Framework of the Frontier, Sain Artwell [read me a book .TXT] 📗

of magical energies dancing around the gateway in a pattern of impossibly intricate perfection. Her jaw dropped as she watched the veil of a building settle back in and conceal the gateway as if it had never existed.

“It’s hidden behind an illusion huh?” Will stated.

“No. That was something else.” Ember rushed to scribble details into her notebook. “Some kind of spatial distortion. I’d need to see it again a hundred times to say for sure. I’ve never seen magic like it. It’s… It’s perfect. Absolute peak perfect. Even more polished than Letter King’s fortress. It’s like…”

It has to be the Maze.

A gleeful realization washed Ember with a grin inducing thrill.

She bounced on her hooves, clinging onto Will. “It has to be a Primordial Maze. I think this is it. It has to be. Oh my gods!”

Ember squeezed him tight until a thought occurred to her. Letter King hired him to find this. He’s after the same thing.

She let him go, taking a step back as her guts sank. But Will wouldn’t let go of her hand.

He gave her a compassionate frown. “Why the long face fluffy butt? This is what you came here for right? Let’s go take a closer look.”

“But the Letter King hired you to find it too didn’t she? She can claim anything we find as hers with her authority over the colony. This is what she wanted right? Figures. It was too good to be true that some loser like me would find it and get something for it…” Ember’s voice trembled with an angry sob.

“Hey, wowow, hold-on. You’re jumping into conclusions here. I’m not taking this away from you. I was hired to find a rod. Which… Well, it was sort of a secret too, but it’s definitely not this dungeon that I was hired to find. Don’t worry. You can keep it.”

“Oh no. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that.” Ember cringed, feeling guilty and angry now. She covered her face in shame. “Sorry. I’m a dum-dum. I didn’t mean to make it sound like you would steal it. You wouldn’t. I… I’m afraid. This could be it. This could prove I wasn’t a complete moron, that I’m not useless. This is…”

“Shhh. I get it. You’ve put a shit ton of work into this. It would suck if someone swooped in to steal it.” He stroked her hair with gentle affection that pierced with warmth.

Ember sniffled, pushing against his caress. “I didn’t mean to keep it all. A party splits things evenly, but I thought Letter King was going to confiscate it from you. Sorry. Ahh, I’m so relieved. I finally found the Maze.”

She chuckled and sighed through a wide smile.

He had a cheery grin. “Sounds like a reason to celebrate. How about a small party tonight? We can plan out how to best deal with the golems and start prepping for the dungeon now that we know where it is.”

Ember wiped her eyes as she stood and stole a quick surprise kiss. “Thank you, Will.”

A handsome and kind Ranger is helping me delve into the Primordial Maze! I hope this continues forever, and ever, and then, after forever, some more. Just ask and I’ll have your babies right now. Just ask Will. PLEASE ASK!

“Hm?” He quirked a brow at her. “You’re looking funny.”

“N-nothing! Nothing at all!”

More than a little embarrassed of her daydreams, Ember covered her face in a happy squeal.

Fluffy feelings kept her floating throughout the rest of their scouting trip, all the way until they returned to Nastall, where a large group of noisily laughing adventurers had made camp inside the Ranger’s office.

11

“Hey, what the hell?” William shouted as he marched up to a bronze skinned and red-bearded faun smoking in the doorframe.

His attention remained on two shortstack goblins who giggled right up until William was about to step into his office. The man moved up to block him. “Whoa there, no strangers past this point.”

“Strangers? This is my office.” William tapped the bronze star.

The faun raised his brow at it. “‘Sweet trinket.” He whistled towards the chatter indoors. “Ey, Rajza you wanna meet Nastall’s new dirt star? This guy’s fresh off the train.”

“No way! A new Ranger?” A deep voiced man’s cheerful shout cut off the babble and music. “Kitten wasn’t spinning up bard-shit to annoy me after all?”

“Nah, looks like she was speaking the truth,” replied the faun.

A golden blonde male version of Nevija and Raia appeared in the door with a wide catty grin that did not reach his blue eyes. Rajza had an almost uncannily pronounced square jaw and sturdy muscular build to match. Bundles of trinkets hung from over his tattooed chest and on his belt rested a small collection of blades.

Behind Rajza, William saw a group of strangers who had made merry in his lobby.

And there, right on the reception, desk lounged a pair of familiar felines. Nevija mouthed a ‘hello’ and waved her fingers.

“Will, right?” Rajza stepped up to pat William’s shoulder and take his hand into a shake. The man dropped his smile into a confused surprise. “What’s with the stumped look? Come in, come in. Let me provide the new Ranger a roof tonight.”

William guided his hand off his shoulder, maintaining a firm eye-contact as jitters ran down his spine. He’d hated dealing with this type. The one that thought themselves the alpha monkey and dragged around a big cackling pack to back them up. Back home they’d been mostly teenagers who nine times out of ten ran off when he shouted that cops were on their way. Here he was now, hundred miles out in the middle of nowhere, ‘the brave lone Ranger’ facing an adventurer gang that would’ve fit right in with some viking-bikers.

God damn. Becoming a lawman in a fantasy frontier might’ve been the worst idea ever.

William