Empire Builder 3: Breed, Populate, Conquer

by Dante King

  Thankfully, Ben knew just what to do. He channeled Flame Cannon, his hands igniting as the arrows turned slowly toward him. He blasted the ground with superhot fire, the sand in front of him turning into a warped sheet of glass. The arrows launched, dozens of them at varying heights, making them impossible to dodge.

  The crowd gasped and murmured, no doubt amazed that he could use more than one element. He regretted having to resort to it but thought it might benefit him—perhaps they would assume this was the final ace up his sleeve.

  They would be wrong.

  Ben stepped forward, bending down and lifting the newly made sheet of glass in front of him just in time to watch the arrows slam into it, one after another, each exploding into dust. When the last one impacted, Ben let the thick pane of glass drop to the ground, sand jetting out into the air around it.

  “Damnit!” the girl stomped her foot.

  Ben was ready to finish the fight, but first, he had to get close—Siphon didn’t work any other way.

  He closed his eyes and did a quick check of his mana. He only had about a fifth of his pool remaining. If the girl stayed on the attack, he realized, his supply would run dry, and he’d be a sitting duck. She was an elementalkin, after all, which meant using her powers were easier on her mana reserve.

  “Alright!” she shouted. “I’m going to end this once and for all!”

  Another swirl of her hands, and she summoned a huge tornado in front of her. Through the wild, spinning wind, Ben saw that the girl was fading. Being young, she clearly wasn’t used to needing to use her power to that extent.

  If I can beat this, then the fight’s mine, Ben thought.

  He gathered Force Wave in his hands, draining nearly all the mana he had in the process. Then he rushed toward the tornado, blasting the spell into it. It hit home, the tornado exploding into a massive cloud of dust that splashed over the entire arena. When it vanished, all that was left was the girl standing there in a daze.

  He prepared Drain, but remembered something.

  No, this isn’t Drain—it’s Siphon! I bet I can use it at more of a distance.[SG7]

  He focused, activating Siphon and using it on the girl. He found all her cords—strength and courage and speed. But also mana. With her too dazed to fight him, Ben understood that he had his choice of what to take.

  And he wanted her spells.

  Casting a tornado would be useful, he considered, but it was the spell that had allowed her to create weapons from the sand that really interested him. He sorted through her spells and found it—Sand Summon.

  Ben focused, draining the spell and pulling its power until the girl barely had anything left of it. Then he drained enough of her strength that she could no longer stand, instead falling to her knees.

  Words appeared in front of him.

  NEW SPELL ACQUIRED!

  SAND SUMMON

  Ben activated the spell, holding the image in his mind of massive whips with spear-tip points rising from the sand. That’s exactly what happened. The two cords snaked through the air, Ben sending the sharp points straight to the girl’s neck.

  He stopped them before they could pierce through. The crowd went wild, everyone in the audience frenzied over the idea of a brutal kill before their eyes. So wild were they, that he doubted they took note of his turning her own spell against her

  As Ben stood before the girl, he held back.

  “Do it!” she shouted, no fear in her voice. “All these sick freaks want blood. Well, give them what they want, huh? I tried, and I failed, but so what? I can die happy, knowing that I wasn’t a slave, that I fought for my people!”

  He held the sand spears in place. There was no doubt in his mind what he wanted to do.

  Ben deactivated the spell, the sand spears crumbling into dust and falling to the ground.

  The wizard, still in his translucent form, hurried over to Ben.

  “What are you doing?” he asked. “Kill her!”

  Ben shook his head. “I won’t. Tell The One that, as a winner, I wish to spare her life.”

  The wizard turned off his translucence. There was fear in his eyes, and Ben sensed it was fear at telling The One that he wouldn’t be getting what he wanted.

  Nevertheless, he closed his eyes and mouthed words, as if speaking to The One through some sort of telepathy. Then he held his mouth shut, nodding as he listened for his command.

  He opened his eyes and spoke. “The One… The One says that you may spare the girl—only because your show entertained him so. But you will use this power of yours to drain her strength and her mana.”

  Ben startled, how had The One figured out that he was capable of draining such things—did he notice during the fight? Did he know who Ben was?

  No, he doesn’t know who I am, he just figured out my trick, that’s all, Ben told himself, but his stomach churned.

  Perhaps The One was even more dangerous than Ben dared to believe.

  “And she’ll be safe?” Ben asked.

  “Why do you care, boy?” the wizard snapped. “Yes, she’ll be safe. The One will determine what to do with her once she’s no longer a threat. Now, drain her.”

  Ben turned to the girl. She wore an expression of confusion.

  “Why… why did you do that?” she asked. “Why not kill me, put on a show for the crowd that’ll really make ‘em love you?”

  Ben didn’t want to give away the game so soon.

  “I’m draining your power,” he said. “You won’t be able to use your magic for the time being.”

  “Then get on with it.” She grinned. “And I hope that dumbass up there knows I’m not going to rest until he’s dead.”

  “You might want to keep that to yourself for the time being,” Ben said.

  “Yeah, yeah.”

  Ben activated Siphon and quickly sorted through the girl’s powers. Without a lot of time, his touch wasn’t very careful, and he found himself losing his grasp on her other spells. It seemed he would only be stealing Sand Summon today. [SG8]He spotted her mana organ, the same one he’d drained in Lexi. Ben drained it a little but not completely, only enough for her not to be able to use her magic for a little while.

  She was in a daze, her eyes barely opened. All that was left was to take nearly all of her strength. He lifted his hand to perform the task.

  “Wait,” she said, “What’s your name?”

  “Ben.”

  She smiled slightly. “Nice to meet you, Ben—I’m Arabeth. Thanks for not killing me.”

  He chuckled. “Anytime.”

  With that, he found the last of her strength and took it, leaving only enough to keep her alive. Arabeth collapsed, and the orc guards from her side quickly arrived and carried her away.

  “The winner!” the wizard shouted as he grabbed Ben’s hand and lifted it into the air. “Ben!”

  The crowd went wild.

  Chapter 15

  As the people cheered, Ben spotted someone among them that he hadn’t noticed before—Graven. He watched Ben quietly, his eyes narrowed in skepticism. Then he rose and walked off, disappearing into one of the entrances into the audience stands.

  “Now,” the wizard said, quietly so that no one could hear him other than Ben. “Get back to the ready room. For your next fight, you’d better be ready to kill if you pull off another win. The One’s not going to tolerate mercy again.”

  With that, the orcs from Ben’s side of the arena approached and formed around him, leading him back to the side passageway. Ben couldn’t help but note that mages like him weren’t placed in null-locks when being transported from one place to another. It made him think that The One considered himself so powerful, that not even a mage would defy him by using magic.

  In the side passageway, Gelus was waiting for Ben, an expression of shock on his face.

  “Did… did you really do that?” he asked, hurrying to Ben’s side as he did. “That was insane! I mean, no one defies the will of The One like that. I’m surprised he didn’t kil
l you on the spot.”

  “I wasn’t about to kill that girl in cold blood,” Ben said.

  They soon arrived at Ben’s ready room. Gelus looked him up and down.

  “Never met a human who gave a damn about our kind like that.” He sighed, looking away as if to make sure no one else was around. “As your aide, I’m going to really strongly suggest you don’t pull anything like that again. But… as an elementalkin, I’m going to say thanks. Now, get your butt in there and get geared up. Your next fight’s in less than an hour.”

  Gelus opened the door, and Ben stepped inside, the door shutting behind him. Graven was there, seated on one of the benches, his hands on his knees as he looked Ben up and down as if meeting him for the first time.

  “Why did you do that?”

  “With Arabeth?”

  “With Arabeth.”

  “I’m not in the habit of explaining myself to those I barely know,” Ben said, bristled by Graven’s sharp tone.

  “It’s not a matter of explaining yourself, child. You did something brave, something courageous, and perhaps something a little stupid. Very stupid, really. As your sponsor, I’d like to know why.”

  Ben looked into Graven’s watery blue eyes, seeing nothing to mistrust.

  He took in a slow breath and spoke, “Because it was the right thing to do. And… because we have the same goal.”

  “You want to kill The One.”

  Ben’s hand went for his sword but Graven only raised his palm.

  “You don’t need to fear me, child.”

  “Then how did you know that was my goal?”

  “Because you said you have the same one as my daughter, and I know what she’s been planning.”

  Ben raised his eyebrows. “Your… your daughter? Arabeth is your daughter?”

  He nodded. “Not by blood, but my daughter all the same. I didn’t know she was in the competition. Perhaps if I had, I wouldn’t have picked such a strong warrior as yourself to go up against her.” He let out a dry, mirthless laugh. “But it’s a good thing the warrior I happened to choose had such a strong moral core. Not many could face The One and defy him like that.”

  “But she’s safe now,” Ben said. “I had to drain her strength, but she’s safe.”

  “I know, and I can’t thank you enough.” He sighed, looking away. “I knew she was going to try to come here and kill The One, but she told me she’d do it a safer way, joining his service staff and making her way up. I should’ve known better—she’s always been the headstrong type.”

  A knock sounded at the door behind Graven. He rose and stepped over and opened. A huge orc’s hand carrying a tray of food shot into the room. Graven took it, the orc pulling the door shut again. Then Graven set down the food—a plate of sausages and bread, a smear of mustard on the side, along with a tankard of water—and gestured toward it.

  “Eat. You might not be hungry, but you’re going to need your strength.”

  Ben did as he asked, sitting down on the bench and going to work on the food.

  “Wait,” Ben said. “How do we know The One isn’t listening in somehow? I’ve got a feeling he’s got eyes and ears everywhere.”

  Graven smiled slightly. “What he doesn’t know is that I’ve got one of his wizards on my side. There will be time for you to meet him later—more important matters to attend to now.”[SG9]

  Ben swallowed his bite and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “Matters like what?”

  “Matters like how I want to know why you’re in the position that you are, why you’re here.”

  Ben considered this. Graven seemed to be on the level, but Ben knew there was a chance this was a test.

  Maybe The One wants to know who’s a risk and who isn’t.

  “You can trust me,” he said, leaning forward. “Arabeth is my daughter, and I know what she had planned.”

  Ben decided to take a chance. He needed all the allies he could get.

  “I want to win the competition and meet The One. When I do, I want to kill him.” There it was, out in the open. Whatever happened next, Ben understood, he would have to live with.

  Graven smiled the first genuine smile Ben had seen on him since they’d met.

  “And who are you? I thought perhaps you were a mage from the Xurian Realm, but I doubt that very much. Nor are you a monster or elementalkin. You’re just a human. Hell, you’re a powerful human and could likely work for The One if you wanted to. Why are you planning on risking your life to kill The One?”

  Ben knew he had one last chance to hold back.

  He didn’t. He told Graven that he was the ruler of the other tower. He told him that he was planning on building an army, of freeing the monsterkin along the river and bringing them under his protection. Graven listened with wide eyes, as if unable to believe what he was hearing.

  “This… this is all true? You’re not some random human, but the true foe of The One?”

  “That’s right,” Ben said, “and unless I kill him, his armies will conquer the continent.”

  Graven nodded, not disagreeing with Ben’s assessment. “And you, as the ruler of the southern tower, would have the best chance of stopping him. In that case, I can only assume that fate brought you and I together like this.”

  “How do you mean?” Ben asked, sensing there was something Graven wasn’t telling him.

  “I have a secret of my own. I’m the leader of a resistance group among the slaves, a communication network that exists for the purpose of coordinating an uprising when the time is right. You see, The One and his minions are strong, but they lack our numbers. If we were to revolt at the same time, I have no doubt we would be able to win. But The One… he’s powerful, indeed. With him at the helm, our victory could be a difficult one.”

  “But if he were dead…”

  Graven smiled. “If he were to die, then our revolt would almost certainly win. That’s what Arabeth and I had been planning. She was to get close and kill The One. Once that was done, she would start the signal for the revolt to begin.”

  “What signal?”

  “In The One’s chamber there are three huge braziers. The signal that The One is dead and the rebellion is to begin is to light the southernmost brazier—the one on your left if you’re facing out of the tower. Once that’s lit, we’ll begin the fight for our freedom.”

  “But first, you need me to win this tournament.”

  Graven nodded. “You’ll have two more fights ahead. The third will be a three-way battle between you and whatever two other fighters remain, but I saw how you fought against my daughter—I have no doubt you’ll be able to prevail. Now, eat, and I’ll tell you more details of the revolt.”

  They did just that. Ben was surprised himself with his hunger, polishing off the sausage and bread while Graven gave him more information on the revolt against the slave masters. The plan sounded workable—the slavers relied on the slaves being unable to coordinate, and thus unable to use their combined powers. The slavers had no idea that the monster and elementalkin had established methods of communication that the slavers hadn’t discovered, methods that they’d used to plan the revolt.

  When he finished, a pounding echoed from the door leading to the arena. The door opened, and an orc stuck his ugly head into the room. The hour had already passed.

  “Hope you’re ready, kid!” he snarled. “Time for your next fight!” The orc pulled his head back and slammed the door shut.

  Ben closed his eyes and checked his mana supply, seeing that it was mostly restored, and he still had the strength that he’d sapped from Arabeth.

  Graven clapped his hand down onto Ben’s shoulder. “You can do this. Arabeth may be a little rough around the edges, but she’s one of the most powerful kin I’ve ever seen. If you could take her, I’m certain you can prevail in the next two rounds.”

  “We’ll get her back,” Ben said. “When The One is dead, I’ll find her myself.”

  Graven smiled. “Of that, I have no doubt. But
one battle at a time, young man.”

  With that, Ben rose and made his way to the door. He nodded to Graven one last time before opening it and stepping out into the hallway. The orc was there, ready to lead him down the hall. Once more, the crowd roared with anticipation of the next battle, and Gelus awaited him.

  “Good, good,” he said, looking Ben up and down. “Got your armor and weapons. Ready for the fight?”

  Ben glanced through the line of orcs ahead. The floor of the arena was a scene of total carnage, blood and entrails splattered onto the ground.

  “Ah, that was a rough one,” Gelus said, rubbing his neck with his hand. “But don’t worry about that—focus on the next fight.”

  “Who am I up against?”

  “All I know is that one of the other wizards managed to enter one of his, uh, mistakes into the competition on his behalf. I’ve got a feeling your next competitor’s not going to be as much of a looker as the last one.”

  “Arabeth… is she OK?”

  He nodded. “They’ve got her downstairs. Last I heard, they’re planning on making her a member of The One’s, ah, comfort girls. But let me tell you this—it’s a hell of a lot better fate than death. Those girls don’t have it too bad, actually—nice, comfy room, three meals a day. Hell, maybe I should see about joining them.”

  The crowd burst into applause, and the line of orcs in front of the entrance parted. Ben knew it was time to fight.

  “Good luck, kid! Knock ‘em dead—literally!”

  Gelus gave Ben a swat on the back as Ben stepped through the entrance and into the arena. The same wizard as before awaited him, and Ben squared his shoulders and focused his gaze on the opposite entrance.

  A rumble sounded. Then another, then another. A massive, shadowy shape emerged from the darkness. When it was near the orcs, a huge arm swiped through them, slamming the orcs into the wall.