by Dante King
He didn’t have much time to let the image play in his mind. The other egg, the smoke-white egg that belonged to Imogen, was beginning to crack next. Ben watched as Minnie, frightened by what he was seeing, wrapped his small, but muscular, arms around Sybil’s legs. Ben stepped over to the pair and placed his hand on Minnie’s shoulder, a little shocked at how solid the little bull creature already was.
A hole punched through the egg, but this time it wasn’t a fist that came out. It was a small rock. The rock was followed by others, all of them in a straight line but moving in unison as if connected by an invisible string. The egg shuddered one last time and then exploded, the pieces flying every which way. One bounced off Ben, the shard not hitting hard enough to hurt. He instinctively covered his eyes with his forearm.
“Wow!” Melody said, and Ben took that as the sign all was clear for him to move his arm away. When he did and opened his eyes, he was greeted with the sight of a small rock creature. The thing consisted of a single large rock with several other, smaller rocks floating around it. The sight brought to Ben’s mind a planet orbited by an asteroid belt. [4]
“It’s a… stone elemental,” Sybil said, Minnie still standing with his arms wrapped around her waist.
“Right!” Melody said. “It—he, she—is using magic to keep the stones afloat like that!”
“It looks… discombobulated,” Lexi said. “Do you think it could take on a different shape?”
Imogen said nothing at first, a big, beaming smile on her face as she took in the sight of her monsterkin.
“Let me try,” she said, squatting down in front of the stone creature. She placed her hands on her knees and glanced away, trying to think of something. “I have to come up with a name, first.” Imogen nodded, certain of her decision. “Let me think…”
“Oh!” Lulu shouted. “Rock!”
“You can’t be serious,” Lexi said. “You want to simply name it what it is? That’s so uncreative.”
“But I like the sound of it,” Imogen said. “Maybe if I change it around a little.” She placed a fingertip on her chin as she thought it over. “Maybe… Brock!”
“I actually like that,” Ben said. He wanted to add why, that it was the same name as his favorite character from his favorite kid’s TV show, but he kept it to himself, understanding how much explaining it’d take just to get that all across.
“OK,” Imogen said with a smile. “We’ll go with Brock. Let’s see if I can get him to pay attention.” She cleared her throat and spoke. “Hey, Brock!”
At first, the floating cluster of stones did nothing, but when Imogen repeated herself, waving her hands in the air to get his attention, something happened—the little stones moved to the side of the big stone to face her.
“There!” Imogen said, her face lighting up in a way that Ben couldn’t help but find attractive—especially in light of how shy she often was, how rarely he saw her smile. “I think that means he’s looking at me.” The smile still on her face, she went on, “Alright, Brock. Now, I know you just came into the world, so I don’t want to overwhelm you, but I want to see if you can make a shape with your rocks that’s, well, a little more like us!” She swept her hand toward the group. “You know, with arms and legs and a head.”
The small rocks, which floated in front of the stone in the direction in front of Imogen, moved around the big rock in a slow circle.
“It’s like it’s taking in the sight of all of us,” Ben said.
When the stones had made a full circle, stopping on the side in front of Imogen, they began to move in a different way. The stones darted here and there, the bigger stone breaking into several smaller ones. When it was all said and done, the stones were in the shape of a small person. On the face, several stones formed the shape of eyes.
Ben figured it didn’t need the “eyes” to see, but because they were detailed enough to be expressive, they went a long way in making Brock seem more real—more human-like. Brock’s “eyebrows” raised in excitement as he floated over to Imogen and threw his stony “arms” around her.
“This is so precious,” Melody said as she wiped away a small tear. “Now you all get to experience what it was like for me to see Nipper for the first time. And Ben, you get to be a father two more times!”
“Wait a minute,” Zito said, looking over the group, his eyes landing on Ben. “I forgot about this part of being the ruler! You get to sleep with these beautiful ladies and knock them all up! What a gig!” He wiped his forehead with the back of his head, as if the idea were causing him to break out in a sweat. “Makes me remember how long it’s been since I’ve done the deed. I wonder if the old trouser snake still has any life left in him...”
“Perv!” Melody said, shaking her head. “Gross!”
Zito only laughed. “We’ll see if you’re still singing that same tune when you see me do my thing on the battlefield. Sure, I may be an old man, but I’ve slayed plenty of hearts after slaying plenty of enemies! Ladies love a man who’s good with a sword.”
“Alright,” Ben said, putting his hands on his hips. “I’m thinking that tonight we ought to have a feast to celebrate the new additions to the family—and our army.”
The group made noises of approval.
“I’ll give word to the aurochkin to prepare something special for tonight—and to break out some of the wine from the cellars down below. But for now, we have a little more work to do before we can start relaxing.”
Melody nodded. “That’s right. Much has happened recently. We need to discuss our plans for the future, and then execute them. The One Who Rules All will not waste a moment of his time—every second that we let slip by is a second that he’ll be using to build his army.”
“Right,” Ben said. “Let’s get started. We’ll plan, then celebrate, then wake in the morning with purpose and motivation.”
The group agreed. Together, they made their way to the meeting hall, everyone taking their seats in their designated spots.
“Well, doesn’t look like there’s a place for me,” Zito said, looking around. “But don’t worry! I’m one of Ben’s bodyguards, after all—I’m used to standing.” With that, he took his place next to Ben with his arms crossed over his chest and a pleased-with-himself expression on his face. It was clear he enjoyed being the only one standing. Ben let him have his moment, making a mental note to find a spot at the table for Zito so he didn’t get too big for his britches.
“What’s with the shrimpy knight?” Zito asked, nodding toward Sir Gallant the Younger. “Does he fight for you? If he tried anything with me, I’d just pick him up and toss him across the room.”
“You’d be wise to watch your words, old man,” Sir Gallant the Younger said. “Many have underestimated me. And all of them have one thing in common—they’re dead!”
“Were they all insects, by chance?” Zito asked, letting out a loud cackle at his own joke.
“Enough,” Ben said.
Zito and Sir Gallant said nothing, each glaring at one another.
When Ben was confident the bickering was over, he began.
“I want that tower destroyed.” Ben stated his wishes plainly, letting his words hang in the air. “If not destroyed—conquered. We simply can’t allow an enemy to dwell so close to us.”
“But,” Melody said, raising her finger. “We don’t have the manpower to take down such an army. We and our monsterkin are growing stronger by the day, but there are only so many of us. We need greater numbers before we can even think of assaulting the tower.”
Ben sat back in his chair, scratching his chin thoughtfully as he tried to puzzle out an answer to the problem.
“What about the villages?” he asked. “The ones along the river?”
“Right,” Lexi said, nodding in agreement at the idea. “It’s hard to say if they’ll have the answer to our problem, but at the very least, they’re in our territory and we ought to have knowledge of them. We should find out who lives there, who leads over them, w
here their affiliations lie.”
“The bird woman has a point,” Zito said. “Back when the Forgotten Ruler held dominion over his empire, he had hundreds of towns and cities under his command. He provided protection for the people, and in turn, they provided him with resources and fighters for his military. And it worked like crazy! The more towns he brought under his command, the more powerful his army grew. Then, the more powerful his army grew, the more towns wanted to be a part of his empire.”
Sir Gallant the Elder nodded. “It’s easy to see how, once this process begins, it can lead to more power than one can imagine.”
Ben did his best to hold back a smile at the thought. People were power, as he’d learned in one of his history classes in college back on earth. If he was going to hope to challenge The One Who Ruled All, he would need to bring as many soldiers under his command as possible. More than that, more people would mean more possibilities of women with whom to father monsterkin.
“We’ll go in the morning,” Ben said, certainty in his voice. “We’ll take a party down to the river and visit the nearest town. From there, we’ll get in touch with the leaders, offer them protection if they want to be part of my empire.”
“And what if they don’t want to be a part of the empire?” Melody asked. “We need to prepare for that possibility.”
“Or if they’re hostile,” Sir Gallant the Elder said, raising a finger.
They were questions both worth considering.
“We’ll have to explain to them the nature of The One Who Rules All,” Ben said. “Tell them that war is on the horizon. With their strategic position along the river, it’s only a matter of time before The One Who Rules All decides that he wants to conquer them. As much as they might prefer independence, they’re going to have to take a side.”
“Right,” Melody said. “It’s a diplomatic mission—we come in peace to offer them protection. In that case, it’d be a good idea for a handful of the women here under your protection to come. They can vouch for you, bring verbal proof that you’re a defender of the oppressed.”
“And I’ll be there to speak to them in person,” Ben added. “To answer whatever questions they have.”
Zito scoffed. “A terrible idea…”
Ben wasn’t about to let one of his council speak that way and slip under the radar.
“Something you want to say to the group, Zito?” Ben asked.
“Oh! Sorry to speak under my breath like that! I was just about to say something and it sort of slipped out. And yes, there is something I want to say to the group. I’m your advisor, right?”
“Right,” Ben said.
“And I’m sure that I don’t need to tell you that part of advising is informing the, ah, advisee when they’ve got a bad idea.”
“Of course,” Ben said. “The buck stops with me, but until it reaches that point, I want you all to feel free to share your opinions on current matters. There’s a reason I have a council to discuss my plans with instead of just barking out orders from my throne.”
Melody was confused. “The… ’buck’ stops with you? Like a deer?”
Ben let out a snort of a laugh. “It means that, while I make the decisions, I’m also the one who’s accountable for them. If something goes wrong, that’s on me.”
“So, if something goes right, that’s all on you too, correct?” Sir Gallant the Younger asked the question with a slightly raised eyebrow.
“I’m not interested in hogging the glory all by myself,” Ben said. “We’re all in this together, after all.”
Pleased expressions took hold around the table.
“Anyway, to Zito and all the rest of you,” he continued, “I want you to always feel free to voice your opinions on whatever plans we’re coming up with, or plans in progress.”
“Now, this is a man who knows how to lead!” Zito said as he clapped his hand down on Ben’s shoulder. “I’m seeing big things in the future for this kid!”
Ben politely took Zito’s hand off his shoulder. “Now, let’s hear your thoughts, blademaster.”
Zito nodded, clearly more than ready to get into it. “Right. So, you’ve got a great plan so far. You need to get the lay of the land, and more than that, you need to get to those towns before the other guy does. My only concern is how you’re insisting on being a part of the scouting mission.”
“Why wouldn’t I be?” Ben asked. “If I want to establish diplomatic ties with the villages, I should be there to do it.”
“Now, that sounds great—in theory,” Zito said. “But the reality is that you have no idea what’s going on in those towns. They could be hostile and eager to kill you on sight. Hell, for all you know, they could already be under the sway of the other guy!”
“Sounds like all the more reason to be a part of the team that visits them.”
“And that’s where you’re wrong. See, while you’ve got a whole council here, we’re here because of you. You’re the one keeping this all together. You’re the one with the destiny. If something were to happen to you, this would all fall apart. Simply put, you’re too important to go off on a mission like this.”
Lexi nodded. “He’s right. You’re the leader of this little empire, and if you die, it ends. The One Who Rules All will be able to move in and conquer what territory you’ve managed to claim.”
“There’s another part of it, too,” Melody added. “Right now, your empire is small and thus manageable, but with each victory you gain, you’ll have more and more territory and subjects to look after. So far, Ben, you’ve been an amazing ruler, but even the greatest leader of all can only do so much.”
Ben realized what she was getting at. “I’m going to need to learn to delegate. Whenever missions pop up around the empire, I’ll need to decide which needs my direct attention, and which can be handled by my trusted allies.”
“Now you’re thinking like a leader!” Zito said, clapping his hand down on Ben’s shoulder again. “You’re going to have all sorts of missions around your empire that you’ll need to handle, and you can’t be everywhere at once, right? Pick out a crew, send them on their way, and they’ll return with the results. More than that, they might come back with more experience, fancy treasures, or even allies who can go off on missions of their own!”
Bed nodded, giving the matter some thought.
“You’re all right. So, what we’ve got ahead is a recon mission. That means… we need to have a group capable of stealth, of moving without drawing attention to themselves. We’re going to need recon abilities, and we’re going to need diplomacy if we’re going to be speaking to the leaders of the group. The party should be small, too, so it doesn’t draw attention to itself.”
“That all sounds great,” Melody said. “Might I suggest myself to lead the party? A beastkin like me would easily be able to blend in, and I like to think of myself as skilled when it comes to diplomacy.” She smiled after she spoke, her face lighting up in a way that made it clear why she would be good for the job.
“I’d like to volunteer,” Lexi said, leaning forward. “I’m a skilled fighter and a beastkin, too.”
Ben nodded, not seeing any issue with Lexi being a part of the team.
“So far, so good,” he said. “But while we want to keep the party small, two is too small.” He glanced over at Vinata. “Why don’t you and Lily go with the group? You can round out the party, and Lily’s healing powers will be useful if you encounter danger.”
“I like that idea,” Vinata said.
“Let’s take Nipper, too,” Melody said. “While I want to avoid danger and combat on our mission, he would be useful to have if something were to happen.”
Ben moved his eyes around the room, his gaze going from one person to another. Part of him wanted to add more to the party, but he knew he was right, that a large party would attract too much attention.
“Visit Sir Gallant the Younger to stock up on healing and mana potions,” Ben said. “Sybil, give word to the aurochkin in the kit
chen to prepare enough food and water for the journey. I want them to have everything they need.”
Nods went all around at the table. Then Ben rose.
“For tonight, I want all of you to have some downtime. We’ve done a great deal over the last few days, and we have more work ahead of us. Relax and get a good night’s sleep. To Melody and the group, I’ll see you off in the morning. Dismissed.”
And that was that. As Ben made his way back to his chambers, he found himself full of tense energy. So, instead of resting as he’d told his companions to do, he changed into some loose-fitting clothes and sturdy shoes and went for a run around the base of his tower. As he ran, he found himself thinking about how much he didn’t like sending members of his group out on missions without being there with them to share the danger.
The more he thought about it, the more he understood Zito was right. His empire was only going to get bigger. He couldn’t micromanage every aspect of it. He’d need to find out which of his companions were suited for which tasks. Then, once they’d proved themselves, they’d recruit companions of their own to perform jobs under them. As difficult as it was to consider it all, Ben knew it was essential. Empires didn’t rise through mere conquest—they needed strong leadership and competent administration.
It was hard to measure exactly the distance around the tower, but when Ben made his way around it three times, a half-hour had passed and he was more than ready to take his own advice and get some relaxation in. As he entered the tower, he gave instructions to the aurochkin to have a bath drawn for him. When he reached his chambers, it was already prepared, steam from the water filling his bathroom.
He soaked for a long while, until the water went tepid and the herbs from the bath solution lulled him into a relaxed trance. Ben dried off, put on his sleeping robes, and entered the bed.
Ben closed his eyes, letting the water work its magic on his body. Steam rose, filling the room and making each breath restorative. The calm did wonders for his mind, he felt as if he might be able to stay in the bath forever.