Red Sonja #6 (Marvel Comics, 1977)

Red Sonja makes her way through the fragrant hills to gaze upon The Singing Tower, and what a tower it is! It looks just like a.... giant tower! Sonja learned from the Master of the Bells in Red Sonja #5 that her travel companion, Mikal, the heir to the throne of Athos, is imprisoned inside it. She plans to rescue him, but cautiously approaches the giant edifice in the distance.

She reaches the base of the giant shaft, surrounded by flowers, and finds herself smothering herself in flower petals. After a moment of ecstasy, Sonja passes out on the ground and is carried into the tower through a secret door by two insect-people.

Sonja wakes up on a slab before the creatures have time to bind and lock her in a sarcophagus. She kicks them in the face and lashes out with her knife. The creatures are stunned and cocoon themselves, while the tower begins to sing. Red Sonja looks up and sees a gigantic woman with wings tied to the ceiling lattice above her. She climbs to free the woman from a web created by her own hair, but then finds herself attacked by a swarm of bee-people who sting her body and then dump a magic elixer down her throat while she is unconscious.

A strange man who declares himself the Keeper of the Bees celebrates this new red-haired bee queen who will replace the old bee queen. Mikal tries to help by attacking the Keeper of the Bees, but is quickly subdued.

Sonja spits out the nectar and springs into action. The bee queen asks Sonja to kill her, and she reluctantly does, which throws the bee-people into a frenzy. Next, she fights the Keeper of the Bees, who is a formidable foe until Sonja throws a cocoon at him, which bursts with ravenous slugs that devour the Bee Keeper.

Finally, she frees Mikal, who shows her chests of gold collected by the bee-people over the years. He plans to rebuild Zotoz and share the wealth, and asks Sonja to be his queen. He even gives her a ring. Sonja declines and walks away. She even throws away her ring!