Honeyland | Lore
Life on Earth: Trader B’s Emporium and Jemima the Raffle Princess
(Chapter 2.3)
*Ding-a-ling-a-ling*
As you open the door, you hear the sound of a bell ringing. It’s sure to catch someone’s attention, but that’s ok, as you could use the help. You’ve not been in here before, but you’ve heard about it. A place where you can acquire all kinds of goods and items to help you and your Hive.
Barely two steps into the room, you pause to take it all in. At first glance it seems like chaos, but, as your senses adjust to the light, you realize there’s a sense of order. In the center are tables, piled high with stacks of similarly shaped items. Around the edges of the room, shelves groan under the weight of their contents. On the left side, underneath some shelves, a long sales counter runs from front to back. It has a door that can only lead to a storeroom behind it, with a little counter flap about two thirds of the way down, currently closed.
Signs hanging from the ceiling point in different directions for various items. You glance at a few of them quickly.
Upgrades, Tickets, and Lanterns — Level 2.
Bombs, Mint Spray, and Cursed Honey — Level 5.
Raffles — Basement.
Before you can take in more than that, you hear the sound of footsteps as someone approaches. “Come on down to Trader B’s, where you’ll find everything you need. If you can’t find that special thing, ask Trader B to do his thing!” A deep voice says, in a singsong tone. “Welcome to my store! I’m Trader B, what can I do you for?”
The speaker is a normal looking Bee, of average height. He is wearing a jacket and tie, a bright purple cap, and a grin as wide as the ocean. His eyes sparkle with joy behind his glasses and his antennae wave about his head. “I’m just looking, really,” you say cautiously. You don’t want to cause offense by not buying anything. “I’m trying to figure out what I actually need. I’ve not been here before.”
Trader B’s smile somehow grows even wider. “Not a problem! While you figure it out, do you mind if I tell you a story?”
You’re curious, and there’s no harm in being entertained, so you gesture for him to continue. “Ah, thank you. Not everyone is so willing.” He settles himself against the countertop, and folds his hands under his chin. “Now, which story should I tell you? Oh, I know! The story of how I started my shop.”
“You see, Bees began to go out on Missions way back in the old Honeyland. Bringing home pocketfuls of items that they just didn’t know what to do with. This was all before you Beekeepers came onto the scene of course. Even back then, I sensed an opportunity, a chance to fulfill my destiny!”
“I found a suitable place to trade and set up shop. With no one else providing a central service, Bees from across Honeyland flocked to trade with me. Business was roaring when the Contagion attacked and we all had to flee. Thankfully, we ended up here on Earth and us Bees have been able to continue Harvesting and Hunting. Which means business has been booming again recently!” He laughed heartily before continuing.
“What’s been even more amazing has been the arrival of you Beekeepers. Before, Bees were just trading items with me, but the Beekeepers were happy to pay me for the items I’d collected. Even more importantly, they were happy to pay me to sell items on their behalf! I set up the marketplace to display collectibles and assets from Beekeepers, for Beekeepers! And take a cut for my troubles, of course.”
You look up from the box you were digging through. You’d seen a Mythic Lantern of Knowledge in it as you walked in and figured this was a good chance to get a closer look at one. Trader B has stopped talking and is watching you rummage around.
“Anyway,” he resumes, once he’s got your attention again. “That’s the story of Trader B’s shop. You seem to have found something you like the look of. Feel free to keep browsing, and be sure to visit my sister, Jemima, in the basement. She just LOVES Raffles. I’m certain she’ll have something you think is worth buying a ticket for. Just ring the bell on the counter here when you’re ready to check out. See you later!” With that, he disappears into the storeroom and leaves you to keep shopping.
*** you continue to shop for a few hours ***
Eventually, arms laden with items you decided you just HAD to have, you make your way to see Jemima. After all, you’ve been curious about these Raffles that Trader B mentioned. At the entrance to the stairwell you find a stack of baskets. Grateful, you dump everything into the top one and head down the stairs.
At the bottom of the stairwell is a small lobby area with one single door. The door has a pane of frosted glass on it, with the word RAFFLES across the middle in a golden, flowing text. You head through the door into a relatively plain room. The far wall is the one exception.
A countertop that mirrors the one on the ground floor runs the full length of the wall separating the room from the dozens of ticket dispensers and bingo drums that fill the shelf behind it. On the counter itself are five dispensers. They each had a little sign in front of them, from left to right they read, ‘Genesis Bee’, ‘Gold Pass’, ‘Land Ticket’, ‘Endurance Shards’, and ‘Gen 1 Egg’.
You can only assume they are active raffles with those as the prizes. You instantly want to buy a ticket, after all, who wouldn’t want a Gold Pass? There’s no sign of Jemima at the moment, but there is a large bell with a wooden handle on the counter, so you head over and pick it up.
*donnnggggg*
Surprisingly, the bell has a single tone, even though you shook it three times. The sound echoes around the room and has just begun to fade when you hear the sound of footsteps running down stairs. It’s coming from the door behind the counter, assuming it also leads to some kind of storeroom, you wait to see if it’s Jemima.
The footsteps pause just when it seems you might see who they belong to and you hear what might be the rustle of clothing. Suddenly, a Bee bursts through the door behind the counter and into the room. Jemima looks surprisingly similar to Trader B at first glance. And second glance. You do a third take. Yup, even at third glance. The main difference is that Jemima’s hair is free flowing and she’s wearing a purple dress.
You spot a reel of raffle tickets trailing out of one of her dress pockets. Jemima sees you and begins to sing,
“Whose luck is in to win my raffle?
What wonderful prizes there are to snaffle.
Buying more tickets increases your chances
But only the winners will be doing dances.”
She hums a few more notes at the end of her song. “I think my brother must have sent you down here! I’ve got some wonderful prizes up for grabs. Fancy testing your luck and buying a ticket?”
Weirdly, you think to yourself, Jemima even SOUNDS like Trader B, just speaking in a higher pitch. You ponder your luck recently, you did spot a four-leaf clover just yesterday morning. And, you always keep your horseshoe charm pinned inside your pocket. Perhaps it is a good time to buy a raffle ticket.
As you explain all of this to Jemima, you watch as her eyes get wider and wider in excitement. “Oh you must buy some tickets! I’ve got a good feeling that you can pick the winning ticket!” She pulls a small stack of tickets from each of the machines on the counter. “Here, that’ll be 150 HXD please.” She smiles as she waits for you to pay up.
“Raffles are just so exciting aren’t they!? The uncertainty, the thrill of hoping you’ve beaten the odds. And the prizes! You have to come back again tomorrow, and next week! I have new prizes all the time. I’ve even been collecting these tickets so that I can run raffles on behalf of you Beekeepers. I learned a thing or two from my brother, don’t you know.” She rattles through all of this so quickly that you have to take a moment to process the information.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I got too excited didn’t I?” She says, more slowly. You nod a bit dizzily. She takes pity on you and hands over the tickets you purchased. “Just come back tomorrow, I’ll have new prizes to raffle off, OK?” You nod again as you take the tickets from her. “Great! See you then, and don’t forget to pay for all of those with my brother on your way out.” She gestures at your basket of items and grins, then disappears through the doorway again in a rustle of wings.
You gather yourself and your tickets, pick up your basket and head back upstairs. Hopefully she did give you the winning ticket, but for now, you’ll just pay for the things in your basket and head back to your Hive. That Jemima was a lot to process in such a short time, and you need to put your new Epic Sonar Buzz to work.
*** back upstairs ***
You head to the counter and see that it’s unattended. Tired and ready to leave, you ring the bell for assistance. As the jingle of the bell rings out and begins to fade, you hear footsteps again. This time they sound like they’re coming up the stairs. Again, there’s a pause and a rustle of clothing before Trader B jumps through the door.
“Ah! All finished with your shopping? Did you find everything you wanted and needed?” He asks, a little out of breath. You nod your thanks and hand over some HXD as you wonder about the breathlessness. Did Trader B just run all the way from the basement perhaps? You spot some raffle tickets in his jacket pocket as well.
Could it be that Trader B and Jemima are not brother and sister, but actually the same Bee? You’ll need to visit again to be sure, but you have your suspicions. For now, it’s enough to head back to the Hive with your new items and hope your luck is in.
Read the previous story: Chapter 2.2: The Art of War
Read the next story: Chapter 3: A Queen’s Gambit
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