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

took a deep breath, trying to make it seem like it was him sucking in anger rather than the trembles of doubt. He knew he was strong. But strong enough to mop these guys? No clue, but he knew that if he let anyone walk over him now it was all over — his gig as the Ranger, his mission, Ember…

Don’t think about their swords. Be firm. Be the authority.

“This is the Ranger’s office, and you’re trespassing. I’m going to have to ask you to vacate the building.”

“Oh?” Rajza’s face went wide with shock that had to be faked. “Will wants us to move. Aww, shit. Hey, I’m so sorry everyone, apparently he’s claiming this building now. I’m so sorry everyone. Damn. Hey, Will, we’ll move first thing tomorrow. Is that okay?”

Yea, not playing that game.

William shook his head slowly as he patted Rajza’s shoulder. “Come on now. This is the Ranger’s office. Anyone who doesn’t want to be arrested can start packing. Chop-chop.”

Some of them began to stand up and William noticed that only four of them matched the general feel of Rajza and redbeard, wearing double the tats and bling on them than the ten others combined.

So he isnt’ a leader, but a well liked linchpin?

Uncertainty flickered on Rajza’s face. Poor dude. He had probably never faced a man who’d taken practice debating Karens at a mall. The guy was outmatched.

Rajza’s eyes tightened dangerously as he raised his voice. “I’d have thought a Ranger would provide protection to Nastall, rather than come here and bully adventurers who come to seek shelter from the night.”

“Boo!” Heckled one of the beta monkeys. “That’s right. He oughta be protecting us.”

William saw exactly where this set-up was heading. Glancing back at Ember he noticed she was silent and frigid, scared of confrontation. Fuck, I need some way to de-escalate, or knock him out. Knock out six of the obvious troublemakers? William wasn’t sure, nor did he have an urge to test limits right now.

“Alright, I understand how there might’ve been a misunderstanding considering the building has been empty for a while and I was out scouting, but—”

Rajza interrupted, “New Ranger comes here and spends all day goofing off while us poor adventurers have to cower here in fear of beasts and suffer water contamination by a deep sea siren. Outrageous!”

“Now that’s a fat lie,” William said, “The water is perfectly clean. I drank it this morning.”

“Every stream down Nastall is ruined,” said Nevija from the back.

Rajza spat and snorted, looking around the crowd with a face of exaggerated disbelief. “Hear that? Dodging responsibility. What a cowardly excuse of a Ranger this man is. I think I oughta take the star to carry if it’s too heavy. Think I’d be a natural fit, no?”

William put a hand on his hammer, mentally preparing to place it through the man’s skull. “Are you threatening a Ranger? That is a punishable offense.”

“Threatening? Am I? Am I threatening to you, Ranger?”

God give me strength to not draw first.

Nevija pushed into the conversation from the side, placing a hand on them both. “It’s true what he’s saying though. There is a creature in the lake of the Palace Falls poisoning many of the streams. Isn’t that right?”

“Ye, an ugly boggersnapper, saw it with me own eyes!” Confirmed one of the goblin ladies.

“See? He’s dodging his duty,” Rajza stated smugly. “What’ll it be, fake Ranger? You want to arrest me for coming to tell you to do your job? Maybe I oughta take the star?”

Fury warmed William’s ears.

He was being played, he knew, but he didn’t care anymore. He shouted as hard as he could without cracking his voice, right in the asshole’s face and poked his chest, “Alright! I will go. Tomorrow. But one more word about taking the star and I am going to interpret that as a threat, take you down, and lock you up.”

“Pfft! Haha! I’m—”

William lifted his finger right up against Rajza’s face.“One. More. Word.”

The feline’s gaze tensed as he slowly closed his sneering mouth. William felt his heart beating all the way up to his neck as he watched Rajza’s weapon in the corner of his eye.

Redbearded faun placed a hand on his friend’s shoulder and nodded towards the people around them. Rajza’s eyes flickered through the crowd, then shot William a death glare, before walking past him into the neighboring building, muttering under his breath.

William toiled with several shades of irritation at once: A growing irritation of being painted as a lazy asshole, a subsiding regretful anger of not punching Rajza’s face, and a third simmering irritation over the feeling of being played.

As the adventurers packed their things a long fluffy red tail tickled William’s arm. Nevija gave him a pout of a girl who wasn’t in the slightest bit guilty. “Mister Ranger, we’re so, so sorry your evening was soured. It might’ve been partially our fault that Rajza came along, but we’re ready to repent very personally.” She touched his arm suggestively, while emphasizing her meaning with a naughty bite of a lip.

“Sorry mister Ranger,” echoed Raia with an equally bratty grin shining through her faux pose of shame.

“Yeah, right. I kind of had a hunch you two were professional troublemakers already.” William pushed their hands off of him, while giving them a stern glare. The cat girls were hot as hell, but he had no intention of letting any would be succubus trick him with sex. Besides, he could sense Ember glowering behind him.

Nevija tilted her head with a hurt frown. “Don’t be mean. We aren’t bad girls. Trouble is more of a side-business than our mainstay. We simply thought, ‘hey why not save mister Ranger some trouble by bringing the troublemakers to him’.”

“How generous of you…”

“There are ways you could show your thankfulness,” she said with a singy