though— He turned and noticed bronze saws. Thick, short, heavily reinforced. I guess those are the limits of not having iron tools.

Urania stayed near the edge of the workshop, but Caliga actively questioned Beren and the other workers, testing ideas. As sunset approached, they settled on a simple box design built around an internal frame that could support additional stacked sections and frames. The boards were joined with carved cutouts, fitted with knives and chisels, then hammered together.

"It doesn't fit," Caliga growled.

"Never does on the first try," Beren replied calmly.

"We adjust." After a few changes, the pieces fit snugly. He nodded at Favius.

"I can see where you're going. Tomorrow we'll try your frames and the separator." Favius smiled as they left in the fading light. My first business in this new world. Let's hope everything goes smoothly… and there are no surprises.