Tarwantrad took a deep breath.
“Ok. Tell us what you want. Just…please leave the bees alone.”
Finnakynne took off from Belissar’s shoulders and hovered in front of Tarwantrad.
“Oh? And what if it’s the bees specifically I want?”
Belissar interjected at this point.
“I’m not opposed to sharing my bees but you have to promise to take care of them and keep them happy. But if you intend to hurt them, then you’re an enemy.”
Finnakynne blinked for a second and then flew back over to him.
“No no no, Beely, that’s not what you say! Your honey is the one thing we’re trying to get from you, you can’t just offer to share the bees that make them! Honestly, what would even be the point of manipulating you if you just…give away the prize?”
Belissar just stood there blinking as Finnakynne heaved a sigh and shook her head.
“Oh Tarwy, what’s with the dumb look on your face? Come on now, what’s the one thing I’ve always wanted? Surely you know, I’ve told you like, a million times already.”
Tarwantrad snapped out of her fugue to glare at Finnakynne.
“To mess with humans. So, what exactly is your game with Belissar?”
Finnakynne stood up tall and put her hands on her hips.
“To mess with humans! Mommy dearest likes to brag soooo much about all the fun she got up to back in the day! But what do I find when I’m finally old enough to go out into the world?! The world is sealed off! All the humans got themselves killed being dumb and all the fair folk have that stupid Compact so we aren’t allowed to mess with each other…much! It’s just…so…boring!”
She clenched her fist in front of her.
“But no longer! The door has opened and the humans didn’t manage to kill themselves after all! There’s hope! There’s hope once more for all the mischievous scamps of the world!”
She did a backflip off of Belissar’s shoulder before she was obscured by glowing golden dust. A moment later, Belissar felt a hand patting his shoulder. He glanced back and started as he found Finnakynne, now slightly taller than him, standing behind. He quickly had to calm down Niobee who was also about to react.
“So no, Tarwy. I don’t have any plans for Beely here at all. I mean, look at him! He’s practically a baby! Look at him trying so hard to avoid saying yes! Look at his face scrunch up trying to figure out my hidden intentions! Look at him just offer to share his bees without a second thought to the leverage they offer him! He’s adorable, and absolutely no fun to trick! It’d be like taking candy from a baby!”
Tarwantrad stared at her with half-lidded eyes.
Finnakynne glanced away.
“In my defense, it was really good candy. Babies shouldn’t be eating that much candy anyways so really, I was helping parent them.”
She spun about and reverted back to her usual size, then took a seat on Belissar’s shoulder once again.
“The point is, I won’t mess with Beely here. And if you don’t believe me, Miss Scary Conduit buzzing over there will make sure of it. She’s connected to all the bees in the area, if you haven’t noticed the mana, and is ready to sic them all on me the moment I do anything she doesn’t like. Which, apart from the inconvenience of being stung by hundreds of monster bees, would count as messing with the bees and the honey, so I won’t.”
“But…Beely’s not the only human out there, is he? So, as long as I have access to the nexus door and Beely’s dungeon here, I’ll have my chance. I’ll finally have a chance to see something other than our nice little Compact, where everyone gets along and nothing ever changes and all the old farts put all their effort into keeping it that way. You get me?”
Finnakynne shook her head and sighed as Tarwantrad just stared blankly at her.
“Really, Tarwy. It’s like you don’t know me at all. Why wouldn’t I want the Compact to open up to the outside world? Why would I ever oppose the one opportunity we have to do so? I would’ve helped you from the very start if you had just asked! And obviously I’m not going to mess…much…with Beely here when he controls the only door out! So, just promise me you’ll both give me access to both your ends of the door…and a bit of that honey on the regular…and you’ll have my full cooperation with mommy dearest.”
Belissar glanced between the pixie and the elf.
“That…doesn’t sound that bad?”
Tarwantrad frowned but let out a sigh.
“There’s probably a catch but…what choice do we have? We need her help.”
Finnakynne smiled and clapped her hands together.
“Excellent, it sounds like we are in agreement. See now, Tarwy, was that so hard?”
Tarwantrad just responded with another sigh. Finnakynne giggled then took off and spun around to face Belissar.
“Now, before I forget, Neny said we all should give you something right?”
She reached into a pocket that suddenly appeared on her dress, rummaged around a bit…and then somehow pulled out a bundle of dried flowers larger than her current self.
“Tada! Mirage trumpets! Refract and twist light at a distance, slowly emit hallucinogenic gas. May or may not feed on the corpses of those who got lost and starved to death nearby. Toxic too, in high doses. Good stuff, great for a room one! And don’t worry, they don’t affect bees. In fact, I’m greatly anticipating what happens when your bees make honey with it. I want to see Tarwy there eat it. Or maybe Tammy! He’s always so serious, that would be hilarious. I’d say Ury but he’d probably just set everyone on fire, so don’t give him any. Ah, and yes, this is the boon Neny asked me to give you, since I’m guessing Tarwy told you not to accept anything from me except that.”
Belissar slowly reached out and grabbed the apparently hallucinogenic flowers, though these ones were clearly dead, and absorbed them.
- Type: Illusion, Nature, Poison, Trap, Resource
- Mana Upkeep: 20 per node, 10 to enable in compatible rooms