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

around, William saw her eyes glazed over with a jovial smile. She dropped her sword and knelt towards the closest slug that extended its mouth to her face.

“Ember stay away from them!” William pulled her away, cutting through the slug with the blunt of his hammer.

Ember struggled to flee him, crying. “Noo! Don’t hurt them! Don’t hurt our friends, please don’t hurt them! How could you?”

“Ember, calm down.” William received an elbow in the nose.

Rulu screamed. One latched on her back. Sharp fins flared out all over her body and her luminescence sparked bright. She stunned it with her mind thrust and slugs around her dropped in rapid succession, but not quick enough.

They were surrounded, about to die.

And yet, William was an eye of serenity as he swung left handed, restraining Ember with his right. His blessing of willpower had seconds left. After that he had three more — too few for the swarm before them. I need to figure something out quickly.

“Rulu, we aren’t immune. Can you mindbend us to not kill ourselves?” William felt the mental shield faltering and rushed to bless himself again. Two left.

The aboleth bumped into his back. Her eyes jolted from creature to creature. “I’m not good at such subtle manipulation. The only way I know of is… No, I cannot not. It would damage your mind.”

“More damage than death by acid face kissers?” William shouted, kicking to send a small one flying and cutting another across its face.

Rulu’s attacks dropped two for every one he sliced. “I dare not. It would be irreparable.”

“Let me go! Let me go Will, please! I need to go to them.” Ember’s sobs gained a new level of insane desperation.

Her kick threw him off balance. A pair of slug lips latched onto his sword arm, searing through his sleeve and skin. He had no free hand to cut it off. The thing wrapped its tendrils around it and dug in.

William, cursed, kept on slashing, and re-cast the blessing that kept himself sane. “Stun Ember, confuse her, anything!”

The faun went limp in William’s arms.

If we do die here, it’s better she’s unconscious. No! If we die? I didn’t luck out on getting a chance at life here to die. Stop fucking moaning and fight! Roaring, William bit the face of the creature stuck on his arm. It let go and he slashed it for good measure.

Scores of them lay dead. If he killed them fast enough, maybe they had a chance, but he needed to get Ember and Rulu safe. Route back was blocked and escape impossible. But, on the left was an opening in the swarm, leading to a staircase.

“Up there! There’s an alcove above us. Rulu, with me. Hurry!” He shoved and hacked a path up the stairs, losing his footing when gravity abruptly flipped directions.

They both stumbled, slamming on a solid stone walkway. Standing up, William ushered the women to a narrow opening between strangely angled statues, and turned to face the squirming horde.

Calmness of the blessing began to leave him. Oh, shitsticks. Two out of ten lest, practically one unless I want to knock myself out.

Their voices reached his head once more. It was deeply unsettling how little real sound their tendrils made slurping and squirming against the ground. He hated everything about them. But, they were such good friends…

Before succumbing to the mindfuck, William blessed himself one last time. “Rulu, I’ll give you the last one—” William paused at the sight of her.

The prideful aboleth wiped blood from under her eyes and nose, fanning her gills desperately for air. Her limbs were covered in round burn wounds. “They resist my powers, but fret not, I shall not fall to mere vermin.”

She was at her limit.

No one was coming to help and no miracle powers came to his mind. All he could do was swing at the incoming creatures, sinking blade and hammer deep into their near gelatinous bodies. God, please, I’m your paladin right? I’m here on your mission so give your man a hand!

He kept on swinging and waiting for the answer. The blessing wore off and sounds began to invade his mind, lulling him to calm, to embrace them as his friends. Would closing his eyes help? Worth a try.

“William, come here…” They said, despite him squeezing eyes shut. He opened them again, trying to drown out the voices in his head.

Don’t listen.

Don’t listen.

Don’t listen!

Kill them, kill them, kill them.. “…kill it. Kill them. Kill them! Kill Them! KILL THEM!”

Shouting his lungs out to deafen the droning call, William kept on hacking, and began to murder his friends. Their gooey sticky blood splashed on his weapons and arms, drenching his body. He felt a stab of heart wrecking guilt every time he murdered one and wanted to cry, but kept on shouting, promising himself to kill them all even if it was the last thing he did. The swings had no technique behind them, only blind murderous rage.

His enemy was similarly single minded, driven by their desire to come embrace him.

William’s arms grew heavy and breaths ragged. When the onslaught seemed to calm, another one popped up.

A pale small one.

“KILL!” William swung the hammer full force at Rulu’s head. Her eyes locked on it, stopping the weapon half an inch from her temple.

Blood burst from her eyes and nose. Her voice shivered with desperation. “William, please calm down.”

“Oh… It’s… Over?” His heart drummed like on the last stretch of its last marathon. His lungs burned and irony goop coated his tongue. William turned around to behold the carnage spread across the walkway. Some of the corpses spilled over the edges, tumbling down.

His feelings of compassion towards the creatures faded like a nightmare, but the memories of slicing through his friends did not. William recalled that psychotic rage of splitting