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

pert ass and petite breasts were supported by what appeared to be foliage. The bikini she was wearing was made from bright green clusters of leaves, woven together. The clothing looked very natural and comfortable.

Her smooth dark skin contrasted with her clothing in a way that did indeed look very much like the bark of a tree. If he could have imagined what a dryad would look like, that would have been it.

Ben couldn’t help admiring how Vinata’s cute ass moved as she daintily glided along on her smooth and sinewy legs. When he’d heard from Melody that nymphs were technically from the monster races, he had never imagined that a monster woman could be so sexy.

“Ew,” Vinata exclaimed in disgust.

With some effort, Ben tore his eyes from the female’s captivating behind and picked up the pace to walk beside her.

“What’s wrong?” he asked. Had she caught me staring?

“All these … buildings!” She almost spat as she pointed at the stone ruins we were passing.

He had to suppress a laugh. “Not your taste in architecture?”

Vinata glanced at him in surprise. “You’ve never met a dryad before, have you?”

“Can’t say I have.” He felt a prickle of heat at the back of his neck. He hoped he wouldn’t have to explain where he’d come from, because he still wasn’t sure how to go about doing that.

“We have no architecture,” Vinata tersely explained.

“What do you live in then?” His curiosity was piqued.

“We live in the trees, silly.” Vinata laughed. “What need do we have of architecture? All these structures are just…gross. At least they’re all falling apart and the forest will reclaim them soon.”

If Ben had understood Melody correctly, these buildings were the remains of his former empire, which he would soon be rebuilding.

“So, I take it you’re a bit of a nature lover?” he asked.

Vinata looked at him, confused. She flicked her bright green hair to one side and indicated her leafy underwear with a gesture of her dainty fingers. “Uh, I suppose you could say that.”

Ben realized how silly the question was as soon as the words had left his mouth. Of course a being of nature would be a nature lover. He chalked up his lack of brainpower to his brain still being fried from all the fighting and draining. “Tell me more about your people,” Ben said, trying to change the subject. “As you can probably guess, I’ve never met dryads before. What’s it like where you come from?”

Vinata smiled warmly. “My mother is the high priestess of the dryads. She leads our people in magical ceremonies in time with the seasons. Through the magic of our people, we are able to defend and nurture the forest, allowing it to flourish. The forest cannot flourish in such ways when exposed to the depredations of abominable races that cut down and destroy, and-and-and build things!”

She said the world “build” as if it were the most disgusting thing imaginable.

“Sounds like you dryads are big on this whole ‘harmony with nature’ thing.”

Vinata smiled at him, a dreamy expression on her face. “If only you could see the Temple of Flowers,” she said.

“The Temple of Flowers? I thought you hated buildings.”

Vinata smiled. “It’s not a building. It is made of great trees and leafy bushes, grown and entwined together. It is the sacred site where my mother serves. It was once a temple dedicated to the Forgotten Ruler, but the dryads have maintained it for the worship of the forest deities for many generations now.”

Ben started at the mention of the Forgotten Ruler, but fortunately in the darkness that went unnoticed. He made a mental note to visit this place at some point.

“My family resides near this temple,” Vinata continued. “We live in harmony with the forest. The plants and trees in that region defend us with traps, and the animals nearby will attack any intruders. Here—hold on.”

Vinata stepped over to an accumulation of the glowing mushrooms. She squatted and grabbed a couple handfuls of them. Once standing again, she approached Ben and handed him a few of them.

“These will be useful to see our way.”

“Like…some kind of organic flashlight,” said Ben, taking them.

“Flash-what?”

“Nothing. Anyway, you have a kind of deal with the trees there?”

Vinata furrowed her brow, clearly puzzled as the two of them continued.

“You look after the forest and it looks after you?” he explained.

“Yes, you could say that,” Vinata agreed. “My father leads the forces of the Vineguard. If any intruders get past the forest’s defenses and attempt to harm the trees, we drive them away. And my mother sustains the magical life of the forest there, so we give back to the forest, though we could never give back as much as we receive.”

While all this nature speak sounded a little out there, Ben found Vinata’s passion endearing. It made him hope he could meet these dryads.

“How do you maintain this arrangement?” he asked. “Do you have some way of communicating with the forest? What stops the trees from attacking you?” He still found it hard to imagine trees attacking people, but he was learning not to rule anything out of the realm of possibility in this strange new world.

Vinata laughed. “Wow, you really don’t know much about dryads. We communicate with the forest. Many of the trees can talk, in their own peculiar language. Have you never heard them when the wind is blowing?”

“Can’t say that I have.” Ben wondered if these were the talking trees Melody had been so upset about in his hotel room. Something told him she and these dryad women could end up having some feisty altercations.

“Well, we can talk to these trees,” Vinata said.

“Can you tell me what they’re saying now?” he asked. They’d walked probably half a mile outside of the town now, and they were surrounded by nothing but dense forest. He trusted that Vinata could lead them back again.

Vinata blushed, her dusky cheeks turning a slightly darker shade. “I am inexperienced in our craft. I can only make out