Empire Builder 3: Breed, Populate, Conquer

by Dante King

  “’Blade-themed’?” Lulu asked. “How do you mean?”

  Ben knew how to answer.

  “The stone relief,” he said. “It depicts me leading longsword soldiers into battle. Then there’s the stone sword test and the statues of blade-wielding soldiers along the walls.”

  “It’s promising,” Lexi said. “Perhaps the relic contained within will be a powerful blade?”

  Ben winced at the idea. “That would be nice, but it’s not like I’d be able to use it effectively. I’m only now getting a handle on my spells. Swords are another matter. Half the time when I have to use my blade, I feel more likely to chop off my own head than my opponent’s.”

  “According to the relief,” Melody said. “You once not only felt comfortable wielding a blade, but leading shock troops into battle. Maybe what you find down here will be the key to fine-tuning your abilities?”

  “Maybe a relic that enhances your blade ability. Or a sword enchanted in such a way that gives the wielder great skill.”

  Those sounded like decent suggestions to Ben, but they left him feeling cold, as if the former incarnation of himself was deep within, letting him know that none were the right answer.

  “Let’s go forward,” Ben said. “The only way we’re going to find out is to see what’s at the end of the dungeon.”

  The group formed up, Ben at their head, as they began their trek down the hall. As soon as they reached the entrance, he spotted another stone plate on the floor inscribed with writing.

  Melody didn’t wait for him to ask before reading.

  “’A true blademaster can win a fight without a single swing of his sword. Leave your weapon here, Ruler.’”

  Ben was confused. “Why do I need to leave my sword here?”

  He stepped forward, placing his foot on the stone tablet. It sank, a click sounding down the hall. Another stone dais rose in the center of the room. To Ben’s shock, spears began jutting from the wall at irregular angles, stabbing the air and pulling back.

  The women gasped, the monster children pulling back in fear.

  “This must be what the words meant,” Ben said. “I need to get to the dais and press the button on top of it without getting skewered. There’s not a chance in hell I’m going to be able to do that. I don’t have that kind of agility.”

  Melody stood firm. “There’s got to be a way we can help.” She scrunched up her nose as she thought the matter over. Then her eyes flashed. “Sap! Sap, come here!”

  The plant child shuffled over. Melody placed her hand on the child’s body, letting some of the sap that seeped from her bark-like skin cover her hand.

  “It’s nice and thick,” she said. “Now, let me try something.”

  Her palm turned up, she rushed over to the nearest hole where a spear stuck out.

  “Melody, be careful!” Ben shouted.

  Without glancing back at him, she waited until the spear had gone back into the hole. Once it was in, she globbed the handful of sap onto the hole, sealing it with sticky goo.

  Then she backed off and waited.

  The spear stopped. Ben saw it trying to stab through, but the sap was enough to keep it from stabbing out.

  But only for a short while. After a few pushes, the spear broke through and resumed stabbing.

  “Too bad,” Ben said. “That might work if the spear stayed in for longer.”

  “Hmm,” Melody said. “It works, but there’s no way Sap can move quickly enough to keep up.”

  Lexi’s eyes flashed. “If only she could throw the sap.”

  The idea seemed reasonable, but the plant child was so small and unpracticed in her abilities.

  When Ben turned his attention back to the spears, he knew he needed to try something.

  He stepped over to Sap and squatted down.

  “Want to try something for me?” Ben asked.

  Sap nodded, her leaves bobbing up and down.

  Ben scooped a small wad of sap onto his hands, placing it on the end of one of Sap’s branches.

  “Can you hold that there?” Ben asked.

  Sap nodded again, doing her best to hold the clear globule in place.

  “Now,” Ben said. “I want you to try to fling the sap onto that hole right there. Can you try that?”

  Another leaf-bobbing nod, and Ben stepped out of the way to give Sap a chance. The tree child pulled her branch back, like a pitcher winding up for a throw. She heaved the globule into the air. It sailed a few feet and landed with a splat.

  Not even close.

  “Let’s try it again, buddy,” Ben said, his voice soft and comforting.

  Sap nodded and repeated this process. She focused hard, causing more sap to ooze from her bark skin until enough could be collected on the end of one of her branches. Sap focused and threw it, this time landing a bit further and closer.

  “Just like that!” Ben exclaimed, the women cheering Sap on. “Keep at it!”

  Sap did as she was asked, forcing out more sap and collecting it, whipping it through the air when she had enough. Her efforts brought her closer and closer, but she still fell short of where Ben needed her to be. And more than that, Ben could tell that forcing out the sap and throwing it was taking quite a bit of energy.

  She might be able to do it eventually, Ben thought, but it might take more time than we have.

  Right as Ben finished his thought, however, something happened to Sap. She dropped the glob of sap she held and closed her dark eyes.

  “Is she OK?” Lexi asked.

  “She’s evolving!” Lulu said, excitement in her voice.

  She was right. Ben watched as Sap grew slowly, her trunk and branches thickening like powerful arms. Even the leaves that sprouted from her body seemed denser, more powerful. When she had finished evolving, Sap was taller, coming up to Ben’s chest.

  “The effort she expended must’ve pushed her into evolving,” Melody said.

  Ben nodded. “Now, Sap—you want to try it again?”

  Sap nodded, determined. She closed her eyes, more sap easily oozing from her body. In no time, she gathered enough to throw. When she launched it, she threw it with the power of a fastball. It landed with a splat, the nearest spear hole clogging up.

  “Yes!” Ben shouted. “Now, can you get one of the next ones?”

  Sap nodded and repeated the process. With her increased sap production time and better aim, she was able to clog up more holes.

  “She won’t be able to get them all, Ben,” Lexi said. “You’re going to still have to be careful.”

  Ben nodded, clenching and unclenching his fists as he prepared to rush down the hall. When he was ready, several of the spear holes gunked up, Ben began.

  He launched forward, stopping just in time for a spear to shoot out in front of him, hanging in the air for a long moment before pulling back. Ben hurried on once it was gone, wads of sap flying through the air around him and plugging up as many spear holes as his daughter could manage. Ben pivoted away from a spear that jutted up from the floor, one that would’ve impaled him in a most painful place.

  Ben continued, moving out of the way of spears and pausing when he needed Sap to throw more. In time, he reached the dais in the center of the hall. He slammed his hand down onto the stone button, the dais sinking into the floor and the spears ceasing.

  Cheers broke out from among the women. Ben released a sigh of relief as he realized it was over. At the far end of the hall, the set of doors opened, another stone tablet covered in writing dropping down from the ceiling and stopping over the doors.

  “‘One can only do so much alone,’” Melody read. “‘If you’re reading this, you’ve learned.’”

  Ben shook his head, then turned to the rest of the group.

  “Cheating was part of the test?”

  Melody nodded and smiled. “That sounds like something the Forgotten Ruler would do. He prized thinking beyond the bounds more than nearly any other trait, rewarding those who could find clever solutions to difficult
problems.”

  “Thinking outside the box,” Ben said.

  “Huh?” Lexi asked.

  “Just an expression. Now, let’s get to the next room.”

  The group began their trek down the remainder of the hall. Ben waited for Sap to approach.

  “How’re you feeling?” he asked.

  Sap nodded. Ben had expected her to be worn out from what she’d done, but it was the opposite—Sap seemed full of power, ready to do whatever she needed.

  “That’s going to be a useful skill,” Lexi said as they continued down the hall. “If Sap can produce her, well, sap during battles, you can use them to trap and slow down enemies. And there’s no telling what else you’ll be able to do with that power down the road when she evolves even more.”

  But Ben was focused on the here and now, namely what sort of dangers the rest of the dungeon had in store for them. They passed down the rest of the hallway, stepping into a massive room filled with racks and racks of weapons.

  Ben and the rest of the group stopped. They, like him, were in awe of the display. There were dozens and dozens of weapons in the room, all bladed and deadly.

  “This is incredible,” Melody said. “There was an armory down here the whole time.”

  Ben approached one of the racks. There were all manner of different bladed weapons—European-style longswords, Middle-Eastern-style scimitars, jeweled daggers that seemed fit for cutting out sacrificial hearts atop some Mayan pyramid. There were katana-like swords, pointed stars, and boomerangs with razor-sharp edges.

  There were also weapons unlike anything Ben had seen before. One was a massive wooden bow. On one end was a spike-covered, fist-sized ball, on the other was a curved blade. Ben picked it up, looking it over and trying to imagine how to use it.

  “Wow!” Melody said, hurrying over. “This is a real-life Repthyian crippler!”

  “A what?” Ben recognized the name Repthyian from the stone relief in the first room.

  “They’re hard to use,” Melody said, taking the weapon in her hands, grasping it by the middle of the bow. “It’s meant to take down armored enemies. You use the spiked ball to hit the soldier in the head”—she brought it down in a sharp arc—“and once they’re stunned, you use the curved blade to get between the gaps in armor.” She pulled the spiked ball side back, then curved up from below with the blade. “Smack them in the head, then while they’re stunned, jam this in the gap between their leg armor and, well, you know.”

  “Damn,” Ben said. “Those Repthyians weren’t messing around.”

  “They were fierce warriors,” Melody said. “Skilled in bladed combat. There’s no mystery why they were the enemies depicted on the relief in front.”

  Ben looked around, taking in the sight of the armory.

  “Is this it?” he asked. “What we came down here for? Was this dungeon guarding my armory?”

  It didn’t seem right. The armory was impressive, but Ben had the sense that something bigger awaited him. The tall, arched door on the far end of the armory made it clear there was more to the dungeon.

  “Ben!” Melody shouted. “Come here!”

  He hurried around, spotting her standing before the door to the armory, the one they’d entered from. Before he asked what she was looking at, he saw. Her neck was craned up as she read another inscription.

  “‘To become an expert in a blade, be on the wrong end of one.’”

  Ben’s body tensed at the worlds.

  “Everyone!” he shouted. “Form up with me!”

  The women and monster children rushed over to him.

  It didn’t take long for him to realize what the words meant. The doors to the hallway slammed shut, the boom echoing through the room.

  Ben watched as one of the blades, a longsword, rose from its rack. It turned, as if being held by an invisible hand.

  And then it flew toward him.

  “Look out!” Ben shouted.

  The sword zipped through the air, flying toward the group. They all managed to hit the dirt in time, the longsword shooting through the air where they’d been only moments ago.

  “Ben,” Lexi said. “I have a feeling there are going to be more.”

  Ben watched as the long sword turned back toward them, angling in the air as if it wished to duel. He jumped to his feet and focused his magical energy.

  Force Blast, he thought. Now’s as good a time as any to try it out.

  He closed his eyes and focused his magical energy, tapping into the spell. Ben felt a gathering power at his palms, as if all the air around his hands was being condensed into a small space. He opened his palms facing the longsword, then pushed them forward.

  The air released, a blast of energy wobbling the space in front of Ben. The blast connected with the longsword, sending it hurtling back against the stone wall and breaking the blade at the hilt.

  But Ben didn’t have time to celebrate. He turned to watch as more weapons rose from their racks, all poised to strike.

  “Looks like this room is a crash course in how to deal with bladed weapons,” Lexi said. “Luckily we’ve got a few of our own.”

  She pulled the chain spear from her hip, rushing toward a scimitar which had risen from a rack. The blade stabbed at her, but Lexi parried it with the spear of her weapon, dodging it and wrapping the chain around the hilt. She then threw the sword down to the ground, grabbing the hilt once more and holding it at an angle as she brought her heel down on the blade. The weapon broke with a metallic snap, and the scimitar fell to the floor with a clang.

  One down, Ben realized, many, many more to go.

  “Everyone, stay close!” he shouted. “Don’t stray too far!”

  Lexi hurried back to the group.

  “Form a circle!” Ben shouted. “Everyone watch each other’s backs!”

  He took quick stock of his party, seeing what they could all do in a fight like this. Sap had an obvious use—fire sap wads and gunk up the weapons. Nipper and Lily were another story.

  “Nipper!” he said. “If a sword comes close, grab it by the handle part. Got it?”

  He gave the monster a quick pet on the head, hoping that his words got through to him.

  “Lily—you stay in the middle and recharge our mana. Got it?”

  Lily smiled, sauntering to the middle of the group at a carefree pace. Once there, she began swaying from side to side, her pollen spraying into the air. Ben felt his mana slowly refill, power flowing into him.

  “Alright,” Ben said, watching as more blades rose from their racks. “Melody—you feel comfortable with Chain Lightning?”

  “Of course. And there’s no way to practice like in the heat of combat.”

  “Lulu, how about Hydro Form?”

  “I can try,” she said. “And that seems like a good idea—blades would have a hard time harming water.”

  “And me, Ben?” Lexi asked.

  Purify, that was Lexi’s skill. That is, in addition to being a strong fighter. He couldn’t think of any way to use her magic against weapons.

  “Hold the line. Take down as many swords as you can.”

  “Got it.”

  The assault began in earnest. Swords rushed through the air, all of them aiming for Ben and his party. A trio of scimitars careened toward them, but Melody was on top of it. She held out her hands, channeling Chain Lightning. Electrical sparks crackled through the air, the first connecting with one scimitar before jumping to the other, then the other. The blades fell to the floor.

  “Nipper! Bite the handles off!”

  Nipper did as he was commanded, hurrying over to the fallen blades and chomping into the nearest ones’ hilt. His powerful jaws were enough to snap it. Nipper repeated this process twice until the scimitars were destroyed.

  When Nipper returned to the group, Ben saw blood trickling from his mouth—a sign he’d been cut by the blades. Ben summoned Healing Touch, mending the cuts and bringing Nipper back to full health. Lily’s pollen quickly recharged his mana.
>
  Lulu shifted into her Hydro Form, her flesh replaced by water that held her vague humanoid shape. Sure enough, the blades that tried to strike her only passed through harmlessly. Once they were in the air behind her, Ben and Lexi smashed them to the ground, Ben attacking with his long sword, Lexi with her chain spear. Sap launched globule after globule, sticking blades to the floor and walls where they made easy targets for Nipper.

  The fight was exhausting. Ben felt his energy drain as they took down the possessed blades. As they reached the last few, a dagger zipped through the air and toward Ben, nearly catching him by surprise. He jumped out of the way, but not fast enough to avoid it slicing his skin.

  “Damn!” he shouted, the pain intense.

  Lexi grabbed the blade, giving Ben a chance to see that the hilt was gold and encrusted with jewels. Pain seized him, and then he glanced down to see a black, ink-like substance spreading through his skin. He felt it as much as he saw it, each line searing like flame sizzled beneath his skin, trying desperately to break free.

  “It’s a cursed blade!” Melody cried. “And it’s infected you!”

  Lexi quickly broke the blade under her heel before placing her hand over Ben’s wound. She closed her eyes and focused, her hand glowing with white, healing light. The spreading blackness stopped, shrinking until there was nothing left but the cut, which Ben quickly mended with Healing Touch.

  Lexi flashed him a smile. “I was hoping Purify would come in handy.”

  “Thank you,” Ben said.

  They turned back to the battle, Melody dropping more blades with Chain Lightning, Nipper rushing in to finish them off. They were soon down to only a few left, one of them the Repthyian crippler. It flew through the air toward Ben, and he took a moment to remember how it worked.

  Sure enough, the mace head of the crippler swung down. Ben juked out of the way, preparing for the curved blade to slice upward from below. When that happened, Ben grabbed the crippler by the bow and brought it down against his leg, breaking it like a branch.

  Soon, they were done. The weapons of the vast armory had been reduced to shards of broken steel and ruined hilts. Lulu shifted back into her human form, and Lily ceased her pollen.

  The doors opened.