In the southwestern corner of the Cold Fir Fief, neat rows of beehives stood staggered in the sunlight.
"The terrain here is quite good. Sheltered from the wind, facing the sun, and close to the stream." Louis narrowed his eyes as he surveyed the surroundings, a hint of satisfaction in his voice.
Beside him, a knight in a deep red cloak attended him respectfully, occasionally consulting the record board he carried.
He was the man in charge of this trial bee-rearing operation.
"The hives were made from red-veined fir, as you instructed," the Beekeeper Knight reported. "The insides are coated with frost-pattern stone powder to help keep out the cold."
Louis nodded lightly, walked over to one of the hives, and crouched down. He ran his fingers across the wood, carefully feeling its temperature.
"Very good. What about the fragrant mist devices?"
"They've been installed." The Beekeeper Knight paused, then walked over and pressed a switch on the back of the hive.
With a soft click, the mouth of a small bottle popped open, and mist began to flow slowly out.
The mist was as fine as silk, glimmering faintly in the sunlight and carrying a barely perceptible herbal fragrance.
This was a specially formulated calming mist.
Its fragrance was extracted from frostleaf vine, night-snow moss, and a small amount of dark silverleaf.
It had been made specifically to suppress the Azure-Pattern Bees' frenzied temperament, which bordered on an instinct to self-destruct.
"The mist is released once every four hours." The Beekeeper Knight pointed to the set of rotating wheels atop the hive. "At night, the interval drops to three hours. Following your last suggestion, we added an automatic sensing magic array."
Louis smiled approvingly.
Taking a few more steps forward, he looked up at the rather unusual "covers" above