Empire Builder 1: Breed, Populate, Conquer

by Dante King

  The tension in his gut dissolved as he thought it over. His followers deserved to know the truth, he figured. He wasn’t about to start off his rule as a liar.

  “I come from another world,” Ben said. He felt relieved as soon as he spoke the world.

  “You mean another realm?” Lulu asked.

  “I’m not sure how else to explain it,” Ben replied. “Somehow Melody magically transported me here from a totally different place. My world, the world I was born into, doesn’t have magic. I guess that’s why I was reincarnated there.”

  “Reincarnated?” Lulu echoed. “What does this mean? How is it that you are the Forgotten Ruler, when he died thousands of years ago?”

  Ben realized he had no idea. On his world, reincarnation was spoken of by Hindus and Buddhists, but he didn’t think he could look to them for a very scientific explanation. He glanced over at Melody.

  She understood and began to explain. “My teacher and mentor, the Archmage Kamila, told me what little we know of reincarnation. It is a very rare occurrence, granted only to the most powerful. We assume that the Forgotten Ruler gained this power through the help of one of his wives. Some of them are known to have had power over the spirit realm.”

  “Will we meet these wives?” Vinata interrupted.

  Melody shrugged. “Only if they still live. It is possible that some survived in the dungeons, or through the use of reincarnation on themselves.”

  “That would be exciting,” Vinata whispered.

  “But what is reincarnation, exactly?” Lulu pressed.

  “All we know,” Melody continued, “is that when Ben died, his soul did not dissipate into the aether like the souls of ordinary people. It traversed the vastnesses of the spirit realm for thousands of years, waiting to find a home once more.”

  “And it found Ben?” Vinata asked.

  Melody nodded. “The soul of Benzhameen is Ben’s soul, though this is not the body he once had. Benzhameen’s memories were also lost.”

  “Will he ever get them back?” Vinata was like a small child, with her impatient questions.

  Ben smiled to himself, almost feeling like he was being discussed as a foreign specimen. He was too curious to interrupt though.

  “Perhaps,” Melody said. “There may be a way to recover these memories. Ben must be careful if he is to take this step, however.”

  She gave him a warning look. “He may not be able to choose which memories come back. If he recovers the memories of his eons long sojourn in the spirit realm, it could be enough to drive him to madness.”

  Ben shuddered at the thought.

  Vinata moved closer to him and placed a hand on his chest. She looked up at him with wonder and curiosity. “You are so full of mystery.”

  Ben put a hand on hers. “What I’m not full of right now, is food. I’m still waiting for that meal you were going to prepare.”

  It didn’t hurt to keep these women on their toes, even if he was prepared to sire children with them. Besides, he figured, he was still trying to wrap his head around what had happened to him. Maybe it’d be better to wait until he had some answers of his own before he tried to explain it all to the others.

  “If there’s one thing I know,” he continued. “It’s that I don’t do my best thinking on an empty stomach. So, how about that meal?”

  Vinata opened her mouth to speak, her finger raised as if she were ready to make a very important point. Or, Ben figured, to give him some back talk.

  But Ben simply raised his eyebrows, encouraging her without a word to stow away whatever she had on her mind.

  “Less talk, more food,” he said with a smirk. “Now, get that ass in gear.”

  Surprise flashed on her face. She clearly wasn’t used to having people speak to her that way. The surprise gave way to a sly smile that tugged at the corners of her mouth. Evidently being ordered around appealed to her as well.

  “I’ll get to the kitchen right away.” She turned toward the door.

  “See that you do.” Ben reached out to slap her ass on the way out, but her dryad garments sprouted into life on her body instantaneously, and his hand only met leafy underwear.

  The other women laughed as Vinata dashed out toward the elevator. Lulu and Imogen got dressed in their traditional clothing again. While they had been naked, the tower had sucked these clothes away and returned them washed and dried. That was just as well, after the mess the women had left their clothes in after the battle.

  “We better go and help Vinata with the cooking,” Imogen said. “She doesn’t like to prepare meat.”

  “By all means,” Ben said with a broad smile.

  Lulu and Imogen smiled at Ben and left the bedroom.

  Ben opened the giant wardrobe and rifled through the robes he found there. One half of the wardrobe was dedicated to dark robes, the other contained dresses and women’s clothing.

  “It looks like the wardrobe was prepared with you in mind as well, Melody.” Ben pointed at the women’s clothing.

  “Oh, excellent.” Melody walked over, flicking her tail around her naked torso. “The peasant’s clothing I wore before was not really suited to the wife of a dark lord.”

  Ben put a hand around her waist. “I find the clothing you’re wearing right now perfectly suitable.” He did wonder if they needed to get dressed at all. Perhaps they could turn the tower into a nudist camp. Looking at the beautiful women beside him, he wouldn’t have minded.

  Then he remembered Sir Gallant. The elder knight would have been mortified, and the younger one would probably have perved on them. Better to get dressed, Ben figured.

  Ben put on a black robe with a high collar. Underneath the robe he wore a blood-red jacket and coal-black trousers. It needed some adornment to be a properly fitting outfit for a dark ruler, but the fabric was splendid and looked regal already. It would make a good start.

  Melody put on a summery yellow dress. It looked comfortable, but it wasn’t so long that it would conceal her legs. There were other dresses in the wardrobe, far longer and more ornate, but those would be better suited to evening wear.

  Having washed and dressed, Ben and Melody left his bedroom to go and eat. They entered the dining hall on the floor above. This floor had outward sloping windows, giving them a tremendous view of the forest below.

  Melody and Ben enjoyed their time looking at the view over the forest. After some time, Vinata, Imogen, and Lulu arrived, wheeling trolleys topped with trays of food. Sir Gallant the Younger was perched on one of them. He helped pass around the trays, which appeared to be moving by themselves, with him walking underneath them.

  It turned out that the kitchens below contained plentiful supplies of fresh vegetables, herbs, and spices. There was even some wine in a cellar. That saved them from having to gather more food immediately, but Ben knew he would have to check how long the supplies were going to last, and where they could get more.

  He didn’t imagine he would find a supermarket around the corner, so the issue would have to be addressed sooner rather than later.

  The nymphs had been able to prepare a roast meal in record time with the help of the tower’s magically enhanced ovens. It was the best roast Ben could ever remember eating, tender and juicy, roasted and seasoned potatoes on the side with the perfect layer of crispness. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had a home-cooked meal.

  As they ate, Ben plied Sir Gallant the Younger with questions. The little statue was the only one present who had seen the dark lord at the height of his power. The Elder was still patrolling the area outside the tower.

  The homunculus had to sit on the table while they talked, as he was far too short for any chair. Ben didn’t see any harm in it, and he preferred to have the mischievous figurine sitting where he could see him, rather than peeking up the women’s skirts under the table.

  Vinata informed him, Nipper was still downstairs, feasting on the less edible remains of the deer carcass.

  “Tell me more about the dungeons
, Sir Gallant,” Ben said as he carved off a slice of roast venison, the meat dripping with dark, chunky gravy.

  The little man’s chest puffed out at being addressed this formally. Ben suspected he’d lived in the shadow of his elder companion for some time, who likely had less complimentary names for him.

  “The dungeons were always a failsafe for you, Ben,” the little stone man began to explain. Ben had asked Sir Gallant to address him informally. Evidently, the younger version had an easier time remembering this than his somber elder companion.

  “You fought most of your battles above ground, fearing no one. Not even me, I might add.” The knight gestured prodded his own chest, self-importantly.

  Melody snorted, but Ben ignored the comment.

  “What was the purpose of the dungeons then?” Ben asked.

  “When your armies were not to hand, you still used them to lure lone adventurers to their doom. It was only when the day of your defeat neared that you made full use of the extensive caverns and catacombs you had carved out beneath the earth.”

  “I saw the day of my defeat approaching?” Ben leaned forward. He felt suspense at learning more about his own past.

  “One of your wives foresaw it,” the statue explained. “She was a soothsayer and could see the future. She assured you that you would be defeated. This was your fate and could not be forestalled.”

  “What did the dungeons have to do with it?” Ben asked. The other women remained silent, eating only slowly, for fear of interrupting the story.

  “They were your last hope of preserving your power when the Usurper waged war on your empire. You placed the many parts of your realm in the dungeons.”

  “You mean like this tower in the crystal relic?” Ben asked.

  “Exactly, or like the masters who volunteered to be frozen in relics. Or like all the magical power that was channeled into the energy cores inside the dungeon.”

  “Those cores we retrieved from the vine monster hall?”

  Sir Gallant nodded. “There are hundreds more of those in the dungeon. The dungeons were made so powerful, they could never be assailed. Eventually, the Xurian Realm gave up on trying to conquer them and left them alone. Fortunately, stray travelers could still be easily lured inside.”

  “Why fortunately? What purpose did that serve?” Ben knew that such dungeons always served a purpose. The lives of slain travelers would not have been taken for nothing.

  “The energy they released on their deaths kept the dungeons alive.” Sir Gallant grinned. “I was the one in charge of ‘handling’ the travelers in the Northern Quadrant.”

  Ben laughed nervously. It was taking him a while to adjust to the notion that he would have commanded one of his servants to slaughter travelers and extract energy from them. It did sound like a clever plan though, he had to admit that much.

  “What would have happened if no more travelers entered the dungeons?” Ben asked.

  “The dungeons would eventually wither away. To tell the truth, adventurers have grown rare of late. It’s fortunate that you have returned now. You will have much work to do salvaging everything from the dungeons and bringing it all back to working order.”

  “Don’t you worry about that.” The determination was clear in Ben’s voice. “I plan to make a start on that bright and early tomorrow. I won’t be wasting any time on that. I’ll need a full inventory from you on the components of the dungeon, including how it all functions.”

  “I’ll be glad to assist,” Sir Gallant promised. “I’ll show you to my control room in the dungeons tomorrow. We can see the movable glyph totems, the energy cores, and all other important components.”

  “Glyph totems?” Ben asked.

  “Yes, they allow for the summoning of monsters, among other things.”

  “The totems are movable?” Ben asked.

  Sir Gallant nodded.

  “Good to know.” This sounded like a very peculiar bit of magic. Ben obviously had much to learn about the operation of his empire. He would need to retrieve any of his old masters and counsellors that he could as well.

  “And what will your first aims be, if I may be so bold as to ask, Ben?” the little statue probed.

  Ben took a deep breath and reflected. There was so much to do, he almost didn’t know where to begin. The first steps would have to be practical ones to solidify their position at the tower.

  “The dungeons still have much to offer me, and I don’t know if this tower can be moved.” Ben started thinking out loud. “So, we’ll have to stay here for a while.” He paused as he realized he had no idea of their current location. “Where exactly are we?”

  The nymphs shrugged when he looked at them.

  “I’m not sure where we are in relation to our homeland,” Vinata said. “It was hard to keep track with those ogres driving us through the forest.”

  Ben nodded sympathetically.

  Melody spoke up. “We are now in the northernmost reaches of the Xurian Realm. Beyond this there is no civilization. Only ogres and other savages live this far north.”

  “That’s good,” Ben said. “Hopefully it will be a little while before rumors of my return spread. We may have a little time to ourselves to prepare our defenses.”

  “We will stay with you if you decide to build your empire here.” Lulu spoke with determination.

  The other two nymphs nodded their assent.

  “We’re not sure of the way home anyway,” Vinata added. “I’m certain a rescue party is searching for us already. I hope they find us. We need to send word back to our parents. They must be worried sick about us by now.”

  “If they don’t find you, I’ll figure out a way to send word to them,” Ben promised. Relief took hold on the women’s faces.

  Ben turned to Melody again. “What else can you tell me about this region?”

  “After you vanished, all those eons ago, stories of ghosts and spirits haunting the forest quickly spread, or so I am told,” Melody explained.

  Ben nodded. “No doubt that’s based in reality, if travelers were mysteriously disappearing inside my dungeons.”

  “Exactly,” Melody agreed.

  Sir Gallant the Younger chuckled, evilly.

  “It is a week’s journey from here at least before you reach the lands of the monsterkin,” Melody continued. “And then another week’s journey before you hit the Outlands. Wild wastes, used mostly just for mining. Those lands are rich in natural resources, but poor in food. The land is not fertile. Beyond that is where the Xurian Realm properly begins. Their jurisdiction reaches almost to where we are now, but they have no control over these lands. It is beyond the Outlands that the will of the Grand Vizier is enforced.”

  The nymphs gasped when they heard that.

  “I didn’t realize we’d been taken so far north,” Vinata said.

  “There are hunters of monsterkin who live in the north,” Melody said. “They are typically mages with penchants that are too extreme even for the Xurian Realm. It is likely the ogres were going to trade you to one of those groups.”

  Imogen shuddered at her words, the color draining out of her face.

  Ben was angry once more. The thought of anything happening to the women was enough to make his blood run hot. He would have his revenge.

  “How long does it take to travel to the Xurian Realm then?” Ben asked.

  “Traveling alone and swiftly, it took me more than a month to get from the capital to this forest,” Melody said.

  “Why didn’t you just use the same magic that you used to travel to my world?” Ben queried. “That would have saved you all that travel time.”

  “I had magic that could transport me to your world and back again, but it could only be used once. And I had to leave my world in the same location I wished to return. Hence the journey.”

  “The Realm will probably not send an army out when they hear rumors of my return,” Ben mused. “They will send scouts to see if it is true, then an army.”

  “Th
ey will send all their might against you once they learn that the rumors are true, Ben,” Sir Gallant the Younger intoned, his expression grave.

  Ben nodded. “If it were me, I wouldn’t hesitate to deal with this threat once I learned it was true. But the logistics of sending an army this far would be enormous. At the least then, I think we can count on four months passing before they send a proper force against me. There is no telling how formidable that force will be once it comes though.”

  “What do you hope to accomplish before the Xurian Realm arrives?” Lulu asked. She leaned her elbows on the table, which only served to accentuate her enormous bosom as she spoke. Ben had to tap into his restraint to avoid staring.

  “What do you hope to accomplish in general?” Vinata asked. “Now that you are the Forgotten Ruler?”

  “Good question,” Ben said. He had the feeling he was expected to have some sort of grand philosophical or personal motivation. Sure, vengeance was important to him, but that was only a temporary goal.

  When he thought about it, there wasn’t really any sort of philosophical basis for his motivation. At the bottom of it all, he just wanted more power. Once he’d got a taste of magical power, there was no going back. He had to get as much of it as he possibly could. And he was going to father monster children with as many beautiful women as he could.

  “I want to become the most powerful ruler this world has ever seen,” he said, feeling the weight of his words. “I want to overshadow all previous incarnations of myself. There will be no more legends of the Forgotten Ruler, because I will become immortal, and this world will never forget me.”

  Sir Gallant clapped together his stony hands. “Well said, if I may say so.”

  Melody beamed at Ben. “I had a feeling you would be the right man for this task.”

  Ben smiled back at her, then turned his attention to organization. “OK, let’s get back to more practical matters. What natural resources are available to us in this forest? Who lives here? Who can we count on for support?”

  Imogen put up a hand to speak.

  “Yes, Imogen?” Ben smiled at her. Obviously her shyness would still take a while to overcome. He realized how brave she had been opening up to them all in the bedroom earlier.