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

neck and huge festering wounds where her dress had been burned by the acid. Out of the three of them Ember was the least injured, and still she felt like the most useless one.

She took the rearguard with her bow as the trio filed out of their hiding spot. Right above them, on one of the many gravity defying bridges, a golem walked upside down. They followed at a safe distance as it left the strange room, trekked through the circular hallways, and opened an exit.

That’s where they ambushed it.

“Yoo-hoo, Mr. Golem. There’s an intruder here,” Will taunted.

It turned around and made the mistake of meeting Rulu’s gaze. It’s eye sparked in pink static. The nimble aboleth scaled the fifteen foot construct in a flash and worked her psychic magics to bring it tumbling down.

Will hefted his hammer with both hands. “This might take a little longer than usual. I have one blessing left, but would rather keep it for a true emergency.”

“And you do owe me one still.” Rulu moved out of the way, allowing Will to start chipping at the stone.

He chuckled at Rulu. Hardened steel clinked against stone in a rhythmic tune with his heavy breathing. “Oops, might’ve forgotten. You’ll get some when we’re not in peril, though I need to keep some for myself.”

“For what purpose?” Rulu tilted her head.

Will paused for a swing. “Practise. I have to figure out the limits of my powers — blessings, auras, and whatever else I might have.“ He wiped sweat on the metallic glove, taking a breather as an intense expression took hold of his brows. “From what I’ve seen of this world so far, I get the feeling that I’ll need more power, a bit more. I don’t need to be godlike, but I want to feel like I can protect those important to me. Though, let’s be honest, half of the danger could probably be avoided if I wasn’t a gullible moron.”

That look he gave Ember — with sweat on his brow and muscles ripe for groping — that look sent a powerful shiver through her core, chest, and brain. It was the first time in her life that Ember had truly wanted to be someone’s own.

Rulu’s cheeks and gills grew a bit pinker than before. Her voice was a touch more feminine. “Admirable, even enviable.”

He let out a hearty, if a little uncomfortable snort. “Thanks. Don’t read too much into it. My thoughts are a bit of a mess after… Well. They need some sorting later. Luckily we found the bottomless whiskey flask.”

Poor Will. Ember wanted to hug him, but she wouldn’t hinder his work.

Rulu patted his arm. “The winding tunnels to growth are deceptive and labyrinthine, more so than any maze, and riddled with dead-ends disguised as short-cuts. I shall aid you in this, William. After all, you are granting me a great favor with your blessings.”

“Thanks. That’d be great. I could use any pointers I can get.” William and Rulu shared a look that made Ember feel distant, as if she was a frog complacent in mud and watched swallows take off.

He continued chipping at the golem, while Rulu suppressed it. Those two were amazing. Ember turned away and gave herself a slap on the forehead, trying to focus. She needed to keep an eye out for danger and contribute with what little she could. Don’t start moping now Ember. Be better. Be worthy of Will’s love.

William let out a gratified groan when the golem’s eye rolled off clean. “Man, I got the finger tingles and arm tingles.”

“Hopefully we’re somewhere close to Nastall.” Ember offered the anti-magic chest for him to drop the core in.

Opening the door, they were greeted by the silver light of the stars, the moons and the belt. Nightbugs sang their chirrup and somewhere nearby trickled a stream. In the distance howled a low growling voice. They emerged on a hill covered in short bushy conifers and thick trunked moria with knotted branches. Crumbled walls and buried structures poked through the ground.

“Fresh free air, at last.” Will drew a deep inhale.

Ember breathed in too and smiled. The dankness of the dungeon was replaced by a thousand sleeping flowers and an earthy mix of trees. They were somewhere in the Frontier, not by the sea.

“Come, we should see where we might be.” Ember took the first step to scale the hill. She felt her stomach grumble and a hard pang of hunger.

Will yawned. “If we aren’t within a few hour’s walk of it, let’s find a camp for the night.”

They scaled the top of a domed structure sitting on the apex of the hill. Bats flew in and out through the windows into the darkness visible in the dome’s cracks, but did not bother them as they looked at the surrounding landscape.

Wood shrouded ruins rose to the south in a cloud piercings mountain range. “Those are the towers of Epelos, I think.” Ember pointed west, where the forests grew thicker and the ruins no longer peeked through them. “That must be… I actually don’t know, but the flatland to the north of us I do. Those are the Cursed Fields, a flatland of some hundreds of miles of dry savannah of hay, pines, and ravines cracked deep into the earth. At the center lies the Graveyard of Heroes, the place where they say died the last wizard of Iram. I think I may know where we are, roughly speaking.”

“Anywhere close to Nastall or New Ea?” Will asked.

“Two to three days walk from Nastall, if we go to the towers of Epelos we should be able to spot the Twin Statues.”

“Sleepy-time it is.”

“I do not see any bodies of water nearby.” Rulu sounded worried.

“There’s a trickle somewhere downhill where we came from,” Ember said.

Rulu suppressed a delighted giggly sound. “Yesss. That shall