Simians

  Bret bounced around the timeline as quickly as his amulet would allow and pinpointed exactly when Astrid was taken. He came up with a plan. Arrived outside the building where she was captured early enough to allow his amulet to recharge before he needed to act. He got in position and waited on a stone bench eating his lunch, but the man who abducted her never showed up and more importantly, Astrid never left the building. After a few minutes he went in and the office she rented to handle business meetings for The Hunter’s Dungeon was empty. Bret bounced back through the timeline to find she had been abducted earlier in the day.

  He came up with a new plan and used his amulet to position herself. The man who had subdued her and teleported away never showed and once again, neither did Astrid. Bret cursed, but when he felt a portal opening behind him, he activated his amulet and left.

  Safely back in his apartment during the current timeline, he looked out the window to see the Malefic Author;s two thugs hop into the black suv before it quickly pulled out behind the bus. Frustrated, he flopped down on his couch to gather his thoughts. “They have to have a chronomancer. That is the only thing that could explain it.”

  After a few minutes, he went to his safe room. At least, he had some good news there. The array he had placed in orbit had detected a concentration of draconic essence in …Denmark? Troldeskoven? How the hell do you even pronounce…ohhh? Bret thought as his translation skill informed him it was the Troll Forest. Should have known the cliff hanging son of a gun would live there.

  Pulling out his best stationary, the back of a menu from a pizza place that had been stuffed in his door at some point, he began furiously writing out everything he knew about the situation and detailed some plans to try and get the dungeon back in the hands of its creator. Activating his amulet, he found himself standing outside a decent sized estate on the edge of the national park a couple days later. Sliding through the shadows to avoid detection by both technological and magical means, he made his way to the gate to tape the plastic wrapped letter to the gate.

  *****

  Rollo walked up to the gate and examined the plastic bag taped to it. When Ragnar felt Rollo’s anger flare, he quickly stepped out of the vehicle and peered into the surrounding woodline. “He’s been here. He left a menu from the pizza place down the street from his apartment. I think it is a threat.” He said as he held the bag out. Ragnar saw his twin's eyes go wide and he grabbed the menu with both hands and began reading something written on the back.

  Rollo turned the menu around and handed it to Ragnar who read it quickly. “We need to show this to the boss.”

  *****

  Bret was back to the future/past working on plan B. It wasn’t going too well. He was beginning to suspect he must be going up against more than one chronomancer. Every attempt he made to kill Bisney executives, they wouldn’t be where they should be. Every time he tried to damage their headquarters or destroy all the information they had on Hunter’s Dungeon, he would run into beefed up security preventing him from succeeding.

  *****

  Plan C worked, but it didn’t have the desired effect of Bizney’s exec’s considering Zack’s Dungeon and Zack himself being too toxic to handle. What kind of weirdos were okay with buying something created by a man who was well known to have a harem of simians. Hollyweird they called it in the other timeline. Must be one of those universal truths that people go on about.

  Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

  ******

  A team of adventurers stood in the long line waiting to get into the hunter’s dungeon. They were planning on making another run in the treasure hunt. The enchantress in their group had received several cursed items that she hoped to complete the sets for.

  “Great dungeon. Too bad the author is such a weirdo.” The group turned to see a bald headed bearded man wearing baggy shorts with several unnecessary pockets and very comfortable looking shoes.

  “What do you mean?” the tank asked.

  “You haven’t heard?” the man asked and everybody shook their heads. “I guess he likes his women…a little on the hairy side.”

  “Nothing wrong with that.” the enchantress said.

  “Really hairy. Like entire body covered in hair." The strange man looked back and forth between the team membersseekingr any confirmation that they had heard the rumors. “Simians. He keeps an entire harem of them. Creative minds all tend to be a little … off.” He finished with a shrug.

  The entire group just turned away from the weirdo. They had seen Astrid, the dungeon designer and she was most definitely not a simian. Soon the strange man was forgotten and they didn’t even notice him approaching several other small groups. However, they definitely remembered him when reports came out a few days later that a large group of female simians had been found running wild in a posh neighborhood that housed many of the elites of the city. After that, they were not surprised at all when several crystal casters reported that an anonymous informant told them that the simians were actually part of a harem kept by a young and upcoming dungeon author.

  *****

  Plan D. Bret sat down at his computer and opened Patreon. “Hey. Anybody want to go on an interdimensional adventure to save the Malefic Authors Dungeon from being coerced from his control by the Bizney Group?”

  Crickets….

  Bret sat there waiting for someone to respond and was about to give up when his phone beeped and someone had replied. Quickly he opened Patreon to find a message. “You have been permanently banned for promoting your book in another author’s patreon.”

  “What book?” Bret asked then his eyes went wide. “Oh you truly are a genius, Bret.” He quickly went back in time and began writing the first few chapters of Malefic Author. Carefully, he bounced back and forth in time creating posts in patreon and adding responses he received into his new masterpiece creating indisputable proof that he truly was a time traveller. “I’m so glad I thought of writing a book. Damn Malefic Author, I’m trying to help you and you banned me. Have no fear. I will persevere and we shall save your dungeon.”

  *****

  Zack looked at the small package the man from Bivouac Logistics had handed to him explaining it was a graduation gift. Opening the card, he read, “Life’s dreams often crumble to the constraints of time. Use this small gift to make sure you have the time to make your dreams come true. The time and location are already set Your biggest future fan, Garrett.”

  Zack opened the box and saw an amulet with a powerful aura. Underneath it were some strange clothes, a key, information crystals, and then instructions telling him to put on the clothes, review the crystals, and to put the key and crystals in his pockets before using the amulet.

  Zack started with the crystals. He was shown a strange world devoid of magic, but rich in technology. His mind was filled with information on the internet, credit and debit cards, bank accounts, Royal Road, Patreon, and a pastry called tarteletter.

  Chuckling to himself he put on the clothes and waited for Astrid and his other friends to come out of stealth or pop out of a portal and start singing happy graduation to him. Nothing happened, so he decided to look closer at the amulet. When he put it on he felt a small amount of his essence pulled into the amulet and suddenly he was standing in front of a door in a strange city. A sign said, “Garth Residence.”

  A bouquet of flowers sat next to the door. Zack pulled the card out and it read, “Congratulations on your new home away from home. Garrett. (use your key to get in). Zack took out the key and opened the door.

  *****

  Bret inhaled a deep breath and looked around. Quickly he checked himself for injuries. All parts present and accounted for. How the hell did I survive that? He thought as he looked at the devastation around him. I hate those pompous assholes. Why couldn’t they leave me alone.

  Feeling a portal open behind him, Bret jumped to his feet and saw a familiar face smiling back at him. Garrett Bivouac, the eccentric head of the galaxy’s most profitable logistics and transportation company. Working security for Duke Carlton, he had crossed baths with Mr. Bivouac several times. Bret had always felt like the man went out of his way to speak to him. He held out an amulet.

  “No time for explanation. Their people will be here soon to evaluate.” He then gave Bret the amulet and a dimensional storage ring. “Go. You’ll be safe where the amulet takes you. For now, anyway.” Garrett shrugged.

  Bret put the ring on and then the amulet before activating it. When he opened his eyes, he found himself standing in a strange room.