Honeyland | Lore
Life on Earth: The Game Mall
(Chapter 2.1)
Walking in, you feel a cozy sense of togetherness despite not recognizing a single other soul in the building. Every being in here has similar passions, or at least a curiosity about those passions. Soft beeps and trills fill the air, and the room is lit with the glow of backlights and LCD screens. You make your way past the loud games at the entrance, shiny machines to draw the noobs (new bees) in. You’re not here for idle fun today.
As you get deeper into the Game Mall, your attention is held for a moment by some machines covered by moving blankets. These weren’t here on your last visit, you wonder if you can sneak a peek and take a step towards them.
“Hold on there.” A voice says, with a faint lilt, almost a hiss really.
You look around to spot who was talking to you. Right next to the covered games! There she is, Meduzzza. You’re not sure how you didn’t spot her there, but she’d been standing as still as a statue, just watching you go past. You’re sure she wouldn’t have said anything if you hadn’t taken a step towards the covered games.
“I can tell you’re curiouzzz. But these games aren’t ready yet, and I don’t want you getting any ideas.” She looked at you kindly. At least, as best you could tell. It’s hard to read the facial expressions of a Bee with snakes for hair and a long, serpent-like body. Her voice sounded kind at least.
Her eyes suddenly light up, “I know you! You’ve been practicing Bumble Bash here every day since you first visited my little game mall. I’m proud of that one, one of the first I ever collected. I’m sorry for not introducing myself earlier. How are you finding it?”
You’re at a loss for words. This is the legendary Meduzzza, Honeyland’s Queen of Games. And she’s talking to you! You manage to stammer something about enjoying your time here and wanting to conquer the Bumble Bash leaderboard.
She nods in approval, “I remember those days. That urge to be the best, to hone your craft and see your name at the top of the screen. Feeling that drive and finding more ways to satisfy it is one of the reasons I built this place.” She gestures around the room with both hands. “I sought something more than the repetitive Hunting and Harvesting that satisfies the other Bees. I needed something that would be rewarding immediately. I found a Bumble Bash machine in some forgotten corner of the world, amazingly it was powered up and ready to play. From my first attempt, I was hooked. Figuring out the timings, keeping an eye on everything at once, not reacting too quickly, it was all so challenging! Finally, I had all the top scores in the game but, rather than feeling satisfied, I needed more.”
Meduzzza looked around the room, but her eyes were distant, seeing something in her memory. “So I set out to find more gaming machines. One by one, I found them. First, I brought them home, but then I ran out of space. Besides, as pleasing as it was to better my own high scores, I needed to find challengers! So, I built this place, The Game Mall. And I struck up a deal with the Queen to provide me with prizes for my regular winners. This way, Bees aren’t wasting time by playing my games, they’re just getting different prizes!”
You’ve been nodding along as Meduzzza spoke, entranced by her story. You didn’t come for the prizes, after all, but for the bragging rights when you get crowned as the supreme Bumble Basher. And yet, seeing those covered games, with tantalizing promises of new games to explore…
You ask her when the new ones will be ready, trying to sound nonchalant about it.
“Ah ah, I can’t give away my secrets!” She laughs musically. “These will be ready when they’re ready. You just carry on with your quest to top the Bumble Bash leaderboard, and come back often. These games will be playable one day soon, and then you’ll have another leaderboard to conquer. Have fun now!”
As she slithers off, you’re tempted to peek at the games anyway. Just to get a glimpse. But then you spot a statue, a real one this time, standing next to them. It looks exactly like a Bee that was trying to peek under the covers! Maybe you’d better not risk finding out if the rumors were true. And so you head off to play Bumble Bash, eager to find out what new games might be available soon.
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