Empire Builder 1: Breed, Populate, Conquer

by Dante King

  “Is it a real event?” Ben asked. “Who are the people in this artwork?”

  “That is the Gallant Knight,” Imogen explained. “He faced down Benzhameen, the Forgotten Ruler in battle.”

  “Benzhameen?” Ben echoed. “Why do you say the name of the Forgotten Ruler like that? Melody said my name that way.”

  Imogen looked at Ben in surprise. “Your name? Benjamin. Yes, I suppose your name does sound a little like the name of the Forgotten Ruler.”

  Ben looked at Melody, and she looked back at him with a mildly amused expression.

  “And why does the Forgotten Ruler look so ugly?” Ben asked.

  Imogen shrugged. “I don’t understand that myself. I have heard of this battle, and my people always spoke of the Forgotten Ruler’s conduct with high praise. Perhaps someone has modified this sculpture. I cannot imagine that my ancestors would have depicted the Forgotten Ruler in this way.”

  “Perhaps,” Ben mused. Maybe it was petty, but he was a little offended by the way he had been depicted on the stone wall.

  Before he could think on the matter any further, however, the door began to open with a loud creak. Nipper sniffed defiantly. Nipper’s newly evolved condition gave Ben confidence that they could face more powerful enemies.

  A loud voice boomed from the other side of the door, the same voice they had heard at the entrance to the dungeon outside. “Treacherous crypt robbers and dungeon divers, you are fools to enter this place. I, Sir Gallant the Younger, Archenemy of Benzhameen and Dispeller of Darkness, shall show you the error of your ways.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Ben stood with his companions, watching the great door opening. On his left was Nipper, the now much larger child of his union with Melody. The great cat, born only that morning, licked his lips, and his giant fangs, hungrily.

  Melody and the nymphs stood on his right, weapons and spells at the ready.

  The great wooden door, twice Ben’s own height, swung ponderously open. Through the doorway they could see a wide stone chamber. The ceiling was low, only three yards above their heads, and flat. The stone in this room was a light gray.

  Pale daylight streamed in from one side of the room. That puzzled Ben. Weren’t they deep underground? Maybe this was magic too.

  A vast, brightly colored rug covered the floor. From what they could see through the slowly widening doorway, this room looked more comfortable than any other level of the dungeon they’d yet seen. Ben surmised that it might be more intended as a living space for whatever beings ruled the dungeon, rather than a killing floor.

  “You fools dare to trespass in the chamber of Sir Gallant?” the voice they’d heard before boomed out from in front of them, though it was higher pitched and not as loud. But there was no one to be seen.

  The adventurers looked down. That’s when Ben saw the source of the voice. It was a tiny stone statue, the size of an action figure.

  Imogen looked at Ben, her eyebrow raised. Ben nodded. He suspected he knew what she had in mind.

  “Prepare to face your doom, adventurers. You shall not pa--”

  Imogen kicked the statue in the face with all her might, sending it flying across the chamber. Its voice cut off in a long drawn out wail, punctuated by yelps as the little figure bounced on the stone floor. Its cry was abruptly cut off as it crashed into the dais at the other end of the room.

  The adventurers walked into the room and got a proper look at the dais. It was a platform, raised several feet above the rest of the floor, surrounded by steps. The dais was ten yards across and half as deep.

  On its surface rested a stone table with multiple chairs pulled up. The chairs too were made of stone, but cut slenderly. The furniture appeared elegant but practical.

  And on one of those chairs sat Vinata. She leaned over the table in concentration. Seated opposite her was a warrior in a great suit of armor. A couple of patches of the armor gleamed in the light, suggesting that it had once been an illustrious suit, but it was mostly dulled now by rust and grime. He too leaned forward over the table in concentration. Between them stood a number of figurines, presumably a game akin to chess.

  “Vinata!” Ben called out, disturbing the quiet that had reigned since they’d silenced the little statue at the door.

  Vinata glanced up at the travelers. “Benjamin!” She smiled in recognition. “I wondered how long it would take you to arrive.”

  “You’ve been expecting us?” Ben was confused.

  “What happened to you?” Lulu asked, still suspending a globe of water in front of her, her eyes peeled for danger.

  “Are you hurt?” Imogen rushed to add.

  Vinata held up a hand, motioning for quiet. “I have been waiting for you here. Did Sir Gallant the Younger call to you like he did to me?”

  “Who? Sir Gallant the Younger?” Ben echoed. That was the name the dungeon had given before he got through the door, but if it was supposed to ring any bells, it didn’t.

  The small animated statue at the foot of the dais rose to its feet with a groan. “I am Sir Gallant the Younger.” The statue attempted to stand straight and look dignified, but a twinge in its back made it stoop again with a sharp intake of breath.

  “And I am Sir Gallant the Elder.” The knight sitting at the table got to his feet and turned to face Ben and his companions. “And who might you be?”

  The knight had a thick accent. It reminded Ben of the way Melody spoke.

  “I am Benjamin,” Ben announced.

  “Benzhameen,” the knight echoed, repeating the name several times. “Strange that he should have that name. Who is he really?”

  Melody spoke up, sounding proud and defiant. “Benzhameen is the Forgotten Ruler, reincarnated to claim his rule once more.”

  Lulu let her globe of water splash to the ground. The room went silent. Even Nipper stopped washing himself to look around at the stunned onlookers.

  Ben was shocked. Melody had told him the day before to keep his identity a secret, and here she was blabbing it out for all to hear. He wondered if she knew something he didn’t, if she’d decided, perhaps, that he was now strong enough.

  Either way, he hoped she knew what she was doing.

  All three nymphs stared at Ben, their mouths open in shock. The little statue and the knight faced Ben, but their faces were concealed.

  “He’s lying.” The statue’s voice sounded much more high-pitched now that he wasn’t booming through closed doors.

  “He is not,” Melody declared. “This is Benzhameen, the being who once ruled the Sky, Land, and the Seas. Savior of Monsterfolk and Subjugator of all Races of Light.”

  “Is this true, Benjamin?” Vinata asked. Lulu and Imogen were also staring at him inquiringly.

  Ben shrugged guiltily. “I was going to tell you all, but the right moment never came.”

  Lulu inclined her head toward Ben. “If it is truly you, Benzhameen, we shall follow you without question.” Imogen nodded as well.

  The man on the dais in the suit of armor, Sir Gallant the Elder, raised his visor. Ben was surprised to see nothing behind the visor. The helmet was completely void, only black inside. The whole suit of armor must have been empty.

  “Is it you, master?” Sir Gallant the Elder asked. “Is it truly you, in this weak and malnourished form?”

  Ben glanced down at himself. Weak? Malnourished? I’m not exactly a bodybuilder, but come on.

  Sir Gallant the Younger slapped a hand to his helmet. He began to hop from one foot to the other and looked agitated. “Uh, sire, you, uh, you didn’t look too closely at the mural outside, did you?”

  Ben turned on Sir Gallant the Younger. “I’m not sure what I looked like back when I ruled this world, but I can’t have been that hideous.” He took a step toward the midget statue.

  Sir Gallant the Younger quailed and darted behind Sir Gallant the Elder up on the dais.

  But the elder knight rounded on his diminutive companion. “What is the meaning of this? Did you alter
the mural outside our chamber?”

  “I may have made a few modifications,” the small knight spoke, a tinge of fear to his voice.

  “He made me look hideous,” Ben informed the elder knight.

  The larger knight had no face to make an expression with, but he put his hands up in despair. “Have patience with my younger companion, I beg of you, lord. He is a foolish and witless knight, and should not be held responsible. I trust he did no further harm to you on your arrival?”

  Sir Gallant the Younger was softly but swiftly retreating behind the table at this point.

  “Well, Sir Gallant,” Ben replied, “I’m not sure who is in charge of the defenses in this place, but we had a hell of a time fighting past all the monsters in these halls.”

  “Why, you little miscreant!” Sir Gallant the Elder turned.

  But Sir Gallant the Younger had just scampered to the top of the table and had concealed himself among the figurines.

  I wasn’t sure how Sir Gallant the Elder could see without a face, but he stomped around the table looking for his companion. “To think you’d give our returning ruler such a rude reception. I’ll have you punished.”

  As soon as he had passed, Sir Gallant the Younger bent over and flashed his stony ass at his elder companion, causing Melody to smirk.

  Ben ignored the two bickering knights. He had a suspicion these two had been tormenting each other for quite some time. He approached the dais and Vinata. He laid his scimitar on the ground near the stone table.

  “Were you in any danger, Vinata?” he asked. “I’m sorry it took so long for us to get to you, we didn’t know until this morning that you were gone.”

  Vinata laughed. “I was lured in here by Sir Gallant the Younger, he’s responsible for attracting adventurers. If I’d come here a few hundred years ago, I’m sure you wouldn’t see me here now.”

  Ben clenched a fist and looked over at the two knights, but Vinata waved a hand dismissively.

  “These two knights haven’t seen any visitors for several centuries now. They didn’t want to ruin the chance at having company for the first time in ages, so they welcomed me into their reception chamber.”

  Ben huffed. “Can’t say they did the same for us.”

  The dryad woman laughed. “I’m sure they’ll make it up to you. I would have come out to greet you myself, but Sir Gallant the Elder invited me to play a game of Towers and Castles with him.”

  She indicated the table covered in figurines with a hand. “It’s a game I used to play with my mother as a child, and I was having so much fun, I lost track of time. Really, I’m sorry I left without telling you; you must have been worried sick.”

  “We were,” Ben said gravely.

  Vinata looked penitent.

  “You can’t imagine what you put your good friends through,” Ben added, wanting to be sure the lesson wasn’t forgotten. “Next time you’re going to vanish in the middle of the night, you have to let us know first.”

  Vinata nodded. “Of course, I will. I’m dreadfully sorry.”

  Ben put a hand on her arm. “I’m just glad you’re safe. We all are.” He indicated the women behind him.

  Imogen and Lulu, having waited long enough, rushed up to embrace Vinata.

  Ben turned aside. He had questions for the two knights, who apparently recognized him from his former life.

  Sir Gallant the Elder straightened and stood to attention as he saw Ben approaching. Sir Gallant the Younger hopped off the table and self-importantly shuffled over to stand beside his larger companion, though he still limped on the side where Imogen had kicked him. Ben wasn’t sure if she had done any permanent damage, but right now, he didn’t feel kindly enough disposed toward the insolent statue to care.

  “We are glad to witness your safe return, my lord,” Sir Gallant the Elder stiffly announced.

  Ben waved a hand. “Call me Ben, I don’t have time for all those formalities right now. I need you to explain who you are and what’s going on here.”

  Sir Gallant the Younger tittered. “The doddering old man has forgotten; we can tell him anything we like.”

  The elder one stomped at the small statue, who evaded the metal boot with ease. “Silence, fool,” Sir Gallant the Elder said. “It would seem our lord has had a lapse of memory in his absence. That is no laughing matter, but a situation that must be rectified with haste.”

  Ben put up a hand to silence them both. “Alright, to start with, I’m confused. This … Sir Gallant the Younger, introduced himself before we entered as my archenemy. I mean, that would make sense of the hostile greeting we got in the dungeon.”

  Here Sir Gallant the Elder sighed with exasperation and inclined his head toward his younger companion, but refrained from carrying out further violence against him.

  “But you have clearly treated my friend Vinata with hospitality,” Ben continued. He surprised himself with his formal choice of words, but it seemed likely to be the most effective way of communicating with these strange knights.

  “Please explain to me who you are,” Ben finished. “And if you do lie to me,” he glared at the younger knight, “I’m sure Melody will be able to uncover the lie.”

  Melody heard her name and came to stand beside Ben. Nipper padded over as well. He gave the younger knight a loud sniff and turned away uninterested. Ben assumed the rattle he could hear afterward came from the statue’s joints trembling with fear. So much the better. Ben calmly scratched the great cat’s ears while observing the two knights.

  Sir Gallant the Elder cleared his throat, or at least made a sound resembling that action. “We were indeed your archenemy once, my lord, uh, Ben, your highness.”

  Ben didn’t see a point in correcting him just now. He simply looked and waited for the knight to continue.

  “To tell the truth, we gave ourselves that name. Perhaps that was overly grandiose, considering that you defeated us in a matter of moments, unarmed.” The large knight hung his head, and the younger one shuffled beside him.

  “Perhaps I should do so again, as recompense for the greeting you gave us,” Ben pondered out loud, still surprised at his formal tone.

  The younger knight scuttled behind his elder’s great rusted greaves.

  “I pray you, Lord Ben, be not hasty to anger,” the elder knight entreated. “If I may, you have forgotten much in your absence. After defeating us, you forgave us entirely for the affront we had shown in riding to attack you.”

  “Entirely?” Ben asked. “Without any sort of punishment? That doesn’t really sound like me.” He was enjoying watching these two squirm after everything they’d put him through that morning.

  “Not entirely, my lord.” The elder knight sounded very subdued. “It was you who split us into two spirit parts.”

  “Oh?” Ben was curious about how he would have achieved such a feat. It sounded like the sort of skill that might be useful to learn again.

  “You used the services of a dark sorceress, mistress of the arts of death and the underworld.”

  Ben smiled to himself. He wondered if the sorceress they had mentioned might still be alive. If she was a master of death, there was a good chance. He would have to find her eventually.

  Then the knight’s voice shuddered. “Using the powers of this aforementioned sorceress, you took a part of our soul and put it into this suit of armor you see before you.” The knight gestured with a plate glove at his own body.

  “The other part, the more irrational one, you placed into yon small statue.” The knight swept his foot back and kicked the homunculus cowering behind his feet. “Our body was consumed in the process.”

  “And why would I trust the two of you now?” he asked. “Do you expect me to believe that my forgiveness was enough to make you loyal to me over all these centuries? After you tried to have me killed in the dungeon this very morning?”

  Sir Gallant the Elder held up his hands in supplication. “I beg you, Lord Ben, overlook the folly of my younger companion. I assure you,
we had no idea it was you who was returning. My companion has been, shall we say, somewhat restless these last few centuries. The opportunity for entertainment was too much for him to pass up.”

  Ben could understand that. He had been fortunate enough to remain unconscious during his own eons-long sojourn. If he’d been awake that whole time, he might have gone mad. There was one other thing unexplained, however.

  “What about the mural above the door?” Ben asked.

  Sir Gallant the Elder took a step back.

  “You expect me to believe you were faithfully awaiting my return?” Ben said. “It looks to me like you were happy to see the end of me, and were defacing my memory in my absence.”

  Nipper evidently picked up on the feeling in Ben’s voice and growled as he saw Sir Gallant the Younger making his escape behind the stone furniture.

  “I assure you, sire, it was not meant in earnest. If it would appease you, I will have my companion restore the mural to its former condition.”

  “I would very much like to see the mural restored,” Ben insisted. “You made my face look hideous. That will hardly inspire respect.”

  “Quite so my lord,” the elder knight agreed. He relaxed his stance somewhat.

  The younger knight also emerged from behind the stone table. Nipper took this as his cue to give chase.

  “And what was your role here in my absence?” Ben asked. “You control this entire dungeon?”

  “Only this first section of the Northern Dungeon, sire.”

  Ben raised an eyebrow. “There’s more than one section? There must be a lot left for us to explore, then.” He hoped that might mean more treasure and loot to be discovered too, as well as a chance to grow in power and practice his abilities.

  Ben heard a growl and a snap behind him, as Nipper finally caught up with Sir Gallant the Younger and began chewing on him like a toy, ignoring the howls of protest coming from the tiny statue.

  Ben’s stomach rumbled, and he realized he hadn’t eaten since the night before. There were no more roots left from what they’d harvested either.

  “I don’t suppose you have any food here?” he asked.