[center][h1]Being Busy as Bees[/h1][/center]

The bees were buzzing and the fish were flying in the gardens around node 12’s temple. The first were trying to eat the bees, which were new to the area, but neither the bees nor their keepers would have any of that. As a flying minnow was swarmed and stug rather viciously while a figure in thick black cloths that covered all of his body body expect their eyes (which had red volcanic glass lenses over them instead) huffed and puffed into the bag of oxygen rejuvenating kelp as he ran after a housecat sized Tonnikala with a wooden staff, trying to get it to either die or at least just leave.

“Let me get that for you” came a voice, before the fish was suddenly gripped by the air acting under Xavior’s command after which the god flicked his wrist and tossed the wannabe bee eater high into the sky where it belonged.

“There we go. Curious things those, but I’m sure they’ll learn soon enough just as they did with the gardens proper” Xavier said as the beekeeper stopped to catch his breath and offered muffle thanks to the god

“Think nothing of it. Now then. I'm told there has been a breakthrough when it comes to the nature of what Dzallitsunya’s bees produce in the 12th realm?” he asked, and was quickly directed past the rows of artificial hives to a little workshop, and upon entering saw a familiar face working away alongside a pair of assistants, both lesser demons.

“Ah, Damian, good to see you working with something other than the blast crystals” Xavior greeted the long horned demon, who had had quite the turn around on his opinion on the explosive crystals since his first reaction of trying to get rid of them all when they had harmed the god. 

“Ah, Xavier, my god, good to see you as well” Damian turned to the god, and presented his new Ambroisen arm to shake (which the god accepted awkwardly) only to inform Xavior that “but in that you are entirely mistaken, for I have been investigating what occurs when you mix ground up crystals with the bee’s produce”

“After already mixing it with everything else under the moon” one of his assistants noted dryly.

“Quiet you. It paid off in the end after all. Its like I have been saying, persistence and experimentation, they get results!” he insisted, before admitting with a side tilt of the head and a sheepish smile “Eventually”

Xavior who, while not entirely pleased with some of the consequences, did see this self sourced innovation to be a beginning to a relieving lightning of his own burden as arch-inventor, moved to tacitly encourage it by insisting that Damian “Go on, tell me what you’ve found”

“Right right yes, my discovery!” the mage-demon said, perking up again before leading the god over to a table which had a yellowy line of wax on it that sparked softly with a rainbow sheen wherever the light caught it “This is a mix of the bees’ wax and crushed crystals” he explained simply, before adding “now watch what happens when I touch it with just a bit of power”

Everyone else stepped back instinctively as the demon reached out his remaining flesh arm and tapped one end of the line of wax laced crystal, but rather than explode the part he touched started to glow. The glow pulsed out in both directions of the contact point, at one end earthing itself harmlessly in a mass of pure wax, while at the other exposed end it sent a shower of red electrical arcs sparking out 

“It didn't explode” Xavior noted the obvious in order to invite Damina to explain further.

“Indeed. The wax seems to dull or even nullify the power of the crystals, and unlike other substances we tried, it survives that interaction without degrading or igniting or worse. All the others have been a toss up to whether reaction goes out of control or not, but this? This works near perfectly” he explained, before saying, matter of factly “you can see what this would be useful, yes?”

“You could remotely detonate crystals with a long trail of this” Xavior noted, but it seemed the demon had thought of so much more.

“Well yes, but also you can use it for timers. Using a coil of wax-crystal mix surrounded by more wax and ending in a blast crystal would make far more reliable tossed explosives for example. You could use it to create a weapon as well, that produced that lightning at the end or near the blade of course” he explained “and I am sure there are other uses. My muse is singing of them as we speak. About ways to signal or conduct power with these and a dozen other things, you see, but I can't quite get them to fit right at the moment. But I'll get there, oh yes I'll get there.”

The god nodded, commenting that “that all sounds very interesting” before congratulating the mage “well done Daminan, for figuring out one half of this insectile conundrum. I’m sure this will be infinitely useful.”

“Thank you, thank you” the demon replied, giving a little bow before adding that “Oh and I've done a bit of investigating into the honey as well, but all I can say is that it is very nutritious. An admittedly large sample I had has kept me awake and working for ohhh, two days now?”

“Two… days?” Xavior echoed, before inquiring  “And you haven't eaten anything else?” with a concerned tone

“Oh no. I’ve been much too busy. My muse has been just as awake as myself, my mind abuzz with thoughts that I can't quite nail down. But when I do. Oh, when I do! Then you’ll see, they’ll all see” the demon said, before giggling for a second before the laughter ended suddenly and he said “now be off with you. I have more experiments to perform”

Xavior glanced towards the man’s assistants “have you all taken this as well?” to which they both shook their heads

“I… didn't know he’d stayed up after we retired last night. I thought he just went to bed later and got up earlier… Damian this isn't good for you” the one who had snarked earlier said, now showing his true colors

“Nonsense. have never felt more alive, ha ha, alive!” Damian insisted, already moving to start mixing more wax and crystal to optimize his discovery, before pausing and saying “but perhaps I could do with some more honey”

“Absolutely not!” Xavior broke in, before addressing the pair of apprentices “Both of you, make sure Damian gets some actual food to eat. And water. Feed him if you have too and then as soon as this wears off get him to bed” he commanded them, mainly to put official weight behind what he was quite sure they were already going to do now that they were aware of the issue.

As the god and Damian’s apprentices fussed over the demon and tried to convince him to stop working and to go to his room and lay down for a few days, someone who was dealing with the exact opposite called out to him.

“Xavior,” Jermane skulked under an entrance archway, not quite entering the area proper.

The god called out “one moment!” and then after resolving the situation, or more accurately putting it fully in the hands of the apprentices, stepped outside. He raised an eyebrow at who it was who wanted his attention “Jermane, yes?” 

“Shield of Benea,” The man stood up straight, giving Xavior a subtle memory of when he first met Frederick. 

“Ah yes, her right hand man” Xavior said, his memory properly jolted, before asking “how is she faring today?”

Jermane swallowed, betraying his emotions. “That’s what I wanted to talk with you about.” 

The giant man looked past Xavior before gingerly reaching past him and closing the door. He then looked both ways, as if a spy would come tumbling out of the shrubberies of the garden. Putting a fist in front of his mouth he said. “I need your help getting into her room.”

The god raised his eyebrows in surprise, but acknowledged the man’s desire to keep this out of the public eye and walked past him while justuring him to follow him inside. A few moments later they found them inside a private meeting room, where the god finally asked “How bad is her… seclusion?” 

“She’s locked the door and refuses to not only leave but answer me,” Jermane all but whispered. “I don’t think she’s eaten or drank anything either.”

“We don’t exactly need to,” Xavior said “but I get your point” before stroking his beard for a few moments and then asking simply “In what way do you think I will have more luck than you?” not unkindly, but instead to gauge the exact intent in this request for help.

“She trusts you more than most, if not me — then you.”

“Hmmm,” Xavior thought for a moment, before agreeing to help the man ”we will combined forces then”

[hider=summary]
Xavior goes to see Damian the mage-demon, and finds out about the effects and properties of the honey and wax produced by Dzallitsunya’s bees. He learns that the wax can resist the energy build up of unstable crystals, and when mixed with ground up crystals can make fuses or wires that can conduct power through them and then eject it at the end.

He also learns that Damian has dosed himself on raw honey two days ago, and that he had not eaten or slept since due to his mind being filled with hard to nail down inspiration and ideas, which becomes very noticeable when he starts becoming more and more mad scientist as the conversation goes on.

Xavior and Damian’s assistant are in the midst of trying to get the caffinatied demon to go to his room and lay down for a few days when Jermane shows up, wanting to deal with the opposite problem he has with his goddess, who won't get out of bed, let alone her room.

The two talk in private briefly, and Xavior agrees to lend him a hand in this endeavor,
[/hider]

[hider=mp]
Xavior: 0/9, none spent
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