Empire Builder 1: Breed, Populate, Conquer by Dante King (free e books to read online txt) 📕

rock. The substance was translucent, allowing trace amounts of the glowing light of the forest to gleam through. But the substance itself was quite dark, almost black.

“The crystal is black because it came from the werebats?” Ben surmised.

“Because it came from a monster, like those werebats,” Melody explained. “When I have refined it, it will be totally clear, but there will not be as much crystal left as what you see now. I must remove the impurities. When that is done, it will be clear as day.”

“How long does that take?” Ben asked, wondering why she hadn’t done it already.

“Not too long, perhaps half an hour for a piece like this, but I would prefer to wait until we are in a safer place than here. If we are interrupted, it would spoil the crystal.” Melody took the solid lump from his hand and put it back in her satchel. Surprisingly, there was no trace of the crystal on his hands.

“And what do you use this stuff for?” Ben had played enough video games to have a good idea what “mana” would be used for—magical energy for casting spells. But he wanted to hear it out of her mouth to be sure.

“You eat it.” Melody grinned. No doubt she found it amusing having to explain such basic concepts. “It will replenish your strength, your magical strength, to be precise, as well as strengthening your mana pathways over time. Mana can regenerate by itself, but it is a very slow process, while eating crystals is instant.”

“So, can I just munch on a mana crystal when I’m fighting and keep right on casting spells?” That would make combat a lot easier.

“Well, yes. But you must be careful,” Melody warned.

There was always a catch. “What happens if I eat too much?”

“The same thing that happens if you eat too much food at once,” Melody explained matter-of-factly. “You will feel sick, you will not absorb all the mana, and you will waste good crystals.”

“Good to know. How do you know when to eat it then?” Ben asked. “I don’t feel ‘magically’ hungry right now.”

“You will.” Melody had a knowing look. “You would not have noticed earlier, when you were so full of courage, but the spell you cast on all those bats must have used a lot of mana. Even as the Forgotten Ruler you would not be able to cast such a spell without consequences so soon. I have some refined crystal still left in my satchel in case it becomes necessary.”

“Great. But keep in mind that spell saved our lives, consequences or not. You ought to show a little more respect for the returned ruler of this world.” Ben flashed her a grin to let her know he was messing around, then elbowed Melody in the ribs. The push, to his surprise, caused her to lightly stumble sideways.

“Hey!” She shoved him in return. “You would not want your guide to trip and walk through a spider’s web now, would you?”

That made him pause. What kind of spiders might inhabit a seemingly enchanted forest like this one? He shuddered. Werebats were bad enough; he did not want to face down Shelob just yet. He thought back to the skeleton in the canyon. He had power, sure, but he needed to be careful if he didn’t want to end up as some spider beast’s snack.

They continued on for some distance. The glowing mushrooms eventually disappeared, and the cover of the tree branches above thinned, allowing more sunlight through.

As the sun sank toward the horizon again, they reached a hilltop with a vantage point. From there, they could see further than usual, gaining a view of the surrounding forest. Only a few hundred yards below, Ben spied the village in the clearing they had seen from the clifftop.

He recognized the collection of huts as well as the ruins, but these were much larger than he’d noticed earlier. Dotted around the hillside below, and extending into the clearing, were stone structures, some of them little more than piles of rubble. The ruins were reminiscent of a mix of Celtic and Mayan architecture. Ben wasn’t quite sure why they reminded him of such since, to his knowledge, the Celts didn’t actually leave a lot of ruins behind. But they did leave Stonehenge behind, and these remains looked like versions of that—massive stone blocks arranged in various formations.

Great square stone pillars rose from the ground in symmetrical formations, carved with swirling figures. The stonework was clearly made with great craft, though it had since crumbled into disrepair, eroded by wind and time.

Melody had said she would lead Ben to a site where he had once ruled. This wasn’t quite the sort of site he pictured as the Forgotten Ruler’s seat of power, but he had to start somewhere, right? How would this place look once he could restore it to its former glory? His mind was filled with potential possibilities, of great towering structures and impenetrable fortifications.

“You did a good job leading us here,” he commented with a smile.

Melody shrugged. “Forest craft was an art I had to master at a young age in order to survive. I couldn’t get lost even if I wanted to.”

That was certainly a handy ability. Ben wasn’t a total stranger to the outdoors himself, but he couldn’t have said he’d be able to navigate such a dense and peculiar forest with such accuracy.

There was movement in the village. That was a good sign; he’d been hoping they would meet some hospitality for the night. He wasn’t keen on the idea of roughing it outdoors on his first evening in a new world.

“How friendly do you think the people in the village will be?” Ben asked.

Melody shrugged. “About that, I know as much as you. I do not know who inhabits this village now. We must watch carefully and observe.”

As they stared in silence, a light flared up in the middle of the clearing. A couple of figures were hunched around a pile