The beast came rumbling at them. Three of the hoomuhs were standing around Golgarn with blades pointed at him. They weren't so close that the blades could touch him, but they were close enough to thrust forward with a dash skill. Several of them were Tier 3, above the level of Golgarn. Even if he chose to fight it would be a losing cause.

With the men, weapons, and Pondiwuggles around him, Golgarn's eyes were focused on the incoming beast. It was moving so fast that dust and smoke were kicked up in its wake. There were more than one coming too.

In the lead, easily outdistancing the other beasts, was a thin beast. Oddly, it reminded Golgarn of a wagon, if it were cut in half and had horns put on its head. Behind the lead beast was a second one. Outdistanced by the second were larger, rectangular beasts. With their size and shape it wasn't surprising that they weren't as fast as the lead ones, but they were still moving at improbable speeds.

As the first beast arrived, it turned and skidded across the ground. It was then that Golgarn realized it wasn't a beast. It looked like it was made of metal, with numerous pieces connected. It growled as smoke hissed from a pipe in the back.

The rider partially stood up and then pivoted a piece at the bottom, allowing him to step off without it falling over. Then a small female wearing armor, thin by Unklarn standards, got off the beast.

The male rider stood with his arms crossed and glared at Golgarn. Their eyes met. A shudder went through the Unklarn. He felt a tremble in his legs.

He was so tired and hungry, yet he found the strength to stand rigidly, fear practically fusing his spine in place. This hoomuh stared at him like he was refuse that needed to be discarded.

"General!" exclaimed the leader near Golgarn. He did that weird pose with his fist above his head while the rest of the people thumped their chests and imitated.

The man who had ridden the beast helped the female off the odd, shaped seat, and then reached to the side of the contraption. There was a snapping noise, and a six-foot-long triangular sword was pulled out. It rested on the man's shoulder as he stepped forward.

"What's the situation?" the man, their General, asked as he addressed the unit leader.

"Stray invader. Crafting organization. Lost their base and he ran away," explained the leader in bits. "He wants help getting vengeance and reclaiming their base."

Golgarn was focused on the General guy as the unit leader spoke. He also didn't pay attention as the other metal beasts arrived, with more people getting out of them and coming forward. Yet, something that was said caught his attention.

"Wait! I be no invader," defended Golgarn. "I be a crafter. For what reason do ye think I invaded?"

The General stared at the Unklarn. Golgarn didn't miss that the hoomuh's skin was tinting red and heat was radiating from him. A berserker. How could an army succeed with a leader using a class that prevented them from being reasoned with. The other hoomuhs seemed willing to converse and discuss, especially based on what the Leputi said.

Without hesitation, but with a casual stride, the General guy walked towards him. The tip of his large sword was brought down. With five feet between them, the edge of the sword was rested on Golgarn's neck, causing him to stiffen. That was no amateur's edge on the blade.

"You came to our world without permission. You took our land and people. Doesn't that describe an invader?"

"B-but we be given permission to come," stuttered Golgarn.

"By whom?" The edge to the General guy's words was just as sharp as his blade.

"The [System] allowed the Scyrric to be the sponsors," replied the Unklarn hesitantly. He could feel the edge of the blade pushing his coarse beard against his skin.

"The [System] didn't ask us. The Scyrric didn't ask us. No one else asked whether we wanted to give up our world or lives. By your logic, I could steal that pack of yours and give it away because I gave myself permission to take it."

"Well, no. T-that'd be stealing. This pack be mine," explained Golgarn, unable to focus on the logic with his life only a sword's twitch away from ending.

"Fine then. You aren't an invader. Instead, you're a thief and murderer."

"Beg yer pardon, General guy, but that still doesn't make sense. That no be how it works."

"Oh, I see," said the General guy sarcastically. "Many people are trying to steal our world, and it is wrong for me to want vengeance, but someone took your invader base and it's ok for you to want vengeance. What makes your stuff more important than ours?"

The blade of the sword was dragged upwards. Golgarn felt it scraping the whiskers of his beard off his neck. He also felt a thin line of wetness trickling down the now shaved area.

"You have 30 seconds to explain why you shouldn't be executed," said the General.

Golgarn went to swallow but then remembered the blood on his neck and stopped. "What, er, I…"

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"Twenty seconds…"

"But I don't know what a second even be!"

"Ten seconds…"

"I'll come work for you!" said the pressured Unklarn. "I be a crafter. Trained in metallurgy, smithing, and runes for 70 revolutions, with side experience working with woodworkers and leather smiths."

The sword pulled a few inches away from Golgarn and he breathed a sigh of relief and finished the previous swallow.

"We have plenty of craftsman," said the General dismissively as his eyes narrowed and the sword was raised for a killing blow.

"What?!" shouted Golgarn in shock. "B-b-but Unklarn are known by all for their skills. Surely ye have no crafters as capable as the Unklarn."

The General shrugged, then moved one foot forward to get a good swing with his large sword. Golgarn squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for the killing blow. After a bit of time, he peeked open through one eye.

The General was still holding his sword, but instead of swinging it, a large, darker-skinned man and the small, armored female were holding his arm and trying to keep it from moving forward. Another female was casting healing spells on the General while a short male was casting buffs on the two holding his arm.

"Boss, if you'll allow me?" said a screechy voice.

"Get it done quickly," snarled the General.

"Right. Right," repeated the new voice. Another hoomuh walked up to Golgarn. The hoomuh tried to put his arm around the shorter Unklarn, then gave up and rested an elbow on top of his head. A window appeared in front of the man containing an awful lot of words.

"So, which one are you?" the hoomuh asked.

"Pardon?" asked Golgarn in confusion.

"You know…Happy, Grumpy, Dopey…"

"I be Golgarn."

"Yes, but that doesn't really fit the naming scheme," said the man as he pondered. "Then again, neither did Doc."

"Tom! Hurry!" called out the deep voice of the tallest one.

"Yes, ok. So, Golggy, you agree to work for and with us, correct? What counter requests do you have?" asked the man resting his elbow on Golgarn's head. The Unklarn had already tried shaking it off, but the strength of that hoomuh must have been high since it didn't budge.

"Aye. I be resigned to working for ye in exchange for me life. If possible, I be asking to send a message to any other Unklarn ye find," said Golgarn mournfully.

"That's it? Well, ok then. Do you have any particular living conditions or environmental needs? Maybe some food intolerances we need to watch out for? IBS? A peanut allergy, maybe? Next of kin to notify?"

Golgarn looked up at the man, completely unsure of the gibberish he was speaking. Then he looked at the General, who seemed to be struggling against his own troops as they all worked to stop him from swinging his sword. There were two more hoomuhs helping to hold his arm, while another was climbing his back and trying to cover the General's eyes.

"I guess that's a no," said the screechy one. "Take a look at this. It's a [System] contract that lays out the terms of employment. Please note the non-disclosure part that says you can't talk to anyone about anything related to our forces, race, or technology. Also, the termination clause requires two weeks' notice if you want to quit. Though in your case I don't recommend quitting since that is only a legality. I doubt the boss will be less slaughter-y after the contract runs out."

Even with five people holding him, the General had moved closer to Golgarn.

"Aye! I'll sign!" shouted Golgarn in terror.

"You didn't want to proofread it first?"

"I no think ye General be giving me the time," said Golgarn as he tried to rush things.

"Yeah, probably not, Golggy. Ok, sign here."

Golgarn wasted no time in giving his agreement to the contract. It was surprisingly long compared to [System] contracts that Golgarn had seen before. He wondered what else was in there, though wasn't too worried since he already expected to become a slave, toiling away in harsh conditions until his death.

As soon as he signed, the scene before him changed. The guy with his elbow on Golgarn's head backed off. The five Hoomuhs climbing all over the General had backed away with their hands on their knees, breathing heavily with fatigue.

The General himself had pushed his sword into the ground and was approaching, looking much calmer.

"Sorry about trying to kill you," said the General to Golgarn. The sudden change in tone and demeanor seemed insane. The hoomuh was like a completely different person. "It's been a rough couple of days and truthfully, I want to kill all invaders."

"But ye no want to kill me now?" asked Golgarn warily.

The General shrugged. "No. You signed the employment contract and are now part of our Sentinel Army."

"The army be made up of you hoomuhs?"

"We're hu-mans, not hoomuhs, but yes. Also, the Leputi also signed employment contracts, which is why they are with us now. We'll head to our base in Jackson shortly. There we'll set you up with an apartment and introduce you to our chief craftsman."

"I hope the conditions don't be too harsh," muttered Golgarn.

"They'll be fine. We'll hook you up with a nice apartment and will discuss what work you're most needed for. But before that, let me ask you something…"

The General opened a Rift Menu display and began moving through the options. After a minute, he turned it so that Golgarn could view it too. On the display was a video of a full-body armored person, with small wings and two furnace-like canisters on their back. They were zipping through the sky, changing directions while diving and climbing in altitude. Golgarn was entranced.

"What class do they have to be able to fly through the sky like that? There be no class I ever heard of," said Golgarn curiously.

"Huh. So, there aren't flying classes?"

"No," responded Goglarn. "Flying skills need wings. Only races natural built for it be able."

"This device was created before the [System] came to our world. It's a machine that human builders made."

At the General's words, Golgarn's eyes grew large, and he shouted, "What?!"

"Before the [System] brought all you invaders to ravage our world and civilization, our society was built on technology, science, and machines," explained the General. "We worked to learn how the world functions and figured out ways to use the rules we discovered to enhance our lives."

"Like those beasts ye be riding?" Golgarn asked while looking at the vehicles. "Those moved at quite the speed."

"Exactly," nodded Adam. "The smaller ones are called motorcycles and the larger are trucks for carrying things. Anyone can drive them, though it takes a lot of knowledge to build or repair them."

For the first time since entering the territory, Golgarn's eyes lit up. He stretched a hand towards the motorcycle before pulling it back. He had a hard time not rushing forward to see what he could glean from the machine. Then he looked up at Adam.

"And I'll get to learn about ye machines? Maybe it no be bad working here after all."

At Golgarn's words, the General smiled.

"By the way, those flying…machines?" asked Golgarn, trying out the word.

"We call them jetpacks," said the human leader.

"Aye, ye jetpacks. Why did ye asked about them in particular?"

"Your first job will be to work with our craftsman to build and enhance them using [System] materials and magic."

"For what reason do ye need them?" asked Golgarn.

The General shrugged before answering casually. "We need a way to get up to a Drathan's floating base."

"WHAT?!" shouted Golgarn, the excitement instantly extinguished. Cold dread filled him. Maybe things weren't going to work out for the refugee Unklarn after all.

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