Framework of the Frontier by Sain Artwell (top ten ebook reader TXT) 📕

William picked up a rock and brandished it at them as he continued walking. “Don’t get any funny ideas!”

They did.

The two monkeys followed, yipping louder, inching closer. William shook his rock again menacingly, but it only emboldened them. Their lips flipped backwards, revealing a row of needle teeth.

“Oh shit.”

Sprinting down the wall, the monkeys split off to flank him. Jaws snapped to catch his limbs, but not as fast as he would have imagined — not fast enough to catch him. William paused his sprint to swing the stone.

It cracked something in a monkey’s shoulder, sending it skidding on the stones. William ducked under the other monkey’s retaliatory dive. A rush of excitement and confidence swelled in him. “Alright, you fuckers, you wanna eat me? You’re gonna need to finish the entrée first!”

He shook his rock again.

The wounded monkey flinched, hissing and yipping. Its companion hopped over to help it retreat up the vines.

It was his victory. Tension dissolved in William’s shoulders.

“Good job little rock, good job.” He gave it a pat. “Though, I probably should’ve killed the slow one for food…” He sighed, continuing towards the smoke.

His idle thoughts drifted to the murdering cuboid and his old gang. Given that something obviously supernatural was afoot, it was a safe bet that they were here somewhere too.

William paused, turning around as a hint of guilt cinched his throat. He should’ve probably started with searching for them. While he had no doubt that Abraham and Daniel would know what to do, William wasn’t so sure about Mitchelle or Thomas surviving an attack of rabid monkeys. Yes, even Thomas. Just because the guy deserved a punch in the face didn’t mean he deserved to get eaten.

That said, there was an equally good chance they had woken up miles apart, who knows how many. Shaking his head, William dismissed the idea of a rescue operation. A man whose survival experience amounted to ‘walk towards smoke’ shouldn’t delude himself into thinking he could save others. He was already fortunate to have woken up before the monkeys or other beasts found him sleeping.

The others might not have been so lucky.

In somber mood, William crested a pile of rubble to reach a vantage point. From there he saw a town.

Rope bridges zig-zagged between the spires where the ancient archeways had crumbled. Wooden shacks and buildings of mis-matching bricks clung to the sides of the massive ruined spires like blocky polypores. Platforms normally overgrown by sub-tropical plants grew tidy crops.

“There he is. I told you it was that flash in the sky, Lidarein,” it was a man’s voice.

A soft female voice whispered,“…not magical, but be careful.”

Three people stood at the bottom of the rubble hill.

The girl had floppy ears, curved ram horns, and cloven hooved unguligrade legs coated with a silky doe-dotted blonde fur that stood against her deeply tanned skin. Generous curves squeezed against a pale leather top. Her wide luscious hips spread out from below a long skirt-like loincloth of colorful patterns, which matched her scarf.

If she was a golden ram, he was a black goat. Aside from extremely pointy chin and cheekbones, he was an average man, equipped with a vibrantly painted breastplate.

A long sharp whistle snapped William’s attention to the third, who he had assumed was human, until she lifted off a silvery spartan helmet. She had a face of mediterranean beauty, a neatly tied bun of charcoal hair, and long pointy ears. Her black leather and silver plate armor left a lot of her olive body bare, inadvertently guiding William’s eyes from her toned abs to perfectly proportioned hips, off of which hung a blade.

“Greetings traveler. I am Lidarein, the Chief Ranger of New Ea and the Frontier. We saw the light when you fell. Are you with the other four?” Lidarein asked.

William sensed a cautious reservation in her voice. The two others showed their wariness more openly as they spread out slowly. William took a half step back, tightening the grip on his rock. Immediately, the black goat man reached to draw taut his bow, but was stopped by the elf’s raised hand.

“Hold it,” she said to him, keeping her eyes on William as she spoke slowly. “Do you speak Nibir?”

“No.”

She blinked, her thin brows furrowing in confusion.

“I do understand you just fine. I am William.” He took another half-step backward. It wasn’t a great situation to be caught in, but the cautiously diplomatic approach of the trio implied a level of civility. Besides, she had mentioned ‘the other four’ and something about light in the sky. “Did you mean four others like me? Are they here? Are they alright?”

The male faun murmured something under his breath, making the elf glance up to the side.

“I do not know their fate, William, but we did nothing except defend ourselves in accordance with the Frontier law,” Lidarein said. “Also, since I’m the representative of said law, I am going to kindly request you to drop your rock and come with us. The Letter King will have questions for you.”

“Defended yourselves?”

“They attacked unprovoked. We fought back. Now, I don’t like attacking people based on a generalization, but for the sake of the people here, I’d suggest you comply for now.”

William looked at his rock, and at her. It was a rock yeah, but why was she so scared of it? He shook his head, trying to piece things together. It sounded like the others had come by and done something that made three fully kitted fantasy warriors wary to face a man in his boxers.

They must’ve had superpowers. I must have superpowers. Could I throw the rock like it was a cannon ball?

Oh shit…

William beheld the overgrown city behind him with a mix of dread and awe. Did they do this? Idiot. They couldn’t