Empire Builder 3: Breed, Populate, Conquer

by Dante King

  He turned just in time to watch as a dresser hurtled toward him. This time Ben was able to use Force Wave, the rippling energy colliding with the dresser and sending it smashing into the wall.

  “Nice,” The One said. “But this is still easier than I’d thought it was going to be. You have to admit the humor in you coming all the way here only for me to end your life with a well-tossed armoire.”

  This prick’s really starting to get on my nerves, Ben thought.

  He rose and fired a blast of Energy Darts at The One. Together, they exchanged spell after spell, but The One’s were far more powerful, which put Ben on the defensive almost every time. Spotting a gap, Ben fired more Energy Darts, and they shot out like a load of buckshot the size of marbles, many of them hitting The One and causing him to cry out in pain.

  “What the hell?” The One growled.

  He turned back toward Ben, tossing his energy blade, the weapon spinning toward Ben in an end-over-end fashion and cutting into the wall and disappearing. The One cast the spell once more, another energy blade in his hand within the blink of an eye.

  Ben noticed that The One’s spells were getting weaker, as though he was running out of mana. An idea occurred to Ben. He thought of how the shield had prevented him from using Siphon earlier, but that was when The One’s mana levels had been higher.

  “Ah, yes,” The One said, “you also see what I see. We both have the defenses against Drain, preventing us from being drained of our abilities until our mana is low.”

  That’s news, Ben thought. But good to know.

  “Unfortunately for you, I have far more mastery of Drain than you!” The One cried out and thrust his hand forward, but Ben was faster.

  Ben focused, tapping into Siphon and peering into The One. What he saw inside was like nothing he’d ever seen when using the spell. There were too many powers to sort through, and his mana pool was the largest he’d seen.

  Ben found what he was looking for—Telekinesis. Using Siphon, Ben pulled the spell—along with a huge amount of mana. Although The One was running low on mana, the amount was still enough to rival Ben’s own mana pool.

  The One paused as Ben drained him, a confused expression on his face.

  “You… you’re taking my power. How the hell can you do that? I can use Drain, but it’s nowhere near as fast.”

  “I have Siphon,” Ben said as he groaned, the mana filling him almost taking him to his knees. He wasn’t sure how exactly he’d gained Siphon when The One only had Drain, but he didn’t bother overthinking it right now.

  Words appeared in front of his face.

  NEW SPELL ACQUIRED!

  TELEKINESIS

  He grinned, not wasting a second, turning his attention to the sword on the wall and tapping into his new power. It was strange to use, and a bit awkward, but he found success in pretending as if his power was an invisible hand, one that could move however wanted.

  It was a weak hand, however, and the magic that kept the sword pinned to the wall was strong, like it was stuck with glue.

  “You… you fool!” There was real anger in The One’s voice, anger that betrayed his previous cool and let Ben know that he hadn’t expected the fight to go quite like this. “You want your sword back so badly, let me give it to you!”

  The One raised his hand, reaching for the blade. He easily pulled it from the wall and brought it toward his hand, but it didn’t get that far. Ben, his mana draining by the second, used all the strength he had to stop the sword midair.

  “Huh?” Shock was all over The One’s face.

  Ben knew he didn’t have much time. Simply stopping the sword was sucking his mana down to the last drop. With his free hand, he used Siphon, taking as much of The One’s mana as he could. The blade came free from his pull.

  “What the hell!”

  Ben leaped into the air, snatched the blade, and landed on the ground. Then he aimed the sword at The One, fired Force Wave, and launched it through the air.

  The sword found its home like a spear thrown by a champion. The blade cut into The One, piercing him through the belly. His eyes went wide, and he stood still as a statue for a moment. He weakly placed his hands on the hilt of his sword, trying to pull it out, but he couldn’t. After a moment of struggle, he let his hands fall to his side.

  Ben watched as The One turned and began shuffling slowly toward the balcony. He stood at the very edge.

  “Come, Ben.”

  He wasn’t sure if it was a trick, but a quick investigation with Siphon revealed that The One had nearly no mana left, his strength dropping by the second. It wasn’t likely he’d be able to pull anything in a condition like that.

  Ben stepped out onto the balcony. The sounds of battle were raging below. Ben looked out over the side and saw thousands of monsterkin here and there all over the forest, a war having broken out. Monsterkin ripped and tore into the goblins and orcs, elementalkin used their powers to obliterate any of the Black Army that tried to stop them. Over in the mines, Ben focused hard and spotted a familiar figure raising a blade into the air, making a faint cry as he led a horde of kin into battle against a line of orcs—it was Zito.

  The One sighed. “You might think the way I ruled was brutal.”

  “It was,” Ben said, “and I’m glad I stopped it.”

  He scoffed. “That’s because you’re a fool. You see these scars?” He waved his hand over his face. “These are from my world, not here.” He touched the strange, ring-shaped scar on his neck. “I got hanged once. Cut myself down and killed the bastards who tried to do it. Where I’m from, slavery is a way of life.”

  “Not where I’m from,” Ben said, “and not here, either.”

  The One snorted. “See how far that gets you. You want to be Benzhameen, the Forgotten Ruler? The one of all of us who controls all the towers? You’re going to have to do some horrible things.” He coughed, blood shooting from his mouth. “Ever seen a guy get stabbed in the gut? One of the worst ways to go out. I’ve seen fighters who’ve killed with their bare hands bleed out crying for their mamas. Not me.” He looked down. “Good luck, Ben. You’re going to need it.”

  Without another word, The One fell forward. Ben instinctively reached out for him, but let his hand fall when he realized he didn’t want to stop him. He stepped forward and watched as The One tumbled down, down, slamming hard into the ground. By this point, slaves had reached the base of the tower and were preparing to invade. Ben watched as dozens of them gathered around the body of The One, standing still for a moment before letting out a wild cheer

  It was done.

  Words appeared in front of Ben.

  BENZHAMEEN HAS CLAIMED HIS SECOND TOWER.

  He grinned, already prepared to claim even more.

  Chapter 19

  Ben kicked open the doors to the hall, the orc guards having finally realized something was wrong. He counted six, and he knew he didn’t have any time to waste screwing around. He was filled with mana—what he’d taken from The One—and he was ready for a fight.

  His blade in hand, he stepped toward the orcs and prepared to cast. The first orc rushed him, letting out a mighty howl as it brandished its great axe. It moved with surprising speed, swinging its axe horizontally through the air. Ben barely had enough time to drop to the floor as the axe head clanged into the stone wall, sparks showering down from the hit.

  While on the ground, Ben pointed his blade up and shoved it through the orc’s wrist. The blade was so sharp that the stab was as easy as piercing through tissue paper. Blood dripped down as the orc let out a groan of pain. Ben pulled the blade out and jabbed it up again, this time piercing the orc’s belly. More blood showered down, and Ben finished off the orc with a blast of Flame Cannon, the rushing orange fire cascading over the orc and roasting him to death.

  Three more orcs, all seeming to have learned from the dead orc’s solo attack, rushed into the fray hoping to overwhelm Ben with numbers. A quick sweep of his arm with Force Wave knocked them off
their feet and into the remaining two orcs. Another cast of Force Wave behind him propelled Ben toward the downed orc on the left. Ben landed on his chest, his blade plunging into the orc’s eye.

  The orc next to him rose, and Ben threw a shot of Energy Darts toward him to knock him back for some more distance. He swung his blade across, cutting through the belly of one of the orcs as he stood, guts spilling out onto the floor. Ben used Siphon to drain the strength from another, putting most of it into a downward cleave that split the orc in half down to the base of his neck.

  One of the remaining orcs nearly caught Ben with a jab from his dagger, but a rapid cast of Telekinesis was enough to push his stab off course, sending him staggering toward the wall. Ben helped him along with a blast of Force Wave, slamming him into the wall hard enough for his neck to snap as loudly as if a massive mallet had come down on a pile of walnuts.

  A single orc remained, the green beast not seeming bothered or scared in the slightest. Ben chalked it up to him being too dumb to know what kind of danger he was in. The orc let out a roar, slamming his fist against his huge chest, a greatsword in his other hand. When the roar was over, he stomped toward Ben, crossing two dozen feet between them with incredible speed.

  Ben took the chance to see what else he could do with Siphon. He focused on the orc’s strength, but instead of simply taking it, he focused harder until he could sense the strength of the orc’s lower body. When he’d found it, Ben pulled the strength away. Just as he had hoped, the orc’s legs collapsed underneath him, the momentum carrying him forward. Ben stuck out his blade and let the orc spear himself onto it, blood spurting out of his mouth as he was impaled.

  The orcs were dead. Ben wiped the dark red blood off his blade and made his way down the end of the hall, stepping into the grand dining area. The room was empty, the long table a mess from The One’s inner circle fleeing the scene.

  I’ll deal with them later, he thought. Right now, I need to secure the tower. Lexi and Shrike are gone, no doubt to help with the efforts of taking back the tower. I’ll find them when I can—they can handle themselves for now.

  He left the room and found the elevator. When he stood in it, the doors closed, words appeared in front of him.

  WHAT IS YOUR DESTINATION, BENZHAMEEN?

  He was confused at first. Then he remembered this was his tower now. That meant he controlled where to go, and what the tower did.

  Ben gave the matter some thought.

  “Tower, take me to the pleasure gardens.”

  DESTINATION: PLEASURE GARDENS

  The elevator moved downward, the doors opening and revealing a hallway of sunlight and gorgeous, green plants. He stepped into it, the fresh smell of earth and flowers filling his nose. He looked around for a source of the sunlight but couldn’t find any opening to the outside. And more than that, the outside was a place of smoke and fire.

  Must be some kind of magic—the same as what I saw in the arena.

  The matter left his mind as soon as he heard the shrill scream of a woman. He pulled his blade from its scabbard and hurried down the hall toward the gilded double doors at the end. Once he was close, he used Force Wave to blast them open.

  The scene on the other side made it clear why the room was referred to as the “pleasure gardens.” It was a scene of total beauty and luxury, the massive room filled with plants and grass and magical sunshine, along with couches and pillows where the women could lounge. But Ben put all that aside, knowing it was nothing more than a luxury cage where The One kept his women before using them when he wanted.

  More than that, the scene was chaotic. There were dozens and dozens of women, some humans, but most monster and elementalkin. The orc guards responsible for watching over The One’s women had gone amok, trying to steal the members of the harem and carry them off. The kin who could fight did, keeping the dozen orcs at bay. But it wouldn’t be long, Ben saw, before they were overpowered.

  Luckily, he spotted some allies among the women—Imogen and Melody. The pair had no trouble fighting the orcs with everything they had, Imogen turning her skin to stone and using her rock fists to pummel the orcs, Melody attacking them with claws and teeth.

  Ben didn’t waste any time joining the fray. Blade in hand, he carved through the nearest orc, slicing him diagonal through the middle, his top sliding off and red splashing onto the floor as his guts tumbled out.

  “You’re here!” Melody shouted as she stepped back from the battle. “And you beat The One!”

  Ben, both hands wrapped around the hilt of his sword, spoke as he flicked his eyes from orc to orc, “How did you know?”

  “It was strange,” Imogen said as she took her place by his side. “Members of The One’s inner circle were here. All of a sudden they looked panicked, then they hurried out of here as quickly as they could.”

  “Right!” Melody said. “Like they all got the same message at the same time. I figured they were tapped into The One’s power somehow and could sense he died.”

  “He’s gone,” Ben said. “This tower’s mine. All that’s left to do is clear out the garbage.”

  Melody grinned. “Then let’s do it!”

  The trio wasted no time in going to work against the remaining orcs. Ben used his blade, along with well-placed blasts of Flame Cannon, to bring down as many as he could. He bolstered the strength of Melody and Imogen by Siphoning the attributes from orcs and feeding it back into his women.

  Melody employed her Chain Lightning spell to drop several enemies, their heads exploding from arcs of electricity that shot from her hands. Imogen used her stone fists to pummel whatever orcs she could find into red goo. By the time they were done, there was gore everywhere—a sharp contrast to the small paradise of the room.

  The formerly enslaved monster and elementalkin stood before Ben and his allies. He knew he’d have to figure out something to do with them, but he didn’t have time.

  “We’re taking back this tower,” Ben said. “Those of you who can fight are welcome to join me.”

  “Some of them aren’t ready for battle,” Melody said. “There’re private chambers where The One’s inner circle… had their way with them. The rooms should be safe for the time being.”

  Ben nodded. “Any of you ready to fight, come with me! Anyone else, take cover in the private rooms. We’ll find you when the battle’s over!”

  Most of the harem girls joined Ben and his group, the ones who stayed behind looking weak and tired, like they needed to rest and recover from what they’d been through. Ben couldn’t wait to give them the news that they were free.

  But first, the battle had to be won.

  He and his group returned to the elevator, splitting into smaller squads first. Those who were chained with null-locks were quickly freed. Ben gave out commands, ordering the former harem girls to join the battle in front of the tower to assist Graven and his allies.

  “What about us?” Imogen asked once the other harem girls were gone, leaving Ben, her and Melody alone.

  “Nipper and Brock. We need to get to the basement workshops and find them.”

  Melody and Imogen shared glances and smiles.

  “There’s supposed to be a huge bestiary down there,” Imogen said. “That’s what I heard from the other girls, at least.”

  They stepped into the elevator once it returned.

  “Take us to the bestiary,” Ben said.

  The elevator obeyed. Ben couldn’t help but grin. He was pleased that another tower had come under his control.

  The elevator took them down, down, all the way to one of the bottom floors. The doors opened and revealed a battle already raging. Beasts of all kinds roared down the stone halls, chasing orcs and attacking them wherever they could.

  “Looks like we showed up late to the party,” Melody said as she surveyed the scene.

  “Let’s find the bestiary,” Imogen said. “Something tells me it’s in the opposite direction that the animals are running.”

  Ben agreed w
ith a nod, and they were off. The trio hurried down the halls, avoiding the beasts that seemed to have escaped. Now and then an orc would be among them, trying to flee, desperation in his eyes, but he wouldn’t last for long before one of the beasts brought him down, blood splattering on the stone walls as the orc let out roars of pain.

  “Tower!” Ben shouted as they ran. “Where’s the bestiary?”

  PLEASE FOLLOW DIRECTIONAL ARROWS, BENZHAMEEN.

  A faint, blue line appeared in front of the group, turning around the nearest right corner.

  “It’s leading us!” Melody said. “Pretty darn useful in a huge tower like this!”

  Ben agreed, but he focused on the arrows, turning whatever corner he needed and avoiding the beasts that rushed down the halls. Soon he arrived in a large room, dozens and dozens of cages stacked up to the ceiling. Most of the cages were open, but the ones that weren’t had monsters of all kinds inside of them, pounding at the bars.

  But it was something else that caught Ben’s attention—someone else.

  “Today’s the day, my friends!”

  Standing on a raised platform was a goblin, his back to them as he zipped from cage to cage, opening the doors and letting the beasts inside free.

  “Go! Attack! Kill whoever stands in your way!”

  “What… what’s going on here?” Melody asked, her eyes on the strange sight.

  “You there!” Ben shouted, his voice booming.

  The goblin stopped in the middle of opening another cage. He turned slowly, worry on his face as he brought his attention onto whoever had interrupted his work.

  “Who… who are you?” the goblin asked.

  “The new ruler of this tower,” Ben replied.

  The goblin turned, and Ben got a good look at him. He didn’t strike Ben as all that different from any other goblin he’d seen—the same green skin, the same small, wiry body. But there were two differences—his hair was a red mohawk, and his face and arms were covered in scars.