It was pandemonium.

Most of the townspeople sought refuge under the pavilions but the crows were raining down with abandon. Right before me, most fell from the sky as another pulse from the crystal interrupted their flight. However, the fall wasn't enough and they were able to align their flights and land on the ground. As far as I could tell, at least ten orders of magnitude angrier. Their large wingspans were quite intimidating in the waning sun.

The crack of a whip snapped me out of my thoughts as Sam crushed a Q0 crow with his . The ten foot long plant spun as it followed Sam's gestures, smacking another two of the crows before they could even get close to the crafters. When a pair bypassed my friend, I ignored the gunshots and fireballs dealing with the birds in the sky. Having any aerial-capable weapons or Skills is now at the top of my list.

Regardless, I got directly in front of one of the dog-sized creatures and slapped it away using my chitin shield. The second I punted away. A glimpse told me that despite most people cowering from the main attack, many finished off any creatures in range of them after I’d downed them. The dwarves I'd seen earlier used their still-hot metal instruments to crush one of the birds' heads, while the mob of orcs were dogpiling the other.

Not nearly as worried about the Wildwoodians anymore, I placed myself as the catcher of diving birds. Any that tried to reach the group I would intercept with my shield, or a well placed . While my timing wasn't perfect, I always managed to at least clip the bird with the half-powered spear of compressed earth. There was going to be a huge mess to fix up in the work area. I was sure they wouldn't mind as long as they survived.

At fifty percent mana the stream of birds wasn't letting up, many hopping out of range or behind buildings out of sight. Some of the few Q1 crows were spitting up foul smelling blobs of flesh. The putrid scent drifted in the air. None of them had reached me or Sam, but the other defenders were coughing up a storm.

"What do they want!?" I shouted over the gunshots and crackling fires. I knew that crows were actually supposed to be intelligent and canny birds. They'd stopped attacking directly as soon as we stemmed their initial attack, waiting us out and using the disgusting blobs to wear us down.

"They are probably here for the bodies," one of the women hiding in the pavilions said.

"What bodies?" I asked, looking over my shoulder to the elf.

A whip cracked, slapping a bird to the ground. Somehow it managed to remain alive, so I stomped on its feathery neck. Thanks to keeping my foot on the creature, it started to crystallize and a meager trickle of Pith flowed from it into Sam and I. The Wildwoodians were stunned for a moment, but at my insistence the woman continued.

"We normally never keep more than one or two bodies in any one part of the town. It attracts too many creatures hungry for the corpses. With the fight we had earlier, and the huge boars The Big Guns brought earlier today, I fear that is what attracted them."

"Point me to them," I said, already doubling down on the plan. I wasn't going to bother asking why The Big Guns sounded like a capitalized phrase.

"I'll take you," she said resolutely. A man in the crowd moved to stop her, but she snatched her arm away. "He is helping us. Bite it, Gareth."

The woman rushed towards one of the concrete block buildings we hadn't passed by on our tour.

"Sam, double down. I have a plan!" The man gave me a grunt as he slapped another frisky crow that got too close.

The crows took notice of the two of us separating away from the bigger group and moved to pick us off.

"Danny, could use some cover fire," I said through the comm-plant.

In response, three blasts of compressed fire detonated in the air above us. I knew they weren't the strongest of her attacks, but it served to redirect the crows from intercepting us before we entered the building through one of the back doors. They flapped madly, trying to put out the embers that clung to their feathers.

There was a large loading bay folding door just next to a person-sized access. The woman produced a key and unlocked the door. Sure enough, when we stepped inside, there were piles upon piles of bodies. I recognized most of the bodies of the Tendrils we'd fought earlier that day as well as the three massive boars in the center of the room. My senses had been focused on fighting the crows so much I'd barely registered the stench of fresh death.

"We need to give them this. Now."

"But, how will we eat?"

"We'll figure it out. Live now, eat later."

With that, I lifted the twenty foot loading bay door. Mana trickled into my shield to pump my Strength Attribute. The metal groaned for a second before it started to slide on well oiled rollers up into the ceiling. Still funneling mana for the Strength boost, I tossed body after body out into the open. The woman who'd let me into the building hesitated, but eventually joined me in dragging the boar bodies out. Even with my enhanced Strength, the creatures were beasts. As soon as they were in the open, the cawing all around us stopped. The silence was only broken by the occasional gunshot and bird splat, but even those stopped as the silence spread.

Then the entire murder screeched in our direction.

"Shit," I grunted as I tossed one final humanoid tendril body out of the building. "Close the door!" I shouted.

The woman complied, shutting the access door as I leapt up and used my weight to bring down the loading dock door faster. Just in time for the first crow to crash into it. Then another and another. When the metal started to give, I used the remainder of my mana to erect inside the building to brace both doors. The impacts of birds against the giant metal door inside the small loading area felt like someone playing my eardrums as musical instruments.

The woman cried out and coiled into herself as blood poured out of her ears. Not knowing what else to do, I placed my palms over her ears and hoped that would mute the sound somewhat. When my mana had completely run out, and the boost from my Infused shield winked out, the constant impacts ruptured my own eardrums. I glanced at my Status to see my health ticking down one percent for each gong-like attack.

Thankfully, those did not last much longer. I heard the muffled crack of gunfire before the ground shaking caws returned. Except, as I listened, the sounds moved further and further away with each second. I slumped to the ground beside the woman. I felt the need to comfort her against the pain somehow, but all I managed was an awkward pat on the shoulder.

Thankfully, Sam and Danny burst through the access door. Literally. With a gout of flames. Danny had used her which nearly reached us, before it snuffed out. I nudged Sam over to the woman first and he tapped her gently with one of his . Don't you worry Sam, I made note that you don't actually have to slap me to heal me.

With a heal thrown my way, in forehead slap form, my friends helped us out of the building. The only body that remained was the air attuned Tendril, all the others we'd managed to get out. While the outside was a mess of multicolored blood and guts, the crows had taken the offering and left us alone.

My eyes tracked the gory trail and I spotted the murder disappearing towards the south. Many were working together to carry the bigger creatures and several were carrying their own dead. Not all of them had been recovered, but there weren't nearly enough crow bodies around for all the ones we'd killed.

The once-neat space within the city was now a disaster. Two of the pavilions had collapsed under the onslaught of the crows, while a third had been hit by that strange goop and was rotting from the outside. The space all around where me and Sam had been defending was a mess of dead plant fibers and stone spike protrusions. Closer to the buildings wasn't any better as the Carrion Crows had dropped over a dozen of the regurgitated blobs. Some of them had even been lit on fire, surely by the area of effect splash of one of the fire Attuned.

Oliver and his team were working their own magic, trying to keep the acrid smoke and fetid scents from reaching the rest of town.

"Two mass battles on the same day?" Sam asked with a hint of concern. His brow furrowed much more than usual.

"Just be glad we got that three hour break," Daniela said, adjusting her grip on the elven woman. She'd fallen unconscious at some point, but we managed to get her to the man who'd tried to stop her.

Gareth grabbed her close and let out a sob. Regardless of how she'd reacted to his hold it seemed the man cared for her. The other people congregated around them to give well wishes and lend their shoulders for support. We didn't linger with the other humans, as much as I wanted to ask them a million questions. Instead, the three of us made our way to the impromptu spike and vine jungle we'd created.

"You think they'll need your help with those fires?" I asked, leaning against one of my spikes. At some point I found myself on the ground. My arm muscles twitched with the familiar sensation of overexertion. Just let more enemies wait till tomorrow, please. Internal wishes aside, I tilted my head to look at my friends.

"I think orc lady's got it in hand. Plus, I need a break. I probably ran more than you two ever did while in the Bunker," Danny quipped.

"Good to know some carrion didn't dampen your lackluster retorts," I replied.

We let ourselves laugh a little. The last fight had taken the last bit of reservation I had about being in the town, and I was more than a little slaphappy. That didn't mean I planned to reveal everything to the Wildwoodians, but the likelihood that we might be able to cooperate was much higher.

While we caught our breath, Tim rushed over to our group. As politely and pleadingly as he could, he asked for Sam's assistance. The pink colored man hadn't gotten the whole message out of his mouth before Sam was already urging him to take him to the injured. As the two walked away, I overheard the problem. The strange blobs weren't only corrosive, but were lingering on those who'd inhaled it.

A part of me was interested to test whether our passive regeneration could handle ailments of that sort. Thankfully, the more intelligent part of me told that one to shove off. If we continued to carve out our existence on the surface then there would be more than enough instances for me to get afflicted with all manner of maladies without me seeking them out.

"Sir, is there anything we can do for you?" a voice said from beside me. I snapped my head around to the voice and the young orc scrambled back a step, but met my eyes. A look at my armor, clothes and body told me that he had more than enough reason to be intimidated even if that hadn't been my intention.

"Most of our gear we left outside the wall. Would it be possible to get some water and maybe something to rinse... well, my everything," I said softly. He looked confused for a moment before I gestured at the rest of my body and at Daniela's bloodied clothes. While most of hers had dried and clotted due to the heat she put out, mine was still slick.

"Most certainly, sir. Right away."

"There's no need to call me sir!" I called after the boy, but he'd already turned tail and disappeared amidst the other townsfolk. They immediately noticed my gaze. Most flinched and looked away when I turned, but some offered reserved nods as if in thanks.

"I can't tell if we have fans or not," Danny said, dropping to the ground beside me. She rested her head on my shoulder and let out a deep breath. "Ronan, this is all happening so fast. The Tendrils, the survivors of the Fall. What are we doing here?"

"Surviving. And when we need to ask ourselves that question again, we will be thriving. We'll tell the councilmen that we come from a band of survivors thanks to the Bunker program. Hopefully we'll be able to keep the others back at the camp appraised of what is going on," I said. The plan wasn't clear, or optimal, but it was a start.

"I just get static on the comm-plant. I don't know if we are out of range or," Daniela turned to the collosal Metier Crystal, "if that thing is causing interference somehow."

"We'll have to pay it a visit tomorrow, then. With that size, it should be able to communicate like the Entity back home."

"Are we telling them about the Implants? I don't know if that is something we can hide." Daniela used her nail to clink against the metal just at the base of her neck.

"If they ask, they were designed to help us deal with radiation on the surface."

"Hilarious, Ron. Tell them the truth while omitting the Status the Entity granted us?" she said, crossing her arms and looking sideways at me.

"I just don't think we can tru--"

"Here you are, sir!" the orc boy manifested. And with friends. Him, the other orc boy who'd tried to save the older gentleman earlier in the day and two blue colored teens carried a number of leaky buckets to us. There was a rough spun pair of rags on the boy's shoulder.

Thanking them for their assistance, I started to give myself a towel shower. It wasn't the first I'd had since coming to the surface and I doubted it would be the last. For the sake of propriety, I kept my undershirt and pants on during the whole ordeal. Daniela did much the same.

The same boy who'd first approached us asked if he could hold my shield. Remembering the look on his face when he'd used it to protect the other orc boy and the man, I nodded. "What are your names? You all have helped us while the others hesitate. Figure we might as well know the names of those lending us a hand."

The orc boy, now holding my shield while making exaggerated poses, told us his name was Lewis. The other orc, who turned out to be a girl to my utter embarrassment, was named Giselle and the two other boys were Louis and Tristan. After asking about their colored skin, I finally got an answer for what they were. Fae. At least, that was what they'd been called since they started popping up.

"We Fae are really good with plants, so the name came from there apparently. 'Like magic' they say. I just wish we could do stuff like your other friend, sir," Louis said, staring after Samuel and where he was helping a wounded woman with infrequent .

I was tempted to ask the youths a bit more about their background and the town of Wildwood. When I moved to retrieve my shield from Lewis, Sarah waved me and Danny over. The orc woman was alone, a grim expression on her face.

She flicked her gaze from me to the group we'd been talking to before signing. "I suppose it would be a bit paranoid of me to keep you under lock and key."

"Not to mention pointless," Daniela added unhelpfully. However, in that instance she'd actually beaten me to the punch.

"Right. I'd wager you three are among the top ten strongest people in Wildwood. Certainly top five based on what I've seen," Sarah said, relaxing her posture.

"While I might be inclined to argue that direct, and purposeful, blow to my pride," I started. "All we want to do is help."

"The Council heads were hesitant to meet you, but with this on display right in town, I'd wager the hesitance is gone," Sarah said. I watched her fist clench before she let out a sigh. "As much as I would love to keep posturing, I could really use a hand."

Nodding at her words, Danny and I agreed to meet with the Council again in the morning. Sarah herself went to fetch us food while Tim brought back a quite loopy Samuel.

"Sam did you over do it again?" I questioned him sternly.

"No, no. You see I got right there though. Or well, I got right there. And then there again. Maybe a third time? Hard to tell after the fourth..." The blonde slurred.

"Does he usually, erhm, do this?" Tim said as he adjusted Sam's arm over his shoulder.

"Side effect of his magic," Danny said. "He'll be good in the morning."

"We'll take you to one of the better vacant houses. Not many visitors to Wildwood, so we don't really have prepared facilities for hosting people."

I lent Tim a hand as we helped Sam into a cute single family home that was missing an entire section of wall and had been patched up with debarked logs of wood. The inside was a little humid, and there was little to no air flow to push out the stifling Florida heat, but it was a place to lay down. In fact, the beds had somehow made it through Landfall.

A queen size memory foam mattress and a regular twin bed were crammed into the cleanest bedroom at the back. Danny and I shared a look before we unceremoniously dumped Sam into the twin bed. You snooze, you lose.

With our friend somewhat situated, Sarah finally handed us dinner and a small animal wax candle to eat by.

Meat. It was real meat. From Juan's numerous explanations as to his attempts to mimic the stuff with the Bunker's resources, it was a medium rare prime rib. Or at the very least a medium rare slab of protein that led me to forget about Sarah's and Tim's presence entirely.

Danny was not far behind as she started describing the new flavor and her hope to replicate it. She even managed to convince Sarah to let her spend some time with the cooks of Wildwood after our meeting with the Council.

I was distinctly aware that our family back at the Bunker would be worried for us, but I knew they would survive a day without us. Had I not been biting into the salty-with-a-hint-of-crisp goodness of meat I might have spent more time dwelling on that. Or possibly dwelling on the threat of Tendrils. Or even the realization that if the people of Wildwood had survived twenty-seven years on an Attuned Earth, we might not be so alone in our goal to reclaim Earth.

But those were problems for tomorrow as I tucked into the food and then passed out from sheer exhaustion.