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

eyes. “She said when she was with you, you found a stone slab covered in strange symbols in the forest. She had such a strange look when she talked about it. Like she couldn’t stop thinking about it. I didn’t think she would go back to it without us.” Imogen began softly sobbing again.

“This sounds like the emotional manipulation you told me about,” Ben said to Melody.

She nodded gravely. “It does.”

“I didn’t realize last night that Vinata was thinking about going back,” Ben said. “She complained that the vegetation there was tainted. It’s the last thing I would have expected.”

“You can never predict how the dungeon will attract its victims,” Melody said solemnly.

Imogen and Lulu looked at the catgirl curiously.

“We think Vinata has been drawn to a dungeon,” Melody announced to them both.

The nymph women gasped.

“What can we do?” Lulu asked.

“Will Vinata die?” Imogen asked, trying her best to hold back her tears.

“Not if I can do anything to stop it,” Ben said. “I didn’t save you all just to have you killed the next day. We’ll go and find her.”

“Thank you, Benjamin.” Lulu nodded at me gratefully.

Imogen tried to speak, but was choked by tears. She was in no state to help on a rescue mission.

Ben reached out a hand to take some of her negative emotion away, then he stopped himself. He had justified tampering with the women’s emotions the day before because it was necessary to save them. But now the women were free and in their right minds. The right thing to do would be to ask, and not simply to manipulate their emotions whenever he felt like it.

“Imogen.” He looked down at the slight mountain nymph. “Do you want me to take some of your sadness away?”

She looked up at me, troubled and confused.

“Just enough so that you can help us rescue Vinata without being overcome,” Ben explained.

Imogen looked relieved and grateful. “If you can do that, I would be very grateful.”

“Melody, grab my scimitar, please, and your wand. We will need them.”

Melody nodded and went inside.

Ben summoned his mana, which was already full again. Had it simply regenerated through the night, or had the vigorous relaxation he’d shared with Melody last night contributed somehow?

He focused on Imogen’s emotions, holding out one hand, while the other continued to cradle Nipper. Imogen’s feelings were overwhelmed by a big mess of sadness, floating heavily over her like a fog.

He absorbed some of this gloomy cloud into himself, until he could see Imogen perking up. He didn’t want to take so much away that he was distorting her emotions. That didn’t seem like the right thing to do with those he might consider my friends. And he didn’t want to make himself depressed before going into a dangerous situation.

Ben’s own positive mood was enough to dispel most of the sadness he absorbed without being weighed down by it. And Imogen was left, if not happy, at least able to function.

She gave Ben a timid but grateful smile, and got to her feet.

Melody returned with her wand and the scimitar.

“Are we all ready to find Vinata?” he asked.

The two nymphs nodded at him. They were both unarmed. Ben wondered if they would be able to join in the fight using spells. He didn’t know exactly what sort of magic an oread or an undine might be able to use. Hopefully it would be useful in a dungeon.

Before they left, Lulu grabbed a water skin from the nearest hut—a good call, in Ben’s opinion. He had no idea how long they might be gone, or whether they would find any water in the dungeon.

“What should I do with Nipper?” Ben asked Melody.

She waved a hand dismissively. “Bring him with us.”

“Are you sure? A dungeon doesn’t seem like a safe place for a newborn.”

“It may be dangerous, but Nipper is a monster,” Melody explained. “He will grow quickly.”

Ben did look forward to seeing that, and it was not as if he liked the idea of leaving Nipper alone here, either. He took the lead, and they left the village, heading in the direction he and Vinata had gone to find food the night before.

The nymphs regarded Nipper with curiosity, but didn’t ask any questions. They were evidently preoccupied with the fate of their closest friend. Ben was happy not to have to try and explain that this little monster was technically his child.

They’d barely started walking before Nipper squirmed his way out of Ben’s arms. His first instinct was to resist, to pick him back up, but he quickly thought better of it. Ben figured his son would have to walk on his own before long. The little monster dashed along the path ahead, chasing butterflies, lizards, anything that moved.

It took around a half an hour, as Ben guessed it, to reach the stone slab from the night before. At first, he wasn’t sure of where it was. Eventually, however, he felt the same tug at his insides that he’d felt last time. If what Melody said was right, this was what it felt like to be drawn to the ancient relics of his power. Despite the danger they were walking toward, a thrill ran through him.

As they finally reached the heavy slab, he searched the faces of the women to see if they felt anything. Their expressions all appeared troubled.

Nipper, however, didn’t show any fear. He eagerly scratched at the surface of the stone. Perhaps as Ben’s child, he was as eager as his father to get at the relics.

“Can you make any sense of these symbols?” Ben asked Melody, hoping she might have learned something that would help in the Arcanarium.

She knelt and studied the symbols for several long moments, but eventually shook her head. “The entrance is closed to me.”

Ben racked his brain for other options. “Imogen, are you able to pull back the stone? You are strong enough to do that aren’t you? If we could just see underneath it, we might know whether Vinata would have