Once Belissar had a chance to gather himself, he returned to Tarwantrad and Hesfalle. He crossed his arms and frowned.
“So…you said the bees can’t evolve with Death mana?”
Hesfalle shook her head.
“Not with this Death mana and the method described. Trying to raise a newborn in a pool of concentrated Death mana when they aren’t already adapted to it would be challenging. Same goes for trying to evolve an adult all in one go. Generally speaking, living creatures that take on the Death attribute normally do so by gradually adapting to it.”
“Or you could go with the undead method, but that would require you not to place the corpses in the memorial if you wanted to do it with bees.”
“No, any of them that fall deserve to be honored.”
Hesfalle’s eyes lit up.
“Let me know if you get those. They would definitely be suited for the Death attribute and would be perfect for the hunting process, so you should definitely consider them if you see them again.”
Belissar fidgeted a bit, only slightly worried about how excited Hesfalle became at the idea of bees that butcher living things alive.
“I-I’ll do that. So…I need rabbits, huh?”
“Or any prey species. Rabbits would just be convenient since you already have meadows and they breed quickly. Tarwantrad can give you some.”
The two found Tarwantrad scowling and muttering.
“Entirely too quickly. Belissar, make sure you’re ready to hunt those monsters down, lest a horde of them strip your flower fields bare.”
Hesfalle smirked lightly.
“I warned you to hunt them aggressively, even if they seemed cute.”
Tarwantrad turned away with a huff. Belissar just glanced between the two. He guessed something had happened in Tarwantrad’s dungeon? Well, the karnuq were good at hunting, so hopefully they could handle it.
Before he could figure out how to respond, though, Hesfalle turned back to him.
“So, do you wish to attempt this?”
Belissar took one more deep breath before meeting Hesfalle’s eyes.
Hesfalle smiled and reached into a pouch at her side.
“You can get the rabbits from Tarwantrad, so I’ll give you these instead.”
She took out two small rods, both carved from bone, embellished with a bunch of curved engravings, and topped with gems. One held a black gem, the other a purple one.
“If you concentrate Death mana and corpses in one place without something like your memorial, there is an inevitable risk of wild undead forming. Some of them might bind to the dungeon automatically, but those that are too simple won’t be able to, while those that are too complex might resist. These will help.”
She held out the rod with the purple gem.
“This one can bind a wild undead to you, letting you take command of it. Should work on the simple ones so you can use them.”
She moved to the one with the black gem.
“This one holds a spell of decay and will disrupt Death mana as well. You can use it against the living, but it is most powerful against the undead. It should stop anything complex enough to resist the dungeon binding.”
Belissar felt increasingly uncertain about this plan but managed to reach out and take the rods. Undead were not something he wanted in his Tower. Though…the Tower Lords had lied about gods and towers and beastkin and potions and magic and fairies and golems. Maybe they had lied about the undead as well?
“So…undead. I heard they’re mindless monsters that hate the living. That’s wrong, right?”
“An oversimplification but mostly true, at least regarding wild undead. It’s less hate and more that if they’re too simple and unbound they won’t have many instincts beyond increasing their numbers, which requires more corpses.”
Belissar’s face fell. So, the Tower Lords told the truth for once…
“And…it’s not a problem for them to spawn in the tower?”
Hesfalle shook her head.
“That depends on how you deal with them. If you properly respect the danger and prepare thoroughly, you can not only prevent harm but even benefit from their presence.”
Belissar slowly nodded, though he kept frowning.
“So…I should have defenses prepared for these undead? Both for the bees in the room and for the rest of the Tower?”
Hesfalle replied immediately.
Belissar was about to have second thoughts on this whole idea when Hesfalle waved towards Tarwantrad.
“Either of us can help you with that, though. There are plants and monsters that specifically consume the undead and we both have some. We can discuss those once undead begin spawning. Those wands will take care of the first few you’ll encounter.”