"What's a toast?"
"That will be us if we don't move! C'mon, quickly!"
I led by example and flew toward the hive. My Warrior Bees followed closely.
But their stamina was already low. Their stats mostly were just those of an average Forager Bee.
Their
〔Forager Bee〕 〔Ally〕 〔Progeny〕
〔Name〕: B115
〔Active title〕: Warrior Bee
〔Health〕: 10 / 10
〔Stamina〕: 2 / 10
〔Species〕: Common Honey Bee
〔Age〕: 44 d
〔Remaining lifespan〕: 62 d
〔Attributes〕
> Strength: 9
> Agility: 40
> Endurance: 10
> Defense: 10
> Intelligence: 100
> Perception: 43
〔Special abilities〕
Flight, Barbed Stinger, Wax Production
〔Genes〕
Enhanced Intelligence X, Increased Lifespan I
〔〕〔〕〔〕
My stamina was at 〔14/22〕. Others soon fell farther behind me. Hammers in their hands dragged by bees down, and when one got hit by a ball of water from the sky, she almost got knocked to the ground.
"Stop! We still need to rest a little. Hide under this leaf!" I shouted and flew under the canopy of fern-trees.
Their gigantic leaves shook under the droplets, but for now, held off the assault.
We all huddled close together, listening to the wet slams that happened more and more often.
The stamina took an awfully long time to recover… Several minutes felt like an eternity.
When I saw 〔10/10〕 on the statuses of my Warrior Bees, I flew up again.
"Alright, now let's go without stops!"
"Yeah! We can do it, Father!" a bee cheered, flying after me.
"Water won't stop us, just wa—glarb!"
A globe of water that hit B154 right over the head. She flailed her arms, dropping her hammer, and began falling.
"Daughter!" I shouted, turning to her in alarm.
To my relief, a pair of other bees already stopped her fall and helped B154 straighten herself. A third bee was about to fly toward the dropped hammer.
"Forget the hammer—just fly faster! I'd rather we lose the hammers than our lives!" I shouted at them.
"Whaaat?! No, let me get my hammer! What kind of Warrior Bee would I be without a hammer?!" B154 shouted.
These girls really got too attached to their hammers! I understood carrying them around to not lose them, but this was a bit too much attachment.
"I said forget it!"
"But—"
"No butts! Seriously!"
My authority broke through B154 stubbornness, and the swarm resumed flight.
We were chasing against time. While we rested earlier, the storm intensified. Every other second, someone in the swarm got hit by a water globe.
The bees supported each other, and no one else fell, but they grew more and more soaked. Those lucky enough to stay dry—like myself—got ahead of the bees weighted down by the water in their fuzz.
Our stamina was draining, too. Halfway to the hive, I knew we had to rest again. But now even the massive fern-trees would barely provide any protection.
I still directed the swarm under one. Water was streaming down its leaves in thin rivulets, and the ground was soaked. Sharp wind threatened to push bees off-course and drained warmth from our bodies.
The bees were all wet and sad and shivered from the cold. I was wet and chilly, too.
In a relatively drier place, my daughters immediately huddled together for warmth. This was great for them, but they were all naked and my daughters, so I stayed a hand's length away.
"Father, what are you doing here? You look too cold to stay there!" B171 asked.
"I'm fine! J-just fine!" I pointed at my leaf skirt in-between shivers. "Look, I have some *actual clothes*!"
"Huh, they really protect you from the cold?" another bee asked.
"Yeah! They would protect you, too, if you actually wore any. Don't worry, I will teach the Craftsmen Bees how to make more clothes for everybody. Eventually."
There were just so many steps needed before it. Like knives. And thread… Establishing military and border patrols was much easier!
Several minutes later, the swarm flew out again. The last stretch was the hardest. The headwind made my teeth chatter.
Water splashed my head suddenly. I cried out, but managed to not fall.
Finally, our mountain home was in front of us. Only the last stretch remained.
"Come on, girls! You can do it—just fly up! Fly up, and the hive will be there!"
Curious heads were already poking out from the entrance. Our approach was noticed.
"I'm so tired…" B111 complained.
Her stamina was 〔1/10〕.
I flew up to her and put a hand on her shoulder.
Ice-cold, even to my chilled fingers!
I frowned deeply.
"Hold on, girl. Rest first—the last thing we need is to fall from that height. Everybody, rest a bit!"
The bees immediately landed under another fern and assumed the "huddling together" formation. I still stubbornly waited to the side.
The ground was rapidly flooding, there wasn't time to wait for long. As soon as their stamina rose to 〔3/10〕, I ordered the bees to fly again.
The rapid pitter-patter of the storm was our dramatic music as the bees reached for our home. Some of them used the mountain pillar itself for support between bouts of flight. A few slipped during this, but were immediately caught by their sisters. Several bees threw away or dropped their hammers because they were too heavy or slippery.
And finally, the swarm climbed into the hive entrance, a bee after a bee.
〔Border patrols〕
Brainpower requirement: 7
Military: +0,1 per 1 thousand populace.
Allows establishing your territory.
Allows opening and closing borders.
〔〕〔〕〔〕
We did it!
Several hundred bees were already waiting near the entrance, and they immediately ran up to help my Warrior Bees climb inside.
It was such a large and thick crowd that when someone offered me a helping hand, I just grabbed it without thinking. I was less exhausted than my daughters, but still bone-weary and shivering.
Then I felt the smell and gasped.
"Ambrosia? What are you doing out here?"
She pulled me away from the entrance and through the crowd that spread in front of her as if by magic. All in silence, while around us, hundreds of bees were talking and shouting.
There was a rumbling of thunder from far away.
"Amby… Amby, are you angry with me?"