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

core with haste, I am suppressing them both, but more may come. The chest sits at the center of the road.”

William realized that his blessing had run out when the impact of hammer hitting stone reverberated in his spine. “Blessing of Strength,” he rushed under breath and swung again.

Details of the world slowly returned to him as they took care of the two golems. Warmth and sweat began to tingle under William’s armored arms from the workout.

“Five incoming, in twenty.” Ember warned over the parapet two stories above them.

Trotto’s swing chipped off the last core. “Fuck, let’s get out of here, hide, and re-group.”

“I’ll get the chest.” William shut it after Trotto dropped in the core.

Ember’s eyes shot wide as she panicked, “Onemoretheotherdirection-stairs! Behind you!”

Its head popped into view from the same stairs the mushroom-fro had climbed, only this one had a full head of cave-man hair and beard of dark spongy moss. The eye’s outline grew wobbly behind a mirage of heat.

William threw the hammer in a last ditch effort to deflect the ray. A jet of water shot from the side, splashing on the eye as it sparked. His hammer spun out past the eye, missing magnificently.

“Do not interfere,” Rulu barked as her fluorescence oscillated erratically.

“Oh my, I am sorry dear,” Duhie said.

“Great job Rulu, can you hold it?” William lifted the clattering chest on his shoulder and ushered Trotto and Rulu towards an alley too narrow for the golems. They squeezed in — women first, trolls last. Armor screaked against stone and then stopped.

Trotto cursed. “I’m stuck.”

“Oh no, no no. No, no. You made it through fine before. Pull your stomach in. Pull it in.” Duhie tried to shove her way back through Rulu and William.

“Calm down and run, I’ll get him.” William gripped Trotto’s plate covered arm to pull him, but the yank only served to elicit a suffering grunt from the troll. His chestplate was jammed between two curvy carvings of dragonic ladies.

“Core room golems are on the street, coming down to you. Hurry up. Where are you guys?” Orien’s voice echoed from above.

Trotto bellowed back at her, “Got stuck! We’re coming, don’t worry hun.”

“Will, Rulu, are you okay?”

“We’re fine,” William replied to Ember.

Can I bless myself and pull him out or will that rip his arm off? Will his arm grow back, since he regenerates? Maybe I could—

Sponge moss bearded golem peeked into the alley. Its eye glowed. Rulu stunned it on its tracks, but several more pairs of heavy steps approached. Even she could only mind blast two at once.

“Bless me William.” Rulu squeezed his hand, stealing a quick kiss on her toes. “Bless me, and I will hold them all.”

“I bless your strength, Rulu. I’ll fight with you.”

A flash of dread, longing, death-wish, and selfless courage flickered through in their brief connection. She was afraid this was her last day. She wanted to make it a day worth remembering. We’ll sort you out later silly little axolotl. I won’t let the depths take you. She scurried over him and Trotto like a sexy gecco.

“Gonna borrow this.” William gripped Trotto’s enormous axe.

Trotto let go. “Thanks, Ranger.”

“Blessing of strength,” William muttered and leapt over him.

He flew over the stairway alley, the street, and the six golems surrounding Rulu. She spun around, running her gaze through them, but it wasn’t enough. Though Rulu stopped any of them before a laser fried her, the constructs still moved, twitching in jerks like a stop-motion show of stone on meth.

Landing past the fight, William sandals skidded on stone as he sprinted to turn. He dropped the antimagic-chest and jumped on a golem’s shoulders, bringing up the blunt end of Trotto’s axe to crack its core off, but its body jerked in sudden motion and threw him off balance.

He raised arms up in protection. Mithril scraped on stone on the way down, as did his knee. With a lung emptying thunk, William was on his back, on the ground, and opened his guard. A foot was about to paste his brains.

He caught it.

“William, it seems I cannot suppress six at once,” Rulu said, her voice fraught with stress. Where golems struck towards her blind spots, she had to compensate with her telekinetic barriers. The sight of blood trickling on her cheek, swelled a surge of protective fury in William’s chest.

“Hold on!” He grunted, benching the few kiloton golem by its foot. It tripped over. Before another foot could stomp his leg, William was on it. Three full body swings with the blunt of the axe cracked the core off.

“Fuck, the chest is closed!”

“Will! Will, I’ll help!” Ember skipped down from a platform two stores above with little goat-hops, huffing as she ran up to the chest to clip it open. He tossed the core in and she caught it.

“Thanks, love.” They shared a split second grin.

He returned to Rulu’s aid. The golems all focused on her, to their detriment. William landed heavy swings, sending a crack spider webbing across the stone, and finishing the job. Ember caught the core.

He moved on to the next.

Sharp hot pain spiked in William’s knee when his weight was on it. Something in there made an ugly crunching sound.

William repeated the blessing when it ran out, weaved under the stone fists, and swung the axe in an arm numbing barrage wherever he found an opportunity. Burning in his knee heated up, slowing him down, but so slowed the golems. Each core in the chest was one less for Rulu to manage, lengthening the spans she could keep them stunned, until eventually, the situation was under control.

William’s heartbeat steadied when the chest was clipped shut. Vestiges of his divine might fading, he started to feel like lead noodles with tungsten sauce.

“Good job…” He tousled Rulu’s