"What?!" Both Tabletina and Ambrosia gasped.
I shook my head.
"Maybe. But if I'm right, it will change *everything*! And to find out whether I'm right, I need a sick Forager Bee… Better several ones, actually. That, and the location of the nearest pond."
"A… pond?" Tabletina opened and closed her mouth, staring at me with huge eyes. "Father, I don't understand anything!"
"That's alright to not understand," Ambrosia said. "Trust him. Not because he's your father, but because he's Nectus."
I sent her a grateful smile, then remembered that I was wearing a mask.
"Thanks, Amby. Yeah. Look, if I'm wrong, some bees will get wet. If I'm right, we might be saved! And I don't want to waste time explaining *now* when we can use this time being saved instead."
Tabletina nodded thoughtfully.
"Yes, that makes sense. We have 596 sick Forager Bees in the village at the moment—how many do you need? Or do you want volunteers only? I'm sure they will all be glad to come, though."
