Bee cave

Bee cave
Location of the bee cave
Located in:	Britannia
Type:	cave
Inside the bee cave

The bee cave is the result of a race of giant bees making their hive in a mountainous rock wall to the south of Empath Abbey in the western Deep Forest. This strange structure exists only in Ultima VII.

Description

The bee cave contained a mass of labyrinthine tunnels, lined with honeycomb and patrolled by buzzing hive members. While normally docile, the workers of the hive attacked any who appeared a danger to their colony, or who attempted to partake of the plentiful honey of their stores without proper precautions. The sting of the giant bee has a soporific effect, and once under its influence, it would be easy to fall to the swarm.

This very property of the the bees is what drew the forester Tseramed to them, as he found that their stingers could be removed and used to make arrows which induced slumber in those struck by them. Hunting bees for such purposes, however, put the woodsman at odds with the other inhabitants of the hive – a pair of Yewish tax evaders who had fled civilization to live as nudist hermits, and who enjoyed a peaceable coexistence with their apian neighbors, partaking of their honey while they slept.

Lore

“

These catacombs are home, obviously, to a large number of bees. Thou might scoff were I to tell thee how fearful most intelligent explorers are of these bees, were I to leave out their description. Larger than a man, meaner than a Jhelom stallion and more deadly than a cyclops are the giant bees. And yet, the search for their sweet, sweet honey has lead more than one man to his death. I have heard of two people — citizens of Britain, so I hear tell — who live near the caves. A man and woman, from their description. I know not how they survive, but were I to meet them on my next journey home, I would, indeed, tip my hat. – from Key to the Black Gate (Ultima VII)

Inhabitants

• Murray
• Myrtle

Trivia

• There is a city named Bee Cave outside of Austin, Texas – where Origin Systems was located at the time of Ultima VII's development.
• The bee cave is one of the few places where music not specifically composed for the Ultima games can be heard. The first is Castle Britannia, which often plays Rule Britannia, while at the bee cave The Flight of the Bumblebee by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov can be heard. This is a famous classical piece that has a fast, complicated melody; it is often used by musicians to demonstrate how well they master their instrument.

References

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Geography