by Dante King
“OK,” he said, all the information making his head spin. “You can zoom back out.”
“You might not need to know all of that information,” Melody said, “but someone’s going to have to keep track of it. When the time comes, you can assign people to those roles.”
Something else occurred to Ben.
“Tower, do I have access to population resources?”
“You do.”
The material resource indicator changed into another number—citizens. The number read 1,322.
“This number includes the region of the tower,” the tower said. “If you wish, you can zoom in on the number and reassign your population to different tasks. Keep in mind that, given the freedom, your subjects will gravitate toward occupations in which they are skilled.”
It was a good amount of people. Then something else occurred to Ben.
“What’s the population of the river region?”
The map moved over to that area.
“A more up-to-date survey would need to be done,” the tower said, “but the most recent estimate is around eighty-seven thousand subjects.”
Ben’s eyebrows rose. It was a very, very good amount of people—more than enough to put together a decent army.
“And what are the numbers for the Black Army?” It occurred to Ben the tower likely had access to The One’s information.
“The numbers are difficult to estimate, as the Black Army is no longer under the command of the tower. Prior numbers were just below five thousand soldiers. It’s estimated that over half were wiped out during your attack, and in the immediate aftermath.”
“That’s good!” Melody said. “Over half!”
Ben shifted his weight in his chair. “It’s a good start, but that’s still a lot of soldiers running around wanting to cause trouble.”
“Might I make a suggestion?” the tower asked.
“Sure.”
“Many members of the Black Army were former mercenaries and members of raiding parties. They are fearsome fighters, and were drawn to The One Who Rules All because he presented himself as the most powerful leader on the continent. If you could present yourself in such a way—a way that appears to be true—then you might be able to win many of them over to your cause.”
“Bring the Black Army over to our side?” Melody asked, incredulity in her voice.
“Furthermore,” the tower said, “I still have schematics for their weapons and armor. The One Who Rules All spared no expense in making sure they were the best available. If you wish, I can delegate resources and blacksmiths into crafting armor for your own soldiers.”
“Let’s hold off on that for now,” he said. “I want to retake the river region before I start making equipment for soldiers I don’t have.”
“A good idea. Once more resources and manpower have been secured, we can revisit the issue. For now. What do you wish to do with the kin currently in the tower?”
Another matter that Ben needed to give some thought.
“Let them do what they want for now. If they want to work, they can work. Lots of them are going to want to go to the river region once it’s been freed and return to their families.”
“Another good suggestion. Once the river towns are brought under your rule, you can offer a wage to your workers. That is, unless you wish to maintain the slavery that The One Who Rules All had implemented.”
“No slavery. Make sure to set aside some of The One’s money reserves to pay the workers.”
“It will be done.”
Ben’s eyes returned to the map. He knew that real progress wouldn’t begin until the river region had been secured and the territory between the two towers had been connected. At least, he considered, this gave him a clear goal to accomplish.
“Increase the size of the tower map,” he said. “Remove anything else from the screen.”
“Done.”
The tower did as he asked, the picture of the tower growing in size until more detail was visible. The tower was fifty stories high, with plenty of room for soldiers and workers to stay, and for equipment to be stored.
“Tower, can you label the rooms.”
“I can. Keep in mind that I can only use the labels that The One Who Ruled All provided. You may find different uses for the spaces. Inform me when you do, and I can update the labels accordingly.”
Words appeared on the tower. There was almost too much information to parse out, but Ben was glad to have it all there to view. Most of the upper floors appeared to be used as barracks—Ben didn’t imagine changing that. The lower floors had other uses. There were blacksmithing rooms, crafting areas, the bestiary, and the arena—along with many others.
“That’s a lot of information,” Melody said. “Even for a great ruler like you, Ben.”
He knew she was right. How to handle all the management of the tower was yet another issue to determine at another time.
At that moment, his eyes landed on the label for a room at the bottom of the tower.
Teleportation Room.
“Tower, is that what I think it is? Do I really have a teleportation room?”
“That’s right, Ben. Each tower is outfitted with a teleportation chamber that can be used to transport you to any of your towers. Would you like to go there now?”
“Absolutely. Melody, you want to come with me?”
She grinned. “Of course!”
Together they left the council hall, hurried to the elevator, and took it down. The tower spoke to them as they descended.
“An important note for the teleportation rooms—you can only teleport to areas that you have visited before.”
“So, I can teleport to my other tower, but not the two I still need to claim?”
“That is correct.”
“Do I need to claim the towers to have access to their teleportation rooms?”
“No, that is not necessary. While claiming the tower will give you automatic access, you can simply visit the room and have the ability to teleport there.”
The doors opened and revealed a hallway. Ben and Melody traveled down and were soon in a large, circular room with strange crystals adorning the walls.
“What are these?” Ben asked, gesturing to the crystals.
“Those are teleportation stones. You can use them to mark locations where you wish to teleport. You can also use them to teleport locations.”
Ben cocked his head to the side, confused. He had heard of portal stones, since they had used them to travel to and from Brekmarth, but he had not heard of teleportation stones. He wondered if they were the same device with different names, or whether they had different functions.
“I can use them to teleport locations?” he asked.
“Some rooms in the tower are empty. If you wish, you can use stones to teleport rooms into your tower to fill the space. For example, if a craftsman you wish to recruit has a special workshop he needs, you can transport both him and the workshop here.”
It was quite a bit for Ben to wrap his head around.
And then a thought occurred to him—Zito’s training area. He tabled that for the time being, knowing that he had a simpler task to take care of.
“I want to transport to the other tower.”
“Very good,” the tower said. “Please take your place in the center of the room.”
“I want to come with you!” Melody said, eagerness in her voice and her eyes.
Ben shook his head. “I want you to stay here and watch what happens. If it works, I’m going to come right back, but if something goes wrong, I want you to tell everyone.”
The eagerness flashed to fear. “No! I’m sure it will work.”
“The teleportation room has a ninety-nine-point-nine-percent success rate,” the tower said.
“And the remaining point-one?” Ben asked.
“That only happens when the process is rushed. Don’t do that. Now, take your position.”
Ben took a deep breath, then stood in the center of the ro
om. The floor was covered with strange markings, triangles of different sizes and shapes. The point in the direct middle was the convergence of all the triangles. He looked around to see that some of the teleportation crystals were larger than the others and evenly spaced around the room.
He didn’t have time to take in any other details before the crystals glowed, his vision filling with white.
Then everything was dark.
At first, Ben was certain he’d died, that he was in some kind of eternal darkness that awaited after death. As his eyes adjusted, he saw that he was in another round room. The light was too dim to make out anything other than that.
He activated Flame Cannon, casting just enough fire to make his hand glow. That was enough to illuminate the room, to allow him to see that he was in another teleportation room. This one was different. It was dark and musty, as if it hadn’t been used in centuries, and the entrance was bricked up, the wall sealed.
“Tower, are you there?” he asked.
“I am, Ben. The towers are linked by a magical network that allows you to speak to us whenever you’re in them.”
“Great, but what the hell’s going on?”
“You are in the original tower. It would appear that this tower’s teleportation room is sealed off. I am not sure why.”
Ben stepped over to the brick wall and pushed. It did him no good—the wall was sealed.
“If you like, I can mark this room on your tower map. When you return to this tower, you can attempt to find some way through.”
“Let’s do that—I don’t have time for this problem. How do I get back?”
“Simply stand in the center of the room.”
He did. This time, a map of the continent appeared. The original tower and the other tower both had symbols of crystal shapes on them.
“This map will keep track of where you can teleport. Simply touch the location where you’d like to travel, and the network will do the rest.”
“How many people can I teleport?”
“You’re limited to yourself, four companions, and three animals. Teleportation is a taxing spell, and the Forgotten Ruler determined that this amount was the ideal number for whatever missions around the world he needed to take care of in person.”
Ben thought of Moonbright, and what he needed to do there.
“So, in order for me to teleport, I need to place a stone first. Once that’s done, I can do it?”
“Correct. Do that, and you’ll be able to log the location in the map. As long as the stone stays there, you can teleport.”
“Perfect. I’m ready to go back to the other tower.”
The map appeared in front of him, and Ben reached forward to touch the crystal for the other tower. White light overcame him, and when it faded, he was back in the other teleportation room, Melody there waiting for him.
“You’re back!” she shouted. “I-I was worried there for a second.”
“Don’t be worried,” he said. “Just be ready—we’ve got a town to take back.”
Chapter 25
Ben spent the rest of the day surveying his new holdings. He traveled around the forest with Graven and a group of monsterkin, seeing what could be salvaged and what needed to be rebuilt. As the day went on, more and more sun came down, the smoke vanishing and nature returning. Ben was pleased with the way Graven handled the day’s work, as well as with the way he already had the respect of the kin who’d decided to remain at the northern tower.
It was an easy choice to put him in charge of matters at the tower while Ben was away. Ben knew that he was going to need to delegate the work, that he couldn’t handle everything. He decided this would be a good chance for Graven to prove that he was the one for the job in the northern forests.
Ben was worn out at the end of the day, falling into a deep rest and sleeping until sunrise.
His companions awaited him in the council room. Ben had told them the plan the night before, and now he was ready to execute it. As he’d asked, one of the teleportation stones was there waiting for him.
“I don’t know about this, Ben,” Melody said. “It seems dangerous.”
“Less dangerous than full-on assaulting the town right off the bat,” Shrike said.
Morgon grinned. “But there’s going to be time for that.”
“Speaking of which,” Ben said. “How long will it take you to reach the town?”
“A straight shot with no stopping? If we get marching now, then we can make it by sundown.”
“Then let’s not waste another second,” Ben said. “I want to have Moonbright claimed before nightfall.”
With that, the plan began. Ben took the teleportation stone into his hand, tying it to his neck with a leather sash. Then he stepped out onto the balcony, his group watching him as he closed his eyes and shifted into his hawk form and took off.
The crystal was heavy, the thing football-sized and white as pearl. After a few moments of flying, Ben had his bearings. He flew south, soon reaching the river and making his way along it. He found himself wondering what was going on in the towns below, if news of the battle at the tower had reached them.
But the rest of the towns weren’t his goal—at least not yet. He flew further and further south until the southern tower was larger than the other, and when he spotted Moonbright, he lowered himself down, down, spotting an open spot of the town and landing, then shifting back to his human form.
When that was done, he took the crystal into his hands and began looking around. Moonbright was still rundown-looking, with guards posted along the walls. The ground was muddy, the sky above gray. He could tell right away that news of what had happened hadn’t reached Moonbright.
Ben hid as best he could, sneaking through the town and trying to find who he was looking for. It didn’t take Ben long to spot him—Cinder. Shrike’s brother was in front of the barracks, tending to some of the malnourished-looking children.
Ben waved for his attention. When Cinder noticed, he held up one finger to the child in front of him and hurried over to Ben, the two of them ducking behind the nearest building and hunching over to avoid being seen.
“You’re back!” Cinder said, his voice coming out in a sharp whisper, his eyes wide with surprise. “Shrike?”
“She’s fine.”
Relief washed over his face.
“Good, and thank you for taking care of her.”
“She more than took care of herself,” Ben said, “but I didn’t come just to tell you about her. What do you know about the events at the northern tower?”
“The events at the tower? What do you mean?”
It was as Ben had guessed—Hullbeck was keeping them in the dark.
It was time to bring them into the light.
Ben told Cinder of what had happened, that he’d defeated The One and scattered his Black Army, freeing the kin at the tower—and he’d come to free the rest of them.
Hope, then fear appeared on Cinder’s face.
“Hullbeck hasn’t been telling us any of this, but it makes sense that he knows. Two days ago, he took himself and his closest soldiers into the great hall and hasn’t been seen since. He must know the end is near.”
“Then it’s time to make the end arrive.” Ben took off his crystal and handed it over to Cinder. “This is what’s going to bring me and Shrike and the rest of us into the town. It’s a teleportation crystal.”
“A what?”
“Just trust me. Take it into a building that isn’t being watched and do it within the hour. We’ll return, and together we’ll take this town from Hullbeck.”
Cinder looked down at the crystal in his hands, then back up at Ben with determination in his eyes.
“Thank you, Ben.”
“Don’t thank me until we’ve rescued the town. Spread the word to let everyone know that Hullbeck’s grip on the town ends tonight.”
Cinder grinned. “Don’t worry—when you return, we’ll be ready for you.”
“See you soon.”
With that, Ben closed his eyes and shifted back into his hawk form.
He pumped his wings hard, his eyes locked onto the tower in the distance. As he flew, words appeared in front of him.
HAWK TRANSFORMATION
LEVEL INCREASED
He didn’t have time to ask himself what this meant before his body answered the question for him. He grew larger, his talons sharper, and his vision keener. He looked down over the grassland as he flew, able to detect movement in a way he never had before.
Most importantly, he could fly harder. He pumped his wings like he never could before, his flaps harder and easier at the same time. The feeling filled him with such excitement that all he could do was open his beak and let out a mighty caw that echoed over the land—his land.
Ben was soon at the northern tower, landing on the balcony and shifting back into his human form. His group was there waiting for him.
“Ben,” Lexi said, disbelief in her eyes. “Your hawk form—it’s incredible. Most hawkkin aren’t able to transform like that. You’re something special.”
Ben flashed her a smile before heading inside.
“I hope you all are ready to move. What’s the time?”
“A little after noon,” Melody said. “Which means that Morgon and the rest of the kin army are halfway there.”
“What’s the situation in the town?” Shrike asked. “And… my brother?”
They all went into the council room.
“Your brother’s fine, and he knows you’re fine, too,” Ben replied.
Relief washed over her.
“But, just as I’d expected, Hullbeck is trying to keep hold of the town,” Ben said. “He hasn’t told them what happened here at the tower. Cinder is spreading the news that we’re in charge—it’s only a matter of time before he finally loses control. We’re going to make sure that happens.”
“I never liked that guy!” Zito shouted. “Let’s make sure he gets his just rewards!”
The group ate a quick meal, taking with them as much food as they could carry to pass it out among the Moonbright villagers, and when they were ready, Ben and his party, along with Nipper and Brock, gathered in the teleportation room. A new crystal icon was on the map over the location of Moonbright. He reached forward and touched it.