It turned out that when the Entities said that Gec wanted us to outline our cooperation, it meant thoroughly. It was a good thing that each location had sent a representative to the meeting with some level of pull in the structure of their respective towns because that was what the meeting aimed to solidify. Bec explained that Gec did not want to interact with isolated neighboring groups but one proper holistic front. It had perceived the potential after the extensive cooperation in the struggle against the Dreg and the call for this meeting was some kind of 'official' summons to make sure everyone was on board.

The initial points of the meeting went by fairly easily as they related to the sanctity of life and the overall goals the allied front Gec would interact with would adhere to. Chief amongst those things was that the Entity Clusters were not things of inherent evil, even if they cooperated with beasts to form what I'd colloquially called the Dungeons. The higher purpose of the Entities, eradicating Dreg, would be the ruling metric for how the Entities would act should there be a conflict with humanity. None of the representatives were happy about that point, especially when they brought up the fact that the Dungeons had claimed lives before, but none of the Entities were able to provide a concession. Even Bec agreed that the Dungeons were free of their intervention so long as they didn't turn to the path of the Dreg. It didn't help that none of the three Entities were sure what that represented or how they would know ahead of time; they all deferred to Gec on those points, causing the frustration in the group of humans to climb even higher.

That last point confused the whole group, and Bec was forced to translate for Tec as the Entity tried to explain how fighting the Dreg and Aberrant could cause conflicts of interest in the humans. It was something I'd never considered, and hoped never to experience. The fact that there were conscious humans under the thumb of the Dreg was a scary enough thought; having someone complacent to their efforts just made things much worse. My mind had drifted to Galloway, and the other handful of Tendrils that had been capable of communications. There was more at play with the Dreg than we knew and I couldn't help but feel helpless.

Despite all the power I'd gained, it was clear I was just a fool with a hammer trying to lead humanity through a series of ever-growing doorways that required finesse more than my set of skills. I'd even let myself become withdrawn the first time I'd experienced loss and a grander responsibility. I'd let the guilt swallow me, yet the world still turned; that world was now much bigger with no plans on stopping its growth.

"I have a proposition for the future of our cooperation," Ava said, cutting off yet another argument between Dylan and Rachael that Clara struggled to mediate.

"Do enlighten us," Maurice said, leaning back in his chair and rubbing his temples.

The man had expressed the desire to swap out with his father on multiple occasions, but the Entities had told them that Gec had considered their choices 'locked' as far as who represented who. Lake Weir, for better or worse, was in Maurice's hands. Thankfully the man wasn't inept, just more of a meathead than a politician. This had, of course, led to conflict with Dylan's perceptions but they'd made it work over the last few hours.

"I would like to propose turning our Bunker into a sort of boarding school for the children in our towns," Ava said, evenly. Protests were already rising out of Dylan and Rachael, but Ava was used to dealing with hard headed children so she plowed forward. "The facilities we have there have kept our people whole for almost three decades without the benefits they are receiving now. Beyond that, other than a handful of potential fighters, the population of our Bunker are all decidedly non-combatants. Doctors, engineers, researchers, mechanics.

"We taught Daniela, Samuel and Ronan all they know about the world today, including the one that came before. There are lessons to be had, if only we listen to the preserved knowledge of humanity. We must think not about us or the now, but to my child's children. Or yours." Ava's words elicited a furious blush from Danny, but the other members of the group had thoughtful expressions. No one mentioned how they had had quickfire arguments prepared.

"How would this help solidify our cooperation?" Rachael asked. Her hand waved lazily in the direction of me and my friends. "Those three have already done more than anyone that came before."

"I don't disagree, but the children are not the only thing to come from the Bunker. Neither should they be held to such standards. And yes, Daniela, I know you are not children," Ava said, cutting off her daughter's argument. "My point is that if not this, teaching and passing on our knowledge, then what was the purpose of our survival? Three people can't run a world all by themselves, and if I know Ronan he plans to follow through on his high minded idea to secure the world."

It was my turn to blush since I could hardly argue her point; she'd nailed the goal I'd come to after talking with Arnold.

"If your Bunker becomes so specialized, then where does that leave us?" Maurice said. "Lake Weir doesn't have the construction skill of Stonecrest nor the combat force of Wildwood."

"You all do seem to possess quite the green thumb," Sam said, joining the conversation.

"To my understanding that was mostly happenstance," Maurice countered.

"Make it not," Sam said. "From the experiments I've run on the trip here, the strawberries should work wonders on my project. Leverage your current advantage and entrench yourself into becoming the breadbasket of our area."

"That... hmmm. We do have a fairly versatile workforce. That leaves a problem. If we commit to doubling down on growing, how will we manage the gator threat? Those reptiles are a constant concern and until we were able to passively use spell chains like you showed us we relied heavily on our namesake for food."

"How bad of a threat can they be?" I asked, turning to Dylan. "You mentioned there were a number of Attuned crocs in Lake Sumter before you built the car-wall right?"

"We killed perhaps three dozen of them over the early years, and maybe a handful in the years since," the councilman said.

"What?" Maurice said, actually jumping to his feet. "We killed that many just this year and we are barely halfway through! They are constantly raiding our wall with their dumb water cannons, ice rain and mud shots. They probably only stayed away the last few months because of the death crows, but there have already been six sightings by our fishermen since the battle."

"Could the creatures have shortened their reproductive cycle somehow? Traits and Quotients might have made that easy," Daniela pointed out. "An ant we fought practically threw its children at us."

"There is a simpler explanation," Clara said. Everyone turned to the demoness. She'd been quiet other than mediating, so everyone was eager to hear. "There is a gator Dungeon in Lake Weir. One of those Entity enhanced creatures is either spawning a torrential amount of the reptiles or guiding them to stationary prey in the form of the town."

My eyes widened at the implication, but it made sense. There was a lot of energy in the Metier Crystals and if the wildlife was able to use even a fraction of it then empowering their spawn or themselves wasn't out of the question. A visual of a swarm of alligators the size of the ant swarms we'd seen sent a shiver down my spine.

The discussion actually picked up steam from there. A new, pseudo-shared threat was all the group needed to put aside their need for certain concessions before committing. Maurice still anticipated some issues with turning Lake Weir into a food exporter, but when Sam pledged to spend some time working his Skills in the fields the thorn-haired man had practically pounced at the idea. Several hours later, after a break to wolf down a packed meal, talk had actually receded almost to zero.

"To recap," I started. "The Wild Guard, and the Town of Wildwood as a whole, will focus on stop gap measures for the region. This includes crafting, food and defense. However, their future focus will be in honing the Warriors that will ensure the safety of our people within and without the towns.

"The Bunker Institute will be established as a place where the children of middle school age and higher will be able to gain a proper education in conjunction with some basic training on their Gifts. Graduation will line up with the acquisition of their own Implant, subject to the Entities and their access to power. Specific schedule will be pending coordination with the other members of the Bunker, but the towns will be responsible for convincing families of the importance of this program," I took a breath as I flipped to the second page of the Allied Wild Towns agreement.

"The Town of Lake Weir will receive assistance in order to secure the food growing capacities of the region for the people of the Allied towns. Agricultural experimentation will be limited in the other towns, but more specifically allowed here in the hopes of containing any... unpredictable responses." Sam and I grimaced as we remembered the plant golem that had risen as a result of our efforts into living, mundane organisms. "The Town of Stonecrest will lead the efforts into uniting all our territories and fortifying them in any ways they can think of. Beyond that, they will work closely with Wildwood in the development of Infused Items to help the fight for the surface and Lake Weir in their efforts to provide for more utilitarian needs."

"Here is the addendum," Rachael said, handing me a final sheet of paper.

"Thank you," I said, receiving the paper gingerly. The Entities had remained mostly quiet through the discussions, but they'd allowed us to keep notes in the air in the form of light swirls. The possibility to take notes and then write up the drafts for the 'official' document for the alliance was invaluable. There had only been six pieces of scrap paper between all of our group, each kept for lighting fires, but they were instead used to somewhat seal the deal on their cooperation.

Without a shadow of hesitation, I read out the last series of points.

"The Allied Towns will each select two representatives for the Economic, Infrastructure and New Earth Defense branches of the Allied Council, based on the running structure of Wildwood. There will be a rotating seat of Council Speaker whose vote will act as the tie breaker should it be needed. Allied Council meetings will be held in the presence of Gec whenever possible.

"Further discussions on the local policies of the New Earth Defense branch will come once the Allied Council meets and the towns have been informed of the changes. Primary concern internally will be the evaluation of the 'Misuse of Magic' Clause, which is to be addressed at the earliest convenience.

"Those who have received MetierTech Implants will be required to contribute to the Allied Council for an indeterminate amount of time as of yet, but they will not be forced into combat unless as a last resort. The..." I paused and squinted at a line that had been added at the bottom after everyone had agreed on the addendum. "The Dreg Warrior Leader and co. will be free to operate for the betterment of humanity and in pursuit of the Entity's ingrained goal. Resources to be exchanged and provided at reasonable rates for their needs? What is this?"

Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to receive an answer. A hovering pyramid of light manifested above the other Entities and pulsed in a rainbow strobe that had all of us covering our eyes.

[-] The accord has been reached. True cooperation is open. MetierTech Implants will be freely provided, as per the direction of the Allied Council, by myself. Designation of GEC is also acceptable as a means of differentiating my individual crystalline structure. [-] Gec's voice overpowered everything, but thankfully it wasn't the mind scrambling volume that it had been outside.

It took a few seconds for everyone to realize that Gec had finally joined the conversation. Its first proclamation, however, had everyone jumping with excitement. Unlimited Implants would revolutionize the way people interfaced with the Attuned Earth. Everyone but me, my friends and Clara seemed ecstatic.

"So everyone is going to ignore my question about this Dreg Warrior Leader thing?" I said out loud. The older people in the group had the decency to tone down their excitement and look sheepish. It was actually Gec who answered.

[-] Ava and Dylan have placed the operational security of our shared goal in the hands of the ones responsible for my freedom. As I happen to agree with this evaluation, it has been recorded as part of our accord. [-]

A poignant glance at the two showed they were caught red handed.

"What can we say? If it weren't for you rooting out the Dreg from the town, helping your friend Alan with the weird technology and overall shoving three collective towns into action we wouldn't be here. There wasn't a single person that disagreed," Councilman Dylan explained, getting nods of agreements from the others.

"How did you even hide that from me?" I asked, more irritated that I had somehow missed the clause than that it existed.

"Bec, you traitor..." I said, holding my head in my hands.

"Someone has to come up with the crazy plans," Sam said, smirking at me. "And it sure as heck isn't going to be me."

"I actually disagree," Maurice cut in. "I've heard what you want to do with the strawb--" A vine sprouted from the man's shirt to wrap around his mouth.

"Like I said, crazy plans. Someone else," Sam said, smiling like the entire gathering of leaders hadn't seen him cut the thorn-haired man off. When the vine came off, Maurice gave Sam a wide eyed look and refused to expand further on the whole strawberry business.

[-] It appears that now that the Allied Council is in place, I should provide the first concern for it to address. [-]

"You did call us here," Daniela said, rolling her wrist in a 'go on' gesture. "We had to go through this whole song and dance before you'd actually get to the point."

--There were no musical renditions during the...-- Tec was quickly cut off by Bec.

[-] Dreg Warrior Daniela is correct. There is no longer a need for delay. The most pertinent bit of information is that the threat of the Dreg has not been wholly eliminated within my domain. The other is that the remaining survivors within my domain are also in dire straits.[-]