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

They made short work of the gravel ghouls this time as well. Nipper feasted on their gelatinous corpses, although Melody made him leave a couple of corpses, allowing her to refine some more mana crystal.

Ben shook his head at Nipper, wondering how such a small creature could eat so much. Where was it all going? The little kitten ought to have expanded like a balloon after consuming so much flesh, but he remained as tiny as ever.

Melody insisted their child’s carnivorous habits were cute. She cooed over him like a proud mother as he chewed up and swallowed chunks of flesh. Ben wasn’t so sure. He’d always had a strong stomach for gore, but watching a kitten do this took some adjusting.

Ben also found in this fight that his range had increased slightly. He was able to drain the strength from the gravel ghouls at four yards now, and the women received more strength when he transferred it to them. The attrition was growing less problematic.

As they were walking down the hallway after slaughtering the gravel ghouls, Nipper let out a groan. His face took on the disturbing expression common among cats before they cough up a hairball.

Ben turned to look at him, convulsing. “Are you sick, buddy? Just a thought—maybe don’t gorge yourself until you puke next time.”

Melody shook her head. “I don’t think he’s sick.”

Nipper was shaking by this point.

“Well, what’s making him do that then?” Ben thought he ought to have felt sorry for the kitten, but it was difficult to have any sympathy when the child had been so greedily consuming monster flesh.

Melody stared at the kitten, her eyes wide with wonder. “I think he’s--”

“He’s changing!” Imogen burst in, waving the torch she carried with excitement.

Nipper’s fur started rapidly falling off in certain places, leaving bald patches of skin on his shoulders, back and head. He opened his mouth wide and yowled, as his front teeth popped out.

“Shouldn’t we do something?” Ben asked, starting to feel a bit worried.

But the women stared at him like he was an adorable kitten. Technically he was, but he didn’t look that way anymore. For some reason the women seemed to find this transformation normal.

Nipper arched his back, and his bones made a crunching and popping sound. His frame expanded, and he grew in height, until his head reached Ben’s knee.

Then the skin on his back burst open like a ripped paper bag, and a huge bony plate jutted through. Another one appeared on his head, and a third on his shoulders, each one locking together.

The empty sockets in his mouth spurted blood, then clear liquid. A grinding noise sounded in his jaws, and two enormous teeth grew into place. When Nipper was finally able to close his mouth, the giant fangs rested on either side of his lower jaw, like the teeth of a saber-tooth tiger.

He was a great cat now, covered in armor that appeared to be made of stone. His bright purple eyes blazed with new energy. He growled, loudly. His growl was lower than before, but still with a high-pitched note, like a teenager’s breaking voice.

He looked up at Ben and padded over to him, nuzzling his hand.

Bewildered, Ben scratched Nipper’s ears. Nipper purred loudly.

“You better not try nipping me now,” Ben warned. “I’m not into losing fingers.”

Melody and the nymphs oohed and ah-ed over the growing cat and bent down to pet him.

“How did this happen so fast?” Ben wondered out loud.

Melody looked up at him. “His armor is made of stone. I think that must mean it comes from the gravel ghouls he was eating.”

“So, he changes depending on what he eats?” Ben scratched his head. “It’ll be interesting to see how much he changes in the future.”

They set off down the hallway again. Nipper, as large as a tiger by now, padded alongside Ben.

Finally, they reached a great door, larger than any entrance they’d seen prior to this point. Above the doorway, a large frieze was carved into the dark gray stone, depicting a knight riding on horseback. The knight stared up at a figure who looked like a lord, riding a winged monster.

The stone still had flecks of paint adhering in places. The knight was evidently wearing golden armor, while the lord he faced was clothed entirely in black. His monstrous steed was also black as night.

The knight’s pose looked heroic as he brandished his sword threateningly. The lord’s face was disfigured and distorted, anything but attractive. Ben wondered who this evil lord and his opponent might have been.

Imogen let out a cry of recognition.

Ben turned to look at her.

“I know this artwork,” she said. “It is believed to have been carved by the first priestess of the Oreads.”

“Is it a real event?” Ben asked. “Who are the people in this artwork?”

“That is the Gallant Knight,” Imogen explained. “He faced down Benzhameen, the Forgotten Ruler in battle.”

“Benzhameen?” Ben echoed. “Why do you say the name of the Forgotten Ruler like that? Melody said my name that way.”

Imogen looked at Ben in surprise. “Your name? Benjamin. Yes, I suppose your name does sound a little like the name of the Forgotten Ruler.”

Ben looked at Melody, and she looked back at him with a mildly amused expression.

“And why does the Forgotten Ruler look so ugly?” Ben asked.

Imogen shrugged. “I don’t understand that myself. I have heard of this battle, and my people always spoke of the Forgotten Ruler’s conduct with high praise. Perhaps someone has modified this sculpture. I cannot imagine that my ancestors would have depicted the Forgotten Ruler in this way.”

“Perhaps,” Ben mused. Maybe it was petty, but he was a little offended by the way he had been depicted on the stone wall.

Before he could think on the matter any further, however, the door began to open with a loud creak. Nipper sniffed defiantly. Nipper’s newly evolved condition gave Ben confidence that they could face more powerful enemies.

A loud