Shova, 21th, 10,391

  The vivid purples, pinks, and oranges were descending on the glade as Six ascended the mountain. Dusk was beautiful and although Six was heading up the mountain to assess and clear any landslide potential, that didn’t mean he couldn’t appreciate the majesty of the natural world.

  He moved to a better vantage point, a jutting ledge that cantered straight off the slope and broke through the trees and foliage, ending in a sheer cliff. Far easier to admire the setting sun with a clear view of the horizon. Below was Mountain’s End. It was beginning to look something developed, a growing maze of structures, smoke from cookfires and smithies, boats scooting about on the lake, golems and ley workers going back and forth.

  It was quaint and still growing.

  It would double in the next day or so as Venter’s caravan arrived in full. Not Mountain’s End proper but a new municipality like Blackmine would come about.

  Thus Six planned for this new section of terrace farms that would extend up the mountain to feed the inevitable increase in population.

  He marked many of the trees to be cleared away but he planned it selectively, creating pockets of forest between stretches of terraced farm. Saving the best and oldest specimens and basing parkland around them.

  Soon, he’d run out of light entirely, so Six decided to go a little farther up and at least try to place the survey monume-

  A snap of a twig caught his ear and Six spun around only to find a dim and quickly darkening forest. He listened for anything and scanned around but there seemed to be nothing but rustling leaves and buzzing bugs.

  And then he heard the click of a trigger and a metal bolt flew from the underbrush, deflecting off the golden shield that sprang to existence around Six. The bent metal bolt spinning off into the distance.

  Six spotted the shooter but still couldn’t make them out entirely amongst the greenery. He didn’t need to as eight humanoids broke from hiding and approached him.

  All of them were of the same race, something like a satyr but instead of goat legs, they had the legs of canines, furred, paws, double jointed and reversed. They all wore steel helms or painted masks styled like wolves and dogs.

  The two largest walked in the front, both wearing well made plate armor, one carried a sword and shield while the other held a greatsword. Of the others, one wore robes and the rest were kitted like scouts, leather armor and crossbows.

  Six had always imagined hynks more as gnolls than satyrs but he was in no doubt as he analyzed and pierced into some of their system information.

  The highest leveled being the sword and shield user,

  Jasthera Oomara

  Hynk

  Level 13

  And the lowest was level 7. Six was confident he could take them on in single combat but fighting them all at once would require all his tricks.

  “Woah now boys.” He held his hands up, showing them to be empty..

  A feminine voice came from the large sword and shield user. She spoke Zleenish with a thick accent. “Answer our questions and you will receive a quick death.”

  They had already tried to kill him and promised him no escape. Listening to them was certain death.

  Fighting was a chance at life.

  He had Lump cast a Stone Spike and it erupted from behind the robed one, catching them all off guard as the crying dogman was lifted from his feet to be suspended in the air.

  Seven remained but the load was lessened as the area shook and echoed with the creaks of ripping wood. Poh Doh’s hulking form tore through the forest, bursting out into the igniting combat.

  Six sent one command to the golem. Kill.

  Poh Doh went crashing after the mob of them, the crossbow user fired steel bolt after steel bolt but they all just ricocheted off the crystal flecked hide of the earth golem. Poh Doh wreaked havoc, grabbing hynks and biting and tearing them apart with its thorn lined mouth, the consumed flesh quickly healing the slight scratches they managed to inflict on the golem.

  Six held the attention of the two higher leveled warriors who moved forward, breaking apart and beginning to circle and surround him. He slowly edged away until he could move no further, backed up against a precipitous drop.

  Six’s inspect and enchanting skill told him their equipment was more than mundane but he had no time to really ingest what they truly gleaned.

  The armored hulks executed their flanking attacks, poking and prodding with testing stabs and slashes.

  Six still had no chainsaw, he had just been so busy. Instead, from his spatial he drew his glaive and made a quick defense but was already feeling pressed. He moved about but never entirely where he wanted to, led partially by the demands of his enemies’ strikes.

  His buff complex sequentially came online as Lump empowered Six who barely had enough focus to avoid a wild Power Slash from the greatsword user. Six kept moving and held distance with his glaive, still they hunted and stalked around, always seeking to be opposite each other.

  It just took time.

  Six moved intentionally poorly, tripping and lunging to the side, opening himself to a brutal attack from Jasthera’s sword that produced another golden shield, barely dodging under the greatsword.

  He was slightly off balance and not in a natural position to strike but he was where he needed to be.

  Spiral Exertion tore the greatsword wielder from their feet while Jasthera’s shield glowed white and she remained unaffected by the harsh rotational acceleration.

  But the other was pulled off her base of stability and Six took that instant of helplessness, leaping up with his glaive like a pole vaulter and “Precise Strike,” blasting her with a dropkick, booting her off the ledge and down the mountain.

  “Aaaaaaaiiieeee.” Her voice fell away and then only the crunch and snaps of branches.

  The remaining warrior shouted her offense and pressed forward, activating an ability. “Warrior’s Intuition!

  A Lump created Stone Spike erupted and fended off Jasthera giving Six precious time to roll away and leap to his feet with an agile burpee.

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  Six stabbed and moved to keep Jasthera at bay, the armored warrior moved more timidly now that she was alone. Content to fend off Six’s attacks with her shield while dodging the random Stone Spikes that Lump created with unnatural skill of her own.

  But as they circled each other Six saw the form of Poh Doh, trundling after the group of hynks, the golem holding a half eaten corpse in its bloody mitt.

  With a thought Six micro’d Poh Doh and the golem pitched the meat at the mob like a cannon ball, impacting one and deflecting into another, spraying blood everywhere in spinning arcs. Then he set the golem back to kill.

  But Jasthera took that instant of lacking focus and capitalized, sliding forward and past his guard then slamming her shield into Six. Some aspect of the shield’s enchantment activated and released an impact that blasted the enchanter away. Flying uncontrollably, all he could do was Brace.

  Six’s tensed body hit a tree and bent like a piece of rebar then impacted the ground, dragging a furrow in the earth. His broken Force Shell evaporating away from him like low resolution mist. He coughed out some blood and felt the burn of acid in his throat.

  Six got up to his feet as the hynk followed him continuing their assault with a vicious overhand chop.

  He barely got his glaive up in time and worked to make distance again but it proved impossible. The hynk warrior had the tempo and she refused to relinquish it.

  Another overhead chop actually broke the haft and Six was left with two halves that leaked earth mana from their broken enchantment. She moved in, stabbing and Six stood his ground, tossing the broken halves at the head of the armored hynk and taking advantage of the slight flinch to reach forward and grasp their shield. Six rotated his body and tore with everything he had, throwing the armored form with their shield arm and hearing several satisfying cracks and pops as they arced over his body and were slammed down.

  Six lifted a boot and went to stomp their head but an uttered “Deflect,” brought their broken arm over with the sound of twisting bubble wrap, the magic of the maneuver not caring about their injury.

  He booted the shield and once again the item activated, although to a lesser extent. He was launched away and on to his back. Groaning, they both came to their feet with Six reorienting himself to see golden healing energies wash over the armored form of his enemy. Fixing her arm back into place with violent snaps that pulled the limb straight.

  They squared up, circling each other. Six withdrew his Wand of Mana Spear and let loose, she reacted well taking the overwhelming spell on her shield and managing to absorb the whole thing. He unleashed another and this time it could not contain the energy.

  The shield cracked, and mana hissed out of the faultlines until Six’s inspect told him the item was dead. He had overloaded it.

  The warrior snarled and flung the broken shield straight at his face. Six failed to react in time and another vital shield sprang into being, protecting him. But obscured behind the flying shield was a dagger being thrust at his face with all the weight of life and death behind it.

  “Deflect.” Six’s hand came up, guiding the killing blade to the side and past his shoulders.She bowled into him and he grabbed her arms, falling backward and twisting. He controlled the landing and kept the knife far away. He was ever so slightly stronger than her, Strength of the Oak aiding his strength to keep her suppressed. He pushed the knife towards her and slowly edged it towards a gap in her armor.

  She screamed in defiance and activated a buffing maneuver. “Ferocity!” Her strength reached a new height, suddenly Six was losing ground as she gained a burst of power. She cackled and laughed until Poh Doh’s giant hand closed around her ankle and snapped it like a twig.

  Then she screamed.

  The pressure she applied to the knife lessened but only for an instant. She fought through the pain and began a renewed attempt to kill Six. Pain now augmenting her power and drive.

  Impressive.

  Poh Doh ripped her from Six’s embrace, separating the two and holding her aloft by her broken ankle.

  Upside down she threw the knife at Six’s head but Zephyr’s Embrace redirected the already poorly aimed attempt.

  Six then guided Poh Doh and rearranged its grapple until she was fully restrained, bear hugged and pinned completely.

  She struggled in the grasp of the stone man but it held her fast, ignoring her.

  Six scanned the area and saw the broken bodies of the hynks Poh Doh hunted down, most alive just mangled and injured in some way. So he gathered them all up, dragging them before Poh Doh.

  “What the fuck was that?” Six growled. His mind bubbling with anger and outrage now that the battle was over.

  The dog men yipped an unknown language but it wasn’t more than five words before Six gained a new tongue.

  Knowledge: Imperial Hynk (Mortal)

  They chittered amongst themselves speaking under the assumption Six didn’t understand them, collaborating on whatever story they should feed him.

  Then Jasthera growled and the pack quieted, heeding their leader. Helpless though she was.

  Six commanded Poh Doh to tear her helmet off, revealing her face.

  Other than prominent canines she looked indistinguishable from a human. Dark brown eyes stared at him in hatred and she shouted in Hynk at him. “Stupid weakling, with your honorless ways. If only you were educated enough to know how doomed you are.”

  “What are you doing here?” Six asked again in Zleenish, standing before them all breathing evenly.

  She kept shouting. “If you humans were smart you would understand that your time is over.”

  “If you don’t answer my questions I will kill you.”

  “My death will not stop the Empress and her queens from marching, killing, and enslaving all you imperial weaklings who deserve nothing less.

  Six sighed and rubbed his face in growing frustration. “I know you understand me. You spoke Zleenish to question me. Stop playing dumb.”

  “You know nothing.” She grinned a smarmy smug grin and spat at Six’s feet.

  This time Six responded in Hynk. “I know you have failed whatever you were tasked to do.”

  Jasthera flinched at his apparent mastery of their language. A look of surprise changed to shame and then was quickly suppressed, then her eyes almost glazed over.

  “What are you doing here?” Six asked in Hynk.

  “My life for the Empress,” she said calmly.

  Six nodded. “Of course.” He retrieved the mountain mangled corpse and weapon of the greatsword wielder. He dropped the body and tore off its wolf helm revealing another woman’s face. Once again Jasthera flinched but she worked to maintain her affected distance.

  He reached out and touched the dead woman’s face, uttering his spell. “Spirit Tether.”

  Six called to the soul and pulled it to him. The magic compelling the ghost from its rest and opening it like a tattered book.

  The spirit screamed and writhed as Six stood there, absorbing its memories and notions. Its fears and hopes. The knowledge was too important for Six to waste focus on its discomfort, it was his enemy. Even in death.

  When he was done. He nodded with his new understanding. So much chaos around him and yet more grows. The Hynks sought to conquer it all.

  How he wanted to blaze and forget it all. He looked to the stars above, the sun now set. Did any of what he did truly matter when pitted against the vastness of creation? Why did he struggle against chaos? Why fight entropy? Why-

  “What are you going to do with us?” The quivering voice of one of the scouts broke Six’s reverie.

  Six scoffed at the man. “I should kill you as you attempted to kill me. I could confirm what I learned from her spirit by comparing with your spirit's knowledge. I won’t if you answer my questions.”

  “Yes, yes.” He nodded eagerly. “Please, just don't do that to me.”

  Jasthera howled in anger. “Treneg you flea carrying pack traitor. Baimoto break your spine. I will-”

  Six had Poh Doh clamp down over her mouth, he had no more patience for this. He lifted his arm and casted Ley Beacon his heraldry, a six sided die with six pips on all sides appearing in the night sky. A signal for his men to come investigate.

  For the first time Six activated his Empathy technique. Aspects of the huddled and broken hynks began to have more meaning; Their posture, their glances, their hands, how they whimpered. There was an almost visible aura about them, and variations in that aura were present amongst the prisoners, feelings and vibrations of different intensities, these parameters correlated to emotional states and Six already understood them to a degree.

  The buff wouldn’t last forever. “Let's begin.”

  ***

  Six watched his soldiers drag the prisoners away, he wondered how they would fare in the prison population. From what he heard It wasn’t exactly pretty in there. Six had no ideas how they would treat the dog people but didn’t really care.

  He learned much during his interrogation. A little about what they were doing and more about who they were. After his demonstration of spiritual information extraction they were more than willing to speak and only once did they lie.

  Empathy gave him clues that hinted at possibilities but it was him who had to judge whether the clues amounted to fact.

  The first time he was sure one of them lied Six pointed at the culprit. “You lied.”

  The dogman cowered and pressed his head to the dirt. “No lord. No lord.”

  The act of repentance was just that, an act “Methinks the man doth protest too much. Tell me, is he lying?”

  All were silent, looking between each other, hiding.

  Six made it easy for them. “I will kill him and learn the truth from his spirit. Now answer me, did he lie to me?”

  They all were quick this time to admit their comrade’s deception and when Six combed through the memories of the liar's soul he learned that he did indeed lie. He thought the man's confirmed guilt would do something to make himself feel better about what he was doing but it did not.

  Six learned that the Hynk Empress was level 41, twice evolved and unmatched by any. Her evolutions made her a warrior of unparalleled violence. Such power was near the peak of this land, only a monster of terrible origin or a secret wandering master could endanger her.

  Her daughters, known as battle princesses, controlled the provinces of the reich and were all at least once evolved.

  It was a warrior society, controlled by martial killers who ascended the noble rankings through duels, sometimes to the death, sometimes, not. The province's administration was not directly tied to the current martial leader so a semblance of stability could survive the chaotic nature of the dueling structure.

  They worshipped many gods. A few even worshipped a Hynk version of Kynairos even though they knew him to be a human. Most worshipped a bastardized version of Baimoto, the god of justice, but to them Baimoto represented the honor of a warrior.

  The Empress had been preparing to annex the western side of the Kingdom of Harmony before imperial citizens had a chance to settle and entrench the lands. Before the usurpation.

  Now, with the fall of the empire she saw it as an opportunity to take it all, and even more. She wants all of Zarmul, before she charts the seas of Zonah and beyond.

  Much of this he learned from the spirit of the first warrior, but the questioning confirmed and clarified.

  These scouts were just the first wave, all going east, some farther north, some south. They didn’t know when she would march but all spoke of her endless packs. Armies of waiting to flood eastward and drown the land in blood until all that remained was hers.

  Six took a deep breath at this new problem and released some of his tension with a curse.

  “Shit.”