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

“It’s a pity I couldn’t have gotten them to move on from the tower.”

“It is,” Melody agreed. “But we are in this position now. They would not have left, even if you had begged them. The Realm’s mages might treat monsterkin like worms, but they treat each other with the utmost respect and hospitality. For you to force them to leave would have given away your true nature almost immediately. They would have understood something was amiss, and it would not have been long before even more mages would have arrived at your door. You did a wise thing, Benjamin.”

Ben was glad that Melody had said all that. It certainly made him feel better about their current situation. His back was against the wall, and the only way out of this mess was to murder three mages and a dozen soldiers.

Well, maybe it wouldn’t technically be murder. Not if they were all responsible for the capture, torture, and murder of monsterkin children. Which, if the words of Adremor and Uzax were anything to go by, was undoubtedly true.

“I’m not sure what it’s going to take to defeat these mages,” he said. “I still don’t know how powerful their spells really are.” Ben could feel his heart pounding as he thought about this battle. Since he’d arrived, he’d fought in three different battles, but none of them had been against trained mages.

As he considered the second battle he’d fought, against the mountain ogres, an idea struck him.

“Melody, do we still have those null locks?”

Melody paused, then smiled as she realized what he was thinking. “Three null locks for three mages.”

“Exactly,” Ben said.

Sir Gallant the Younger clapped his hands.

“They are in your bedchamber. I stowed them there after we arrived here,” Melody said.

“Perfect,” Ben said. “Melody, you retrieve the null locks, then summon the nymphs and Sir Gallant the Elder. I will lock the dining hall and send as many monsters against the mages as I can. Then I will join you.”

“What about me?” Sir Gallant the Younger asked. “What should I do once I have expended all my mana on summoning monsters?”

“What can you do apart from hide?” Ben asked.

“I can sneak in unnoticed during the fighting and stab in places no one would expect,” the small statue belligerently asserted. “A tiny blade can still cause a great amount of pain if plunged into the right orifice.”

Ben looked at him sceptically. “Perhaps. Or you could get squashed by a stray foot.”

“If you all get killed, I might as well get squashed.” The homunculus appeared deflated at this possibility.

Ben was touched by the diminutive knight’s devotion.

“Without Sir Gallant the Elder here to torment, my life would be meaningless,” Sir Gallant finished.

Ben stifled a laugh. “I might have expected as much. Very well, you can remain with me here until we’re done summoning the monsters, then you and I will go to the dining hall if the monsters don’t work. Placing the null locks on the mages will be dangerous, so that should be a last resort. We want to overwhelm them and kill them with the monsters if we can. We’ll only enter the Dining Hall ourselves if it’s absolutely necessary. Melody, go and inform the nymphs about our plan. We don’t have much time.”

Melody left, and Ben turned to his controls. He prepared himself for the most difficult battle of his short career.

Chapter Seventeen

Sir Gallant the Younger sat on Ben’s shoulder as Ben adjusted settings and monitored the feed to the Dining Hall. The homunculus offered all sorts of unwanted advice, mostly about how to operate controls that had very self-explanatory titles. Ben tried not to let on that the tiny knight was annoying him, however. He suspected that would only delight him all the more.

In the dining hall, Adremor and Uzax were getting restless.

“Where is our food?” Adremor asked in a loud voice. “Damnit, those nymphs are slow!”

“Cooking certainly isn’t their strong point,” Uzax remarked. “No matter. I’m sure we can find other uses for them in the Xurian Realm.” The Pyromancer grinned lasciviously.

“You’re not thinking of bedding those monsters, are you?” Adremor wrinkled his nose in disgust.

Uzax spat. “Never. There are unscrupulous men in the Grand Vizier’s court who would give much to brag of deflowering the princesses of the monsterkin, though.”

Adremor picked up one of the knives from the sideboard, using telekinesis, and made it float toward him. He twirled the knife about and spun it in circles, studiously avoiding looking at Uzax.

“You always were as devious in the merchant cities as in the forests on the hunt, Uzax. I shall leave such distasteful bargaining to you.”

Uzax grunted in acknowledgement.

Ben noticed that Lexi did not take part in the conversation, keeping her eyes on her plate. Whether that was because it was distasteful to her as well, or simply because she feared the wrath of her companions, Ben couldn’t say.

Ben checked over his controls. He looked at the feed outside the Dining Hall. Melody and the nymphs were waiting out of sight but close by, ready to join in the action. Sir Gallant the Elder was with them, his giant broadsword sheathed on his back, where he could easily reach it.

He had Ben’s scimitar lying on a table not far away as well. That would allow Ben to grab it before entering the fight. Ben hadn’t suddenly grown in skill with the weapon over the past few days; he would need to eventually find someone to teach him how to wield it, but he would feel a whole lot more comfortable facing these mages armed, if it came to that.

Now, there was nothing left to prepare. It was time to bring in the personnel to wait on the guests.

With one hand on the glyph totem for the vine monsters, Ben selected a series of locations with his other hand on the ceiling and floor to plant them. The selections all glowed red, ready to confirm.

Ben selected the control to lock the dining hall doors. He hit