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

forward. Speed was more important than stealth now. Each crashing of his foot on the forest floor caused his stomach to tighten, but he put that out of his mind as best he could.

He closed the distance within seconds. He was seven feet away when the sentry’s strands all turned a more vibrant hue. Ben was in range, and he was ready.

The sentry turned, his scimitar brandished and ready to be used. He opened his mouth and tensed his body, and Ben could only assume this meant he’d spotted Ben’s shadowy figure in the dark.

The ogre clasped his other hand onto the hilt of the scimitar and took a step forward. No doubt he was ready to kill whatever he saw.

Ben opened his fists and pulled with all his might on the other man’s green physical strand. Ben’s mouth filled with a metallic flavor as he sucked in all his opponent’s strength. The yell forming in the sentry’s mouth quickly turned into a faint gargle as Ben stole away even the strength the mountain ogre would need to use his vocal cords.

The sentry slumped forward onto his knees. His wide eyes, gleaming in the moonlight, lost focus, became duller. The mountain ogre’s body fell forward into a heap, a dull thud sounding out in the night air. Ben rushed forward, catching his opponent’s scimitar by the back of the blade to stop it from clanging on the dirt.

The giant’s body shriveled up like dried fruit in the sun, the skin bunching into desiccated wrinkles, and the muscles losing all their shape. Once Ben was sure the life force had all been drained from the mountain ogre’s body, he deactivated his spell.

The now-familiar sensation of new energy throbbing through his veins was intoxicating. Ben turned to Melody as she approached. He used his Drain spell again to send some of the strength he had acquired to her. He could sense right away that she only received a portion of the energy he’d sent her, but some was better than none. From his experience so far, the strength he had taken ought to last up to half an hour if they didn’t use it up in attacks.

Ben and Melody entered the village, creeping carefully past each hut and checking it for occupants. It wouldn’t do to have ogres sneaking up on them from behind and surrounding them.

The huts were made of primitive planks that appeared to be roughly hacked out, judging by the uneven surface of the wood. Some huts had simple openings for windows, through which they could look and check for occupants. Others had hides draped over the windows, forcing Ben and Melody to listen closely first to check for any sound, over the raucous singing still coming from the campfire in the middle of the village. They were a major contrast to the rest of the area—the surrounding stone ruins appeared even more ancient compared to the slapped-together huts.

By now, they were close enough to smell the charred odor of overcooked meat over the campfire. Ben could hear animated discussion from the ogres, though he didn’t understand a single word. He wasn’t sure whether Melody understood the mountain ogres’s language, but now wasn’t the time to ask her. None of it sounded particularly agitated, so Ben was confident they hadn’t yet been discovered.

They finally reached the last hut separating us from the campfire. They hadn’t discovered any other ogres, so these men were either all around the fire, or hiding in huts on the other side of the clearing.

The door to this hut was open, and a window on the other side faced out onto the clearing. Perfect. Ben and Melody would be able to hide in here and get the lay of the land before attacking.

The hut was a bit larger than the others. A second room opened to the side of this one. Ben could see from the firelight on the walls that a window opened from that room onto the clearing as well.

Ben and Melody crept into the main room. He made sure to hold the scimitar steady as he stooped through the narrow doorway. He didn’t want the blade to clang on anything and give their position away.

The firelight from outside flickered against the walls and ceiling, casting wild shadows. The noise of drunken revelry filtered in from outside. Ben was confident that he and Melody wouldn’t be noticed if they were careful.

The inside of the hut was total chaos. A table in the middle had leftover bones, which had begun to stink, strewn over the surface. One of two chairs was smashed. Ben wondered if the mountain ogres were so barbaric that they didn’t even understand the idea of “chairs.”

Some of the bones looked distinctly like they had belonged to some humanoid creatures. The skulls were rounded like those of an ape or a human. There were two larger skulls and one smaller one.

Ben did his best to not consider the implications of what he was looking at. But the thoughts came to mind nonetheless. These bones weren’t that old. Bits of hair and flesh still stuck to them. Had the mountain ogres killed these people and then left their bones to rot in their own homes? Or had another group of marauders done it before them? The scene was grisly and disgusting, and all Ben could think about was exacting quick and brutal judgement for whoever was responsible.

Regardless, his next step had to be annihilating these bloodthirsty motherfuckers. Perhaps Melody and him could manage some vengeance for these poor people at the same time.

On another side table, he could see several items that appeared to be far too well-crafted to come from the mountain ogres themselves. Combs, a small mirror, and several dishes suggested that these inhabitants must have taken pride in their appearance and lived in modest comfort, at least for a pre-modern community.

As Ben looked around, he couldn’t help but wonder who they were. Judging by the amenities, they’d been far